Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4: THE WOMAN IN THE CAR
Naledi barely slept that night.
Thabo had returned home shortly after sending those messages, but neither of them mentioned the study.
He behaved as though nothing had happened.
He ate dinner, discussed a business meeting and even joked about something he had seen on television.
Naledi played along.
She smiled when necessary, answered his questions and pretended to be interested in his conversation.
But inside, she was falling apart.
The photograph of Thabo outside the hospital was still hidden in her handbag.
She had looked at it so many times that she could almost see every detail without opening the envelope.
22:47.
The night her sister supposedly died.
The night her husband claimed to be in London.
At around eleven, Thabo finally went upstairs.
“Are you coming to bed?” he asked.
“In a little while. I need to finish something.”
He nodded and disappeared into the bedroom.
Naledi waited until she heard the bathroom door close before retrieving her phone.
There was a message from Detective Maseko.
DETECTIVE MASEKO: Tomorrow. 10:00. Café near the old Pretoria station. Come alone.
She stared at the message.
Then another notification appeared.
Unknown number.
You are making a mistake by trusting him.
Naledi frowned.
Who?
The reply came immediately.
Maseko.
She felt her stomach tighten.
Before she could respond, the message disappeared.
She looked at the screen again.
The conversation had vanished.
For several seconds, she sat completely still.
Whoever was sending these messages knew about her meeting.
And they knew she was speaking to the detective.
Someone was watching her.
⸻
At 9:35 the following morning, Naledi parked her black Mercedes outside the café.
She had chosen a simple black dress, oversized sunglasses and a pair of heels.
She looked composed.
Expensive.
Untouchable.
But her hands were cold.
She checked the rear-view mirror before stepping out.
A silver SUV was parked across the road.
Its windows were tinted.
She didn’t think much of it.
Not until she noticed it again when she entered the café.
The vehicle was still there.
Naledi selected a table near the window and ordered a coffee.
She checked her phone.
9:52.
Then 9:58.
At exactly 10:04, a man approached her table.
Detective Maseko looked older than she remembered. His hair had turned almost completely grey, and there were deep lines around his eyes.
He carried a brown leather folder.
“Mrs Mokoena.”
“Detective.”
He pulled out the chair opposite her.
“Thank you for coming.”
Naledi studied him.
“You sounded frightened on the telephone.”
He glanced towards the window.
“Not frightened. Careful.”
“What’s the difference?”
“In my line of work, sometimes being careful is the only thing keeping you alive.”
Naledi leaned forward.
“I don’t have time for riddles. I want to know what happened to my sister.”
Maseko placed the folder on the table.
“I investigated Zinhle’s disappearance and presumed death seven years ago. At the time, there were several inconsistencies.”
“Such as?”
“The identification process. The timeline. And the statements provided by certain witnesses.”
“Who were these witnesses?”
He hesitated.
“Your husband was one of them.”
Naledi felt her chest tighten.
“What did he tell you?”
“That he had not seen Zinhle for several months before the incident.”
“That’s impossible. We were all together shortly before she disappeared.”
Maseko looked at her.
“Are you certain?”
“Absolutely.”
He opened the folder and removed a photocopy of an old statement.
“Your husband claimed he was in London on the night of the incident. However, there was information suggesting he had returned to South Africa earlier than he admitted.”
Naledi’s heart began racing.
“I found a photograph placing him at the hospital at 22:47.”
Maseko looked up sharply.
“Where did you get that?”
“From his private study.”
He closed the folder.
“Then you have found something you were never supposed to see.”
“What happened at that hospital?”
Maseko leaned closer.
“An unidentified woman was brought in that evening. She was registered under a different name.”
Naledi’s lips parted.
“Was it Zinhle?”
“I can’t confirm that.”
“Why not?”
“Because the records disappeared.”
Naledi stared at him.
“Disappeared?”
“Not misplaced. Not damaged. Removed.”
She felt tears gathering in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
“Detective, are you telling me that my sister could still be alive?”
Maseko looked directly at her.
“I’m telling you that I never had enough evidence to establish that she was dead.”
For seven years, Naledi had carried a grief that had shaped every part of her life.
Now a stranger was telling her that the foundation of that grief might have been a lie.
She covered her mouth.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I tried.”
“What?”
“I requested another meeting with your family after the investigation. Before I could arrange it, I received instructions to close the case.”
“From whom?”
Maseko looked down at his hands.
“Someone with considerable influence.”
“Who?”
He didn’t answer.
Naledi pushed her chair back slightly.
“Detective, I have a right to know.”
“You do. But you also need to understand something. The people involved in this matter are not ordinary people.”
She looked at him.
“What are you trying to tell me?”
He lowered his voice.
“Your sister wasn’t the only person who disappeared.”
Naledi froze.
“What do you mean?”
Before he could answer, his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed.
“I have to go.”
“Absolutely not. You can’t just tell me something like that and walk away.”
He stood up.
“I’ll contact you.”
“Detective!”
He leaned towards her.
“One more thing. Don’t go home immediately.”
Then he walked out.
Naledi watched him cross the street.
He didn’t look back.
She remained seated, trying to process everything he had said.
Her phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
You shouldn’t have met him.
She looked towards the window.
Across the road, the silver SUV was still parked.
This time, the driver’s window was slightly open.
Naledi could see someone inside.
A woman.
The woman was staring directly at her.
Naledi slowly reached for her handbag.
When she looked up again, the woman was gone.
The SUV pulled away.
Naledi immediately stood up and hurried outside.
She scanned the road.
Nothing.
Then she noticed something on the ground beside her car.
A small white envelope.
Her name was written across it.
NALEDI MOKOENA.
She picked it up.
Inside was a photograph.
Her breath caught.
It showed Zinhle standing outside what appeared to be a hotel.
She looked older than she had in the photographs Naledi remembered.
Her hair was shorter.
She wore a dark coat and sunglasses.
But there was no mistaking that face.
It was her sister.
Alive.
On the back of the photograph were six handwritten words.
STOP LOOKING. SHE DOESN’T WANT YOU.
Naledi’s eyes filled with tears.
She looked around the parking area.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
Her phone rang.
Thabo.
She hesitated before answering.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?”
“Out.”
“I know that, Naledi. Where exactly?”
“Why?”
“Because I need you to come home.”
She looked at the photograph again.
“Is something wrong?”
There was a pause.
Then Thabo spoke.
“Your sister’s name has just come up in a meeting.”
Naledi stopped breathing.
“What meeting?”
“Come home. We need to talk.”
“About Zinhle?”
Another silence.
“Yes.”
She swallowed.
“Thabo, how long have you known?”
His voice became quieter.
“Known what?”
Naledi closed her eyes.
“That she might be alive.”
The silence that followed was unlike anything she had ever experienced.
Then Thabo said something she would never forget.
“Get rid of that photograph, Naledi.”
Her heart sank.
He knew.
He knew about the photograph.
And before she could ask another question, he ended the call.
Naledi stood beside her car, holding the photograph of the sister she had mourned for seven years.
For the first time, she didn’t know whether she wanted to find Zinhle.
Or whether she was terrified of what would happen if she did.
END OF CHAPTER 4
