Chapter 15

DETECTIVE MBHELE

It's been two days since Nqaba has been released. I had some inmates cover his release. I had a fight set up to make it look like he got into trouble and he is kept in solitary for a month for attacking a guard. That should by us some time to gather enough evidence to have him acquitted. With Ndlela being investigated, they'll have to allocate a new prosecutor for the appeal. At least he is home. My phone pings and it's Nxele. **Come to this location. The walls in your office have ears.** He is definitely right about that. That's why nothing about this case is not in this office. I discovered that there is a mole here. That's why Ndlela was able to be a few steps ahead of us. I grab my phone, car keys and the file walking out not before making sure the safe and my office are locked.

I pull up at the location and I see a few other cars including Mandla's car. I walk in and see a few unfamiliar yet familiar faces. "Mbhele, welcome. Let me introduce you to my team." He says with a smile on his face. "This is Eddie, he owns a security company, one of the best in this country, That's Sipho, he is a private investigator and that is Sandiso, he is their go-to tech guy. These are the people I said would help with the case." He says sitting down after the introductions. This is Eddie, thee Eddie. I did't realise Nxele new these people like this. I grab a seat next to Mandla. Just then someone else walked in. What in hell!! Mandla gets up and greets him. He greets everyone else like they know each other. What am I saying, of cause they know each other. "This is Advocate Luyanda Langa." Mandla introduces him to me. That confirms he knows the other guys including Nxele. "Ok let's get to it. What do you have gentlemen?" Nxele asks, his eyes darting around the table.

"We have surveillance on Milani and Malusi." Sipho begins. "Here's something you didn't know, Milani and Malusi are siblings. He is her older brother." Say what now! "They have the same father but different mothers. Apparently Milani's father was an abusive, controlling freak. He was obsessed about having things done his way, about discipline. He was a tyrant. When he died he left them with nothing apparently he had another family and left everything to them. Luckily both Milani's mother and Malusi's mother were working so they were able to provide for their kids. Milani went to boarding school and she would come back during school holidays. Nqaba never had a chance to meet her then. She was always indoors whenever she was home. Malusi and Nqaba went to the same school and they had the same classes but Malusi was too distracted. As smart as he is, he never took school seriously, he wanted the fast life, the fast money. His mother tried but he got mixed up with the wrong crowd and became who he is today." I'm still stuck on the part of them being siblings.

"Unbelievable," I murmur, processing the revelations. "So, they share a history that we were unaware of. This complicates things." I glance around the room, noting the tension in everyone's expressions. "What does this mean for Nqaba?"

Eddie leans forward, his demeanor serious. "This connection is not a complication my friend, it is an opening for us. If we play our cards right, we can leverage their past to differentiate Nqaba from Milani's choices. But we need more than just family ties; we need evidence of Malusi's influence on Nqaba's current situation."

Mandla nods in agreement. "Exactly. While Milani might have some insight, it's Malusi's past that we need to dissect. If they're siblings, she might hold the key to understanding what drives him."

Nxele interjects, "Guys there's more. Sipho is not done." Sipho begins again. "The company Milani works for, is her father's company that was left to his second family. He had one child with this other woman and the child died five years ago, that's when Milani was promoted to CEO. She ran the company, running at it a loss of R2 Million and recently she bought 55% of the shares pretending to be saving the company which gives her the controlling shares." He stays quiet looking at Sandiso, who speaks. At the present moment I am staying quiet. I'm too shocked to speak. "The money didn't disappear. When you were tracking the money and hit a dead end, it was not a dead end. The money was put into a secure offshore account, that's why your guys couldn't find it. That's why your guys lost track of the money. Malusi is a gangster, he is a drug dealer and he is smart. He can keep himself out of jail. He has a few offshore accounts and once the money goes into one them, it's gone. You need special skills to find it. Skills like the ones I have. The account Milani used is one of his." This is really deeper than we thought. Mandla looks at me and he is probably thinking the same thing I am thinking. We both don't say anything we let the guys continue. "Like I said earlier, their relationship is an opening for us. We need to find proof that Milani got the GBH drug from him. We know he deals in it, we just need to prove that Milani got it from him." Eddie adds.

