The Rwandan Hostage

by Christopher Lowery

  “You’re forgetting about your father. Your mother refused to say anything about him, so he has to be the one with the money. It’s the only explanation that makes sense.” Leo looked at him incredulously as he continued, “Anyway, I know there’s money about somewhere. A lot of it. And I don’t really care who’s got it.”

  “So you kidnapped me without even knowing who had the money to pay a ransom? Pretty dumb move, don’t you think?”

  Coetzee took another drag and moved uncomfortably on his seat. This kid is really smart. Aloud, he said, “It wasn’t me who planned this abduction. I was just a facilitator, a helping hand. I told you, I don’t know who’s behind it, but they’re ruthless people and now it’s gone too far and I’m out. It’s not what I signed up for.”

  “So this is your way of getting out, to abduct me again?”

  “You’ve got it all wrong, son. The way I look at it, I’ve rescued you. I’ve saved your ass. Look where you are. You’re in a safari park, costing a fortune a night, free as one of those birds, within reason, and I’ll make sure you get safely home when this is over.”

  “When what’s over? I thought you said you’ve saved my ass. I’ve got no money, no shoes, no passport and no air ticket and I don’t know where we are. I may even be wanted for murder. ‘Free as a bird’ I don’t think. What’s the plan now?”

  “I’m talking about a reward, Leo. A very reasonable reward that I’ve earned.” Coetzee dumped the end of his cheroot and tried to find the right words. “The kidnappers must have been after millions of dollars ransom money. I know this because of the costs of the operation. It was a very expensive job, so they’d be expecting a big return on their investment. Now I’ve got you out of their control I’ll make sure that you get home safely just as soon as I see a reward for my intervention.”

  “But I keep telling you we’ve got no money. And my father, whoever he was, I doubt he even knows about me, never mind throwing away money that you’re guessing he’s got just to save my ass.”

  The security chief moved nervously again. This was all pure conjecture. He had no idea who had the money in this business, but he knew there had to be someone, someone very wealthy. “Leo, for Christ’s sake stop arguing! I’m offering to return you safely for a small reward. You and your mother should be happy about that. I’ll look after you and deliver you without harm for a fraction of the ransom that the perpetrators would be demanding. It’s a good deal for everyone.”

  Leo was frightened and worried. He’d sent a message to his mother at about nine thirty last night. Twelve hours ago. Now he was no longer in Polokwane and he had no idea where she was. He knew she must be crazy with worry and he had no way of contacting her. With all the luck in the world he wouldn’t last long on his own outside the lodge. This was a tough and violent country and they seemed to be in the middle of a massive jungle, probably the Kruger, he imagined. His only chance of escaping was by finding out where he was and getting a message to someone, so they could contact his mother. He was trying to put out of his mind that he’d committed murder and assaulted and shot a police sergeant. He couldn’t make a move without the risk of being arrested.

  Maybe she’s answered my text. It’s the only contact she’s got. I have to get hold of Blethin’s mobile again. He sat looking out at the river and said nothing more.

  FORTY

  Diepkloof, Gauteng, South Africa

  Sergeant Nwosu was sitting at a table in his boyfriend’s flat. He was working on his laptop. His shoulder was still aching and painful but Jamie had examined it and declared it was unbroken and would fix itself, given time and rest. He worked as a trainee nurse at the Lesedi Private Hospital, near Diepkloof, so his diagnosis comforted the policeman. After dressing the wound properly he had put a sling around the wrist to take the weight off the shoulder. Nwosu’s nose wasn’t broken, just badly bruised and he had a magnificent black eye to go with it. After another paracetamol he was feeling more comfortable but still harbouring homicidal thoughts about Coetzee and Leo as he opened up his laptop.

  He had been neither as drunk nor as dozy as he had appeared the previous night and had watched as Coetzee carried Blethin’s body across the field. He didn’t know how the doctor had died but he couldn’t risk being found with a wounded shoulder near an unidentified corpse in Polokwane, three hundred kilometres from his station. After watching the Land Cruiser drive off into the darkness he had managed to make it across the field to Grobler Street without incident. At the beginning of the urbanised area he passed a public drinking fountain and washed the blood from his face.

