The Disappeared (43 page)

Coetzee
stepped forward. ‘Listen people, it was my decision to release Mr Kingsley. I
did this because I believe he doesn’t pose a threat ... to anyone. Despite the
rumours that are making the rounds, he is not an escaped convict from prison.
He’s from the Westville Reformatory.’ Coetzee’s words seemed to have little
effect. ‘I released him because I believe him to be trustworthy ... and because
we need all the manpower we can get. And because, considering our present
situation, it would be inhuman to leave him in the cells ... on his own.’
Exclamations. Protestations. ‘I remind you that this entire time Mr Kingsley
will be under the close supervision of myself and my deputies.’ Coetzee
softened his tone almost pleading. ‘Please everybody, you have nothing to fear.
I give you my word. Please give him a true Bishop welcome. These are trying
times and we cannot afford to turn on each other.’ It seemed as if Coetzee’s
words finally had some kind of effect.

An elderly
woman stepped up to Joshua. Katya Vladislavic. ‘Hello Joshua. You are very welcome
here. Please don’t mind them. They’re just a paranoid bunch of old fogies.’ She
gave him a friendly smile.

‘Thank you, ma’am,’
Joshua said, feeling genuine gratitude towards the old woman. A few of the more
‘paranoid’ residents continued to eye Josh with suspicion but most carried on
with what they had been doing. In the corner, sitting at a table with a black
couple, Joshua spotted Duggan. He waved at him smiling. Duggan returned a curt
nod and continued his conversation with the Thabo Mohapi. Joshua turned to
Lindiwe.

‘What’s his
problem?’

‘It’s a long
story.’ She smiled with encouragement. ‘Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious.’

The black
woman at Duggan’s table also walked up to Joshua. She held out her hand.
‘Hello, Joshua. I’m Joyce.’ She looked at Lindiwe with a glum smile. ‘Welcome,
I guess.’

‘Thank you,
Joyce,’ Joshua said smiling. Lindiwe took his hand. ‘Come, let’s sit down.’ She
led him to the bar counter and pulled out a chair for him. He sat down while
she went behind the counter. She approached the voluptuous woman standing there
and spoke to her. Joshua didn’t hear much of the conversation but caught the
phrase ‘decent guy’. Moira looked at Josh. Still uncertain. But she approached
him, holding out her hand.

‘Hi Joshua, my
name is Moira.’ Joshua shook her hand.

He attempted
his best formal English. ‘How do you do, ma’am?’

Moira appeared
slightly flustered. ‘I ... I’m sorry if I appeared a bit cold. It’s not you. It’s
just been such a crazy day, you understand. You are most welcome here.’

‘Thank you, ma’am.’

‘Moira,
please.’

‘Moira.’

‘Good. Now, I
completely forgot my manners. Can I get you something?’

‘No thanks, I’m
fine.’ Lindiwe joined him sitting on the stool next to his.

‘Well, I’ll
leave you two alone,’ she said winking at Lindiwe. She exited the counter area
and sat down at the cubicle next to Katya and Minki. Lindiwe waved at Minki who
returned the greeting.

‘She’s nice.’

‘Moira? Yeah,
she’s a wonderful person. One of my best friends.’

For a few
moments there were no words between them as they stared at each other. ‘So, ‘decent
guy’, huh?’ Joshua smiled with measured slyness. ‘You don’t know that. I could
be the date from hell.’

‘Yeah, well, I’ll
take my chances, Mr Kingsley. But don’t forget, I’ve got an armed chaperone,’
she said pointing at Jansen. Joshua chuckled at her joke.

‘Yeah? Well,
he’d probably sooner blow you away than me.’ Despite all the tension and
anguish of the day Lindiwe and Joshua both giggled like two schoolgirls. In the
corner Jansen saw them laughing and shot them a look of pure hatred. Neither
noticed.

‘Collie.’
Coetzee had spoken. ‘Where’s Mr Jones ... and Max Theron?’ Joshua looked
around.

Collie was
standing next to Jansen. They were both leaning against the wall at the Abbot’s
doorway. Collie straightened up. He looked around, slightly flustered.
Embarrassment coloured his face. ‘I don’t know, Inspector. They were here just
now. I ... uh –’

‘Did I not
tell you to keep an eye on everyone, Collie? To keep everyone together?’

‘Inspector ...
I ... I, it’s difficult to –’

‘What use are
we as police officers if you don’t follow my orders, dammit?’ Coetzee stared
Collie down. Then he visibly relaxed, sighing long and hard. He rubbed his
eyes. He turned to the others in the restaurant. ‘People, I know this is not a
concentration camp. And it’s not a prison. But you have to trust that the
measures I take, are for the benefit of our survival ... as a group. Please, we
have to stay together. It’s the only way we can ensure each other’s safety.’ He
looked around at the morbid faces staring at him. ‘Does anyone know where Mr
Jones and Max Theron are? Anyone.’ There was a moment of silence. Then from
outside a woman stepped through the restaurant’s door. Karen Villiers.

