Facets of Death

by Michael Stanley

  Chapter 90

  Old Man pulled an automatic from his shoulder holster. “Police. Put your hands up.” Tuelo whipped around, pulled a gun from under his coat, and fired at Old Man, who collapsed to the ground.

  “Drop your gun!” It was Ice Cream, now running towards Tuelo, who fired a couple of shots in his direction.

  Tuelo jumped on his motorbike, kicked it into life, and headed away from the lake directly at a group of picnickers, who scattered in terror as the bike approached. Ice Cream held his fire for fear of hitting the bystanders.

  “Bikers, suspect is headed towards Westwold Way and Jan Smuts Avenue. Report contact.”

  A few moments later he received confirmation that Biker Two had Tuelo in sight.

  “Suspect headed north on Jan Smuts. Following.”

  * * *

  Biker Two had never been so frightened as he followed Tuelo along Jan Smuts Avenue. It was peak period, and the northbound two lanes were bumper to bumper. When there was no oncoming traffic, Tuelo roared down the wrong side of the road. When traffic came towards him, he swerved between the lines of cars, barely missing them on either side. A couple of times, he even used the pavement. Biker Two thanked God there were no pedestrians.

  There was no point in trying to close the gap. There were far too many civilians around. All Biker Two hoped to do was keep Tuelo in sight until an opportunity came to engage.

  Tuelo moved onto the wrong side of the road again. Biker Two followed, a hundred metres behind. He hoped Tuelo would turn up one of the side streets where there was little traffic. Instead, as a car came towards him, Tuelo shot through a narrow gap between two cars and accelerated between the two ribbons of cars. Biker Two followed, terrified that someone would change lanes or open a car door.

  A few moments later, Tuelo was on the wrong side of the road again, then between the lanes of traffic. Then back on the wrong side.

  “What’s your position Biker Two?”

  “Still Jan Smuts northbound,” he gasped.

  Just then Tuelo cut back between the lines of traffic as a bus came towards him. Biker Two followed. Suddenly a minibus taxi changed lanes without indicating. Tuelo braked but was too late. He crashed into the side of the taxi and was thrown into the air, hitting the top of the taxi, causing him to somersault several times before hitting the ground.

  Biker Two screeched to a halt, pulled his handgun, and screamed at the people getting out of their cars. “Police, police. Get away. He’s dangerous.”

  As the people scattered, he ran up to Tuelo, who was lying motionless on the ground, bleeding profusely from his head. He held his gun to Tuelo’s head and grabbed the gun from under his jacket. He stuffed it into his belt. Then he unclipped the buckle of the backpack and pulled the pack roughly off Tuelo’s back. He twisted one arm behind Tuelo’s back and snapped on a handcuff, then did the same with the other arm. After what Tuelo had just put him through, he wasn’t inclined to be gentle. Finally, he unzipped the backpack’s flap and gazed at hundreds of glasslike stones, but he didn’t know if they were diamonds. He just hoped they were.

  He closed the flap, picked up the pack, and ran back to his bike. “Ndlovu, this is Biker Two. Suspect is down near Bompas Road. Need an ambulance. Urgent. And I have the stones.”

  Chapter 91

  It was nearly six o’clock when the deputy commissioner’s phone rang. He grabbed the handset. “This is the deputy commissioner.”

  For the next few minutes, he took notes as the voice at the other end of the line explained what had transpired. At the end, he asked a few questions, then offered his thanks.

  “Thank you, Deputy National Commissioner. The South African Police Service has been a great help. I look forward to your updates and will get back to you when I’ve briefed the people here. We realise it’ll be impossible to prevent reporting of the incident because it’s so public, but it would help us if the details can be kept quiet for a few days, such as who the fugitive was and why he was being sought. Also, it’s critical that there’s no announcement of the recovery of the diamonds. We still have some work to do here.”

