loop nog, ons sal dit dalk moet verfyn. Maar niks tot dusver nie.”
Nyathi kom ingestap en die vertrek raak stil. “Bennie, the Brit-ish consul general’s office just called. She has news about the passport, we can go and see her now.”
Wenkbroue lig. Cupido kyk na sy horlosie. “Twintig oor sewe in die aand? Maybe is hierdie Morris royalty of iets.”
* * *
In die motor sê Nyathi: “I spoke to your sponsor. Thanks, Bennie. I hope you understand.”
En hy sê: “Of course, sir,” want hy verstaan. Die Valke is ’n spanomgewing. Die swakste skakel bepaal die sukses. En dis wat hy op die oomblik is.
“Everything else O.K.? Your health? The family?”
“Yes, thank you, sir.”
Die kolonel knik sy kaal kop stadig en nadenkend soos ’n man wat ’n treetjie nader aan insig en die waarheid gekom het.
Hulle ry in stilte tot op die N1. “Cloete has his hands full with the media,” sê Nyathi. “We need a break. Quickly.” En dan: “Do you think it’s a ransom thing, Bennie?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you investigated a kidnapping involving a ransom before?”
“Three or four times, sir. But not where there’s a foreigner involved.”
“I’ve never had one,” sê Nyathi.
“They’re all bad news, sir.”
Hulle parkeer in Riebeeckstraat en moet eers soek vir die ingang na Norton Rose House, ’n toringblok wat verlate is dié tyd van die aand.
Die Britse konsulaat, met koeëlvaste glasdeure en ’n deeglike sekuriteitstelsel, is op die vyftiende verdieping – Griessel en Nyathi moet hulself eers identifiseer voor ’n vrou hulle kom haal en na die konsul-generaal se kantoor neem.
Die waardige middeljarige vrou stel haarself voor as Doreen Brennan. Sy is nie alleen nie. By haar is ’n jonger vrou met donker kortgeknipte hare, ’n swartraambril en ’n mooi mond. “This is one of our vice-consuls, Emma Graber. Please, gentlemen, sit down.”
Wanneer hulle die hoflikhede afgehandel het, stoot Brennan die polisiefotograaf se foto van die paspoort oor die lessenaar. “I’m afraid this is a forgery,” sê sy apologeties.
Griessel se moed sak in sy skoene. Dit beteken hulle weet steeds nie wie Morris of sy naasbestaandes is nie.
“Are you sure?” vra Nyathi.
“Yes. The passport number belongs to a seventy-six year old woman from Bexhill-on-Sea in Sussex who passed away thirteen days ago. It might be her passport that was modified, but we’ll need to analyse the original to be sure.”
“No, the passport is very new,” sê Griessel terwyl hy stoei met die teleurstelling.
“Would it be possible for us to have a look at the document itself?” vra Graber. “We have a comprehensive database of for-geries, which might help to trace its origin.”
“Of course,” sê Nyathi. “I’m sure that can be arranged eventually …”
“I see,” sê Graber nadenkend. Dan: “Of course, we only want to aid your investigation. As I understand it, the first seventy-two hours are usually crucial.”
“Indeed. And it is much appreciated,” sê Nyathi.
“We actually know very little about the crime that this person was involved in,” sê Graber. “Unfortunately, the detective who brought the photographs spoke to one of the clerks. Could you tell us more?”
Nyathi huiwer, glimlag dan hoflik. “I’m really sorry, but the investigation is at a very sensitive stage. And now that it seems as if Morris might not be a British citizen … I do hope you understand …”
“Of course,” sê Graber en glimlag simpatiek. “We’re just trying to help. And I’m curious. Was it a robbery or something?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
Griessel konsentreer nie en raak eers bewus van die ongemaklike stilte wanneer Nyathi vlugtig maar betekenisvol na hom kyk. En dan snap hy eindelik dat hier iets aan die gang is, ’n verbale skaakspel – Graber wil baie graag die paspoort in haar hande hê en meer weet van die misdaad. Nyathi is baie onwillig om dit met haar te deel. En hy onthou Cupido se reaksie: Twintig oor sewe in die aand? Maybe is hierdie Morris royalty of iets.
Meteens is hy wakker, asof die tamheid van hom afrol.
Hier is ’n slang in die gras. En die kolonel wil hê hy moet dit help vang.
12
Hy weet hy moet sy vrae nou reg vra. “Do you monitor missing persons?”
Hy sien die konsul-generaal wag vir Graber om te antwoord.
“Well, only if they are reported missing, and are presumed to be travelling, of course. There is a process …”
“Was a Paul Anthony Morris reported missing?”
“Not that we know of,” sê Graber.
“Someone of his age and description?”
“It is hard to say. The info you have provided is rather sketchy. If we can analyse the original document?”
“Do you have any idea who this Paul Anthony Morris might be?”
“Well, it is quite a common name. As you can imagine, it is going to take some time to scour the Home Office database, which might turn up nothing.”
Dit is asof sy hom aanmoedig om die regte vraag te vra, maar hy weet nie wat dit is nie. “But do you … have you got any idea?”
“What we do know, is that no person by that name has been reported missing in the United Kingdom in the past fortnight.”
Griessel probeer die spel verstaan. Sy gee hom nie ’n direkte “nee” nie. Waarom nie?
“Are there any other persons who were reported missing that you think he might be?” Nie heeltemal reg geformuleer nie, sy is slim, hy sal nou mooi moet dink.
Sonder huiwering sê Graber: “The Metropolitan Police in the UK run a database called Merlin, which amongst other information, also logs missing person reports. We have to assume that the age indicated on the passport is more or less correct, because it has to correspond with the photograph. And of course the photograph must bear a close enough resemblance to the man who entered this country last week in order to fool customs. Now, I can tell you that Merlin provided absolutely no data on persons generally resembling this photograph, and in this broad age bracket, that have been reported missing to UK authorities over the past fortnight.”
Vir wat neuk sy so met “fortnight”?
“And in the past six to