‘They went to
the Theron house. And then they used the powerboat to escape.’ Her tone was so
matter of fact that it took a while for the import of her words to sink in.
Half a dozen fiercely whispered conversations broke out.

‘Son of a
bitch,’ Jansen said, ‘I knew you couldn’t trust that snob-nose bastard.’

‘Karen, how do
you know this?’ Coetzee asked.

‘I followed
them.’ Once again. The same flat matter of fact tone.

Coetzee mused
in silence, digesting the new information. He held up his hand trying to
silence the flurry of speculation. ‘Okay. Well, that’s good. I’m sure they’ll
send help as soon as they reach safety.’

‘Yeah, right,’
Jansen said under his breath. Coetzee shot him an annoyed look.

‘They won’t be
doing that.’ There was silence. Everyone waited for Karen Villiers to finish
her statement. But she didn’t.

‘Karen, what
do you mean by that?’ Coetzee asked.

‘I saw Jones
fall from the boat.’ Karen blinked a few times hard staring into empty space. ‘As
for Max Theron. He lost it. I think he went mad.’ There was a collective sigh
of disappointment.

‘Dear God,
please be with us,’ one of the women said.

‘What’s wrong
with her,’ someone else whispered nearby.

‘What do you
mean “he went mad”, Karen?’ Coetzee asked speaking slowly.

For the first
time Karen looked Coetzee in the eye. ‘He’s no longer with us.’ She paused
seeming to look right through Coetzee. ‘Inspector?’

‘Yes, Karen.’

‘Please excuse
me.’ Before Coetzee could say anything she turned and walked out of the
restaurant.

They would
never see Karen Villiers again.

Collie stared
after her. He turned to Coetzee wide-eyed. ‘Inspector, shouldn’t I follow her?
Tell her to get back in here.’

Coetzee stared
at the doorway through which she had disappeared. ‘No. Give her some time.’ He
motioned for Collie. ‘Come inside Mr Collie. We need to take care of some
business.’ Coetzee went to stand in the middle of the room. ‘Everybody, please,
can I have your attention.’ The room slowly receded into silence. ‘I trust most
of you were here when Mr Visser gave us some vital new information concerning
our situation.’ Coetzee slowly scanned the group. ‘If you weren’t then ... I’m
sure by now you know the gist of it.’ Coetzee waited for someone to admit
otherwise but no-one did. ‘Good.
Oraait
. We have basically three
options. We can trek across the open veldt to the nearest farm and try our luck
there. That would be the Joubert farm ... to the south-west of us. Approximately
twenty five kilomteres. Because the roads have been barricaded we would have to
travel on foot.’ Coetzee looked from face to face allowing the information to
sink in.

‘How long
would that take, Jan?’ Maureen Sacks asked. ‘To travel that distance? How long
would it take?’

‘Well, making
allowance for our more elderly residents,’ Coetzee said looking at Dora Cooper
and Katya Vladislavic specifically, ‘and keeping the terrain in mind ... six to
seven, maybe eight hours.’ This figure was greeted with loud disapproval. It
was obvious this option was not popular.

‘Our second
option is to risk the journey up the mountain ... and see if we can make use of
the Obsidian facilities in any way. They’ve apparently got several vehicles up
there. If you remember correctly, this was Mr Visser’s plan. Of course, this
option involves a big risk.’ He inhaled deeply. ‘We don’t know how safe it is
to get anywhere near Obsidian.’ Coetzee paused uncertainly. ‘Um ... Duggan?’

‘Er,’ Duggan
looked as if he had been awoken from a deep sleep, ‘the ... erm, plant is the
source of the contamination. It may still contain  ... residual traces of the
chemical agent.’

‘Right. So,
that’s option number two.’ Unlike the last suggestion this one was greeted by
utter silence.

Joshua leaned
into Lindiwe’s neck. ‘What do you think?’ He asked her quietly.

‘I don’t know.’
She looked at him with tenderness. ‘I’ll go where you go.’ Joshua held her hand
and squeezed it tightly.

‘Our last
option is to simply stay here ... and wait .. to see what happens. And maybe
... be rescued.’

‘Rescued?’
Collie strutted to the centre of the room. ‘Rescued? Didn’t you hear what
Visser said, Inspector. I don’t think anybody’s coming to rescue us. Why would
they erect the barricades if they were coming to rescue us?’

Silence.

