Heart of the Hunter by Deon Meyer

Author:Deon Meyer
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
ISBN: 9780802145789
Publisher: Hachette UK
Published: 2001-12-31T23:00:00+00:00

23.

She was naive when she joined the Cape Times, an alumna of Rhodes University’s journalism program with stars in her eyes and a burning desire to live out her romance with words at Cosmo or Fair Lady but prepared to serve her apprenticeship at a daily. She trusted everyone, believed them, looked with wide-eyed wonder at the famous whom she came into contact with in her daily rounds.

But disillusionment followed, not suddenly or dramatically— the small realities slowly took over uninvited. The realization that people are an unreliable, dishonest, self-centered, self-absorbed, backstabbing, violent, sly species that lie, cheat, murder, rape, and steal, regardless of their status, nationality, or color. It was a gradual but often traumatic process for someone who wished only to see good and beauty.

Miriam Nzululwazi and Immanuel the shoeshine man had argued with such conviction that Mpayipheli was a good man. The minister had sketched another picture, the tragedy of the once trustworthy soldier gone bad. Very bad.

Where was the truth?

Will the real Thobela Mpayipheli please stand up.

The only way to find the truth, she knew, was to keep on digging. Keep asking questions and sift the wheat from the chaff.

Eventually Nic phoned in Orlando Arendse’s contact numbers. “You can try, but it won’t be easy,” he said.

She began phoning, one number after another.

“Orlando who?” was the reaction without exception. She would tell her story, in a breathless hurry before they broke the connection: it was about Thobela Mpayipheli, she just wanted background, she would protect her source.

“You have the wrong number, lady.”

“So what is the right number?”

Then the line would go dead and she would ring the next one. “My name is Allison Healy, I’m with the Cape Times, I would really like to talk to Mr. Orlando Arendse in absolute, guaranteed confidence .”

“Where did you get this number?”

She was taken unaware; “from the police” was on the tip of her tongue, but she bit it back. “I’m a reporter, it’s my job to find people, but, please, it’s about Thobela Mpayipheli .”

“Sorry, wrong number.”

She rang all five numbers without success and slammed the flat of her hand down on the desk in frustration and then went to have a smoke on the sidewalk outside, short, angry drags on the cigarette. Maybe she should threaten. “If Arendse does not speak to me, I will put his name and occupation in every article I write about this. Take your choice.”

No. Better to try again.

When she pulled the notebook of numbers toward her, the phone rang.

“You want to speak to Mr. O?”

For a second she was lost. “Who?” she said, and then hurriedly, “Oh, yes. Yes, I do.”

“There’s a blue-whale skeleton in the museum. Be there at one o’clock.”

Before she could respond, the phone went dead.

* * *

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.