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Deadly Harvest

by John A. Linton

174 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #01-0259; ISBN 1-55212-859-8; US$18.00, C$21.90, EUR14.30, £10.50

An economic development study group visiting Africa uncovers a scheme to produce and export massive quantities of drugs worldwide. They encounter murder and mayhem in their extraordinary adventures.

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about the book      about the author      Chapter 8      catalogue info

About the Book During the last decade of the twentieth century, the Central African Region, which includes Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo, has been devastated by internecin strife and wars. The United Nations, desperately seeking solutions to the region's problems, have arranged to send an elite team of consultants, led by Dr. Michael Goodman, to investigate. Arriving in Rwanda the team find murder and mayhem commonplace, the economy virtually in collapse and a pervasive feeling of despair gripping the country. Undeterred, Goodman, his associates including two undercover UN intelligence officers, set out to identify potential rehabilitation and development projects. One such is a botanicals processing plant, originally a great success, but now shut down for lack of raw materials. Clandestine investigation of the latter uncovers a rogue group of mercenaries secretly planning to enter the international narcotics trade. Guarded by heavily armed trigger happy soldiers, huge quantities of coca and poppy have been planted in the Parc Des Volcans for later harvesting and conversion into cocaine and heroin at a nearby processing plant. Knowing time is running out the study team resolves to take immediate action. Risking their lives, and those of the farmers and game wardens in and around the Parc, they succeed in burning the raw material stocks awaiting processing, destroying the growing crop, and deporting advisers from overseas drug cartels. All this while recommending the establishment of a National Development Corporation for the benefit of the people.

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About the Author John A. Linton was born, educated and raised in Scotland, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Technological Science from Edinburgh University. Thereafter he, his wife and family lived in Africa for some twenty years during the period when most colonial powers were handing over the reins of government to local inhabitants. After leaving Africa and living for some time in Europe, the family moved to the USA where they now live. As a chemical engineer, Dr. Linton mainly worked on the design, construction, operation and management of chemical process plants. One of his specialties is the growing and processing of botanicals, and he has consulted for the United Nations on two pyrethrum-processing plants in Rwanda. The latter provided the background for his fictional story, Deadly Harvest, a tale of intrigue and adventure dealing with tracking down and eliminating a scheme for the large-scale production and processing of illegal narcotics.

