Elephant Dropping (9781301895199) Read Online Free Page B

books. Any cursory glance through these accounts would only
show that Golden Palm was a legitimate agency with a good
relationship with its many clients. He looked up the figure
currently on deposit, 490 million shillings and rising. ‘Not
enough,’ he muttered. ‘No,’ sipping his tea, ‘not nearly enough.
Damn this Nicholls fellow, this is such a beautiful project we must
see it through.’
    He opened
Evan’s folder and typed in adjustments to the figures. Then wrote a
quick note to Azizza and stuck it on the monitor, where she would
read it in the morning.
    Patel looked at
his watch, time to go. He shut down the computer threw the dust
cover over the equipment and then slid the coffee table to one
side. He pulled up the floorboard where the safe was and counted
out money from a wad of notes, putting these in an envelope, he
shut the safe and put the floorboard back returning the table to
its position.
    He spotted a
plastic shopping bag on the filing cabinet and remembered the phone
for Kamau. He took out a box containing the phone, popped it open,
gave it a cursory glance and weighed it in his hand, ‘Nice,’ he
muttered, ‘I must get one myself.’ He put the phone back in its
wrapper, took out a jiffy bag from a cabinet drawer, put the phone
into the bag and filled out the address panel to Kamau at the
Immigration Dept., Nairobi.
    He drew up at
the golf club gates at a little after six thirty, waved his pass at
the gatekeeper and parked the small Toyota next to Evan’s Mercedes.
Signing himself in at the reception counter, Patel cast his eye
around for the bank manager, spotting him seated at the bar
chatting to another member.
    Selecting an
English newspaper from the rack, Patel’s eye chose an easy chair in
the corner of the veranda.
    He nodded
‘hello’s to other patrons he passed on his way to his chosen seat.
He ordered a gin and tonic from the waiter and settling in,
pretended to read the newspaper, waiting for Evans to join him.
Idly flicking through it he saw an advertisement for a London
property on Kensington High Street. Four bedrooms, pocket garden,
£600,000. Outrageous, but still, maybe one day.
    At that moment,
Evans pushed his way into the chair. ‘Hello my friend,’ Patel
greeted him, ‘hard day at the office?’
    ‘Oh, Mondays
are never much fun, how was your day?’ he replied. They kept up
this hearty banter for the benefit of any on-lookers, just regulars
shooting the breeze.
    Evans had
arrived glass in hand and once the waiter brought Patel’s order,
they chatted about no particular topic for a while, watching others
coming off the golf course, the setting sun threw a golden glow
across the veranda.
    Finally, Patel
broached the topic of their meeting. ‘You feeling better Evans?’ he
asked.
    The manager
embarrassed at his earlier panic replied. ‘Yes, but I still have
questions.’
    ‘Ok, we will
get to those in due course.’ Patel said smoothly. ‘Just listen to
what I have to say then you can ask ok?’
    Evans
nodded.
    Patel leaned
back in his chair. ‘As you know Golden Palm was set up as a
legitimate financial agency. This Nicholls fellow will not find
anything amiss in our figures. If there are any suspicions at all,
it will be because of the unprecedented lack of loan defaulters,
but this is ‘early days,’ so even that can be explained. Like I
said, we may be able to use this visit of his to our advantage.
Evans scratched his head, listening. ‘But we have to take immediate
precautions to safeguard our product, until Nicholls has been and
gone. You are to stay away from the Golden Palm office and have no
contact with Azizza unless she instigates it.’
    Evans frowned,
but remained silent. ‘During these two weeks, you cannot use the
Mercedes. I have brought a small Toyota for you to use during this
period. As far as anyone else is concerned - your wife for example
- the Mercedes is away on a service. You will get it back once the
coast is clear. We don’t want