Chapter 28.
David spoke to Ma about going to see Robbie Bruce in Cape Town. But first he had to get some answers from her. He wanted to know from Ma how she had come in contact with him.
“Dave it was common news when Attie died he left a large estate. It was even in the Cape Argas, how they knew beats me.” Ma said. “First the lawyers who were handling the estate suggested that I see a Mister van der Walt. He was an insurance broker. Why they wanted me to see him, I don’t know.”
“That’s because the brokers get a commission which they split with the lawyers.” He said.
“I wanted to wait before I started investing Atties money but then it was the bank and their brokers and all these people were telling me different stories. How I would lose the money if I didn’t invest immediately.”
“So they were trying to put pressure on you, is that right?”
“Yes. I couldn’t handle it. Then Robbie Bruce contacted me. Kim often mentioned his name so I knew almost immediately who he was.”
"He showed me a file with all the figures and told me that the money would be used to bye a block of flats in Seapoint and that it would be sold immediately before transfer, making a huge profit for those that invested in the scheme. He said that my profit would be about thirty percent and that it will all be paid back to me in six months." She said shaking from nervousness."There was a picture of the block of flats. I know them because we've driven past them many times.Then he asked me how much I wanted to invest and I told him Rand five hundred thousand. The cashed check is among the papers.” She said.
David looked through the papers. There were a few drawings on a piece of A4 paper and he found the check. It was made out to Robbie Bruce.
“Do you know that you have given him that money legally." He said that she, David or anybody else cannot do a thing about it?”
“Oh my goodness, David I can’t believe that I could be so stupid.” She put her hands over her mouth and started to cry.
He put his arms around her. “Okay Ma.” He said. “I’m going to get your money back. Believe me. Listen to me. He hasn’t only taken Ma’s money. There are a lot of other people he has robbed as well. How do you think he has been able to finance that beautiful house and all the expensive toys plus his mistresses? He needs money, lots of money and the only way he can get it is to steal it. But he steels it in a way that the victim can’t go to the police.” David said looking at them.“Nearly everything he owns has been paid for by other people’s money creating misery where ever he goes. He normally takes it from the elderly who are looking for the little bit extra to subsidize their pension.” He said.” You’ll never know some-one that has been ripped off by him or anybody else because most people who are victims of fraudsters like Ma will hardly ever tell anybody about it because they’re too ashamed and they think people will see them as a fool. You’re lucky she told you Kim, otherwise you would never have known.” He said.
“Yes Kim. I don’t think I would have told you if you hadn’t been fired by him.” Ma said.
“You know David a person doesn’t know how they will finally end up. Today you can be stinking rich and tomorrow as poor as a church mouse. I hope to be alive to see how the future will be for him. I’m tired I want to go to my room. Will you excuse me please?” She said and walked out.
David and Kim had been back in Cape Town about one week when he went to see Robbie without making an appointment. He parked Kim’s car in Adderley Street and walked a few blocks to his building and then took the lift to the fourth floor.
David asked the receptionist if he was in and she said. “Yes, who should I say is calling?”
“Don’t say anything.” He said then I walked past her desk and headed to his office.
He could hear the little lady calling. “Mister, mister you…”she broke off.
As he walked down the passage he was boiling inside. He went into Robbie's office and around his desk. Robbie picked up his head just as David was almost next to him. “Dav…” Was all he was able to say?
David grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and flung him over his desk across the room. He fell onto his back and knocked his head against the wall. David walked across the room and as Robbie tried getting up, he was hit with a full fist in the face. Blood splattered on the wall and ran down his face onto his shirt. Some of his staff came to see what all the noise was about.
“YOU STAY OUT OF THIS.” He shouted at them. Then he kicked the door close. Robbie tried to stand up and David hit him again.
"Don't you know when to stay down, you cunt." He pulled over a chair and placed it on top of Robbie. His neck and stomach was jammed between the chair and floor and he couldn’t move.
“Now listen you cunt. I’m giving you one warning only. You can steel money from as many people as you want but you don’t steel from me or my family. This is what I want you to do. You have Kim’s bank account number, if you haven’t deposited one point six million Rand into the account by next Friday this will seem like a kiddies pick-nick compared to what you will look like after I’m finished with you. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?” David looked at him under the chair. “I didn’t hear what you said.”
He replied in a soft voice. “Okay David.”
David took the photos of Robbie and his Husler girlfriend out of his pocket and threw them on the floor. “Here is a keep-sake for you, I’m sure you won’t want Diane to see them.” Then he got up, lifted the chair off Robbie and kicked him in his ribs. When he walked out the door and down the passage, there was a gauntlet of workers he had to walk through. “Don’t you think it’s time to get back to your desks and do some work?” He said and they quickly dispersed.
They had done what they came to do and returned to Hippo’s Crossing. When they got back David gave Simon a break. He wanted to spend some time with his parents. It was October an ideal time for him to get away. He said he wanted to take his parents to Lusaka so they could stock up on everything they needed before the rains came in November.
It was a busy time for Hippo's Crossing even if it was so hot. That time of the year, before the rains, was an ideal time if people wanted to go game viewing. They could still see the animals at the watering holes where as later there would be a lot of ground water and the animals would disperse.
He waited for the Christmas season to finish before he was going to do anything. Firstly because it became very wet and this was the quiet time for the lodge. Three months had passed since he had seen Robbie Bruce and he still hadn’t seen money deposited in Kim’s account. It was more than he could take. Robbie was now making a fool of him and that was not on. Dave thought it was time to put phase two into operation.
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