  Further along the road he came to the Southern Star Motel, ‘Open for Business’. He managed to remove the remains of his shirt, and draping it over his shoulder to hide the bandage he walked into the reception in his T-shirt and asked for a room. Any suspicions the night clerk might have had about a lone visitor at ten o’clock at night with a bloody nose, no luggage, no car and wearing a T-shirt and sunglasses were dispelled by the sight of five hundred Rand, in notes, on the counter. Nwosu entered cabin twenty, the furthest away from the office, picked up the phone and called a Johannesburg number.

  He slept for a couple of hours while waiting for Jamie to drive from Diepkloof to pick him up then napped during the trip back. They arrived at the flat at four in the morning and he managed to get a few more hours sleep. He was feeling a lot better and his mind was working fast. The Voice mustn’t know he’d lost Leo. He had to get him back and claim the big money. They were ruthless people and he was afraid of them, they had ordered the deaths of Lambert, Blethin and Coetzee without a qualm. He couldn’t afford to let them down or he’d be on the same list, if he wasn’t already.

  Nwosu needed to reassure himself and went to his online banking link. He was relieved to see the same balance on his account. One more payment and he was on his way. This was his chance to get out of South Africa and he wasn’t going to let it slip by. Coetzee was clever but too sentimental and he had to play on that. He went back through his conversations with the security man to recall exactly what he had told him.

  He took a swig of coffee and concentrated on his laptop. Jamie had gone to work as usual to avoid suspicion so he was on his own in the apartment. He laboriously typed in names and places with just his right hand and googled them. It would take a while, but he would find what he was looking for in the end. Then, payback time!

  Marbella, Spain

  Espinoza and the two women were in the office at York House. His instinct had been right. Emma didn’t take the news about Lambert’s death very well.

  “Why has he been killed? You keep saying you don’t believe in coincidences and in this case I’m sure you’re right. It must be murder and it must be Coetzee and Nwosu who are responsible. What’s going to become of Leo now?” She sat with her head in her hands.

  “Emma, please listen to me carefully.” Espinoza put on his most convincing tone. “I know it doesn’t seem like it to you for the moment, but this development is very beneficial to our investigation.” Both women looked blankly at him. “There is now a criminal enquiry into a murder which has nothing to do with Leo’s abduction. In other words, we know about the connection, but the Johannesburg police don’t, so we can take advantage of that. Let me explain.

  “This morning I spoke to a Chief Superintendent Hendricks, he’s Head of the Homicide Division in the Johannesburg Central Police Station. I was introduced by an old colleague in Interpol. I told him that Lambert was involved with a criminal gang I’m investigating and I’d like to come down and consult with them in their enquiry. He agreed to meet me since it might throw up something which could help their investigation.”

  “You mean you want to go to Johannesburg?”

  “Yes, Jenny. I don’t think I can accomplish anything more here and you can probably achieve just as much. It makes more sense for us to split up. I’ll go where the crimes were actually committed and take advantage of the enquiry into Lambert’s murder to try to follow Leo’
s traces. You stay here with Emma and monitor the communications with the abductors. There’s bound to be a lot of chatter now. Things are heating up, so they’ll be moving into the last phase, the negotiations phase. And people and facts might emerge that point us to the link between the key events. I think you’ll be better than me at that particular job.”

  “But we agreed not to involve the police. Not to risk revealing Leo’s background.” Emma looked anxiously from one to the other, her fear confusing her logic.

  “I don’t need to tell them anything about Leo. I’m simply helping them with a murder enquiry. This way we don’t have to advertise his abduction and there’s no chance of his background coming out. It’s an excellent camouflage. And I don’t see any other way of making further progress.”

  “Pedro’s right. It’s a clever idea. He can use the police resources to investigate Leo’s disappearance while helping them to find Lambert’s killers. Don’t forget that if we find Coetzee and Nwosu, then we’ll find Leo.”

