Blood at Bay. Sue Rabie

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СКАЧАТЬ or might not have removed something after I left,” David told the inspector, again truthfully. “But perhaps it’s not me you should be questioning.”

      “Really?” Govender asked. “Who do you think I should be questioning, Mr Roth?”

      David frowned. “Perhaps you should find out who that anonymous caller was,” he told the policeman. “And perhaps you should ask Mr Maritz about the deaths that have been occurring at his mill, because while he’s accusing me of theft, he’s still scraping some poor guy out of his shredder. Why don’t you ask him about that? There must’ve been witnesses.”

      “We did ask. Unfortunately, there was a shift change when that accident took place. There were no witnesses.”

      “Well, what about the man who died in that car crash?”

      “We’re looking into that incident, too, Mr Roth. There seem to be no witnesses there either.”

      David glared irritably at him. “Then what else can I help you with?”

      “I’m just curious, Mr Roth. About a few other things.”

      David tried to clear his mind so he could focus on Govender’s next question.

      “Who is Patterson?”

      David looked up. “Patterson?” he echoed. “Never heard of him. Why?”

      “We went through Peter Calder’s things at his office. We found an entry in his diary. On the day he died, Peter Calder wrote the name in his diary. We were wondering if you knew who the person was.”

      David shook his head. “Sorry, don’t know him.”

      Govender stared out over the bay. “Pity,” he said.

      David sighed. “Look, Inspector, are you going to arrest me?”

      Govender took a deep breath, apparently relishing the fresh breeze that had started up. “No, Mr Roth. We’ll let you get back to your cleaning,” he said, standing up. “We’ll return your flat keys as soon as we’re finished. Take care of yourself, Mr Roth, and when you see Ms Barnett, tell her to take care too.”

      David watched the policemen as they climbed down the boarding steps and onto the jetty. Sergeant van Heerden walked off, but Inspector Govender stopped and turned. “Oh, one more thing, Mr Roth,” he called, “if you do come across that document, be sure to let us know.”

      CHAPTER NINE

      David went below and sat down at the saloon table. The upholstered bench seat was still sandy and soiled, but he was too preoccupied to notice. Someone had accused him of theft. Someone thought he was in cahoots with Peter Calder. Why would they think that? And why phone the police and deliberately set them on him? Because they were that desperate to get that piece of paper back. Had it been Maritz himself? Had he phoned the police anonymously with a tip-off on David’s past, and then feigned innocence when the police phoned back to verify the theft of the document? But why? What the hell had been on that piece of paper? And what else would they do to get it back?

      David thought about Kathy. If someone suspected him, then they might also suspect Kathy. They must have said as much to the police; otherwise Govender wouldn’t have asked about her. Suddenly, his concern for her surged. He searched for his phone among the cleaning equipment and dialled her number.

      He sighed in relief when she answered. “Kathy, it’s me, David. Where are you?”

      “I’m just leaving the Calders. What’s wrong?” She could hear it in his voice. “Has something happened?”

      “Nothing’s happened. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

      “That’s sweet of you.”

      He didn’t want to upset her, but he didn’t think it could wait either. What if Govender were to question her? What would Kathy tell Govender about their night together? “I need to speak to you about something,” he told her. “The police have just been to see me.”

      “About what?” she asked innocently.

      He hesitated, not quite knowing how to put it. “About us,” he told her.

      “What about us?”

      “Well, I think Inspector Govender thinks we may have, um, spent the night, well, together …”

      “Oh,” she said. “I see.”

      He waited. She didn’t sound too upset. He wondered what to say next. “I’m sorry,” he told her.

      “David,” she reassured, “you don’t have anything to apologise for. We both know nothing happened.”

      “Yes, but Govender might think something did, and I didn’t want them to see you in a bad light.”

      She laughed. “That’s very gentlemanly of you.”

      He frowned, not understanding why she was taking this so lightly. She must have sensed his concern. “Look,” she said, “perhaps we should talk. Where are you?”

      He felt his spirits rise. “On the yacht, cleaning up.”

      “Well, I finish work at five. Shall I come to you?”

      He stood up. “Great,” he said, slightly surprised at his reaction to her suggestion. “The security guard at the gate will let you in,” he told her. He was glad she was coming, that he would see her again, but he was also still worried. “Kathy?” he said, hesitating as he thought about Maritz and the man’s allegations.

      “What?” she asked.

      “Be careful.”

      “Of what?”

      “I’m not sure. Has anyone been following you?”

      “Following me? What on earth for?”

      “I don’t know,” he said, mentally kicking himself. He was making her paranoid. He was making himself paranoid. “Just be careful, that’s all. Lock your car door.”

      She sounded more worried when she said goodbye, and David swore at himself. He was being unreasonable, imagining conspiracies based on vague suspicions. But what if they were real? Someone wanted him arrested, had obviously gone onto the internet and read up on what David had done in Boston. They had found out about his criminal record, had used it to get Govender to search his flat. They had questioned Peter, they had tortured him. What had Peter told them? How easy would it be to track either of them down, to find out where they lived? Ms Prinsloo had given Kathy his address, after all. Were they being watched? Even now?

      No. He was being neurotic and, by the time the police returned with his keys, he had convinced himself he was imagining things. Van Heerden waited patiently at the security gate and thanked him politely for his time.

      “Did you find anything, Sergeant?”

      “No, we didn’t,” Van Heerden replied, seemingly without taking offence.

      “But СКАЧАТЬ