CHAPTER THREE

Sleep was out of the question. Apparently the boy had disappeared at another day care centre, Peter Pan, this time in Olivedale and not far from the first abduction. The press were being informed in the morning and panic was about to hit the western part of the city. Yekani requested that I attend the interview with the day care centre staff who were not on duty when the disappearance was discovered. I arranged to meet Detective Sam Radebe at eight am in Olivedale.

I spent the night going through the files on the Williams abduction case again as well as the flow charts, but nothing new stood out. It was as if the boy had vanished into thin air. The big question was who was responsible for these abductions, and why?

Did we have a serial killer on the loose? Was it for Muthi purposes?

There are unscrupulous traditional healers in the country that would pay a premium for children that they could use in the preparation of the various 'medical remedies' that they concocted. This practice poses a big risk for albino's as well, we are high on the shopping list. In some countries like Tanzania we are hunted down like rhino's, fortunately the vast majority of South African traditional healers seem to stick to legal supplies of Muthi, a word derived from the Zulu word for tree.

Every now and again, a body will pop up out of the woodwork which has been stripped for parts required in the Muthi process. It is a dangerous practice in South Africa, if you are caught you will face murder charges and the book is thrown at you. One traditional healer was caught in the act of stripping the body of a young girl, by people in his community and they promptly took him to a vacant plot and burned him to death.

Although I am no expert on the subject I am led to believe that certain body parts of children and albino's are required for medicines that are purported to cure the more rare diseases. It is, of course, nonsense, and only the more unscrupulous healers use human body parts in the Muthi process; thankfully they are few and far between.

Traditional healers play an important role in the community, especially in the healing of physical, emotional and spiritual illnesses. A small percentage does indulge in questionable practices such as protecting warriors or placing Muthi at the goalmouth of an opposing soccer team to guarantee victory. The union members who faced off the police at Marikana had been rubbed with Muthi to render them immune to bullets. When the Muthi fails, as it did in Marikana or the opposing team wins, they immediately finger the workers or soccer supporters as not having had enough faith in the Muthi, which then renders it useless.

Despite these isolated instances I have come to realise that there are many excellent traditional healers in this country who are really homeopaths of the highest order. They play a major role in providing psychological solutions to people who are emotional shipwrecks. It is thought that at least sixty percent of the population consults with them on a regular basis. They are required to be registered and are well controlled by the Traditional Health Practitioners Council.

It was unlikely that this was a Muthi case, taking two boys within the space of a few weeks is not their style, it would be far too risky but there are no certainties in life so it had to remain on the table.

I woke Clementine up at six am to tell her I had business to attend to and that she should make herself at home.

'Sleep in as late as you like, you need some rest. Keep the doors locked but I doubt anyone will bother you. I'll be back late afternoon and we can discuss the way forward. I'll leave Dexter and Amy in the backyard to make sure that they don't bother you and Juba is at home if you need him, he is on a short holiday.'

I hugged my dog's goodbye and made my way to Olivedale.

Sam was waiting for me at MacDonald's as we arranged and while we had a coffee he filled me in on the details.

A young couple, Peter and Mary Manning, had dropped their six year old son, Jonathan, off at the day care centre and when Mary arrived at five to fetch him, only then was it was discovered he was missing. It was a carbon-copy case to that of Brian.

Once again security was fairly standard but adequate; there was only one entrance into the premises from the front street. No-one saw Jonathan leave the premises and the last time he was noticed was shortly after the afternoon nap when he had complained about a pain in his tummy. The owner, Trudy, gave him some medicine and told him to go and lie down in the bed in the sick room until his mother came.

'Were there any other children in the sick room, Sam?' I asked.

'Nope, the window in the room was open but it is protected by burglar bars.'

'Is the toilet near the sick room?'

'Yes. That window was open and he could have squeezed through.'

A young lady dressed in a skimpy outfit, which left nothing to the imagination, came up to him and asked him if he was part of the 'Generations' cast. 'I'm sure I've seen you on the program.'

Sam laughed. 'Unfortunately not, I'm a mere policeman.' She turned red and scuttled off.

'Not nice,' I said, '…why is it a policeman can lie like Ted Bundy without blushing?' Sam was an extra in 'Generations' and had been used more and more frequently over the past few years. He had strong features, broad shoulders and a smile to die for; there were rumours that they were going to offer him one of the feature roles.

'My dear, I am an all African male. If I encourage the groupies, you and I will be late for our interview and besides, I have a jealous wife at home who would fillet me without batting an eyelid. She can smell a woman on me from ten metres away. I made the mistake once and besides having to sleep in the garage for two nights I had concussion for a week from the blow to the head. She calmly told me that next time I would discover the joys of being a eunuch.'

