A Killer's Calling: Incite to Murder 1

by John Stuart Owen

  ‘Geen probleem . . . Boer maak a plan!’ Kobus had the situation sorted. All eyes interconnected. ‘Let’s go find a body!’

  ‘That’s fine Kobus; but where? and how?’ Piet looked around for suggestions.

  Andrew took over the reins. ‘Look we can’t do much today, we’ve all had a drink and we really need to have our wits about us; but I can show you where they think the man may be. We can walk there quite easily.’

  Ten minutes later they were traipsing the cliff path. Starting in pairs, Andrew and Piet led the quartet until the narrowing trail had them in single file. They were lucky with the weather; the recent rains had receded and some sunlight was beginning to break through the clouds. The gulls were circling above them as they neared the cliff edge.

  ‘Jeez! Look at that.’ Danie pointed towards a gull that flew past them before dropping out of sight below them. ‘Did you see that? I’ve never seen so many fish in one beak.’

  Andrew had also followed the bird’s flight. ‘That’s a Puffin; amazing what they can catch in one go.’

  Danie stood sniffing the sea air. ‘I can smell fish; they must be feeding their young.

  Never one to miss an opportunity, Piet grinned, ‘Do you know Danie . . . there are only two things that smell of fish! . . . and one of them is fish!’

  ‘Yerra Pieter,’ Kobus was cross. ‘Bliksem! You can’t leave it alone can you? You have to talk filth!’

  Piet struggled to contain his mirth. He knew how to upset Kobus, whose strict moral predilection made him fair game. They all laughed quietly as he continued to rant.

  ‘We’re here!’ Andrew moved aside as they approached the cliff edge.

  ‘Not too close boetie!’ Piet was nervous as Danie tried to peer over the edge. ‘There’s no way we can see what’s down there. We’ll have to go over . . . abseil . . . but how to get back? . . . that’s not so easy.?’

  ‘Where’s that rope ladder we made; the one we used on Tryfan?’ Kobus recalled one of their earlier trips to the north.

  ‘It will be there, back at the house with the other kit. My Mom wouldn’t have thrown it out . . . but it’s only about sixty feet long and the drop is a lot further than that!’

  Piet countered. ‘It will do . . . as long as we don’t go below it, we can get back.’

  ‘This we that you keep referring to . . . you mean me don’t you?’ Danie’s remark was aimed accusingly at his brother.

  ‘Look Danie, I’m the brains of the outfit; Kobus signs the cheques . . . that leaves you. I would do it myself but I need to co-ordinate the operation. You should be proud to know that we have got such faith in you to carry out the task. There’s a lot resting on you.’ Piet winked at Andrew as he spoke.

  ‘We’re going to need to secure our ropes to something; something that’s not going to shift. If it’s me that's going over . . . I need to know that I’m coming back.’ Danie was edgy as he looked around for a suitable anchor point.

  Piet was ahead of him. ‘Here! . . .’ Danie crossed the path to where Piet was kneeling. ‘This rock seems to have fallen from above . . . but I can’t shift it. Give me a hand.’ The two brothers heaved together, but the mass of the boulder resisted their efforts.

  ‘That’s perfect! It’s not going to move.’ Danie was happy with his anchor point.

  Spirits were high as they retraced their steps back to the house; now they had a plan. ‘Andy, where are we going to sleep? Do you have bedding? Should we organise a hotel or boarding house?’ Piet was concerned; Andrew had no idea that they were arriving; he could not be expected to play host to three visitors.

  ‘All the bedding has been laundered so you can take whichever room suits you.

  I’m already in the second bedroom but there are four others; take your pick! We’ll have to get some food in, but tonight we can have a pizza or a Chinese delivered.’

  The evening passed quickly; the three weary travellers struggled to stay awake as the chat began to falter. One by one they made their excuses until only Piet and Andrew remained.

  ‘You know Piet, after my Dad died I begged my Mom to give up this place. I was worried about her safety, being on her own with whoever decides to stop over, but it was what she wanted to do. I feel guilty now . . . I should have been more insistent and brought her back to Jo’burg; after all, it was my Dad who wanted to come back to the UK in the first place . . . but she wouldn’t have it.’

