‘I’m afraid we really can’t say any more.’ The press officer gathered her notes. ‘That’s all we have time for. Mr Chetty has – as you can imagine – some urgent meetings to attend but I will be around for a few minutes more. Thank you.’

Clive Missenden’s phone bleeped. He was in the private dining room of a Dubai hotel, having a late breakfast. He looked at the message. It read: Get out of there, dump the deal, whatever it takes. Then he dialled a number.

‘Josiah, hope I haven’t woken you up. Not surprised you’re still under the covers after last night’s exertions. Wonderful evening. Thank you so much. Look, I’m just calling to say I’m heading out. The plane’s being fuelled up as we speak.’

‘But what about the meeting? This fellow, Kariakis, he’s bringing the papers soon. They are all ready for you to sign.’

‘Yes, yes. I’m sorry, it’s going to be a wasted effort. The truth is, Josiah, dear boy, we were never really very keen on this Mpuma-what’s-it business. Don’t get me wrong, it did look quite promising at one stage but it does seem rather sticky now.’

‘But – but what should I tell Jake and the others? I mean, they’re expecting a call from me today.’

‘Oh, I think you’ll find Jake’s got his hands full at the moment,’ Missenden said briskly. ‘Josiah, old thing, why don’t you break the habit of a lifetime, get off your arse and just check your phone? Come to think of it, why not try the remote control for your TV? It’s quite easy if you try. So long.’

And that was that. Time to move on. There were other continents, other deals to pursue. True, they’d had to put some money up front but, what the hell, it could all be written off. There was only one thing Clive Missenden couldn’t stomach. That bitch Lindi Seaton. She’d got one over on him. He wasn’t going to forget that in a hurry.

EPILOGUE

Later that day, when Kagiso had finally called Lindi – about the time Sharmi Meer walked into a Johannesburg police station – it was to tell her that the Collective was linked to Lesedi Motlantshe’s murder and that he would be handing himself in: an act of solidarity with Sharmi. Shortly afterwards, Lindi was interviewed by the South African Police Service.

The next morning, having watched a live stream of Anton’s less than convincing performance at the press conference, she leaked the contents of Lesedi’s hidden file to the Mail & Guardian in South Africa.

She was subsequently expelled from South Africa. She was persona non grata and her passport was stamped to that effect. Banned from South Africa: like father, like daughter.

Lindi and Kagiso were unable to meet before she was thrown out.