Prologue
Death of a Bentley bagman
On the day of the murder, Tshepo Thabane* had been at his usual spot
on the corner of South Road and Bowling Avenue since dawn.
Like the other regular beggars and casual labourers who had made
this intersection their base, the young man from the nearby Alexandra
township usually arrived in time for the great procession of luxury
sedans and SUVs that trickled past towards Sandton’s business district
each weekday. His earnings from that morning’s peak-hour traffic had
been pretty good. With noon fast approaching, Tshepo’s mind started
to drift towards thoughts of food. As he counted the coins in one of his
trouser pockets, he could almost hear his stomach berating him for
having skipped breakfast.
Tshepo was just about to leave his spot to go and buy lunch
somewhere nearby when his eye caught the grey Bentley Continental
GT driving in a southerly direction on Bowling Avenue, towards the
intersection. The car glided into the turn-off lane that feeds into South
Road. The impressive machine stood out even among the other
expensive cars Tshepo had become accustomed to seeing at this
crossing. The robot was red, and there was just one car in front of the
Bentley. At the next flash of the traffic light’s green arrow, it was
destined to turn right into South Road and cruise towards the CBD.
Meanwhile, Tshepo noticed that a silver Audi A 4 had snuck into the
slipway that carries Bowling Avenue’s traffic into South Road going in
the opposite direction, away from the CBD and towards Alexandra. It
had come to a halt on the side of the slipway, less than fifteen metres