He started walking and Lindi followed. It dawned on her that they were expecting her. How was that possible? Just the question was unsettling. As for the answer, every option was as chilling as the next. Either they had been told or they had made it their business to find out. It had been Anton’s idea for her to come in as a tourist. Perhaps that had been a mistake. He’d called Lesedi’s death a ‘game-changer’, something like that, but even he might have underestimated what was at stake for the authorities here.

They entered an airless room. Lindi took a deep breath. The unadorned walls – save for the obligatory portrait of the president – were painted in that indiscriminate version of cream common to official places everywhere. There was a single desk and a single chair, which the official took, leaving Lindi to stand, like a naughty schoolgirl in front of the head teacher.

‘So what is the purpose of your visit?’

‘I grew up here, and I’ve come back to see family and friends,’ Lindi replied, her words rehearsed numerous times on the plane.

‘Where are they?’

‘Who?’

‘Your relatives, these people you have come to see.’

‘They’re all over the country.’

‘Is that so, all over the country? Like where?’

Lindi knew she was going to have to feed him something, something bland, someone on the coast, somewhere that evoked a holiday. ‘Oh, I haven’t got a firm plan yet but I’ll probably head down to Knysna at some point.’ She knew what was coming next.

‘And who is there?’

‘My father’s oldest friend.’ So Marney van Rensburg had come in useful, after all.

‘And what about here, in Johannesburg?’

‘Look, I really don’t have to give you a blow-by-blow account of my plans. What’s all this about?’

The man ignored the question. ‘So you’re not doing any work here?’

The official’s mobile phone rang. He looked at the number and moved towards the door. Lindi could just about hear his voice. ‘Yes, she’s here.’

So they knew who she was. They must have known what flight she was on. Anton’s last words to her had been ‘Be careful.’ She’d assumed the comment was habitual, but now realised it was specific to this trip.

The man was listening to whoever was at the other end of the call. It was not a conversation: he was being told what to do. Finally, he took the mobile away from his ear, came back to where Lindi was standing and picked up the desk phone. ‘The passenger is ready now. Come and get her.’

Turning to Lindi, he forced a grim smile: ‘So, you are welcome in our country. Just remember you are here to enjoy yourself. We want you to play, no work. You understand.’

It was an order, not a question.

‘If we find you behaving badly we will know what to do.’