A giant of a man answered our knock on the kitchen door. He was almost blue, his skin was so dark - not from South Africa anyway. He as dressed in khaki shirt and shorts, with long khaki socks and quiet soled leather bush shoes – typical houseboy’s outfit. He remained silent as we followed him along passageways through the house into a large room with a desk and chair on one side and carved statues of animals all around the room on the floor and on tables. Along the exterior wall, floor to ceiling glass sliding doors stood wide open and the light curtains moved a little in the warm evening breeze. A pool lit by underwater lights shone bright blue outside on the stoep.
Dhlamini was sitting in a large studded brown leather sofa on one side talking on his phone. He clicked it shut and stood up when we entered. He was a tall man with wide shoulders, his bald head shone like he polished it. “Good evening Sam!” Dhlamini was chuckling when he saw me like I was the joke. He stuck out his arm to shake my hand and he squeezed hard, several gold rings crushing my skin on my fingers.
“Can you tell me the punch line Dhlamini? Because I haven’t found anything to laugh about all evening.” I replied, trying not to shake my hand too much.
He narrowed his eyes, “Sam, you are either a brave or a stupid man. But I think it’s stupidity you are suffering from, only a stupid man turns down opportunity”. He gestured for us to sit opposite him on the two small fancy-looking, but rock hard arm chairs while he sat back on the sofa.
He continued, “Now I know you have seen a little bit of the business I am running here at Tembalethu Estate and I’d like you to become a business partner too. I have been told by Bossboy that you have some valuable skills.”
I shook my head slowly but kept quiet.
Dhlamini puffed out his cheeks. “I see you have a strong will too.” He remained quiet for a moment while he studied my face.
“Sam, all my men are loyal, they are loyal until the death you understand, because I look after my men well. That’s one thing they say about me, I am a good boss, I look after my men.”
I wondered what choice his men had. And what type of death exactly.
“Now I know you also are in a bietjie trouble with Smit, your boss. He has told me under no circumstances to let you out of my sight, you are a slippery fellow he says. In fact that was him I was speaking to on my phone, he is on his way over as we speak. He told me you have stolen a gun and also a whole lot of money. Which is now all finished – sadly!” He smiled at me when he said all this, a gold tooth glinted in the corner of his mouth. “We have a good job for you now Sam, Bossboy is counting on your assistance too”.
I can’t say I wasn’t tempted. It sounded like a way out, a solution to all my money troubles - my debt, my mother’s medical expenses.
I turned to look at my ex-friend, he was rocking slightly to and fro on his seat and was sweating all over his forehead. Actually he had taken off his hat too, I haven’t seen him without a hat for so long I almost didn’t recognize him. He had combed his short hair as flat as possible using hair wax. He had scored a parting along one side of his head as if he had white man’s hair. It looked stupid. He shifted his eyes from Dhlamini to my face and back again but stayed quiet. I recognized his scent; it was the smell of fear.
I stood up. “I need to use the toilet”.
The hairs on my neck lifted, it was the sensation I got in the bush when I knew a predator was close by and subtly I noticed a sudden movement of air close by.
I dodged to the right and turned to see the tall houseboy swing a large wooden knobkerrie down just past my left ear. It glanced off my shoulder with a flame of pain and I dropped to the floor, rolling behind the desk. The man ran around to try and grab at me but I jumped up and made for the open door.
I heard shouts behind me as I dodged around the pool and into the nearest bed of shrubs, thankful for my small size against the giant who was chasing me. My left shoulder ached and angry stabs of pain shot down my arm and up into my head.
I could hear shouts from the house and the sounds of big dogs barking faintly off somewhere to the left. Footsteps crashed and branches cracked in the bushes behind me. I had no idea which direction to take, I was just running as fast as I could following the route of the thickest shrubs and trees.
The barking and whining of the dogs was getting nearer and nearer, I was fast but no way could I run faster than a dog. I needed a plan and quick, problem was the pain was making my brain slow. I was operating on animal instinct.
I ducked in and out of flower beds and large shrubs. Ahead I could make out the shape of the perimeter wall and a row of trees. A crack of a gunshot spilt though the night and made a thwock in the earth off to my right. By now I could hear the panting of the dogs too. I managed to squeeze my way between a Jackalberry tree and a wall and pulling myself up the thick ropy trunk like a monkey I climbed. With each pull on my left arm flames licked my body. The dogs snapped and snarled around the base of the big tree.
The top of the wall was covered in a coil of barbed wire. Another crack of the gun echoed out across the sky above the tree, the flash only a few metres away beneath me. Using my hands and feet I clambered out along a branch that extended over the top of the wall and dropped into the dark below, having no idea what was underneath.
A split second later I discovered. There are few things that will make you jump higher than landing on a large Rock Aloe. The teeth-like row of tiny spikes along the leaves scraped fine lines along my legs. At least the leaves are soft and the plant a bit bouncy, and also at least I landed on the plant and not the rocks it was growing in.
From the other side of the wall I heard shouting as the commands were issued to get a few vehicles out to search for me. I knew the hunt was far from over and I had no time to examine my increasing injuries. I scanned the landscape, in the distance I made out a few dots of moving light. It must be a road. I was torn between needing a path to follow and being spotted on the road.
However, I also knew this was wild animal countryside. Snakes at night were not such a problem as the cold air sent them into holes and under rocks. Also most of the big predators were not an issue, all the lions, hyena and wild dog were behind park fences. It was the stealthy leopard that loves to hunt at night and that could climb over fences that was more of a risk to me.
I scrambled down off the rocky outcrop the aloes were growing on and started out in a jog towards the direction of the road.