Ellie drove Petro Steyn’s car home. On the way, the older woman asked a few more times what kind of person would shoot people in broad daylight. Ellie didn’t try to give her an answer.
At Petro’s home, Ellie made tea and they sat at the kitchen table while Ellie searched for pictures of various vehicle models on her phone.
It was difficult, because from experience she knew people’s ideas of a big vehicle differed. Women often found it particularly difficult.
“No, bigger,” Petro said when Ellie showed her a picture of a Toyota Land Cruiser. “And more boxy.”
Half an hour later they struck gold when a picture of a Hummer appeared on the screen.
“That’s it. That’s the one. Black as well.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I don’t know much about cars, but I know what I saw. When it came speeding past and slowed down right in front of me, I thought, What an ugly car!”
Ellie was relieved when a friend arrived whom they had called earlier. She didn’t want to leave Petro on her own. Half an hour later Nick turned up and Ellie handed the woman her card.
“If you remember anything else, or if you need us, please call.”
“Thank you.” Petro squeezed her hand. “It was kind of you to bring me home. I don’t think I would have managed on my own.”
“Where’s Clive?” Nick asked as they got into his bakkie.
“He went to the office.”
When he pulled away, Ellie felt the chill she had been suppressing all afternoon settle inside her and she shivered. Nick gave her a sidelong glance, but didn’t speak.
“Did you find someone to stay with Gabriella?” she asked.
“Yes, fortunately she has plenty of friends and a few cousins as well. When I left, the house was full of people.”
“You can’t afford to lose focus now.”
He looked at her again but he didn’t respond. She noticed the tension in his shoulders and face.
“We can’t afford for you to lose focus, Nick. Tell us if you feel you’re too close to the fire. You’re not the only one who’ll burn if things get out of hand. The ideal would be to take a day or two to sort out your feelings, but it’s out of the question. You told me on Saturday I had one night to exorcise my demons. I’m telling you the same thing. Go home and do what you have to do. Come back tomorrow and we’ll see where we are. In the meantime, I’ll try to put everything we’ve got so far in context.”
“I don’t need to go home.”
“As you wish, but I won’t be smiling if you make mistakes because you refuse to listen to advice.”
“I won’t make mistakes. And spare me the psychobabble.”
Ellie did not answer.
CHAPTER 27
Ellie went around to the back of the house to make the call. Nick, Clive and the rest of the team were in the dining room, still trying to cover all angles. Occasionally she heard Nick raise his voice.
Happy picked up after the second ring. “Yes, howzit?”
“Not good. I need your help. Is there any chance you could put a tail on Elroy for a couple of days?”
“In this old world there’s always a chance, but it’ll cost you.”
“Do you know someone who could do it?”
“As I said, anything is possible. But nothing comes cheap.”
“How much? I’ll pay.”
“I scheme I can get him for about two thousand.”
“Good grief, it’s not like he’s going to work himself to death. I’m talking about keeping an eye on someone.”
“Okay, I’ll find out, but I know him. He doesn’t believe in charity.”
“Happy, Elroy can’t know he’s being watched.”
“No shit. In that case it will probably cost you more.”
Ellie gave an involuntary smile. She had often wondered where Happy would have been if he’d had better opportunities in life.
“I want to know where Elroy is and what he’s doing. Tonight still, if possible.”
“I’ll get back to you.”
Ellie was just about to go back inside when her phone rang.
“Hello, Miss McKenna? It’s Petro Steyn.”
“Hello, Mrs Steyn. Can I help you?”
“I remembered the registration number of the car.”
Ellie noticed that her hands were trembling.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I don’t know why I forgot it in the first place. It’s our wedding day: 3 March ’67. The number is three, three, six, seven. But the two letters that come before the numbers have slipped my mind. Maybe they’ll also come back to me in a while.”
“Mrs Steyn, you’ve just been an enormous help. Thank you very much. Is there still someone with you?”
“Yes, my sister and her husband have come from Kleinmond. They’ll be staying for a day or two.”
“I’m glad. Please let me know if we can help you with anything.”
When Ellie walked back into the room, Nick was giving orders. They were to search for black Hummers with Gauteng plates; he wanted a report of Ken Visser’s movements in the past few days; Vincenzo and Maude Allegretti’s cellphone records of the last couple of days were to be checked, as well as camera footage of the road and the airport. He was kicking over stones in the hope of finding something underneath, Ellie thought.
She crossed over to one of the whiteboards and wrote down the numbers.
“This is the Hummer’s registration number. Preceded by two letters, which we don’t have.”
“Where did that come from?” Clive asked.
Ellie told them about Petro Steyn’s call.
“I wish all eyewitnesses were that sharp,” Clive sighed.
Nick looked at the team. “No one goes to bed tonight before I know more than I know at the moment.”
Jansen was on his phone even before Nick had left the room.
Brenda came in, carrying a tray of coffee. Ellie remembered she had wanted to tell her she was free to sleep at her own place again, yet she found herself reluctant to do so.
“Thanks.”
