Chapter 34

Craig must have processed close to a hundred e-mails. At least, that's what it felt like even though he was out of the office for most of the day. He had hoped for more responses from the intended recipients. The requested information was vital to the health of the Ore refineries Inc. maintenance plan, but he knew times have changed, and people no longer had pride in their work. Craig was surprised at how much he had learned about the plant in the past month. A month felt more like a week. There were loads of things he still did not know about the plant but gained enough knowledge to make important decisions already. That alone, was a major achievement in his opinion.

Craig felt the impact of the day, weighing down on his body and mind. He rubbed his eyes and gathered his mental strength. He had one more e-mail to send before going home. He knew it was quite late already, but the e-mail was too important to wait.

Craig was halfway through a lengthy e-mail, containing lots of technicalities when his cell phone rang. He looked at his phone and noticed an unknown number flashing on the screen.

'Craig,' he answered.

'Craig, it's Francois from the police department, Saldanha. We spoke last - '

'Hi Francois, yes, I was expecting your call,' Craig interrupted. 'How are you doing?'

'I'm fine thank you. I'm afraid I have some bad news though. I checked the case number you give us last week, but I could not find anything.'

'What do you mean you could not find anything? That case number was given to me by the police,' Craig said, agitated.

'I know. I checked all the files and dockets, but could not find this number amongst any of those,' Francois said.

'That is impossible. Have you asked your colleagues as well? Surely someone must know something.'

'I did. Nobody knows about this case. You mentioned that the person in question was found on the R27 right?'

'Yes. He was in a pretty bad state too. Couldn't tell me his name.' Craig buried his forehead in the palm of his hand. He felt the last bit of energy fleeting his mind with the abandoning hope of finding the truth after all.

'I'm sorry Craig, there's nothing more I can do for you. Maybe the inspector who handled the case has not done his work properly. You can't remember his name?'

'No,' Craig sighed.

'Then I'm afraid I can't help you, sorry,' Francois said.

'It's fine, thank you for the call. I really appreciate -' Craig said before the call got disconnected.

He leaned back in his office chair staring at the ceiling. Something was not right with all of this. The only logical explanation he could think of was that the police inspector did not do his job properly that day, just like Francois had said. How could someone not do a proper job, especially when a case was that serious? The person they found was on the brink of death. Surely someone would know something. Craig could vaguely remember the inspector's face, but he knew he would be able to recognise him once he saw him again. He thought of going to the police department in person. Hopefully, that particular inspector would be in the office. That way, he could ask him directly what happened to the case. Craig felt frustration and anger developing inside. He could not handle incompetent people. Maybe he could find something out from the hospital. There was an ambulance that day. Surely the poor fellow was taken to a hospital. Craig knew the closest hospital was in Vredenburg. He will give them a call–

Craig's thoughts were interrupted by a faint knock on the door. He dropped his stare from the ceiling and noticed Ferris standing at the door, holding some documents in his hand.

'Hi, Ferris. Come in man. Please sit down,' Craig said, pointing towards the chair in front of his desk. He sat up straight in his chair and moved closer to the desk.

Ferris entered Craig's office and sat down. He placed the papers on the desk and said, 'I've inspected the conveyor belt structure. There are a few things I wanted to bring to your attention.'

'Sure, that was quick, have you done the entire ship route conveyor?' Craig asked, looking at the documents on the table.

'Yes, we only focused on that. We thought it would be the most critical place to start,' Ferris said, paging through the documents.

'Great,' Craig said. 'Did you find any damages?' He noticed Ferris scratching his left hand as he paged through the documents. His left hand seemed brown and boney in comparison to his right hand. It must have been a terrible rash because his skin was leathery. Craig noticed several odd-looking bumps on the top of Ferris's hand. Allergy maybe he wondered. Craig wanted to know what it was but did not want to ask Ferris outright.

'Yes, we did. We found cracks in some of the concrete beams. We also noticed that many of the idlers are ceased due to a lack of maintenance,' Ferris said.

Craig noticed Ferris scratching again. It seemed like the rash was getting worse. Craig noticed how Ferris's nails were brown and different. They also needed proper trimming.

Craig shook his head, 'lack of maintenance you say?'

'Yes, if we don't replace them, we might be sitting with bigger problems,' Ferris said. He scratched his hand again. His whole arm seemed to itch. The Rash must be spreading.

'Ferris, you all right?' Craig asked. He pointed to Ferris's hand. 'I noticed you scratching.'

'I'm fine, just a rash I think,' Ferris waved it off.

'Okay, so do we have idlers in stock?' Craig asked.

'We do, but we might not have enough to replace all the faulty ones,' he scratched again.

'Ferris, are you sure you're all right man? That seems like a major rash you have there.'

'It's fine, really.'

'Did you work with anything you might be allergic to? Maybe even toxic?'

Ferris looked at his hand. He knew it was getting worse, 'not that I'm aware of, no.'

'Fuck man that doesn't look good. Maybe you should see a doctor.'

'You're right. I think it's a bit late now, but if it's not gone by tomorrow, I'll make an appointment,' Ferris said, regarding his hand. He had a disgusted expression on his face.

'Shit yeah. I think we can cover this report another day, but for now, I think, go home and try to soak that hand in a warm bath.' Craig frowned as he regarded Ferris's hand.

'Good idea, I'm tired anyway,' Ferris said, getting up from the chair. 'I'll leave the report with you.'

'Thank you, Ferris. Take care of yourself, man,' Craig said. 'Give me a call when you need help with anything, okay?' He stared into Ferris's eyes. He knew Ferris was not telling him everything.

'Will do. See you tomorrow,' Ferris said. He sensed the concern on Craig's face. 'Cheers Craig.'

'See you, Ferris.' Craig watched as Ferris disappeared out the door. He could not help to think that maybe Ferris was deliberately hiding the truth for some reason. There was nothing normal about his hand. His skin was almost reptile-like. Craig wondered if Ferris maybe suffered from a medical condition. Maybe he had a blood flow problem, but then again, there was the rash Craig had never seen before. It was rough and raw. Why would Ferris only trim the nails of his right hand? The nails on his left hand were animal-like. They were brownish and thick. Disgustingly thick.

Craig knew it was too early for his work colleagues to open up to him, but he needed to gain their trust. He also knew trust did not happen overnight. He thought about Clint, who also reported to him. Clint and Ferris worked together for many years. Clint should know Ferris pretty well. If Ferris's hand did not improve by the morning, it might be a good idea to ask Clint about Ferris's health. Craig shuddered for a moment when he remembered the state of Ferris's hand. He realised he was subconsciously scratching his own hand. He knew if his hand looked like that, he probably would have asked the doctors to amputate the thing.