Night of no Mercy (eBook)

An SA Police Series Suspense Story, Book 1

Gerrie Radlof, Pieter Haasbroek (Autoren)

Pieter Haasbroek (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
109 Seiten
Pieter Haasbroek (Verlag)
9780001021570 (ISBN)

Infos

A paradise beach has claimed four lives.

The official cause is drowning, but the truth is a living nightmare.

And the next victim has just arrived.

The Natal Coast. Detective-Sergeant Kobus Roode is on holiday, but he isn't here for the sun. He's hunting for answers in the deadly waters of Driehoeksbaai, convinced the string of 'accidental' drownings is a cover for a far more sinister operation.

His investigation leads him to the stunningly beautiful Marsha Brackley, a woman whose allure hides a terrifying secret and a monstrous enforcer. Kobus soon discovers the true killer is no natural phenomenon, but a living, breathing monster trained to drag its victims to a watery grave. The hunter has become the prey.

Trapped, marked for death, and caught in a web of smugglers and murderers, Kobus must outwit a ruthless mastermind who has turned this tranquil paradise into her personal graveyard. To survive, he'll have to face down a beast that knows no mercy and unravel a conspiracy worth killing for.

This action-packed thriller blends classic pulp adventure with high-stakes mystery. Perfect for fans of Alistair MacLean and Clive Cussler who love a hero that fights back against impossible odds.

Fans of pulp, action, and mystery will love this thrilling first book in the SA Police Series with Night of no Mercy. Start your adventure today!

Textauszug

1. NIGHT OF NO MERCY

Chapter 1

THE EXQUISITE WOMAN

“I must warn you again, Mr Roode,” the guesthouse owner called out after him when Kobus was already halfway down the stairs. “Four people have already drowned in Driehoeksbaai.”

Kobus looked back at the friendly old man with the white goatee who was standing on the large, open veranda of the comfortable guesthouse on the South Coast of Natal. Then his eyes wandered over the empty tables and chairs, so pleasantly scattered in various secluded corners across the large veranda. Very few people came to Driehoeksbaai; indeed, he was the only visitor now, for the newspapers had been full of the four tragedies and people were avoiding this remote beach.

“I know, Mr Louw,” Kobus called back reassuringly to the old man. He knew it well, for it was, in fact, the very reason he had come here. Of this fact, old Mr Louw and his kind wife, Aunty Siena, as Kobus had called her from the very beginning, were of course unaware, for as far as they were concerned, he was just a young man who had sought out a quiet spot to spend his holiday. “I have no intention of swimming there.”

“I had half assumed as much,” answered old Mr Louw. “But after you went into the water right here in front, between the dunes, so early this morning, I thought you were disregarding our warnings from yesterday.”

“I just wanted to feel if the water was very cold,” Kobus retorted with a broad smile. “Goodbye!”

He trotted down the steps, his bare feet sinking into the soft shelly grit in front of the guesthouse. Then he made his way through the fern-covered dunes, with the dark green, swaying banana trees here and there on their crests, toward the sea. He had arrived here the previous afternoon. Even before it grew dark, he had sat for a long time on the front veranda of the guesthouse, carefully surveying the surroundings. The gently flowing river, which empties into the sea just on the northern side about a kilometre from the guesthouse, comes winding through the hills from the interior. Approximately twenty kilometres from its mouth, the main road runs along the south coast, and just where the small gravel path turns off to the guesthouse here, it crosses the river by means of a bridge. North of the bridge, the road takes a wide turn until it comes almost up to the coast further on. But on the seaward side of it, from the bridge, there is a mountain range that runs diagonally towards the sea, and it is precisely because of this that the road has to swing away from the coast, inland. On the seaward side of the mountains, there are inhospitable hills that run down to the beach. On the other side of the river from the guesthouse, there is thus a large triangle enclosed on one side by the river, on another by the mountain, and on the third by the sea. Each side is approximately twenty kilometres long and it is completely uninhabited except for one house about two kilometres from the guesthouse. Where the river flows into the sea, there is a beautiful beach on the northern side which forms a crescent between the primeval forest and the water. On either side of it, the vegetation has penetrated right to the water’s edge. This beautiful beach is called Driehoeksbaai, and it can only be reached by a boat across the river.

And it is there that four people have now already drowned in the past year or so. Two of them, as Kobus had established before he decided to come here, were officers of the law. The explanation in the newspapers was that the sea currents there are rather strong and unpredictable. Early this morning, however, when Kobus had dived into the surf on the narrow, rocky beach just in front of the guesthouse, he had already determined that there was practically no pull whatsoever. This tended to reinforce the vague suspicion of foul play that he had already conceived a few months ago in the records room of his headquarters in Johannesburg. After he had so successfully curbed the gang of gun smugglers in Northern Transvaal, he had returned to Johannesburg where he was transferred to the headquarters of the detective service. There was talk of a promotion, but he had to write a few exams. This did not appeal to Kobus at all. He was still young and already a sergeant in the detective service, and he realised what it would mean for him to receive another increase in status so soon, but he still yearned for the life in the open air as a mounted constable.

