The Perfect Witness by Iris Johansen
“More than fair.”
“But first I’ll go to Tanzania for the funeral service for Lee and Natalie. After it’s over, I’ll take a look around and see where I’m going next. And so help me, if everything isn’t exactly what you’ve told me, I’ll be out of there so quickly it will make your head swim.” She paused. “And, if I go along, I’m holding you to your word on every single thing you promised me.”
“You’ll get it. I’ll deliver.” He paused. “Even if you’re not able to find out what I want from Praland. After all my time with you, I know you’ll keep your word to do everything you possibly can. If you make the attempt and fail, I’ll accept it as done.”
She was silent, shocked. “That’s unexpected … and remarkably generous.”
“I’m the one who is rolling the dice on you. I found you, I convinced everyone in the Devanez core group that you could do it. If I’m wrong, then I’m the one to shoulder the blame.” He added dryly, “I’m sure that you’ll agree to that logic.”
“If you’re telling me the truth.”
“You’ll have to decide that for yourself. But it will be better for you and our chances of taking Praland down if you can bring yourself to trust me. After all, you’re tentatively committed now. I’ve told you what I want, and you’ve agreed that, for your own reasons, you want it, too. You’ll find me a capable and reliable ally.”
And a dangerous and lethal one, she thought. She’d had experience with Mandak’s deadly intelligence and skill all those years ago. “Capable and reliable don’t seem the words to describe you. I’ll have to become used to the thought of them.”
“By all means. We’re about to open new doors. I’m sure that we’ll both have a few surprises.” He went on quickly, “I’ve had Sean arrange a private jet to pick us up at the airport here. You’ll have an hour or so to rest before we have to leave the apartment. Is that okay?”
“I’m ready now.”
“You always were.” Suddenly, his voice was filled with humor. “You never wanted to wait for anything. I always had to gauge my actions to your lack of patience.”
“Did you?” She hadn’t known that about him. She wondered how many other things there were about him of which she hadn’t been aware during those years. Everything had been perceived from her defensive point of view and the feeling that Mandak was both a savior and a threat. “Well, then, you should have realized that I wouldn’t want to rest and twiddle my thumbs waiting for your jet. When can you pick me up?”
“Fifteen minutes. I’ll take you to the airport and buy you a new wardrobe in the shops there until we get the call for the plane. They have anything from haute couture to Frederick’s of Hollywood.”
“I don’t need any new clothes.”
“It won’t hurt. You only have the things in your duffel, and I don’t know what circumstances we’ll be facing. We’ll be tracking Praland, and he travels in very-high-income circles these days.” He hung up before she could protest again.
It was done. The decision had been made and the action taken.
And Mandak had already started to plan and move her in the way he wanted her to go. He had taken an element of her character and used it as an excuse to do that.
Clever.
If she thought about it objectively, she could admire that subtle shifting and prodding.
But there was no way she was objective about Mandak at any time. So she would accept this move but let him know that she was aware of the manipulation. Perhaps if he realized he couldn’t deceive her, he would back off.
Perhaps.
Right now, she was too tired and raw and broken to put up a decent fight. All she could think about were the funeral services waiting for her in Tanzania. After that, she would worry about her promise to Mandak.
And ponder that strange, generous, promise he had just made to her.
* * *
“I CERTAINLY DIDN’T NEED ALL those outfits.” Allie was frowning as she climbed the steps of the private plane. “You went overboard, Mandak. It’s a total waste of money.”
“But not a waste of time. I agree that you may not need them. There’s a chance that you might be able to get close enough to Praland in a casino or nightclub to read him. He likes beautiful women, and you’re exceptional. However, the chance is slim. We’re more likely to have to move onto his turf.”
“Then it was a waste of time.”
He shook his head. “You weren’t interested, but you were distracted. That was important. It delayed my being bombarded by more questions I’m sure you’ve been thinking since I left you at Sean’s apartment.” He entered the plane and gestured to a seat. “Buckle up. I’m going to the cockpit to talk to the pilot.”
“How long will it take us to get to Tanzania?”
“Twenty hours or so. We’ll be stopping over in London. It will take us at least ten hours to get there.”
“Why do we have to stop over in London?”
“We have to meet someone. Don’t worry, it will only be for one night.” He disappeared into the cockpit.
Someone? He had been entirely too vague. He was right, she was beginning to have more questions now that she was away from Sean’s apartment and stepping into this new life. She felt helpless, and she needed to take control. But how could she do that if she had no direction?
She took her computer out of her duffel and Googled Tanzania. Lord, it was far away, literally the other side of the world. Dodoma appeared to be the capital. Was that their destination?
“I thought you’d be busily checking everything out,” Mandak said as he came out of the cockpit. He dropped down in the seat across from her. “Well?”
“You have to have a clue before you can check something out.” She whirled her computer to show him the map of Tanzania. “Dodoma?”
“No, that’s the capital, but the U.S. Embassy is in Dar es Salaam. That’s where we start. That’s where Lee’s and Natalie’s remains were sent.” He pointed to a green area southeast of the city. “But that’s our target. That’s where Praland has his grand palace. It’s in the jungle, not too far from the principal mining area.”
