PART THREE
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
CHAPTER 20
Thursday June 26th, 2014
Otjindawa Lodge, Namibia
Joan's phone call to the Lodge at a quarter to five the next morning sets in motion a rapid cascade of events that sees Auggie and Annie boarding a flight to South Africa by mid-morning.
The staff at Otjindawa Lodge, it appears, are willing to move heaven and earth to help Laura Pritchard get back to New York and her critically ill mother as soon as possible. The chef is woken up so that they can have an early breakfast. Michael re-schedules his day so he can drive them down to Windhoek to be there in time for the flight to Johannesburg that Jennifer has roused her 'person in Windhoek' to get them onto. By six thirty everything has been organized.
Auggie calls Jaco. From Owen Garrett's phone.
"We're on our way, Jaco…We'll be wheels down in Joburg at twelve thirty...I know. They don't waste time here, do they? …It means we're gonna have an extra half-day to start looking around. Asking questions." He can hear the anticipation in his own voice as clearly as he can hear the optimism in Jaco's.
Jaco hasn't been wasting time either. "I spoke to Michelle's brother, and you're in luck. The guest cottage at his home is vacant for the next few days so you can rent it. I've made a provisional booking for you for three nights. I'll text you the details. And Christiaan's cell number… Do you want me to confirm with him? Let him know you'll be there early afternoon?"
Perfect. Jaco had hoped he'd be able to arrange it. Christiaan du Buisson's home is conveniently situated within relatively easy reach of both Jaco's practice and the house he and Michelle had shared. Even more importantly, Michelle's brother-in-law's connection to Leeza Ford, the practice administrator, makes him a key person on their 'to be investigated' list.
Michael calls in at the room for their bags. He offers them a ride to breakfast. Once again, they decline. Instead, they walk for the last time along what Auggie has already come to think of as 'their' path. An unexpected swell of some unidentifiable emotion makes him smile as his cane touches the post now demarcating the end of the path.
You've left your own little stamp on this place, Anderson.
It matches the mark Namibia will be leaving on him.
Johannesburg, South Africa.
Negotiating airports with Annie is a dream. He's flown blind frequently enough to know the score – how it all works, or how it's supposed to, at any rate. But there's always an element of unpredictability. Someone, somewhere who needs to be talked through things they're supposed to know. It can be exhausting.
Annie, however, is a consummate professional. She understands the systems better than the staff, can charm anyone into doing anything for her, and it turns out, is a very quick study when it comes to learning how to use his white cane to their advantage. They're through passport control, luggage collection and out into the echoing space that is O. R. Thambo International Airport's arrivals hall within what seems like an impossibly short time.
He's struck again by how cathedral-like the airport sounds. Annie had told him, when they stopped on the way to Windhoek, that it looks that way a little, too. A huge open-plan, storeys-high, central space from which stairways, escalators and curving ramps spiral out to reach the different levels. Her description makes him think of remembered images of spiral galaxies. Cathedral-like in their own way too, he supposes.
"Wanna find us somewhere we can sit down and get a coffee?" he suggests to Annie. "I need to check in with Jaco and then liaise with Christiaan."
"Sure," she says.
She sounds preoccupied.
She's been very subdued all day, he's noted. In part it's been cover – Laura Pritchard, shocked, anxious, grieving – but Auggie has sensed there's something else going on. The fact that the quietness, distraction, distance have remained even after they've taken their leave of Michael has served to confirm it.
Once they're seated and have given their orders he tries to tease her out of it. "You do know your Mom's not really sick, right?"
Annie rewards him with a little laugh. Apologizes. "Sorry. I've been a bit out of it, haven't I?"
"Yeah, you have." He doesn't deny it. Instead he gives her his full focus. "Everything OK?"
"I'm fine," she says. "A few things on my mind is all."
"Wanna talk about it?"
Her hand touches his lightly. "No. Really, it's fine. It's nothing."
He doesn't believe it. She's deliberately forcing a smile into her voice. Brightness into her tone. Evasive, he thinks, but he doesn't push it.
That doesn't mean he isn't worried, though.
