by Eben Le Roux
Chapter 25
Peter was feeling much more relieved than before their trip to the police station. Driving away from there, he could see Collin was also more peaceful than an hour ago. They were attended to almost immediately when they arrived. The same detective who was on the scene came to them and asked Peter to wait while taking Collin to his office.
‘Should not be long, sir,’ he said to Peter. ‘I have a full report on my desk already. Just need a few answers from him. Have a seat. I will have the ladies bring you some tea.’
As Peter took his seat, the detective led Collin away. He opened the newspaper and started reading the front-page story, ‘Hobo preacher’s son involved in robbery killing’. Seeing that nobody is watching him, he started to read the article.
Inside his office, the detective sat down in his chair, and asked Collin to do the same. He wasted no time in showing him that he had a case to answer to.
‘Listen, Collin, that man out there is your father?’
‘Yes, sir, he is.’
‘Well, I expect you to be like him, honest and truthful. Can you do that?’
‘Yes, of course, sir!’ The nervousness was creeping back into him, and he was fighting hard not to let it show.
‘Well then, your story so far, we want to believe you. However, there are issues that are bothering my team.’ He starred at Collin, trying to find some guilt in his eyes.
‘Tell me, Collin, why would a man break into a house, stay there undisturbed long enough to search the whole place, and still leave with nothing?’
The question activated such a lot of nervousness that he nearly started to panic openly. ‘I don’t know, sir.’ He knew he had to keep his cool. Anything suspicious, no matter how small, would have the police investigating him.
‘Listen, son, there is no thief in the world who is going to waste his time without leaving with some sort of reward for his efforts. We went through that house, and there are still a lot of Pedro’s tools in there . . . very expensive tools and very easy-to-sell stuff. Still, he did not take anything. Does that make sense to you?’ Again, he looked at Collin as if he was trying to look through him.
‘No, sir, it doesn’t.’ Collin was keeping his cool.
‘I am saying it to you again. That house is full of the deceased’s possessions. I was there yesterday, and I saw plenty of items I would have taken if I were the thief. In one cupboard alone, there were two items definitely worth the money, a radio-controlled jet fighter, still neatly packed in its box, very easy to carry, and a brand new video camera, both worth a lot of money. That cupboard door was standing open. He must have seen it, but he did not take it. You tell me why, Collin.’
‘Sir, as I told you, I do not . . .’
‘Let me tell you then.’
As Collin was abruptly interrupted, he knew this man‘s interrogations was getting to him.
‘I think he knew what he was looking for. Now the question is, “what was it and did he find it and . . . ?’ He pointed a finger at Collin. ‘If he did find it, what happened to it?’ Again, he gave Collin that look, and without giving him a chance to answer, he added, ‘Did he give you something before he died, boy?’
‘No, sir, he did not.’
‘Then where is it, or what did you do with it?’
‘I don’t know what you are talking about, sir?’
‘So you are not going to talk?’
‘Am I a suspect in a robbery, sir?’ Collin started showing annoyance at the detective.
‘Don’t play wise guy with me, boy. Anybody who sits in that chair is a suspect and that is until I am satisfied with the facts.’
‘Well, sir, like I said, I was at the stadium. Max phoned me saying he needed help.’
‘What type of help . . . like a getaway car?’
‘Like I said in the statement, sir, he only phoned me after he got shot . . . not in so many words, but I know he must have been shot already by then.’
‘Can you remember his actual words when he told you he was in trouble?’
‘Not exactly, but he said that somebody was chasing him, and it looked like they wanted to kill him. They had guns. He then told me that he was hiding in some bushes on the corners of Rickets and Bailey . . . I am worried about my father, sir. Can I please go now?’
‘Are you worried or just nervous that we might find something to link you to this case?’
‘I am not nervous, sir.’
‘Then why the hurry, Collin?’
