having spoken to the guy other than maybe a
passageway greeting once. Never had to. Never worked with him. Never in a
meeting with him. Just noticed that he was around. Unbelievable slacker,
apparently. According to Piet and others, and up to all sorts of stuff. Then he
disappeared, at the same time as weapons went missing from the station. Then
before we could bring him in on suspicion of that theft he was nailed for the
assault and was sent down for a year. Released after eight months. Then
disappeared. Until he resurfaced last week. Then he became the prime suspect as
the stolen weapons started turning up. In addition, we put out different alerts
for him on grounds ranging from theft, kidnapping, homicide, you name it. The
guy is as slippery as anyone we’ve ever dealt with.’
‘Where does he live?’
‘We don’t know. He keeps popping up
in different places because no-one knows where he actually lives, and we just
can’t trace him. Remember that newspaper report about the police constantly
finding people living in the bushes up and down the coast? Maybe that’s where
he hangs out. We don’t know. We tried tracking a cell-phone number we had for
him last week but we lost the trail somewhere in Swaziland.’
‘What’s he doing up there?’
‘I don’t think he’s there. Latest
thinking is that he planted the phone on someone else and he’s nowhere near
Swaziland.’
‘Clever bugger.’
‘Not to be underestimated.’
‘But Detective Ryder will get him.’
‘You think?’
She un-muted the television.
‘Sean Connery looks good. Nice beard.
But I think they should have cast you. At least you know how to pronounce the
word ‘adversary’. More wine?’
‘Is the Pope Catholic? Is the Kennedy
family gun-shy?’
She grabbed the bottle and refilled
the glass they were sharing.
‘So how are you going to find your
friend Thabethe?’
‘I have a funny feeling he’s hovering
around somewhere. Maybe I’ll look up some of his old friends.’
21.30.
Thabethe was on the phone calling
Spikes Mkhize.
‘ Aweh ?
Mkhize. Talk, wena .’
‘ Heita, Spikes.’
‘Who’s talking?’
‘ Bra Spikes. Is me, Skhura.’
‘Skhura? Heita , Skhura! You where, man? Is this same phone?’
‘ Nooit, bra. That phone is now north. Maybe Swaziland. Maybe Zimbabwe. Maybe Egypt.’
They both cackled somewhat
hysterically and enjoyed the thought. Cops on a wild goose chase, running after
the bugged phone Thabethe had concealed on a pantechnicon headed northward to
destinations unknown.
‘Is good, Skhura, is good, man. I
told you, bra , I told you. Best way
to get rid of the boere . Send them
after their own signals, moegoes !’
‘Spikes?’
‘Yes, Skhura, yes my bra .’
‘You sell me some bullets. I want
some nines. You got?’
‘Nines I got, bra . Nines I got. You still got the Vektor?’
‘ Nxa,
bra . Is gone. Now I got a SIG Sauer, that German one. You know? Pistol. 15
rounds. I need nine millimetre .’
‘I got, Skhura. I got for you, bra . I know that SIG one. You got the
SP2022?’
‘Same one, Spikes, same one.’
‘Hey! Good one, that, Skhura. That
one, I definitely got nines for that one. Special for that one.’
‘Is safe at Nomivi’s, Spikes?’
‘Is safe, Skhura. Come now, round the
back.’
‘No, Spikes. I can’t come tonight.
Tomorrow night is good?’
‘Hmmm. Wait. Let me think. Ja , OK, Skhura. Tomorrow is good too.
Only after eight o’clock pm. Come round the back. You give me a number for your
phone and I call if it’s not safe any more, you hear?’
‘The number there on the screen, you
not got?’
‘Ag, man. Struesbob! Spikes is mampara , man. Yes, I see, I see, is here, the number is
here. I got. I save this for you. What phone is this, bra Skhura?’
‘Same drunk fok who lost the SIG. He leaves the SIG and the phone, both, for
me, bra .’
