Last Train to Retreat Read Online Free Page A

there a month ago.’
    ‘What are people saying? Who are they?’ He took her hand.
    ‘No one is talking but Shaheed at the shop said he heard an explosion the other day, seemed to come from the house. He didn’t report it … too scared.’
    They both suspected what had caused it. Making crystal meth using volatile chemicals was dangerous but it was easy to make and the rewards were huge. It resulted in many a house and backyard becoming a
tik
‘factory’. Entire families were smoking the heated crystals
–
from kids in their early teens to people in their sixties – fathers putting crystals, tubes, and lighters out on the table DIY style.
    ‘Try to avoid the house when you go to work, Chantal, and
never
make eye contact. Too risky, you’re too pretty.’
    She squeezed his hand and smiled wanly. ‘What if they’re Hannibal’s men?’ The thought of Hannibal so near to where Chantal lived was unwelcome. Hannibal was the reason why Zane was close to his sister and why they always looked out for each other. Zane said, ‘Don’t lose any sleep,
Sus
. If he was going to do anything, he would have long ago. Go back now …
mooi loop
, take care.’ He kissed her.
    ‘You too,’ she said.
    He watched her walk away. How he wished for her to be happy. He rode past the recreational area where he had played as a child – a concrete slab with weeds and wild grass growing through the cracks, and only two basketball hoops still standing. Broken glass had been swept to the periphery. He lifted his gaze to the Constantia Mountains and thought of the beautiful houses and vineyards on its slopes, the spots he had marked in his mind during many rides of where he’d like to live. Chantal’s words had rattled him. What if the men
were
members of Hannibal’s Evangelicals? Zane hadn’t recognised any of them but then recruiting new members had never been a problem for Hannibal.
    On the mountain side of the track Zane had managed to keep his past deep inside him while he worked for his future. Now as he rode through Lavender Hill it was out on the streets again: the sorry flats and houses, the burdened faces, the very language spoken. He knew that one day he’d end all physical ties with this place and move on. But how to cut the invisible link that was hanging between him and Hannibal? It knew no boundaries.
    Zane was in for a bad night. Just as well he had Sunday to get his mind right for the week ahead. More than anything it was his job that would bring deliverance.

Three
    T he realisation that she’d probably killed another human being made sleep impossible for Lena. She relived the scene frame by frame: the man’s swagger as he came down the steps, the high-pitched voice, his face close-up, his hands around her neck – she could still smell his breath – and the sickening feeling as the knife seemed to slide effortlessly into him. Should she go to the police, or Mavis? How could it have gone so wrong? To Lena, the future had never been something she could trust. Now it was looming over her.
    She and Sarai had caught the last train to Retreat with minutes to spare. They had huddled in silence among the happy fans in the coach, Sarai’s head on Lena’s shoulder. At Retreat station they disembarked, then ran two kilometres to Lena’s house, Lena clutching her knife as they zigzagged through the deserted, dimly-lit streets. Once home, Lena gave Sarai tea, and peanut butter and syrup sandwiches which the girl gulped down. Lena put Sarai in the spare bedroom, the one that had been hers long ago, and watched the girl fall asleep almost immediately curled up like a kitten, overwhelmed by fatigue and relief at having got away from Cupido.
    Only afterwards had the full horror of it all sunk in.
    •
     
    When dawn came creeping into her room, Lena was thankful that it was Saturday so that she didn’t have to face everyone at work. Sleep had eluded her, she’d checked regularly on the small figure in the same clothes from the