  ‘You must stop blaming yourself. None of this is your fault. We all live our lives never knowing what’s around the corner. Coming from where we do, you should know that better than anyone. But living over here, that knock on the door . . . you would never expect it to be a killer calling! But you can’t live your life in constant fear of the unknown; you’d end up a wreck! Whatever has gone on here, no-one could have foreseen. Kom nou, it’s late. You need to hang in there; let’s see what tomorrow brings.’

  Chapter 52

  The patter of rain on the windows woke the sleeping band of brothers. They each cursed in their own way at the thought of losing a day to the weather; hot coffee had them back on course. Kobus and Danie set off to town to collect supplies whilst Piet and Andrew set about finding the climbing gear they were going to need for the cliff descent.

  The stock room was exactly as they had left it some two years earlier. The coiled ropes were still neatly stacked. Boots, coats, harnesses, crampons; they were all there.

  ‘I didn’t realise we had such a stash tucked away here . . . and it’s all good stuff. I’ll have it all shipped back home when we’re done.’ Andrew was quiet for a moment as the realisation that his home away from home was to be no more.

  Piet picked up on the mood change. ‘We’ve got all we need here. As soon as the boys get back we can start to organise our sortie. You need to know what has gone on here to get some closure. Maybe your Mom’s death was an unfortunate accident, but if it wasn’t, you need to know that too.’

  ‘You don’t need to worry about me Piet; I’ll be fine. Just a touch of melancholy that’s all. Ah! Look what I’ve found!’ Andrew held up a small cardboard box. ‘It’s a couple of walkie talkie handsets that we bought and never used. Danie can go over the edge with one of these. We won’t be able to see what’s going on and we need to know what he’s up to. We just need some batteries. We can get them then when go into town to get a bite to eat. By the way, what’s the weather doing?’

  Piet was at the window before he had finished the question. ‘It’s brightening up. We should be on for this afternoon.’

  Happy with their preparations, Andrew and Piet relaxed and their talk began to centre on work related problems.

  ‘Ons is hier!’ A shout from the hallway broke up their discourse. ‘It’s stopped raining!’ Kobus’s voice heralded a feeling of excitement as they came into the room.

  ‘Are you okies ready to roll?’

  Andrew smiled; the mood was picking up. ‘Yes, we’ve got the kit ready. We just need to lay it all out and we can get up there this afternoon. How did you guys get on?’

  ‘We got everything on the list . . . and a few things extra.’ Danie had a twinkle in his eye.

  ‘Such as?’ He’d aroused Piet’s interest.

  ‘Let’s say we won’t go thirsty!’ An hour and four pizzas’ later, they were on their way.

  The car had been loaded, batteries purchased and the two way radios were up and running. ‘We can park up by Sturgess’s place; it’s as far as we can get with the car and I’m sure that he won’t mind.’ The tone was quiet as they set about sharing out the climbing gear.

  ‘Take plenty beers; we’re going to need them.’ Danie’s remark went unchallenged. A glimpse of sunshine breaking through the clouds spurred them on their way. Thirty minutes later they were offloading their tackle. Danie set about climbing into his harness. The three point fastenings were double checked; nothing could be left to chance.

  ‘We just need two ropes; one for Danie and one for the ladder.’ No one questioned Piet’s
direction. The ladder was unrolled along the cliff path and a length of rope attached. The free end was wrapped around the anchor boulder, leaving just enough rope to secure the first rung of the ladder close to the path edge.

  ‘Danie, your rope is 100 feet long. We need a good knot level with the end of the ladder. We don’t want you sliding past the bottom step or you won’t get back!’

  The ropes were laid out along the path next to the ladder, the knot now positioned level with the bottom rung. The free end was pulled around the boulder from the opposite direction and secured, separating the two ropes by about three feet. This would ensure that Danie on his way down wouldn’t get entangled with the ladder.

  ‘Are you ready?’ Danie nodded; a nervous tension was evident. ‘Let’s get you hooked up.’ Piet lifted the climbing rope, putting a twist in it as he did so. The small loop so formed, he connected to the carabiner; the locking ferrule was closed. A figure eight device was connected to the rope and the unit clipped neatly onto the harness centre strap. Danie leant back hard; immediately he applied pressure, the rope locked.

