Dark Intent (27 page)

Pretoria

After evading Steiner, John Dalton drove to a bar he knew in the centre of Pretoria.
It was quiet and he had never seen anyone from the group in there. He found an isolated table and before ordering a beer phoned Kallis, wondering what he would say when he heard the girl had probably been freed. Anyone with the right tools could break down the door. The call was answered.

‘Kallis. Who is that?’

‘John, it is Dalton. I’m glad I got you. I’m phoning from a bar in the city. Something has gone wrong.’

‘What?’ asked Kallis.

‘Someone followed me to the smallholding and I got out of there. I couldn’t risk him catching me.’

‘So he freed the woman,’ said Kallis, unexcited.
‘This alters my plans slightly.

‘How?’ said Dalton, again feeling he was just a pawn.

‘I have a nasty suspicion the person who followed you was the guy James Steiner, seen with the girl at the hotel. I’ll bet anything they have gone or will go to her house. You and I will go there and eliminate them.’

‘Why not go directly for Krige as you had planned?’ said Dalton.
Sometimes, when it suited him, Kallis had difficulty giving a straight answer.

‘If they reveal everything they know before I get the white file, I might have to come clean prematurely.
That also goes for you.’

‘Are you saying you have the black file?’ said Dalton.

‘No,’ said Kallis.

‘What do I get out of all this?’ asked Dalton, venting what had become uppermost in his mind.

‘If you help me sort out the woman and retrieve the white file, I’ll inform Teichmann,’ said Kallis. ‘I will also tell him you’ve helped me considerably in my efforts to secure the black file. Does that satisfy you?’

‘Yes,’ said Dalton, lying.
He was now convinced he could not trust Kallis and that his aim was to get the files for himself.

‘Good,’ said Kallis.
‘Give me the name and address of the bar where you are now. I’ll meet you there in a couple of hours. Go for a walk around the town.’

Dalton passed on the information. ‘I’ll see you later,’ he said.
He cut the call and walked to the bar. He needed a stiff drink.

Pretoria

After the call from Dalton, Kallis started packing two suitcases with things he had in the flat.
There was hardly anything of value and nearly all the stuff he chose to take with him, were clothes and an extra pair of shoes. The last item he packed before closing the cases was the group black file, secure in its thick envelope. Finally, he stuck his fully loaded pistol behind his belt on the right side, making sure it was concealed by his jacket, and dropped the spare magazine, also full, into one of his deep pockets.

Kallis had decided before Dalton phoned that as soon as he got hold of the white file he would leave the flat with the door locked and drive to Durban.
He had told Dalton that if he assisted him in dealing with the woman and retrieving the white file he would inform Teichmann. But Kallis had no intention doing anything of the sort because he alone was going to retrieve the white file before disappearing and he had at some stage to lose Dalton. Going after Kirsty Krige with Dalton could well give him the opportunity to escape from Dalton after he had helped him with the dirty work. Everything depended on how well he executed the plan he had already started formulating.

It was growing dark when Kallis vacated his flat for the last time.
He knew he wouldn’t miss it because it was not up to the standard he was used to. When he had locked his cases in the boot of the car he drove up the ramp and headed for the bar where he was to meet Dalton. It took him just over five minutes to reach the place and after he had parked his car outside the entrance he entered. Dalton was seated against the far wall and after buying a beer he joined him.

‘It’s good to see you,’ said Dalton, ingratiatingly.
‘I’m sure you’re looking forward to tonight.’

‘Why?’ said Kallis.
‘The woman and the guy are hardly worth the bother. I only want to pay them a visit to reduce the risk of further interference on their part.’ He belched, wanting to emphasize his control. ‘After we’ve finished our beers we’ll get going. I hope you’ve got your gun. If not we’ll go and fetch it.’

‘It’s in the holster on my belt,’ said Dalton.
‘Don’t worry, I’m well prepared. How do we get to the woman’s house?’

‘We can go in my car,’ said Kallis.
‘I will drop you off at your house after we’ve dealt with the girl. I’ve decided we should make a move on Krige tomorrow rather than tonight. We want to be fresh for him. Getting the white file is what this is all about.’

‘You certainly know when to change your mind,’ said Dalton, standing up.
‘But we’ll do your way.’

Near Pretoria

After Kirsty had finished her bath, she dressed in a blue skirt, white shirt and went into her bedroom to rest.
She was still tired mentally and physically and when she lay down she soon dropped off to sleep.