  “And what happens when you find them? Leo’s story will come out and the police might take some action.”

  “Leave that to me. I’m sure the perpetrators won’t want to have child abduction added to their list of crimes and the Johannesburg police will be happy to solve the murder. I’ll get Leo away without any further enquiry, I promise you.”

  He consulted his notebook. “We need to decide on this plan right away, so I’ve already checked the flight possibilities. The quickest flight to Johannesburg is with SAA/Lufthansa at five ten this afternoon. It goes via Frankfurt to Joburg and gets in at ten thirty tomorrow morning. May I request tickets and a travel budget, Jenny?”

  Phalaborwa, Limpopo, South Africa

  “I have to make a call.” It was almost nine thirty and Coetzee was expecting the Voice’s usual morning call on Nwosu’s phone. He couldn’t risk Leo hearing the conversation. It would give the whole game away. “Just stay on the terrace and look at the wild life for five minutes. I’ll be in the car, in front of the lodge. Don’t do anything silly.”

  “There’s not a lot I can do, Marius. Even though I’m apparently as free as a bird, I doubt I’d be able to fly very far at the moment.”

  Coetzee nodded absently and went through the lodge to the Land Cruiser in front. It was nine thirty precisely and the mobile rang the moment he climbed into the car.

  “Good morning, Coetzee here.”

  There was a pause, then the slightly distorted voice said, “Mr Coetzee, it’s a pleasure to speak to you. Are you safely in Beitbridge?”

  “No, not yet. We had a terrible journey yesterday with traffic delays and accidents, so we spent the night in Polokwane. We’ll be continuing on as soon as Sergeant Nwosu gets back.”

  “The sergeant is not with you?”

  “He went off with Doctor Blethin before light. Said he had some business to attend to. He left his phone so I could take your call. I expect he’ll be back shortly.”

  Another pause, then, “How is the boy?”

  “He’s perfectly fine and eating well. Don’t worry about him, he’s as strong as a horse.”

  “How long do you estimate it will take you to reach Beitbridge? How far is it?”

  “A bit over two hundred Ks, so we should make it in three to four hours, barring accidents. We should be there by mid-afternoon if Nwosu doesn’t keep us waiting. Do you want us to call when we arrive?”

  “Very well. Please ask the sergeant to call me when you have crossed the border.”

  “I didn’t know he had your number?” Coetzee smiled at this slip-up. The Voice wasn’t quite as clever as he thought he was.

  “Of course. How foolish of me. Tell him I will call back at three pm, expecting that you’ll have finally arrived at your destination. Travel safely.” He rang off.

  Coetzee walked back through the lodge to the terrace. Leo was still watching the monkeys. So far, so good, he thought.

  Diepkloof, Gauteng, South Africa

  “That’s it!” Sergeant Nwosu banged his good hand on the desk in triumph. He’d been trawling telephone directories for over an hour, but it was his access to old police files that had finally provided the breakthrough. He pulled up a map of the town and found the street name. There were five houses on the street, on the outskirts in open countryside. The one he wanted looked like a farmhouse. With no neighbours. Perfect.

  He printed out the names and address and the map of the area. It was a place he’d never visited, about eighty kilometres from Diepkloof, a small farming town to the east of Joburg. An easy hour’s drive if the traffic wasn’t as bad as yesterday. If he had any difficulty locating the property in the dark the SatNav would resolve that problem. The wonders of modern technology, he reflected, then went to prepare some lunch for his boyfriend. Jamie would bring back the spare Vektor with some belongings from his apartment and buy a new prepaid mobile for him. It wasn’t the time to leave unnecessary tracks. Taken several paracetamol tablets and his shoulder was causing him much less pain. I’ll be able to drive by this evening. Things were looking up.

  Marbella, Spain

  “I’d better have your mobile number, Pedro.” Emma looked around for her phone. “Hang on,” she said. “Sorry. I put it on charge last night and forgot to bring it down.” She went out to the staircase.

