Chapter 6

iSigodi Resort, Northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Melanie sat forward in her desk chair. She folded her arms across her chest and cocked her head to the right. Her brown eyes went dull, and her lips formed a thin line on her face. Her expression that of disbelief mixed with shock.

By sitting forward in her chair, I sensed that she wanted to distance herself from me. By crossing her arms across her chest she seemed to subconsciously try to protect herself emotionally from the hurt that she felt.

I could see that she was not prepared for this news. Although she expected a move from her major shareholder, I could see that it came as a surprise to her.

“Melanie?”

“So you are truly a Trojan Horse,” She hissed. “I should have known. You were just on top of your game with everything. Identifying the poison that killed Jerry. Knowing how to restart the engine on Bibi. And being able to speak my home language.”

“Melanie, I’m on your side.”

“Lambert did choose good,” She softly said and looked away. “So, what are you going to tell him? That the resort is on the brink of bankruptcy?”

“No!”

“You’re not going to tell him!”

“I’m going to tell him as I told him before, that the resort is a goldmine if managed correctly. That he should give you the money to let Bibi have her 500-hour service, else he has to spend a few million to upgrade the road leading to the resort to accommodate buses with loads of guests!”

“You would do that?”

“Yes! He gave me two weeks to make my assessment. I did it in two days!”

“What’s wrong with my management?”

“Nothing is wrong with your management. I told him your style is professional.”

“But still the resort is going under, and you are just saying words now to calm me down.”

“The only thing that is going down are the ones that dropped you into this mess. And you know what?”

“What?” she fired at me, still sitting cross armed and on the brink of tears, but fighting to hold her composure.

“This!” I said, holding up the USB cable we took out of her computer.

“How is that cable going to help me?”

I noted that she said “me” and not “us”.

“It proves beyond reasonable doubt that you are innocent, as your office was bugged. So, what are you doing between two and three in the morning?”

“Sleeping.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Don’t tell me when I can sleep or not.”

“Are we being the Ice Princess again?”

“Is that what you called me?”

“Yes.”

“Well. I’ll show you and Lambert that I can get out of this mess by myself!”

“How?”

“I’ll find a way.”

“Listen to me, Mel! Go to your apartment right now and go take a shower. Then go hit the deck and sleep. I’ll be needing you at two AM tomorrow morning.”

“To do what?”

“To open the financial guy’s office, so I can place this USB cable on his computer.” I replied, and her eyes went wide.

“You suspect it is Lorenzo?”

“We’ll confirm it.”

“How?”

“I know the frequency of this transmitter. And from now on we only speak Czech around the resort when we discuss anything about the murders or the money skimming.”

“Okay ... So, you think there is a way out of this mess?”

“A highway, tarred and straight, with no potholes.”

“I’m still miffed at you for not telling me why you came here.”

“I could not tell you.”

“And why not, may I ask?”

“Because you were a suspect too.”

“Oh, thank you! You think I would steal my own money!”

“Stranger things have happened before.”

“Yeah, right! And when did you decide that I’m no longer a suspect?”

“About five hours after we got back from Kosi Bay.”

“And how did you come to that conclusion?”

“After you told me how you pay for the vet supplies out of your own pocket, and I verified it.”

“How did you verify it?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Did you check on my banking details and statements?”

“I am a private investigator.”

“You pried into my private affairs!”

“And shook the Lambert empire.”

“How could you shake his world with my private affairs?”

“By informing him that he, for his own good, give you the funds to have Bibi serviced.”

“That would not shake his world...”

“Check your bank balance. Your private bank balance.”

Melanie looked at me with a sceptical look on her face. Then she sat up and opened up the application on her computer. A few keystrokes later her eyes again nearly popped their sockets. I chuckled, as I saw her expression change from sceptical to astonishment.

“How ... How did you convince him?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Tyron Van Aswegen! No more secrets between us! If you want me to trust you again, tell me the truth.”

“Okay, but you have to promise me you will not do anything nasty with this information.”

“Why should I?”

“Because it could benefit you and destroy your collaboration with my client.”

“Oh?”

“What is your name, Mel?”

“Melanie, why?”

“Your real name?”

“Kristýna Nikita Nováková, why?”

Chuckle. “Your contract with him is in the name of Melanie Ková, a person that doesn’t exist. Therefore, the contract is null and void, and he stands to lose millions. I told him he better be good to you, or else...”

“He had the contract already drawn up. I saw it but was in a hurry to get all done. I did not think about it at the time.”

“An honest mistake from both of you.”

“So, you dug into my financial statements?”

