DAWSON COULD NOT GET through to Chikata’s mobile that afternoon, so he went looking for him. He tried the police station first and almost collided with Inspector Fiti as he walked in.
“Didn’t Chief Superintendent Lartey tell you to go home?” Fiti said coldly.
“No, he told me I was on suspension without pay,” Dawson replied, “so I decided to take a three-week vacation in your beautiful town and spend time with my aunt and uncle.”
Fiti grunted and narrowed his eyes with suspicion. “And so what do you want here?”
“I’m looking for D.S. Chikata.”
“He went to the guesthouse. Do you need something?” He was still suspicious.
“No, thank you.” Dawson turned to leave.
“And by the way,” Fiti said, “Chikata agrees with me that Samuel killed Gladys Mensah, so the case is closed and everything is settled.”
“I see,” Dawson said. “Congratulations.”
He left Fiti and his smugness and walked to the guesthouse. The sky was setting up dark clouds near the horizon. It would probably rain by nightfall.
He knocked on the guesthouse door.
“Who is it?” Chikata’s voice.
“Dawson.”
He heard another voice, this time a woman’s, then a lot of shuffling, and Dawson knew exactly what to expect. Chikata came to the door shirtless and let out a young woman with huge breasts and a dress so tight she could hardly breathe. She slipped past Dawson and quickly left.
“Hard at work, I see,” he said drily to Chikata.
“I was lonesome,” Chikata said feebly.
Dawson waved that aside. “I want to talk to you about the case.”
He came in and took a seat. Chikata threw on a shirt and sat down on the bed.
“I hear you’re going along with Inspector Fiti that Samuel killed Gladys,” Dawson said.
“You have to admit the case against the boy is-or was-strong,” Chikata replied. “He and Gladys went into the forest together and he was the last person seen with her.”
“So Auntie Osewa’s version of the story goes,” Dawson said, “but two farmers who work at the edge of the forest told me that after his argument with Isaac, Samuel came back to their farm to work and never left their presence before dark. So how could he have waylaid Gladys on her way back to Ketanu?”
“Then what about your aunt’s claim? You’re saying she’s lying?”
“Painful as it is to say, yes. I think she may be trying to protect Isaac Kutu.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Because she’s been having an affair with him-possibly for years and years.”
“Are you serious?” Chikata asked, eyebrows up in surprise. “How do you know that? I’m sure she didn’t volunteer the information.”
“No, she didn’t. I found out through another channel.”
“Which I can see you’re not about to tell me.”
“Not right now.”
“Then my next question is, Why would Kutu have wanted to kill Gladys?”
“Rejection. Kutu is the kind of man who gets any woman he wants-a bit like you-but Gladys was the exception. Her only concern was how she could work with him on his herbal medicines, but he wanted much more than that from her.”
“And for that reason he killed her?”
“Crazed lust, jealousy? You act as though those aren’t strong motives.”
“They are-I know they are,” Chikata said with some exasperation. “Okay. So now what?”
“I want you to take Kutu in for questioning-not here in Ketanu, but at Ho Central. I’ll tell you exactly what to ask him when you interrogate him. I suspect he went to the scene of the crime just before Efia arrived that morning. I think he can be bluffed into confessing.”
Chikata looked unhappy. “Ah, Dawson, I’m not at all convinced. It doesn’t sound right.”
“Your D.I. is telling you what to do,” Dawson said evenly. “He’s not asking you.”
“Yes, sir, D.I. Dawson, sir-but Chief Superintendent has pulled you off the case and put me in charge. He outranks you.”
“Come on, Chikata. Stop this nonsense. Work with me. What have you got to lose? You’re not going to get in trouble over this. Lartey loves you. You’re family.”
“All right, but if you can’t get anything out of Isaac Kutu, are you going to go back home and leave these Ketanu people alone?”
“I didn’t say that. Now, get going.”