Blindside. Wilna Adriaanse

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      Allegretti lived in an enormous house in Bantry Bay, Barkov had a house in Milnerton and, according to the latest reports, Mang lived in Newlands.

      She wrote on the board again. Clive sat down on the chair behind her desk and shook his head. “You and your lists. What are you writing now?”

      “Their legal businesses. You taught me: When in doubt, start at the beginning.”

      He nodded. “Everyone is in imports and exports. What else? Allegretti has the club as well, and Williams has a number of spaza shops in the townships.”

      She stepped back from the board. “Yes, the concept ‘import and export’ is open to interpretation these days.”

      They looked up when they heard loud voices coming from the corner office.

      Rita shrugged when Ellie looked at her. “It’s been like that for a while.”

      Clive also looked at the closed door. “If I were Greyling I’d tread carefully. You don’t handle that tigress without kid gloves.”

      “And if she hears you calling her a tigress she’ll nail your balls to the floor with her stilettos,” Rita said.

      All three went quiet when the door opened. Then Albert spoke behind them.

      “My, but the two of you are busy!”

      Ellie turned and saw Brigadier Zondi watching them for a moment before she closed her door.

      Ellie looked at Albert, but his easy smile was in place.

      “What are you doing here?”

      “Can’t I come visit you?” His hand brushed her buttocks. “I came to invite you to dinner tonight. I feel like I haven’t seen you in years.”

      “You ask me for dinner but go looking for trouble with my boss when I’m not here?”

      He looked at the closed door in the corner and smiled. “We had a nice little chat. The two of us are old chums.” He touched her hand. “Come on, say you’ll come for dinner tonight.”

      “I don’t know. I have to go home first, see how my mom is.” She suddenly remembered she had planned to phone her mom. “And Clive asked me to go for a drink.”

      Albert looked at Clive. “Am I going to have to pull rank?”

      “Sorry, Mac,” Clive said, “that drink will have to wait.”

      “The story of my life.” She looked at Albert. “I have to go to my mom first.”

      “Okay, come when you’re done.” He looked at the board. “Are you still busy with that bunch of losers?”

      “I know you don’t like to share, but you didn’t happen to hear any gossip anywhere, did you?” Clive asked while the three of them stood gazing at the board.

      Albert shook his head. “The problem is that they’re almost always causing shit. You can never really tell what’s been going on for a while, and what’s new. But I promise, if I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”

      Clive extended his hand. “Congratulations on the promotion. I haven’t had a chance to say it personally.”

      Albert shook his hand. “Thanks. Maybe I’ll be able to afford an engagement ring at last.”

      “Are you …?”

      Ellie shook her head. “Ignore him. He’s hallucinating.”

      Albert’s hand reached for her bum again but she moved out of reach. He laughed. “She’s just shy.” He glanced at the empty desks and gave her a peck on the cheek. “See you later. Clivie, look after her, will you?”

      Clive followed him with his eyes as he walked away. “One day you’ll be playing hard to get and another girl will walk away with the prize.”

      “Yes, Dad. Come, focus now.”

      When they hadn’t made much progress an hour later, Clive left to attend to a few other matters. “If I don’t see you again today, we’ll talk tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll call a few contacts and see if they’ve got anything new.”

      Ellie put the pen down and walked to the corner office. She knocked and waited for a reply before she put her head around the door.

      “I’m leaving now. I need to go and see someone in Sea Point.”

      Zondi didn’t look up. “All right.”

      Ellie was closing the door when Zondi called her back. “Did Greyling talk to you?”

      “About?”

      “Never mind. See you later.”

      CHAPTER 7

      Main Road in Sea Point was busy. They’d often gone there on Sundays when Ellie was a child. They’d buy ice cream and walk on the promenade. Her dad never talked about money, but she instinctively knew the people who lived there had more money than they did. These days, the place had two different faces. The seafront still looked expensive and exclusive, but one street back you began to wonder whether you’d been mistaken all those years ago. A few old landmarks were still there, but the people in the streets looked different.

      The child inside you told you the ones with the sea views were the good guys, the hardworking ones, and the back streets belonged to the bad guys – the ones who did their business in the dark. But nothing was that simple any more. She wasn’t sure it had ever been that simple. Children found shortcuts to make sense of a chaotic world, and it was a sad day when you started to question your shortcuts. It was probably what it meant to grow up.

      Ellie found parking in front of a restaurant, and took two notes and a few coins from her purse and put them in her pocket, along with her cellphone. She locked her handbag in the boot and started walking.

      She saw a few prostitutes on one or two street corners. At first glance they seemed to be waiting for a bus, but as Ellie approached, she noticed the body language, the heavy makeup and the ladders in the black stockings one of the women was wearing.

      “Has anyone seen Brenda?” Ellie asked.

      They looked at each other. “And you are?”

      “Her sister.”

      Two of them laughed out loud. “Nice try.”

      “Come on, I don’t have all day.”

      “I don’t know anyone called Brenda,” said a woman with bright red lips. She looked at the others, who all shook their heads.

      Ellie took a hundred rand note from her pocket.

      “Oh, you mean Miss Fassie … why didn’t you say so? At this time of day she’s probably down there, eating.”

      “Where?”

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