The Satanic Mechanic. Sally Andrew

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СКАЧАТЬ what if The Sun gets there first?’

      ‘Jessie, we’re a community gazette, not newshounds competing for scoops. Anyway, The Sun doesn’t have the inside information that you have. It’ll still be big news next week.’

      ‘But, Hattie . . .’ she said.

      Hattie just shook her head.

      Jessie dipped and bit into her rusk.

      ‘Jirre, this rusk is good,’ she said. It helped her swallow what her editor had told her. ‘Okay,’ she said, ‘I’ll give you that eulogy today. But I’m going to do a bit more investigating while I’m here. Talk to the people at the Kudu Stall. See who comes to get Slimkat’s body. I may even miss some of the shows to do it.’ She looked at Hattie. Her chin was raised, and there was a rusk crumb on it.

      ‘I agree this is a big story,’ said Hattie, ‘but so is the KKNK. I still want a full-length report on the festival. Even if you don’t review all the shows on your original list.’ She drank the last of her tea. ‘So, Tannie Maria, we’ll head back this morning. After your doctor’s appointment.’

      I remembered Slimkat’s eyes on me, and I said, ‘I’d like to stay and help Jessie investigate.’

      Jessie smiled at me. We made a good team. Though we hadn’t worked together since the murders of Martine and Lawrence, last year.

      ‘It’s not really your brief,’ said Hattie.

      ‘But it is all about food,’ I said.

      ‘You can’t ride all the way back on Jessie’s scooter,’ she said.

      ‘I don’t have a spare helmet,’ said Jessie.

      ‘I’ll make another plan,’ I said. ‘Maybe I’ll go back with Kannemeyer.’

      ‘Well . . . I assume you’re up to date with your letters?’ said Hattie.

      I thought of the letter from the teenager about sex. I hadn’t given her a reply.

      ‘You have my letters for tomorrow’s edition,’ I said. ‘And I’ll be back in time for next week.’

      ‘Well, all right then, it’s up to you. Ah, speak of the devil. The big one with the fiery moustache.’

      Kannemeyer was pulling up in a police car, a cream Volkswagen sedan. He was alone – no sign of Piet or Reghardt. My heart did a happy jump at the sight of him. But when he got out of the car he was not smiling.

      ‘Good morning, ladies,’ he said as he reached us. ‘I have bad news about Slimkat. He passed away last night.’

      ‘Yes,’ said Jessie. ‘We heard. What happened?’

      ‘You must wait for the official police report,’ he said.

      ‘So it is a police matter, then?’ said Jessie.

      Kannemeyer didn’t answer.

      ‘Sit down,’ I said, pulling up a chair. ‘I’ll make some coffee.’

      ‘No, thank you,’ he said. ‘But I was hoping to have a word with you, Maria. Alone.’

      Jessie and Hattie looked at each other but did not move.

      ‘Can you come with me?’ he said.

      ‘Okay,’ I said, putting on my jacket. ‘Let me just fetch my bag.’

      ‘You gave full statements last night, didn’t you?’ he said to Jess and Hats as I stood up. They both nodded.

      I splashed my face with water and put on some lipstick, then I headed back out with my handbag.

      Jessie was asking Kannemeyer a question that I couldn’t hear, but as I got closer I caught his reply: ‘I am not the investigating officer. The case belongs to the Oudtshoorn police. I can’t give you any information.’

      He was standing with his arms tightly folded, but they relaxed as he led me to the car.

      I waved goodbye to Hattie and Jessie, and Jess winked at me.

      ‘There’s something I wanted to tell you,’ I said to Henk, ‘about the sauce.’

      CHAPTER SIXTEEN

      ‘Shall we talk over breakfast?’ he said, as we drove off.

      ‘All right,’ I said. ‘How about scrambled eggs and roosterkoek?’ He slowed down and stared at me. Then he shook his head and drove us to Langenhoven Street, which was close to the festival area. We walked a block or so together. We didn’t hold hands.

      Most of the shops were still closed and some stalls were just setting up, but there was a queue in front of the roosterkoek stall. A red-faced young couple were taking orders and serving. Beside them was a man in a T-shirt and a blue cap, turning the flat bread with braai tongs. Coals glowed in two metal half-barrels with big grids on top of them. There were dark toasted lines on the bread, like the stripes on field mice. The smell was delicious. Two short coloured tannies worked at a trestle table nearby, kneading the dough, then making balls and squashing them with the heels of their hands to make the round flat breads.

      The queue moved quickly, and we were soon sitting at a plastic table with our breakfast. Roosterkoek, scrambled ostrich egg and tomato chutney. I sniffed the food before popping it into my mouth. I couldn’t taste or smell garlic, and the chutney was the only sauce they had on offer. The bread and eggs were delicious, and the tomato chutney was almost as good as the one I made myself. The red-faced lady had dished it up for me; no self-service here.

      ‘Why did you want breakfast here?’ asked Henk, shaking a lot of salt and a little pepper onto his egg.

      ‘I heard it was good,’ I said.

      He sighed and ate his food. He was obviously hungry.

      ‘I heard Slimkat had his breakfasts here,’ I said, after I’d eaten a little. The rusks worked better than the diet pills, I thought, to reduce the hunger. ‘There’s no garlic in this food. I smelt garlic on Slimkat’s breath and on his napkin. It must have come from the Kudu Stall.’

      ‘Why did you notice the garlic?’

      ‘I always notice food,’ I said. ‘And I had to lean close to Slimkat to hear him.’

      Henk was cleaning his plate with the last of his griddle bread.

      ‘When Slimkat collapsed, he was looking at me and Jessie,’ I said. ‘Like he had something to tell us. He’d told Jessie about the attempt on his life, and he’d told me about his last meal: kudu sosaties with honey-mustard sauce.’

      ‘Piet said you thought the smell on Slimkat’s napkin was the same as the squeeze bottle he found under the table.’

      ‘Ja,’ I said. ‘But I can’t be a hundred per cent sure; I smelt it, not tasted it. Can’t you get that tested at a lab? To check if they were the СКАЧАТЬ