Madelaine van Wyk

“I’ll kill that bastard,” said Madelaine of Jako. Not knowing where he had hidden the diamonds was distressing her.

“It must be an obvious place.” Jako had disappeared into thin air a few months before.

The family had left Scallyclare very suddenly and very mysteriously. The rumours surrounding Mr Retief suggested that he had got into huge debt. Gambling, the rumours said.

Well, serves him right, she thought. But, she understood the mentality of a gambler. Damn fool to get caught.

She was 17 and had to get ready to go back to school. The holidays were over.

It was like the Retief family had vanished into thin air.