The Colour of Gold (20 page)

Isaiah
grimaced.

"That's a
problem." he said. "I only knock off at five."

"Well, I'll
give you my address and you can come to where I stay when you've
finished work." Catherine said. "Then we can go to the shebeen
together."

"That would be
great!" Isaiah exclaimed.

***

After showering
and putting on a clean white shirt, blue denim slacks and leather
sandals Isaiah set out for Soweto, walking as quickly as he could.
He knew that he and Catherine would have to get to the shebeen,
have a few drinks and then get back to her shack before dark or
face the possibility of being murdered or raped and maimed by the
psychopathic children who roamed the city after dark. And, unless
he spent the night with Catherine, he also had to get out of Soweto
and back to the mine safely.

As Isaiah
walked towards the sprawling metropolis he noticed a huge bank of
clouds approaching from the west. Clouds that came from that
direction usually brought rain. He increased his speed but as he
reached the outskirts of the city the first large drops of rain
began to fall. Isaiah began to run but within minutes the
increasing torrent had drenched him.

Finally Isaiah
reached the address that Catherine had given him. Brilliant flashes
of lightning followed by mighty crashes of thunder rocked the
neighbourhood as he hurried to the little wooden shack at the back
of the house. He knocked loudly on the rickety wooden door. It
opened and Catherine beckoned him to enter, the drumming of the
rain on the corrugated iron roof making it impossible to speak.

Catherine
closed the door of the little shack. Isaiah smiled at her,
embarrassed.

"I never
thought to bring an umbrella." he shouted above the roar of the
falling rain.

"Don’t' worry
about it." Catherine replied. "I don't even have an umbrella. But
you can't stay in those wet clothes. Take off your shirt and I'll
hang it up to dry."

Isaiah removed
his shirt and, as Catherine hung it on a piece of wire strung
across the room, he looked at the contents of the small abode.
Against the one wall stood an iron bed painted black with a thin
mattress covered by a colourful blanket depicting an African
design. Next to it was a small wooden cupboard on which stood a
single white candle. A small wooden wardrobe stood against another
wall and next to it was a small table with a large plastic basin on
it. A small round table and two kitchen chairs stood against the
third wall. On the table was a brass primus stove and another
candle. A tiny window covered with opaque plastic sheeting provided
the only natural lighting. The floor of the room was dried mud. A
large orange plastic bucket for collecting water from the communal
tap at the end of the street stood near the door.

"Unfortunately
the only thing that I have here to drink is tea." Catherine said.
"Would you like some?"

"Okay. That
would be nice." Isaiah said.

As Catherine
lit the primus stave and put a small kettle on it, Isaiah couldn't
help noticing how attractive she was. Her blue dress hugged her
lithesome body and her dark golden skin glowed with good health. He
could clearly see the outline of her bra and panties. In the
confined space he could detect the sweet perfume that she was
wearing and her closeness to him began to arouse him. He felt
himself begin to harden.

Catherine
finished making the tea and handed a mug of the brew to Isaiah.

"We can sit on
the bed and talk until the rain stops and then decide whether or
not there's enough time to go to the shebeen, have a few drinks and
still get back here before dark. I suppose you've heard of the
tsotsis that roam around here at night." she said.

"Yes, I've
heard about them." Isaiah said as he sat down on the bed beside
Catherine.

"So, where do
you come from, Isaiah?" Catherine asked.

"From Eshowe in
Natal." Isaiah replied. "And you?"

"Rustenburg."
Catherine said. "I have a little boy who lives there with my
mother. I'm not married though."

Isaiah finished
drinking his tea and Catherine took the two mugs and placed them on
the small table. She came back and sat down beside Isaiah. She ran
her finger down his naked chest and smiled at him coyly.

"I don't have
many men coming to visit me who take off their clothes as soon as
they come in the door." she said.

"Well, I don't
often visit woman who tell me to take off my clothes as soon as I
walk through the door." Isaiah said.

