Endgame. Wilna Adriaanse
was worried about you. I wanted to know how you are and where you are. No one else seemed to know where to find you.”
“And the guys who came looking for me yesterday?”
There was a moment’s silence. Then he said: “Where are you? I want to talk to you.”
Ellie hesitated. “I’m in the Company’s Garden.” She explained where she was sitting. “I have things to do. If you’re not here in twenty minutes, I’m leaving.”
“I’ll be there in ten. Don’t leave.”
Ellie looked around her. People were walking to and fro, living their ordinary lives. Opposite her a young mother knelt beside her toddler, pointing out a squirrel. Two schoolgirls hurried past, talking breathlessly. They reminded her of herself and Melissa. She had to phone Melissa. By now she would probably refuse to talk to her.
She was still thinking about Melissa when she saw the familiar figure approach. His hair was slightly longer than usual and his clothing of a better quality than when they had first met, but basically he looked the same.
Captain Albert Greyling was an attractive man with tousled blond hair and a lean body. At thirty-five he was probably at the height of his career. He was prepared to work hard, as his achievements proved.
Her dad had had misgivings about Albert. It was a subject the two of them had tried to avoid, especially after Ellie and Albert had started to date. Today she had questions about Albert that she wished she could ask her father.
The two of them had last seen each other in the office of Brigadier Ibrahim Ahmed, head of the Serious Economic Offences Unit in Cape Town. She was still not completely sure what had gone wrong with their case, nor what Albert’s part in it had been.
During the past few months she had decided she probably didn’t want to know either.
She noticed his hesitation when he saw her. Then he smiled. “I nearly didn’t recognise you. The last time I saw you, you were a brunette.” He sat down beside her, leaned across and kissed her cheek. “Hell, you look good.”
“Why did you want to see me?”
He leaned back and looked at her over his sunglasses. “Don’t do this. I’m not the enemy.”
Ellie sighed. “Albert, this isn’t a social visit. I don’t want to make small talk.”
“I was worried about you. Is that a sin? You just disappeared.”
“And you just happened to phone Clive this weekend to find out where I was? Why don’t I believe you?”
“When last did you see Clara Veldman or hear from her?”
“When I left, five months ago.”
“Never again?”
“No.”
“Would you have told me if you’d had contact with her?”
“Depends.”
“Mac, don’t play games.”
“Why do you want to know?”
He sat back on the bench. Stretched his arms along the backrest. “Williams thinks she was kidnapped on Friday night.”
“By whom?” She should have known Happy wouldn’t have told her if he hadn’t been certain of the facts. She decided not to tell Albert she already knew.
“Your guess is as good as mine. It could literally be anyone. You know how many people want a go at Williams.”
“Are you still working for him?”
“I never worked for Williams.”
“Albert, I don’t care what you tell the others, but you can’t lie to me. Things between you and Williams weren’t always above board.”
He touched her shoulder and turned her towards him. “I told you at the time: You do what has to be done to make an operation succeed. We’re not playing games, and none of us are virgins any more. We all know what we’re letting ourselves in for.”
Ellie shook her head. “I’m not interested. It’s your life. As long as you realise there are others involved and you have no right to put their lives in danger.”
He threw his hands up. “Fuck! Was I the one who hurt you? Did I ever put your life in danger? I kept you informed every step of the way. Why don’t you point a finger at your friend Malherbe, or Barnard?”
Ellie wanted to ask him about the night on the road to Rietvlei, and whether he had ever disclosed the role Reggie had played, but she didn’t have the stomach for reopening old wounds.
“Albert …” She took a deep breath. “I don’t know why we’re talking about this. It’s in the past. I’m sorry it didn’t go the way we hoped, but that’s the way it is. We both know it. It’s part of the job.” She turned to him. “Who are the guys who came looking for me?”
“Two youngsters who work for Williams.”
“You told Williams where I was! Why didn’t you come yourself?”
“I’m snowed under with work; I can’t budge. You’ve no idea what it’s like. Bloody Ahmed treats me like a child. I can hardly sneeze without asking his permission and if I sneeze anyway, I have to file a report in triplicate.” He leaned forward, his elbows on his thighs. “Lately I’ve been thinking of packing up and fucking off. I’ve worked my arse off to gain the trust of Williams and his crowd. The suspension, even if it was only a month, hurt me. I nearly lost them. When Williams called me I didn’t think there was any harm in trying to find out where they could get hold of you. They seemed quite desperate.”
Ellie looked at his back and had to stop herself from touching him. He wasn’t a bad person – at times just a little lost in his own complex personality. A chameleon with a great variety of colours. She wondered if he always knew himself who and what he was.
“Why does Williams think I’d know something?”
“Evidently Clara has been looking for you recently.”
The words struck Ellie somewhere below the ribs. Where there had been an ache for a long time. She pictured Clara’s face. A young girl with a lot of problems.
“I don’t know where Clara is. And I don’t care who believes it or doesn’t believe it.”
Albert straightened up. “Won’t you just go and see Williams? Tell him face to face that you don’t know where she is?”
“Why would I want to do that?” Ellie couldn’t believe what he was asking. When he didn’t reply, she said: “It’s about you, isn’t it? You’re having trouble with Williams and now you want me to pave the way back for you.”
Albert threw his hands up into the air. “Fuck, babes, do you think it’s easy for me to ask you a favour? Do you think I’d do it if there was any other way?”
“Do you have anything to do with Clara’s disappearance?”
“How stupid do you think I am?” he said, shaking his head. “There was a time when you thought I knew what I was doing. You trusted me. I’m still not sure what exactly happened to make me suddenly worthless. Just give me a bloody chance, won’t you?” He took her hand. “We knew there were going to be risks. Why am I the only one being punished? Why not Barnard, or Zondi, or any of the others who knew what was going on?”
She pulled her hand out of his grasp and got to her feet. “I’m not punishing you. I’m just carrying on with my life. Hopefully I’ll be able to come to terms with a few things.”
“Don’t go. Can’t we just have a normal conversation for a few minutes?”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“How are you?”