‘ Moegoe ,
that one, hey Skhura? Is good. He give you his gun and his phone. What you do
to him, my friend? You
passageway greeting once. Never had to. Never worked with him. Never in a
meeting with him. Just noticed that he was around. Unbelievable slacker,
apparently. According to Piet and others, and up to all sorts of stuff. Then he
disappeared, at the same time as weapons went missing from the station. Then
before we could bring him in on suspicion of that theft he was nailed for the
assault and was sent down for a year. Released after eight months. Then
disappeared. Until he resurfaced last week. Then he became the prime suspect as
the stolen weapons started turning up. In addition, we put out different alerts
for him on grounds ranging from theft, kidnapping, homicide, you name it. The
guy is as slippery as anyone we’ve ever dealt with.’
‘Where does he live?’
‘We don’t know. He keeps popping up
in different places because no-one knows where he actually lives, and we just
can’t trace him. Remember that newspaper report about the police constantly
finding people living in the bushes up and down the coast? Maybe that’s where
he hangs out. We don’t know. We tried tracking a cell-phone number we had for
him last week but we lost the trail somewhere in Swaziland.’
‘What’s he doing up there?’
‘I don’t think he’s there. Latest
thinking is that he planted the phone on someone else and he’s nowhere near
Swaziland.’
‘Clever bugger.’
‘Not to be underestimated.’
‘But Detective Ryder will get him.’
‘You think?’
She un-muted the television.
‘Sean Connery looks good. Nice beard.
But I think they should have cast you. At least you know how to pronounce the
word ‘adversary’. More wine?’
‘Is the Pope Catholic? Is the Kennedy
family gun-shy?’
She grabbed the bottle and refilled
the glass they were sharing.
‘So how are you going to find your
friend Thabethe?’
‘I have a funny feeling he’s hovering
around somewhere. Maybe I’ll look up some of his old friends.’
21.30.
Thabethe was on the phone calling
Spikes Mkhize.
‘ Aweh ?
Mkhize. Talk, wena .’
‘ Heita, Spikes.’
‘Who’s talking?’
‘ Bra Spikes. Is me, Skhura.’
‘Skhura? Heita , Skhura! You where, man? Is this same phone?’
‘ Nooit, bra. That phone is now north. Maybe Swaziland. Maybe Zimbabwe. Maybe Egypt.’
They both cackled somewhat
hysterically and enjoyed the thought. Cops on a wild goose chase, running after
the bugged phone Thabethe had concealed on a pantechnicon headed northward to
destinations unknown.
‘Is good, Skhura, is good, man. I
told you, bra , I told you. Best way
to get rid of the boere . Send them
after their own signals, moegoes !’
‘Spikes?’
‘Yes, Skhura, yes my bra .’
‘You sell me some bullets. I want
some nines. You got?’
‘Nines I got, bra . Nines I got. You still got the Vektor?’
‘ Nxa,
bra . Is gone. Now I got a SIG Sauer, that German one. You know? Pistol. 15
rounds. I need nine millimetre .’
‘I got, Skhura. I got for you, bra . I know that SIG one. You got the
SP2022?’
‘Same one, Spikes, same one.’
‘Hey! Good one, that, Skhura. That
one, I definitely got nines for that one. Special for that one.’
‘Is safe at Nomivi’s, Spikes?’
‘Is safe, Skhura. Come now, round the
back.’
‘No, Spikes. I can’t come tonight.
Tomorrow night is good?’
‘Hmmm. Wait. Let me think. Ja , OK, Skhura. Tomorrow is good too.
Only after eight o’clock pm. Come round the back. You give me a number for your
phone and I call if it’s not safe any more, you hear?’
‘The number there on the screen, you
not got?’
‘Ag, man. Struesbob! Spikes is mampara , man. Yes, I see, I see, is here, the number is
here. I got. I save this for you. What phone is this, bra Skhura?’
‘Same drunk fok who lost the SIG. He leaves the SIG and the phone, both, for
me, bra .’
‘ Moegoe ,
that one, hey Skhura? Is good. He give you his gun and his phone. What you do
to him, my friend? You
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