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Chapter 8

    Tuesday morning everyone was up bright and early and joined Mike at the table they had occupied the night before.
    No sooner had Jan sat down than he asked Mike, "Well, what's the plan?"
    "Gerald, Felix and I have an appointment at the extraction plant for 9 a.m., and we plan to be there."
    "Do Anna and I go up the mountain or not?" asked Jan, not to be put off.
    Mike smiled; Jan had risen to the bait. Then he said, "Well I suppose if you must, you must. Although it may be none of our business, it would be good to know one way or another what's going on. Let's face it. It could affect future projects we may be asked to support. Whatever you do, don't take unnecessary risks. We don't want a repeat of what happened to Anna yesterday. Spend time with Brian Hartley going over the proposed route. If possible have him provide you with a reliable guide, someone who really knows the mountains. It could be cold and wet. Felix, will you set out rainwear and camping gear for them?"
    "I didn't know what to expect yesterday," Anna felt she had to say after squirming a little during Mike's lecture, "but I do now. You can be sure we'll be careful."
    "How long do you think your little expedition will take altogether?" Mike asked Jan.
    Thinking out loud, "I'm guessing two hours to Brian's farm and eight hours through the forest and over the ridge." Jan said. "Another six hours camping, eight hours in and out of the growing area, and ten hours back to Ruhengeri for a total of 34 hours. If we start this morning we should be back by late Wednesday evening."
    "Your guess is as good as any," Mike said. "But I think Gerald, Felix and I will drive up to Brian's tomorrow and meet you there when you get back. We'll see you late afternoon or early evening, assuming all goes well."
    When Rover One arrived at the factory it was met in much the same way as Gerald, Felix and Mike had seen when the Mercedes carrying 'the mystery trio' and Minister Akagera had arrived the previous Saturday. The factory manager, Faustin Musemakweli, was there to meet them personally. Gerald, taking the lead, thanked him in French for responding to his note of yesterday and for taking time out of his busy schedule to receive them today. Gerald's diplomatic approach seemed to disarm Monsieur Musemakweli who amiably set about showing the visitors around the factory.
    "The layout of the factory is simple -- a square divided into two roughly equal rectangles by the main north-south access road. The east rectangle contains the non-process buildings and the west the process buildings."
    As Musemakweli and the visitors strolled down the access road, he pointed out the various buildings as they went along, beginning with the non-process buildings on the east. Mike, who knew all the buildings and their functions in great detail from his past, was content to linger in the rear, just listening.
    "Monsieur Musemakweli, " Mike felt compelled to ask when they reached the raw material warehouse, "do you mind if we look inside?"
    Musemakweli hesitated momentarily, and then responded somewhat brusquely, "But it's empty. Besides, it's locked and the keys have been left behind."
    Mike shrugged his shoulders signifying it was of no consequence, and the group moved on.
    An eight-foot high chain link fence surrounds the factory site. When the party reached the southern end of the access road, Musemakweli pointed through the fence at a very large square steel tank on the top of the neighboring hill while explaining that it was the water reservoir for the factory. At this point the party turned to retrace its steps, but Mike held back. Grabbing Felix's sleeve, he also held him back.
    "Look carefully at the reservoir and the supply pipe coming down the hill and through the fence," he whispered quietly. "It's a useful shortcut into the factory and avoids the main gate."
    On the walk back to the main gate, Musemakweli named the buildings and other features on the west side. Felix and Mike gradually caught up with the group without drawing undue attention. When almost at the gate, Enrico Lopez came out of the refinery building and waved to Faustin Musemakweli and the visitors. The group stopped and Enrico Lopez came over. Enrico Lopez asked Monsieur Musemkweli in French if he could borrow Dr. Goodman for a few minutes; he wanted his opinion on a piece of equipment. Monsieur Musemakweli had no objection and left it up to Dr. Goodman. Mike, with as much grace as he could muster, said yes. Since their visit was almost over, the visitors said thank you and good bye to Monsieur Musemakweli, and joined Enrico Lopez.
    Inside the refinery, Lopez led the group down the center aisle to one end of the building. Pointing to a 20 foot high column against the wall, he said to Mike, "This is the distillation column used for recovering methanol; could it be used for recovering other solvents like ethanol?"
    Sure I recognize the column, thought Mike to himself, haven't I spent many hours slaving over it in the past. Aloud he responded to Lopez, "The short answer is possibly, yes, provided that the operating conditions can be changed to suit. And provided throughput, solvent losses and product quality are not too critical. You mentioned ethanol; unfortunately it is not so easy to distill. In general, ethanol columns have to be fairly tall, say at least forty feet, to produce a quality product. Even then the highest concentration that can be reached is around 95%, or 190 proof. Ethanol cannot be completely separated from water as they form an azeotrope. I can't be more specific without knowing much more about what you hope to achieve."
