Read Online Daddy Long Legs by Vernon W. Baumann - Free Book Online Page B

jumping out and flashing his police badge at the reckless driver. But he abandoned the thought. It was not in his nature to abuse the privileges of his office.
    Although he had grown up in the massive urban complex of Johannesburg, the non-stop traffic of city life always filled him with a sense of oppressiveness. It was no different in Pretoria. However, at least here in Pretoria the large Jacaranda trees that lined both sides of the street brought a measure of relief. It was November and the distinctive trees had already bloomed into the purple profusion of spring. Detective Human stopped at a red light, enjoying the vista offered by the purple-blossomed trees, a sight as unique to Pretoria as cherry-blossom trees were to New York. The mad honking madness of Schoeman Street soon delivered him from his reverie though. The light had barely turned green and the madmen of Pretoria were telling him, in no uncertain terms, that he was keeping up traffic.
    Doesn’t this ever stop, he wondered to himself as he pulled away and rolled down the busy street. On both sides of him, various government buildings zipped past. The Department of Water and Forestry. The South African Revenue Service. The Department of Education. The offices of the Metropolitan Municipality of Tswane (the name of the large municipality of which Pretoria was a part). The Department of Labour. And the Magistrate’s Office. In a city of civil servants, this was the heart of civil Pretoria. A description that certainly didn’t apply to its drivers, Human thought sardonically.
    Detective Human cut a right and then another, to bring himself into Pretorius Street, one of the capitol’s main arteries. Scanning the street ahead, he pulled into a free parking bay in front of a large nondescript building. The large edifice had every appearance of being a government building yet carried no signage whatever indicating its true purpose. As he often did, he wondered if it was due to security concerns or just plain damn laziness.
    Normally he would park in the basement parking area of the building known as Wachthuis but today he had a busy day ahead of him. As usual, there were not enough hours in the day. He stepped out of the white Corolla, an unmarked police car, and eyed the busy lunchtime traffic with distaste.
    Sighing, Detective Human locked the Corolla and headed for the Wachthuis entrance. Amongst a dozen other police divisions, it was also the headquarters of the national detective services of the South African Police. As usual, the arcade that led to the entrance of the imposing building hosted an incessant flow of people. As he entered the darkened area of the arcade, he caught sight of two burly white men having an animated discussion. Detectives Reyneke and Veldman; both policemen in the same unit as Human. Wayne Human passed them and waved a tentative greeting. Detective Reyneke nodded curtly while Veldman ignored him completely. Human hardly took notice. It was nothing new.
    Instead of waiting for the laborious elevator he decided to take the stairs to the sixth floor, home of the elite detective services. The office was the usual bustle of activity. Dozens of people hurried along its dingy corridors. Phones rang. Doors slammed. People shouted. Chairs scraped across tiled floors. At the end of the hallway, Human saw two detectives escort a suspect to one of the interrogation rooms. A black detective, Busi Jali, stopped Human. He vigorously pumped his hand. ‘Hola, my bru , well done, eksê. ’ He beamed up at the tall detective.
    ‘Aw, come now, Busi,’ Human said, smiling at the black man, ‘it was all of us. Everyone played a part.’
    ‘ Hoa ,’ Jali said feigning shock, ‘you’re so modest. Hey?’ Jali spotted someone in the distance. ‘Hey, Lerato’ he said, waving her over enthusiastically, ‘come and congratulate detective Superman here.’
    The large black admin clerk jogged towards Human. ‘Ooooooh.’ She threw her arms around him.’