‘We received an anonymous call saying that a man believed to be Emil Coetzee had walked into the bush unarmed, and that he had not, as yet, walked out again. We thought it was best that we look into it, and so we went to the village to investigate.’

Moloi’s use of ‘we’ really grated on Joseth’s nerves because he could not tell if it was collective or royal.

‘And what did you find?’ Rutherford asked.

‘A beige bakkie, belonging to Emil Coetzee, parked on the perimeter of the bush. And that is all, I believe.’ Rutherford was about to ask another question when Moloi said, ‘Actually, that is not altogether correct. There was evidence that someone had been sick. Vomit on the ground.’

Out of the corner of his eye, Joseth thought he saw the Chief Superintendent chuckle into his handkerchief.

‘And from this evidence, you believe what?’ Joseth asked, speaking for the first time and covering for Rutherford, who was momentarily at a loss for words. ‘That Emil Coetzee walked into the bush and threw up?’

‘No. Not at all. The vomit was too recent to have been Emil Coetzee’s. Most probably it was one of the two men who vomited.’

‘The two men?’ Joseth asked, trying to keep the surprise from his voice.

‘Yes. The two men. One white. The other black. They entered the bush the day before we went there to investigate. They were luckier than we were; they came out carrying a brown Stetson.’

This time the Chief Superintendent did not bother to conceal his laughter.

‘Unfortunately they contaminated the scene,’ Moloi continued. ‘Which is a pity, but I think we were able to gather enough evidence.’

‘Evidence?’ Rutherford asked.

‘Footprints, animal tracks, spoor, broken grass, that sort of thing. Evidence.’ There was a silence that lasted long enough for Moloi to ask, ‘Will that be all?’

Chief Superintendent Griffiths nodded hesitantly, and looked at Joseth and Rutherford, awaiting their acquiescence.

‘No. That will not be all,’ Rutherford said, removing a sharpened HB pencil from his breast pocket and twirling it between his fingers. ‘You did not follow procedure, did you Moloi?’

‘Did I not?’

‘No. You did not. And you bloody well know that you did not. What is the first thing that you are supposed to do once you receive a report of a crime involving a high-level official?’

‘Call the SIU.’

‘Exactly! Call the SIU. And did you do that?’

‘No.’

‘Exactly! No. And why did you not call the SIU?’

‘Because they had already been to the scene. The two men I spoke of earlier. One white, the other black. They are with the SIU.’

‘And how could you possibly know that?’

‘The number plates of their bakkie. 700L5. We checked the database. The vehicle is registered with the SIU,’ Moloi said.

Chief Superintendent Griffiths was openly enjoying himself by now.