‘Do you really
trust everything he said?’ Katya asked. ‘I just can’t believe that our
government would kill us.’ Several people murmured in agreement. She slowly
scanned the faces of the disparate group of people. ‘I’m sorry, but I have to
continue believing in the decency of people. I have to continue believing that
someone is coming to get us.’ Katya Vladislavic, of course, had no way of
knowing exactly how wrong she was.

Jansen snorted
loudly. ‘It’s all bullshit.’

Coetzee lifted
both palms to the sky. ‘Okay. So these are our options. I think we should vote.’
The voting was of course only a formality. Most everyone voted for the last
option. To stay and wait to be rescued. Only Collie and Jansen voted for option
number one – trekking to the nearest farm. Joshua abstained, feeling that he
hadn’t yet earned the right to participate. ‘Good.’ Coetzee said. ‘Then we’ve
all decided.’ Coetzee flashed his wards a hearty smile. Joshua carefully
studied the tired policeman. Despite his smile, he sensed that something was
troubling the station commander. He wondered what it was. And if Coetzee knew
something the rest of them didn’t.

‘Just one
thing.’ It was Duggan. ‘I don’t think we should wait around forever.’

‘Yes, I agree,’
Coetzee said. ‘Which is why I want to suggest if no rescue party has arrived by
dawn, tomorrow morning ... we should consider our other options. Whether we
decide to trek to the Joubert farm ... or go up to Obsidian, we’ll decide
tomorrow morning.’

‘Are you
saying we’re going to have to spend the night?’ Mr Sacks asked with disbelief. ‘Here?
In the restaurant?’

‘Yes. I’m
going to have to insist that we stay here, together.’ Coetzee hesitated. ‘I’m
... I’m sure the authorities will send a rescue party before the end of the
day. If not ...’ Coetzee eyed the town’s residents to see their reaction. ‘If
not ... I will send my deputies to collect all the bedding, pillows, blankets
and so on we may need to spend the night.’ There were several sighs of
exasperation but no-one protested seriously.

Joshua leaned
over and whispered into Lindiwe’s ear. ‘Whoopee. A slumber party. Let’s break
out the marshmallows.’ Lindiwe slapped his wrist yet giggled at his
facetiousness.

‘In fact,’
Coetzee said turning to Collie and Jansen, ‘let’s get this over with before it
gets too late. Sergeant, please take Mr Collie with you, go to the nearest
houses and collect as much bedding as you can.’ Jansen nodded morosely. ‘Take
the van.’ Coetzee threw a set of keys at Jansen who neatly caught them. ‘It
shouldn’t take you much longer than half an hour.’ Jansen and Collie exited. ‘
Oraait
,
then.’ Coetzee said taking a little notebook from his breast pocket, ‘let’s do
a quick roll call.’ He walked over to the bar and placing the notebook on its
surface began scribbling. He began reading out names as he wrote. After a few
names he paused looking at Fred Young. ‘Doctor Young, is your wife still with
Bridgette?’

Fred Young
stood up. He looked around uncertainly. ‘As far as I know. She should still be
at our consultation rooms.’ He paused. ‘I’ll go and have a look.’

‘Doctor.’
Coetzee walked up to him. ‘If you don’t mind, can I please ask you to stay.’ Fred
hesitated, looking at the restaurant door and back at Coetzee. ‘Please. I would
really appreciate it. I’ll send someone to look.’ Coetzee looked around the
restaurant. ‘If – ‘

Joshua stood
up. ‘I’ll go.’

There was
silence as the residents looked at Joshua. Coetzee said nothing, staring at him
with a slight frown.

‘I’ll go with
him, Inspector,’ Lindiwe said.

Coetzee
hesitated for a moment longer considering his options. Then he relented. ‘Okay.
But please, I want both of you back here in no more than ten minutes.’ He
turned to Fred placing a meaty hand on his shoulder. ‘Please stay here, Fred.
We’ll take care of it. I’m sure everything’s fine.’ Doctor Young sat down
slowly, looking suddenly uncertain and worried. Coetzee halted Joshua and
Lindiwe as they passed him. ‘Please don’t try anything stupid, Mr Kingsley. I’m
placing a lot of faith in you.’

‘You can trust
me, sir. I won’t let you down.’ Coetzee nodded.

Lindiwe and
Joshua exited.

                                                **

They walked
briskly along the empty street holding hands. In another world. Being next to
Lindiwe. Touching her. Smelling her. Would have made him the happiest man on
earth. (He was indeed shocked how quickly his feelings for her had evolved).
But now his joy was laced with unease and uncertainty. In the restaurant Joshua
had made concerted efforts to hide his anxiety from Lindiwe. He felt that he
needed to be strong for her. To give her the support she needed ... and
deserved. But most of all he wanted to shield her from a fear that had been
steadily growing inside him.