Master of the Game

Chapter 12

BOOK TWO

Kate and David

1906-1914

Chapter 12

On a hot summer night in 1914, Kate McGregor was working alone in her office at the new Kruger-Brent, Ltd., headquarters building in Johannesburg when she heard the sound of approaching automobiles. She put down the papers she had been studying, walked over to the window and looked out. Two cars of police and a paddy wagon had come to a stop in front of the building. Kate watched, frowning, as half a dozen uniformed policemen leaped from the cars and hurried to cover the two entrances and exits to the building. It was late, and the streets were deserted. Kate caught a wavy reflection of herself in the window. She was a beautiful woman, with her father's light-gray eyes and her mother's full figure.

There was a knock at the office door and Kate called, "Come in."

The door opened and two uniformed men entered. One wore the bars of a superintendent of police.

"What on earth is going on?" Kate demanded.

"I apologize for disturbing you at this late hour, Miss McGregor. I'm Superintendent Cominsky."

"What's the problem, Superintendent?"

"We've had a report that an escaped killer was seen entering this building a short time ago."

There was a shocked look on Kate's face. "Entering this building?"

"Yes, ma'am. He's armed and dangerous."

Kate said nervously, "Then I would very much appreciate it, Superintendent, if you would find him and get him out of here."

"That's exactly what we intend to do, Miss McGregor. You haven't seen or heard anything suspicious, have you?"

"No. But I'm alone here, and there are a lot of places a person could hide. I'd like you to have your men search this place thoroughly."

"We'll get started immediately, ma'am."

The superintendent turned and called to the men in the hallway, "Spread out. Start at the basement and work your way up to the roof." He turned to Kate. "Are any of the offices locked?"

"I don't believe so," Kate said, "but if they are, I'll open them for you."

Superintendent Cominsky could see how nervous she was, and he did not blame her. She would be even more nervous if she knew how desperate the man was for whom they were looking. "We'll find him," the superintendent assured Kate.

Kate picked up the report she had been working on, but she was unable to concentrate. She could hear the police moving through the building, going from office to office. Would they find him? She shivered.

The policemen moved slowly, methodically searching every possible hiding place from the basement to the roof. Forty-five minutes later, Superintendent Cominsky returned to Kate's office.

She looked at his face. "You didn't find him."

"Not yet, ma'am, but don't worry - "

"I am worried, Superintendent. If there is an escaped killer in this building, I want you to find him."

"We will, Miss McGregor. We have tracking dogs."

From the corridor came the sound of barking and a moment later a handler came into the office with two large German shepherds on leashes.

"The dogs have been all over the building, sir. They've searched everyplace but this office."

The superintendent turned to Kate. "Have you been out of this office anytime in the past hour or so?"

"Yes. I went to look up some records in the file room. Do you think he could have - ?" She shuddered. "I'd like you to check this office, please."

The superintendent gave a signal and the handler slipped the leashes off the dogs and gave the command, "Track."

The dogs went crazy. They raced to a closed door and began barking wildly.

"Oh, my God!" Kate cried. "He's in there!"

The superintendent pulled out his gun. "Open it," he ordered.

The two policemen moved to the closet door with drawn guns and pulled the door open. The closet was empty. One of the dogs raced to another door and pawed excitedly at it.

"Where does that door lead?" Superintendent Cominsky asked.

"To a washroom."

The two policemen took up places on either side of the door and yanked it open. There was no one inside.

The handler was baffled. "They've never behaved this way before." The dogs were racing around the room frantically. "They've got the scent," the handler said. "But where is he?"

Both dogs ran to the drawer of Kate's desk and continued their barking.

"There's your answer," Kate tried to laugh. "He's in the drawer."

Superintendent Cominsky was embarrassed. "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Miss McGregor." He turned to the handler and snapped, "Take these dogs out of here."

"You're not leaving?" There was concern in Kate's voice.

"Miss McGregor, I can assure you you're perfectly safe. My men have covered every inch of this building. You have my personal guarantee that he's not here. I'm afraid it was a false alarm. My apologies."

Kate swallowed. "You certainly know how to bring excitement to a woman's evening."

Kate stood looking out the window, watching the last of the police vehicles drive away. When they were out of sight, she opened her desk drawer and pulled out a blood-stained pair of canvas shoes. She carried them down the corridor to a door marked Private, Authorized Personnel Only, and entered. The room was bare except for a large, locked, walk-in safe built into the wall, the vault where Kruger-Brent, Ltd., stored its diamonds before shipping. Quickly, Kate dialed the combination on the safe and pulled open the giant door. Dozens of metal safe-deposit boxes were built into the sides of the vault, all crammed with diamonds. In the center of the room, lying on the floor half-conscious, was Banda.

Kate knelt beside him. "They've gone."

Banda slowly opened his eyes and managed a weak grin. "If I had a way out of this vault, do you know how rich I'd be, Kate?"

Kate carefully helped him to his feet. He winced with pain as she touched his arm. She had wrapped a bandage around it, but blood was seeping through.

"Can you put your shoes on?" She had taken them from him earlier, and, to confuse the tracking dogs she knew would be brought in, she had walked around her office in them and then hidden them in her drawer.

Now Kate said, "Come on. We have to get you out of here."

Banda shook his head. "I'll make it on my own. If they catch you helping me, you'll be in more trouble than you can handle."

"Let me worry about that."

Banda took a last look around the vault.

"Do you want any samples?" Kate asked. "You can help yourself."

Banda looked at her and saw that she was serious. "Your daddy made me that offer once, a long time ago."

