Page 76

CHAPTER 75

LIAL SCANNED THE surface of the lake, checked the direction of the ripples, and banked the floatplane for an upwind landing. She leveled off at three hundred feet and then throttled down slowly, slowly—until she felt the jolt of the pontoons on the water. Not as smooth as the minister’s landing, she thought to herself, but good enough.

She maneuvered the plane to the edge of the lake, where dark jungle foliage met the water, and cut the engine. She unstrapped herself from her seat, then grabbed her knapsack and slung it over her shoulder. She opened the door and started tugging the limp Joseph Kabera out of the rear of the compartment, legs first. She dragged him onto the left pontoon and felt for a pulse. Nothing. Not that it would have mattered. She pulled a folding knife from her bag and stabbed Kabera hard through both lungs and his gut and rolled him into the water. His wounds bubbled as he started to sink slowly into the murk. The crocs would arrive soon enough. They would leave no trace.

Lial tossed her knapsack into the undergrowth on shore, then lowered herself off the pontoon into the warm, shoulder-deep water. Bracing her feet against a sunken log, she pushed hard on the right pontoon until the plane started to move out into the current. She watched it spin slowly on the water and drift off. By morning, it would be miles away.

Lial waded to shore, grabbed a thick vine, and pulled herself up onto the bank. It was covered with coarse wet grass and leathery fronds. A few yards in, she found a small, mossy clearing. She stripped off her wet party clothes, right down to the skin. She reached into her bag and grabbed a T-shirt, sports bra, underwear, and jeans. She slipped them on, then pulled out a pair of athletic shoes and a loaded Glock. She pulled her long dark hair into a ponytail and secured it with an elastic. She grabbed a cluster of wet leaves and scrubbed off what was left of her makeup. Then she checked the safety on her gun and stuck it under her rear waistband, feeling the cool metal against her back.

Deep breath. In and out. That’s better.

She was starting to feel like herself again.