Durant’s phone rang and Masondo spoke so loud, Shabalala could hear every word.
‘Are you responsible for this, Durant?’
‘What are you referring to, Chief?’
‘This cheap, treacherous and downright illegal way of getting the police to find explosives in Mohammed’s room without a search warrant?’
‘I’m responsible, sir.’
‘Well done, my boy. I would never have thought of using a bomb scare to gain access. We don’t mention this again, you understand me? If anybody else asks you, you deny it. Were the SIM card and phone clean?’
‘Of course, sir, untraceable.’
‘Deny it, Kevin, okay? It never happened. I just got a call from the area commander. The dogs found traces of explosives in Mohammed’s room. They’ve taken him into custody and seized a whole lot of documents and a laptop computer. So, again, well done.’
‘Well done for what, sir? I didn’t do anything.’
‘That’s the right response, Mr Durant. Now, I want you and Mr Shabalala to meet a SAPS captain from Crimes Against the State at police headquarters. You be there for the questioning. We need to be sure we’ve neutralised this threat completely so that I can give the Americans the reassurance.’
‘Fine, sir. Done.’
‘And get Amina in. She’s Muslim. Make her part of this investigation. Only her body left the Agency; her mind and soul still belong to us.’
FOURTEEN
Crimes Against the State had a strangely Orwellian ring to it, Durant thought. But, then again, so did State Security Agency. The CAS intelligence branch offices were semi-covert – the nature of their targets called for this – and, from what Durant could see, well funded. The furnishings were upmarket, pictures hung on the walls and there were even office plants. Men and women were at their desks, pounding away at their computer keyboards while others gathered in groups, poring over maps and aerial photographs. To Durant, this felt like a different police force from the one he’d reported Mariam’s murder to a few short days ago. Captain Nick Pather’s handshake was firm and confident. He showed Durant and Shabalala into a small office and closed the door behind him.
‘Gentlemen. I’m carrying the docket on this Mohammed guy and I’d be grateful if you gave me everything you’ve got on him. He’s never come to our attention before. Our file on the sheikh is thicker than his.’
‘We’ve just had anecdotal stuff about Mohammed. Information suggesting he has some radical views and that his fellow students don’t really take him seriously,’ Durant said.
‘We knew a threat was made to the US from the centre, but didn’t have any specific suspect,’ Shabalala added.
‘Until now,’ Pather said. ‘He’s denying any involvement in terrorism or radicalism and maintains he was set up. The explosive traces in his room are pretty conclusive. Forensics haven’t confirmed it’s Powergel, but the wrappings are from Powergel charges, the type used in the mines.’
‘And by the ATM bombers,’ Durant put in. ‘A consignment was stolen a while back – about five kilograms of it. How much did the sniffer dogs find?’
‘Not that much. Just traces, a few grams on the wrappers. So there’s still a large quantity out there?’
‘I’m afraid so,’ Durant said. ‘So we need to ask Mohammed very nicely where the rest is, and who he’s working with. My boss said you’d seized documents and a laptop. How long before we know what’s in there?’
Pather shrugged his shoulders. ‘Could be weeks. The cybercrime guys need to go through the laptop, and we’ll have to send the documents to Pretoria for analysis.’
‘We don’t have weeks,’ Shabalala said. ‘We don’t even have days. This process needs to be fast-tracked; the US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa arrives in a few days.’
‘I heard. We got the brief. They’re locking Durban down.’
‘You know there’s also a US warship sailing into our harbour?’
‘Heard that too. Look, the suspect will be in custody until his court appearance, so we might have some time to investigate this thing.’
‘We need to know if we’ve neutralised this threat completely,’ Durant said, silently knowing that his Christmas plans were ruined either way.
‘I understand your concerns, but these processes take time. It’s a few days before Christmas; it’s the worst time to get anything done. Most people are on leave, the labs close. I’m also working with a skeleton staff here.’
‘What about the suspect? Have you questioned him?’ Durant asked.
‘We can’t question him without his lawyer. Khan and Khan are representing him.’
