An Ordinary Day

by Trevor Corbett

  Masondo looked at Durant in disbelief. ‘Unofficially? You don’t think we’re in enough trouble as it is? Bugging diplomats, people getting killed under our noses, and now you’re tasking SAPS members to do unofficial investigations for us?’

  Durant spoke softly. ‘I had no choice, chief. I don’t want to be a suspect. Once that happens, the whole operation’s blown.’

  Masondo shook his head. ‘I don’t know if it was the right thing to do.’

  ‘It was the only thing. I thought it safer to give Heath a bit to go on, and he’ll investigate in his own way. I thought we had nothing to lose.’

  Masondo was still shaking his head. ‘Except our careers. Did you profile him first?’

  ‘Well, I assessed him’

  ‘Assessed him? Based on what?’

  ‘Based on, um, photos on his desk.’

  ‘Are you reinventing the policies, Durant? Those things were written for a reason.’

  ‘I know, but I didn’t have a choice. It was one of those—’

  ‘Kevin Durant Moments. I know, and soon after those moments we normally have a free trip to HQ to explain.’

  ‘I think we’re okay on this one, chief.’

  ‘Can we trust him?’

  ‘We can trust him,’ Durant said.

  Masondo nodded. ‘What have you got, Amina? No warrants out for your arrest?’

  Amina laughed. ‘There may be! I also had a few Kevin Durant Moments. I just didn’t get caught!’

  Masondo rubbed his forehead. ‘You guys are killing me, you know that?’

  ‘Okay, I visited Ali’s wife at their house … It was an odd experience. I thought of you guys stumbling around there in the dark …’

  ‘We didn’t “stumble”. Not much, anyway.’

  ‘Anyway, Mrs Ali is a strong woman, very resolute and determined. She’s also not a fool. Did you know she’s in a wheelchair? For the last twenty years. I never picked that up from his office; he never spoke about her.’

  ‘We thought the lift in the house was just extravagance. I guess we need to repent, Mike.’

  ‘I feel sorry for her,’ Amina went on. ‘It’s very sad. Ali takes care of her medical needs, and she, well, she just exists. She’s got no idea he’s involved in criminal activity; she just thinks he’s an astute businessman.’

  Durant nodded. ‘Oh, he’s astute all right.’

  ‘Anyway, she said he went to a meeting at one of the depots and never came back. She said he has a lot of enemies.’

  ‘No kidding,’ Shezi said. ‘He’s definitely not the most pleasant guy around.’

  ‘She thinks he may have been kidnapped, although she hasn’t heard from anyone. She said one of his bodyguards is also missing – a guy called Anwar.’

  Masondo shook his head. ‘Well. Now it’s one dead, one fugitive and two missing. How did this get so bad?’

  ‘Two fugitives including Kevin,’ Shezi laughed.

  ‘One interesting thing she did say was that she overheard Ali talking to Mojo about an American guy he was working with who was protecting a shipment that he was expecting. He was waiting to be paid by someone for this shipment and she suspects his disappearance has something to do with this deal.’

  ‘Did she say what the shipment was?’ Durant asked, without looking up from the notepad where he scribbled notes he would never read.

  ‘She didn’t. I’m sure she didn’t know.’

  ‘Did she mention anything about Libya?’

  ‘Nothing, and she didn’t mention Elhasomi’s name.’

  ‘She didn’t? Anything more on the American?’

  Amina smiled. ‘You guys have no faith in me. Nothing more on the American, but she did say he phoned a number at the same time every afternoon at about five. He used to whisper a few words about stationery and she knew he was lying because he never dealt with issues like that. She thought he was having an affair and checked his detailed billing. She got the number.’

  Durant looked up and grinned. ‘You’re good,’ he said, nodding. ‘That’s important.’

  ‘A few days ago there was a confrontation of a kind and when he left, she was angry and dialled the number. It’s an answering service so she didn’t get very far. She gave the number to me.’

  ‘Who exactly did she think you were?’ Shezi asked, clearly impressed.

  Amina looked embarrassed for a moment and then she laughed. ‘I said I was his, um, psychologist. He’d had a lot of stress lately and I’d been giving him therapy then I’d lost contact and was concerned.’