“Yes, and I told my client the reason I’m taking you off the suspect list. You are honest. You take a dip in your salary from the resort to apply that amount to pay off the loan. He did not even notice it until I pointed it out.”

“So, do you then also know about my love life, not to mention my bra and hip sizes?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

“TYRON!”

“A gentleman never discusses a woman’s love life, her sizes, or her weight.”

“Okay, don’t answer, but I will forever wonder what all you know about me.” Chuckle.

The old Melanie was back.

“Can we go check on the rifles?”

“Yes, we can. Security keeps a log on who took a gun and when it is returned.”

“Good. Let’s go check,” I replied and stood up. She followed me.

We got to the security control room for the resort, an office in the rear of the main building that gave it direct access to the vehicle parking lot behind the building. Five 4×4 game drive vehicles and six 4×4 double cab bakkies were parked beside it, together with a sixteen-seater minibus used to transport guests arriving or leaving the resort.

The offices comprised a marshalling room, the office for the head of security and the control room. The control room was the place where the duty officer monitored events happening around the resort. It contained various communication devices to monitor and manage the security across the resort. A bank of TV monitors was mounted on the wall across from a large triad desk for the shift commander.

Before we entered, I cautioned her that we must have only casual conversation inside the control office and gun safe, and that all our conversation related to guns and security problems related to me must happen after we left.

Our interest was the little room to the side of the control room that had a category three safe door. Two keys were needed to open the locks and a short chrome steel handle had to be turned to unlock the five steel bars on the inside of the door before it could open and swing out. It was a heavy steel door.

On instruction from Melanie, the duty officer opened the safe and we entered. The safe was neatly packed with security-related items, such as binoculars and vests and pistols and to the side were four green coloured long boxes. This was where our interest was focused. The four boxes contained the rifles that I wanted to see.

“Please unlock the gun boxes,” I asked.

“Certainly, Sir.”

He unlocked all four boxes and I inspected each. To my surprise all four firearms were neatly stored inside each box.

Melanie looked at me with a question on her face. “What now?”

“Now we check the logs and the ammunition,” I advised.

Upon hearing my words, the duty officer gave us the logbook and the register for the ammunition.

The mystery deepened as the ammunition was all accounted for. I then checked each and every firearm to see if one of them had been recently fired. Nothing!

The logs also indicated that only one firearm was recently issued and that was four days ago at the time of the last game-drive

“No. All looks to be good around here,” I said and opened one of the ammunition boxes. I took out one cartridge, took the one rifle and placed it on the table, arranging the gun, the cartridge, the box of ammo, so I could photograph it with my cell phone.

“Why are you doing that?” Melanie queried.

“I need a record of what your ammo looks like. Let’s go have a Coke at the bar.”

“Thanks, Silias, you can close the safe now,” Melanie instructed the duty officer and after Melanie signed the log for the safe inspection, we left the security offices.

As we walked back, with nobody around, I said, “It looks like you are in the clear, Mel”.

She replied, “Thank God for that! I was afraid that it could have been one of my firearms!”

“And this is getting on my nerves...” she mumbled as we walked up to the bar at the pool.

“Well, at least we know your guns were not out of the security office at the time someone thought of me as a target.”

“How can we be sure?” And I noted that she used the word “we” instead of “I.”

“Sit down and get us each a Coke with lots of ice. I’m going to confirm something,” I replied.

“I require something stronger than Coke,” Melanie said.

“I thought you don’t drink alcohol?”

“Sometimes I do. I don’t plan on flying today, so, a brandy will go well with the Coke.”

“Then make it two and charge it to my tab.”

“I’ll pay for my own, thank you. I’m still disappointed in you.”

“Oh get real, Mel! I’m just trying to help you.”

“Yeah, but you still lied to me.”

“I did not lie to you. I withheld some information until I was sure that you were not connected to the theft of the funds.”

“Yeah, treated me like a suspect. Deep inside me, where it matters, that hurts. I’m broken and glue won’t fix it.”

“I’m sorry, Mel. I really am!”

“Yeah, yeah. Go on. Confirm what you need to. Because you are doing it again. Keeping information from me.”

“I’m not, Mel. I just need to confirm something then I will tell you. Promise.”

“With your fingers crossed behind your back!”

“This is going nowhere! Wee-men! I...”

“Yes! Say what you wanted to!”

“Never mind,” I replied, and walked off to just out of her earshot. I phoned Danny. I saw her smiling. Bloody female ... Just say “Yes Dear”, because you’ll never win an argument with a woman.

The cell rang five times.

“Hi there, Ty. What’s news?”