  Espinoza turned to Jenny. “How do you think she’s coping?” He had dealt with many family dramas in his time as a policeman and knew how devastating the effect could be on loved ones.

  “As long as she knows that Leo is alive and well and that we’re working to get him back safely, I think she’ll manage. But she’s really at her limit.”

  “Here we are.” Emma came in with her mobile and switched it on. “There’s a message!” She announced excitedly. “Oh my God! Leo. It’s from Leo!” She cried out with relief and happiness and showed the mobile to the others.

  The message read, Kidnapped. Cotzee secutry, Nosoo cop, Blethin doctr in Polkwane. Please come 4 me. Leo xxx

  Jenny looked at it in amazement. “Well done Leo. He’s with Nwosu and Coetzee and this third man, Blethin, must be the doctor. Brilliant!”

  Espinoza took the phone. “Polokwane?” He said, his mind digesting this new event. “Where’s Polokwane?”

  “It’s in the north part of the country, in Limpopo province. They had one of the soccer matches there. It’s a big town.” The World Cup was still fresh in Emma’s memory. “He’s stolen a mobile to text us their location.”

  “You’re right. This is a South African number, country code 027. It must belong to one of the kidnappers. They’re moving him to another safe house and he’s telling us the way. He’s a very bright boy.”

  “Look. Here’s Polokwane.” Jenny showed him the map on her laptop.

  “I see. It’s about three hundred kilometres north of Johannesburg with an airport, so there may be a connecting flight.” He looked at the phone screen again. “Unfortunately, Leo’s message was sent last night, so he’s probably no longer there, but Polokwane could be a starting point.”

  Emma took the mobile from his hand. “I’ll call him back. He might still have the phone.”

  “No, don’t, Emma. You might alert them and we don’t know what could happen. We now have a unique advantage. Leo’s in touch with us without their knowledge. We know which way they’re going and I can start following the trail when I get to South Africa.”

  Espinoza didn’t mention something he’d seen on the map. Polokwane was half way to the Zimbabwe border. But it was also en route for Mozambique and Botswana. He hoped against hope that they were heading to either of those countries and not to Mugabe’s brutal dictatorship.

  He put the thought aside. “Can you bring up the website again for the Newtown Clinic? Look for a Doctor Blethin.”

  Emma took her iPad and searched the list of Consultants and Medical Staff on the website. “You’re right. He’s here, Dr Ernest Blethin, Senior Consultant in Psychology and Aesthetic Procedures.” She sat down o
n the settee, a smile on her face for the first time since she had arrived.

  Espinoza looked just as pleased. The plot was falling into place in his mind. Emma had been right about Nwosu and Coetzee and his hunch about Blethin and the clinic was confirmed. “This is an incredible breakthrough. We’ve now confirmed the identity of the abductors and where they are. We’re making great progress and we haven’t even left the house.”

  His mind was now sifting through the possibilities. If Leo was in Polokwane when he sent the message, they must be heading further north. It made no sense to stay in Johannesburg if they had already gone. He said, “Jenny, can you look up the flights from Johannesburg to Polokwane? I get in at ten thirty tomorrow morning.”

  Jenny quickly found an efficient booking site for South Africa. “There’s a South African Airways flight at twelve fifty. You can be there by early afternoon. I’ll book it now.”

  “Good. Now I really feel we’re getting close to recovering Leo. I have a starting point and definite names to track down. With Superintendent Hendricks’ resources I’m sure I can get to them and to Leo. I’ll call him in the morning from the airport before leaving for Polokwane.”

  He turned to Emma. “I’ve just remembered something. You said you have Leo’s passport. Can you get it for me? I’m going to need it to bring him home with me.”

  Emma ran upstairs to fetch the passport and Espinoza said to Jenny, “The problem is that we still have no idea what the connecting point between these various events is. Somewhere there’s a crossover of information about Leo’s birth, the trip to South Africa and your fortune. If we find that connection we’ll have solved the whole conspiracy and identified the perpetrators.”

  “One step at a time, Pedro. As you keep repeating, detective work is one step at a time. We’re counting on you to keep taking those steps.”