The Shudder Lingers Read online

  Gavin sipped at his cup, before looking up, “I know there is more to this. I feel that there is something you are not telling me. I have lost my mother, father and now my sister is in danger again. I cannot sit on the side lines and pretend nothing is going on. Is there something you are not telling me? How can I help Stacey?”

  She was torn between telling him everything and keeping quiet. She noticed the determination in his eyes. She walked over to the window, staring out at the choppy ocean, before turning back to face him, “OK Gavin, you can help. I have a task for which your skills might be just perfect. Please be ready to join Slade and myself at four this afternoon.” He smiled, gave her a thumbs up, and hightailed it out of her office.

  They arrived at Gerald’s offices, with gale force winds having picked up and were quickly shown in. With the extra resources that Elon had provided, they had revamped the offices to make space for everyone. Gerald showed them into a meeting room and pointed to a tray with coffee, “Please help yourself.” Gerald beckoned to two individuals in the open plan loft area. He introduced two of his new team members, Magriet and Sipho. Magriet was a coloured woman who was probably about forty. She had a serious demeanour and her face showed she had had a tough life. Sipho was a young black man of about thirty, with an enthusiastic face and mysterious eyes. Gerald continued, “I have handpicked these two and I believe that they have the credentials to help us in our fight against crime. Magriet has been working as a private investigator for many years. Her family was ravaged by drugs, and she chose to spend her life fighting back. Sipho has been trained in the military and is qualified as a data scientist.”

  Stacey, Slade and Gavin then gave brief introductions of themselves. Slade said, “Well, it looks as if we have a great team. I look forward to working with you all.”

  Gerald then asked “So what’s up? Slade indicated that you have something new that we can work on.”

  Stacey replied, “Yes, I think you will find what I have very interesting.” She opened her iPad and pulled up some documents and photos. “Gerald, you will recall these images I showed you of maps of the Cape Town area and the red circles.” He nodded in acknowledgement. “Well, it gets more interesting. A few weeks ago, we purchased drones for our rhino project. Without telling anyone, I had them fitted with RFID tags for future tracking—”

  Gerald interrupted, “RFID tags. I’m impressed.”

  She frowned at the interruption, “Shortly after I delivered them to our offices, two drones were stolen. I then started tracking them on the app which I have sole access to.” She opened the app, showing them the features and showing them the location of the drones in the Kruger Park as well as the two now located in Rondebosch. “This is where it gets really interesting. This is a screenshot I took of the drones here in Cape Town and their flight patterns.”

  Sipho jumped in, “My word the flight patterns coincide with two of the red circles on the map!”

  Stacey nodded, “Exactly. Quite observant.” He smiled from ear to ear.

  Gerald stood up and walked to a large wall map, jabbing a finger at the map, “Stacey, the flight patterns that originate from Rondebosch are roughly in the same area as where the stainless steel boxes were delivered.”

  Grinning broadly, she replied, “Not ‘roughly’, it’s the exact same address.”

  Magriet exclaimed, “Wow guys. This is really fascinating. However, when we checked out the house, it belonged to a local businessman. We checked him out. We found nothing irregular.”

  Slade chimed in, “So what do we do with this information? What is our plan of action?”

  Silence descended, and as everyone turned to Stacey, she realised that she was rapidly becoming an influential leader. Awkwardly she replied, “Well I do have a rough plan. Given that we know the Rondebosch address has the potential drug stash and that the drones fly from the same address, my intuition says that the drugs are being flown around using the drones. My plan is to bring down one of the drones and make a positive connection between the drones, drugs and the address.”

  Gavin asked, “What do you mean bring the drone down? Shoot it down?”

  Stacey smiled, “No, hack the drone, land it somewhere, take its cargo and then let it fly again. That way we will know if there is a drug connection. We can then try and physically track the drone and see where it goes.”

  Gavin looked interested. “How do you plan to hack the drone?”