'Go girl, go. As you know I love Ruth and if you went with the groupie you would have found out I am not Casper the friendly ghost.'

'I rest my case your Honour, modern man has lost his position as the stronger sex, we have been well and truly emasculated. I agree with the right wing politicians, it is an imperialistic plot to render all males impotent so that women can rule the world.'

I winked at him, 'At least there are a few intelligent males that understand the way the game is being played. Why do you think women invented vibrators? Let's go and do our jobs instead of mourning the end of the male species as we know it.'

Trudy met us at the front door after buzzing us through the security gate.

She looked awful; it was obvious that she had not had a good night. Her eyes were swollen from incessant crying and the clothes she wore looked as if they had not been washed for a week.

'Hi Sam, please come in, the staff are waiting for you. He introduced me to Trudy and we went through to the large lounge area. There were eight women sitting waiting for us of various ages and sizes.

'Good morning,' Sam began. 'I am Detective Sam Radebe from the Honeydew Police. We're responsible for the investigation into Jonathan's disappearance. Miss Shirley Hannah, a private consultant and an expert in missing person's investigations, is assisting me. We would appreciate your full co-operation.'

'Firstly, who is Jonathan's class teacher?' Nice touch, I thought, it showed them that we believed that Jonathan was alive at this stage.

A large jovial looking lady put up her hand, she continued the pattern. 'I am, my name is Cynthia Watts. I have been his teacher for the past two years.'

'Was he in class all morning?' Sam asked.

'Yes, he was.'

'Was he distracted at all? I am aware that he had a stomach ache but did it look as if anything else was bothering him?'

'No Detective, he is a happy child, exceptionally bright. He is one of the few children of that age who can stay focused throughout the lessons. They are so easily distracted. He was alert and as eager to learn as always. He never complained about his stomach during the lesson.'

'Were you aware he later complained about the problem?' I asked

'No ma'am, I wasn't.'

'Mrs. Boshoff has told us that he was taken to the sick room after the nap, were any of you made aware of that? What are the rules regarding the sick room?' Trudy started to interject but Sam firmly put her in her place. 'Sorry Trudy, I need to hear it from them.'

A tall, imposing looking, elderly lady put up her hand. 'A child may only be referred to the sick room by Mrs. Boshoff. If a child falls ill, her teacher will take her to Mrs. Boshoff who will decide whether to send that child to the sick room and contact the parents to collect them if she believes that a doctor is required or to take them straight to hospital in an extreme emergency.'

'What happens if a child goes directly to Mrs. Boshoff?'

'She will inform the teacher that the child is in the sick bay and ask whoever it is to keep an eye on the child.'

I turned to Cynthia Watts. 'Did Mrs. Boshoff inform you that Jonathan was in the sick room?'

From the hesitation and the sniffles behind me I knew the answer. 'No ma'am,' she said in a quiet whisper, avoiding Mrs. Boshoff's eyes. 'She did not.' Trudy started to sob.

We determined that no one had seen the child after the nap and thanked them for their co-operation. After they left, Sam asked Trudy why she had not informed Cynthia that the boy was in the sick room.

She was still crying. 'I don't know …I have been beating myself up all night over this, we were so busy that I forgot.'

'Did you look in on him any time while he was in the sick room until his parents fetched him?'

'No.' The waterworks continued.

'Trudy, we need to speak to the children now if we may,' Sam was not going to offer any solace in her hour of misery. The look that he gave her expressed his disgust. Besides the fact that Jonathan had disappeared, he had a stomach ache for goodness sake, she should have made sure that the child was not in distress until the parents arrived.

Trudy assembled the children as requested and this time I took the initiative. 'I am Casper, the friendly ghost and this gentleman with me is a very nice policeman who is going to help find Jonathan.'

'Your hat is so pretty,' a small little girl in the front said. 'Why do you wear sunglasses inside? Does the dark also hurt your eyes?'

'Yes' I said, 'I have sensitive eyes, they don't like the sun or the dark. I hope you all put on sunscreen when you go into the sun?'

A boy piped up for a change. 'My Dad says that only Australian sissies wear sunscreen.' That started the ball rolling; Sam and I decided to see where it ended.

'My mommy says if you don't wear sunscreen, you will get cancer.'

'It is only stupid people that don't wear sunscreen,' a little girl said indignantly.

The little boy pushed forward. 'Are you telling me that my daddy is stupid? I will punch you in the face!' The sunscreen and the face was a giveaway for the macho-male image that the little boy was subjected to. Sam gently put his arms around the youngster. 'What's your name?'

'Johan,' the little boy said looking fearfully up at Sam; Sam's gentle demeanour calmed him down.