One day his new chief, Major Sonnenberg, had found him in the records room where he was busy conducting research. Among other things, the major had asked him what he was looking for, and Kobus had referred to the latest report in the newspaper of a tragedy in Driehoeksbaai. At that moment, Kobus was busy reviewing the file of a young detective who had also drowned at Driehoeksbaai just six months before.

“So you are looking for a connection between the two events?” Major Sonnenberg had asked kindly.

Kobus had smiled.

“It is perhaps far-fetched,” he had answered. “But…”

“Or perhaps you are looking for a reason to get out from between these four walls for a bit, are you not, Kobus?” the major had quickly interrupted him, for he had reviewed this young sergeant’s career and knew a great deal about him. “Why don’t you take a few weeks’ leave, Kobus,” he had suddenly added. “Go and rest for a bit at Driehoeksbaai.”

Kobus had not needed to be asked twice. He got his affairs in order as quickly as possible and set off for Natal. Now he was walking along the rocky beach towards the river mouth. As soon as he reached the soft sandbanks, he looked back at the guesthouse. It stood slightly on a rise. A little way beyond it were a few houses, five in all, of which only a couple were currently occupied. Most of them belonged to wealthy people who had them erected here for holiday seasons.

Kobus had spoken at length with old Mr Louw and his wife the previous evening. They had owned a prosperous business in Pretoria, but the old man’s son had taken it over, and he and his wife had come to retire here at Driehoeksbaai. They had the guesthouse built and for a few years, it was full of visitors. Then came the four tragedies in such quick succession, and Driehoeksbaai became very unpopular.

Kobus reached the wooden jetty that jutted into the river about a hundred paces from the sea. A fair number of boats lay there, but most of them were unusable and full of water. At the end, however, there were three that were still used from time to time. He jumped into one of them and with powerful strokes, he steered the small vessel across the still water to the opposite bank. Here he tied it to the small quay and jumped out.

After the little bit of exercise, he felt almost cheerful, and full of life he jogged through the large yellowwood trees where numerous monkey ropes braided down from the branches. Here and there was a patch of wild guavas and banana trees where the primeval forest was less dense. He had always liked Natal, and it was as if the air he breathed filled him with energy. Suddenly and without warning, the forest ended abruptly, and he stood on the edge of the beautiful stretch of white sand. At the water’s edge, barely twenty paces to his right, the edge of the forest formed a semi-circle, and about half a kilometre further the arc was completed, and the trees once again stood right up to the water’s edge. Here and there were a few large round boulders that offered shelter from the fierce rays of the sun, but otherwise, the beach was flat and deserted.

Kobus walked into the water. It was almost lukewarm, and now, so shortly after midday, there was a fairly strong breeze blowing from the sea, flinging specks of foam from the crests of the waves against him. Indeed, it was extremely pleasant, and Kobus walked in deeper. The seabed sloped away gradually but fairly quickly, and soon he fell forward and glided through the water. Even if there were such treacherous, strong sea currents that had already claimed four victims, the wind should certainly help him back to shore if he got into trouble. According to the newspapers’ explanations, the currents were caused by the river flowing into the sea a short distance to his right. But he did not attach too much value to this either, for he had already seen with what a drowsy pace the fresh water flowed between the trees, over the sandbank at its mouth. And besides, it would be logical that if the river did cause a current, it would first suck anyone who entered the water from the beach here, just as Kobus had now done, towards the mouth of the river and then drag them out to sea. If such a person then cried out loudly, he would certainly be heard from the guesthouse. Admittedly, it would be impossible for someone on the other side of the river to hear any cry from this beach. And yet, all four bodies were indeed found here, close to the beach, between a few of the high boulders. And in none of the four cases was there anyone nearby to see the tragedy unfold!

Kobus had now already swum in about a hundred paces. He turned onto his back and lay still. It was not long before he noticed that he was slowly moving back towards the shore. Without further ado, he turned over again and with even, powerful strokes, he cleaved through the water until he rode out with a wave and landed on the soft sand. He jumped up and ran over the damp sand until he felt the pleasant warmth of the dry ground under his feet. Now that he had come out of the water, the breeze was cold as long as his body was still wet, and he immediately threw himself down and covered his body with warm sand. Thus he lay stretched out on his back and felt the heat flow through him.

He must have dozed off later, for when...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 18.9.2025
• Übersetzer: Pieter Haasbroek, Ai
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror
• ISBN-13: 9780001021570 / 9780001021570