Деон Мейер - Cobra

‘How are they trained?’ asked Cupido.

‘Most of my people are former SAPS bodyguards, Captain.’

‘OK. Proceed.’

‘Morris then said that he had, and I quote as well as I can recall, “a need to get out of circulation for a while, and enjoy the benefit of very vigilant, discreet and professional bodyguard services”. And he needed this from last Friday. I said yes, we can accommodate him, and asked whether I could work through the standard procedure to determine our service according to his needs. He wanted to know what that procedure entailed. I said it was a series of questions about his occupation, circumstances, next of kin who could be contacted in case of emergency, possible threats, time period, and budget limitations. His reaction was that there were no budget limits, and that he wished to use the services for a couple of weeks, but he would prefer not to supply any further information. I said I would prepare a plan and quote, and email it to him. He preferred to phone back, which he did an hour later.’

Griessel listened to the official tone, the precise word choice. As if she sought refuge in the familiar territory of the official statement. There was a military air about her. He wondered if she had also been in the Service.

‘My recommendation was this guesthouse, and a team of—’

‘Why this one?’ Cupido asked.

‘We use it on a regular basis. It complies with our requirements. It is less than an hour from the airport, but outside the city. It is remote, with good access control, an open, manageable perimeter, and staff that understand our needs and requirements.’

‘OK. Proceed.’

‘My recommendation to Morris included a team of two armed bodyguards per day and night shift. He accepted immediately, and asked what the next step would be to close the deal. I asked him to deposit one week’s daily tariffs. He—’

‘How much?’ Cupido asked, uncrossed his arms and sat down in a chair beside Griessel’s. ‘How much was the deposit?’

‘Just over five thousand two hundred pounds. About seventy thousand rand.’

‘For a week?’ In disbelief.

‘That’s right.’

‘And he paid it?’

‘Within half an hour. And the next day, the Thursday, he sent a scan of the photo page of his passport via email, which I had requested for identification and registration purposes. It showed that he was a fifty-six-year-old British citizen. He also called that Thursday with details of his arrival. During that call I notified him of procedures at the airport, and gave him a description of my people who would meet him. That was the sum total of my communication with him. Fikter and Minnaar went to meet him at the airport on Friday afternoon – he was on flight SA337 from Johannesburg which landed at fifteen ten. They—’

‘Johannesburg?’ asked Cupido. ‘So he didn’t fly out of England?’

‘It’s possible that he flew from the UK to Johannesburg, and caught a connection to Cape Town. I can’t confirm that.’

‘OK. Proceed.’

‘Fikter sent me a SMS on Friday afternoon at fifteen hundred seventeen to confirm that Morris had arrived safely, and another at sixteen hundred and fifty-two that they were at La Petite Margaux guesthouse and that everything was in order. They took the night shift that Friday night, and Stiaan Conradie and Allistair Barnes the day shift. Every team reported via SMS at the beginning and end of each shift. There were no problems. On Sunday morning, at the end of the night shift, I had a telephone conversation with Fikter to check on how things were going. He said Morris was a very courteous and refined man, and that he appeared relaxed and jovial. Conradie and Barnes are here at the moment, down at the gate. They are ready to talk to you as soon as the SAPS allow them entry to the farm.’

‘So let me get this straight,’ said Cupido. ‘All that you know, is that this ou is a Brit with a fancy accent and seventy thousand to burn. No address, no job description, nada . For all we know he could be a serial killer.’

‘That’s correct.’

‘But you are happy to sell bodyguard services to such a person?’

‘Captain, if you have cash and you want to buy a new car, the dealer doesn’t ask you if you have a criminal record.’

‘A cop with cash for a car? Fat chance. And it’s not the same.’

‘Oh?’

‘Bodyguard services are sort of personal, don’t you think?’

Louw began to lean forward again, and Griessel asked: ‘When you spoke to him on the telephone – did he sound scared? Anxious?’

She shook her head. ‘No. During the conversation I drew only two conclusions. The first was that he had not used this sort of service before, and the second was that he wanted to reveal as little about himself as possible.’ She looked at Cupido. ‘And that’s not unusual. Personal security services are by their very nature discreet. The majority of our clients are businessmen who don’t want it trumpeted about—’

‘Why not?’

‘A need to maintain a low profile. And I think that’s also because they don’t want to offend their hosts. They come to do business with local companies, and the very public display of security gives the impression that they believe South Africa is a dangerous place.’

‘Then why do they use the service? There’s just about no crime against tourists.’

‘It’s a general misconception among foreigners—’

‘Which you are happy to indulge. Could you see from the email address where he works? What was the domain name?’

‘It was a Gmail address. And the name was Paul underscore Morris fifteen or something.’

‘And the payment of the deposit? EFT?’

‘Yes. From a Swiss bank, Adler, if I remember correctly. I will confirm that.’

‘Ma’am . . .’ began Griessel.

‘Please. I am not a ma’am. Call me Jeanette.’

‘The two bodyguards in there . . .’

‘B. J. Fikter and Barry Minnaar.’

‘Yes. How long ago did they leave the SAPS?’

‘About seven, eight years . . .’

‘How long have they worked for you?’

‘For the same time period. I can assure you the attack had nothing to do with—’

‘No, that is not what I’m getting at. How . . . good were they?’

She grasped his meaning. ‘I only appoint the best. And for the sort of work they do, there is annual refresher training and testing, and the standards of fitness, weapon handling, and self-defence is high. We even do six-monthly drug tests. I can assure you Fikter and Minnaar were outstanding operators.’

‘And yet . . .’ said Cupido sceptically.

Jeanette finally lost her control. She planted her feet apart, leaned forward, put her elbows on her knees. ‘Let me tell you, if you weren’t a policeman, I would bliksem you right now.’

The young woman, not much older than Tyrone Kleinbooi, looked at the pile of notes, and then at the computer screen. ‘You still owe seven thousand rand,’ she said, each English syllable precise.

‘Why do you gooi English at me – I thought this was supposed to be an Afrikaans university here,’ said Tyrone. ‘This is all I can pay now. One thousand two hundred and fifty.’

She bristled a little. ‘It doesn’t matter what language a person says it in, mister, die rekening is agterstallig. You are in arrears. Results are only released when it is paid in full.’

It was frustration that made him tease her. ‘You can gooi in as many fancy white Afrikaans words as you like, but I can tell you’re actually a Cape Flats girl.’

‘ Ek kom van die Pniel af , I’m not from the Flats. And I can see you have more money in your wallet. Does your pa know what you’re up to?’