“I’ll ask around about that number.”
“I don’t want …” Ellie began, and Brenda nodded.
“I know.”
“Do you know what a Hummer looks like?” asked Nick.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Do you know someone who drives one?”
Ellie saw the expression in Brenda’s eyes change.
“I used to know someone.”
Clive took a mug and sat down. “We’re missing something … Could be these cases have nothing to do with each other. We’re trying to make a connection, but maybe there isn’t one.”
“If you believe that, you don’t have a fucking clue what’s going on here.”
Ellie realised it was helplessness that was making Nick so aggressive. “Of course it’s possible that the cases have nothing to do with each other, but it’s highly improbable,” she said. “I think we’re looking at a domino effect. Each event is the result of something that happened before.”
“Then I suppose we must ask ourselves what that first domino was,” Clive said, also ignoring Nick’s outburst. “Was it Clara’s disappearance, or did something happen before that which we don’t know about?”
Ellie drew an X on one of the whiteboards. “Let’s admit that we don’t know what happened first.”
Underneath the X she wrote: Clara kidnapped. She drew two divergent lines. Next to one she wrote: Allegretti shoots Patrice. Next to the other one: Allegretti looking for money. From there she drew more lines and wrote: Gabriella, his mother, Abua Jonathan, Barkov. From Jonathan’s name she drew a line and wrote: Club – drugs.
Then she turned to the other board. At the top she wrote: Rhino horn. She drew lines and wrote: Barkov, Mang, Allegretti, Visser. From Allegretti and Visser’s names she drew lines that ended at Mang’s name.
Everyone was silent. She finished her coffee before going back to the boards.
She circled Allegretti’s name.
“In the first scenario, no one lost anything. No one gave him any money, except Jonathan, but that was after Clara had already gone missing. Let’s take everyone out of the picture. She circled all the names, except Jonathan’s, which she underlined. “In the second scenario, Allegretti, Visser and Mang suffered a loss. This means Mang could have kidnapped Clara to get his money back, though he doesn’t appear to be guilty. Visser might have done it because he can’t pay Mang back. This way, Allegretti alone is paying, without knowing it. But Visser is clearly also keen to find Allegretti. Mang is turning the screws. The attempt to hijack Visser wasn’t a random incident.”
She began to write again: Visser – Mang – abalone.
“What you don’t know yet is that a consignment of abalone was confiscated at the Huguenot Tunnel last night. It belonged to Visser. If you ask me, it was meant for Mang. This means Visser’s back is against the wall today. The question is whether he knew his in-laws were on their way to Cape Town and whether he has any claim on his wife’s inheritance.”
“How do you know about the abalone?” asked Clive.
“Greyling told me.”
She saw Nick’s quick glance and controlled herself with difficulty. She was fed up with being distrusted, but she knew it was the wrong time to take a stand. A muscle twitched next to his eye, and his mouth was a straight line. He might even welcome it if she said something now, so he could blow off all that steam, but they could argue later, she decided.
“If we look at all the above, the people under most pressure seem to be Mang, Visser and Allegretti. Mang has lost a lot of money and Visser and Allegretti owe him a huge amount. Allegretti may have been instrumental in his parents’ death, but it’s unlikely he’d be that stupid. If the murder is connected to him, his sister inherits the lot. Visser, on the other hand, may have taken a chance, seeing that his partner in crime is missing in action.” Ellie pointed at the boards: “All things considered, I don’t think anyone on this board has anything to do with Clara’s disappearance.”
“Who, then?” Clive chewed his bottom lip.
“I don’t know, but I’m following a trail that will hopefully tell us more.” She had decided not to tell Nick about her and Clive’s visit to Elroy. He had enough to think about for now.
Nick looked at Clive. “Who’s the best person to liaise with the press? Call him or her and say we want the story in all the papers tomorrow morning. And, more important, we want it in the electronic media as well. Enzio reads the papers every day. Maybe his parents’ death will convince him that it’s time to come home.”
When no one had anything more to say, Clive looked at his watch. “If we’re done, I have to get to the office. Let me know if you find out anything else.”
Nick went over to the sliding doors and stood looking out while he phoned Monica and told her what had happened.
“I want someone to watch the Allegrettis’ home in Joburg. If Enzio is spotted, notify me immediately. It’s unlikely he’ll just show up and walk through the front door.”
When he had ended the conversation, Nick went to the kitchen and rummaged in the cupboards until he found a bottle of whisky. He poured a generous shot and drained it in a single gulp. He put the glass on the counter and went to his office.
It was eight o’clock when Jansen returned with three pizza boxes, which he put on the dining-room table.
“I can’t imagine anyone has taken the time to eat.”
Ellie saw his gaze wander towards Brenda in front of the TV. She wished she could warn him that that road was scattered with thorns, perhaps even razor wire. He wouldn’t be the first man to end up scratched and bleeding.
Ellie fetched plates in the kitchen. “This is very nice of you.”
“Where’s the colonel? His bakkie is still out front.”
“I think he’s in his office.”