Kate smiled wryly. "I know."

"I don't need money. I just have to leave town for a while."

"How do you think you're going to get out of Johannesburg?"

"I'll find a way."

"Listen to me. The police have roadblocks out by now. Every exit from the city will be watched. You won't have a chance by yourself."

He said stubbornly, "You've done enough." He had managed to put his shoes on. He was a forlorn-looking figure, standing there in a torn, bloodied shirt and jacket. His face was seamed and his hair was gray, but when Kate looked at him she saw the tall, handsome figure she had first met as a child.

"Banda, if they catch you, they'll kill you," Kate said quietly. "You're coming with me."

She knew she was right about the roadblocks. Every exit from Johannesburg would be guarded by police patrols. Banda's capture was a top priority and the authorities had orders to bring him in dead or alive. The railroad stations and roads would be watched.

"I hope you have a better plan than your daddy had," Banda said. His voice was weak. Kate wondered how much blood he had lost.

"Don't talk. Save your strength. Just leave everything to me." Kate sounded more confident than she felt. Banda's life was in her hands, and she could not bear it if anything happened to him. She wished again, for the hundredth time, that David was not away. Well, she would simply have to manage without him.

"I'm going to bring my automobile around to the alley," Kate said. "Give me ten minutes, then come outside. I'll have the back door of the car open. Get in and lie on the floor. There will be a blanket to cover yourself with."

"Kate, they're going to search every automobile leaving the city. If - "

"We're not going by automobile. There's a train leaving for Cape Town at eight A.M. I ordered my private car connected to it."

"You're getting me out of here in your private railroad car?"

"That's right."

Banda managed a grin. "You McGregors really like excitement."

Thirty minutes later, Kate drove into the railroad yards. Banda was on the floor of the backseat, concealed by a blanket. They had had no trouble passing the roadblocks in the city, but now as Kate's car turned into the train yards, a light suddenly flashed on, and Kate saw that her way was blocked by several policemen. A familiar figure walked toward Kate's car.

"Superintendent Cominsky!"

He registered surprise. "Miss McGregor, what are you doing here?"

Kate gave him a quick, apprehensive smile. "You'll think I'm just a silly, weak female, Superintendent, but to tell you the truth, what happened back at the office scared the wits out of me. I decided to leave town until you catch this killer you're looking for. Or have you found him?"

"Not yet, ma'am, but we will. I have a feeling he'll make for these railroad yards. Wherever he runs, we'll catch him."

"I certainly hope so!"

"Where are you headed?"

"My railway car is on a siding up ahead. I'm taking it to Cape Town."

"Would you like one of my men to escort you?"

"Oh, thank you, Superintendent, but that won't be necessary. Now that I know where you and your men are, I'll breathe a lot easier, believe me."

Five minutes later, Kate and Banda were safely inside the private railway car. It was pitch black.

"Sorry about the dark," Kate said. "I don't want to light any lamps."

She helped Banda onto a bed. "You'll be fine here until morning. When we start to pull out, you'll hide out in the washroom."

Banda nodded. "Thank you."

Kate drew the shades. "Have you a doctor who will take care of you when we get to Cape Town?"

He looked up into her eyes. "We?"

"You didn't think I was going to let you travel alone while I missed all the fun?"

Banda threw back his head and laughed. She's her father's daughter, all right.

As dawn was breaking, an engine pulled up to the private railroad car and shunted it onto the main track in back of the train that was leaving for Cape Town. The car rocked back and forth as the connection was made.

At exactly eight o'clock, the train pulled out of the station. Kate had left word that she did not wish to be disturbed. Banda's wound was bleeding again, and Kate attended to it. She had not had a chance to talk to Banda since earlier that evening, when he had stumbled half-dead into her office. Now she said, "Tell me what happened, Banda."

Banda looked at her and thought, Where can I begin? How could he explain to her the trekboers who pushed the Bantus from their ancestral land? Had it started with them? Or had it started with the giant Oom Paul Kruger, President of the Transvaal, who said in a speech to the South African Parliament, "We must be the lords over the blacks and let them be a subject race..." Or had it begun with the great empire-builder Cecil Rhodes, whose motto was, "Africa for the whites?" How could he sum up the history of his people in a sentence? He thought of a way. "The police murdered my son," Banda said.

The story came pouring out. Banda's older son, Ntombenthle, was attending a political rally when the police charged in to break it up. Some shots were fired, and a riot began. Ntombenthle was arrested, and the next morning he was found hanged in his cell. "They said it was suicide," Banda told Kate. "But I know my son. It was murder."

"My God, he was so young," Kate breathed. She thought of all the times they had played together, laughed together. Ntombenthle had been such a handsome boy. "I'm sorry, Banda. I'm so sorry. But why are they after you?"

"After they killed him I began to rally the blacks. I had to fight back, Kate. I couldn't just sit and do nothing. The police called me an enemy of the state. They arrested me for a robbery I did not commit and sentenced me to prison for twenty years. Four of us made a break. A guard was shot and killed, and they're blaming me. I've never carried a gun in my life."

"I believe you," Kate said. "The first thing we have to do is get you somewhere where you'll be safe."

"I'm sorry to involve you in all this."

"You didn't involve me in anything. You're my friend."

He smiled. "You know the first white man I ever heard call me friend? Your daddy." He sighed. "How do you think you're going to sneak me off the train at Cape Town?"

"We're not going to Cape Town."

"But you said - "

"I'm a woman. I have a right to change my mind."