He uses a call to Jaco to break the tension that's suddenly, unexpectedly, there.
"It's all arranged," Jaco tells him. "Christiaan is expecting you. In fact he's offered to collect you from the Station at Rosebank if you want to take the Gautrain instead of renting a car."
Auggie doesn't hesitate. The less of a paper trail Owen Garrett and Laura Pritchard can leave in South Africa, the better. "That would be great," he says. "Should I call him to arrange it?
Annie gets them to the Gautrain terminal at the airport. While they wait for the next train, Auggie phones Jaco's brother-in-law. From 'Owen Garrett's' phone.
"Christiaan?...Hi. Owen Garrett here. Jaco's friend?...Jaco says you're willing to collect us from the station?...Great!...We're just about to get onto the train, so we'll be across your way in…what? About half an hour?...Great…Thanks…See you there."
He ends the call. Turns to Annie. "He says he'll find us in the drop-off zone at the Rosebank station. Black BMW X5."
She puts a hand on his arm. "Train's coming," she tells him.
Rosebank, it is becoming increasingly apparent to Annie, is in the middle of 'Rich Johannesburg'. As the train nears the station they begin passing luxurious housing estates, exclusive shopping malls, plush hotels. The streets are tree-lined, landscaped, pristine. And there is visible security everywhere.
Once they arrive, Annie navigates them out of the station and through the doors that the signage indicates lead towards the drop-off zone. Auggie is on her arm, as before, pulling his bag, folded cane in his hand.
She can't see a car matching the description Auggie has given her, so she stops him at the curb.
"I don't see him here yet," she says.
They park their bags. She watches as he folds open his cane, abstractedly shaking it out and leaning on it. Preparing to wait.
He is so comfortable in his skin. So consistently himself. It's so at odds with the way she feels these days – like she went missing somewhere along the line.
She wishes she knew how to go back and find herself.
She shakes her head a little, dragging her thoughts back. Tears her eyes away from him.
"Hold on, here he comes, I think." She places a hand on Auggie's arm. She has spotted a gleaming black SUV entering the station parking area. It pulls into a bay a little way from where they're standing. An expensively-dressed, really good-looking, fair-haired man gets out. He looks at them, but then away, obviously dismissing them. Leans his tall frame nonchalantly against his car. Begins to scan the exit.
"Uh-oh," Annie murmurs quietly to Auggie. "I'm thinking Jaco may have omitted to tell Christiaan one or two things about us. He just looked right at us and away again."
"You mean he's not looking for a smoking hot blonde?" Auggie grins, raising an eyebrow at her.
She gives him the "Har," he is looking for.
He looks gratified. Then he turns serious. "Annie Walker," he says to her, "Jaco Bouwer is a very clever man."
"Meaning what?" He's lost her momentarily.
He feels for her arm. "Meaning," he says, turning her to face him, "that Jaco understands the power of surprise. Of putting people on the back foot. And he knows Christiaan. If he's decided not to say something there's a reason for it." He's speaking very earnestly to her. "Follow my lead, Annie. I'm gonna play the blindness up. Go along with it, OK?"
She frowns at him, but she gets it. "Misdirection?"
"Exactly." He quirks his mouth at her. "Now, go." He gestures with his head in the direction of the BMW. "Break the news to the man that we're the ones he's looking for."
Christiaan du Buisson sees her coming. She can identify the precise moment he realizes who she is. He straightens up. Glances quickly from her to Auggie and back again. Consternation crosses his chiseled features. Fleeting, but unmistakeable.
She walks purposefully up to him, pulling out all the Laura Pritchard charm she can. She holds out a hand prettily. "Are you Christiaan du Buisson?" She gives him a ravishing smile. He returns it. With interest. She adds beautiful, deep-set, blue eyes to her mental catalog of his features.
This man's a god.
He's eyeing her appreciatively, too. "I am, indeed," he says, taking her hand and shaking it slowly. He's subtly giving her the once over, she notes. A god and a player, she thinks. "I find myself sincerely hoping you are Laura Pritchard." His English South African accent carries a hint of something else in it. She guesses he may have spent time in the U.K. His smile has become a little flirtatious.
