Follow Your Star, Jennifer Bohnet [best fiction novels to read txt] 📗

case will hit a lot of people in Monaco.’ And with that cryptic remark, he disappeared back into his room to get ready to go out.

Jean-Claude looked at Nanette, worry lines etched on his face.

‘At least he’s finally admitted to being involved in something,’ he sighed. ‘Did you believe him – about the money and the Automobile Club?’

‘He could have had an appointment I suppose but.…’ Nanette shook her head. ‘I don’t know.’

‘I’ve got an appointment of my own tomorrow,’ Jean-Claude said quietly, glancing at Mathieu’s closed bedroom door. ‘I’m meeting a private detective to have Mathieu followed for a couple of weeks. I need to know what is going on.’

‘Oh JC – be careful. If Mathieu discovers what you are up to he’ll be furious.’

‘I’ll have to risk it. I’m not convinced he’s not in real trouble. I just want some reassurance that he’s not getting out of his depth with the wrong crowd. I also want to be prepared in case of.…’ Jean-Claude left the sentence unfinished, as he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in despair.

Life in the jungle settled into a pattern for Vanessa as she and Ralph became absorbed into the routine of village life. Ralph, busy helping and recording the building of a small dam on a river near the village, disappeared early every morning with the men, leaving Vanessa to spend her days with Angela and the other women.

Evenings were spent in the large communal hut where, as honoured guests, they were fêted with the best the villagers could provide and entertained with traditional songs and music.

In their hammocks at night in the small hut allocated to them, Ralph told Vanessa about his worries for the village.

‘They seem to think this dam we’re building to help with the gold panning is going to be their path to untold riches. And now some sleaze from Rio has appeared on the scene telling them his boss will help to fund enlarging the mine and sell the gold on for them – all for a big fat rake off, of course.’ He shook his head. ‘They know the mercury he’s going to provide for separating the gold is poisonous and so bad for the forest, but they hear of other villages prospering and they want to do the same. The fact that they’ll probably end up polluting their water supply, poisoning the fish and eroding the forest even more doesn’t seem to be an issue with them.’

‘Can’t you persuade them to stick to just panning for gold without the mercury?’ Vanessa asked.

‘I’ve tried. But they’re desperate and see this as the only way to survive. I wish I could think of some other way they could make the money to buy the essentials like stock and seeds so they can carry on farming in the traditional way.’

‘Eco-tourism like the village we stayed in?’ Vanessa asked.

‘The villagers aren’t keen on the idea of lots of strangers. Besides they’re so poor they don’t have the money to even improve their own basic living conditions. And being so deep in the jungle here, it wouldn’t be easy to organize. I know, I had a few problems getting us here. Most of those eco-camps are within two or three hours of the Amazon.’

He sighed. ‘The trouble is we’re here for such a short time there’s not a lot we can do. The dam should be finished tomorrow, maybe I’ll get a chance to talk to the head shaman.’

He leant across and gave Vanessa a kiss.

‘Nearly forget to tell you: Luigi, the guide, has offered to take us to see the young dolphins. It’s a three-hour trek to get to where they’re being born but should be well worth it.’ And Ralph smiled happily at his wife.

The next morning Ralph left as usual and Vanessa joined Angela and the other women for the daily chores. Today, in addition to the normal cooking and husbandry of the small animals that roamed around the village, they were planning to plant seedlings.

As ever, the humidity in the jungle was high and Vanessa struggled to keep pace with Angela and the others as they went to collect the seedlings from the large government controlled farm where they’d been grown.

It proved to be a long hard day as they planted the small trees on cleared forestland previously grazed by cattle.

From time to time thunderstorms rolled across the sky and torrential rain forced them to stop work and seek shelter. During one of these breaks Vanessa noticed that a couple of the women were muttering unhappily together.

‘They have nothing,’ Angela explained. ‘Life is getting harder and all they hear is how we must take care of the forest. Who is going to take care of us? We have to survive too.’ She shook her head. ‘We have a school now but what work is there going to be for the children?’

‘Will a bigger gold mine help?’ Vanessa asked. ‘Ralph says it’s not the answer, but what do you think?’

Angela bit her bottom lip before replying, ‘If it was a legal gold mine it would help more. But the wrong people will benefit from it.’

Vanessa gazed at her horrified. Did Ralph know he was building a dam to help an illegal gold mine operate?

Before she could ask any more the rain stopped and the women began to move back out on to the wetland.

‘If we are to survive living off the land we need more help,’ Angela added quietly, as she handed Vanessa a trowel and another box of seedlings.

Thoughtfully Vanessa began the rhythmic business of planting the tiny trees – dig hole, drop seedling in, cover and press, on to the next – while trying to work out how Ralph would respond to the news about the mine.

It was late afternoon when Vanessa removed her hat and pushed her damp hair back from her face. Her clothes were wet and sticking to her body and she remembered longingly the delights of a cool shower. At least