Michael Ridpath - See No Evil

‘And Operation Drommedaris?’

‘ Drommedaris is Dutch for dromedary; you know, a camel. One hump not two. It’s also the name of the boat Jan van Riebeeck sailed in when he founded the Dutch colony at Cape Town. It must be a codename. But for what, who knows?’

‘What about the rest of the family? Has anyone any idea about any of this?’

‘No. Edwin was equally unhelpful. Todd called his sister Caroline in California, but she didn’t know anything — she was only twelve at the time. He also phoned Zan, his half-sister. She’s the only van Zyl who still lives in South Africa. She was staying at Martha and Cornelius’s house when it all happened. She couldn’t help much either, although she at least seemed more willing to try. She’s eight years older than Todd; they were quite close when he was little, although she seems to have disappeared from the scene as he got older. She’s fallen out with the rest of the family; she wasn’t asked to our wedding, for example. I met her once, when we went on a trip to South Africa soon after we were married. I thought she was quite nice, actually. A bit like the best of Cornelius but without the megalomania.’

‘Cornelius is a megalomaniac?’

‘Definitely. He loves power. And he likes to control the people around him.’

‘Like Todd?’

‘Todd has always been Cornelius’s blue-eyed boy. It drives Edwin mad. Cornelius wants Todd to take over Zyl News when he retires: he’s seventy-two, it’s got to happen some time. And much to Todd’s credit, he wants to determine his own life.’

‘Ah.’

‘What do you mean, “Ah”?’

Calder smiled. ‘I assume you encourage him in this independence of mind?’

She smiled sheepishly. ‘You’re right. A year after we were married, he decided... OK, with my encouragement... to quit working for Cornelius and to do what he really wanted to do. Which was teach. So he did an education degree and then we moved to New Hampshire. Cornelius is trying to force Todd to move back to Zyl News. Todd won’t do it, though.’

‘And you’re happy with that decision? To stay in New Hampshire?’

Kim hesitated. ‘In theory, definitely. In practice... well, that’s another conversation.’

Calder left it. He sipped his wine thoughtfully. ‘It sounds as if Martha was quite suspicious of her husband. And it sounds as if Cornelius doesn’t want anyone to find out why.’

‘Absolutely.’ Kim frowned. ‘Frankly, I’m worried about his role in all this. But Todd isn’t. He’s crossed swords with his father many times but he’s incapable of thinking of him as a murderer.’

‘And you’re not?’

‘Obviously, I don’t know. Todd and I have spent hours discussing this and I think it’s a possibility we should bear in mind.’

‘Are you suggesting Cornelius had something to do with the accident?’

Kim shrugged. ‘It might sound far-fetched but...’ She tailed off, not quite willing to put her thoughts into words.

‘But would he kill his own son? Especially one he’s so fond of?’

‘I’m not so sure he’s that fond of him now. He was seriously angry with Todd the other day when he refused to go back to work for him, he was quite scary. Cornelius is planning something at the moment...’ Kim hesitated ‘... a big deal, something that will transform Zyl News. But I think he’s asking himself what’s the point of building up an empire if he has to abandon it to Edwin in a few years — he has a very low opinion of Edwin, quite rightly as far as I’m concerned, the man is a worm. We’re talking about Cornelius’s life’s work here, and Todd walking away from it. No one likes being rejected, especially not someone as used to getting his own way as Cornelius. I’m not saying he sabotaged the plane himself, but he’s a powerful man, he can organize things. Which is why I was worried about the accident, whether it really was an accident.’

Calder took a deep breath. ‘I can see that now. Although I still don’t see how that engine fire could have been anything else.’

Kim shrugged. ‘Maybe. But I want to find out what’s going on here. Not just for Todd’s sake, but for my own. And I’d like you to help me. I trust you more than any of Todd’s family.’ Her bottom lip trembled, and she began to cry. ‘I’m scared, Alex. Just like Martha was when she wrote that letter. I’m scared.’

June 28, 1988

I was in a foul mood all morning. Neels didn’t come home. I called George, who said that he and Neels had made the announcement. It was one of the hardest things George has ever had to do. The journalists were in uproar. And not just the journalists, a lot of people are going to lose their jobs, including George himself, of course. Neels has given them three months until closure, September 30. George says it’s going to be a nightmare keeping things going until then.

What will I say to Neels? Last night I was all set to confront him and throw him out on his ear. But now I’m not so sure. It would be demeaning, degrading, to ask him where he was last night. It’s going to be hard to talk sensibly to him, and dangerous to scream at him. I’ll ignore him. He can manufacture a little business trip out of somewhere, he’s done that before.

Caroline looked scared out of her wits this morning before she went to school. How’s she going to take all this? And Todd?

And on top of all that, Zan’s coming this afternoon. I wonder how she’ll be. Polite and surly? Or awkward and bloody-minded? It’s going to be a disaster, I just know it, and I’m not sure I have the strength to deal with it.

Later...

Well, Zan came and it was fine. She’s gone all African. Her blonde hair is braided with beads, her arms are jangling with bracelets and she was wearing a yellow Hotstix Mabuse T-shirt, car-tire sandals and an East African skirt. She still swims, you can see that from her shoulders which are broad and strong. She looks extremely healthy and she still has Neels’s familiar blue eyes. She seemed genuinely pleased to see me when she arrived just after lunch. She was very friendly to Doris; one of the problems we had with her was the way she treated the maids as she got older. You could see Doris was thrilled. I think she was as upset as I was by the way Zan changed as she grew up.

She asked all about Todd and Caroline and my parents. She asked about Neels, and I was positive, I really was. She’s staying in the room she always used to sleep in when she came to Hondehoek, and she started to reminisce about how Doris and I used to help her make clothes for her Barbie dolls. She says she wants to dig them out again. I’m pretty sure they weren’t thrown away; Caroline used to play with them sometimes. Doris promises she will look for them tomorrow. Four years ago Zan would have been mortified at the suggestion that she ever played with dolls. The Barbie stuff is a tad embarrassing, but it was fun at the time.

In fact we had a lot of fun when she was a little kid. She was only five when Penelope and Neels divorced. After we got married she and Edwin came to stay with us for the odd weekend. I felt sorry for her; her mother was an alcoholic with men around all the time. I was trying to get used to this weird country and she became my ally. I probably spoiled her a bit: we got her the pony, and Matt, who started off life as a cute little puppy before turning into that boisterous bruiser of a Labrador. Poor fellow; I miss him. Anyway, she was my little shadow at weekends, prattling away about this and that. When she took up swimming and began to win races, I used to take her to the meets, I cheered her on.

And then... and then it all changed.

But I think it’s going to be okay now. In fact in my current frame of mind, it will be nice to have the company. Of course, she doesn’t know that Neels and I are not getting on. That’s going to be difficult. Because when he comes home tonight she’s certainly going to notice it.