He knows full well how to use those looks.
"I am," she says, deliberately looking up at him from under her lashes. Two can play this game. "Thank you so much for offering to get us. Car rental is so expensive and we freelancers are always on a budget." She draws a breath. "Not to mention I'm terrified about driving on the wrong side of the road." She opens her eyes wide. "Although, I guess you'd call it the 'right' side of the road. Even though it's the left. Which makes no sense to Americans like me." She laughs.
He chuckles in response. "Miss Pritchard, maybe we can reach a compromise and just say that South Africans don't drive on the right side of the road. That way we can all agree." He flashes his beautiful, white, even-toothed smile at her. So very, very charming.
"Sounds like a deal," She smiles up into his eyes. Holds his gaze a little longer than is quite necessary. Watches his eyes flicker in response. Hooked.
Dance your underestimation dance, Auggie. But I've just discovered moves I'm going to be able to add to yours.
"Excellent." The smile flashes again. His gaze shifts over to where Auggie is standing. His face changes. "Is that Owen?" he asks. There's a tiny bit of something in his voice. Incredulity maybe.
She decides to test him. "It is," she says, tilting her head to look up at him. "You seem surprised."
"I am, actually," he tells her. "Jaco never said anything about him being…"
Beautiful? Brilliant? "…blind?" she fills in for him.
He looks at her, apparently trying to gauge her feelings. She keeps her expression neutral. "Not that that's a problem, of course," he adds hastily, "it just strikes me as an obvious thing to mention."
"I guess so," she says noncommittally, "but then again Jaco doesn't strike me as a very obvious kind of guy. I'm not surprised he and Owen get along so well, to be honest. They're both…unusual."
He gives her another appraising look, then. Maybe she's done what she hoped she'd do: create an 'us' and a 'them' – she and Christiaan as 'us' and Jaco and Auggie as 'them'.
His next question confirms that. "Jaco seemed to indicate you two are more than work colleagues?"
He frames it as a question.
She holds his gaze for a moment, and then looks away. Eyes down.
Ironically it's the truth that's going to serve them best in this situation.
"Things are…complicated between us right now," she tells him. She looks back up at him. Holds his gaze for a long while. Long enough to see the interest flare in his eyes.
Christiaan insists on moving the car to where Auggie is still patiently waiting. "It'll make things easier for him, won't it?" he comments.
Annie has to work hard to keep her face neutral. Her eyes are desperately trying to roll in her head.
They pull up directly in front of Auggie. Exit the car. Auggie tracks his movements with his head. Christiaan turns to Annie. "Can he see anything?" It's said quietly, but loudly enough for Auggie to hear. She notes the slight twitch of his lips.
Annie winces inwardly. You can ask him yourself, you know. He's right in front of you. But she does what Auggie wants. Looks at Christiaan and wordlessly shakes her head.
She feels like a traitor, though.
She takes Christiaan over and performs the introductions. The greeting between the two men is awkward. Auggie deliberately doesn't hold out a hand for a handshake leaving Christiaan unsure what to do with his.
Oof. Below the belt, Auggie. She smirks privately, amused. Auggie has his own subtle ways of dealing with annoying people.
Christiaan reddens a little and pulls his hand back. He's polite, but Annie sees the flash of annoyance in his eyes. Apparently he does not like being made to look foolish. No matter how 'innocent' the cause.
The brief car journey is filled with small talk. Which leads to big talk. To an opportunity for them.
"So, Jaco says you're working on a story about rhino poaching." Christiaan says.
Annie, seated next to him in the front, answers. "In a way," she says. "We do want to highlight the plight of the rhinos, but mostly we want to showcase some of the work that's being done to try and save them - to talk about different organizations and what they do." She pauses. "Jaco told us about your family's project while we were there, actually. We were hoping we might have a chance to talk to you about it. It sounded really interesting. Unique." She sends him a full-wattage smile. "Only if you're not too busy, that is."
"Oh, I'll make time for you." He's looking over at her, the glint in his eye adding a suggestiveness to his statement. Auggie may be in the back seat, but Christiaan's not above flirting with her literally under his nose. In fact, Annie senses the man is getting a kick out of it. "Would you be free for dinner tonight, perhaps? I'd love to take you out."
