CHAPTER FIFTY
The heart of the wise man lies quiet like limpid water.
– CAMEROONIAN PROVERB –
Sam, Lazlo, and Okoro left for the school at dawn, while Okoro’s farmhands, armed with the dead men’s AK-47s, remained behind to guard the property. Sam, at the wheel of the Land Rover, took his time, worried about missing any signs of the girls as he drove.
Okoro sat in the back, leaning forward between the two front seats to see out the windshield. “How positive are you that this Makao did not have them in his truck when he drove down the hill last night?”
“Yesterday, I’d agreed to pay him a million dollars. Last night, he’s suddenly asking for any amount I can get.”
“But he could also demand that if something had happened to them. If . . .”
They were dead, Sam finished silently. That was always a possibility, but not one he was willing to entertain. “All we can do is go on what we know. We know Makao’s truck came down that hill. If Remi and the girls weren’t in it, then they’re still on that mountain.”
Lazlo looked up from his phone. “Weather report’s forecasting rain for the next three days.”
“Starting when?” Sam asked.
“Later today, with a severe weather advisory the next two days.”
“Let’s hope it holds off long enough to track them.”
Sam kept his eyes on the dirt road, the steep switchbacks slow-going, even if he wasn’t concerned about driving over some vital clue. Twenty minutes later, they rounded yet another sharp turn, this time coming face-to-face with their supply truck, seemingly abandoned.
“Stay behind me,” Sam said, drawing his gun, wanting to make sure they weren’t walking into a trap.
He surveyed the trees to the left of the truck, listening to the sounds, hearing nothing but the multitude of birds. When he approached the vehicle, he noted two sets of footprints near the driver’s door, one being Remi’s, the other set belonging to a man. He followed Remi’s footprints to the cargo bed, where he saw the broken post sticking out the back. Remi had continued past there down the trail, as did several men after her.
What Sam didn’t see were footprints belonging to the children.
Okoro stared down the empty trail. “Where would the girls be if not here with your wife?”
“I have a pretty good idea.” Sam pulled the signpost from the back of the truck, matching it up to the scuff mark on the bumper. “If you’re running for your life, you don’t stop to pick up a broken sign. If you’re hoping to buy some time, you’d definitely want to hide it.”
“Buy time for what?” Okoro asked.
“For Amal and the girls to get away on the upper trail while Remi led the kidnappers here.” They followed her waffle boot prints into the woods. About twenty yards in, her tracks veered to the right, then disappeared altogether. Sam checked farther along the trail to make sure she hadn’t simply been walking close to the edge but only saw the heavier marks left by the men who were undoubtedly searching for her. Remi probably hid while the men pursuing her walked right past. The undergrowth was too thick to see where. “Let’s check back up on the road. See if she came out.”
It wasn’t hard for Sam to find where she emerged from the forest and continued uphill. “Time to see where this leads,” he said, hearing a helicopter somewhere above them. He looked up, saw a military-green aircraft in the distance. No doubt the reinforcements Rube had promised.
Okoro followed close beside Sam. “You’re sure there were no girls with her?”
“Positive,” Sam said. “If I had to guess, she was in a hurry or she’d have found somewhere else to hide that sign besides the back of the truck.”
“But there are tread marks here,” Okoro said, pointing to where another vehicle had clearly stopped behind the supply truck, then turned around, heading back. “They discovered her plan. What if they followed her?”
Sam took a closer look at the tracks where the vehicle had backed up and made a three-point turn before heading uphill. “Other way around. She followed them.”
“How can you be sure?”
Sam nodded to the pattern in the dirt. “Remi’s print is on top, not the other way around.” They tracked her path up the road, while Lazlo followed behind in the car. About a quarter mile up, they found the stump of the broken sign that marked the trail’s entrance. Remi had definitely taken the trail up, as had several men after.
“No kids,” Okoro said, sounding worried.
“Brush marks,” Sam said. “To hide their footprints.” He looked over at Lazlo, who was sitting in the car, the engine idling. Sam looked up at the sky as the beating of rotors grew louder. “Let’s follow this while it’s still fresh.”
Lazlo locked the car and joined them. Sam took one last look around, wanting to make sure that he hadn’t missed anything. The same heavy boot prints were in every direction on the road below them, leading Sam to believe the kidnappers had spent some time in the dark searching for the trail’s entrance. The sight gave him hope that it was enough to allow Remi and the girls to escape.
“Considering all that’s gone on,” Okoro said as they started up the hillside, “you seem confident.”
“Confidently hopeful,” Sam replied. “If anyone has the skill to get the girls to safety, Remi does.”
Lazlo agreed.
The trail was easy to follow in the daylight, and from what Sam could tell, Remi either didn’t have time or wasn’t too worried about trying to cover her tracks, most of which were trampled on by the men pursuing her—four, apparently. “How far would this trail take them?” Sam asked Okoro as a flock of green birds burst from the trees, then settled back into the canopy.
“To Cameroon, should they continue through the park to the border. Several days’ walk in good weather. If it floods . . .” His voice faded, no doubt thinking about his daughter.
“We’ll find them,” Sam said, and the three men quickened their pace.
After about a mile, the trail was covered by a long stretch of trampled leaves, obscuring any footprints. Remi’s distinct waffle pattern picked up on the other side, along with the men following it.
“I don’t see the children’s tracks,” Okoro said.
“Or Amal’s.” Sam looked back, recalling that their prints were visible just before the dead leaves covered the path. “Wait here.”
Sam jogged ahead, following Remi’s trail. Eventually, it stopped. The kidnappers, however, continued on in that direction. Sam returned to find Lazlo examining the leaves scattered along the trail.