‘Khan and Khan? Who’s paying?’ The firm had a reputation for defending the meanest and most evil scoundrels in Durban and usually winning the cases. They didn’t come cheap.
‘The centre, apparently.’
‘It’s a strange world,’ Shabalala said. ‘We don’t know our enemies any more. Is anybody on our side?’
Durant smiled. ‘Maybe we could suggest that you guys work with the fbi. One of their special agents is in Durban investigating this thing. I know they have vast resources, resources we can only dream about. Maybe that’ll speed things up?’
‘As long as there’s no interference in the case,’ Pather said. ‘We need to be careful of political and religious sensitivities. It’s a minefield, and we don’t want to get ourselves into trouble. I’ll work with anyone who’s willing to accept that I’m the investigating officer and I maintain control over the case. I’ll work with the FBI under those conditions.’
‘I’ll put it to our boss,’ Durant said.
Masondo frowned and, for the first time since Durant had met him, he saw the lines on his face were deeper, more pronounced. Durant was relieved he was in the field, operational. He didn’t have to deal with senior management’s wrath every day. Masondo had the miserable task of keeping his team motivated and also reassuring his chiefs that progress was being made. The arrest of Mohammed had, to a limited extent, mitigated the effect of the explosion at the dump site, but Durant knew there were still many questions that needed answers. Masondo slapped the newspaper contemptuously with the back of his hand. ‘The sheikh says he is pleased that radical forces aimed at discrediting the centre and the benevolent work it does have been rooted out. The centre is committed to peace and dialogue and building bridges and is unequivocally against violence of any form.’
Durant smiled at Masondo. ‘So the sheikh thanks us?’
‘He’s openly condemned the use of his centre as a “nest of terror” as he calls it and welcomes the arrest of one of the students on suspicion of terrorism. Have we joined all the dots, Kevin? Is this it?’
‘I don’t know, Chief.’
‘That’s the wrong answer, Kevin. I need to be able to tell the DG we’ve neutralised the threat. Have we?’
‘Mohammed used the SIM card to arrange the explosives deal with Nathi Khoza. We know the threat to the Americans was made from the area of the centre. All fingers point to Mohammed.’
‘A singleton? A person working alone?’
‘Police forensics are all over Mohammed’s room and there’s a cybercrime team busy analysing the laptop they found. Pretty soon we’ll know more.’
Masondo nodded. ‘Well done to Mr Shabalala for having a good agent. Where is he, by the way?’
‘Cedric? He had to attend some function tonight; he was already committed.’
‘I see. Well, he deserves commendation for having Ruslan in place. Without a human source, we would never have narrowed it down to Mohammed. Tell him to give Ruslan a bonus this month.’
‘Of course, sir, but I don’t think Ruslan’s working for money. He’s trying to maintain the purity of Islam in his own way. He hates the sheikh, sees him as a fasiq – corrupt. Anybody who trashes the name of Islam, he works against. I guess Mohammed also falls into that category.’
‘Well, our timing has been exemplary. The Assistant Secretary arrives on Friday. Th
e USS Endeavour docks tomorrow. I’m meeting with the FBI attaché later this afternoon. I want to suggest they work with the police on this case and assist where they can. I still don’t understand everything that’s happened here.’
Masondo’s eyes drifted to the door and a wave indicated the conversation was over. Masondo clearly had a lot on his mind and Durant wondered what was troubling him more – his lack of understanding of the case or his loss of control over his daughter.
Amina arrived at the NIA office and was shown into a cubicle by a security officer. She sat down and looked at the laminated card in her hand. ‘Visitor’ it said. Unfair. Why did she still feel so much a part of the intelligence family? She felt an angry jolt in her body which made her hands clench into balls. The card fell to the table. She didn’t want to be an outsider to this world. She wanted to be on the inside again, part of the family, a member. A minute later, Durant arrived with a folder. He threw it onto the table. ‘You’ve got mail! This is the report from the cybercrime experts. These are the emails they found on Mohammed’s laptop. Read it, tell me what you think.’