Steiner had seated himself on the sofa and was reading his book when he thought he heard the sound of a car’s engine.
It was too quiet for it to be near the house and when the sound went he became interested. There was nothing around that anyone would stop for, except to visit the house. He waited a few moments and then turned out the only lamp in the room. He went over to the drawn curtains and after taking the edge and slightly shifting it to reveal the glass looked outside down the narrow drive. A little less than 200 metres from the house a car was parked. He tried to make out if there was anyone inside but it was already too dark and after a short while he released the curtain and let it fall into place. He walked into the centre of the room wondering who was out there. The front door was locked and when he was about to do the same in the kitchen, Dalton appeared in the passage doorway, a semi-automatic pistol held steadily in his hand and pointed directly at his heart.

Dalton grinned and said:
‘You must be James Steiner. You are the one who followed me to the smallholding.’ He half-turned and called down the passage. ‘He’s here. Have you got the woman?’

As if on cue, Kallis entered, leading Kirsty by the arm.
He was also carrying a pistol and when he was a few steps into the room he stopped and pushed her forward. ‘Stand still and shut up,’ he said to her. ‘You’ve already caused enough trouble by rejecting the hospitality provided by John Dalton.’ He faced Steiner. ‘When Dalton told me that a James Steiner had been seen at the Plaza Hotel in the company of this woman I didn’t think it was you. You were with Sophie Carswell when I turned up to take her out on a date.’

Kallis arrogantly walked in a small circle, his head bent forward.
‘If I remember correctly you rudely told me to leave. That was poor behaviour in such a civilized area.’

‘You wouldn’t take no for an answer,’ said Steiner.
‘You deserved what you got.’

Kirsty was quiet sensing Steiner was drawing things out, waiting for his chance.
But she was scared, of Kallis and Dalton. They were totally unpredictable.

Kallis was becoming impatient.
The wrangling was not in his script, even though he enjoyed it. ‘By the way I played back the message your woman left on Rupert Bosch’s answering machine. Congratulations, you appear to know where the files are being kept. I am particularly interested in the white file, File A.’

‘That doesn’t come as a surprise,’ said Steiner.
‘Tell me. Was it hard to get Bosch to hand over the black file, the one you forced him to steal from the group? Why, when you had it, did you kill him last night? It sounds to me as if you’re losing your nerve. Perhaps this type of work is too complex for you.’

The words pushed Kallis over the edge, his mouth going dry, and he had become his most dangerous.
‘It’s time you learnt some manners,’ he said. ‘With lightning speed he moved the weapon slightly and fired two shots in rapid succession, the soft-nosed lead running together as one, hitting Steiner with full impact to the left of his heart and bringing him to his knees, his face a symbol of pain.

Kirsty cried out and started to go to him, the fear that Steiner would die too much to bear.
But before she could take a step, Dalton faced her, his pistol held with menacing intent. ‘Stay where you are,’ he said his eyes hard, merciless. ‘Try to help him and you’ll get the same.’

Kallis lowered the gun and stared at the stricken figure before him, the blood expanding concentrically, the petals of a morning rose, staining the white shirt.
For a moment his mind was elsewhere and then he took a step forward, keeping the others clearly in sight, a smile parting his lips.

‘Things are at last fitting neatly into place,’ he said quietly, regaining his calm.
‘I now recall that I also heard Steiner’s name mentioned by my ex-boss at the DSO in connection with the Cartwright case and the missing white file. I knew very little about the case at the time but I heard Steiner had been assigned the job of finding the file and tracking down those in the group who were intent on retrieving it. The group found that someone was slowly killing the men who were involved in the Cartwright operation, sparing only Krige. They never found out the killer’s identity and to this day he is always referred to as the unknown man.’ Kallis cackled inanely. ‘That is until now. The killer is now before you, one James Steiner. Everything points to him and he is with us now because he failed to get the white file from Krige when he had the chance.’ He looked at Steiner, on his knees, his body bent over, a man in prayer. Kirsty was standing still, as near to him as she dared go, a figure of all-consuming despair.

Dalton looked at Kallis, thinking over what he had said.
‘I believe from what you say that everything points to Steiner as the unknown man but how do you know Krige has the white file?’

‘When I left the DSO and joined the group, Johan Teichmann gave me the job of locating File A,’ said Kallis.
‘Krige had said on his return that he’d killed Cartwright alone and claimed he had not been able to retrieve the file. But the group soon found out someone had got hold of the file because a copy was later sent to the DSO, intercepted by me and sent to the group. I realized Krige had lied because it was highly unlikely someone else had collected the file from the house. The person who sent it to the DSO could only have been Krige or his lawyer and Krige had been spared by Steiner because he had given his word that he would send a copy of the file he had reclaimed from Cartwright’s to the DSO. Krige certainly has the white file now because yesterday he killed his lawyer, David Staples, and he wouldn’t have done that unless he already had the file in his possession or knew precisely where he could get it.’