  Masondo put his head in his arms. ‘Great. Now my other member impersonates a medical practitioner. I don’t know if I even want to hear any more. How about you, Shezi? You didn’t kill Ali, did you?’

  ‘Listen, Mr Masondo,’ Amina said. ‘We got on very well. I could tell Mrs Ali all about his psychological hang-ups and fears and it was all spot on. It’s amazing how much you learn from someone when you spy on him.’

  Shezi shook his head in mock dismay. ‘You’re mean, Ami. You lied to a poor lady in a wheelchair. What’s this world coming to?’

  ‘I was a virtual psychologist. I listened to all the problems he poured out while he was in his office. So I was Dr Soraya Khan. I think I’d make a good psychologist!’

  Durant shook his head. ‘You wicked woman.’

  ‘That’s rich, coming from a murder suspect.’

  Masondo tapped his spoon on the table. ‘Can we have some order here? Can you trace the number, Durant?’

  ‘No problem at all, chief, just a phone call away.’

  Shezi sipped his coffee and cleared his throat. ‘Anybody interested in what I have to say?’

  Masondo had started closing his briefcase as if to leave. ‘Sorry, Mike. Make it quick, I don’t want to be late for my date. We’ve got off to a shaky start.’

  ‘Very quick, chief.’

  ‘Just tell me you didn’t impersonate a priest.’

  Shezi laughed. ‘Actually, I spent the day on the phone and on the internet. I phoned a few contacts and I had a few appointments. Ever heard of Rafar Estates?’

  Shezi was greeted with blank stares.

  ‘Rafar Estates is a winery based in Malta. They import choice wines from Europe mostly, but also from other countries. It’s a small company, but apparently quite successful. They’ve got quite a lively marketing programme, neatly laid out on their website. There was also a page on senior staff with their profiles and pictures. Their marketing manager is a fellow by the name of … wait … I forget the name … um … Benjamin something. Oh, now I remember. Benjamin Salem. I printed his profile and picture for you.’

  Shezi slid the picture across the table. This was definitely the Salem they knew.

  ‘Mike, you’re a legend, man. This is the best lead we’ve had so far,’ Durant said.

  ‘I’m not finished yet. I managed to get their import and export schedules for the next six months. There’re three import consignments scheduled from South Africa over the next six months, the first one from Stellenbosch this week.’

  ‘This week!’ Durant leapt to his feet, and then sat down again. The couple at the table nearby stood up, glared at them, picked up their plates, and moved inside. ‘Sorry. Do you have the details, is it a container-load?’

  ‘I’ll have the details soon. I’ve got someone checking through a whole bunch of bills of lading and someone else checking from the customs side.’

  Durant battled to contain his excitement. ‘You’ve cracked it, Mike. If we find that container, we find Salem.’

  ‘How you doing, pal?’ King had his hand around Durant’s shoulder as they stood at the coffee machine. ‘You’re feeling a bit tense, I can feel some serious tension here. You need to slow down, pal.’

  ‘Thanks, doctor, I’ll do my best.’ It was a spontaneous reaction, but he knew King was a hard man to offend.

  ‘Don’t take work too seriously. It’s only a job. How’s your lovely wife?’

  ‘Stephanie’s better
, thanks. She’s out of hospital and back at home. I think she’ll be okay.’

  ‘Are you looking after her, buddy?’

  Durant took his coffee cup and started walking back to his office. It was not immediately clear to him why he didn’t answer King, but by the time he reached his office he knew that the answer to King’s question was no, but King wasn’t worthy of hearing it from him. He closed his office door, went to his safe and retrieved a file. He pondered his entry in the operational diary and then dialled Splinters’s cell number again. He had tried repeatedly over the past twenty-four hours and only got the voicemail. This time, a woman answered.

  The call was brief and when it was finished, Durant cradled his head in his hands. He dialled Amina’s extension.

  ‘Ever heard of “Kovashov”?’

  ‘Sounds Russian. Is it a place? In what context?’

  ‘I don’t know. Maybe a name. It’s all I’ve got. Splinters mentioned it. I think it’s important.’

  ‘Did you ask him?’