‘I’ll have to start charging you consultation fees seeing that I’m just a visitor now.’
Durant was embarrassed. ‘Sorry about that, but it’s the rule. We’ll swap it for a membership card soon, as soon as you’re ready.’
Amina opened the file and narrowed her eyes as she read: ‘“The time has come that we are equal, as we kill this kill, Brother Martyr. Rejoice in what it displeases. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. Son of the Arab people – with weapon in your hand, become Shaheed, Insha ’Allah”. “Shaheed” is a martyr.’
‘I believe so. It gets worse and worse, read on.’ Durant sat down in the uncomfortable government-issue chair and leaned back.
‘“Wage jihad against the disbelievers with your self, and with your wealth, and with your word.” This is a quote from the Quran: “Do not think of those that have been slain in Allah’s cause as dead. Nay, they are alive! With their sustainer have they their sustenance, exulting in that martyrdom which Allah has bestowed upon them out of his bounty.” Suicide bombers sometimes quote that verse on their way to martyrdom.’
‘What do you think?’
‘Well, I mean it’s obviously radical stuff. A bit dramatic and over the top, though. I think a real terrorist wouldn’t go through all the rhetoric, he’d just strap the bomb on and detonate it.’
‘So you’re saying this is a case of some idealistic young man just talking the talk, but not walking the walk?’
‘It could be. It could also be a literal call to martyrdom. But so openly?’
‘He was receiving emails, encrypted, but not impossible to crack, from an ip address in Saudi – a person called “Hunbali”.’
‘“Hunbali” is a term used for a very religious person, almost to the point of being obsessed. Perhaps it’s a person or a group that was schooling or grooming him.’
‘If you look at his responses, it looks like they were succeeding. Hunbali talks about walking towards your faith and so on, and he responds “Insha ’Allah. The disaster’s disaster is a blessing; the reward is Eternal Peace.” Isn’t he responding to a call to martyr himself?’
‘Or he’s interpreting messages in his own way. It’s hard to say. These are quotes from the Quran or Hadith – some of them aren’t meant to be taken literally.’
‘It doesn’t make him less guilty, does it? If he acts on messages he’s misinterpreting, he’s still punished for the act.’
‘Well, good luck proving it. I’m sure he’ll have the best lawyer defending him.’
‘Khan squared.’
Amina smiled and shook her head. ‘Khan and Khan? Then you’ve got no chance. You’ll need Islamic scholars helping with the prosecution, but I doubt you’ll find any willing to testify for the State.’
‘And the explosives we found in his room?’
‘Planted there, like he says.’
Durant laughed. ‘Whose side are you on, Amina? Sorry I asked for your help.’
‘I’m only giving you what they’ll give you. Why do you think the Americans used to favour rendition? It’s hard to prove these things in a civilised, democratic society. You take the suspect to a sold-out Islamic country in the East where they can torture him and extract a confession – that’s a lot easier. It’s not going to happen here.’
Durant nodded. ‘You’re right. Why did I think this was going to be easy? Do you really think he’s the guy?’
Amina realised she was twisting the visitor’s card between her fingers. ‘It’s hard to say. It seems a bit convenient, a bit too obvious. Unless he’s a zealot with suicide tendencies that somebody in Saudi was just playing with. He doesn’t come across as a professional. Not at all.’
‘Didn’t even lock his room or secure his laptop away.’
‘Exactly. That’ll come up in the defence. He had nothing to hide. Anybody could have gone into his room and planted stuff there. So keep an open mind. Are you able to talk to him?’
Durant leaned forward and folded his arms on the table. ‘With his lawyer present, yes.’
‘When you talk to him, see if he looks scared. If he was hell-bent on blowing something up in the name of Islam, he’d be arrogant and he’d see his detention as a minor setback in his ultimate plan. Maybe that’ll help.’ Amina looked at the visitor’s card. It had a crack down the middle where she’d folded it.
Durant sighed and leaned back. ‘Whew, I wish you’d come back to the Agency.’
‘I sometimes wish that too.’
‘You shouldn’t have left.’