‘I know for sure that there is nothing that I can add to what I already told you, sir’
‘Collin, don’t ever think you are smarter than us cops. Whatever you learnt out there on the streets, every cop in the country knows it in better detail than you. So take this as a friendly warning. If you do not tell us now what you know about this crime, we will come to arrest you for the smallest of reasons that we could connect you to this case. I hope you take this as seriously as I do.’
‘I understand, sir.’
‘Your father is a good man, and I hope you are not the one to disappoint him.’
As Collin listened to the detective, he thought of wishing his past away. He knew then for sure he was done with that life.
‘You can be sure there is nothing more, sir, I promise.’
‘All right then, you can go, but remember I might have to talk to you again. The security guard still has to tell us his side of the story.’
‘I hope he can do so quickly, sir. If there is one man that can clear me for good, it might just be him.’
‘Let’s hope so, Collin, let’s hope so,’ he said, holding the door for him to leave.
While driving, Collin could feel his father’s eyes on him.
‘Something wrong, Dad?’
‘You know, I was going to ask you the same question, son. It looked like your mind was somewhere far away.’
‘Dad...’ he said not taking his eyes off the road. ‘I am sorry for the trouble I have caused you. I should have listened to you. I do not know how I can make up for all the wrongs but I know for sure I do not want to disappoint you again. I know I never said this to you before but I love you dad and I hope you can forgive me.’
A warm feeling went through Peter’s body. He could not remember his son ever told him he loved him. It felt he could cry from the happiness the words had created inside him.
‘Collin I want you to remember one thing. Happiness is not a thing that you can demand or buy. It is something that you have to create. The happiest people on earth are the ones who keep those around them happy. I am just blissful that I have heard those words from you while I am still alive. I love you too my son.’
He looked at his father with a smile. ‘I think I owe you a lot. Let me start with breakfast with you.’
‘Are you taking me out for breakfast?’
‘I guess so.’
Peter’s smile was halfway to laughter. ‘You know that this will be the first time that you’ll be buying me something.’
‘You are so right, Dad, and seeing that I am guilty of that, why not the best breakfast in town?’
Collin took a sudden left and then another left into the next street, heading back in the direction they were coming. Peter looked at him in surprise, as he knew there were dozens of restaurants and eateries in the area where they were.
‘Mind telling me where we are going?’ he asked, still smirking.
‘I said the best for you, Dad. I am taking you to Ismail, getting us some Oriental food. Only this time, it will be paid for.’
The smile on his father’s face said enough to warm Collin’s heart.
Michael Atkinson was surprised by what they saw. Josh, acting like a tour guide, was explaining everything as they went. Kathy was herself very impressed with the set-up. ‘This people definitely knew what they were doing’ she thought as they walked through the building.
‘This area is called “CMT”, for cut, make up, and trim.’ Josh said as they followed him. ‘This here w
as our pride, thirty fully automatic machines running at six different speeds and capable of multiple designs and patterns. At the back, you see a massive table where we cut the material to the size of the product. Behind that door on the left is our storeroom. I think I have to show you the stock of the last lot we made. We still have about two dozen sets in there.’
He selected a key from a bunch and opened a door. Against the wall were stacked boxes and he took out one curtain set that he handed to Kathy.
Kathy immediately fell in love with the colour and design in her hand and was speechless for a moment. Seeing how much she liked it, Josh quickly added, ‘This design was called “Fallen leaves”, and we had it in three different shades.’
‘I love this one. Can I buy it?’ Kathy asked excitedly, and both Michael and Josh could see it written all over her face.
‘No, ma’am, I’m sorry, but you can’t.’ It came with a sad note from Josh.
‘Hey, come on Josh, why not?’ Michael could see the disappointment on his wife’s face.
‘This design was exclusively offered to us by the textile factory. The manager, who is a friend of Andrew, promised not to sell to anyone else within the first four months of the date of our purchase. That was going to be his way of helping us with our sales. Not even one was sold, so we are not allowed to sell any of them. That will make it easier for the police to locate the stolen items.’
They immediately realised the sense in his statement as they both nodded.
