Devil's Peak

they arrested Laurens.?

?I get it.?

?Please.?

?No, I mean I know which one you mean. But what?s the use??

?Something is not right with this thing. I don?t know what. Yesterday Bothma . . .?

?But the pathologist said it?s the same guy??

?I?m not talking about the murder of Laurens. I?m talking about the murder of the child.?

?But that?s not our case.?

?It?s our job.?

* * *

?He?s weird,? said Carla when they eventually got rid of Keyter.

?He?s a

drol,

? Fritz called down the stairs.

?Fritz!? said Griessel.

?I could use a ruder word, Dad.?

?But where does he get the money?? asked Carla.

?What money??

?Didn?t you notice, Dad? The clothes. Polo shirt, Daniel Hechter trousers. Nikes.?

?Who?s Daniel Hechter??

?He?s married to Charlize Theron, Dad!? yelled Fritz from upstairs. ?But he?s not a murderer.?

For the first time Carla laughed and then Griessel laughed with her.

* * *

In the Ocean Basket in Kloof Street, while they waited for their food, Carla asked him about the Artemis case. He suspected that was her way of avoiding the silences. Out of the blue, in the middle of the discussion, she asked: ?Why did you become a policeman, Dad??

He had no ready answer. He hesitated and saw Fritz look up from the magazine and knew he had to get this right. He said, ?Because that is who I am.?

His son raised an eyebrow.

Griessel rolled his shoulders. ?I just knew I was a policeman. Don?t ask me why. Everyone has a vision of himself. That is how I saw myself.?

?I don?t see myself,? said Fritz.

?You?re still young.?

?I?m sixteen.?

?It will come.?

?I am not a policeman. And besides, I?m not going to drink. Policemen drink.?

?Everyone drinks.?

?Policemen drink more.?

And with that he went back to his magazine and took no further part in the conversation. Until they had eaten and Griessel asked Carla casually if she knew an Afrikaans song with the words:

? ?n Bokkie wat vanaand by my kom le a, sy kan maar le a, ek is ?n loslappie.?

A babe who wants to lie with me tonight, can lie with me, I?m free and easy.

She was still pointing her thumb at her brother when Fritz, without looking up, asked: ?What recording??

?I don?t know, I just heard it the other night over the radio.?

?Was it a medley or a whole song??

?A whole song.?

?Kurt Darren,? said Fritz.

Griessel had no idea who Kurt Darren was but he wasn?t going to admit it. He didn?t need another Charlize Theron quip.

?Kurt Darren needs to get himself a decent bass guitarist,? said Griessel.

Something changed in his son?s face. It was as if the sun came up. ?Yeah right, that?s right, his whole mix is wrong. It?s an ancient song, but it has to rock. Theuns Jordaan does it better. He?s the guy who does the medley with

?Loslappie,?

but he?s just as scared of proper bass. There is only one oke in Afrikaans who makes good use of bass, but he doesn?t sing that song. It?s a helluva pity.?

?Who?s that??

?Anton Goosen.?

?I know Anton Goosen,? said Griessel with relief. ?He?s the guy who sang that thing about the donkey cart??