  ‘Here, we can clip this handset to your harness strap. We need to keep in contact.’ Piet placed it in position, double checking the harness as he did so. ‘OK boet! Let’s do it.’

  Danie edged his way backwards down the slope leading away from the path, the surface crumbling slightly as his boots scuffed the surface. In no time he reached the edge. He shouted back as he kicked off, ‘Tot siens!’ And in a second he was out of sight.

  Piet held the radio to his ear. ‘Danie . . . Danie . . . Wat sien jy? . . . Is jy OK?’ The crackle of static hissed in his ear. There was no response.

  ‘What’s up Piet?’ Andrew moved to his shoulder.

  ‘Blicksum . . . Bastard radio. I’ve got nothing.’

  Kobus was first to respond. ‘Well the rope is still taut, so he’s still on the end!’

  He felt the ladder. ‘Nothing on here, so he’s still going down.’ The three stood together, eyes and ears all trying to pick up something . . . anything! The minutes passed; the anxious thoughts began to cause them all some distress.

  Pieter began to pace. ‘I’m going to go down the ladder. Quick, get a rope on me!’

  ‘Let me go Piet.’ Andrew pushed him aside. ‘I’m a bit more agile than you; stay here and watch me down . . . Is that your phone?’

  Piet felt his pocket. ‘Yes it’s my phone. Who the hell is calling me here?’ He looked at the screen.

  ‘Shit . . . It’s Danie!’ He looked wide eyed at his mates as he connected. ‘Where the hell are you?’

  ‘I’m hanging on the end of this bliksem rope! Where do you think I am?’

  ‘What happened to the radio?’

  ‘Fuck the radio Piet . . . What happened to me? . . . I had to drop blindly through a bush that was blocking my way and landed on top of this bloodied corpse of . . . it must be our man. He’s got the remains a dog hanging around his neck. It’s almost bitten his head off and God, the birds have made a right mess of the rest. . . .Yuk!’

  ‘Can you get some pictures?’

  ‘That depends!’

  ‘On what?’

  ‘When I landed on top of this lot, I got such a fright . . . that’s when the radio went. I tried to grab it but lost my grip and fell below the ladder. The ladder has hooked on the bushes so it’s above me, out of my reach. Can you pull me up about ten foot; I can try and climb on.’

  ‘Hold tight, we’ll pull you up . . . Stay on the line and tell us when you’ve got it.’

  ‘You can do me another favour; move me over towards the ladder, otherwise I’ll have to climb over the top of this stinking mess.’

  Grabbing hold of the abseil line, three pairs of hands heaved in unison. ‘Nearly there . . . Got it!’ There was relief in Danie’s voice. Ten minutes later his head appeared over the cliff edge. Three pairs of eager arms reached out to haul him to safety.

  ‘That’s put me off biltong for life . . . Jesus’ . . . Danie shrugged his shoulders. ‘Where’s that beer?’ The four buddies sat on the cliff path, their cans of lager emptying rapidly. They flicked through shots on the cellphone. All of them were used to seeing animal carcases in various stages of dismemberment. Hunting and farming played a big part in their normal activities and all were adept at skinning and preparing game for eating, but this was different. The close up shots showed the damage the dog had inflicted on the hapless Sturgess.

  ‘You can see what’s happened.’ Kobus pointed at the screen. ‘The chain has caught on that stump and they have come together as they fell. God, what are the chances of that. If either had been a couple of feet apart, the dog couldn’t have carved into him like that.’

  ‘Yea, you’re right,’ Danie nodded, ‘in fact if the chain hadn’t caught the tree, they would have fallen straight down and died on the rocks at the bottom, straight off.’ He smiled as he looked up. ‘At least it would have been a quick death; I wonder how long they hung like that?’

  Piet was quiet, imagining how the final hours must have passed for the man and his supposed best friend. He shrugged at the thought. ‘Right! What now?’

  Andrew took out his mobile. ‘I’ve got that copper’s number here; let me get hold of him.’ A few rings later . . . ‘Inspector, this is Andrew Vaughan . . .’ The conversation passed quickly; Andrew closed his phone. ‘He’s on his way!’

  ‘What did he say?’ Kobus wanted the details.