'You can tell your Dad, Johan that Warrant Officer Sam says that you should put sunscreen on when you are in the sun, otherwise you will get skin cancer one day. You don't want to get skin cancer do you?' Johan shook his head and pulled his lip. 'You see children, parents are not always right, we can learn from you too and if the teacher gives you a good tip you must tell your mom's and dad's.'

'I also want you to know that only sissies punch girls in the face. You don't look like a sissy to me Johan, so I know you would never do that, right?' Johan nodded his head until I thought it would fall off. 'When you are bigger Johan, if you hit anyone, girl or boy, I would have to put you in jail. You don't want that either do you?' This time he started to cry but Sam's hug turned off the taps.

Sam turned to the little girl who had challenged him on the sunscreen and who was looking at them with a triumphant look in her eye. 'You, little lady, need to tell your Mom not to call anyone stupid. People are not stupid, if you don't agree with them, try to convince them that they are wrong but they are entitled to their own opinion. They are not stupid because they don't agree with you.'

The triumphant look disappeared and the little girl hung her head. Sam had got his message across like only Sam could. I also knew that if there was any comeback from either parent they would come off second best; he did not suffer fools.

'Who of you saw Jonathan go to the sick room yesterday?' I asked.

A little boy who was just skin and bones and was probably three years old, put up his hand.

' I, I ddiid mith,' he stuttered. 'He wwweeentt wwittthh Aunntty Trrr trrudy'

'Did you see him again after that?' Noo nooo, ma'am.' It was interesting that he could get ma'am out but not the rest of the words.

'What is your name?' 'SSSSteveeev enn Mam.'

Thank you Steven, that was very useful.'

'Did anyone else see Jonathan in the sick room after your nap?' Sam asked.

A little girl put up her hand.

'I did, I went to the toilet and Jonathan was in the bed, I gave him a jelly tot to make him better.'

'Did he say anything to you?'

'Mary,' Trudy whispered in my ear. 'Mary.'

'He just said that Handela would look after him'

My ears pricked up. 'Mandela?' I asked

'Maybe… I don't know ma'am, that's just what he said. He always spoke funny.'

'Anyone else who saw Jonathan after the nap?' Sam asked. The general shaking of the heads indicated no.

We called a halt to the proceedings and after bidding them farewell, headed back to McDonald's. I am not a big fan of soya burgers but Sam is addicted. 'Well, what do you think, pretty lady?' he asked.

'First of all, I should ask Juba to be on standby in case you have any angry visits from parents,' I teased.

'Bring them on girl; bring them on, particularly Johan's father. Methinks the mom may get a punch or two from him, I would like to have a private chat.'

'On a serious note, there are two things that are important; one is the toilet window. Interesting how no one puts burglar bars on toilet windows in the older houses. Small children can easily go through them, I am firmly of the opinion that Brian and Jonathan made their escape through the window. But why? That is the mystery question.'

Sam nodded. 'Right, I've had a few cases of burglaries where adults have put children through small windows to open the doors. Anyone who has watched Oliver Twist knows how important a small child can be to a burglary ring.'

'Secondly, Handela is a definite clue; we need to work out what that means. Right now I have no idea.'

'Again, I agree; Google here we come.'

After Sam had destroyed yet another hamburger, we parted ways. Sam asked me to meet him in the boardroom with the rest of the team tomorrow morning for a brainstorming meeting.

On the way home the news of the second abduction dominated. All hell was breaking loose and the police were been slammed for incompetency, I switched over to CD and listened to Joshua Tree instead.

I arrived home to find Clementine sitting on the couch watching the Discovery Channel.

'Don't you think that the animal kingdom is so much better organised than ours?' she asked.

'Absolutely, I go to the Kruger Park once a year to wind down and to see the good part of life. The animals have so much to teach us; it is a pity that the sole intent of so many humans is to wipe animals off of the face of the earth for their horns or liver or whatever in the name of libido. We are not a very intelligent species.'

'I phoned the Mulbarton Hospital,' she giggled, 'Ex is recovering nicely from a rather vicious mugging by persons unknown. A few broken bones but he is mending nicely and will be released in three days' time, he has no clue who his attacker is, so sad, another unresolved crime. Maybe you should investigate it?'

'In a case like this, it is the wife.' I grinned, 'I will start with her.'

'I also phoned work and my boss actually requested me, for the sake of the rest of the staff, to resign.'

'How many labour laws does that break?' I asked

'You know what? I agreed on condition that he paid me three months' salary as a sweetener. He jumped at it; I am so tired of all the politics in the corporate world. I decided that it is time to change my life. My ex doesn't love me anymore, my boss is eager to get rid of me; time to start over.' She pulled her legs up, tilted her face and fluttered her eyes.' I am sure someone out there will love and appreciate me.'

