?And the child??
She had forgotten about the child.
?Sir, the best would be for family to look after him. We are not? we don'?t have the facilities.?
?That is true,? he said.
?You said over the phone you had some interesting news.?
?Oh. Yes. I have. I had a call from Luke Powell.?
It took a while to sink in. ?Luke Powell?? she repeated, mainly to gain time, to make the mental adjustments.
?He wants to meet us. He wants to talk.?
She smiled at the director. ?This is unexpected, sir. But not an unpleasant prospect.?
He answered her smile with one of his own. ?It is, Janina. He is waiting for us. At the Spur on the waterfront.?
?Oh, he wants to play a home game,? she said, and waited for the director to acknowledge the joke, but he did not.
Allison Healy made two calls before she began to type the lead story for the next day?s
?I tried twice this afternoon, but your cell was off,? he said reproachfully ?I had an interview with a difficult man,? she said. ?Sorry.?
?Three things,? he said. ?The thing this morning at Beaufort West. They say the biker held a gun to one soldier?s head, he could have shot them both to hell, but he let them go and said something like ?I don'?t want to hurt anybody? ?
?I don'?t want to hurt anybody,? she repeated as she made frantic notes.
?Number two: it?s a rumor but the source is good, an old pal of mine in Pretoria. That brigadier who said over the news that the biker was such a fuckup in the Struggle, you know who I mean, the one in the army??
?Yes?? She sifted through the documents on her desk for the fax.
Apparently there?s a case pending against him. Sexual harassment or something. They say he?s talking now because the sexual harassment thing against him may just go away if he?s helpful enough.?
?Wait, wait, wait, Rassie.? She found the paper and ran her finger down it. ?You say the brigadier, here it is, Lucas Morape, you say he?s lying about this to save his own skin??
?I?m not saying he?s lying. I?m saying he?s helping them. And that?s not a fact, it?s a rumor.?
?So what?s the third thing??
?They?ve cornered the biker in the Free State.?
?Where in the Free State??
?Petrusburg.?
?Petrusburg??
?I know, I know, between bugger all and nowhere, but that?s what the guy says.?
?You said they?ve cornered him.?
?Wait, let me explain. This afternoon he went through a speed trap this side of Petrusburg, and the speed cop wrote him a fucking ticket without a clue who he was and then let him go. When the poor fool got back to the office, the bomb burst. They thought he must have slipped through Petrusburg because of all the other BMW motorbikes, but now they?ve blocked all the holes. Apparently, there?s a whole squadron of Rooivalks waiting for him with guided missiles.?
?Rassie, don'?t be ridiculous.?
?Sweetness, have I ever lied to you??
?No ??
?I tell you like I hear it, Allison. You know that. And I?ve never let you down.?
?That?s true.?
?You owe me.?
?Yes, I owe you, Rassie.? She hung up and shouted at the news editor: ?I?m going to need some help on this one, Chief.?
?What do you need??
?People to make some calls.?
?you?'ve got it,? he said, and crossed over to her desk.
She had already dialed the next number. It was to the house of Miriam Nzululwazi in Guguletu. ?I need someone to call Defence Force Media Relations and ask them to confirm or deny the fact that Brigadier Lucas Morape has a sexual harassment case pending.?
The phone rang in Guguletu.
?What brigadier??
