Blindside

by Wilna Adriaanse

  “I’ll tell you in future if I think there might be a situation. Just stop hassling Ken. I don’t have time to sort the two of you out as well. He knows you’re drooling over his wife, and he’s a jealous man.”

  Allegretti coughed, drowning out Nick Malherbe’s answer. Moments later Ellie heard the front door open. Then she heard the soft swoosh of the lift, and the doors opened on the top floor.

  She crept up the stairs but after only three steps, she heard a soft ping. A red light had been activated on the wall of the stairwell. Allegretti had set the alarm and she’d been unaware of the sensor on the stairs. Fuck. She tried to check her momentum, but it was too late. She saw the light begin to flicker. It was a silent alarm. She rushed up the stairs, fell into bed and tried to control her breathing. Her bedroom door was closed and she couldn’t hear if there was movement in the house. She didn’t dare to look either.

  Twenty minutes later she heard whispered voices at her bedroom door. She took her brand-new 9 mil Glock from under her pillow and felt her muscles tense. The door opened softly and she saw two figures in the light of a torch.

  “Lower your pistol.” It was Nick Malherbe’s voice. He sounded annoyed.

  “What are you doing in my room?”

  “The alarm was triggered on the staircase.”

  Ellie sat up in bed, ran her hand over her face and hoped he didn’t notice her heart beating in her throat. The pistol was still in her hand. “I didn’t hear anything.”

  “It went off in the control room.” He looked at the guard. “Look in the bathroom and the second bedroom.” He waited until the man had left before he spoke again, just loud enough for her to hear him. “Were you on the stairs?”

  She picked up her cellphone, looked at it and put it back on the bedside table. “At three in the morning?”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “I wasn’t on the stairs.”

  “What did you do after you came back tonight?”

  “I went to bed.” She got out of bed, pistol in hand. “Have you looked in on Clara?”

  “No, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t you.”

  “It wasn’t me.” She walked to the door, forcing him to move out of her way.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To make sure my client is safe.”

  “No need. That part of the house wasn’t triggered.”

  She hesitated a moment. “That doesn’t mean anything. I want to make sure.”

  He moved across and blocked the door. “I’m telling you there’s no need.”

  Ellie looked at him for a few moments, turned and got back into bed. “In that case, please excuse me. I have an early morning.”

  Before he left, he let the beam of his torch play over the room. Ellie listened as he called the other man. Silence fell. She took a few deep breaths. After a while she heard a car drive away. She couldn’t sleep now, so she got up and stood at the window.

  She liked the night. It was an equaliser. During the day people rushed around with briefcases, opened and closed shops, begged at traffic lights. At night everyone’s needs were basic – even though the roofs overhead and the beds they slept in differed, the need was universal: shelter and, if you were lucky, someone to warm your back in the dark, so you had the energy to join the race again in the morning.

  There was another reason why she had always liked the night. When her mother slept, she could sleep. Relax. Sometimes she had stayed up much too late, but the nights were always peaceful. She wondered whether her dad had also felt that way. They had never spoken about it. She still hadn’t lost her love of the night.

  But now, her heart was thumping. She wished there was someone whose back she could tuck in behind.

  After a while she got back into bed and lay thinking about the evening. She couldn’t afford mistakes like that.

  She must have fallen asleep, because a strange sound woke her. She struggled to surface properly, but soon realised the sound was coming from her. A whimper. She sat up and noticed that the bedding and her pyjamas were drenched with sweat. Even her hair was damp. She got up and drank some water in the bathroom. It took a while for her heartbeat to slow down. She vaguely remembered a dream, but it was playing hide-and-seek with her.

  She went back to the window. The darkness was lifting. She put on her running clothes, took the lift to the ground floor, switched off the alarm at the front door and slipped out quietly. How she would get back up the steep hill was a problem for later. Now, she just needed some fresh air.

  When he stepped out of the apartment and set off in the direction of Sea Point, Nick was surprised to see another runner at this early hour. He noticed the slight figure and short, dark hair. He’d spent a short, restless night and, though he didn’t feel like running this morning, he needed some kind of outlet. Last night’s events refused to go away. Before he had even reached his apartment, the control room had called. It could have been a moth or an ant that had triggered the alarm. Maybe a faulty wire. But he didn’t believe in coincidence.

  The figure ahead of him ran at a brisk pace and he tried to adjust his strides to hers. She looked more like she was running away from something than jogging. When they reached the Sea Point swimming pool, she slowed down slightly and he caught up with her. He gave her a fleeting glance in passing and almost fell over his own feet. He saw her look, look away, and for a moment take a few awkward strides, as if she wasn’t sure whether to stop or keep running.

  He nodded and said, “Good morning.”

  Ellie returned his nod and ran on, slightly slower. He remained a few steps ahead of her, but when she stopped at the lighthouse, he turned and approached her. She stretched her arms and legs and took a few deep breaths.

  “You had me worried. I wondered where the fire was.”

  Ellie kept breathing deeply. “Maybe I was trying to get away from my pursuer.”

  Something happened in his face, which made her look at him in surprise for a moment. It wasn’t really a smile. It was rather as if the veil over his grey eyes lifted for a moment before dropping down again.