  Stacey replied, “I don’t know, but I thought that you and Sipho can figure it out.”

  Gavin and Sipho looked at each other in surprise. Their initial reaction was a shrug of the shoulders, but it soon gave way to a slow nodding of their heads.

  Stacey then pulled up a photo of the apartment complex and shared it with the group, “Gerald, when your guys followed the second delivery of the stainless steel boxes, was this where they went?”

  He nodded, “Yes, I believe it is.”

  Magriet had been feverishly typing away on a laptop, “Guys, I think I have something here. Although the Rondebosch home is owned by the local businessman, it is actually rented out to a business called Backstop Consulting. I am trying to trace the business, but I cannot find anything on it.”

  Gavin piped up, “I have heard that name before.” Everyone stared at him expectantly. “My word, I’m convinced that it was the name of my dad’s first business. I vaguely recall that he used the name for a while, but none of them liked it. He used that name for a few months before they changed it to WKJD.”

  Stacey and Slade looked at each other and simultaneously exclaimed, “Daniella!”

  Gerald slapped his hands together loudly, “This is unbelievable! We have more leads than we have ever had. I can see the dots starting to connect.” Turning to Gavin and Sipho he chirped, “Over to you youngsters. Let’s see what you can do to hack the drones.”

  Sipho breathed out heavily, seeking consolation from Gavin, “Eish. I can feel the pressure.”

  They all continued the conversation for another hour, aligning on plans and next steps.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Arriving at work a few days later, Stacey was surprised to find Daniella standing in her office, staring out of the window at the ocean. She turned to face her, attempting an empathetic look, “Stacey, we have a little problem.”

  Sensing the lack of authenticity, Stacey asked, “What little problem are you referring to?”

  Daniella came and sat down at her desk, and with a soft voice, “We have a problem with Lizzie.” Stacey did not react, forcing her to continue. “She came to me the other day, asking for money. Apparently she was involved in some business deal. Something did not happen on time. I don’t know the details, but it sounded a bit shady. Anyway, she came to me to help with cash. As you may know, I don’t exactly have lots of money lying around. I agreed to help her by borrowing on overdraft. She then came back for more. I was nervous and asked for some form of security, which is a precaution that James taught me in business. Well I gave her more cash on the understanding that it was to be repaid by last week. She failed to make the repayment. I have tried calling her, but she is not answering. I even went to her apartment, but she is not home. I am worried that she has left the country or something. I now have to face my bank manager.” She paused, looking down at the floor, seeking sympathy.

  Stacey stared coldly back, thinking to herself, you lying bitch. Do you really think I am so naïve? Knowing that she had to protect Lizzie, she forced herself to sound empathetic, “I am not aware of any business dealing involving Lizzie, nor have I seen her in nearly two weeks. I hope she is OK.”

  Showing her true self, Daniella continued, “I’m really worried about how I am going to repay the bank…” Stacey did not reply and allowed a few awkward moments to pass. “I suppose what I can do is use the security that she gave me.”

  Pretending ignorance, Stacey asked, “What security did she give you?”

  The response was instantaneous, “Lizzie pledged her sh
ares to me. She gave me verbal assurance that if she did not repay the loan last week, that I could sell the shares immediately.” She dug into her handbag and brought out a folded page. She shoved it across the desk and placed it before Stacey. “That is the pledge she signed when I met her for coffee recently.”

  Stacey stared at the single sheet of paper. It contained only three lines and did indeed show the pledge and the date by which the shares could be sold. It was signed but the actual letter was not dated. She stared at the signature, it looked like Lizzie’s, but was rather scribbled, and giving the appearance that she’d been under some stress when she signed it. She looked up, “So what exactly do you want to do with the pledge? Do you want to sell the shares to someone?”

  Once again Daniella was quick to respond, and with a slightly masked choke, “No I don’t want to sell the shares. I think we should transfer them into my name. If Lizzie then comes up with the money, I can make a deal with her. I’m sure I can explain to my bank manager.”