She's had enough. "Owen and I would love that. Thank you." She beams at him, enthusiastically.
His smile dims a little.
Christiaan departs for a meeting after delivering Annie, him and their luggage to the garden cottage and giving them (Annie) a quick rundown of all the security features they need to be aware of: remotes for the gate, code for the keypad, how to know if the sensors in the garden are activated and which button on the remote deactivates them; the phone number of the security company.
Fear in direct proportion to wealth, thinks Auggie.
"Franzina, the maid, will be here until five," Annie is told. "Everything you need should be here, but if there's something we've forgotten, please do go up to the house and ask her. I'll be back to collect you at seven thirty."
Then he's gone.
"How's it look?" He's left Auggie and Annie standing together at the door of the cottage. It sounds pretty - trickling water running through a fountain of some kind, leaves rustling in trees, birdsong.
She gives him a brief description: Large house - like a scaled down version of an English manor house -Victorian in style, pristine. Set in a formal garden – manicured green lawns (despite the dry winter), topiary, hedges, fountains, formally laid out rose beds, immaculate brick pathways. A large swimming-pool secured by a beautiful wrought iron fence. Their cottage, styled in keeping with the house, but set at the bottom of the garden, a good distance away from the main residence.
They take their luggage inside. Annie gives him a tour: kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom.
Twin beds.
She says nothing about that. No comment, no quip, nothing.
The worry from earlier rises up again. He pushes it back down.
He talks to her while they unpack.
"What's your take on this guy?" he asks her. He has a pretty good idea what she's going to say.
"Oh, you should see him, Auggie," she says. "He looks like he walked off the cover of GQ Magazine. He's immaculate. Gorgeous…"
"Annie," he advises her, "Swallow. You don't wanna drool onto his gorgeous wooden floor."
She ignores him. Or maybe she doesn't. At any rate she chooses not to let him in on her response. "He's charming, he's refined, he's clever…witty…" she continues.
"I'm really hoping there's gonna be a 'but' in here somewhere."
"But…"
"Thank God."
She laughs a little, but immediately turns serious again. "But…he uses all those things as tools, I think. I get the feeling he's the center of his own universe, Auggie. A classic narcissist. He was really getting off on flirting with me, getting a response from me, right in front of you."
"Yeah, I kinda got that." Auggie says, wryly. He straightens up and turns around to face her. He's heard the perturbation in her voice. "That's what we wanted, Annie," he says, wanting to encourage her. "It's what we want. I know it's bugging you, but you're playing him just right. Carry on, OK?"
She's silent. He suspects she may be nodding to herself. He doesn't call her on it this time though.
"It's like Fort Knox here" she says, thoughtfully, "but you know what, Auggie?" Her tone has changed. "I'm gonna take a walk in these lovely gardens and do some reconnaissance. I'm gonna figure out which rooms are which and I'm gonna figure out how we're gonna get in there." She's sounding fired up for the first time. Full of determination. He suppresses a smile, paradoxically finding himself grateful to Christiaan du Buisson. "I don't know about you, Auggie, but I want us to get into this guy's computer, tap his phone, bug his office, bug his damn bedroom…"
Auggie laughs at her. "He really got under your skin, didn't he, Walker?"
She huffs out a laugh in response. "You caught that, huh?"
"I did." He grins at her. "I'm kinda glad I'm not in his shoes, right now. You sound like a woman on a mission."
"I am," she informs him. She is moving towards him.
"You don't happen to be looking for a side-kick, by any chance?" he asks. He gives her what he hopes is an appealing smile.
She's stopped next to him. Brushes her hand against the back of his. "As a matter of fact, I am," she says. "Would you be willing to escort me on a stroll around the garden?" She says it in a wonderful parody of a genteel English accent.
There is playfulness in her voice. Lightness. Energy.
How could anyone refuse her?
He tucks his arm through hers. "Lead on, Madam," he says. His attempt at sounding British falls far short of hers.
She giggles.
He feigns hurt.
They exit the room with the twin beds.