  After he hung up, he phoned the commissioner to bring him up to date. Then he called Director Gobey and asked him to bring Mabaku, Dow, and Bengu to his office for a meeting in fifteen minutes.

  “You’re going to like what I’m going to tell you.”

  * * *

  The deputy commissioner addressed a full meeting of the CID detectives. Everyone was keen to know what had happened at the Zoo Lake, and there was enthusiastic clapping when he announced that Tuelo, the ringleader of the robbery, had been captured. Furthermore, the police were sure that Tuelo was the person who had murdered Tau, his accomplice inside Jwaneng. Tuelo was currently in intensive care under heavy guard. The diamonds hadn’t been found yet, but the South African police were confident that they soon would be.

  “On behalf of the commissioner,” the deputy commissioner concluded, “I’d like to thank you all for bringing this case to a successful conclusion. Any questions?”

  “Was the fence captured?” Dow asked.

  The deputy commissioner shook his head. “The South African police closed the park and interviewed bystanders, but there were no suspects. Somehow he must have realised there was something very wrong.”

  Mabaku nodded. That was what he’d expected.

  Kubu put up his hand. “Deputy Commissioner, has Tuelo said anything to the SA police yet?”

  The deputy commissioner shook his head. “He’s unconscious. We’re not sure he’ll survive. But that’s confidential.”

  After a few more questions, the deputy commissioner closed the meeting. On his way out, he pulled Mabaku aside. “Assistant Superintendent, this obviously isn’t important now, but for your information, I checked the director’s finances carefully. Everything is in perfect order.”

  “Of course, sir. I’m sorry—”

  “Don’t be. You did the right thing.”

  With that, he turned and headed off to his office.

  THURSDAY

  Chapter 92

  Major Chamberlain liked an early start at the office, but there were usually a few people around before him. However, on the morning after the trap had been sprung at Zoo Lake, the office block seemed deserted when he arrived. He hardly noticed. His mind was on the future.

  One thing that still puzzled him was why Tuelo had hidden the diamonds. What was the point of going to the rendezvous without them? Apparently, he’d been wearing a heavy backpack, but it’d turned out to be full of gravel yet again.

  He’d spent the night wracking his brains over where the diamonds could be, going through every possible scenario that Tuelo could have followed. But in the early hours of the morning, he came to the conclusion that there was nothing he could do about it. He knew he’d have to fight off the suspicions of the police and the disdain of his wife, but he was confident he could handle both, provided he was careful. So, he’d resigned himself to the failure of his plan.

  One consolation was that perhaps the contribution he’d made to the arrest of Tuelo would help him with future promotion, help him escape from the dusty nothingness of Jwaneng and the constant nagging of his wife.

  He walked through his PA’s office—she’d make his first cup of coffee when she arrived at 8:00 a.m.—and started to unlock his door but discovered it wasn’t locked.

  I must’ve forgotten to lock it when I left yesterday, he thought. There was a lot on my mind.

  He opened the door and walked into his office. Then he froze, staring at the man seated behind his desk.

  “Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my office?” he spluttered.

  The man sitting in his chair was wearing a leopard skin over his otherwise bare shoulders, and a necklace of bones around his neck. He’d placed the head of a crow on the desk in front of him, and it was
oozing blood over the major’s papers.

  “I am Katlego. Everything that was done was done by me. Everything that was undone was undone by you.”

  “Get out! I’m going to call security right now.” He started backing towards the door.

  Katlego picked up the crow’s head and pointed its beak at the major. He laughed when he ducked. “Call them if you like. They will not come.”

  He didn’t want to, but the major believed him. “Who are you?” he asked again.

  “I told you who I am. I destroyed the plane to block the runway. I wove the spell over Tau so that he would help us. I bewitched Kenosi to hijack the security vehicle. And yet you ask who I am?”

  “You’re Tuelo’s witch doctor?”

  Katlego shook his head. “I belong to myself. And the spirits.”

  The major bristled. “That’s all nonsense. He hired some confidence trickster to pretend to be a witch doctor. What do you bloody well want?”