Sipho adds while pulling up photos on his laptop. "Here's where it gets interesting; I've pinpointed their last known locations leading up to the recent events. Milani was spotted at several places where Nqaba has been trying to assert himself, businesses that he has been looking into possible partnerships. It's unclear as to why she was doing all this, or if she's merely caught in Malusi's orbit which I doubt. As for Mnqobi Khumalo, it looks like he was collateral damage in this whole thing."

I lean back, rubbing my temples. "I don't believe Mnqobi was just collateral. We are missing something that connects him to the both of them. He is playing a role, we just need to figure it out. We need to find a way to navigate this without raising red flags. I can't let this blow back on Nqaba."

Sandiso mumbles something under his breath and we all turn to look at him. "I just received something from the surveillance team." He turns his laptop to us. No way. This is not possible.

"That is Emihle, Milani's friend. She is with Malusi." Mandla says what I am thinking. "They are married." Luyanda says showing us a copy of the marriage certificate in his laptop. "Ok guys I've been in the police force for years and I have never worked on a case like this. What the hell! This is crazy, it's utter madness." I saying gulping the water in front of me. "Welcome to my world. This is why I petitioned for these guys to have a contract with SAPS, the cases I work on are complex and with the resources we have, it gets difficult. But with them, they make my life easy." Nxele adds.

The room falls into a heavy silence as we all process this new development. "If Emihle is married to Malusi, that changes everything," I finally say. "She could be one of the missing pieces of this puzzle. We need to understand her involvement in all this."

Luyanda cuts in, "If Milani and Emihle are both tied to Malusi, they can't be viewed separately anymore. Their loyalties are interwoven, which complicates our approach. We need to identify what specific role each has. I think we know more or less about Milani's role."

Sipho clicks through more images on his laptop. "Look at the timeline; there were meetings happening every week between Malusi, Milani and Emihle just after Milani's promotion. That's suspicious. It gets more interesting, Emihle is a Pharmaceutical Scientist." Ok I need to breathe a little.

Mandla leans closer to the screen. "This is getting more hectic. Right now they could be strategizing something, possibly covering their tracks. We need to plant someone close to Milani to gain her trust."

"And we need to be careful," I emphasize. "If Malusi finds out we're looking into his connections, we risk everything."

Sandiso furrows his brow, then speaks up. "Guys, what if Emihle is not just a pawn but a player in this game? If she has her own motivations, we might find leverage there. She is Pharmaceutical Scientist after all. She might have a bigger stake in this than we think. I can't find anything out of the ordinary. I need time, I'll definitely find something."

"Precisely," Eddie replies, nodding. "We should investigate her background. Who she associates with could tell us a lot. If Malusi trusts her, she might be privy to information that can directly link him to Nqaba's case."

Nxele stands up, visibly energized. "Let's split. Sandiso will continue tracking the digital footprint into Malusi's connections and money, what links what to who while Eddie's continues with surveillance on Milani, Malusi and Emihle discreetly. Eddie we also need surveillance on their properties here. Sipho will continue with his investigation, we need to know more about Emihle. Malusi might have business in the Eastern Cape, Sipho look into that, maybe Sandiso might find something that might lead us to something there. We need as much information as we can gather without blowing our cover. Mbhele and I we'll see if we can't have one of his properties raided just to unsettle him." Nxele continues.

Luyanda interjects, "No, no raids. That will make him more aware. He will know something is up. Let him relax, it will make out lives easier. Mandla and I, we'll work on the legal side of things. We also need to find out why she hasn't signed the divorce papers."

I can feel the adrenaline building in the room. "Remember, each move needs to be calculated. We're treading on dangerous ground. We can't let emotions dictate our next steps."

As everyone gathers their things, I can't shake the sense of unease; this web is deeper than I had anticipated. We're not just unraveling a family drama—there are lives and money at stake that could blow up in our faces at any moment. "Let's regroup in two days," I say, "with whatever leads we find. We have to be ready for anything."