  Stacey sat back in her chair, taking Daniella in. In all their interactions to date, Daniella was confident, abrasive and domineering. It surprised her that in this instance, she was not her confident self. She folded the sheet of paper and placed it to one side. She noticed how Daniella’s eyes followed the piece of paper. She stood up, looking down on Daniella, “As you know this is a shareholder matter. I will ask Emily to call for a meeting. I think Clyde is here next week. I’m sure you can wait until then.” She noticed the immediate burning defiance in Daniella’s eyes.

  Having no real choice, Daniella responded “OK thanks Stacey. I guess I will have to wait.” She got up and headed for the door.

  Stacey replied to her retreating back, “I’ll let you know if I hear from Lizzie.” It fell on deaf ears, as Daniella continued walking, only the sound of her high heels echoed down the tiled passage.

  Stacey replayed the interaction in her mind, trying to figure out Daniella’s game plan. Her thoughts drifted quickly to Lizzie. She called the medical centre from her mobile and enquired about Lizzie. The feedback was brief, she was going through a rough patch, but the rehab progress was positive. Next she called Clyde and gave him a heads-up on Daniella and the pledge of shares.

  Hearing a soft knock on the door she turned to see a beaming Gavin standing in the entrance. He excitedly said, “Just to let you know that Sipho and I have made a breakthrough.”

  She replied, “Awesome news Gavin. Please don’t mention Sipho’s name around here. It needs to be top secret.” He gave a thumbs up, before disappearing.

  While she was staring at the empty doorway, her mobile phone rang, and Elon’s name appeared. “Hi Elon. How are you?”

  Elon replied, “I’m good thanks. Just recovering from my travels. Anyway, the reason for my call is Lizzie. I have not heard from her for a few days. It is seldom that two days goes by without us chatting. Have you seen her?”

  Guiltily Stacey realised that she had not informed Elon about Lizzie, the drugs and the rehabilitation centre. She closed her office door and took a deep breath, “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news Elon, but Lizzie is in hospital.”

  He exclaimed, “Please don’t tell me that she has been in another car accident!”

  She replied, “No, not an accident. I checked her into a rehab centre—”

  He interjected sharply, “Please don’t play games with me Stacey!”

  “I’m not playing games Elon. The matter is deadly serious.”

  “Sorry. OK, I’m listening.”

  Stacey took a few minutes to share everything she knew, including the meeting with Daniella.

  Elon was silent for a while, “Geez, I’m really starting to hate Daniella. Fortunately for her there is a big ocean between us right now. I have some business here in the United States for the next two days. I’ll be back in South Africa within a few days. Please send Lizzie my love. Also tell Gerald, that he must shout if he needs more resources. This is now personal, and I will stop at nothing to take her down.”

  Stacey replied, “That makes two of us.”

  Once she had concluded the call, she headed for a walk in the city. She had been mulling over a few ideas and her next steps, and she needed the fresh air to think.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Slade had arranged for everyone to meet on Saturday for lunch at a garden pub in the Claremont to thrash out plans and next steps. He had created a WhatsApp group called “Operation D” which included Stacey, Gerald, Gavin, Sipho, Magriet and himself. The ‘D’ referred to drone. Slade had booked an outside table, which was slightly detached from the other tables and shaded from the scorching sun by magnificent oak trees. He ordered a round of cold beer, made by a local craft brewer.

  The mellow setting allowed them to enjoy both the moment, pleasant weather and engage robustly on their plans for Operation D. Lunch included salads, hamburgers and pizzas. Once they had concluded their plans, they spent a few hours enjoying stories from Gerald and Magriet as private investigators. Their colourful accounts of thugs, affairs, brazen robberies and sting operations kept them enthralled for the afternoon.

  Somewhere during the afternoon, Gerald received a text message from a member of his team. He smiled as he announced, “The ship that normally brings the stainless steel boxes has just arrived in the harbour. If our analysis is correct, then tomorrow the drones will start their next round of deliveries. Tomorrow we get to test our sting operation.” Everyone gave each other high fives. “See you tomorrow.”