‘I only left because of Ahmed. It was never what I wanted. I thought everything would miraculously come right once I left. It just got worse.’
‘I think you made a big mistake. The Agency was what kept you going, it’s what you lived for. You’re irreplaceable, I mean that.’
‘Thanks, I’ll put that in my CV when I reapply.’ She waved her visitor’s card at Durant. ‘How’s Arshad, by the way?’
‘Terrible. He’s still struggling to get to grips with his loss. He’s not ready to take Siraj back yet.’
‘And I’m not happy to send Siraj back to that hellhole either. Listen, Kevin, I’m going to start scratching around on my own to figure out what happened to Mariam. I feel I owe it to her, and Siraj.’
‘I won’t stand in your way. I wish I had the time to, but I’ve got to stay focused on this thing now.’
‘I know. It’s fine. I’m going to start by trying to locate that company she works for, Global Research. I briefly met her sister Yasmin at the funeral, but didn’t really talk to her. She seemed a bit unapproachable, but maybe she was just upset.’
‘If you need help with anything, just shout and I’ll give you a hand.’
‘Will you give me access to Mariam’s cell records when you get them?’
‘When I get them. I’m relying on the SAPS investigating officer to do the paperwork so don’t hold your breath. We can’t interfere, but I’m hoping we’ll have it soon.’
Amina stood up and held up the two halves of the visitor’s card. ‘Clean break. Sorry about that.’
Durant laughed. ‘Next time you come to the office, hopefully you won’t need that.’
Masondo looked as bleak as the storm gathering outside his office window. ‘The IT guys have traced the IP address of Hunbali to an Internet café in Riyadh. Our liaison people are talking to the Saudis and they’re investigating from their side. We’ll just have to be patient.’
Shabalala leaned forward and took the page Masondo held out. ‘I wonder if Mohammed even knows who he’s talking to. The Internet’s a wicked machine. You can manipulate it in so many ways.’
‘Mohammed should have known better than to engage in discourse which threatens state security. Whether he’s innocent or guilty becomes immaterial. In my eyes, he’s guilty of undermining our country’s security.’ Masondo closed his blinds as the storm cracked overhea
d.
‘Or he’s a clever decoy to get our attention off whoever’s really plotting something,’ Shabalala ventured.
‘Everything seems to point just too neatly to Mohammed. The rhetoric, the explosives link and now the Internet communication to Saudi. Cases aren’t meant to be so easy to crack, and this is a complex case. It feels like we haven’t worked on this enough to have all the answers.’
‘Mr Masondo, we’ve worked hard.’ Shabalala was on the defensive. ‘Mr Durant and I are now working this case only. We’ve broken records in identifying people and recruiting them. We’re under a lot of pressure.’
Masondo looked intently at the man in front of him. Shabalala had drive and determination and there was no doubting his commitment to the profession. An honourable man. He looked away. ‘Look, the Riyadh link is by no means the end of this investigation. You have Ruslan right in there, he knows this man.’ Masondo paused for a moment. ‘He needs to give us more.’
‘I agree, sir.’
‘Good. And step up the clandestine comms with Ruslan. Fewer personal meetings. Use dead letter boxes or cut-outs. They might be watching him. I don’t care about him, but I don’t want you in harm’s way. I’ve been through that once with Mr Durant, and I never want to go through that again. So be careful.’
‘I’ll do that, sir.’
‘And I’m saying that not because I particularly like you, but just because there’s a lot of paperwork if something happens to you, you understand?’
‘Perfectly, sir.’
‘Right then. Go out and collect.’
In the consul-general’s office on the twenty-sixth floor with Fulham was the last place Khalid wanted to be. The arrival of a dignitary in Durban couldn’t have come at a worse time. How could he focus on security issues when his head was filled with demons? He was sure they could see he wasn’t himself. Cheyenne was there and he hadn’t complimented her. She would have noticed. Berkeley, providentially, was too busy to be distracted by insignificant events like the fact that he hadn’t delivered the local security brief for the past two days. Fulham. There was something disturbing about him.
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