“How do you know that?” Kevin questioned with amazement.
“In our town people talk,” Esmeralda said. “When I said you were gone unexpectedly and that the manager was looking for you, Alphonse Kimba told my husband that you had gone to the island. He was sure.”
“I appreciate your concern,” Kevin said evasively and preoccupied with his thoughts. “Thank you for what you have told me.”
Kevin went back to his own room. When he looked at himself in the mirror, he was surprised how exhausted and filthy he appeared. Running a hand over his beginning beard, he noticed something more disturbing. He was beginning to look a lot like his double!
After a shave, shower, and clean clothes, Kevin felt revived. The entire time, he mused about the Americans in the jail under the town hall. He was very curious and would have liked nothing better than to go and talk with them.
Kevin found the two women were equally refreshed. The shower had transformed Melanie into her irrepressible self, and she complained bitterly about the selection of clothes she’d been offered. “Nothing goes with anything,” she complained.
They settled in the dining room, and Esmeralda began serving the meal. Melanie laughed, after looking around at the surroundings. “You know, I find it almost funny that a few hours ago we were living like Neanderthals. Then, presto, we’re in the lap of luxury. It’s like a time machine.”
“If only we didn’t have to worry about what tomorrow will bring,” Candace said.
“Let’s at least enjoy our last supper,” Melanie said with her typical wry humor. “Besides, the more I think about it, the less likely I think it is that they can just foist us off on the Equatoguineans. I mean, they wouldn’t be able to get away with it. This is almost the beginning of the third millennium. The world is too small.”
“But I’m worried . . .” Candace began.
“Excuse me,” Kevin interrupted. “Esmeralda told me something curious that I’d like to share with you.” Kevin started by mentioning the phone call he got in the middle of the night from Taylor Cabot. Then he told the story about the arrival and subsequent incarceration of the New Yorkers in the town’s jail.
“Well, this’s just what I’m talking about,” Melanie said. “A couple of smart people do an autopsy in New York, and they end up here in Cogo. And we thought we were so isolated. I tell you the world’s getting smaller every day.”
“So you think these Americans came here following a trail that started with Franconi?” Kevin asked. His intuition was telling him the same thing, but he wanted reinforcement.
“What else could it be?” Melanie questioned. “There’s no question in my mind.”
“Candace, what do you think?” Kevin asked.
“I agree with Melanie,” Candace said. “Otherwise, it’s too much of a coincidence.”
“Thank you, Candace!” Melanie said. While twirling her empty wineglass, she looked menacingly at Kevin. “I hate to interrupt this fascinating conversation, but where’s some of that great wine of yours, bucko?”
“Gosh, I totally forgot,” Kevin said. “Sorry!” He pushed back from the table and went into the butler’s pantry that he’d filled with his mostly untouched wine allocation. As he was looking through the labels, which held little meaning for him, he was suddenly struck by how much wine he had. Counting the bottles in a small area and extrapolating it to allow for the entire room, he realized he had more than three hundred bottles.
“My word,” Kevin said as a plan began to form in his head. He grabbed an armload of bottles and pushed through the swinging door into the kitchen.
Esmeralda got up from where she was sitting having her own dinner.
“I have a favor to ask,” Kevin said. “Would you take these bottles of wine and a corkscrew down to the soldiers at the foot of the stairs?”
“So many?” she questioned.
“Yes, and I’d like you to take even more to the soldiers in the town hall. If they ask what the occasion is, tell them that I’m going away, and I wanted them to enjoy the wine, not the manager.”
A smile spread across Esmeralda’s face. She looked at Kevin. “I think I understand.” From a cupboard she got the canvas bag that she used for shopping and loaded it with wine bottles. A moment later, she disappeared through the butler’s pantry, heading for the front hall.
Kevin made several trips back and forth from his wine collection to the kitchen table. Soon he had several dozen bottles lined up, including a couple bottles of port.
“What’s going on?” Melanie enquired after sticking her head into the kitchen. “We’re waiting and where’s the wine?”
Kevin handed her one of the bottles. He said he’d be a few minutes more and they should start eating without him. Melanie rolled the bottle over to look at the label.
“Oh, my, Château Latour!” she said. She flashed Kevin an appreciative grin, before ducking back into the dining room.
Esmeralda returned to say that the soldiers were very pleased. “But I thought I’d take them some bread,” she added. “It will stimulate their thirst.”
“Marvelous idea,” Kevin said. He filled the canvas bag with wine and tested its weight. It was heavy, but he thought Esmeralda could handle it.
“Let me know how many soldiers are at the town hall,” Kevin said as he handed her the bag. “We want to make sure there is plenty for everyone.”
“There are usually four at night,” Esmeralda said.
“Then ten bottles should be fine,” Kevin said. “At least for starters.” He smiled, and Esmeralda smiled back.
Taking a deep breath, Kevin pushed through the door into the dining room. He wanted to see what the women thought of his idea.
Kevin rolled over and looked at the clock. It was just before midnight, so he sat up and put his feet over the side of the bed. He turned off the alarm clock that had been set to go off at twelve P.M. sharp. Then he stretched.
