Salty and Cara – Silent Waters 5
Love and crime in a world of fruits and vegetables – A delicious fable (Second Story – Fifth Episode):
What started out as a nice vacation is now turning into a cascade of dangerous unpleasantries.
Too Close for Comfort
When he got back to their hotel, all that was waiting for him was a message from Cara’s uncle Balim that he had taken her shopping. Salty was a little disappointed because he had wanted to do that with her. On the other hand he appreciated that she was out doing something pleasant because what came next was not a good thing to have her around. He had to go to the big lake and find a hidden storeroom.
It was all about a phony dam project. Someone had set it up to attract investors and then arranged a mock accident to hide the evidence of the fraud. Then the crooks collected the insurance money and disappeared. The investors lost all the money they had put in without ever getting anything from the insurance sum, something that had been part of the original deal. He already had almost all the facts about the how and some leads on the structures involved in both Big Valley and New Valley. But he had no idea as to who was actually behind it all. Someone very clever had made sure that no one could follow his trail.
The only papers documenting the true leaders of the crime were in a hidden cave up in the mountains. So he packed his things, ordered some additional equipment from a local adventurer’s shop by messenger, and left the hotel, still quite happy that his lover was safe and sound with her uncle.
Interlude
Cara was a little surprised when the taxi did not take her to the hotel as she had ordered, but to her uncle’s house instead.
“Mr. Amanga wanted to surprise you, that’s what the taxi company told me to tell you if anyone asked. Since your husband is still working,” the boatman explained, “I think your uncle might want to take you shopping.”
She thought it was a bit unusual for a taxi driver to know so much about her private life, but on the other hand, her uncle had lived here for quite a while. And even if the place was not too small, it would only be a matter of time before everybody knew everything about anyone. So she was sure that half the valley had already found out that the granddaughter of the king’s advisor was in town. She wondered what her father’s life must have been like as a young fruit, with all of them watching constantly. She definitely had a few questions to ask her father, in fact, a lot of questions. And maybe tell her mother a thing or two.
When she entered the house, the staff was already waiting for her. The butler led her into a large room that looked like it could be her uncle’s study. Just as she began to examine the shelves and pictures around her, she heard a classic thud in the door behind her. They had locked her in!
And then it dawned on her: her uncle was part of the whole thing. He was the one who had advised her father to invest the money. And he was probably the one who had persuaded all the other wealthy fruits of New Valley to join in. Maybe it was just a money thing in the beginning. But then he had become a part of it and could not get out. Probably they had blackmailed him to keep quiet. Most likely, Salty had found out something at that company looking at the records this morning. And now her uncle had made a deal to get her out of the way, while … they were going to kill Salty! No!!
The lake looked peaceful in the late light of day. It’s colors varied from a bright turquoise blue at the sandy edge to a rich bluish green, a glowing purple, and the dark plain black of the deep. Beautiful to look at, but unmistakably of its own domain.
Salty had no time to admire the scenery. He knew they were already on to him. Someone had looked at the same papers he had been given to inspect this morning and tried to destroy them, as the clerk Benjamin Butternut had told him, but that someone had been caught red-handed by the company’s security and narrowly escaped arrest. So the perpetrators could be pretty sure that he knew what was going on and who was probably behind it. And they would not be too happy about that. Obviously, they had to stop him quickly, before he could get to the incriminating boxes in the storage place.
The papers at the engineering company had not been very specific. They only mentioned a few vague coordinates. The investigator circled the same area several times and had almost lost hope when he finally found the entrance to a small cove that matched all the clues he had noted during his morning search. He had just begun to pry open the locked door when he heard a group of at least five shouting to each other behind him. They were obviously looking for him. And he had no chance against so many rough fighters. So he tried to get to safe ground to think of a new tactic.
Eventually, Salty found a hiding place in a shallow part of the lake, behind a rock, where they could not see him. He watched the small group search the area, but they kept walking and looking the other way. He climbed up the rock a little higher to see the faces so he could identify them later. Then he slipped, small stones creating a cascade of sand and rocks into the water. He tried to find cover again, but they had heard the slide and the splashing water. They were yelling at each other and running toward him. As he turned to get back down from his outpost to run, he heard a low voice from a tall, hooded figure behind another ledge next to him: “Not a good place to stay out of trouble, Master Cumberman.”
Salty almost lost his footing when the figure turned to him and he caught a glimpse of his face: “YOU? What in Owa’s name are you doing here?”
And then it dawned on her: … Most likely, Salty had found out something at that company when he had looked at some records this morning. And now her uncle had made a deal to get her out of the way, while … they were going to kill Salty! No!!
Side Notes:
- “What in Owa’s name …” says Salty. He is referring to the religious beliefs of his society. The Fruitables are very superstitious. If you are in or near water, you must always invoke Towata (Owa for short). She is the goddess of water and the charming but very moody wife of Togro, the god of soil. Only gamblers and merchants would have dared to invoke ‘The Twins’, their offspring, in such a situation. The highly divergent gods of the sun, in both its nourishing and destructive aspects, tended to offer very risky opportunities. Hence the positive attitude of the aforementioned group of worshippers. If you want to know more about this glamorous family, have a look at [Episode One of the first Salty & Cara story ‘The Blue Dew’].
This is the second adventure of Salty & Cara – a juicy love affair entangled in the complex web of crime and corruption that covers the vast mountain and valley landscape of the ‘Fruitable’ civilization.
Missed the last two episodes of the Easter special… ? (Salty & Cara – Silent Waters, Episode 3 and 4) Here they are [ I< ]
And what happens next … ? Find out on May 31 (Salty & Cara – Silent Waters. Episode 6)
You have no clue, what is going on at all? Here is how it all started: [‘Salty and Cara. The Crime Story‘]
Needless to say, the stories about Salty and Cara are pure figments of my imagination. No resemblance to any person or place – present or past – is intended. But I am sure you have already figured that out 😉