Vultures in the Wind by Peter Rimmer

Author:Peter Rimmer [Rimmer, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kamba Publishing
Published: 2014-06-13T00:00:00+00:00

Two weeks later, a second black car was parked in the open space next to the Vuya restaurant. The colony was already abuzz with the story of Matthew Gray, a story which the man they called Mark neither confirmed nor denied. Now the world was coming back to Second Beach, Port St Johns, and their reclusion and safety was being disturbed.

A man had emerged from the car and seemed to know where he was going. He walked across the end of the beach and took the path up to the hut on the hill. It was another beautiful day, balmy with the warm berg-wind and the sea was gentle as a lamb, the colony’s fishing boat having gone out early in the morning to try for mussel-crackers, copper steenbras and seventy-fours.

“Good morning, Teddie. Have you come to buy one of my paintings?”

“Not really, Matt. It’s good to see you.”

“Your mother told you how to find the way?”

“She did, as a matter of fact. Archie is in England, talking to Smythe- Wilberforce. They were horrified to hear what was being done to our investments. Hector said he knew nothing about any such arrangement and, if any of the staff were doing anything wrong, the police should put them in jail. The legal brains have pushed aside Hector’s posturing and agreed to disinvest… You really think we should give the ANC a donation every year? You forget, Matt, that I was fighting the communists in Angola. They’re all tarred with the same brush; they want power, not justice. And their kind of power will be a lot more oppressive than ours. The KGB have been instructing the MPLA in Luanda exactly how to go about their business… I like the painting. How much do you want for it?”

“You can have it as a present and hang it on the wall so you won’t forget me. Do you know which was your grandfather’s house? Come outside and we can just see the green roof at the other end of the beach. Looks better from a very long distance. What can I do for you, Teddie? I presume you have not driven so far to buy a painting.”

“I want you to see sense and stop this nonsense. There’s a real world out there, and you were part of it. A big part of it.”

“I question which world is real. This one was made by the gods,” replied Matt, staring out towards the sea.

“Is the water problem as bad as they say? A casino holiday resort will make a lot of money.”

“The gods must have felt a swift shot of pain!… Yes, water is a problem. Ask your mother. Maybe there isn’t another paradise like this for me, but I know enough of your real world to know it will only last for a while and then be destroyed. The black government here is despotic. What is new? Africa was run by despots for all its history. A few years of white rule hasn’t changed that.

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