During dinner, Kevin’s proposed plan had sparked a lively discussion. In a cooperative effort, the idea had been refined and expanded. Ultimately, all three thought it was worth attempting.
After making what preparations they could, they all decided to try to get a little rest. But Kevin had been unable to sleep despite his exhaustion. He was too keyed up. There was also the problem of the gradually increasing noise from the soldiers. At first, it had just been animated chatter, but during the last half hour, loud, drunken singing had reverberated from below.
Esmeralda had visited both groups of soldiers twice during the evening. When she returned, she reported that the expensive French wine was a big hit. After her second visit, she told Kevin that the initial deliveries of bottles had been almost drained.
Kevin dressed quickly in the dark, then ventured out into the hall. He did not want to turn on any lights. Luckily, the moon was bright enough for him to see his way to the guest rooms. He knocked first on Melanie’s door. He was startled when it was opened instantly.
“I’ve been waiting,” Melanie whispered. “I couldn’t sleep.”
Together, they went to Candace’s room. She, too, was ready.
In the living room they picked up the small canvas bags each had prepared and walked out onto the veranda. The vista was enticingly exotic. It had rained several hours earlier, but now the sky was filled with puffy, silver-blue clouds. A gibbous moon was high in the sky, and its light made the mist-filled town glow eerily. The jungle sounds were shockingly loud in the hot, moist air.
They had discussed this first stage in detail so there was no need for talk now. At the far end of the veranda in the rear corner they secured the end of three sheets that had been tied together. The other end was dropped over the side to the ground.
Melanie had insisted on going first. She climbed nimbly over the balustrade, and lowered herself to the ground with inspiring ease. Candace was next, and her cheerleading experience stood her in good stead. She had no trouble making it down.
Kevin was the one who had difficulty. Tryin
g to imitate Melanie, he pushed off with his feet. But then as he swung back toward the building he got twisted in the sheets so that he collided with the stucco, scraping his knuckles.
“Damn,” he whispered, when he finally was standing on the cobblestones. He shook his hand and squeezed his fingers.
“Are you okay?” Melanie whispered.
“I think so,” Kevin said.
The next stage of their escape was more worrisome. In single file, they inched along the back of the building within the shadow of the arcade. Each step took them closer to the central stairwell, where they could hear the soldiers. A cassette recorder playing African music at low volume had been added to the festivities.
They reached the stall where Kevin kept his Toyota LandCruiser and slipped in along the passenger side until they reached the front. According to previously made plans, Kevin eased around the car to the driver’s-side door and quietly opened it. At that point, he was within fifteen to twenty feet from the inebriated soldiers who were on the opposite side of a reed mat suspended from the ceiling.
Kevin released the emergency brake and put the car in neutral. Returning to the women, he motioned to start pushing.
At first, the heavy vehicle resisted their efforts. Kevin lifted his foot to push against the house’s foundation. That added amount of leverage made the difference; the car eased out of its parking slot.
At the lip of the arcade, the cobblestones of the street slanted downward in a gentle slope so rainwater would run away from the house. As soon as the rear wheels of the vehicle passed this point, the car gained momentum. All at once, Kevin realized that no additional force was needed.
“Uh-oh!” Kevin cried, as the car began to gain speed.
Kevin ran around the side of the car and tried to get the driver’s-side door open. Given the car’s increasing momentum, this wasn’t easy. The car was now halfway across the alley and beginning to curve to the right down the hill toward the waterfront.
Finally Kevin succeeded in opening the door. In one swift move, he dove in behind the wheel. He got in position as quickly as possible, then jammed on the brakes. At the same time, he turned the steering wheel hard to the left so as to better align the vehicle with the street.
Fearful their efforts might have attracted the soldiers’ attention, Kevin looked their way to check. The men were gathered around a small table supporting the cassette player and a half dozen empty wine bottles. The soldiers were happily clapping and stomping their feet, oblivious to Kevin’s maneuverings with the car.
Kevin breathed a sigh of relief. The passenger-side door opened and Melanie climbed in. Candace got in the back.
“Don’t close the door,” Kevin whispered. He was still holding his ajar.
Kevin eased up on the brake. The car did not move at first, so he shifted his weight back and forth until he got the car rolling down the incline toward the waterfront. Kevin looked out the rear window, steering the vehicle as it began gathering speed.
They rolled for two blocks. At that point, the hill began to flatten out, and the car eventually came to a stop. Only then did Kevin slip the key into the ignition and start the engine. They all closed their doors.
They looked at each other in the half light of the car’s interior. They were all keyed up and their pulses were racing. Everyone smiled.
“We did it!” Melanie asserted.
“So far so good,” Kevin agreed.
Kevin put the car in gear. He turned right for several blocks to give his house a wide berth and headed for the motor pool.
“You’re pretty sure no one will give us trouble at the garage,” Melanie said.
“Well, there’s no way to know for sure,” Kevin said. “But I don’t think so. The motor-pool people live a life of their own. Besides, Siegfried has probably kept the story of our disappearance and reappearance a secret. He’d have to if he were truly planning on handing us over to the Equatoguinean authorities.”