As if he’d heard his name, Nick came walking in. He looked from the pizzas to Jansen.
“Please tell me you brought more than pizzas.”
“I did – the cellphone records. Don’t ask me what I had to do and promise to get them. Fortunately the girl who helped me is a real looker, so it won’t be too hard to keep my promises.” He glanced at Brenda again, but she was eating a slice of pizza and didn’t seem to have heard him at all.
“Enough with the girls and tell me what the cellphone records say.” Nick picked up a slice and took a bite.
“There’ve been a lot of calls to various people in the past three days. Even a few international calls, but nothing out of the ordinary.”
“What would you consider out of the ordinary?”
“A call from his son, or a call to one of the Cape Town groups. If he’d had any contact with the big groups it wasn’t from this phone. And his wife’s is even cleaner.”
“According to Maude Allegretti, her husband was worried about Enzio. Maybe he decided to come and speak to the guys face to face, instead of on the phone,” Nick said. “No wonder you brought pizzas. You’ve got nothing else.”
Ellie saw Jansen shuffle his feet nervously. “I haven’t finished. Visser’s records are much more interesting. He and Mang called each other several times in the past three days.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Guess where Visser’s phone registered this afternoon?” Jansen continued, as if Nick hadn’t spoken. He threw his hands in the air as if he’d just scored a victory. “The airport.” He watched Nick, who stood motionless. “Don’t you think that’s good news?”
“No, because he knows cellphones can be traced. If he was there, he’ll have an alibi. Brenda, call Gaba and ask if they’ve seen anything on camera. I want to speak to Visser tonight.”
“If he was involved himself, it’s possible that he’s also disappeared, or skipped the country,” said Jansen.
“He might lie low for a day or two but he won’t go too far now. His wife has just come into millions. He won’t go anywhere until he feels he’s got his fair share.”
“It’s not a good idea to speak to him yourself,” said Ellie. “If I were you, I’d get Greyling to question Visser.”
“You must be joking.” Nick looked at her as if he truly thought she’d lost the plot.
“Say what you like about him, he’s a very good interrogator. Especially of someone like Visser.”
Nick was shaking his head before she had finished talking. “I don’t care if he wrote the manual. I don’t want him near this case.”
“You should put the investigation first, not your ego.”
Nick narrowed his eyes. “If I hear you talked to him, you’re off the case.”
“You can’t talk to Visser. There’s too much history between the two of you.”
“What history?”
“Visser believes you’re having an affair with his wife.”
“I don’t give a fuck what he believes.”
“This isn’t your case alone.” Ellie moved closer until she was standing right in front of him. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who was squaring up for a fight tonight. Her thoughts kept returning to the vehicle with the three bodies inside.
“Oh, really? I don’t see that any of you have brought anything to the table so far.”
“You’re too busy pumping up your own ego. You don’t see what’s going on around you. You’re a control freak, who trusts no one.”
“Who should I trust? You? While you’ve just admitted you’re still sharing secrets with Greyling? I’d like to know what else you shared with him in exchange for his news.”
“I won’t dignify that remark with an answer. What you’re conveniently forgetting is that you came to me.”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice. If you don’t know that, you’re more stupid than I thought.”
“I needed urgent access to Williams; you were the only one who’d already had contact with him.”
“I’m not interested in
your excuses. The moment you involved all of us, you surrendered control. Make peace with it and let’s get on with the job. I’m telling you again, you can’t talk to Visser. If you do, I’m packing my bags tonight.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Yes.” Ellie turned away and went to her room. She couldn’t decide whether she felt any better. Maybe she should have punched him. Maybe it would have brought her relief from the burning ache in her chest.
CHAPTER 28
It was ten o’clock and Albert Greyling and a colleague were going over the day’s events with Gabriella and Ken Visser at the Vissers’ home.
Nick was leaning against a wall some distance away, his eyes fixed on Ken Visser. He felt as if he was going to have a stroke. He knew his turn would come. There was no way Greyling would pass up a chance like that.
“Mrs Visser, why were you worried about your parents? Surely there could have been many reasons for the delay after they’d landed?”
“Their flight landed on time. How long could the drive from the airport take?”
“All day, I suppose, if that’s what you want,” Greyling said.
“Please don’t waste Mrs Visser’s time with nonsense,” Nick said, and Greyling’s head snapped in his direction.
“I’m trying to find out why she was worried. Did she suspect foul play, had her parents been worried beforehand, or had someone been threatening them? Mr Malherbe, if you feel we’re wasting your time, please wait in another room. We’ll call you when we’ve finished.”
Nick shook his head and folded his arms.
“I was often worried about them,” Gabriella replied. “My father hasn’t been well lately.”
Nick wondered what she had taken. She looked almost resigned and her eyes were unnaturally bright. When she blinked, she seemed to have difficulty opening her eyes again. On the other hand, Ken Visser looked alert, like a meerkat about to make a run for it. His knee was bouncing up and down and his fingers were drumming on the armrest of the couch. He looked at his watch yet again. “How long is this going to take?” he asked.
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