48
‘Were you there? In the Kruger Park in eighty-six?’
‘I was there.’
‘Who was the man with the moustache with you? The one who burned Pego Mashego?’
‘That was our Chief of Security.’
‘What is his name?’
‘Does it matter?’
‘It matters that you keep your part of our agreement, Quintus.’
His eyes drifted for a fraction of a second to the video camera in the ceiling. Then he said in resignation, ‘Christo Loock.’
‘What does he do now?’
‘He is the Senior Manager of Human Resources.’
‘Talented guy. Who were you working for when Machel died?’
‘I don’t quite follow your meaning.’
‘Who contracted you? Who hired you to do it?’
‘It was our own idea.’
‘I don’t believe it.’
‘You will have to. It’s the truth.’
‘Why would a company that builds electronic systems want to assassinate the president of a neighbouring country?’
‘Because we could, Lemmer. Because we could.’
He leaned back in his chair. ‘You must understand the circumstances. When Nico and I left Armscor in 1983, we weren’t popular. There were accusations that we didn’t want to serve The Firm any more, that we were money-grubbers because we wanted to set up on our own. The thing that saved us was our knowledge. Excuse me if I sound arrogant, but we were the best of the best. They had to use us. But reluctantly. And frugally. Only when there was no other option.’
He stood up and went over to the windows. ‘I admit that the accusations weren’t entirely unfounded. We were financially ambitious.’
He looked out and folded his hands behind his back. I wondered whether he thought it looked dignified, the gesture of The Chairman. ‘One of the reasons we left Armscor was that a parastatal institution seldom rewards performance over mediocrity. We’d had enough of that.’
‘Get to the point, Quintus.’
‘Forgive me. The fact of the matter is you can’t run a technology company without capital. Research costs money, lots of money. We needed something to, shall we say, take our relationship with the government to another level. How? That was the question. But the Lord provides, Mr Lemmer, I don’t know if you’re a believer, but need teaches one to pray, and prayers are heard. I learned that.’
He realised that he was wandering and turned to stand with his back against the window, so the light made a halo around him. His eyes were elsewhere in the room.
‘It was no coincidence that within the span of three days I heard about the government’s dilemma with Samora Machel, and the Israelis’ technology. It was providence. It was ordained. Nevertheless, we were working closely with the Israelis on several levels. We heard about their progress with VOR technology. That stands for very high frequency omnidirectional radio. Aircraft use it for navigation. A VOR beacon sends out a signal identifying which beacon it is as well as the pilot’s orientation to the beacon in relation to magnetic north. Are you with me?’
‘I understand you.’
‘The Israelis developed the technology to create a false VOR, indistinguishable from the real McCoy. I will never forget it, Mr Lemmer. I was driving home late that night. When I pulled up in front of the garage all the parts seemed to come together. The minister’s remarks about Machel, how it would be in the interests of the whole of Africa if he would just disappear. Then the new technology from Israel. I realised that there was a way. It would solve many problems.’
‘So you offered your services.’
‘That is correct.’
‘So you could get into their good graces.’
‘In a manner of speaking.’
‘Although it would be murder?’
‘Murder? Mr Lemmer, we were at war. Samora Machel was a communist, an atheist waging a civil war on the people of his own country with the help of the Soviets. He was detaining, torturing and executing his own subjects without benefit of trial, a dictator harbouring terrorists, so he could destabilise the entire region while Russia sat and waited.’
‘Now those same “terrorists” are members of the board.’
‘The fall of communism changed everything.’
‘I see. And what about Jacobus le Roux? He was neither a communist nor an atheist.’
‘He was there. My heart goes out to him; it was all unnecessary, a tragic clash of circumstances. Sometimes, Mr Lemmer, the fate of nations takes precedence over the individual. Sometimes one has to make difficult decisions, very difficult decisions, in the interest of the greater good.’
‘Or the greater profit,’ I said.
He came away from the window and walked past me to the desk. He crossed his arms and said, ‘Who are you to judge?’
‘I suppose you’re right, Quintus.’
He nodded and went to his chair. ‘What else do you want to know?’
‘Where were you when the plane crashed?’
‘On Mariepskop. At the radar station.’
‘And when they murdered Johan and Sara le Roux?’
‘It was a car crash.’
‘Where were you?’
‘I don’t remember.’
‘Really?’
‘That’s right. Is there anything else, Mr Lemmer?’
‘I think I understand the rest. What I don’t understand is why you are prepared to leave Jacobus now, to let him talk.’
‘He won’t want to talk now.’
‘Oh?’
‘Mr Lemmer, the day he walked into the witch doctor’s hut and gunned down those people, he ceased to be a threat.’
‘Then why attack Emma?’
‘We were just lucky.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘At that stage we were not monitoring her calls. We didn’t feel that it was necessary any more. When we heard that Cobie had murdered a witch doctor, we started listening to the police telephones, mostly to keep up with events. We heard Emma phoning. We knew then that she would be the new risk, if she should succeed in tracking down Jacobus.’
‘But are you prepared to guarantee her safety now?’
‘It depends on what her brother tells her. Or you. Should she recover fully, of course.’
‘Of course.’
‘Her safety is in your hands.’
‘Unless I break your neck now.’
He looked up at the video camera. ‘I think that would be very foolish.’
I got to my feet. ‘Quintus, I want you to understand me very well. If the case against Jacobus does not go