“Someone tried to take a pot-shot at me.”

“What!”

“Yeah, happened an hour or two ago...”

“ ... And you only phone me now!”

“Calm down, Danny. The assailant is long gone. I just need to confirm something first.”

“What?”

“Those cartridge casings you found submerged with the kayak?”

“What about them?”

“Can you send me a picture of them?”

“Why?”

“I have a hunch?”

“Okay ... and, what would that hunch be?”

“I’ll tell you as soon as you send me a picture.”

“Okay. I’ll do it in the next five minutes.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it, and will talk to you as soon as I’ve had a look at it. Then I’ll tell you other news as well.”

“You’re not holding vital information back from a police officer, are you?”

“No. I have suspicions, unverified. I’ll level with you in half hour or so.”

“Okay, Ty ... Let me go get your picture for you.”

“Thanks, Danny. Talk to you shortly.” And I disconnected.

I returned to Melanie at the table at the far end of the open patio at the bar, next to the pool.

“And? Did you confirm what you wanted to know?” She asked, taking a sip of her drink.

“Not yet! Danny, the police detective, will send me a picture of the brass casings found in the kayak.”

“And what will that prove?”

“Either that you and the resort are in the clear, or that someone here at the resort used one of your firearms, cleaned it and returned it to the safe without security knowing about it.”

“And, Einstein, how is that possible? Getting to the guns without security knowing about it?”

“Mel, do you have motion detectors inside your safe?”

“No! It’s not needed. You have to get past security AND have two keys to open the safe. There is always a security officer inside the control room,” she replied with a little irritation in her voice.

“Except, you have an air conditioner duct coming into the safe ... Not a very wise thing or a design problem. Or maybe the room was converted into a safe later, after the building was done. And that poses a big security risk for you.”

She went pale, and she started to shiver despite the heat of the afternoon.

“You ... you mean ... to say, that someone could have climbed through the air conditioner duct and got inside the safe?”

“Yes,” I softly said and took a sip of my Coke. It was neat. She did not order brandy. I noticed her looking over the rim of her glass at me. She tried her best to hide a grin but was not very successful.

“You did not order brandy?”

“No. Even if I don’t plan on flying, I’m still a vet and at any time I might be needed to attend to an animal,” she replied. “I don’t need to attend to a sick animal with brandy breath. It’s not good for public relations.”

“Yeah. True that. I don’t think the iSigodi public relations will survive another scandal.”

“I can see the headlines: ‘Drunk iSigodi vet kills beloved pet.’”

“Now don’t go and put yourself down. We know the truth. It’s not your fault, Mel,” I soothed her.

“But still.”

“Hey sunshine! Perk up. I for one, believe you.”

“Thank you for your vote of confidence, Ty, but I’m still miffed at you.”

“Damn! Are you going to hold that against me forever?”

“Maybe.” She replied, but her eyes were laughing, and a ghost of a smile played on her lips. Wee-men! Can’t live with them and can’t live without them. Well, maybe.

I’ve been doing good so far without a woman to complicate my life. But ever since I got to know the softer side of Mel, something shook me deep inside.

My cell chimed an incoming WhatsApp. I opened it and sighed a sigh of relief. Melanie’s guns could not have been used in the sinking of the kayak.

“Here, look at the picture of the brass casings recovered from the kayak,” and I held out the cell phone for her to see the picture. “They are point three seventy-five Ruger casings. They are shorter than your Winchester cartridges and won’t fit into your rifles.”

“Thank God.” She sighed. “But that means...”

“ ... that someone is toting around a three seventy-five Ruger, and it could be anyone.”

“I don’t like the Ruger. My dad looked at the option but declined it in favour of the Winchester.”

“Yeah, the Ruger’s effective range is four hundred and fifty metres. It has a short barrel, and no forward stock counter for recoil, and it is not that accurate. It’s built more for close in shooting, say, to stop a lion within twenty metres or so. The Winchester .375 Holland and Holland, on the other hand, doesn’t have a further effective range than two hundred to three hundred metres, and is zeroed at 200 metres for an aimpoint point-blank hit.”

“You know your guns.” That was a statement more than a question.

“The Winchester H&H .375 is the favoured cartridge by most of the hunters in Africa and is not only the South African standard for game guides, but has also picked up favour in Alaska to take down grizzly bears and polar bears.”

“Hmm ... You fired one before?”

“Yes. Have you?”

“Yeah, my father had me take a shot with one, and I had a blue-purple shoulder for a week!” Then she got that 1000-mile stare in her eyes as she remembered the time, and subconsciously rubbed her right shoulder.