    "Thank you, Dr. Goodman, for being so helpful," Lopez said. "You have confirmed my understanding that more needs to be done."
    Saying their good byes to Lopez, Mike, Gerald and Felix retreated to the main gate and Rover One, and drove back to home base, the Muhabura. There the three talked over their impressions of the morning visit.
    Mike zeroed in on what he had seen on the outward leg of their stroll. He had seen lots of evidence of recent heavy truck traffic. The dirt road between the boiler house and the raw material warehouse was deeply rutted and the tire tread marks were sharp and fresh.
    "So that's why you asked Musemakweli if we could look inside?" Gerald interrupted. "I think you got your answer, at least indirectly; there was something inside."
    Felix also had a question; but first he recounted their visit to the brewery where they had seen the distillation tower for alcohol recovery. Then he asked "Is the brewery alcohol similar to the ethanol you talked about with Lopez this morning?"
    "It may be coincidence," Mike replied, "but they could easily be one and the same. The alcohol in beer, or in wine for that matter, known simply as alcohol, is ethanol or ethyl alcohol."
    "So the extraction plant might be the brewery's customer, which is interesting!" Felix exclaimed.
    "The visit to the extraction plant was rather dull because really there were very few people there and nothing much was happening, " Gerald observed.
    Mike picked up on this saying, "You could be right. But maybe it was what we didn't see that would be interesting."
    Felix broke the silence. "You think we should pay it another visit by ourselves, perhaps? Is this why we were studying the water reservoir and the back fence?"
    "Yes, let's talk about it," Mike nodded. "Incidentally, when the plant was built there was a slot about two foot wide and four foot high left in the chain link fence for the water supply pipe to pass through. The slot is still there but overgrown with grass and weeds. Felix, I showed you the short cut this morning."
    Felix nodded in agreement and said, "Yes we could slide through there, but I assume you want to go further. You want to get into the raw material store, which was locked this morning. How do we do that?"
    "I've though of that, too," Mike laughed. "The store is opposite the extraction building and the two are connected by an overhead walkway open at both ends. It's used for carrying bags of raw material from the warehouse into the top of the extraction plant. We can get into the extraction plant on our bellies under the piping entering the building; then it's straight upstairs through the extraction plant and over the walkway."
    Mike looked at Gerald and Felix. "What do you think? Should we do it?" And with both Gerald and Felix nodding in agreement, he said "Ok, let's do it; let's make a plan."
    But Felix wasn't quite ready. He turned to Mike and said, "Remember Dowdi? This is Tuesday and we promised to meet him at the Simba tonight!"
    Mike gasped. He had forgotten; but then he said, "Of course, Dowdi; that's a great idea. Let's try to persuade him to come with us. He knows the plant better than anyone else. He would be invaluable. Now, back to the plan."
    The elements of the plan evolved as follows. 1) The outing would take place Tuesday, leaving Muhabura at 10 p.m. on foot and being on location by midnight. 2) The participants would be Gerald, Felix, Mike and hopefully Dowdi. Mike and Dowdi will enter the store; Gerald will serve as lookout on the overhead walkway; and Felix will be the rear guard at the fence. 3) Needed equipment: flashlights, climbing rope, gloves, dark clothing. 4) Information needs: after hours staffing, lighting. Check with Dowdi. 5) Action: reconnoiter, route up and around reservoir hill -- Gerald and Felix; collect Dowdi from Simba * Felix.
    Having fully discussed their plan, it was time to have lunch. Afterwards, it was time to reconnoiter. The three jumped into Rover One and, with Mike at the wheel, drove through downtown Ruhengeri and turned into Factory Street. Just short of the extraction plant, Mike dropped off Gerald and Felix with the promise he would come back and pick them up in exactly two hours.
    From where they were dropped off, Gerald and Felix could just see the extraction plant entrance and the surrounding fence. They set off to walk a wide loop round the factory, always keeping the fence in sight. They followed their plan to start eastward, then southward, then westward, and finally northward and back eastward to where they started.
    The first and last legs of the loop were relatively easy and would probably remain so even in the dark; they were within the town boundaries where the land had been cleared for cultivation and grazing livestock. However, going southward proved to be exhausting. The Ruhengeri river was there and flowed southward on a convoluted course which had to be crossed and re-crossed several times. The back, western leg of the trip also proved to be fairly straightforward, but it did include the hill where the reservoir was located. Climbing the hill in the dark would probably be slow-going and tiring. The northern leg also proved to be easy; it contained a meandering foot path and cattle trail used to move cattle southward. It had also been cleared around the neighboring fenced property to the west * the prison for the Ruhengeri Region.