I liked this girl, she had spunk. It is strange how a rose can suddenly arise out of the ashes.

'Hey, I have been thinking; why don't you stay here for a while until you are settled? I have the spare bedroom and it would be nice to have some company for a change. Also,' and I put my hands to my lips,' I do not want an answer now but why don't you join me in my consultancy business? I know that you are a qualified internal auditor and forensic investigator, I made some calls today and you come highly rated. Auditor of the year last year in South Africa, that's good enough for me. I need an answer tomorrow morning first thing, if you agree your days of lying on my couch during the week are over, we have work to do.'

Clementine looked at me thoughtfully; there was still a twinkle in her eye. I had a good chance of success. 'By the way, your other neighbour was here, he says to tell you that Storm and Thor are missing you. Strange guy, he gave the message and just left.'

I laughed. 'Come with me, time to meet my other neighbours; they are a treat.'

'Clementine, I want you to meet two very good friends of mine,' I said when we were escorted into the house, which was a mirror image of mine. 'This is Harold,' I said introducing her to the tall wiry man with sparkling blue eyes, 'Harold, Clementine.'

He shook her hand gently.

'And this is his long suffering wife, Jeanette who deserves the State President's medal for bravery. She has been married to this obnoxious Dutchman for forty five years and I have never heard her complain.' Jeanette, who was short and plump, laughed, bowed and grabbed Clementine in a bear hug.

'You know Clementine,' Harold said, 'the problem with this lady is that she does not tan enough in the sun. Look at her; she must be suffering from a serious Vitamin D deficiency. The first time I saw her I tried to Google Ghostbusters but South Africa does not have a branch here. I suppose it's because we are scared of nothing, you name it we have seen it all.'

'Do you like koeksusters? If you don't, then please leave and don't come back. I also want Thor and Storm to meet you to see if I can trust you. I trust no one without their approval.'

He promptly let two Boerboels into the lounge. One was a male, golden tan; that was Thor. The other was an all Black Female, Storm. Clementine froze with terror. They ran straight to me and jumped all over my brand new dress, the dogs loved me. They were so well cared for that they were so happy and contented and friendly but I had seen them in action when they disliked someone, it was not pretty. After slobbering all over me they turned their attention to Clementine who by this time, was in a coma. After a few sniffs, they started wagging their stumpy tales and jumped all over her. Harold beamed, 'You can stay!' He boomed.' You passed the test!'

Clementine's face was a study. 'Do you want a drink? Cappies for the lady in white, what do you drink? 'He asked looking at Clementine. 'Double Brandy and coke,' she whispered.

'Hey, I like this one. Is she your girlfriend?' he asked me. 'Have you finally decided to open the closet? 'I've given up with you and males.'

Jeanette gave him a smack on the arm, 'Please ignore him,' she said, 'he grew up in Orkney, he has no manners or culture and very little intelligence. I stay with him as part of my civic duty to our beautiful country. If I let him loose some other sucker would land up with him.'

Clementine was visibly relaxed by now and enjoying the moment. They were a breath of fresh air; Harold's views on life were hilarious. They had taken me into their hearts from the moment we met and I knew that like Juba, they would go to the ends of the earth for me. I would do likewise for them.

'How's that Nigerian neighbour of yours? I saw him carrying someone over his shoulder to the car last night. Hope it was the Vice President, time we got rid of him. I told him the guy is a loser; he must rather look after Connie Mulder.'

I quickly filled them in on the episode with the Ex, you could trust them with any secret and I know that they would not have been offended if I kept mum on what had happened, but we had been sharing our lives for so long now. They were part of my family; they were also fond of Juba.

We had our drink and the regulation Koeksuster which, as always, was delicious, then took our leave.

As we made our way back to my house a teenage boy ran up to us. 'Aunty Casper, a man asked me to give you a message!' he said. 'What man?' I asked. 'Don't know, never seen him before, it was too dark to see. He just stopped, gave me two hundred rand and said that I must tell the spook in number twenty-three to find another job and took off. I could see from his hand that he was white, that's all I know. I would have taken his registration number but he had no plates, he was driving a white Corsa panel van.'

'Thanks Norman. If you think of anything else or see that panel van around again, promise to let me know.'

'Of course I will.'

Things were taking a bad turn. I had never been threatened before, something ugly was up.

I decided to fill Clementine in on all of the details to date, to help her decide if she was in or not.

When I had finished she stood up gave me a hug and told me she was not going to wait for the morning, she was in.

Her parting words before going to bed were, 'Provided we beef up security in this place.'

I couldn't argue with that, it was time to Google.

*****