Much later, after they had lunch with the Claytons, they joined Josh in his studio. With great interest, they watched him making numerous phone calls and calculations and finally put the phone down and turned towards them.
‘Fifteen out of the previous twenty-three clients want us to repeat their orders. Four, however, reduced their orders by twenty-five per cent, which means we have to make one thousand seven hundred sets. For curtains, we now have orders for just over six hundred sets. All different sizes, but it is fifteen per cent down on our previous orders.’ Josh said it so fast that he sounded overexcited.
‘It still sounds like a lot to me,’ Kathy said, looking at Michael.
‘Sure is, but are you capable of handling all that within their deadline, Josh?’
Josh smiled in confidence when he said, ‘We managed one hundred and fifty bed sets a day during our previous production. Curtains, we managed fifty. You do not have to worry about anything. We have a sixty-two-year-old lady in charge of production. She spent half of her lifetime working with textiles.’
‘How soon can you start with production, Josh?’
‘Well . . . Once we make the payment, they will need forty-eight hours to set up our dyes and prints. As far as I know, they have the specific quality material in stock, so I’ll say one week from now.’
‘I have one final question, Josh, and I hope you do not see it as an insult. The persons managing the business, how good are they?’
‘No sir, no insult at all. I understand that you do not want to part with your money foolishly. On the contrary, that gives me the opportunity to boast a little. You see, thirty percent of this town is made up of retired people. You name any profession, and I will tell you how many of them this town has. Three doctors, four lawyers, two bookkeepers, and we even have an auditor and an electronic engineer. They love it when we call upon them for help, and they all have big respect for Andrew Cohen. I don’t know if Peter told you, but that was the man he saved from taking his own life.’
‘Yes, he told us. What was his role in the business?’
‘He managed this place. He has a very strong business background.’
‘Where is he? Can we meet him, please?’ Michael sounded eager to meet the man who was the brainchild behind this fantastic idea.
‘I’m sorry, but he went fishing this morning and will only be back late this afternoon.’
‘You said this was all his idea to keep this town alive?’ Michael said, still very impressed with what was in front of him.
‘Like I said, sir, this man is very smart when it comes to business.’ Josh was happy in trying to make up for Andrew. He thought it might help to work away some of the guilt that had been following him.
‘Then we want you to keep him. This is going to be my only condition. I promise not to interfere with anything else.’
‘Mr Atkinson, am I hearing you correctly? Are you saying . . . ?’
Michael moved closer to Kathy and put his arm over her shoulder. He finally spoke the words Josh wanted to hear. ‘Yes, Mr Clayton, you can get your guy on the phone. Tell him the money will be available in the morning. Do not worry. We will also allow funds to look after your initial operational costs so, start by paying your staff their outstanding wages first. Are you happy with that, Kathy?’
‘Of course, the faster we get this done, the sooner we can start,’ Kathy responded with high anxiety.
Michael reached out a hand to Josh, who now had an appreciative smile on his face. ‘Josh Clayton, everything is now in your hands. Under normal circumstances, decisions like these would take up to a year to finalise, but in this case, I cannot wait to see myself smiling at my daughters again. I do not expect a cent of this money back as we consider this a gift to your town. I truly believe what the Teacher has told me, that if I allow the happiness of my daughters to live on in others, I will be happily reminded of them. Just do that for my family. It is all we ask from you.’
‘I promise you, Mr and Mrs Atkinson, that for as long as I live, that will be the vision behind this project. I thank you greatly, and you will never be disappointed.’
He then turned to Kathy and filled with a lot of excitement, he said, ‘I’m phoning the supervising lady.’ The two of them watched him pick up the phone. He dialled a number, waited, and then said, ‘Rose I need to talk to you urgently. In the meantime, spread the news that we have an urgent meeting tonight. There is some good news I have to tell everybody . . . make it for six o’clock.’
Kathy looked up at her husband, whispering to him, ‘I’m getting goose pimples, Michael.’
‘Same here, my darling, same here,’ he whispered back.