“There’s no way you’re going home tonight. I happen to have bought a new toothbrush today.” He sat down as well, put the chicken in the middle of the table and passed her a plate and cutlery.
She sipped the whisky slowly. Instinctively she searched for the undertones her father had taught her to taste. The green Irish barley dried in gas kilns. The subtle taste of bourbon and Oloroso sherry that came from the old kegs in which it was aged. The flowers and fruits, the vanilla and fudge. You could wake him in the middle of the night with a glass, and he wouldn’t refuse. He always said it was the reason he didn’t have a drinking problem. He loved whisky too much and couldn’t imagine a world without it.
“Are you in a shitty mood, or just tired?”
“What do you think?”
He leaned over and kissed her neck. “I know how to make you smile.”
Ellie took a drumstick and began to eat. “Have you found out anything about my dad? Who’s in charge? Did you tell them to look at the cases he was investigating?”
Albert threw his hands in the air. “Whoa, can we just back up a bit? We haven’t been together for almost a week. You rock up here, your face like a thundercloud, and treat me like one of your street contacts.” He snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. “Look at me.” He waited until she looked up. “I understand about your dad, and I know it’s not easy, but I’m not part of, or the reason for, your problems. So I don’t mind if you’re not yourself, but just don’t treat me like some distant acquaintance.”
“I told you tonight’s not a good night.” She leaned back in her chair and finished the drumstick. She shook her head when he offered her another piece.
“But you’re here now, so we might as well make the best of it.”
When she didn’t answer, he asked after her mother.
Ellie shrugged and put two potato chips in her mouth. “Cranky, uncooperative, stubborn, sorry for herself. What’s new?”
“Be careful she doesn’t hold you hostage. I remember what it was like with my father. In the end everyone’s lives revolve around them and their drinking.” She heard the sharp tone in his voice. It was always there when he spoke about his father.
“It’s not like I can walk away and simply leave her to her own devices.”
“That’s not what I’m saying, but set limits. She has to know that she has responsibilities too.”
Ellie smiled stiffly. “I didn’t know you moonlight as a counsellor.”
He smiled that easy smile that had attracted her from the start, got up and pulled her to her feet.
“If you can joke, you can do other things as well.” Steering her in the direction of the bedroom, he started unbuttoning her blouse. He kissed her neck and his hands moved down to her hips.
“Watch where you’re going. I’d hate to have my head slammed into a door frame.”
“Stop moaning.”
When she lay down beside him on the bed, she felt something stir inside her after all. Since the night Ahmed had turned up at her house with the news about her dad, her nerve endings had felt paralysed. That dead feeling you get when the dentist’s Novocaine starts taking effect. She still couldn’t taste or smell properly. Even her sense of touch seemed diminished. She was suddenly relieved, and grateful for the small flame.
His fingers felt warm on her body. The cold she’d felt at the church service hadn’t ebbed, no matter how many layers of clothing she put on. It lay deep.
She began to unbutton his shirt. When he kissed her, she pushed all other thoughts from her mind. Maybe she could forget for a while, imagine that her dad was in his chair in front of the TV, watching soccer.
CHAPTER 8
“What were you and Zondi arguing about today?” Ellie asked when she came back from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. Her skin was still damp after the hot shower. Albert was propped up against the pillows.
“Jeez, can’t you give my brain a chance to switch back on?”
She started to get dressed.
“Are you really going to drive home at this time of night?”
“Yes. I’ve got things to do tomorrow.”
He got up, picked his jeans up from the floor and pulled them on. “I’ll make us something to drink.”
When she entered the sitting room, he had a mug of coffee in his hand. There was another mug on the table.
“It must have been serious.”
“I gave Zondi a tip. She took offence, accused me of wanting to teach her how to do her job.”
“What kind of tip?”
“I reckon she’ll tell you herself.”
“Why don’t you just tell me?”
He ran his hand over his face and took a sip of coffee. “I kind of promised Ahmed I wouldn’t talk to you about it.”
“Is it about my dad?”
“No.”
“But you want to tell me, so why don’t you?”
“There’s a chance we can get someone inside Allegretti’s house.”
Ellie put the mug down and tucked her legs under her. “What do you mean, get someone inside Allegretti’s house?”
“Do you know who Allegretti’s new girlfriend is?”
She shook her head.
“What the hell do you and Barnard do with your time?”
“Do you really want an answer?” She began to get up.
“Shit, but you’re touchy. I just mean it’s the kind of thing you should know. For the past month or two Allegretti has had a thing going with Nazeem Williams’s niece by marriage. Clara Veldman. Allegretti wants her to move in with him, but Williams has put his foot down. Now he’s finally agreed, on one condition: He’ll arrange his own security to look after her.”
“How do you know all this?”
He rubbed his face again. “Williams told me.”
She picked up the mug, blew on it, then put it back down without taking a sip.
“Since when have you been so chummy with Williams?”
