But what filled the survivors with a deep savage bitterness was the knowledge that twenty-eight thousand of those died in British concentration camps.
On the day the gates of the camp were flung open, Margaret and Kate returned to Klipdrift. A few weeks later, on a quiet Sunday, David Blackwell arrived. The war had matured him, but he was still the same grave, thoughtful David Margaret had learned to rely upon. David had spent these hellish years fighting and worrying about whether Margaret and Kate were dead or alive. When he found them safe at home, he was filled with joy.
'I wish I could have protected you both,' David told Margaret.
'That's all past, David. We must think only of the future.'
And the future was Kruger-Brent, Ltd.
For the world, the year 1900 was a clean slate on which history was going to be written, a new era that promised peace and limitless hope for everyone. A new century had begun, and it brought with it a series of astonishing inventions that reshaped life around the globe. Steam and electric automobiles were replaced by the combustion engine. There were submarines and airplanes. The world population exploded to a billion and a half people. It was a time to grow and expand, and during the next six years, Margaret and David took full advantage of every opportunity.
During those years, Kate grew up with almost no supervision. Her mother was too busy running the company with David to pay much attention to her. She was a wild child, stubborn and opinionated and intractable. One afternoon when Margaret came home from a business meeting, she saw her fourteen-year-old daughter in the muddy yard in a fistfight with two boys. Margaret stared in horrified disbelief.
'Bloody hell!' she said under her breath. 'That's the girl who one day is going to run Kruger-Brent, Limited! God help us all!'
BOOK TWO
Kate and David 1906-1914
On a hot summer night in 1914, Kate McGregor was working alone in her office at the new Kruger-Brent, Ltd., headquarters building in Johannesburg when she heard the sound of approaching automobiles. She put down the papers she had been studying, walked over to the window and looked out. Two cars of police and a paddy wagon had come to a stop in front of the building. Kate watched, frowning, as half a dozen uniformed policemen leaped from the cars and hurried to cover the two entrances and exits to the building. It was late, and the streets were deserted. Kate caught a wavy reflection of herself in the window. She was a beautiful woman, with her father's light-gray eyes and her mother's full figure.
There was a knock at the office door and Kate called, 'Come in.'
The door opened and two uniformed men entered. One wore the bars of a superintendent of police.
'What on earth is going on?' Kate demanded.
'I apologize for disturbing you at this late hour, Miss McGregor. I'm Superintendent Cominsky.'
'What's the problem, Superintendent?'
'We've had a report that an escaped killer was seen entering this building a short time ago.'
There was a shocked look on Kate's face. 'Entering this building?'
'Yes, ma'am. He's armed and dangerous.'
Kate said nervously, 'Then I would very much appreciate it, Superintendent, if you would find him and get him out of here.'
'That's exactly what we intend to do, Miss McGregor. You haven't seen or heard anything suspicious, have you?'
'No. But I'm alone here, and there are a lot of places a person could hide. I'd like you to have your men search this place thoroughly.'
'We'll get started immediately, ma'am.'
The superintendent turned and called to the men in the hallway, 'Spread out. Start at the basement and work your way up to the roof.' He turned to Kate. 'Are any of the offices locked?'
'I don't believe so,' Kate said, 'but if they are, I'll open them for you.'
Superintendent Cominsky could see how nervous she was, and he did not blame her. She would be even more nervous if she knew how desperate the man was for whom they were looking. 'We'll find him,' the superintendent assured Kate.
Kate picked up the report she had been working on, but she was unable to concentrate. She could hear the police moving through the building, going from office to office. Would they find him? She shivered.
The policemen moved slowly, methodically searching every possible hiding place from the basement to the roof. Forty-five minutes later, Superintendent Cominsky returned to Kate's office.
She looked at his face. 'You didn't find him.'
'Not yet, ma'am, but don't worry—'
'I am worried, Superintendent. If there is an escaped killer in this building, I want you to find him.'
'We will, Miss McGregor. We have tracking dogs.'
From the corridor came the sound of barking and a moment later a handler came into the office with two large German shepherds on leashes.
'The dogs have been all over the building, sir. They've searched everyplace but this office.'
The superintendent turned to Kate. 'Have you been out of this office anytime in the past hour or so?'
'Yes. I went to look up some records in the file room. Do you think he could have—?' She shuddered. 'I'd like you to check this office, please.'
The superintendent gave a signal and the handler slipped the leashes off the dogs and gave the command, 'Track.'
The dogs went crazy. They raced to a closed door and began barking wildly.
'Oh, my God!' Kate cried. 'He's in there!'
The superintendent pulled out his gun. 'Open it,' he ordered.
The two policemen moved to the closet door with drawn guns and pulled the door open. The closet was empty. One of the dogs raced to another door and pawed excitedly at it.
'Where does that door lead?' Superintendent Cominsky asked.
'To a washroom.'
The two policemen took up places on either side of the door and yanked it open. There was no one inside.
The handler was baffled. 'They've never behaved this way before.' The dogs were racing around the room frantically. 'They've got the scent,' the handler said. 'But where is he?'
Both dogs ran to the drawer of Kate's desk and continued their barking.
'There's your answer,' Kate tried to laugh. 'He's in the drawer.'
Superintendent Cominsky was embarrassed. 'I'm sorry to have troubled you, Miss McGregor.' He turned to the handler and snapped, 'Take these dogs out of here.'
'You're not leaving?' There was concern in Kate's voice.
'Miss McGregor, I can assure you you're perfectly safe. My
men have covered every inch of this building. You have my personal guarantee that he's not here. I'm afraid it was a false alarm. My apologies.'
Kate swallowed. 'You certainly know how to bring excitement to a woman's evening.'
Kate stood looking out the window, watching the last of the police vehicles drive away. When they were out of sight, she opened her desk drawer and pulled out a blood-stained pair of canvas shoes. She carried them down the corridor to a door marked Private, Authorized Personnel Only, and entered. The room was bare except for a large, locked, walk-in safe built into the wall, the vault where Kruger-Brent, Ltd., stored its diamonds before shipping. Quickly, Kate dialed the combination on the safe and pulled open the giant door. Dozens of metal safe- deposit boxes were built into the sides of the vault, all crammed with diamonds. In the center of the room, lying on the floor half-conscious, was Banda.
Kate knelt beside him. 'They've gone.'
