Blood Safari

29

The guard at the Mohlolobe gate was new. Sidney. Security Official. I asked him when Edwin would be on duty again.

‘Edwin is gone.’

‘Gone?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Nobody knows where he is.’

I drove in and went to reception. It took half an hour because I had to wait for a herd of elephants to cross the road. Four bulls, eight cows and four calves. They were in no hurry. They looked down at the Audi with utter disdain for Vorsprung durch Technik.

Sue-zin was at her post, helping a middle-aged American settle his bill. She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder with practised ease, smiled with those perfect teeth as she said, ‘Of course, Mr Bradley, it’s a pleasure, Mr Bradley.’ As he walked away she looked up and saw me. The smile turned into a concerned frown.

‘Meneer Lemmer!’ She addressed me in Afrikaans, amazingly. She came out from behind the desk.

‘Hello, Susan.’

‘We were so shocked to hear about Miss le Roux …’ She came and stood close to me.

‘Oh. Who told you?’

‘Inspector Phatudi was here.’

‘Naturally.’

‘How is she?’

‘A little better.’

‘Is she going to be OK?’

‘It’s too early to tell.’

Susan put her hand on my arm. ‘And you, Mr Lemmer, are you OK?’ With heartfelt concern. She was good, I had to admit.

‘I’m fine.’

‘We don’t even know what happened.’

‘They wanted to hijack the car.’

Her hand went from my arm to her mouth. ‘A carjacking. Around here!’

‘Susan, I’m looking for Edwin, the man at the gate.’

She hesitated and then said more formally, ‘You should speak to Greg.’

‘Where can I find him?’

She took me to Greg. The hospitality manager’s office. He was the plump one with thinning blond hair and a red complexion.

‘He’s in there,’ she said. ‘See you later?’

‘Thanks, Susan.’

She walked away. Her bottom was pert in the khaki trousers. She knew it.

Greg wasn’t really happy to see me. He was edgy and his hands rearranged the desk incessantly. At first he made sympathetic noises about ‘the accident’, but his heart wasn’t in it. No wonder they kept him in an office. I asked him where I could find Edwin. His hands got busier.

‘The police are also looking for him, but he’s gone.’

‘Gone where?’

‘Nobody knows. He didn’t turn up for work yesterday, so I sent someone to go and find him, but he’s not at home, either. Maybe it’s just New Year. Sometimes, staff disappear when you need them the most.’

‘Where does Edwin live?’

‘I’m sorry, I can’t provide that information. Company policy.’

‘I might be able to locate him for you.’

‘I’m sorry. I can’t.’

‘OK,’ I said, and turned away.

‘Mr Lemmer …’

‘Yes.’

‘I’m really sorry, but there is the matter of Miss Le Roux’s account.’

‘I’m sure she will settle it once she has recovered.’

‘I see. But with all due respect, we hear that she’s in a very serious condition.’

‘She is.’

‘So what am I to do?’

‘I’m sure company policy will cover it, Greg. Happy New Year,’ I said, and left.

The passage was empty. I stood for a moment outside his door. I heard him say ‘Shit’, and then he picked up the phone and dialled a number.

‘Inspector Phatudi, please.’

I didn’t wait to hear his report.

On the gravel road back to the gate the dust was so thick behind the Audi that I became aware of a vehicle behind me only when it honked urgently. I looked in the rear-view mirror. Through the cloud of dust I vaguely saw headlights flashing. I stopped and got out, the Glock ready behind my back. A short-wheelbase Land Rover stopped behind me. Dick, Senior Game Ranger, the Orlando Bloom clone, got out and came up to me with a big smile.

I pushed the Glock into my belt.

‘Hey, man.’ He held out his hand as though we were old friends.

‘Hi, Dick.’

We shook hands. ‘How you doin’?’

‘I’m OK. How are you?’

‘Mind if we get in?’ He waved an arm. ‘Lion country, like.’