  ‘I spoke to his mother. She said he was running from the police two days ago and he was hit by a taxi.’

  ‘Dead?’

  ‘He’s in a coma. So we won’t know what Kovashov is until he comes out.’

  ‘Flip! Poor guy!’

  ‘Yip. It happened while I was being wrestled to the ground and cuffed by the cops.’

  ‘There’s a joke going around the office about that, I think. Hey, I didn’t know Stephanie still knew Dick King.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I saw them together at the Park Restaurant.’

  There was an impenetrable silence for six seconds, then Durant said, ‘Thanks for the tip-off.’

  Amina immediately felt an empathetic pain. She realised those few words would change everything for Durant, and she couldn’t take them back.

  11

  A light rain fell and the night sky was hueless, ugly. The air was hot and moist and lay like a veil over Horizons, where Durant sat alone at a table, his mood as dark as the night. He was raging inside, and he could feel it in every cell of his body, every lymph node quivered and a feeling of nothingness drenched him like the misty rain. He sat for half an hour, drinking coffee which had never tasted worse, oblivious to the rain, unaware that his clothes were saturated and the restaurant was now deserted. All he could do, would do, was to hold on to the details which he knew were fact: he loved Stephanie, and she loved him. The rest was lost in the detail.

  It wasn’t so much the betrayal, Stephanie’s deliberate and conscious association with another man. It was the man himself. Richard King. He was everything Durant wasn’t; he was the epitome of ordinariness, a colourless palette of mediocrity and a shabby intelligence officer. Surely Stephanie couldn’t find anything heroic in him, anything redeeming. Durant wiped his burning eyes with his hand and realised there were tears mixed with the rain. He felt cold now, and discarded, like a late intelligence report that had lost its relevance and was only good for the shredder.

  Shezi appeared from nowhere; the mist was so thick Durant didn’t see him until he was at the table. He sat down, his face uncharacteristically solemn.

  ‘Stephanie sent you?’ Durant asked.

  Shezi nodded. Durant didn’t look up. ‘What are your instructions?’

  ‘Come on, Kevin, I’m your friend, don’t do this.’

  ‘Maybe I want to be alone.’

  ‘Maybe you shouldn’t be alone. I’m here to show you love, man. Talk to me. Stephanie said you confronted her about King and you left before she could explain.’

  ‘Well, there you have it. Did she explain to you so you could explain to me?’

  ‘She didn’t. She just asked me to find you. She’s worried.’

  Durant shook his head. ‘You know, if she’d gone to lunch with Ali it would have been better. Damn it, Mike, I’m furious with her.’

  Shezi nodded grimly. ‘So am I, Kev, so am I. But remember, she’s not herself, she’s sick.’

  ‘Sick of me apparently.’

  ‘No, not sick of you. Her mind … the medication … And you haven’t exactly been there for her.’

  ‘So it’s my fault, Mike. Thank you for pointing that out. Why don’t you just go back and tell her it’s my fault and I’m sorry.’

  Shezi grabbed Durant’s shoulder and shook him. ‘Wake up, Kevin. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. She made mistakes, you made mistakes, we all make mistakes. Now you need to move on and bury the past. King only had her for a day. But you have got her for the rest of your life.’

  Durant’s fist hit the table hard. ‘King never had her. He’ll never have her. Stephanie just dropped her guard for one insane moment, and that damn snake moved in on her. I’m the fool who gave him the opportunity. You’re actually right, Mike. I’ll always have her.’

  The mist started to lift and Durant and Shezi silently gazed out towards the sea, both of them feeling as uncertain as the horizon itself on that dark night.

  Stephanie gasped and then cupped her hands around Durant’s ear. ‘This wine’s R200 a bottle!’ she whispered.

  Durant winked. ‘Sorry you had to wait until your thirty-second birthday before I bought you decent wine.’

  ‘And this restaurant. You’re really spoiling me, are you sure about this?’

  ‘I told you in the hospital that I had a birthday surprise for you.’

  A violinist appeared at the table and began to play Happy Birthday.

  Stephanie’s eyes filled with tears and she closed them.

  ‘You seem a hundred percent better to me. So I think we can celebrate, don’t you?’

