‘I suppose we shouldn’t really be counting our chickens before they’ve hatched,’ Lindi said.

‘What?’

‘Oh, it just means we still don’t know what’s in this laptop.’

Ma Khethiwe told the driver to head for Rosebank. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a sealed envelope. ‘It’s a letter for Kagiso from Mrs Motlantshe,’ she said. ‘The father gave it to me. He said that Kagiso must read it before he does anything.’

‘But that’s not going to be possible. The plan is for Two-Boy and me to talk to Kagiso over the phone, not to meet him.’

‘Then you must read it,’ Khethiwe said. She handed the envelope to Lindi who opened it with exaggerated care, as if it were some ancient manuscript and its contents might unlock a great mystery.

Dear Mr Rapabane,

I am trusting you with Lesedi’s belongings because I know that my beloved son also trusted you. He paid a heavy price for trying to stop this filthy business with the land. I am the one who should have stopped it. I knew what my husband was doing but every time I was thinking he is going to stop. But he lost his way. All the time he wanted more. My husband is a bad man, but he is not the one who has killed our child. My husband thinks he is a big man but those fellows he is doing deals with, they are more powerful. For them, killing a child is nothing. I pray to Almighty God that you find this thing that Lesedi was hiding. You have to finish what he started. I am tired. My marriage to Josiah is finished. But I have two more children and I want for them to grow up in a South Africa that we fought for. Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika.

Priscilla Motlantshe

Lindi wiped away her tears and handed the letter to Khethiwe.

Kagiso tried sitting down. He tried standing up. He paced up and down the room. He checked both of his phones. The one Ma Khethiwe had bought for him and the one Two-Boy would use. They were both charged. Both had a signal. He was beside himself with anxiety. For a man who liked to be in control, this was like torture. He looked at his watch. It was nearly two. Even allowing for traffic, Lindi must be with Two-Boy by now. The fact that he hadn’t heard anything must be a good sign. Surely she would have called him if Priscilla had not been there or she hadn’t brought anything of Lesedi’s with her.

Kagiso flinched, his body tensed even before he was aware of what had caused it. He heard a key in the lock of the door to the apartment. He backed away towards the window overlooking the street.