I hadn’t thought a senior game ranger would be afraid of lions, but I said, ‘Sure.’ We got into the Audi. He didn’t see me take out the Glock and lower it between the seat and the door.

Dick took off his hat and held it on his lap. His fingers fiddled with the brim. ‘I heard about the whole thing, man. Hectic. How is Emma?’

‘She’s stable, they say.’ Had he chased after me to ask about Emma?

‘Terrible, man. Terrible thing. And now Susan tells me it was a carjacking?’

‘Yes.’

‘Hectic’

‘Dick, you didn’t come after me to ask about Emma.’

‘Well, sort of …’

‘What can I do for you?’

He grinned. ‘It’s just … she’s a cool chick, you know, Emma …’

‘She is.’

‘You, like, work for her?’

‘Yes.’

‘What’s your job?’

‘I’m a bodyguard.’

He looked at me with new regard. ‘Awesome, man.’ And then, ‘I just wanted to make sure that you two, you know … that you’re not a couple, like.’

‘No, we’re not.’

‘Is she involved, or anything?’

‘Not as far as I know.’

‘You think I can go visit? At the hospital?’

‘She’s in a coma, Dick.’

‘I heard. But I mean, when she’s better.’

Dick. Senior Game Ranger. Had a thing for Emma le Roux.

‘I’m sure she will appreciate it very much.’

‘You know Susan really likes you?’

I suppressed the urge to laugh – my ribs still hurt too much. Dick had it all worked out. He and Emma, Susan and me, two happy couples. ‘She’s a nice girl.’

‘She’s hot, bru’.’

Did he have first-hand experience?

‘I’m sure.’

He didn’t hear me, he was thinking about Emma again. He gazed out at the veld and the mopane trees. ‘It’s funny, you know, with Emma … I just thought there was this, like, connection.’

‘Oh?’

‘Man, she’s just, like, radical, like really beautiful. You know? And there, bru’, you know what I mean, she’s like really there. You get a lot of chicks that’s good looking, they’re, like, way out there. But Emma. She’s there …’

Something else occurred to him. ‘Why would she need a bodyguard? Is she famous, or something?’ He seemed worried that it would affect his chances.

It took me a while to realise that there could be an advantage in Dick’s great interest.

‘No. Just careful. Do you know why she was here, Dick?’

‘No.’

‘She’s looking for her brother.’

‘Hectic, man. Did she find him?’

‘No, but I’m going to try. You can help.’

‘Just say the word, bru’.’

I had been upgraded. From ‘man’ to “bru”. ‘Do you know Edwin, the gate guard?’

‘I know him.’

‘Do you know where he lives?’

‘Sure. About half a kay from the Acornhoek train station. It’s about twenty kays from here. You take the Nelspruit road until you see the sign. I could show you, but I’m on duty. Anyway, you can’t miss it. Turn left just past the Acornhoek station, and he’s on the left. In front of the house, he’s got this low concrete wall with like half a wagon wheel motif and he’s painted it pink. Radical, bru’.’

‘I’ll find it. Do you know what his surname is?’

He thought hard. ‘No. I know I should, but I don’t.’

‘It doesn’t matter. One other thing, there’s a possibility that Emma’s brother worked at Mogale. The rehabilitation centre. I’m looking for information about the place.’

He shook his head. ‘That’s the funny farm, bru’.’

‘Oh?’

‘Bunch of weird dudes, let me tell you.’

‘Tell me.’

‘Radical, man. They’re radical.’

Like a pink concrete wall? Or Emma’s beauty?

‘In what sense of the word, Dick?’

‘Like in cuckoo, bru’, like hectic radical, you know?’

I didn’t know. Dick spoke a language that would take a while to unravel. ‘Can you be a little more specific?’

‘I don’t have, like, proof, bru’. But you hear stuff.’

‘Like what?’

‘Like … well, let me tell you.’