  “Is that what he told you?” Katlego laughed. “He probably thought you wouldn’t believe the truth and made up that stupid story. As to what I want, I want you to help me sell the diamonds. You know how to do that.”

  For the first time, the major saw a possible advantage to himself. “The diamonds? You have them?”

  Katlego was silent.

  The major pulled himself together. “I don’t believe you. Are you from the police?”

  Katlego laughed again. “The police? Am I from the police?” He stopped laughing and stood up behind the desk. He was an imposing figure, and the major took another step back.

  “You betrayed us!” Katlego thundered. “We had won, and even though you did nothing, you would have got your share. But you betrayed us!”

  “No! It was Tau, not me. He—”

  “You told them! He knew nothing about the arrangement with Letsa. It was you!”

  “But Tuelo killed Tau when I told him he was going to the police! He would have killed me too. And you!”

  “You believe he could have killed me?” The witch doctor sneered. “Tuelo is nothing.”

  Katlego had come around the desk and was walking closer. He had a knobkierie in his right hand.

  “You are supposed to be a soldier, but when you smell danger, you run like a girl child.”

  He was getting closer.

  At last the major stood his ground. “All right. It doesn’t matter what you think. Tuelo killed a lot of people. That was never supposed to happen. He can rot in jail for all I care. I had a perfect plan, and he ruined it with his greed and violence!”

  The witch doctor was now standing in front of him.

  “We can work together,” the major went on. “I’ll contact Letsa. He can set up the deal again. If Tuelo hadn’t had the robbers killed, the diamonds would already have been safely sold. He’s the one to blame for this mess. Not me.” He paused. “You have the diamonds?”

  Katlego reached into his pocket and took out a handful of raw gems. He let them trickle to the floor.

  The major suppressed the urge to pick them up. He looked Katlego in the eye. “Fifty-fifty. Same as the deal with Tuelo before he double-crossed me.”

  Katlego reached forward and wiped his bloody hands on the major’s shirt. Then he walked out of the office without another word.

  The major turned to follow him but found the door blocked. The man standing in the doorway was Assistant Superintendent Mabaku. He was holding a set of handcuffs.

  * * *

  Katlego walked next door, where Kubu and a technician had the sound-recording equipment.

  “Well, young Bengu,” he said as the technician relieved him of the microphone and small transmitter from under the leopard skin, “I hope you enjoyed the performance.”

  Kubu jumped up and shook his hand, ignoring the red dye on it. “You were brilliant! You could be a professional actor.”

  Katlego laughed. “There’s no money in that. But every successful witch doctor has some talent in that direction. It’s not enough for people to get what they want; they need to feel its value also.” He smiled. “I’m going to change into some proper clothes. I don’t believe I’ll meet you again, but I foresee a bright future for you. Greet your father for me.”

  He left to get cleaned up.

  Kubu wondered about his comment. A bright future? Was that just a compliment, or was it a prediction? He shook his head to dispel such nonsense.

  He went into the passage in time to see Chamberlain being led away by two constables.

  Some Weeks Later

  Chapter 93

  Kubu drove up to a small block of flats not too far from where he was staying. He was so excited that he was fifteen minutes early. He parked the Land Rover and thought back on the events that had brought him there.

  He still couldn’t believe he’d accepted Joy’s suggestion that they go out for a Saturday lunch. He’d been returning the map he’d borrowed, thankful he’d been able to erase the marks Constable Murewa had made when he was in Otse, when she’d sprung the idea on him. He was so surprised that he’d blurted out that he’d take them to The Palms. She’d just laughed and said that she knew he couldn’t afford that. She’d suggested a restaurant that she’d found to be of good value.

  “And,” she’d insisted, “we’re going to share the cost.”

  Kubu had just stood there speechless for a few moments, his emotions in turmoil. He wanted to be the perfect gentleman but had to acknowledge she was right about his finances. Going to a more modest establishment than he’d suggested was fine, but splitting the costs? That was going too far.

