The Wall

77

As Nkosi started barking and then refused to stop, Meli was just in the process of trimming the small jasmine bush. He had to do everything slowly in order to his work hours, so he was devoting himself to his task with great passion. He had to find things to do until four o’clock, at which point he could knock on Mrs. Viljoen’s door and tell her that he was done for the day. The dog was barking incessantly. Meli decided it must have something to do with all the security guards and cops. But he didn’t know precisely what. It also had nothing to do with him. Everyone wearing a uniform looked down on him anyway.

Bismarck van Vuuren was lurking behind a bend in a wall that symbolically separated two properties. He didn’t know exactly why the dog had started barking like crazy. The boy was actually close by, and that was why the dog had been brought—to find him. But he had managed to find him himself. And had decided to save time by cutting through this way instead of chasing after him. The boy was much faster anyway. He’d soon catch him though. He just had to wait. He could already see him.

As Nkosi wore himself out, Sandi was standing in a backyard in Southernwood, far away from The Pines.

“You can take it as it is,” said Sy, the cousin of a friend. “It’s not exactly new, but you can see that. I bought it like this and don’t know what I’ll do with it. Great deal. You’ll need to gas it up,” Sy added. “And bring it back just like it is.”

Jay-Jay Dlomo hadn’t seen Nkosi bark like this all that often. In the end, he thought, dogs aren’t people, and you can’t read their minds But who could do that with a person either? He placed a hand on the animal’s head and hoped this would calm it back down. The dog had done his job. The fugitive was probably hidden in the house. He saw Bezuidenhout on his phone, probably calling for backup. His job was now done. He just needed to calm Nkosi back down, and then he could head out. But the dog just kept barking. He’d never known him to act like this.

“Dad, what are we doing?”

“We’ll catch him soon. Mark my words.”

“Okay… but it’s taking a long time. And we have… wait… six cars there and, just a sec… twelve people, not counting you. We need them other places.”

“Thanks for reminding me of that. That’s just what I need right now.”

“Sorry, Dad. You’re there. But what are we doing?… Dad?”

“Wait. The dog started barking. The police requested he be brought here. I’ll go check it out and call you back soon.”

Flower was afraid of dogs, but she knew instinctively that she wanted to be outside right now. He was barking at another house somewhere. Did it have something to do with Moses? She considered climbing out her window, but Mommy would be back upstairs in a few minutes, wanting her to eat her fruit salad. That would cause trouble. He wasn’t stopping, the dog.

Willie heard the dog. It had been barking for at least a minute, if not longer. He was once again in the wrong place, but all he had to do now was follow the barking. Maybe there would be a chance to be useful. A minor heroic act on the sidelines. The black boy might try to run, and he would stop him. And then, van Lange, that arrogant asshole, would finally offer him a job. What he really wanted to do was shoot the boy in the head. It had been a long time since he’d taken down any blacks.

Mrs. Viljoen was watching Meli when the dog began to bark. You always had to keep an eye on them. And that bush over there… he was trimming it so irritatingly slowly that she was thinking about docking him ten of the hundred rand she’d have to pay him shortly.

“Madam,” he always said after he knocked on the door. “I’m done.” At least he waited outside. Not like the last man, who had always stepped right inside even though he didn’t have a right to be in there. Well, he’d get his hundred rand. Even if it was only because of the respect he showed her. That dog… What was going on?

Warren Kramer stuck his hand out of the car and greeted the Central Alert man who was standing by the entrance to The Pines. People knew him here. “Any news?” he asked.

“I haven’t heard much out here,” the guard said. He was fit and was sweating profusely. A female colleague in uniform was sitting in the wall’s shadow. She jumped up as she caught sight of the junior boss. Somewhere far away, a dog started to bark. All three listened to it. The barking didn’t stop.

“Where is that?” Kramer asked.

The male guard gestured vaguely into The Pines. “Police dog. Just got here. That went fast… I mean, if they’ve caught him that is.”

“I’ll drive over there and take a look.” Kramer tried to follow the barking as he drove into the gated community. Maybe this had been a wasted trip.

“Work faster, chaps!” Rob van der Merwe was standing in the shade of a scrawny little tree, thinking about the fact they still had one last job to do that afternoon. Nothing major, but it was in Amalinda, a few kilometers away. The commuter traffic would be starting soon, and they still had a solid hour of work to finish here. They’d get it done somehow, even if the boys had to work overtime. “Hurry up!”

A dog nearby began to bark. Deep barks, just like his Rhodesian Ridgeback, a marvelous animal. You could depend on a dog like that. And they were so quiet. However, if someone trespassed on his farmland, Bobby could make things quite uncomfortable. But the dog here was anything but quiet. How did the neighbors put up with that? And he wouldn’t stop barking. Van der Merwe grew curious. There’d be trouble. The dog had to be close by. He would take a look. Clapped his hands once more. “Chaps, smoke break! Ten minutes, then everyone back on task. And Mcebisi… you can go search for your bandana. Are you sure you had it when we drove in here?”

The black cop was kneeling beside the dog as Ludelwa got out of the car. She wanted to talk to her colleague in the other Central Alert vehicle. Watching the old man’s place seemed safer to her than waiting here with the men for the hunt for the boy to continue. She rapped at the driver’s door. She didn’t know the man at the wheel, but the company employed so many people, this wasn’t unusual. The man was older than her and heavy. He didn’t even look at her when he spoke. “We should wait here. Reinforcements are coming.” He spoke good English, Ludelwa thought. And he wasn’t a Xhosa.

Happiness couldn’t hear Nkosi’s barking because all she had access to was a silent video stream. She didn’t even suspect that the dog was barking. The images she was monitoring didn’t cover the area where he had come to a stop. However, one thing puzzled her. Her impression had been that the boy she had just seen was actually located over toward the river. Only a short clip. He’d dashed through the picture—maybe he’d known that a camera was mounted there. But all the security guards and cops were currently moving around the center of The Pines. There had to be a reason for that. For just a moment, she’d considered calling Warren or the young van Lange. However, there was a reason for everything. Of that she was certain.

As Nkosi started to bark, Police Inspector Vukile Pokwana was driving his Citi Golf around the last traffic circle before Dorchester Heights. He’d almost driven into the curb, since he’d been driving with only one hand. No power steering here. The vehicle had been the only one available, but it was had been a better choice than his own car, since it was at least recognizable as a police vehicle. He had a bad feeling about what he was heading into. “I’m almost there, yes,” he confirmed into his phone, as he struggled to keep the VW in its lane. “And I’ve asked the station in Cambridge to send us more manpower. There’s no way this idiot’s going to waste our entire day… Uh-huh… Like I said, I’m almost there.”

Fucking dog. Warrant Officer Bezuidenhout turned aside and covered his ears. He needed to think. The boy was in this house, and since the dog wouldn’t stop barking, he had to be aware that they were on to him. Storming the house was one possibility. Another was to demand that he come out. And to call in backup so nothing went wrong. Another security vehicle came around the corner and pulled up. The situation fell way beyond the scope of the security guys’ responsibilities. Had he even loaded his service pistol? He pulled it from his holster to check. That fucking dog.