Chapter 21
Crystal's luggage for the African tour filled a mini van. What was in it she didn't know but she did make sure Archie and Terri were placed in her hand luggage so they travelled with her on the plane. After her New Zealand experience she decided her hot water bottle was to be a packing basic when she travelled.
Just as well, because on the second day of the tour she went riding on an unfamiliar horse that stumbled in a rut and fell. Crystal jumped clear but landed badly, jarring her leg.
One happy result of yet another accident was getting Jeff's attention. He'd been riding with her, keeping his distance and saw her go down and was with her almost as soon as she hit the ground. The thrill of him picking her up in his arms and carrying her back to the house had almost, but not quite, removed the pain in her leg. With her arms around his neck she laid her head on his shoulder and passed out, only waking up an hour later in her own bed. By then Jeff was gone.
The tour continued with Crystal limping a little but game. She was enjoying herself because Africa was wonderful, full of colour and music. She watched in awe as her grandmother got through days that were wearing Crystal out. She fell into bed at night exhausted, waking early to prepare for yet another round of events. The yacht travelled from place to place overnight, allowing them down time to recover in its quiet luxury. The lights of their destroyer escort blinked in the dark night, never far away.
The whole time Crystal waited for Jeff to spend some time with her but he was always busy, arranging cars and people, on the phone and in intense discussion with his team and the African officials. He always seemed worried and distracted. She wanted to ask him what was wrong but he was unavailable to her: always near but very far away.
The sixth day was scheduled as a rest day with no official engagements; they berthed and went to church in what seemed to be a small but lively town where, not far from the church, a market was in full swing. After church her grandmother decided she'd like to walk around. The news wasn't greeted with any joy by the protection officers, the town was near the Somali border and considered high risk.
'I will only be here an hour or so,' she told her principal protection officer. 'Come Crystal, let's see what's going on.'
She put up her sun shade and started to walk toward the market where she and Crystal, security detail in tow, were quickly surrounded by the noisy, bustling crowd of stall holders and shoppers. The place was a delight to Crystal, bursting with ordinary life. She followed her grandmother as she stopped at stalls and talked to people, relaxed and happy without the need for protocol.
However, Jeff was very unhappy at the change of plan and had a hurried conference with his team,
'Don't leave her for a second, I want close protection. If she goes into a shop, I'll go with her, then two of you on the back and one remains outside. Anything suspicious, get her out of there. Send for the car and keep it nearby.' He said to himself, 'I don't like this at all.'
The job of protecting Crystal in Africa was demanding a great deal of Jeff. The tour was high profile and well publicised. The schedule of every public engagement had been available on the internet for weeks. Their every move was followed by the press and photographed. It wasn't unusual that there had been a number of threats made. He arranged his team and worked with the backup military forces to deal with issues as they arose. They'd avoided trouble with minor adjustments to the schedule and some quick work, bringing in suspects who were detained and questioned in local police stations.
Today the military were low key, trying to blend in as well as they could and keeping a close but not restrictive perimeter. People came and went around Crystal and her grandmother as they walked through the market.
What really worried Jeff were the unmade threats, the ones who didn't announce their intentions. As he followed Crystal and her grandmother into a shop filled with bright fabrics he just wished the shopping excursion was over and they could return to the safety of the yacht.
The shop was little more than some corrugated iron sheets nailed together. All of the shops were close together and seemed to be holding each other up. Bolts of cloth were arranged around a couple of walls on sloping shelves of planks and hand made bricks. A counter of packing cases stood near the door where the shop owner was bowing deeply to his regal guest and shouting to his wife to bring samples of traditional dress for her Majesty and Crystal to see.
Crystal liked one and the owner's wife offered to arrange it on her. They went to the back of the shop where a curtain hung from the ceiling making a basic changing room.
'Mirror,' she said pointing at the curtain.
Crystal nodded and went behind the curtain with the woman. Jeff moved to the back of the shop and watched the curtain move as the woman wound and tucked the dress on Crystal. Her Majesty was talking to the shop owner who was delighted at her interest. One of her Majesty's protection officers stood near the door, another on the opposite side of the shop to Jeff. He was watching the Queen, not the change room.
Jeff kept an eye on the curtain and then the front door. No-one else came in; customers were being turned away until they left. One man insisted on coming in, arguing with Jeff's outside man. He started to shout and a small noisy crowd formed. It distracted Jeff only for a moment. In that time there was a crack, the curtain ceased to move and the shop owner's wife fell to the floor, unconscious.
By the time Jeff took the three steps to where the change room had been Crystal was gone. A sheet of iron had been wrenched off the back of the shop. His two men were lying on the ground outside, blood streaming from their heads where they'd been clubbed. There were footprints in the dust and drag marks where someone had tried to dig their heels in as they'd been carried away. One of Crystal's shoes was lying in one of the marks, its heel broken.
Jeff raised the alarm and everything erupted, soldiers surrounded the market as her Majesty was taken out and driven away in the waiting car. The man who'd been arguing with one of the officers at the door was thrown to the ground and handcuffed.
Soldiers began to search every shop, house and hutch in the immediate area. Crystal wasn't found. A wider land search was started with helicopters from the destroyers. Ribs were sent out from the destroyers with search teams to scour the shore for boats trying to leave the area but nothing was found.
Jeff was icy cold and angry.
'You bastards,' he said.
As he searched for her Crystal kicked at her captors and struggled in their arms as they ran along the back of stalls and shops. A hand was over her mouth and iron like hands held her on either side. Finally they became impatient with her resistance and picked her up off the ground carrying her like a sack of goods. They didn't go far, only about a hundred yards from the shop, towards the stone church Crystal and her grandmother had attended less than an hour ago.
Then a sheet of tin was pulled up off the ground and she was shoved into a hole that dropped sharply to a tunnel. She was pushed in and landed hard, two of her captors following. Then she heard the tin replaced and a car driven a short distance until it seemed to be directly above her. She was in darkness, her injured leg aching.