  ‘I feel so much better. Thank you so much for this.’ She took his hand gently and fought back the tears to utter the words. ‘I love you so much and I’m so sorry about …’

  ‘It’s fine, Steph. It was my fault as well. I was neglecting you. I was out of touch with your needs. Dick’s an intelligence officer – he’s trained to exploit opportunities. That was probably the most successful operation of his entire career.’

  ‘Well, he wasn’t even successful. I didn’t know how to tell you. He was just such a good listener and I fell for it. All the time I was wishing it was you.’

  Durant smiled awkwardly. ‘We’ll blame it on the medication. Maybe one of the side effects is lust.’

  Stephanie slapped Durant’s shoulder playfully. ‘Definitely not lust! I find him quite nauseating actually. That just shows you how desperate I was to talk to someone … Seriously, though, I feel like a great weight’s been taken off my shoulders. Sorry you have to still see him at the office, though. Promise you won’t hit him?’

  Durant laughed. ‘Sort it out the old-fashioned way! Hey, anyway, thanks for asking Mike to come and talk to me. He sort of messed it up, but it was nice having him there.’

  ‘I didn’t ask him to come and speak to you. Is that what he told you?’

  Durant smiled and shook his head. ‘That devious—’

  ‘That guy must really love you. He knew where to find you and he knew what to say when he found you.’

  ‘Mike’s a good man.’

  ‘Kevin, this is the best medicine, all this love and attention. I feel so much better.’

  Durant felt his cellphone vibrating in his pocket and ignored it.

  ‘We haven’t had time to just think about ourselves and little Alexis, it’s been so hectic. So that’s why we’re here. Just us.’

  Durant felt his cellphone buzz in his pocket again, and he ignored it a second time.

  Stephanie put her hand on his. ‘You’re treating me like I’m already better, and I really appreciate that. You’re treating me like normal.’

  ‘Oh, you’re normal, trust me. Me, I’m not so sure. I guess it’ll all work out. Things will be fine soon.’

  Stephanie smiled and she could feel something changing deep within her. She was getting better.

  Durant took her hand in both of his. ‘You’ve really got it together, babe. If you’re pretendi
ng … hey, you don’t need speech and drama. You’re like this … um … supermarket, where all your departments are, well, worth getting stuff from. The mothering department is really cooking; the working department, well, a real successful one and the, um, the bedroom department, that’s my favourite department, I could shop there all day. I’ll never shop anywhere else.’

  ‘Thanks for the compliment, I think. I never thought being compared to a supermarket could ever be seen as a compliment. You’re saying all the right things.’

  ‘Everyone who knows you loves you, because you’re real. No hangups, no gripes and groans and moods and complexes and issues and stories. Well, maybe a few. But you don’t show them to the world.’

  Durant felt his phone vibrate again in his pocket, and spoke a little louder. ‘See how Alexis’s face lights up when you pick her up and hold her? For me, when you’re sad, the world stops spinning and starts falling apart.’

  Stephanie smiled. ‘Now you’re just embarrassing me.’

  ‘Hey, how about another dance? I need to work up a bit more of an appetite.’

  After a dance, Stephanie excused herself and went to the bathroom, while Durant quickly looked at his cellphone display. Shezi had phoned four times and left a message. He looked at the phone for a moment, his finger hovering above the dial button when the phone rang again. It was Shezi.

  ‘I need to see you, Kev.’

  ‘It’s my wife’s birthday, Mike, I can’t.’

  ‘Please, Kev, it’s important, it’s very important.’

  ‘Mike, I … I’m sorry, man. Can we make it tomorrow?’

  ‘Tonight, as soon as possible, now. You’re the only one who can help me. I need you, brother. I’m at Horizons.’

  ‘Mike, I can help you tomorrow, you know I can. Please, just this once, let it be Stephanie’s day. She’s getting better, I can’t leave now. I can’t, it’s impossible. I’m sorry.’

  ‘I’m sorry also.’

  The voice trailed away and it took Durant a few seconds to realise Shezi wasn’t there any more. He dialled Shezi’s number, but cut himself off before it connected. Stephanie had rejoined him at the table. ‘Everything okay, Kevin? Is the wine kicking in?’