  Stacey was up before dawn, bubbling with excitement, as she poured herself a cup of coffee and went outside onto the balcony. It had been a while since she had sat on the balcony at this time of the day, taking in the peaceful view. She reflected on how her life had changed since she first met the Spectre family and about all the stressful events since then. She had mixed feelings about ever meeting them. On the one hand she might well have led a dull life and been doing her old job. On the other hand, her life had been rather adventurous, scary at times, but she had met Slade and was running a business. She eventually concluded that something in between would have been best. She heard Slade come out. He placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, and both simply smiled at each other.

  They showered, dressed and ate breakfast, anxiously waiting for a phone call from Gerald. It was mid-morning before he called, “OK Stacey, we have our target on the move. All systems go.”

  Stacey immediately called Daniella, the phone rang several times before someone answered. She was surprised to hear a male voice, and it took her a few seconds to realise that it was Cheung. She pretended not to recognise his voice and asked to speak with Daniella.

  She came on the line sounding irritated. “Hi Stacey, it is a Sunday. Can this not wait until Monday?”

  Stacey replied, “I thought it was rather important to call you. I got a message from Lizzie. Please can we meet now so that I can share the message with you?”

  Hesitantly Daniella agreed, “OK. I’ll meet you at the coffee shop close to where I live. I always do breakfast there on a Sunday. I’ll send you a pin location.”

  Thirty minutes had passed since Stacey called her. She and Slade arrived and went inside the coffee shop. Daniella was seated in the far corner, and despite the dim light inside was wearing sunglasses. She huffed at the sight of the two of them but gestured for them to take a seat. She snapped at a waitress, “Please bring these two a coffee and bring me my regular.”

  Stacey sat quietly for a few seconds, “Thank you for meeting us. After we met earlier this week, I also visited Lizzie’s apartment and tried calling her several times. She seemed to have disappeared. However, this morning I got a call from an unknown number. It was Lizzie. I could hear that she was crying, and she sounded really scared. The only thing she managed to say was that some bad guys had taken her captive. Then the call was cut.” She looked intently at Daniella, seeing if she could get any reaction, but it was difficult to see anything as her eyes were covered with
her sunglasses. “You mentioned that she was probably involved in some shady business deal. Well, I assume it has gone wrong. What do you think we should do?”

  Daniella shifted in her chair, clearly caught between not caring and needing to continue her previous charade, “I really don’t know. I’m sure if it is a kidnapping then they will come forward again.” She took off her sunglasses and leant forward.

  Stacey was gloating inside, as she saw the realisation on Daniella’s face. If their suspicion of Daniella was right, then she was probably spitting mad that one of her drug clients was now in the hands of someone else. It was priceless to see her floundering for words. She continued, “I guess you are right. If she called me, then the kidnappers will have my number. What should I say?”

  Daniella was very quick to reply, “Give them my number. I will sort it out.” She added in a bit of a dismissive tone, “Thanks for coming to tell me.” As she reached out for her coffee, her phone rang. She answered with an abrupt, “What is it?” Her next reaction came as a surprise to Stacey and Slade. Almost oblivious to the two of them sitting there, she smacked the cup of coffee off the table. Slade jumped up as the scolding coffee landed on his legs.

  Daniella barked into her mobile phone, “I’m on my way!” Blinded by rage, she snapped at two men sitting at the next table, “Get the car, we have trouble.” She stormed past them and ran for the door, her two henchmen following closely.

  Slade and Stacey stared at each other in disbelief, the reaction from Daniella was not what they had anticipated at all. When the call came through, it was as though she switched off completely to them being in the room. Slade waved to the waitress who brought across a wet towel for him to wipe his pants down, but it was too late, as a huge stain covered the front of his pants. He joked, “Well that was a hot reaction from her!”