“Palace?”
He nodded. “Sandek Palace. He forced a mine owner to ‘sell’ it to him. Unfortunately, the owner had an accident before he reached the capital, and the money was never found. The palace had been in his family for a couple centuries, and it was complete with dungeons and harems. Just what Praland wanted. Since he fancies himself as a sort of modern-day Genghis Khan.”
“More like Attila the Hun.”
“There are similarities in his methods. But he’s very rich, and he lives large. The last I heard he had five or six women he kept as concubines. He has enough men guarding his palace to constitute a small army. He sends them out on bandit raids within the country, and over the borders and they have trucks, missiles, and various other sophisticated weaponry.”
“Good God, it sounds like he runs the country.”
“Sometimes it comes close. I guarantee that the government wants him out as much as we do. They just don’t have the resources or the influence to pull it off. Money is everything. And if the man who is wielding it is also a murderer willing to take any revenge necessary, it stops them in their tracks.” He shrugged. “But the Devanez family has agents all over the country, and we’re able to strike a balance sometimes. Not often enough. Not with his holding the ledger over our heads.”
“And you think that he keeps the ledger at the palace?”
“I have no idea. We’ve infiltrated the palace and haven’t found it yet.” He met her eyes. “You’ll have to tell us.”
“If you can get me into that place.”
“I’ll get you there.” He shrugged. “But it may not be necessary. Praland moves around a lot. He also operates out of Madagascar and Morocco. He has an extensive prostitution operation in Madagascar.” His lips thinned. “That’s where we managed to find several of the little girls he kidnapped in Italy and Switzerland. We stag
“Thank God.”
“But it took almost a year to cure them of drug addiction.”
She gazed at him, shocked. She felt sick at the thought. “He must be a total son of a bitch.”
“In practically every way. No, take out the ‘practically.’” He tapped the name Dar es Salaam on the map. “But this is your first area of concern. We can think about Praland later. I just called Phillip Stanley, the man who delivered Lee’s and Natalie’s ashes to the embassy in Tanzania. He’s arranging for the service now. James McKeller, a young clerk, has the job of smuggling the canisters out of the embassy.” He paused. “I told him that I want it kept absolutely private. No one is to know that we’re in the country.”
“Is that possible?”
“We have a chance. As I said, corruption is rife, and Praland has informants everywhere. But then, so does the Devanez family. For years, we’ve been keeping our eye on Praland and hoping to make a move.”
“And who’s the head of this Devanez family? Sean seemed to think that you were important to them.”
He shook his head. “I’m regarded as something of a loose cannon. But you could say I have the ear of the core group. It’s a structure that’s mobile in nature and right now is headed by the keeper of the ledger. Very efficiently, I would add. The agents are slick, well trained, and completely loyal.” He tapped Dar es Salaam on the map again. “Stanley will call on the local agents to make a smoke screen of misinformation to give us our chance to say good-bye to the Walbergs.”
“Smoke screen? It shouldn’t be that way.”
“No, they deserve dignity and respect and anything else the world can give them. But that’s not going to happen. Not right now. Maybe later.”
“Why would you think that it would matter to Praland if they arranged to be buried here in Tanzania? You said the reason they wanted to do it was only because their son’s remains were there.”
“And are you still skeptical that was the truth?”
She was silent. “No. I think that even you would have a problem being that callous. I was hurting and struck out.”
“Even me,” he repeated. “I suppose I should be grateful that I was included.” He added, “Did it occur to you that I was hurting, too? They were both my friends, Allie.”
“It occurred to me. I tried to look at all sides when I was trying to decide what to do. I don’t want to make any mistakes. It’s too important I give them what they wanted,” she said. “I remembered the night you brought me to them. There was genuine feeling and liking in your expression. Whatever there has been between us, I don’t believe pretense was one of them.” She stopped, thinking about it. “And Lee and Natalie were grateful to you. Natalie told me that she couldn’t resent you because they owed you.” She stared him in the eye. “Why were they grateful to you, Mandak? It was something to do with Simon.”
“Yes.”
“What was it?”
“I shot him.”
Her eyes widened with shock. “What?”
“Simon was Praland’s prisoner. I was friends with Lee and Natalie at the time, and they asked me to help him. The CIA was pressuring me, too. Because I was familiar with the territory and Praland’s operation, there was a slim chance I could get Simon out. The CIA dropped me in the jungle near the palace, and I went after Simon to try to get him away from that bastard.” His face was hard, shadowed. “I could hear Simon screaming as I made my way through the jungle to the palace. Praland had him staked out in the courtyard and was torturing him. He and his men were laughing every time Simon screamed.”
“My God.”
“I’m not going to tell you what they’d done to him. I was too late. He’d been torn to pieces. Simon was hanging on by a thread. He couldn’t live. All he could do was suffer.” His jaw clenched. “And I wasn’t going to let that bastard, Praland, make him suffer one more second. I’d managed to climb up to the top of the wall above the compound. I’m a very good shot. I took careful aim. I killed him.”
