Chapter 39

Craig sipped his coffee and cringed. Far too hot. He placed the cup aside and unfolded the newspaper he had bought from Seven-Eleven on his way to work. He read through the report about the man who had been found on the dirt road the week before. The heading read Suicide by .38 calibre. Craig was relieved to find that he remained anonymous throughout the report.

What really caught his attention was another report on a missing child from E.D.S High. There was a photo of the sixteen-year-old girl who was reported missing on Friday afternoon. Apparently, she was on the school bus in the morning, but she never made the ride home from Vredenburg to Saldanha.

Craig sat back in his office chair. He remembered what Brian had said over the weekend about the children on the West Coast, and how he had to watch out for his own kids. He thought about Emily who was the same age as the missing girl in the newspaper. Sweet sixteen. These things only happen in big cities where children are kidnapped and trafficked to foreign countries where they are sold for many sick reasons including prostitution. Only a small percentage of these children had been found in the past where they were mutilated, raped and murdered, maybe even toyed with before they were killed, eventually.

There was a faint knock on the door. Craig looked up from his newspaper and noticed Pamela standing in the doorway. She looked professional as always with her stylish black outfit which suited her perfectly.

'Hi Pam, come in,' Craig said. He folded the newspaper to a manageable size and dropped it on the desk.

'How was your weekend?' Pamela asked as she entered the office. She stood behind the leather seat in front of Craig's desk, holding on to its back.

'It was great thanks, lots of surprises though, but still good.' Craig said. He noticed her extravagance. Those lips. He wondered what those lips were capable of. Gosh, you are one hot woman, Craig though.

'Surprises?' Pamela asked. She cocked her head and smiled.

'Nothing to worry about I hope. We're all new here, so I guess there will be many more surprises,' Craig waved off the subject. He felt silly for bringing up such a ridiculous start to a conversation. What was he thinking? He hardly even knew the woman, and yet he was willing to share with her what he had not even shared with his wife and kids. If he mentioned the conversation, he had with Brian over the weekend, Pamela might think he was a weirdo. He almost let that one slip without thinking. 'Anyway, how was your weekend?'

'Lovely, thank you,' Pamela said, with a hint of mysticism. 'Had loads of fun...and surprises.' She smiled. Craig could not tell whether she was serious or just teasing, mocking, and playing with his head. Either way, he sort of liked it. And it worked.

Craig chuckled, 'It seems we both had a surprisingly good weekend then.'

'Yeah, it sure does,' Pamela laughed. 'Anyway, don't be such a stranger now okay.'

A strand of hair escaped from behind her head and hung over her face. 'We are almost neighbours you know?'

'I know. I guess I was just so busy over the last few weeks, that there was hardly time for anything, let alone to get to know you guys a little better.'

'There's plenty of time for that,' Pamela chuckled. 'Anyway, I have to get started. Hope you have a great day.' Pamela said. She turned around and headed for the door.

'Thanks, Pam, you too,' Craig said. He was surprised by his unexpected visitor. He watched Pamela throwing her slender body from side to side. Craig wondered how old she was and what she was doing in a workplace like this. She could have been a supermodel with that skinny middle and perfect package from head to toe. He could not help to imagine her naked body, or even better, in white underwear...almost see-through, but just enough for the imagination to go crazy. He wondered if she had shaven clean her pussy. Maybe she was the adventurous type who left a small patch or even a landing strip behind. Maybe she had a tattoo with an arrow pointing to her pussy that said Dick goes here.

Craig remembered Ferris and wondered how he was doing. He felt guilty for not giving him a follow-up call over the weekend. He dialled Ferris's mobile number. It kept ringing until it switched over to the voice messaging service. Craig left a message for Ferris to call him back as soon as possible.

Craig read his e-mails but had a nagging feeling that something was not quite right. Ferris was hiding something about his hand. Craig could not help to wonder what Ferris got himself into. There was nothing on site that could have caused such a nasty reaction. If it was an allergic reaction, then the doctors would have said so immediately. Craig remembered his discussion with Brian over the weekend. He could not shake the feeling that Ferris's hand was related to some sort of evil like black magic. Something from the other side.