Kobra. Deon Meyer

se moed sak in sy skoene. Dit beteken hulle weet steeds nie wie Morris of sy naasbestaandes is nie.

      “Are you sure?” vra Nyathi.

      “Yes. The passport number belongs to a seventy-six year old woman from Bexhill-on-Sea in Sussex who passed away thirteen days ago. It might be her passport that was modified, but we’ll need to analyse the original to be sure.”

      “No, the passport is very new,” sê Griessel terwyl hy stoei met die teleurstelling.

      “Would it be possible for us to have a look at the document itself?” vra Graber. “We have a comprehensive database of for-geries, which might help to trace its origin.”

      “Of course,” sê Nyathi. “I’m sure that can be arranged eventually …”

      “I see,” sê Graber nadenkend. Dan: “Of course, we only want to aid your investigation. As I understand it, the first seventy-two hours are usually crucial.”

      “Indeed. And it is much appreciated,” sê Nyathi.

      “We actually know very little about the crime that this person was involved in,” sê Graber. “Unfortunately, the detective who brought the photographs spoke to one of the clerks. Could you tell us more?”

      Nyathi huiwer, glimlag dan hoflik. “I’m really sorry, but the investigation is at a very sensitive stage. And now that it seems as if Morris might not be a British citizen … I do hope you understand …”

      “Of course,” sê Graber en glimlag simpatiek. “We’re just trying to help. And I’m curious. Was it a robbery or something?”

      “I’m not at liberty to say.”

      Griessel konsentreer nie en raak eers bewus van die ongemaklike stilte wanneer Nyathi vlugtig maar betekenisvol na hom kyk. En dan snap hy eindelik dat hier iets aan die gang is, ’n verbale skaakspel – Graber wil baie graag die paspoort in haar hande hê en meer weet van die misdaad. Nyathi is baie onwillig om dit met haar te deel. En hy onthou Cupido se reaksie: Twintig oor sewe in die aand? Maybe is hierdie Morris royalty of iets.

      Meteens is hy wakker, asof die tamheid van hom afrol.

      Hier is ’n slang in die gras. En die kolonel wil hê hy moet dit help vang.

      12

      Hy weet hy moet sy vrae nou reg vra. “Do you monitor missing persons?”

      Hy sien die konsul-generaal wag vir Graber om te antwoord.

      “Well, only if they are reported missing, and are presumed to be travelling, of course. There is a process …”

      “Was a Paul Anthony Morris reported missing?”

      “Not that we know of,” sê Graber.

      “Someone of his age and description?”

      “It is hard to say. The info you have provided is rather sketchy. If we can analyse the original document?”

      “Do you have any idea who this Paul Anthony Morris might be?”

      “Well, it is quite a common name. As you can imagine, it is going to take some time to scour the Home Office database, which might turn up nothing.”

      Dit is asof sy hom aanmoedig om die regte vraag te vra, maar hy weet nie wat dit is nie. “But do you … have you got any idea?”

      “What we do know, is that no person by that name has been reported missing in the United Kingdom in the past fortnight.”

      Griessel probeer die spel verstaan. Sy gee hom nie ’n direkte “nee” nie. Waarom nie?

      “Are there any other persons who were reported missing that you think he might be?” Nie heeltemal reg geformuleer nie, sy is slim, hy sal nou mooi moet dink.

      Sonder huiwering sê Graber: “The Metropolitan Police in the UK run a database called Merlin, which amongst other information, also logs missing person reports. We have to assume that the age indicated on the passport is more or less correct, because it has to correspond with the photograph. And of course the photograph must bear a close enough resemblance to the man who entered this country last week in order to fool customs. Now, I can tell you that Merlin provided absolutely no data on persons generally resembling this photograph, and in this broad age bracket, that have been reported missing to UK authorities over the past fortnight.”

      Vir wat neuk sy so met “fortnight”?

      “And in the past six to twelve months?”

      “In the previous fiscal year, Merlin logged more than forty thousand records of missing persons. That type of inquiry might take several days before I can answer with confidence.”

      “Ladies, with all due respect,” sê die statige Zola Nyathi sag en hoflik, “there is a man’s life at stake here.”

      “I can assure you, colonel, we are doing everything in our power to help,” sê die konsul-generaal.

      “Is Morris’s life at stake?” vra Graber. “Or is he a suspect in a criminal case?”

      “You know who he is,” sê Griessel, want nou is hy seker.

      Hulle kyk hom in die oë, kalm en reguit.

      “Captain,” sê Doreen Brennan beredeneerd en diplomaties, “I receive Foreign Office bulletins about persons of interest on an almost daily basis. To be absolutely honest, this Paul Anthony Morris could be one of at least twenty British subjects of concern to our government. But at this stage – with no certainty as to his real identity, and with your not being very forthcoming about the details of the criminal incident – speculation will do more harm than good.”

      Uit ’n duisend ondervragings van verdagtes weet Griessel dat wanneer mense eers begin praat van “to be absolutely honest”, lieg hulle soos tannetrekkers. Hy vermoed die twee Britte het deeglik gekoukus voor hy en Nyathi aangekom het en hulle weet presies wat hulle wil sê.

      Maar voor hy kan reageer, sê Nyathi: “I’m reading between the lines that you are willing to trade information, should we be willing to divulge details about the case.”

      Die konsul-generaal staan op uit haar stoel. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to call my family to tell them I’ll be home soon … No, please sit down, gentlemen …” Sy stap statig deur toe, en maak dit agter haar toe.

      Miskien moet hy sy bek hou en Nyathi laat praat, want hy het die subtiele boodskap gemis.

      “I have to tell you that the consulate cannot officially comment on an identity based on a fake passport, unless we’ve had time to thoroughly examine the document in question,” sê Graber.

      “And unofficially?” vra Nyathi.

      “I’ve been known to speculate, should a conversation catch my interest …”

      “And how do we obtain your interest?”

      “That would depend.”

      “We’d consider lending you the passport, in a day or two …” sê Nyathi.

      “I’d surely appreciate that, but …”

      “You want it sooner?”

      “That isn’t my strongest need.”

      “You want details of the case.”

      “Now that would be immensely helpful.”

      “We could provide it, if we were properly motivated,” sê Nyathi met ’n effense glimlag, en Griessel besef die kolonel is goed met dié soort ding. Die gerug is dat hy in die intelligensievleuel van Umkhonto we Sizwe was, in die ou dae. Dalk is dit waar.

      “I’m a firm believer in motivation,” sê Graber, “but as you know, speculation is not fact. And the idea of speculative information reaching our friends in the media is too ghastly