he looked at Nick.
Riana had asked why Nick hadn’t crossed the line himself. What the rest of the population doesn’t realise is that the lines are different. They want to see results and they want to believe that the police are honest, but what they don’t know is that the two things don’t always go together. Or they prefer not to know.
People often asked him why he had decided to become a cop. He realised that everyone had their own reasons. Some were plausible, others almost laughably naive. He had never laughed at anyone’s reason, because his own probably demonstrated the worst degree of naivety. He imagined that a boy who grows up without a father tries for the rest of his life to become his own hero. The problem is that he doesn’t really know what heroism should look or feel like, so one day he realises he’s like a dog chasing its own tail. But he keeps on. Perhaps in the hope that, one day, he’ll see something in someone else’s eyes that he himself can’t see.
Nols had grown up with a father.
CHAPTER 5
Ellie was sitting on a bench in the Company’s Garden, staring at her cellphone. She dialled the number before she could get cold feet.
“Greyling.”
“It’s me.”
“Babes! Where are you?”
Ellie ignored the pet name. “Why have you been looking for me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you call Clive to ask where I was?”
“I 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