Kallis looked at Dalton.
‘Are you satisfied? If you are I’m going to the car to phone Teichmann. It is time he knew exactly what was going on.’ He grinned, confident. ‘I can’t wait to see his face when he hears that Krige lied and has the white file. Keep that gun on Steiner and I’ll soon be back.’ Without waiting for a reply from Dalton he left the room.

As soon as Kallis disappeared Dalton walked closer to Steiner who was still in the same position, his face hidden.
The blood had congealed and his breathing was deep and even. Kirsty was still looking at him, hoping above all else that he would recover. She wanted so much to hold him, but if she did she had no idea what Dalton would do. He would probably go mad and have another go at her. The way he had acted at the smallholding was still engraved on her mind. She didn’t like seeing that he was beginning to show he was losing patience.

Dalton was less than a metre from Steiner when he stopped, the gun still directed at him.
‘Get up big boy,’ he said. ‘It’s time to stop pretending.’ As he spoke they heard the sound of an engine coming to life and for a moment he turned from Steiner and looked to where they had parked the car, even though he couldn’t see anything because of the curtains.

‘The bastard’s leaving,’ he said.
‘I had a feeling he would do something like this.’ For a moment he was distracted and Steiner seized his chance, coming to life, rising like a man returning from the dead. Feverishly, Dalton twisted at the waist, trying to level the gun but he was too slow and Steiner struck him, a rapid combination of blows that brought him down. In a continuous movement he knelt at his side and dispassionately hit him once on the side of his head with the edge of his hand, killing him.

For a while he remained in the position of his last strike, his hands hanging at his sides, and then he got to his feet.
He faced Kirsty, still standing in the same place, staring at him.

‘You killed him,’ she whispered.
‘He deserved to die. I was terrified every time I laid eyes on him.’ She walked over to Steiner and put her arms around him, holding him tightly. ‘Thank God they didn’t kill you. I would have missed you so much.’

He didn’t say anything, only too glad to hold her in his arms.
He looked down at Dalton, a spent heap, disposable flesh and bone. He felt no regret and knew only one of them could have lived. Dalton was of that type and as Kirsty had said he deserved it.

‘You need someone to look at this,’ said Kirsty, breaking the silence and exposing the wound.
‘Fortunately it has stopped bleeding and I don’t think you have lost much blood. I’ll remove your shirt and wrap it with some of the bandage I have in the car. You were very lucky.’

‘We’ll have to move quickly,’ said Steiner.
‘Kallis has definitely gone to the farm to pay Krige a visit and get hold of the file. Once he has it I doubt we’ll ever see him again. The dream Dalton must have had of getting it has turned to ash.’

‘What do we do with him?’ she asked.
‘If we contact the police we would have to explain everything and kiss goodbye to Kallis and Krige.’

‘You saw the group collect the body of Koch after I’d killed him when he tried to rape you.
They offer an efficient service when one of their own goes off the rails and pays the ultimate price. They can do the same with Dalton. I’ll phone Teichmann later and tell him what I’m sure he expected.’ He thought for a moment and then said: ‘I think you should stay here. It’s too dangerous.’

‘I’m certainly not,’ she said.
‘You nearly got yourself killed and you give me that crap.’

‘Get the bandage and a shirt and after you’ve got me looking like a mummy we’ll stick him out the back and go.
By the time we leave, Kallis will have had a forty-minute lead and be near the farm.’

Fifteen minutes later after the bandage had been applied in layers around his chest and he had on a fresh shirt, Kirsty walked over to the body.
The pistol was still in Dalton’s hand and held loosely.

‘Do you have a gun?’ she asked.
‘I remember you carried a Glock 17 semi-automatic.’

‘I don’t have one,’ he said.
‘The Glock was on loan from the Scorpions. Besides, I’m not in the habit of walking around with a pistol at my side like many of you people.’

‘So you’re not a South African.
I thought you had some strange ways about you.’ She smiled. ‘Where’re you from?’

‘I’m English, born in West London.
I still own a mews house in Knightsbridge that was left to me by my father. He was a South African and my mother English.’

‘Very interesting,’ she said.
‘I’ll talk to you about that later. What should I do with Dalton’s gun?’

‘Stick it in that drawer over there,’ he said.
‘I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you removed it from him, although he might need it where he’s gone.’ He walked over to a chair to pick up his blazer. As soon as his back was turned she took the gun from Dalton’s hand and went to the drawer. She opened it, stuck the pistol inside her belt under her coat and closed it. She then returned to the body. Dalton hadn’t used the gun and she was sure it was fully loaded. No one was going to shoot Steiner again.

After Steiner had put on his blazer they dragged the body outside.
It was pitch dark when they drove down the drive and headed for the farm.