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Authors: Chris Marnewick

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The Soldier who Said No (42 page)

BOOK: The Soldier who Said No
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‘I know,’ Henderson said.

De Villiers hesitated. ‘When you arrest him, I would like you to give him a message.’

‘Tell me.’

‘I want you to tell him that this,’ De Villiers touched the envelope, ‘this is for Jacques Verster.’

Henderson took a pen from his pocket. ‘Who?’

De Villiers took the envelope from Henderson and wrote:

This is for Jacques Verster – 4 Recce
From: The soldier who said no

De Villiers handed the envelope back to Henderson. ‘Thanks.’

‘I want you at the office soonest,’ Henderson said over his shoulder and started turning towards the hotel.

‘Sir,’ De Villiers called after him.

Henderson turned and faced De Villiers. ‘Yes?’

From the height of the driver’s seat, De Villiers looked down at Henderson. ‘There’s one other thing.’ De Villiers waited for Henderson to nod. ‘It’s in the dossier. That Leatherman is a
PST
, a 1983 model, and it’s mine, and I want it back once the trial is over.’

‘What makes you think he has it?’

De Villiers chose his words carefully. ‘You’ll find that the arrowhead was made using a steel file, and I think you’ll find that the steel file in that Leatherman matches the file markings on the bone.’

Henderson stood silent for a while, contemplating the outcome. ‘And that should close out the investigation into the attempted assassination of the
PM
, shouldn’t it?’

When De Villiers didn’t respond, Henderson answered his own question. ‘Yes, I think it would.’

‘I’d better tell the men conducting the searches to look out for it,’ Henderson said. He turned and left with a wave of his hand.

De Villiers watched him dig in his pocket for his cellphone.

De Villiers sat still in the driver’s seat with his hand on the key in the ignition.

‘Are we going, Dad?’ Zoë asked from the back seat.

De Villiers turned and caught Emma studying him. His wife put her hand on his arm.

‘Is your seat belt fastened?’ he said over his shoulder to Zoë.

‘Of course, Dad, I’m not a baby any more!’

‘Let’s go home,’ Emma said softly.

De Villiers put his hand behind Emma’s head and played with her hair, unwilling to let go.

‘It’s time to go home,’ he said and turned the key.

Glossary
balaclava
SA English
ski mask (used by criminals)
boep
Afrikaans
pot belly (short for ‘boeppens’)
boerewors
Afrikaans
sausage
bosbefok
Afrikaans
shellshocked (military slang)
bossies
Afrikaans
colloquial abbreviation for bosbefok
braai
Afrikaans
barbeque
Buffel
Afrikaans
an armoured troop carrier (literally, a buffalo)
dairy
NZ English
tearoom, corner café
dominee
Afrikaans
clergyman, parson
djani
!Xun (San)
‘catch the light’ (a children’s game)
footpath
NZ English
pavement, sidewalk
gemsbok
Afrikaans
Oryx gazelle
impimpi
Zulu
turncoat
induna
Zulu
tribal policeman, supervisor
iwi
Maori
a Maori tribe
knobkierie
SA Eng & Afr
stick with a knob of wood or metal at one end
mana
NZ
standing, presence
pohutakawa
Maori
New Zealand’s national tree
prospect
NZ English
junior or neophyte member of a gang
Olifant
Afrikaans
heavily armoured troop carrier (elephant)
Ratel
Afrikaans
fast troop carrier, lightly armoured (badger)
Rooivalk
Afrikaans
attack helicopter (red falcon)
tapu
Maori
sacred
tarentaal
Afrikaans
guinea fowl
teheroa
Maori
large, edible shellfish
tos
Afrikaans
cheap, tasteless
tramper
NZ English
backpacker
tsotsi
Fanagalo
a petty criminal, mugger, pickpocket, thief
tuangi
Maori
cockles
tuatua
Maori
small, edible shellfish
waka
Maori
Maori sea-going canoe
whanau
Maori
family (extended family)
Acknowledgments

I received a great deal of assistance and advice from the following people, whose contributions I acknowledge and appreciate: my friend and colleague, Adrian Collingwood, who can spot an inconsistency a mile away; my wife, Ansie, who proofread the manuscript more than once; and the doctors, staff and patients of the Durban Oncology Centre, who shared their secrets with me, wittingly and unwittingly.

BOOK: The Soldier who Said No
4.2Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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