Catherine leant
forward and kissed Isaiah gently on the lips. Her sweet perfumed
overwhelmed him.

"I don't think
the rain's going to stop before it gets dark." she said, her voice
husky and inviting. "That means that you'll have to stay here until
tomorrow morning."

Isaiah put his
hand behind Catherine's head and pulled her closer. He kissed her
and moved his other hand onto her breast. He heard her breath
quicken despite the sound of the falling rain on the roof. She put
her arms around his neck. They kissed passionately.

"Let's undress
and get into bed." she said. "We've got the whole night ahead of
us!"

***

"Who do you
work for?" Isaiah asked as they got dressed the following
morning.

"A man by the
name of Bogdan Vodink and his wife Julia." Catherine said. "He's an
immigrant from Yugoslavia. He's one of the buyers at the mine. He
tells me that he's got all kinds of contacts and can get anyone
anything that they want for a price. He's quite open to being
bribed and even bribes other people if necessary. He's only
interested in making money and doesn't care about the law. He says
that all business is done with bribery and other types of
corruption."

"You seem to
know him very well." Isaiah said.

"Yes, I do."
Catherine said smiling coyly. "His wife went away overseas a few
weeks ago and while she's been away he and I have been having an
affair in his house."

"Does he know
about the Immorality Act? I'm sure you do." Isaiah asked.

"Yes. But as I
said, he doesn't care about the law." Catherine said. "He says that
we're quite safe because we're doing it in his house."

"What will you
do when his wife comes back?" Isaiah asked.

"Bogdan says
he'll rent a flat in Hillbrow and we can go there after I finish
work each day."

Isaiah
nodded.

"But tell me
about his job." he said. "You say that he can get anything that
anybody wants. If I wanted something illegal, would he be able to
get it for me?"

"He gets a lot
of illegal things for people. Especially stolen things." Catherine
said. "What do you want him to get for you?"

"Oh, nothing at
the moment." Isaiah said. "But I may need something in a few weeks
time."

"I'm sure that
he'll help you. Especially if I ask him." Catherine said. "When
you're ready, tell me, and I'll introduce you to him."

***

Bogdan Vodnik
leant back in his executive chair and stretched his arms above his
head. It was nearly three o'clock in the afternoon. Almost time to
leave for his rendezvous at his house with Catherine. It had been a
busy day so far and he was especially excited about the deal he was
working on with the Nigerian drug dealer. If that worked out he
would make a lot of money and all that he had to do now was set up
the distribution network. That wasn't going to be easy though.
Secrecy was vital. He had never realised just how lucrative the
drug business was. But it was also very dangerous and danger was
something that he thrived on. Life wasn't any fun unless there was
risk involved. But he would have to be extremely careful. Not only
were there rival drug gangs who would commit murder to guard their
territories, there was the constant danger that the police would
uncover his operation. And drug trafficking carried harsh sentences
and in extreme cases could even attract the death penalty. Bogdan's
thoughts turned to Catherine and he realised that he was becoming
obsessed with her. He had to have her every day and even as he sat
in his chair now, he felt himself begin to harden.

Bogdan's
thoughts turned to Julia. He still loved her but somehow she didn't
have the magical attraction that Catherine had. Perhaps the
attraction was the danger that Catherine presented. Not only could
she ruin his marriage, she could also ruin his life. The Immorality
Act imposed severe sentences on people who had sex with those of
different classifications and there was also the stigma that went
with this kind of behaviour. And Julia was likely to return to
South Africa soon. Contrary to the doctors' diagnosis her mother's
immanent death hadn't come about and she continued to cling to life
even though she was in a deep coma. During her telephone call to
Bogdan that morning she had told him that if her mother's condition
didn't change one way or the other in the next week, she would be
returning to South Africa.