“You know as well as I that we do what we’ve got to do. I happened to meet Williams a while ago. He helped us out with a case. I saw the gap and about a month later I warned him about a roadblock.”
“And now you’re part of his inner circle?”
“There have been a few more tip-offs …”
“And Ahmed knows this?”
“Yes, he knows.”
“Why doesn’t he want you to tell me?”
“He’s a control freak. Since your dad died, he thinks it’s his duty to be a father to you.”
“But you just said it was only a few tip-offs … what’s he afraid of?”
“Maybe I lied.”
Ellie folded her arms. “How deep in are you?”
“Reasonably deep.”
“Does Ahmed have reason to be worried?”
“For years I’ve been working my arse off. I’ve given my all to every case that came along. I don’t sit and wait for breaks. I go out and look for them. Then, one day, I get a break like this. What would you have done? A chance like this doesn’t come by every day. I’m going to take it, and no one’s going to stop me. You know how it is. Everyone shits in their pants when they first hear about it, but when the case breaks and the squad grabs the big guns and throws them in the back of the van, then it’s all fucking smiles and everyone claims it was their idea in the first place.”
“What makes you think I won’t tell Ahmed?”
Albert’s expression clouded over. “I wouldn’t have told you if I thought you’d talk.” He sat down beside her. “If you want it to, this could be a break for you too.”
“Is that why you went to see Zondi?”
“Yes.”
“Why did she feel you were trying to teach her how to do her job?”
“I told her I think you’re the right one to send in. She said the decision would be hers.”
“And Ahmed knows you want me to go in?”
“Yes. He nearly pissed in his pants, but I think you deserve a break. Especially after the thing w
ith your father.”
When she didn’t answer, he took her hand.
“This is our chance, babes. Everyone denies it, but you know very well that up to now you’ve just been your father’s daughter. They’ve all been waiting to see if you’d be as good as the old man. Well, after this, you can tell them all to go to hell.”
“Do me a favour and drop the cheap sales pitch. Leave my dad out of it.”
“Does that mean you’ll do it?”
“That’s not what I said. I want to know more first.”
“I was in the right place at the right time. A guy I sometimes use tipped me off that Williams and his crowd rented a house for a consignment of abalone that was on the way. I passed the tip on, but the morning before the raid I told the guy to warn Williams and tell him I had sent the message. Afterwards Williams thanked me and said he owed me a favour. I sent him a copy of my paycheque. The next day a thick envelope was pushed through my postbox.”
“How much?”
“Five thousand.”
“What did you do with it?”
“Jeez, Mac, what do you think?”
“What makes you think Williams would hire me? One phone call and he’ll know who I work for.”
“Obviously you’d have to resign. On paper, anyway. And he trusts me. If I tell him I’ve got someone he can use, he’ll believe me. It’s not like anyone bats an eyelid these days when a cop resigns.”
“What then?”
“I’ve done some homework. Easiest would be to set up a dummy security company. You get appointed there. I give the name of the company to Williams and tell him I can recommend them and he should find out whether you’re available.”
“I don’t think it will be that easy. One or two tip-offs from a cop doesn’t mean he’s going to get into bed with you.”
“I didn’t say it would be easy. But I think it’s worth a try. If it works, great; if not, no one loses anything. I’m sure he’ll make you jump through a few hoops, but I believe you can do it, or I wouldn’t have put your name forward. You’re a good judge of character and you have your father’s instincts.”
“How urgent is it?”
“Very. Allegretti is giving his girlfriend a hard time because she hasn’t moved in, and she’s on her uncle’s case. If we leave it too late, Williams might get someone else. In the meantime, I’ve let him know I have just the right person for him.”
“Seems the two of you are a lot more than acquaintances.”
Albert shrugged. “I told Zondi about an office in Darling Street. The tenants had to leave in a hurry. It’s available and it’s furnished. When you’re up and running, the office might not be necessary, but it’ll always be a good front.”
“What if Williams wants to know where the rest of the staff are?”
“Easy. A few police officers will be assigned to double as security guards. We make sure they show up now and again, dressed like security guards. It probably won’t even be necessary. Don’t worry about the details. They’re easy to work out. You’ve seen how it’s done.”
“And if I don’t feel up to it?”
“I’m sure Zondi won’t let this chance go by. She’s desperate for something to make her department look better. If you won’t do it, she’ll find someone else. As I’ve said, it would be a pity to hand this kind of break to someone else on a platter.”
Ellie didn’t ask him why he’d never told her before that he was so deeply involved with Williams. Both of them had known from the start that there’d be things they couldn’t share.
“What does Williams think Allegretti will do to the girl?”
“It’s not what Allegretti will do. On the one hand I suspect Williams just wants to make life difficult for Allegretti. On the other hand I think he’s genuinely worried. Maybe not so much about what Allegretti might do to her, but that she might become collateral damage between Allegretti and his rivals.”
“So he wants to send in someone of his own choosing to look after her.”
“Yes, and to drive her car. He says she can’t drive for toffee. And to let him know if there’s trouble.”