    Gerald and Felix completed the entire circuit in about an hour. Choosing a shade tree by the roadside, they sat down under it to await Mike's return. While waiting they agreed to keep well away from the river and stay to the west side, between the extraction plant and the prison. They also agreed that, while it only took an hour to complete the circuit in daylight, they should allow a total of four hours for the entire outing -- starting from Muhabura, to and from and in and out of the factory and returning to the Muhabura, all in darkness. Being pleasantly tired after their walk, they dozed fitfully until Mike came along and picked them up.
    In the evening Felix went off to collect Dowdi. When they came back Mike was surprised at the change in Dowdi from when he had seen him only four short days ago. He was more like his usual cheerful self and looked considerably smarter as he was wearing what appeared to be new overalls. Felix had acquainted him with what was afoot for later on and Dowdi was willing and raring to go.
    Mike took them through the plan one more time, including what they had learned from Dowdi. At night the plant is completely closed down and locked up. Two night watchmen stay in the gatehouse. One, possibly both, sleep. The gatehouse is lighted, but the rest of the plant is in darkness. Even better, Dowdi had shown Felix a much better route from the factory to the Muhabura, which avoided going through town.
    The town is laid out on a grid. The main thoroughfare and the avenues run east and west. The interconnecting streets run north and south. The residential area lies to the south and west wrapped around the downtown commercial area to the east and north. The industrial area lies well to the south beyond the residential area
    When it was time to go, the group left the Muhabura. Instead of turning east to go downtown, they turned west. At the next intersection they turned south into the street leading to the residential area. Here everything seemed to be in darkness. There were no streetlights, and the houses, showing very little light, were set well back from the street. Each house was located more or less in the middle of its compound with the whole being surrounded by an impenetrable high hedge or fence with only one access gate. Inside each compound was a night watchman armed with a spear or a panga (machete) plus usually a guard dog. In this situation nothing much stirred from dusk to dawn except, on this occasion, Mike's team, which set a fast pace marching along the middle of the street by the light of the moon and stars.
    At the end of the street, where there were no more houses, they broke out into the open. From there they could see not too far away the lights of the prison. This made Dowdi nervous and he made the group back track until they found the relative security of a tree lined avenue with which to traverse past the prison. Once this was done, they again proceeded southward along the cattle corridor between the prison and the extraction plant until they reached reservoir hill.
    Felix made them wait while he went ahead moving diagonally up and around the hill to intercept the water pipe from the reservoir. When he returned he led the team to the water pipe and the climbing rope he had lashed to it. From there it was a simple matter for each member of the party to slide down the hill, with the rope as guide and a brake to prevent them from falling. All four arrived safely at the fence. This was as far as Felix would go; he was the rearguard. He checked their gear. Mike, Dowdi and Gerald had a coil of climbing rope as well. Then he squeezed them through the gap and they disappeared into the darkness.
    Inside the fence all was quiet. Looking intently at the gatehouse to the north, they could just make out the two watchmen silhouetted against the light from the fixture hanging from the ceiling. They began to edge cautiously forward on the main access road until, looking straight upwards, they could see the outline of the overhead walkway darkening the space between the extraction plant and the warehouse.
    "That's where we're going," whispered Mike.
    Having found their bearings, it was relatively easy to locate the exact spot where they would crawl under the piping penetrating the extraction plant wall. With Mike in the lead they crawled through and stood up. Now they had to use their flashlights because the walls of the building cut off even the faintest light from outside. However, by proceeding cautiously, they found the staircase and crawled up the three flights of steps to the overhead walkway. Here Gerald stationed himself as lookout while Dowdi and Mike, with Mike in the lead, crossed over the walkway, feeling their way as they went. When they reached the other side, they beamed their flashlights into the top of the warehouse. It was pitch black, a huge void, which did not give back any reflections.
    Mike paused and tried to visualize what he remembered of the entry. He recalled the warehouse was around 30-foot high, and across the end of the walkway there was a platform, which jutted out over the warehouse about four feet. Mike thought there should be handrails along the end of the platform about three foot high, and beaming his flashlight where he thought they were, he found them.
    Mike took a step forward to grasp the handrail but his feet encountered nothing and he plunged downwards, arms flailing wildly trying to grasp something -- anything. After free falling about ten feet, Mike landed feet first on a stack of empty bags. He tumbled backward, his head striking another bundle of bags which acted as a cushion, but hard without any give whatsoever. He lay there dazed.
