“And how do I explain it? No.”
“You can put it on Dad’s tab.”
“Me? Charge your father for that? I don’t think so.”
“He never checks the account, I do.”
“And I’m the one who would be cheating him. No.” Tobias wiped a damp cloth across the top of the counter, even though it did not need cleaning because he wiped it every other minute. Tobias liked things to be right.
Kallie avoided the damp spot. “It wouldn’t be cheating. Not really. Look … we book the call through the operator and then she can phone back and tell you how much it costs. I will then pay for the call and you give me a receipt. How does that sound? It’s a really important phone call, honest.”
Something didn’t feel quite right, but Tobias couldn’t put his finger on what it was. He nodded in reluctant agreement. Kallie lifted the receiver and gave him a look which said that the call was private and how about he let her get on with it? Tobias moved to the other end of the bar.
In the privacy of his room Sayid opened the padded envelope, peeled back the cover of the small plastic package inside and held the button-like piece of silver on his fingertip. It was no bigger than the battery in his watch, but if he could get it into Mr. Peterson’s phone, it would give him a chance to trace whoever Peterson called. His cell phone blared out the
“Hello?”
Kallie’s voice crackled a bit. “Sayid?”
“Yeah,” Sayid answered warily.
“My name’s Kallie van Reenen.”
She explained who she was as quickly as she could.
“Kallie! Wait a sec!” Sayid said, as soon as he realized the importance of her call. He quickly plugged his cell into the back of his laptop, danced his fingers across the keys, effectively scrambling her voice to anyone who might be listening in.
“OK. The line’s safe. Have you heard from Max?”
“No. You?”
“Nothing. Where is he?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to have to call the police. I should never have helped him.”
Sayid knew it was no use shouldering blame. “He’d have gone anyway.”
“That’s what I told my dad, but I’m not so sure I believe it anymore.”
“Kallie, the police couldn’t find Max’s dad, they’re not going to find Max. And for all I know, the publicity may alert whoever could be involved. But I’ve discovered something that I don’t think Max knows.” As he was speaking he slid open his desk drawer, and pulled away a letter that was stuck to the underside.
He went to the door, checked that no one was hanging around outside and then closed it again.
He spoke more quietly. “Are you there?”
“Still here,” Kallie said.
“A letter came yesterday. It was from Max’s dad. I’ve got it.”
“How? Didn’t the headmaster or whoever check his mail?”
“His dad sent it to me. He’s done it before. As if he didn’t trust anyone else. I checked the postmark, it was sent almost a week earlier than the last one. So Max went to Africa with only the information he had.”
“Where was it posted?”
“Walvis Bay, Namibia.”
“Walvis Bay.” She sounded thoughtful.
“Is that important?”
“I don’t know. It’s the biggest port here, and a heck of a lot of shipping comes in and out. What does it say?” She could hear a faint rustle of paper on the line, as if Sayid was holding the letter in his hand.
Sayid kept going to the door and checking the corridor; he did not want to be overheard or interrupted, especially if Mr. Peterson was on the prowl. If there were people trying to stop Max from finding his father, they would be scanning for calls. No matter how clever Sayid was in the short term in scrambling the voice print, sooner or later they-whoever “they” were-would break his coding. “There’s not much time. They might be monitoring my phone signal, but here’s what the letter said.” Sayid read out the letter Max had never received. “‘Max, remember Egypt? Seth causing problems here. I found his secret. Leopold will meet you at Eros. Leave now. Get out, son. There’s not much time. I love you. Dad.’
“Almost like a telegram,” Sayid said. “The statue of Eros is in Piccadilly Circus. This Leopold was obviously going to take Max somewhere safe. But he never showed.”
Kallie had listened carefully, appreciating Sayid’s concern over how long they had spoken. “Do we know who Leopold is?” she asked.
“Not sure. I know his dad had a field assistant. A German or an Austrian guy who knew his way around Namibia. Odds are it’s him.”
“And who’s Seth?”
“I looked that one up. Max and his dad used to go off all over the place during summer holidays…. Egypt was a favorite. Seth was the god of chaos. Something to do with living outside the universe as we know it. This wasn’t a neatly typed letter, it was scribbled in pencil … just like the one Max got before he left. That’s all I know, except that there’s a teacher here called Peterson and I definitely know-I mean for sure-that he followed Max and is up to his neck in all of this.”
“So Max’s father was warning him. He didn’t have access to a phone, so he had to scribble a note. Then he must have got someone to post it, because if it was postmarked Walvis Bay, there are tons of phones around there. He must have known someone ruthless, like this Seth figure, would try and hurt Max. OK …” Her thoughts tried to join up the pieces of the puzzle which didn’t make much sense. Only it wasn’t OK. This was far more serious than a boy simply looking for his father in the wilderness of Namibia.
“He was supposed to come here, Sayid. London has nothing to do with it. It wasn’t Eros’s statue, it was Eros Airport, Namibia. And this Leopold guy was supposed to meet him, but didn’t.”
Sayid’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Kallie, I have to go. Keep in touch, will you? I reckon we’re the only ones who can help Max survive this. Text if you can.”
“That’s difficult, Sayid, unless you’re near a city. Phones are pretty rare as well. I’ll do what I can on this end. Look, if there’s anything really important you can leave a message here with a guy called Tobias. He can always get the flight shed to radio me. And you’d better watch out for Peterson.” She gave him the telephone number and replaced the handset.
Tobias was standing at the end of the counter, wiping glasses and examining them for blemishes. He glanced at Kallie, who was sitting quietly. “Trouble?”
“Maybe. If a kid from England phones, get word to me, will you?”
“Course I will.” He handed over an old plastic-lined vacuum flask. “It’s a long, hot flight home. I’ve made you my special Desert Buster Ice-Cold Special. It’s on the house.” She barely heard him, but his voice broke her concentration. “Just don’t shake it up too much-it’s an old flask.”
“What? Oh, right … thanks, Tobias.”
She climbed off the stool and made for the door with the flask under her arm.
The phone rang. Tobias answered. “Hello. Yes …” It was the operator. “That’s right, we made the call…. It was how much? To a cell phone? It was
“Kallie!” Tobias yelled.
“Put it on my dad’s tab! I’ve got no cash,” Kallie shouted behind her as she pushed through the door and was out of sight.
She faced a tough journey, flying more than three hundred kilometers, against prevailing winds, to Walvis Bay. She needed to speak to Mike Kapuo in person. No matter what her father thought, she was now well and truly involved in Max’s well-being. Obviously there were vicious people out there, intent on preventing him from finding his father.
If only she had known this before, she would have … would have what? Stopped him? Helped him? Max was
