?So what?s your point, sister?? asked Cupido.
?Afrikaans, genius,? said Bushy Bezuidenhout. ?
is Afrikaans. Blacks don?t read that paper.?
?I get it,? said Jamie Keyter, followed by: ?Sorry, Benny.?
?Colored,? said Griessel. ?Maybe he?s colored.?
?We colored chaps are always handy with a blade,? said Cupido proudly.
?Or it could just have been very dark in that house,? said Griessel.
Joubert appeared at the door with a somber face and beckoned Griessel to come out. ?Excuse me,? he said and left. He shut the door behind him.
?You?ve got four days, Benny,? said the senior superintendent.
?The commissioner??
Joubert nodded. ?It?s just the political pressure. He sees the same dangers I do. But you have till Friday.?
?Right.?
?Jesus, Benny, I don?t like it. The risks are too high. If it goes bad . . . If you want to get the assegai man you will have to use the media. Organized Crime is highly pissed. The child is still missing. There?s just too much??
?Matt, I will
it work.?
They looked each other in the eyes.
?I will make it work.?
He took ten of the uniformed members of the task team along with Bezuidenhout, Cupido and Keyter and they drove in four cars to the house in Shanklin Crescent, Camps Bay to investigate the lay of the land.
He knew the problem was the rear of the castle-like dwelling. It was built against the mountain, with a plastered wall to keep trespassers out, but it was less than two meters tall?and it was a large area.
?If he comes here and spots us, he?ll disappear?we won?t find him in the bushes. So the men lying here must not be seen, but must be able to see everything. If you see him, you must allow him to get over the wall. Everyone understand??
They nodded solemnly.
?If I were him, I would come down the mountain. That?s where the cover is. The street is too problematic, too open. Only two entry points and it?s practically impossible to get into the house from that side. So we will deploy most of our people on the mountain.?
He checked his street map. ?Kloof Nek runs up above, on the way to Clifton. If he doesn?t park there, he will at least drive up and down a few times. Which of you can handle a camera??
Keyter raised his hand like a keen prep-school boy.
?Only Jamie??
?I can try,? said a black constable with alert eyes.
?What?s your name??
?Johnson Madaka, Inspector.?
?Johnson, you and Jamie must find a spot where you can watch the road. I want photos of every pickup that passes. Jamie, talk to the photography guys about cameras. If you have trouble, phone me.?
?Okay, Benny,? said Keyter, pleased with his task.
He divided them into two teams?one for day and one for night. He determined every point on the street and against the mountain that would be manned. He asked Bezuidenhout to find out if any house in the street was empty, and whether they could use it. ?I?m going to talk to Cloete. The media should start humming by tonight. All of you go home and rest, but at six I want the night shift in place.
He walked into Joubert?s office and found Cloete and the senior superintendent wearing graveyard faces. Cloete said: ?I want you to know that I had nothing to do with this, Benny.?
?With what?? he asked and Cloete handed him the
COP SCRAP OVER ARTEMIS
Front page.
?They haven?t got news, that?s the fucking problem,? said Cloete.
He read the article.
Senior police officials are up in arms over the appointment of a confirmed alcoholic as leader of the task team investigating the Artemis vigilante murders in the Peninsula. A source within the senior ranks of the SAPS called it ?a huge blunder? and ?a mess-up just waiting to happen.?
The top cop in the firing line is veteran Serious and Violent Crimes Unit Detective Inspector Bennie Griessel, who was reportedly admitted to Tygerberg Hospital just a fortnight ago after an alleged drinking binge. A hospital spokesperson confirmed that Griessel had been admitted, but declined to comment on his illness.
?Fuck,? said Griessel, and all he could think about were his children.