    Several minutes went by and then he felt pain, all over his body, it seemed. After a time he opened his eyes. Lying on his back looking upward, he saw a beam of light coming through an opening in the platform overhead and he heard Dowdi calling in Swahili, "Bwana, wapi wewe" (boss where are you).
    "Dowdi, I'm down here," Mike called out. "Go and get Gerald and come down here, down the staircase."
    He heard Dowdi hurry away and while he waited, lying on his back, he recalled that there was usually a door to the trap door through which empty bags being returned from the extraction plant were thrown. It was his luck that the door had been left open. While he waited he managed to sit up and move his arms and legs; they still seemed to function. He slid down the empty bags and landed on the floor. Then, having recovered his flashlight, he made his way gingerly to the bottom of the staircase and sat down. That's where Dowdi and Gerald found him.
    "Are you ok?" Gerald said to Mike.
    "Hardly, but I'm alive and nothing seems to be broken. Let's see if we can get out of here." Mike responded.
    He struggled to his feet, and with Dowdi and Gerald's help, started to climb the staircase slowly and painfully. They made slow progress, having to make frequent stops for Mike to rest, but eventually they reached the top. The offending trap door opening had disappeared. Dowdi had closed the trap door, and the platform, now being innocent of any openings, was traversed safely with Mike heaving a sigh of relief at its end. Crossing the overhead walkway and descending the extraction plant staircase went fairly smoothly and somewhat faster as Mike conquered the pain of walking with his bruises.
    Now they had to crawl under the piping to get out of the building. Dowdi went first and in seconds he whispered back that the way was clear. Then it was Mike's turn, but unfortunately when he tried to wriggle under the piping, his bruised legs and feet decided they were incapable of wriggling and he could only lie there. Gerald came to the rescue by grabbing Mike's shoulders and hauling them out backwards. After some whispered discussion Mike agreed to Gerald's suggestion that he be pulled through the opening.
    Gerald didn't waste any time. Using his climbing rope and starting from the waist, he bound Mike's legs rigidly together down to his ankles and then fed the remaining rope out over Mike's feet to the waiting Dowdi. With Dowdi pulling and Gerald pushing Mike slid under the piping, through the wall and popped out on the other side like a cork from a bottle.
    Having been handled ignominiously like a trussed turkey, on top of being bruised all over, Mike felt awful. When he, Dowdi and Gerald eventually reached the back fence there was Felix, looking anxious.
    "What kept you?" inquired Felix.
    Mike, with considerable restraint, could only shake his head. The return trip through the cattle corridor and the residential area to the Muhabura passed in silence and without incident, except for Mike lagging behind from time to time, and being helped by Felix, who was feeling contrite after questioning their tardiness.
    At the Muhabura the group crowded into Mike's room. They broached Mike's bottle of Scotch, which he said, solemnly enough, was for medicinal purposes. After the second round of Scotch everyone felt much more relaxed. Mike, now also feeling a lot less pain, was able to thank Dowdi, Felix and Gerald for coming to his rescue. After a time the team fell to discussing their outing, piecemeal fashion.
    "Everything went more or less according to plan, except," Gerald said with a grin, "for Mike entering the warehouse without bothering to use the staircase."
    Dowdi followed Gerald and made them all laugh when he described how one minute, Mike was just a step ahead of him and then the next, he had vanished, poof, into thin air. Dowdi had to admit this was the most worrying moment of the night. There were other worrying moments, like when he was close to the prison. He had bad memories of the prison and he worried about the many friends he had inside, who like him were not criminals, but were there for some alleged political affront or other.
    Finally it was Felix who eventually asked the question that was on everyone's mind when he said, "Did we find out anything for all our trouble?"
    There was silence.
    "You know, I think we did find out what's going on." Mike said "When I was down on the floor of the warehouse waiting on Dowdi and Gerald to come to my rescue, I kind of staggered around to see what I could see. The whole store, front to back and up to the roof, is full of bags stuffed with what appear to be nuts." Mike reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a handful of nuts which he carefully placed end to end in a row on the wooden armrest of his chair.
    "What kind of nuts are they?" asked Felix
    "They're not nuts; they're seed pods -- poppy seed pods!" said Mike, who had been studying the nuts carefully as he laid them out.
    Gerald and Felix recognized the significance of what Mike had said. They knew that poppies in the wrong hands could become heroin.
    Mike anticipated their questions and cut them off, saying, "Let's discuss it tomorrow. I need to get some sleep. Felix, can you take care of Dowdi? He can stay here for what's left of tonight."

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Catalogue Information

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