“It doesn’t exist. There is no such business as Fastest Fixes.” Spha shakes his head.

He and Babalo are sitting in the Wimpy at Riverside Mall. They’ve gone up and down Samora Machel Drive, they’ve asked around, and it’s clear – there is no Fastest Fixes.

“It doesn’t make sense.” Babalo is frowning as she sips her coffee.

“I know, right. Okay, it’s obvious someone at work tipped off whoever set those two thugs on me.” Spha thinks for a moment. “But I thought whoever it was must have some connection with Fastest Fixes. I was so sure Fastest Fixes was ripping off Smooth Move Couriers, doing a crap job of repairing our vans … Now I don’t know what to think.”

“What I’d like to know is who’s getting the money that’s supposedly being paid to Fastest Fixes.”

“That’s what I plan to find out.”

The words are out before he’s thought about them. Then he sees Babalo’s face.

“So you’re not giving up?”

Guilt fills him, but he says, “Please don’t try to talk me out of it, baby.”

She’s silent for several moments, studying his face, maybe seeing how determined he is. Then she sighs.

“No. No, I won’t try, Spha. You are who you are, you wouldn’t be you if you dropped this thing.” There’s a little break in her voice, and she looks away from him. “But just know how many hearts you’ll break if you get yourself injured or killed just because you believe it’s your sacred mission in life to go after the bad guys. Like you’re some movie superhero. My heart, your mother’s, Pumla’s.”

“I’m sorry.”

Spha feels so bad, especially as she’s still looking past him, as if she can’t bear to see him right now.

“The guy you’re standing in for, the accounts guy?” she asks, giving him a quick glance before letting her eyes slide away from him again, so that she’s looking over his shoulder to the people passing by and the shops opposite the Wimpy.

“Felix Ngobe. I’m only sort of standing in,” Spha says. “Just keeping things organised. I’m not allowed to make payments like he does, obviously, so Mr Sibuyi is handling all the bank business for now.”

“So when is this Felix coming back to work?”

“I dunno. Not sure how long he’s supposed to stay in quarantine. Why?” He tries to lighten the atmosphere by joking, “Are you hoping he’ll be back on Monday and I won’t have the chance to do any more digging around?”

“You know, I wouldn’t mind if that was the case.” Babalo is serious. “But no, I was just thinking maybe you should get everything on to a flash drive, because what if he does come back before you’ve finished going through whatever you need to? You won’t be allowed to touch his computer if he’s there, I’m guessing.”

“Good thinking.” Then Spha can’t take it anymore. “Why do you keep looking past me, girl? Like the sight of me suddenly offends you?”

Babalo is shocked. “No! It’s just … There’s this man standing over there who keeps staring at us. An ugly brute of a man, too.”

Spha turns his head sharply, guessing what he’ll see.

He’s right, it’s Kakaramba, hurrying away now that he knows Spha has seen him.

Tell us: What will happen to Spha if Kakaramba and company find out he’s ignoring their warning?