She was silent. She could see that scene that he had painted for her, and the sheer horror of it stunned her. “I don’t know if I could have done that. It must have been a terrible decision.”
“It was no decision at all. I couldn’t let the torment go on. I knew that Praland had too many men for me to have a hope of doing anything else. It was the only way Simon would be free and have peace.” His lips twisted. “And I still failed. My second shot was for Praland but he dodged out of the way after I killed Simon. His men were pouring toward the wall, and I had to get the hell out of there. As it was, I spent two weeks in the jungle dodging Praland and his men with a bullet wound in my arm.”
“Did he know it was you who had killed Simon?”
“Not at the time. But it wasn’t long before he found out. He wanted to know, and he dug and mutilated until he found out my name. He was furious at the thought I’d managed to rob him of the pleasure of torturing Simon. He was even more angry at the thought that I’d humiliated him by getting that close, then thumbed my nose at him. He’s never forgotten in the last eight years. I hear from him every time he thinks he’s scored by killing another of the family.”
“I’m beginning to believe I know this Praland very well,” she said shakily. “He’s like a mirror image of the people I grew up with. Though I never actually saw the true violence until the night my father killed Jokman.” She shook her head. “What … did you tell Lee and Natalie?”
“The truth. They’d already heard what happened to Simon from the CIA and Praland by the time I managed to get back to the city. Praland made a point of looking them up to brag about all the atrocities they’d done to Simon. He thought it was one way he could get back at me for his humiliation. I went to them and told them I’d killed their son.” He shrugged. “And braced myself for the storm. They didn’t say anything to me. I think they were in shock.”
“Who could blame them?”
“Not me. They came to see me two months later and thanked me. I could see it was hard for them. But they genuinely meant it. It let me see what special people they were.” He paused. “And it gave me a peace I didn’t know I needed. From that time on, we were allies as well as friends.”
“Against Praland.”
He nodded. “The thought of what he’d done filled their lives. They couldn’t stand the thought of the torture he’d inflicted on Simon or the thought of what he was doing to those children Simon was trying to save.”
“So you drew them in to help prepare me to take down Praland.”
“It was a great plan until it all went wrong. Emotion can ruin the most intelligent schemes.”
“You were annoyed with them?”
“Yes. And frustrated.” He smiled. “And a little envious.”
“No way.”
“I won’t try to convince you. You’ve been more tolerant than I would have thought. It might be too much to expect you to accept that I occasionally have mixed and human feelings.”
“It might. You didn’t give any indications that night you were trying to whisk me out that bedroom window.”
“The destination was in sight after eight years. I had to try to close the deal.” He paused. “But I didn’t close it,” he said bitterly. “Just as I failed the night I had my shot at Praland, and I didn’t kill him.”
She stared at him with mixed emotions. Frustration, surprise, even sympathy. “For God’s sake, just listen to you. So you’re not perfect. You did what you could. It sounds to me as if you risked your neck that night to try to save Simon. You’re always telling me not to blame myself. What the hell are you doing?”
He gazed at her for an instant, then chuckled. “I’m glad you believe I did what I could. I thought I was high up on the blame list.”
“Camano heads that list. It took a little while, but that’s clear to me now.” She shook her head. “And, for the rest, Praland is looming right beside him.” She shook her head. “An
“Allow me.” He took his phone back and accessed another site. “The tall man with straw-colored hair is Praland. The man sitting next to him is Hans Bruker, his lieutenant.” He lifted his shoulder in a half shrug as he handed it back to her. “Or maybe I should call him ‘cobra in training.’ He’s almost as vicious as Praland.”
The two men were sitting on a tiled veranda dressed in boots and dark pants and shirt. Praland was lean and sinewy with a long face and pale gray eyes. He was smiling but without humor, his thin lips pulled back from large, white teeth. Straw hair? It looked more platinum-colored and was long and coarse. Bruker was smaller, chunky, with a plump face and uptilted, dark eyes.
“I didn’t know Bruker existed either,” Allie said. “Praland, Bruker … Lee and Natalie wouldn’t have even been with me if it hadn’t been for Praland. It’s like a complicated chain with all spiked links. The links have nothing do with each other, yet the chain exists.”
“How very deep.”
“Bullshit,” she said wearily. “I’m just trying to work out why this happened. There has to be a reason.”
“Evil.”
“Yes, it’s probably as simple as that. But Lee and Natalie always told me that I should look at both sides of the coin.” Her lips twisted. “Even when it came to a certain Professor Simpson, who was driving me crazy. Funny I should think of him now. He’s so unimportant in the scheme of things.”
“Evidently he was important to you at the time. That’s one of the reasons why I turned you over to Lee and Natalie. I knew they’d furnish you with the kind of normal background training I never could.”
“No, you gave me karate lessons. You would probably have told me to go after Simpson and take him down.”
“Possibly.” He smiled. “If it didn’t interfere.”
“But it would have interfered with the life I was planning for myself.” She paused. “They wanted to keep those plans safe and intact. I didn’t appreciate what they were giving up to let me have my chance.”