The Wall

74

Ludelwa Tontsi was still standing next to the Central Alert car when the dog sniffed the threshold. She was thinking about her mother and what she had advised her. Better to have a badly paid job than none at all. And it was indeed badly paid. She received 2,200 rand for an entire month of work. Six days a week, twelve hours a day. After deducting the 300 rand for the shack in Duncan Village and the cost of the taxi trips to the headquarters, she barely had enough to pay for food. Bread, milk, and instant oatmeal for breakfast… And she could forget about a monthly visit to her family in Mnyameni. Those 150 kilometers also came at a price. That was why she had to sometimes ask her mother to send her money, so that she could pay for the trip out of her pension.

Now the dog was coming out of the house, the black cop right behind him. Then the white cop. The old man who owned the house stayed at the door.

Her phone rang. She glanced at the screen. The junior boss. She took the call.

“Ludelwa?”

“Mmhm.” Of course, it was her. He had called her after all.

“You’re still at the house of that old… Mr.—what’s his name?—Foster?”

“Yes.”

“The dog’s there?”

“They’re coming out now.”

“Good. I’d like you to stay with them. Whenever something happens, I want us to be there.” Stevie van Lange hesitated. “Okay? I don’t want the cops to later say we weren’t there to help.”

“Okay,” Ludelwa said.

“All right, so stick with them.” Van Lange hung up.

Her mother had given her one more piece of advice when she’d gotten started. When a job is so poorly paid, always wait until someone tells you what to do. Forget about showing initiative. That’s why you have superiors. Ludelwa had always followed that advice.

The dog led the way, the two cops behind him. They didn’t say a word. Ludelwa wondered fleetingly if she should follow them on foot. She decided to get into the car and follow them at walking speed.

The white cop looked over his shoulder when he realized that she was behind them. The other one just watched the dog. The animal had its nose to the ground and rounded a corner onto a street leading to the right. It then hesitated and retraced its steps as if it had made a mistake. The dog stopped, turned around again, and went down the street after all.

Now the dog seemed to be more confident. A hundred meters in front of her, she could see another company car. The dog walked up to it and stopped. The two cops exchanged glances, then greeted whoever was in the Central Alert vehicle. Ludelwa couldn’t tell who was at the wheel.

For a few seconds, time seemed to stand still. Just like the dog, which was standing like a statue. Like the two cops, who were waiting for the dog to do something. The animal then turned and took a few steps toward one of the houses. Stopped again.

The dog now started to bark loudly. It was probably too hot for him.