Chapter 36

“I’ve been watching you for a while now,” said the detective. “You’re lucky Stefan hired every moron in the country. All sitting there with their lights on, like the circus is in town.”

The five of them were walking in a line away from the road. They’d come far enough so that they could talk freely without fear of being heard.

“Charlotte, this is the man who found your car and sent someone to pick me up,” said Lindy.

“Nice to meet you,” said Charlotte. “I’d shake your hand, but I wouldn’t know where to.”

“And the other two here are Eugene and Tertius. Both worked on a project that Stefan is security for. Stefan wants us all dead.”

“Then it’s only a matter of time, said detective Hendriks.”

“Are you serious?” asked Charlotte. She’d expected some words of encouragement. The way that when you say something like, “I’m really worried about whether I’ll find a job,” someone else will invariably say, “Don’t worry, it’ll all be fine.” Even if it won’t be.

“It’s better that you don’t underestimate Stefan. He’s the kind of guy who’ll track you down all his life, and if he finds you when you’re ninety years old and plugged up to life support, he’ll still shoot you instead of unplug you. Just like that. He’s like ... He’s like a skeleton or a robot.”

“Like the Terminator?” offered Tertius.

“No, nothing like anything you’ve seen on TV. He’s cold. For him everything has to be black or white. It’s a one or a zero. He’s either going to kill you or he isn’t, and he’s already made up his mind. Nowhere is safe.”

“We think we know somewhere safe,” said Lindy.

“Good,” said Detective Hendriks. “Then go there. But don’t tell me where it is. The fewer people that know where you are, the better your chances. I must get back to my post. Which way are you headed?”

“North-east,” said Lindy.

“Okay, I’ll call in a sighting of the four of you somewhere out to the west later tonight. That’ll give you some more time to get wherever you’re going.”

“Thank you,” said Lindy and Charlotte at the same time.

“I must go now,” he said. And, quite suddenly, he was gone from among them. And it was just the four of them alone again in the dark desert.

“How does he appear and disappear like that?” asked Tertius.

“I think he’s part Bushman,” replied Lindy.

From a little way off, Detective Hendriks spoke again.

“Lindy, in case you wanted to know: the policeman that Stefan shot outside your house is okay. He’s in icu, but he’ll live. And it’s Khoisan. My father is Khoisan.”

And then he was gone. They were quiet for some time as they walked, unsure of whether he’d really returned to his car or was perhaps right behind them listening to what they were saying.

After some minutes of quiet, Tertius spoke. “If we’re going to get to Vastrap by morning, we’d better pick up our pace.”

Sometime near midnight they heard the distant buzz of helicopters out to the west.