Rutherford knew this because he knew that his friend had never been one to see or fully appreciate the bigger picture. He just would not have seen how vital his presence would be in the next few months, years even, when people would need a sense of stability and continuity. Emil Coetzee could be an incredibly selfish man, and by choosing to walk into the bush … like one … like so … like this instead of choosing to walk into the future with the rest of the country, he had committed what was probably his most selfish act.

Rutherford chewed on the pencil a few times more before he said to Joseth, ‘Nature does not like a vacuum.’

There was a very long silence, which made Rutherford doubt if Joseth understood the significance of what he had said. Did he even know what the expression meant? Rutherford tried a different approach. ‘We cannot have Emil Coetzee walking into the bush deliberately. Suicide by misadventure – we cannot have that. Emil Coetzee was a hero to many; he is a hero to many. We are in the middle of a ceasefire that not everyone has adhered to.’

Rutherford spoke with a confidence that a recent editorial in The Sunday News had given him. The editorial had cautioned, Of course they will not cease immediately, even assuming that the Patriotic Front leaders put all their efforts into the ceasefire exercise. Hatred, psychopathy and greed cannot be removed by the stroke of a pen; there are bound to be those who will be reluctant to lay down their arms. Additionally, there are too many renegades at large to whom banditry has become a way of life; they are likely to be responsible for incidents for some time. The newspaper had already primed the people for the story that Rutherford was preparing to feed them. All he needed was Joseth’s collaboration.

From the corner of his eye, Rutherford watched how Joseth was taking this. There was no discernible response. Perhaps he had not been clear enough, and so Rutherford said, ‘Emil Coetzee walked into the bush and unfortunately came up against one of these men who has not adhered to the ceasefire. A trained bandit … a terrorist.’ This time Rutherford looked at Joseth directly, trying to force him to respond in some visible way.

Again, his companion gave nothing away, and continued looking resolutely through the windshield. After a long moment, Joseth said, ‘Emil Coetzee was lured into the bush by a terrorist who still has not adhered to the ceasefire.’ Having made this pronouncement, Joseth rolled down the window, put out his arm and nonchalantly tapped his fingers against the door to the tune of ‘The Grand Old Duke of York’.

Lured. That single word changed so much. Rutherford was deeply impressed in spite of himself. However, Joseth proved that he could do even better – by offering up a name for the terrorist. ‘Emil Coetzee was lured into the bush by Golide Gumede,’ Joseth said, his fingers still tap-tap-tapping the tune on the door.