  “At least I know you’re fit.”

  “Did you find out what triggered the alarm?”

  “No, but we will.”

  “Maybe you should have the whole system checked. A faulty system is more dangerous than no system at all.”

  “The system was checked last week. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

  She decided not to react. “You’ll have to excuse me. If I want to get back up that hill, I can’t cool down.”

  He motioned with his hand and they set off again, along the length of the promenade. She maintained a stiff pace and he cursed his ego, which made him try to keep up. Bloody hell, she had to be quite a few years his junior. The last bit up the Seacliff hill made it feel like his lungs would burst. For the next few days he’d find it hard to walk. He was grateful to see his apartment’s signboard. He touched her arm and she looked up briefly but he held her back and she stopped.

  He struggled to control his breathing. “I forgot to tell you: Someone will go with you to Franschhoek today.”

  “I can drive.”

  He was glad to hear that she was also out of breath. “I know, but I’d feel better if there were two of you.”

  “Is it about last night?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Mang at the casino.”

  “How did you know it was Mang?”

  She tilted her head. “His name crossed my desk once or twice. Did something happen that I should know about?”

  He shook his head. “No. Mang left before we did. Seems it was a coincidence that he and Allegretti were there at the same time.”

  She nodded.

  He looked up the mountain. “You okay with the hill, or should I give you a lift?” He pointed at his apartment block. “Give me a minute. I’ll get the car keys.”

  Ellie knew she had to get away as soon as possible. She didn’t trust this new affability. But
this was a delicate dance and she couldn’t afford to put a foot wrong.

  “Thanks, if it’s not too much trouble. I see now I’ve lost track of time a bit.”

  “Come with me. The car is in the parking garage.”

  When he’d unlocked the door, he stepped back and allowed her to enter first. She stopped inside. She had never really wondered where he lived, but for some reason she wasn’t expecting such luxury. She wondered if the place was his or Allegretti’s. What kind of work did you do the day you no longer wanted to work for someone like Allegretti? she wondered. How did you walk away from all these perks? She remembered Clive’s words that every person has his price. Her dad used to say it as well. The fact that you hadn’t sold out yet had nothing to do with how good you were – it was probably just that your price hadn’t been determined yet. And that, her dad had said, should keep you humble. The thought that you were no better than others.

  When Nick returned with the car keys, he handed her a bottle of water.

  “Thanks.”

  On the way home she wasn’t sure whether she should steer the conversation back to the previous night. Before she knew it, she had blurted it out.

  “About last night … you can’t just barge into my room like that. Apart from the fact that I’m entitled to privacy, I could have mistaken you for a burglar and fired.”

  “The security of the house and its residents is my responsibi­lity. What do you suggest I do when I suspect your safety is at risk? Ask your permission before I search the house?”

  “Phone me or knock on the door and identify yourself. That’s what I would have done.” She suspected it was what he would have done as well in normal circumstances, but she felt sure he had been hoping to catch her off-guard.

  “I’ve been wanting to speak to you about sleeping with a weapon. It’s dangerous. It’s one thing to be armed by day, but at night one tends to get disorientated. I’m not going to be very happy if you shoot my employer because you mistook him for a burglar. I’ll feel better if you lock your pistol in a safe at night.”

  “You’re joking! As long as my client is in the house, her safety is my responsibility. I’m not going to have to unlock a safe when there’s trouble.”

  “What will I see when I play back last night’s camera footage?”

  Ellie gave him a sidelong glance and had to stop herself from laughing. She was sure he had already looked at the footage and seen nothing. The camera could not have picked her up on the stairs. Besides, it had been too dark. He was calling her bluff.

  “Hopefully you’ll see what triggered the alarm.”

  “And it wasn’t you?”

  Ellie couldn’t hide her laughter any longer. She shook her head. “If the monitors show it was me after all, please let me know, because it means I’m a sleepwalker. Heaven knows what else I might be getting up to.”

  He didn’t laugh. When they reached the gate, she thanked him hurriedly and got out. Her hands were shaking when she opened the front door.

  CHAPTER 22

  They left at six thirty sharp. This morning, they were in the luxurious Land Cruiser. She didn’t know the security man who was driving. Clara adjusted her pillow and made herself comfortable in the back, covering herself with a light blanket she had brought along.

  “Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  Ellie turned down the volume of the radio.

  “No, don’t turn it down. It doesn’t bother me. I like to sleep in company. Where I come from, the houses aren’t big and there are always people around.”

  The sun was just coming up over the mountains when they passed Goodwood. Ellie wondered whether her mom was awake. On the radio, a newscaster read the first bulletin of the day. A fishing boat was missing at Saldanha, a child had been shot dead in gang violence in Manenberg, a well-known businessman from Musina had been involved in rhino poaching. A car bomb had exploded near a mosque in the north of the Syrian capital, Damascus. The Springbok rugby team was ready for the weekend’s clash against the British Lions. The weather over the peninsula would be fine, with fog patches later in the afternoon over the Southern Cape coastal regions.