“I hope you are right,” Melanie said. She sighed. “I’m half wondering if we shouldn’t just try to drive out of the Zone behind one of the trucks instead of bothering with four Americans we’ve never met.”
“Those people got in here somehow,” Kevin said. “I’m counting on their having had a plan to get out. Running the main gate should be considered our last-ditch option.”
They pulled into the busy motor-pool facility. They had to squint under the glare of the mercury-vapor lights. They continued until they came to the repair section. Kevin parked behind a bay with the cab of a semi up on the hydraulic lift. Several greasy mechanics were standing under it, scratching their heads.
“Wait here,” Kevin said, as he alighted from the Toyota.
He walked inside and greeted the men.
Melanie and Candace watched. Candace literally had her fingers crossed.
“Well, at least they didn’t bolt for the telephone the moment they saw him,” Melanie said.
The women watched as one of the mechanics sauntered off and disappeared through a door in the rear of the facility. He reappeared a moment later, carrying a lengthy hunk of heavy chain. He gave it to Kevin who staggered under its weight.
As his face turned a progressively brighter shade of red, Kevin stumbled back toward the LandCruiser. Sensing he was about to drop the chain, Melanie hopped out of the car to open the luggage area.
The vehicle lurched as Kevin dropped the chain onto the tailgate.
“I told them I wanted heavy chain,” Kevin managed. “It didn’t have to be this heavy.”
“What did you say to those men?” Melanie asked.
“I said that your car got stuck in some mud,” Kevin said. “They didn’t bat an eyelash. Of course, they didn’t offer to come and help, either.”
Kevin and Melanie returned inside the Toyota, and they started back toward town.
“You’re sure this is going to work?” Candace asked from the rear seat.
“No, but I can’t think of anything else,” Kevin said.
For the rest of the trip, no one spoke. They all knew this was the most difficult part of the whole plan. The tension mounted as they turned into the parking lot for the town hall and doused the headlights.
The room occupied by the army post was ablaze with light. As they got closer Kevin, Melanie, and Candace could hear the music. This group of soldiers also had a cassette player, only theirs was cranking out African music at full volume.
“That’s the kind of party I was counting on,” Kevin said. He made a wide turn and then backed toward the building. He could just make out the window wells for the subterranean jail within the shadows of the ground-floor arcade.
He stopped the car within five feet of the building and put on the emergency brake. All three gazed into the room occupied by the soldiers. They couldn’t see much of the room and none of the soldiers because the line of sight was on an angle through an unglazed window. The window’s shutter had been raised and hooked to the ceiling of the arcade. A number of empty wine bottles were on the sill.
“Well, it’s now or never,” Kevin said.
“Can we help?” Melanie asked.
“No, stay put,” Kevin said.
Kevin climbed from the car and walked in under the nearest arch to stand within the shelter of the arcade. The sound of the music was deafening. Kevin’s major concern was that if someone looked out the window, Kevin would be seen immediately. There was nothing to hide behind.
Looking down at the window well, Kevin could see the barred opening. Beyond the bars was utter darkness. There was not the faintest light within the cell.
Getting down on his hands and knees first, Kevin lay on the stone floor with his head over the lip of the window well. With his face close to the bars, he called out over the noise of the music: “Hello! Anybody in there?”
“Just us tourists,” Jack said. “Are we invited to the party?”
“I understand you are Americans,” Kevin said.
“Like apple pie and baseball,?
?? Jack said.
Kevin could suddenly hear other voices in the dark, but they were unintelligible.
“You people have to realize what a dangerous situation you’ve gotten yourselves into,” Kevin said.
“Really,” Jack said. “We thought this was how all visitors to Cogo were treated.”
Kevin thought that whomever he was speaking with would certainly get along well with Melanie.
“I’m going to try to pull these bars out,” Kevin said. “Are you all in the same cell?”
“No, we have two beautiful ladies in the cell to my left.”
“Okay,” Kevin said. “Let’s see what I can do with these bars first.”
Kevin got up and went back for the chain. Returning to the window well, he threaded one end through the bars into the abyss.
“Hook this around one of the bars a number of times,” Kevin said.
“I like this,” Jack said. “It reminds me of an old Western movie.”
Back at the Toyota, Kevin secured the chain to the trailer hitch. When he got back to the window well he gently pulled on the chain. He could see it was tied securely around the central bar.
“Looks good,” Kevin said. “Let’s see what happens.”
He climbed back into the vehicle and made sure it was in its lowest four-wheel drive gear. Looking out the back window, Kevin cautiously eased the car forward to take the slack out of the chain.
“All right, here we go,” Kevin said to Melanie and Candace. He began to press on the accelerator. The heavy-duty Toyota engine strained, but Kevin couldn’t hear it. The hum of the motor was drowned out by the frenzied beat of a popular Zairean rock group.
Suddenly, the vehicle lurched forward. Hastily, Kevin braked. Behind them they heard a terrible clanging over the sound of the music like someone hitting a fire escape with a curbstone.
Kevin and the women winced. They looked back at the opening into the army post. To their relief, no one appeared to check out the awful sound.
Kevin jumped out of the Toyota with the intention of going back to see what had happened when he almost ran into an impressively muscled black man heading right for him.