Kwei Quartey - Murder at Cape Three Points

“On your way, Inspector Dawson?”

“Yes, Doc.”

“I wanted to thank you,” she said sincerely. “With all my heart.”

He nodded. “I hope you’ll find at least a little bit of peace now.”

“I think I will.”

“I learned something from the experience,” Dawson said.

She inclined her head with curiosity. “Really? What?”

“It’s all about family,” he said, nodding with certainty. “In the end, that’s all that matters.”

“It is, isn’t it?” she said. “Speaking of which, we’re having a family reunion of sorts next weekend. My father; my brother, Trevor; and Auntie Eileen will be there, and the twins will join us from the States. You’re officially invited.”

“Thank you, Doc. I appreciate your kind invitation.”

“Not at all,” she said, shaking her head. “Listen, if there’s anything you ever need assistance with-a medical consultation for your family members, anything at all, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.”

“Thank you for the offer,” he said. “Please, Doc, actually there is something you might be able to help with, even though it doesn’t concern a family member.”

“Oh, yes-of course,” she said attentively.

“Marvelous, the daughter of the man who saved my life, is suffering from kidney failure and she needs dialysis, which Forjoe cannot possibly afford. Can you see to it that Marvelous gets the right care?”

“Absolutely,” Dr. Smith-Aidoo said enthusiastically. “Have him call me today, and I’ll get things moving for him and Marvelous.” She put out her hand, and he shook it.

“Well, I suppose it’s goodbye then. If you’ll allow me a hug? A safe one, this time?”

He laughed, hugged her, and returned to the rear passenger seat of the BMW.

As they drove out after the Jaguar, Chikata lowered his voice and said, “By the way, that night I saw her coming out of the house crying…”

“That topic is off limits,” Dawson said firmly.

“Yes, massa,” Chikata said humbly, but he stole an impish glance sideways at Dawson.

The driver moved them through the heart of the city that Dawson had become quite fond of and to the outskirts sprawling with exuberant housing construction.

“Massa,” Chikata said, shifting sideways so that he could face Dawson directly, “there’s something I don’t understand. How did you know it was Richard Sarbah, and how did you know to look for a photograph revealing the pocket watch?”

“Richard told me that on Monday, the seventh of July, he and Forjoe went to Tarkwa together, and Forjoe confirmed that,” Dawson said, adjusting his position as well, “but last night, as I was thinking about the case, I remembered that Forjoe had told me that Monday is one of the busiest days of the fishing week and no fisherman misses it. That sparked my suspicion and when I recalled that Forjoe had used the same wording as Richard regarding the trip to Tarkwa, I considered that Richard might have coached Forjoe and that it was possible they were in cahoots. It fit perfectly, because Forjoe was that fisherman we were seeking who knew how to navigate the sea.”

Chikata was nodding, and then he laughed happily and exchanged a handshake with Dawson. “You have done well.”

“Thank you,” he said, smiling. “And as for the pocket watch-well, it was the one clue we didn’t pay much attention to, even though its inscription ‘blood runs deep’ was pointing the way to family ties. I thought that if Richard was the murderer, then the watch must have been handed down to him, most likely by his father. At first I was only looking for a chain on Tiberius’s vest that would indicate he used a pocket watch, but there it was clearly exposed-the entire watch, identical to the one found on autopsy.”

Chikata digested that soberly for a while. “Why did Richard do it?”

“Revenge,” Dawson replied firmly. “But it was revenge on the part of the Sarbah family rather than for himself alone. The Smith-Aidoos have over the generations been like a curse to the Sarbah family. Richard was taken away from Tiberius as a result of Bessie’s marriage to R.E. Aidoo; Richard’s half siblings, Simon and Cecil, despised him.”

“And then there was the accusation by Simon that Tiberius had murdered Bessie and R.E.,” Chikata chimed in. “That really ruined his father’s reputation, which drove him to alcoholism and suicide.”

“Correct,” Dawson said, nodding approvingly at his sergeant’s valid point. “But the very last, painful straw for Richard to watch his beloved granddaughter, Angela, die. And why did she die in his opinion? Because Charles refused Richard’s request for financial aid, and Sapphire turned Jason and his wife away from the private clinic. And as if that tragic death was not anguish enough, according to Richard, Jason came perilously close to the same fate as his grandfather’s: suicide.”

“He must have been full of anger and pain,” Chikata said thoughtfully.

“Yes,” Dawson agreed. “He told me he would do anything for his boy Jason, and that’s exactly what he did. He took revenge on the Smith-Aidoos on Jason’s behalf and that of an entire generation of Sarbahs.”

Chikata looked pensively out of the window at the view of the lush forest they were passing. “There is one thing Richard was right about,” he said. “Blood really does run deep.”

THE CHRONICLE HAD THE headline:

PROBE LAUNCHED INTO PETROLEUM

INDUSTRY CORRUPTION

Minister of Energy Accused

The full text of Lawrence Tetteh’s letter was in all the papers and their corresponding websites. The Daily Graphic had the sub-headline, BNI Director Arrested. In the UK, the dailies had concentrated more on Malgam Oil and Roger Calmy-Rey, whose picture was plastered everywhere as the Malgam stock price plummeted.

Lartey had received a commendation from the Inspector General of Police and was to be awarded some kind of plaque for upholding the values of “service with integrity.” He was now almost certain to move up to Assistant Commissioner of Police very soon. How did he do it ? Dawson wondered. Lartey had turned something that had at first looked like a potential disaster into a bonanza for himself.

Hammond too, was being recognized for heroism in saving another officer’s life. Of course, it didn’t really happen that way, but it kept away questions about Forjoe and how he came to be in possession of an illegal firearm.

Dawson shrugged. Hammond and Lartey could have their accolades. He didn’t care. For him, all that was important was that he, Christine, Sly, and Hosiah were safe, and no one would be threatening their lives. What was more, the prospects for his promotion to chief inspector were now very good.

HE PULLED UP to the front of his father’s house on his new motorbike, parked, and went into the yard. A house girl he didn’t know was sweeping the front porch.

“Good morning,” Dawson said in Ga. “Is my father in?”

“Yes, please. He’s sleeping.”

Dawson went through the tiny, unkempt sitting room, thinking it needed some fresh air. He knocked softly on the bedroom door and slowly pushed it open.

Jacob was in bed, and the room was dark.

“Papa.”

Jacob propped up on one elbow, and with some difficulty sat up and squinted through the dimness. “Who is that?”

“Darko.”

“Has something happened? Is it Cairo?”

“No, everything is fine. I came to see you.”

“Oh,” he said brightly. “You are welcome. Sit down. How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Dawson replied, studying his father with curiosity. “Are you sick?”

“No, I was just resting.”