  “No, it’s my treat,” he’d protested.

  She’d just laughed again, her eyes twinkling. “When you’re an assistant superintendent, you can treat me. Until then, we split the bill.”

  Kubu was smart enough to know he wasn’t going to win this battle with a woman whose soft smile seemed to belie an iron will.

  “Well, if you insist,” he’d demurred. “But I’ll pick you up if you’re willing to ride in an old Land Rover that needs to be driven occasionally.”

  “I’d like that. How about a week from Saturday at noon? I’ll write down my address. I’d give you my phone number, but I don’t have a phone. They’re too expensive.”

  “I don’t have one either,” Kubu had responded, thankful they were on a less challenging topic.

  He remembered walking back to his office, heart pounding, mulling over what had just happened. On the one hand, he’d felt elated that she’d taken the initiative. That was a great relief because he wasn’t sure he would have had the courage to do it. On the other hand, he’d felt a little embarrassed to be asked out by a woman. Invitations were a man’s job, he’d thought.

  And it seemed that Joy was possibly thinking that this may not be the only time they would go out. After all, she’d said he could treat her when he’d become an assistant superintendent, which was obviously years ahead.

  When he’d reached his office, he’d shut the door, sat down, put his feet on his desk, and let his imagination take over.

  * * *

  Kubu walked up the two flights of stairs and paused on the landing to catch his breath and pat down the wrinkles in his shirt.

  Well, here goes, he said to himself.

  He walked along the passage to Flat 14 and knocked. As he waited, he had a horrible feeling that he should have brought flowers. He felt his stomach tighten.

  He knocked again, now worried that Joy had decided her suggestion had been a mistake. Then the door opened. Kubu took a step forward and smiled, then stopped. It wasn’t Joy at the door, but someone he didn’t know.

  “I’m so sorry. I must have the wrong flat. I’m looking for Joy Serowe. Do you know her?”

  The woman smiled. “Come in. I’m Pleasant, Joy’s sister. You must be Kubu. Nice to meet you.” She reach
ed out to shake his hand. Kubu responded, feeling overwhelmed. He was on his first date, and already other people knew about it. He’d hoped to keep it under wraps in case it didn’t turn out well.

  “Joy will be out in a few minutes. Can I get you a glass of water or a cup of tea?”

  Kubu declined, then felt embarrassed as Pleasant mentioned that she’d heard that Kubu was new to the CID and had been instrumental in solving the department’s biggest case.

  “No, it was a team effort. Everyone made an important contribution.”

  “Anyway, congratulations.”

  Kubu mumbled his thanks and stood, feeling decidedly awkward. “Have you lived here long?”

  Pleasant was about to answer when Joy walked into the room. Kubu thought his heart had stopped. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her dress was casual, yet stunning, with an abstract pattern of muted, typically African colours. And her smile! Happy and warm. He wanted to take her into his arms and give her a big hug.

  “Hello, Kubu. Ready for the big adventure?”

  Kubu stuck out his hand to avoid answering. “Nice to see you again, Joy.”

  She shook his hand, then pulled him towards the door. “Let’s go.”

  “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Pleasant warned as they left.

  Joy rolled her eyes. “Younger sisters! Come on, Kubu. I’m hungry.”

  Chapter 94

  “I hoped this was the restaurant you had in mind,” Kubu said as they sat down. “I’ve heard it’s very good.”

  “I’ve been here a couple of times. I like it.”

  Kubu was thankful that the waitress arrived with menus because he wasn’t sure how to continue the conversation. “What would you like to drink?” she asked.

  Kubu looked at Joy. “Just a glass of water.”

  “And you, sir?”

  Kubu wondered whether he should order what he really wanted—a glass of wine—but decided that Joy may disapprove of drinking alcohol at lunch. So, he opted for a safe alternative. “A diet cola, please. But no ice.”