  Their destination was an enormous house in Franschhoek. The street was lined with cars, and people were hurrying to and fro, some carrying cameras, others large photographic reflect­ors. There was a refrigerated catering truck. Clothes were being pushed along on clothing rails.

  Clara had explained vaguely that the shoot was somehow connected with the polo match they’d be attending on Saturday.

  The interior of the house was like a blank canvas, with only a brushstroke here and there. Everything was white: furniture, upholstery, floors, ceilings. On a pedestal in the entrance hall was a bright-red abstract sculpture, and two enormous paintings hung side by side in the sitting room. Both were abstracts, in shades of grey, aquamarine and dark blue.

  An oval emerald-green glass bowl adorned the coffee table. Ellie saw no other colours. She would have liked to see the owners and the rest of the house.

  Clara disappeared into a room for hair and makeup and Ellie walked through sliding doors out onto a wide patio. The easy chairs and loungers around the pool were upholstered in white, striped with blue.

  On one side of the patio the caterers had set up two tables with snacks and drinks. Ellie helped herself to a cup of coffee and a muffin and then sat down in an easy chair in the opposite corner.

  It was after seven in the evening when they left Franschhoek. As soon as they were in the car, Clara took out her phone and dialled a number.

  “Sorry, lovey, we only finished now. No, we didn’t party afterwards.” She fell silent. “I’ll see how I feel when I get there, but I can’t promise. I don’t have anything on tomorrow. We could sleep late and go somewhere for lunch, or we could just stay home.” She sighed when she put the phone back into her handbag. “I don’t know where he gets the energy. I’m nearly fourteen years younger, but he wears me out. Can you believe he wants me to come to the club tonight?”

  After a while Clara spoke again.

  “My dad left us when I was five and my brothers were three and one. My mom raised us on her own. My granny raised her and her sisters alone as well. There aren’t many men in my family. Especially not men you can depend on.”

  Ellie didn’t know what to say. She felt sorry for the girl. She seemed to feel the need to explain something to her. Maybe not only her own situation, but also why her aunt had stayed with a man like Nazeem Williams.

  Was that what love was actually about? Being cared for?

  “I know people gossip about Enzio and me. But I love him. He takes good care of me.”

  And in those words lay the answer, Ellie thought.

  Just before they reached the Kraaifontein turnoff, blue lights suddenly appeared in the road ahead and the driver slowed down. Clara sat up.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Looks like a roadblock,” Ellie said, and felt the words echo in her head. There was a tightness in her chest.

  They joined the line of waiting cars and inched forward. Some cars were waved on, others were pulled off. Two young policemen with torches motioned them to the side of the road.

  When they had stopped, both men approached and directed the beams of their torches inside the car. “Good evening. Licence, please.”

  The driver took out his licence and handed it to the policeman, who studied it in the light of the torch. The one who was aiming his torch at the number plate was talking on a radio.

  “Open the back doors, please.”

  The driver pressed a button on his door panel and one of the policemen opened the back door. Over her shoulder Ellie saw the beams of their torches move to and fro. One walked around to Ellie’s side and opened the door.

  “Will you all get out, please?” He looked at the driver. “Sir, please step over to the table for a Breathalyser test.”

  Ellie and Clara got out and stood beside the vehicle while their driver accompanied
one of the policemen to a table under a gazebo.

  Ellie watched as two handlers walked their sniffer dogs around the car, then ordered them to jump in. For an anxious moment Ellie wondered if Clara had cocaine or hash in her handbag. Or perhaps Allegretti kept a supply in all his vehicles.

  Then she saw a familiar figure emerge from behind one of the police vehicles. The man had been one of her father’s colleagues. He wore a bulletproof vest under his windbreaker and she suddenly wondered whether her dad had been wearing a Kevlar. For a brief moment her legs threatened to give way. The man came over to her and Clara.

  “He’s clean,” someone called from behind the table.

  “Mac, this is a surprise. How are you?”

  “Evening, Captain. Fine, thanks.”

  “I was sorry to hear you’d left us.”

  Ellie gave a small shrug.

  “How’s your mother?”

  “Fine, under the circumstances.”

  He looked at her and Clara in turn, and Ellie introduced them.

  He greeted Clara cordially. Her name didn’t seem to ring a bell.

  “Everything in order, Warrant?”

  “Seems so, Captain.” The younger man handed back the driver’s licence.

  “Pop in if you’re in the neighbourhood.”

  Ellie nodded and she and Clara got back into the vehicle. Clara started typing a message immediately. Ellie was dying to know who she was sending it to and why. Was it just an innocent message, or a warning? She felt a flutter at the pit of her stomach. These past few days she had felt as if she were playing games. She’d probably needed this moment to remind her why she was here. The day you accepted the job, all the characters were faceless, but as time went by, you got to know them. You could see an unexpected emotion in an unguarded moment, which could make you question why you were there.

  Her dad had always said that people expected the devil to come over and introduce himself, horns, first name, pedigree, the lot, and that was why they didn’t recognise him. Every person had a mother and father, a past, a gentler side. Some people’s memories and experiences just lay so deep that they didn’t recognise or remember them any more. Others’ were barely hidden. You could have empathy, but could never forget your mission.