The Tailor of the Waterfront – Part 1: The Measurements

A suit tells you everything about the man who wears it. That is what Sipho Ndlovu always said. So when the city's richest young billionaire ordered three identical suits in three different sizes, Sipho knew something was very wrong.

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Cape Town sits between the mountain and the sea. Table Mountain rises flat and grey above the city, often wrapped in a cloth of cloud. Below it, the harbour sparkles, the gulls cry, and the wind comes in from the ocean strong enough to lift your hat.

Sipho's atelier was on the Waterfront, in an old warehouse with tall windows looking out at the boats. He made suits for weddings, ministers and film premieres. He dressed in flowing silk shirts and wore gold rings that he took off, one by one, before every fitting. His aunt, Mama Thandi, had taught him to sew when he was six, at her kitchen table in Langa.

"Fabric doesn't lie," she always told him. "People do. Fabric just shows you."

Daniel Fourie was the city's most famous businessman. At forty, he ran a technology company that everyone said would change Africa. He walked into the atelier on a Tuesday, all charm and expensive watch, and ordered three suits.

Same fabric. Same cut. Same colour.

"Different sizes," he said, handing Sipho a folded paper. "For my brothers."

Sipho opened the paper. Three sets of measurements. One fitted Daniel exactly. The other two were for men of very different heights and builds.

"Your brothers must be very different men," Sipho said pleasantly.

"We're very close," said Daniel. He paused. "They need to be ready by Friday. For the investor gala."

When he had gone, Sipho stood at the window for a long time, his tape measure around his neck.

That evening, a woman in sneakers walked into the atelier just as he was closing.

"Claire Jacobs," she said, holding out a press card. "I'm writing about Daniel Fourie." She paused. "I'm told he was here today."

"I don't discuss my clients."

"I'm not asking you to," she said. "I'm asking whether you know he doesn't have any brothers."

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Next: Part 2, The Fittings. Two nervous "brothers", a passport edge in a jacket pocket and a yacht waiting at the quay.