Elsa, Nat and Thabo sit silently in front of Mannie Govender. ‘We’ve traced one of the phone calls Beukes made from the hotel to someone in Kwa Mashu we suspect could be a middle man for contract killings. We arrested him yesterday and are working on him at the moment, but we don’t have enough to go on yet. Beukes maintains it was just a deal about buying a truck.’ Mannie Govender clears his throat. ‘Our suspicions are that he’s possibly behind this but we just don’t have enough proof yet.’
‘Have you confronted Karlos about Lissa’s murder?’ Elsa’s voice is tight.
Inspector Govender frowns. ‘Alleged murder. Of course, but as I said before we don’t have enough evidence against him for anything at the moment other than the hotel fraud.’
‘And he knows that of course.’
‘He does, but he also knows we’re watching him. We’ve warned him that if anything happens to you two he’ll be first on our list. I think he’s got the message. It’s the best we can do at the moment.’
‘Checkmate,’ says Thabo with a smirk.
Inspector Govender looks up at the wall clock and closes the brown paper file. Thabo scrapes back his chair. ‘Much appreciated, Mannie. I’ll wait to hear from you later.’
‘No problem. We’ll hopefully get a conviction for the fraud charge at least. We had to let him out on bail, but the case is fast-tracked for next Monday.’
‘Good man.’
‘No problem,’ says Govender.
Thabo shakes his hand while Nat and Elsa leave the office in silence.
Thabo catches up as they step out of the building into the hot midday sun. ‘I’ll be in the court on the Monday,’ says Thabo.
Elsa giving him a hug. ‘That would be good, Thabo.’
I let out a long sigh as I watch my sisters walk hand in hand to Elsa’s BMW. Their energy is tangibly different. The awful tension and ravaged grief has been smoothed at the edges and their shoulders are no longer hunched, nor are their eyes as shadowed by sadness.
‘We’ll go and tell Mom the good news, and then there’s just one more thing I want to look into,’ says Elsa.
***
Later that afternoon Elsa sits at her dining-room table, a pile of bank statements strewn in front of her. She turns her head towards the passage. ‘Nat,’ she calls.
‘What?’
‘Major withdrawals from Lissa’s account were made at the Wild Coast Sun Casino both before and when Liss was in King Edward’s.’ Elsa stabs her forefinger down at the statements in a triumphant manner.
Nat comes back into the dining room, ‘Before she went in?’
Elsa nods. ‘He must’ve got access to her card somehow. The bastard was gambling away what money he could until he got his hands on the whole lot. We’d have to try and prove she knew nothing about it, but given that it includes the time she was in a coma, we could have a case.’
I shake my head in disbelief at how naïve and trusting I was.
‘Phone Govender,’ says Nat, her voice raw with anger, ‘and the prosecutor.’
‘I will, but first I think I’m going to phone the Wild Coast Sun and ask who the hotel doctor is?’
‘Doctor?’
Elsa narrows her blue eyes at Nat. ‘I just think that maybe, just maybe, Karlos paid him a visit.’
Nat sits silently, clenched fists perched in front of her while Elsa gets the doctor’s name from the hotel. She scribbles it down and turns to Nat with wide eyes. ‘The doctor’s name is … Clark,’ she stumbles on the name.
Nat’s mouth drops slightly open and mirrors mine. ‘Phone him quick,’ she says.
Elsa asks to be put through and recounts the story to the doctor and then listens silently. ‘Yes, I’m a practising advocate. I’m investigating Mr Karlos Beukes,’ she says, turning to Nat and pulling an impatient face at his insistent questioning. She turns back to the phone and listens carefully, her face etched in a serious frown. ‘I see,’ she says after a while. ‘Could you please let me know the date of his visit and what you prescribed for him?’ She glances over to Nat and gives a small nod. ‘I see. Was that at his request?’ She nods again. ‘Well, thank you very much, doctor.’
She clunks down the receiver and turns to Nat with a victorious smile. ‘Karlos saw him and asked for a script for Trithapon; he told the doctor he was a registered psychotic and had left his medication at home. The doctor said he was in quite a state and it all appeared genuine as Karlos could provide him with all the details he asked for so he gave it to him.’
‘When …?’
‘A week before Lissa’s fit.’
Nat’s bottom lip trembles, ‘Oh Elsa, that means it was definitely him. Have we got enough to nail him now?’
‘I hope so. Govender can’t argue that it’s only circumstantial evidence now. I’ll demand he exhumes her body. I don’t care what it takes. I will see that fucking bastard rot in jail for what he’s done.’ Elsa clenches her jaw and snatches up the phone. ‘Inspector Govender, please, tell him it’s important,’ she says turning to Nat and giving her a thumbs-up.
She speaks quickly to Govender but seconds later her smile fades. ‘Keep us up to date,’ she says before slamming down the receiver. ‘Karlos has skipped bail and done a runner. They think he’s in Joburg … they’ve alerted the police up there.’ Elsa stamps her foot. ‘Idiots – so much for them watching him.’
‘Damn them,’ says Nat. She pushes back her hair behind her ears as if she’s chasing away an irritating fly and asks angrily, ‘Why didn’t Govender tell us? When did he go?’
‘Yesterday apparently. I knew I should’ve kept Fletcher on his tail instead of relying on Govender.’ Elsa frowns and bites on her bottom lip.
‘I don’t believe this,’ says Nat with a shake of her head. ‘How useless can they be? How can they not be watching him?’
Elsa gives a sardonic laugh. ‘It’s not a priority for them.’ She rubs her hand across her forehead. ‘Fuck it … I should have kept with my gut feel.’ She clenches her fist and pumps it through the air. ‘Damn, why didn’t I?’
‘Joburg’s an easy place to hide. Do you think they’ll find him up there? How do they even know he’s there?’ Nat’s voice rises in pitch with each frenzied question.
‘I’ll ask Fletcher to hunt him down and I want some answers from Govender. This is not good enough!’
‘Thabo will be furious,’ says Nat. ‘I really thought it was over at last.’
‘How could I be so fucking stupid.’ Elsa places a strand of blonde hair in her mouth and chews angrily.
‘Don’t berate yourself Els. You couldn’t have known he’d run.’
‘Of course I should have,’ snaps Elsa, spitting away the piece of hair. ‘The only thing we can hope for now is that maybe some Joburg hi-jackers will do our work for us and blow his fucking brains out.’
The police guard patrolling outside Elsa’s front window pauses and looks through at them. Elsa glares at him and turns away.
A long sigh shudders out of Nat. ‘I just want so badly to see him rot in jail.’
Elsa looks at Nat in silence for a few minutes. ‘I’d prefer dead. Damn, I can’t believe they lost him. How much more incompetent can they get?’
‘Maybe they’ll get him if he tries something else up there.’
‘Maybe,’ says Elsa. ‘At least we know now it was him. What a cunning bastard. Must’ve tried to frame the psychotic patient all along. Probably preyed on vulnerable women in rehab. Wouldn’t surprise me if Liss isn’t the first one he’s killed for money.’
‘Me neither,’ says Nat. Her eyes fill with tears. ‘I wish we’d never talked her into going there.’
Elsa nods. ‘Me too,’ she whispers, ‘but what’s done is done. I don’t think Liss would want us to be eaten up with guilt.’
‘I guess not,’ says Nat. ‘Why don’t you phone Mom and Yvonne and tell them? In some strange way, even though we haven’t caught him, it helps to know it was him.’
‘Yes, it does. I guess it gives a sense of closure.’ Elsa picks up her car keys. ‘Come, let’s go and tell them in person. I’m sure Mom needs a hug.’