  ‘He just whistled . . . kept saying, well I never! Well we’ve found his body but I don’t know how the hell he’s going to find out how he fell off the path. The dog could have slipped and dragged him over!’ Quietness descended over the group.

  ‘Andrew, we’ve done our bit. It’s up to them to come up with the answers. You’d be amazed what they can find out you know, these forensic guys.’

  ‘You’re right . . . at least we might get some movement now.’

  * * *

  It took Bryn Williams about an hour to reach them. He appeared, huffing and puffing, dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief.

  Andrew leaped to his feet. ‘He’s over there Inspector, hooked to a tree stump. The dog has torn him to bits . . . there’s not a lot left of his face, or neck, but here . . . have a look at the pictures.’

  Danie produced the camera phone and handed it to the Inspector.

  Bryn called to Andrew. ‘These must be your South African pals?’

  ‘Yes . . . Sorry for not introducing them but . . .’

  ‘Pleased to meet you gentlemen . . . Let’s have a look at what you’ve got here?’ Bryn paged through the shots, whistling quietly as he did so. ‘Well boyo, you’ve done a great job. I can’t believe how well organized you are; it’s amazing what you've achieved. Right, I’ll get this called in. It’s going to need a chopper to lift him clear, and it needs to be done pronto.’

  The gear was quickly collected and the small group made their way back to the cars. Bryn took Andrew aside. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow; let you know what I've managed to achieve.’

  Half an hour later they were back at the house. Fatigue set in immediately as each commandeered the nearest vacant chair. A quiet sense of accomplishment spread like a blanket over the intrepid group.

  ‘D’you know what?’ Three heads turned to look at Andrew. ‘We’ve achieved in a day what the cops have failed to come up with, in weeks, with all their bloody resources . . . and it’s all due to you okies!’

  Three smug smiles radiated back; Kobus, his hand rolled into a fist, polished his nails on his sleeve. ‘What did you expect? Boer maak a plan.’

  Chapter 53

  ‘Enough of the self adulation’ . . . Piet got to his feet. ‘This stuff isn’t going to put itself away.’

  ‘It’s is all going back to SA Piet: I’ve got a pallet out back, let’s load it.’ Andrew disappeared outside. A stash of cardboard boxes was produced and the climbing gear quickly stowed.

  Kobus was keen to continue. ‘What else have you got in here Andy?
We might as well empty the cupboards and finish off this pallet.’

  ‘I don’t know . . . just pull everything out. It’s all got to go.’

  A call from Danie caught his attention. ‘Have you seen this?’ He was holding a cupboard door open. ‘There’s a TV in here . . . looks like a DVD as well. Hold on there’s power on it! Why would there be power on it, locked away in a cupboard?’

  ‘God, that’s a DVR! It’s a CCTV recorder.’ Andy switched the monitor on . . . the screen stayed blank.

  Piet looked over his shoulder. ‘Hey . . . Danie go walk about . . . in the foyer . . . outside . . . anywhere.’ As he left the storeroom, all eyes watched intently. He walked into the hallway and a roar escaped from the watching trio. Piet couldn’t contain his glee. ‘We’ve got you on TV!’

  Andrew was quiet for a moment. ‘What can this machine tell us about my Mom’s . . .’ His voice tailed off.

  ‘Andrew, there should be a menu. Let’s see what we have available.’

  Over the next few minutes they had the measure of the unit. Only one camera was being used, triggered by movement in the foyer. It continued to record for 30 seconds after the person had left the area. A date and time catalogue of recordings enabled them to go back to a specific track. They quickly had Ruth Vaughan busying herself around the reception area. Andrew fought to keep back the tears, as he watched his mother. It had been a year since he had seen her, but she looked good . . . that infectious smile, still very broad. She hadn’t changed.

  Piet saw the pain. ‘Danie, will you go to my room for me?’ He gestured as though he was drinking a tot.

  Danie arrived back, a bottle of KWV Brandy firmly gripped in his hand, a cluster of glasses in the other. A good two finger measure of the 10 year old spirit was soon decanted.

  Andrew looked up as a glass was thrust in his hand. He had been unaware of the activity going on around him. ‘You know I don’t drink this stuff!’