NQABA CELE

It's been two days since I have been home. It has been the most blissful days. I decided I am not going to worry about the case. Mandla has not given me any updates and I am going to be patient and just wait. While I wait, I'll enjoy time with my son and my parents. My brother is also coming later today. I just need to go to the police station to check-in and then go buy a few things. Now I have to make sure that no one recognizes me. It's a small price to pay for my freedom. Thank God Lwandle is at school otherwise he would have wanted to tag along. I grab my dad's car keys and my phone. I drive out headed to the police station, I get there and do what I need to do. I drive out and drive to the mall. It looks like it's not busy. I find parking easily and not too far from the entrance. Before I get out of the car I take a breath making sure my cap on, I put on my sunglasses and walk into the mall going straight to Checkers. I grab everything I need, including some wine for mom, I go and pay. When I'm done I go to the liquor store to grab some beers for me and Sizwe and some brandy for dad. Someone catches my eye as I make my way to the tills. I take my phone and snap a few pictures.

I pay and walk out but I decide not to drive off. I sit and watch and it doesn't take before they walk out. I watch as they walk to the car and lucky for me, the car is in my sight. I quickly take a picture of the registration number as they drive off. I start my car and drive back home my thoughts all over the place. The only thing going through my mind is that this can't be true. It can't be real. I pull up in the driveway, get everything out of the car and walk inside, I find my mom busy making some sandwiches. I pack everything I bought and go sit in the lounge. I take out my phone and go through the pictures that I took earlier wondering. I send a text to someone I know at the traffic department to find out who the car is registered to and not forgetting to ask him not tell anyone about this. He tells me to give him an hour. Just then my father walks in holding a beer and a glass of brandy. He hands me the beer and sits on his favorite couch. "Milani still needs to sign the divorce paper." He mentions not even looking at me. He knows it's a sour topic for me. It frustrates me that she still hasn't signed the papers. Which makes me wonder why she is delaying. "I know dad but I can't talk to her now, she is not supposed to know that I am out. I wish I knew why she was delaying this. I want her out of my life as soon as possible." He nods in understanding. "Why don't you speak to Mandla about it and see what he can do to convince her to sign the papers."

"I think that's what I must do dad." Just then mom walks in with sandwiches just as Lwandle walks in from school. He comes and greets and runs back to his room to change. This child has so much energy. I wish I can have his energy.

My pings and it's a text from my contact. The car belongs to Milani. How is this possible though. What the hell does Milani want from me to put me through all this. I really don't understand. Another text comes through and it is an address for the car. This is in my old neighbourhood. I need to go check this out but I have to wait for the call that comes through at 19:00 to confirm that I am home. I sit with my parents conversing about everything under the sun. Dinner time does come fast enough. After we eat I help mom with the dishes and tuck Lwandle in. I go back to the lounge and find my dad still sitting there.

"Dad, I have lead that I need to check. I'll be back in no time." He looks at me with worry but nods in understanding. "Just be careful son. I don't want you going back to jail." I have no intention of going back to jail. I just need to confirm that what I saw, is real, I was not hallucinating.

I get in the car and drive to the address that I was given. To say I am surprised would be an understatement. This is Malusi Nkabinde's house. I drive past the house and park the car next door. I walk up to the house and jump over the gate. I hear voices and one voice sounds familiar. My heart is beating fast probably because I don't want this to be true. It can't be true. I try to peak through the window and my worst fear is confirmed. I take a moment and just breathe before walking out of the yard, back to my car. I thought he was dead. I was in jail for killing him. How is he alive. When I saw him at the mall I couldn't believe it. Maybe he has a twin that we didn't know about. I grab my phone and text Mabutho; **Does Mnqobi have a twin that we don't know about?** he responds immediately **Not that I am aware of. He is an only child. Why do you ask?**

**Come see me tomorrow. We'll talk.** He responds with a quick "ok."

He is supposed to be dead, how is Mnqobi alive?