It was a long drive from Joburg to Calvinia. On the way they spoke about how they might approach the situation once they found Kevin.

“I think it’s best we bring up the issue straight away,” Tito said.

“No, that might scare him off. We can’t forget for a second – he might be the killer. Let’s just play that we’re on a road trip to Cape Town and wanted to pass through the Karoo when the flowers were out, heard about his guest house and thought we’d stop by,” Boago suggested.

“You’re the cop. I’ll let your expertise guide us,” Tito joked, but agreed.

They drove into Calvinia and the Namaqualand daisies were out in all of their orange splendour. Boago drove up and down the few streets of the town until they located the tiny Calvinia Guest House in a colonial building with a wide veranda and a stained glass door. They opened it and a bell rang, bringing Kevin out from a room behind the reception desk. He looked tired, and older than his twenty seven years, but he smiled when he saw them, recognising them immediately.

“Well! This is certainly a surprise! Tito and Boago … how long has it been?” he said, coming around the counter and shaking their hands.

“A long time,” Boago said. “How is everything?”

“I’m OK … now. I’m sure you heard I had some troubles. But being here in this quiet place is just what I needed.” He smiled, and Boago believed him. “And you guys? What brings you here?”

Tito looked at Boago. “I … we’re on our way to Cape Town, thought we’d take a detour and see your guest house while the flowers were out.”

“It’s gorgeous hey? It’s a funny little place,” Kevin said. “So, do you need some rooms?”

He sorted them out with rooms and they made plans to meet for dinner. Kevin said there was a nice traditional restaurant a little bit out of town that he’d like to take them too, up in the mountains.

“That sounds perfect,” Tito said.

The Hantam Mountains behind Calvinia were further away than they looked. On the way to the restaurant they talked about old times, but avoiding the incident at the lake.

“So, do you ever see any of the other guys?” Kevin asked.

Tito spoke bluntly. “They’re dead.”

“What?” Kevin asked. “Dead? All of them? All of the Seven Strong Men are dead, except us three?”

“You didn’t know?” Boago asked.

“No.”

Boago explained how Vavi, Warnick and Conrad died.

“That’s incredible. How could three young men who were friends die like that?” Kevin asked confused.

Tito scrutinised him. Boago could see he was trying to figure out if Kevin was lying.

“Why have you been hiding out here?” Boago asked.

“Not really hiding out as such. You know I had some issues, with drugs and stuff. My parents took me to UK and put me in a rehab centre. Then I came here. They loaned me money to buy this place. I felt a bit ashamed I think, so I never reached out to anyone. But also …” He looked over at Tito. “God … it was all terrible wasn’t it? I mean with Nash. How did we let all of that happen? I didn’t want to be reminded of all that. The haunting of it was what started me taking the drugs; I wanted to try to forget it all. But I couldn’t. Poor Nash.”

They arrived at the restaurant up on the edge of one of the mountains. The sun was setting and the restaurant had made a deck jutting out over the side of the mountain, behind the main building. The men walked out to watch the last rays of the sun disappear and then went inside for food.

They didn’t talk further about the old days or about the deaths of their friends or the secret they’d kept about Nash. Instead they talked about their current lives.

Kevin had a girlfriend from Calvinia, a teacher at the primary school. They spoke about Tito’s football, and Boago’s son. As the night went on, Boago thought it was very unlikely that Kevin was involved in the deaths of their friends. It was all just a crazy, odd bit of bad luck. Three young men died, that was it, nothing more.

They were having dessert and coffee when Kevin said, “Let me just go and thank the owner. She’s a friend of mine. I think I saw her back behind the restaurant; she has a small house there. I’ll be right back.”

Tito went off to the toilet before their drive back to Calvinia. Boago waited at the table but then got bored, and wandered outside. They were the last customers; the others had eaten and headed off. Boago waited by the car in the parking lot at the front. He’d told the waitress to tell the others where he was. It was gorgeous up there, so quiet. Boago could understand why Kevin found the place healing.

But then Boago thought he heard someone yell.

He hurried around to the back of the restaurant, but could see nothing. Then he heard the noise, it was further, it sounded like it was coming from the deck over the mountain, where they’d watched the sun set. He rushed that way and then he saw them and it all made sense.

Tito had his hands around Kevin’s neck, strangling him, while pushing him backwards over the thin railing, attempting to throw him down the massive drop to the bottom of the mountain.

Tito was huge compared to the slight Kevin, there was no battle. Boago rushed to them and managed to grab Tito’s hands and let Kevin free. Once Boago was there, Tito seemed to collapse. He stopped struggling and accepted his fate.

“Boago, you know how they were to us, you know it! They killed Nash! God, I loved him and they killed him! They killed him and they needed to pay!” Tito shouted, ranting like the wild man it had all forced him to become.

*****

Months later, after Tito was sentenced to life in prison, Boago knew it was time to stop keeping secrets.

It was a warm summer day when he drove out to Nash’s family home. His father had been a cop too, during those very difficult apartheid days, his mother a nurse.

The loss of Nash had hit them hard. Especially never knowing what happened to their son.

Boago walked up the pavement leading to the house and knew that what lay ahead was going to be difficult, but he didn’t want to be the man he used to be anymore. And that included being the man who kept secrets. He wanted to come clean and move on with his life – finally.

***

Tell us what you think: Do you have any compassion for Tito, or is he just a murderer?