Chapter 13

I enjoyed being a Dad again over the weekend and spent as much time as possible with my family, which had a benefit for them but also for me. My family appreciated the good form I was in.

The next phase of my investigation in South Africa would be more enjoyable with Willem along to provide muscle and friendship. Willem had shown in Rotterdam that he was a very streetwise animal, capable of handling any physical threats that we might face. I had been trained in the army and had special training for the SAS at one stage; however, the wounds that I had suffered in Iraq, plus the injuries received in Limpopo, hampered my movements and made me less effective.

The weekend was going remarkably well until around lunchtime on the Sunday when my mobile phone rang.

‘Hello Vince, Willem here,’ I knew whom it was from the Dutch accent before he said it was him.

‘Hi Willem, is everything alright.’

‘I am afraid not Vince; there has been a nasty development at this end,’ - even over the phone I could pick up the tension in his voice.

‘What’s up Willem, you sound extremely stressed.’

‘I had a threatening letter dropped off at my home. It is obviously written in Dutch, but I will translate it for you: ‘Mr van Grimbergen, you are interfering in something that is no concern of yours, so, please stop at once. You can take care of yourself - but just ask yourself, can your wife, and your children protect themselves if you are not around? We know where you live, and we will harm your family if you do not stop making a nuisance of yourself.’

‘That’s terrible Willem. You must be very upset,’ I interrupted him.

‘I can’t travel to South Africa with you this evening Vince. I won’t leave my family unprotected. The people we are dealing with are ruthless, based on what they did to you. I am not willing to take the risk of them harming my family if I go with you. I am frightfully sorry Vince but what other choice is available to me.’

I had a nasty cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. I had been excited at the prospect of having Willem with me as he was fantastic company, but he was also a welcome ally to strengthen me for the dangers I was likely to encounter in South Africa.

‘I totally understand Willem. If I was in the same position as you, I would definitely stay with my family.’ I was hoping he wasn’t receiving the vibes of my disappointment. ‘I was really looking forward to having you with me, but will just have to get on with it on my own. Are you going to go to the police with the note?’

‘I haven’t fully decided what I am going to do yet; however, going to the police is clearly an option. I will also take the children and Helga to my parents’ house in Delft where they should be safe. I will do that tonight after it gets dark.’

‘I will talk to you when I get back, or, if I need your help on anything in the meantime, I will call you from South Africa,’ I added.

‘If you need my help in anyway Vince just ask. If I can’t help, I will tell you. As long as I don’t have to leave Rotterdam I should be OK.’

‘Thanks Willem. I’ll be in touch,’ I hit the red button and sat down totally shattered by the news.

So I was back on my own again and would have to face the thugs in South Africa without the support and muscle power of Willem. I decided that I had better ring my boss in all of this, Sir Montgomery Fortiscue, and bring him up to date on the situation.

‘So Vince, are you all packed up and ready for this evening?’ he asked me, sounding pleased to hear from me.

‘Yes I am ready to go. Unfortunately Willem van Grimbergen, who was coming with me, has cried off, so I will be going on my own.’

‘What’s the problem?’

‘I don’t want to tell you over the phone, but suffice it to say that it is a security issue with his family,’

‘Have there been any other developments you can tell me about?’ he asked.

‘Yes, one positive one. We are pretty sure that we have found out how the diamonds are getting from South Africa to Europe. This should make it a lot easier for me to track down our missing man and the merchandise when I get to South Africa.’

‘I appreciate what you are saying, and I won’t ask you any more questions now. I will see you when you get back to the UK. If you need me in the meantime just phone me on this number.’

‘I will get in touch with you the minute I get back,’ I said, not actually knowing when I would be back. ‘You still want me to call you and not Harold?’

‘Oh yes, definitely. I don’t see Harold being back in the business for at least two months,’ Sir Montgomery said, very forcefully.

‘I’ll call you when I have something to report,’ I said, putting the phone down.

It was a reluctant investigator filled with trepidation that caught the 7:30 p.m British Airways flight for Cape Town that evening.