Okay, her cue to tip toe back to the mudroom. She closed the door, waited a few minutes and then loudly banged it open and shouted, “Howard, I’m back.”
He walked out of his office. “How was the hike?”
“Refreshing.”
“Were there a lot of people on the trail?”
“It’s Saturday, everyone and their dog was out there.” She smiled. “Why? Afraid I might get mugged?”
He stiffened, but then waved his hand dismissively. “Of course not.”
So he did worry about her here in mundane Oregon. Not that bad things never happened here. Serial killers and other nuts occasionally struck, but not Boko Haram death squads or deadly viruses. Rachel opened the refrigerator and took out a pitcher of filtered water. She poured a glass and drank half of it. “By the way, while on my hike I got a call from my regional boss. Kind of weird, but it should bring you some comfort about my new enemies.”
He slowly sat. “Good to know, what about?”
“Yusuf and his terrorist thugs.”
“Go on.”
“Seems like a lion, at least one, mauled Yusuf and his men to death.”
“Lion?”
“Yeah, considering there are less than thirty wild lions left in Nigeria, what are the odds, right? One lion killing at least forty men is impossible, especially considering they all had assault weapons.”
His brow furrowed. “Sounds like it was staged to look like a lion attack. Perhaps by a black ops group or even the army.”
“That’s what I thought, but knowing the army, they would love bragging rights for killing them.” Rachel took out her mobile from her hoodie pocket and showed him the images she’d been sent. “This was no machete slaughter.” Her father once served as an army doctor, so she’d no qualms sharing the gross photos of the gutted mauled men. Nonetheless, he blanched as if he’d seen a ghost rather than a gory scene.
Howard slowly shook his head. “A pride of lions, maybe, but not one.”
“There were witnesses. Kidnapped women in a tent witnessed the attack.”
“They saw the lion do this?”
“They heard him roar and growl amidst gunfire. A single lion. The women being held prisoner were not mauled. The beast targeted only the Boko Haram, even the ones who hid in other tents and the two who tried to drive away. The locals think a powerful witchdoctor cast a juju spell.” She skipped to the last pic
ture. “The last time I saw something like this was a horror movie about a werewolf.”
Howard swallowed. “Nonsense.” He stared at the scene and zoned out.
“Huh? You mean about the lion attack?”
“I meant this lion must have been trained to kill.”
“Actually, that makes sense if it weren’t so illogical. Not only would it have been shot, but locating Yusuf’s hideaway had been impossible. Why bother sending a trained lion instead of a military drone once the elusive terrorists were discovered?”
“That would have cost the innocent hostages their lives.” Howard got up and poured himself a cup of coffee.
“Good point, but…”
“Whoever or whatever killed Yusuf and his terrorists made your life and the lives of others safer.” He sat back down and sighed. “Still, have you considered another post?”
“I’m thinking about it. There’s some talk about Haiti, but nothing solid. I actually need time to see what I want to do. Maybe practicing in the states is not such a bad thing.”
Howard raised a brow. “Good.” He frowned. “About this cabin…you can stay, but…I had planned on renting it out.”
She took the hint. “Maggie has an extra room and she said I can stay with her as long as I want. Until I figure things out.”