Catherine and
Bogdan had spoken several times about what they would do when Julia
returned and Bogdan had suggested that they rent a small apartment
in Hillbrow where Catherine could live and travel to work and back
each day. And, if the deal with the Nigerian came to fruition, she
could even stop working and he would be able to visit her at any
time of the day. He knew that he could easily do this as his job
required him to visit the mine's suppliers regularly to check on
the progress of the products that they were supplying. He might
even end up buying the apartment instead of renting it.

Bogdan glanced
at his watch. It was time to leave. Catherine would be waiting for
him at the house. He stood up from his desk, put several documents
into his briefcase and walked out of his office.

"I'm going to
Top Engineering to check on the progress of the valves that they're
making for us." he told the receptionist. "I won't be back
today."

Bogdan drove
out of the main entrance to the Deep Reef Gold Mine. He travelled
along the tarred road for about two kilometres before turning off
onto a little-used dirt road. He followed the track that curved
back towards the mine premises, going through a dense forest of
black wattle and blue gum trees until he was back on the mine
property, hidden from the administration building by a long white
slimes dump. The dirt road continued past the dump and ended at the
parking area at the building that housed the crushing plant. From
there Bogdan travelled on the mine's internal road system until he
reached his house. This circuitous route ensured that nobody except
his neighbours new that he had returned to the mine instead of
going to Top Engineering. And the neighbours would naturally assume
that he had returned from the administration block having finished
his day's work. Also, as the security staff ended their shift at
five o'clock they wouldn't know if he returned to the mine or
not.

After parking
the car in the garage Bogdan entered the house through the front
entrance. As he closed the door he could hear Catherine washing the
dishes in the kitchen. The savoury aroma of the evening meal that
she had cooked for them wafted through the house. He put his
briefcase down in the lounge and walked along the passageway to the
kitchen. Catherine turned towards him as he entered the room,
wiping her hands on a dishcloth. He walked to her and kissed her as
his hands slid hungrily over her body.

"God, I've
missed you today." he said huskily. "Even though I've been very
busy I've thought of you the whole day. Let's go to the bedroom. I
need you badly."

***

Catherine and
Bogdan lay side by side on the double bed, recovering from the
sexual delights that they had just experienced. He lazily ran his
fingertips over her golden brown body as she lay languidly on her
back, her one hand lying on her naked stomach and the other tucked
between the back of her head and the pillow. In the silence that
pervaded the whole house they could hear the pinging of the
corrugate iron sheets on the roof as they contracted after the heat
of the day.

"When's Julia
coming back?" Catherine asked.

"I spoke to her
this morning." Bogdan said. "Unless there's some drastic change in
her mother's condition she's coming back in a week's time. I'll
think I'll sign the lease on the flat tomorrow. We can't leave it
any longer."

"Are you sure
that you want to continue with our affair after Julia gets back?"
Catherine asked. "Don't you think that she'll find out what we're
doing?"

"There's no
reason for her to suspect anything as long as we're careful."
Bogdan said. "The most important thing that we will have to do is
avoid each other as much as possible here at the house. I'll have
to leave before you arrive and get back from work after you've
left. Also, I'm working on a deal and if it comes off, and I'm sure
that it will, you'll be able to stop working and stay in the flat
all the time."

"That'll be
very boring for me." Catherine said. "Can't I rather find a
mornings-only job and you can visit me in the afternoons?"

"You're quite
right." Bogdan said. "A half-day job would be ideal."

"Won't your
boss get suspicious if you're out of the office so often?"
Catherine asked.

"No. Part of my
job is to visit the firms that supply us with equipment to see how
they're progressing." Bogdan said. "So my being away from the
office will seem quite normal."

"By the way,
I've met someone who may want you to get him some things
illegally." Catherine said. "I don't know what he wants yet, but he
says that he'll be able to tell me more in a few weeks time. Would
you be interested in meeting with him?"

"Do you trust
him?" Bogdan asked.

"Yes."
Catherine replied. "He works here on the mine and I strongly
believe that he's a reliable and trustworthy man."