Trackers Read Online Free PDF Page B

of the man in a suit getting out of a car. He was
coloured, dressed in a tasteful dark suit, white shirt and grey tie. He carried
a black briefcase over his shoulder. It was a grainy image with little depth,
and gave the impression of a telephoto lens.
    Janina Mentz and Advocate Tau Masilo sat and studied it.
Beside them stood Masilo's right-hand man, Quinn, the Chief of Staff: Operations.
He pointed at the screen.
    'That is one of the members of the Supreme Committee, Shaheed
Latif Osman,' said Quinn. 'You don't often see him in a suit, more usually in
traditional Muslim dress. The photo was taken on Sunday, at about half past
twelve, at a five-star guest house in Morningside, Johannesburg. Osman booked
in under the name of Abdul Gallie. Here he is on his way back to the airport.
Twenty minutes earlier this man...' Quinn clicked the mouse of the laptop and
another photo appeared.'... also left the location.' A big black man, smart in
a dark blue jacket and grey trousers, getting into the passenger seat of a
black BMW X5 in front of the guest house.
    'This morning we identified him through the vehicle number
plate. His name is Julius Nhlakanipho Shabangu. He goes by the alias inkunzi',
which means 'bull' in Zulu. The greatest source of information on him is in
the SAPS Criminal Intelligence database, connecting him with organised crime in
the Gauteng area. He has a criminal record, two jail terms for armed robbery.
He is under suspicion of being the brains behind a car hijacking network and
various cash-in- transit robberies over the past four years. There is more
information in the former Scorpions' files, but that will take a while to access.'
    'According to one of the kitchen staff, Shabangu and Osman
met in the library, behind closed doors,' said the Advocate.
    Quinn confirmed this with a finger pointed at the screen:
'Shabangu arrived at the guest house at ten in the morning. His chauffeur
waited outside. Two hours later he emerged, and shortly after that, Osman came
out. Osman had not left the guest house since the previous evening.'
'Interesting,' said Janina Mentz.
    'We have no previous record of a meeting between these two.
Osman frequently travels to Johannesburg, but normally to mosques in Lenasia,
Mayfair and Laudium. Shabangu was never seen at any of those places,' said
Quinn.
    'A new partnership.' Janina Mentz was pleased. This was
progress. 'Strange bedfellows,' said Tau Masilo.
    'I presume we are going to keep an eye on Shabangu.'
    'Indeed.'
     
    She wanted to light a cigarette before opening the letter.
She realised she didn't have an ashtray. She went to the kitchen to fetch a
saucer, lit the cigarette and inhaled deeply. And coughed.
    She
smoked the whole cigarette, staring at the letter on the coffee table. She
picked it up reluctantly and tore it open.
    Dear Ma
    I'm very sorry, Ma. I was rude and I
didn't behave right. I didn't appreciate you, only when it was too late. Ma, I
have learned my lesson, I promise you. If you can forgive me, I will make it up
to you. I swear, Ma. Pa says if you can just talk, we can make it all right
again. Please, Ma, I miss you and need you in my life. I don't know what to say
to my friends.
    Call me, Ma
    Barend
    His handwriting was usually untidy, sometimes illegible. She
didn't know where he had found this paper, thin, expensive, she could see here
he had written with a great deal of care. Despite the spelling mistake.
    Milla pushed it away across the coffee table, because the
guilt and the longing burned right through her.
     
    Late that night she lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling in
remorse, building containing walls against the guilt by composing an answer to
Barend in her head.
    Let me tell you the whole truth: it won't help for me to have
a talk with your father, because I don't love him any more. And to my shame, I
don't know if I ever loved him. I don't hate him either, I moved on from that a
long time ago. I feel nothing for him.
    I love you, because you are my