Barry was in a good mood. For the first time since this began, he looked forward to facing the day. There had still not been any sign of Jenkins yet, after the article in the paper, the whole country would be helping him. Jenkins would now be one of South African citizens’ most hated criminals. After that headline article, few people would listen to his side of the story – it was only a matter of time. Should he now appear, very few people would flinch if he was shot by the police while trying to evade arrest.
Barry got drawn from his thoughts by his cellphone’s insistent ring. The call was from Mervyn.
‘Good morning Mervyn. How are you? Seen the morning paper?’
‘I have. Well done, good piece of work, congratulations. It should keep that problem out our hair for a while. There is another reason for my call . . . something urgent has come up. Could you come over later for lunch? I would like to discuss it with you.’
‘Sure. Only it's my weekend for Nathalie. Would it be okay if I brought her along?’
‘Of course, no problem. We will be having a braai and Donny's kids will be with us too.’
‘That’s great. I’ll see you around noon.’
‘Hi Nats, time to wake up. I know I promised to take you to a movie, but we we've been invited to a braai at Uncle Mervyn's. You do enjoy it there, don't you? Uncle Donny's daughter Valerie will be there as well.’
‘Daddy, you promised!’
‘I know I did Nats, and I am sorry. I promise I will make it up to you. I will take you to the movies next time.’
Barry felt guilty about, once again, breaking a promise to his daughter. The first three years after the divorce had not been good, and he was only just beginning to regain Nathalie's trust.
Fortunately, when they arrived at Mervyn's, Donny and his family were already there and it was not long before the two girls seemed to be enjoying themselves.
‘Barry, while the boys are doing the braai, we need to discuss something. Let's go to my study.’
In his study Mervyn offered him a whisky and, as was his way, immediately got down to business.
‘As you know, we have begun to test the new process. Results are promising so far, and we will soon be ready to go into full production. Our new process will enable us to run at much higher production levels than previously. Consequently, more material is necessary. I managed to secure a shipment, and it should come through shortly by sea. I will have more details soon. You must arrange to go on a fishing trip to Sodwana for a few days. This envelope contains details of the package, and what you need to plan and prepare for. There is also some cash to cover any expenses.’
Barry took the package from Mervyn without checking the contents: he didn’t need to. Everything would be there, plus more than adequate compensation. From experience, he knew it would even be sufficient to swell his pension fund, currently building up nicely in his hidden safe at home. Just a few more years of this and he would be able to quit; to disappear and live a comfortable life off the fruits of his efforts. Not even the Hiltons, with all their power, would be able to track him down.
‘Fishing sounds super to me. I will be sure to bring you a nice big one. I have not had a good catch from Sodwana for some time – it owes me one.’
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