“Why would Allegretti allow it?”
Albert smiled, sat back in his chair and spread his arms wide. “Allegretti wants that girl more than anything in the world. He knows if Williams wants to, he can make her disappear, and he’ll never see her again.”
“Would he kill her?”
“That’s not what I mean. He could simply make her disappear for a while.”
“I want everything you’ve got on Williams and Allegretti. And I mean everything.” She got up and he followed her to the door. At the car he bent down to kiss her, but she moved away. “You know how Clive and I struggle to get information about that lot. Why haven’t you helped us?”
“I didn’t go looking for this. Besides, it’s not the kind of information you share with the whole office. At some point we’ll join all the dots, but for now, it’s not for everyone’s eyes and ears. Fresh eyes are always welcome, though.”
He pinned her against the car with his body, put his hands on her hips and kissed her. “Come back to bed.”
“Another time. You’ve given me too much to think about.”
She looked in her rearview mirror as she pulled away. It wasn’t the first time she had looked at him like that. Not the first time, either, that she had wondered about the two of them. But just like the previous times, it was too much trouble to keep wondering. On the few occasions when they’d spoken about their relationship, he’d basically told her to stop scratching where it didn’t itch.
The N1 was quiet. As she drove into the city, she noticed that even the late-night beggars had vanished. By now they were huddled under cardboard and newspaper. On shop verandas, in recesses, under flyovers.
She took a deep breath when she pushed open the door of her cottage. Her father had helped her buy the little house between Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak when she had started work at the clinic in the city. He had never asked her why she didn’t want to live closer to home. Not even after she had left the clinic and was driving to Bellville every day.
The traffic on the big freeway just above the house had bothered her at first, but now she was barely aware of it.
Her initial plan had been to fix the place up one day – nothing fancy, just the odd touch to make it seem like she’d gone to a bit of trouble. But now, on a cop’s salary, the extras would have to wait. In the master bedroom she had a new double bed, two unmatched bedside tables and a chest of drawers she’d found at a second-hand dealer’s. The smaller bedroom had a single bed and a desk. The desktop was neat, apart from a few files and documents she was working on.
The sitting room was furnished with a big sofa, also from a second-hand dealer, and two armchairs she’d bought from a colleague who wanted to get rid of them. The walls were bare, except for two framed posters. One had been a present from her colleagues at the clinic when she’d left. It was a quote by Kurt Vonnegut: We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.
She kicked off her shoes, dropped her clothes on the floor and put on her warm pyjamas. A few minutes later she pulled the duvet up to her chin, turned on her side and curled up. The freeway was quiet. She listened to the sound of an occasional vehicle until it faded away. And pricked up her ears for the next one. It was one way of controlling her thoughts and drowning out the voices in her head.
“You’re not here any more to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do,” she spoke into the dark after a while. She snuggled deeper under the duvet and tried to breathe through the anxiety.
Her mom had never forgiven her for joining the force, though she had said from a young age that it was what she wanted to do. Her dad had spent many evenings discussing it with her, trying to make sure she was doing it for the right reasons. During the selection process, she was asked why she wanted to sign up. She must have given the right answers.
The real reason was much simpler
than anything she had written on an application form or stated in an interview. As a child she had believed that, if she became a police officer herself, she could prevent something from happening to her dad. Some ghosts you learn to control as you get older; the rest you learn to hide, because you’re scared the world won’t understand.
CHAPTER 9
It was after eleven on Thursday morning when Nick managed to get away from the club. The meeting with the security staff had been a long one. He had spent Wednesday inspecting Enzio and Gabriella’s security systems and going through their movements with a fine-tooth comb.
He was cranky when he got to Allegretti’s house. When he stepped out of the lift and saw Enzio snorting coke at the bar counter, he felt like hitting the man.
“Christ, Enzio, if you don’t slow down, you’re going to fry your brain.”
“If you’ve come to lecture me, you can fuck off.”
“Do what you want, as long as you keep your habits and pleasures under control. If you really want to cause shit with your old man, become a junkie.”
“I’m not a child.”
“Then don’t behave like one. We have a lot to talk about and I want you clear and sharp.”
When Allegretti looked up, his eyes were shining and he smiled. “What do you think I’m using? Vim?” He rubbed the last of the powder into his gums. “Best on the market. I’m razor sharp. Try me.” He held up the sachet. “Why don’t you try some? It cost me a shitload.”
Nick saw how his jaw was moving, always a giveaway. The strange chewing motion. He shook his head. “Not while I’m on duty.”
“Your loss.” He tossed the sachet into a drawer. “Why the long face?”
“Your security is up to shit. It’s a wonder someone hasn’t hit you yet.”
“Why would they want to?” Allegretti came around the counter and sat down in an armchair. Nick sat down opposite him.
“Cut the crap. Do you realise there were times during the past month when your cameras and alarm were switched off?”
“No, I don’t. But I’m not here to give other people cheap thrills.”
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