Facets of Death

by Michael Stanley

  “Did they know what to expect?” Mabaku took a sip of coffee.

  Tau shook his head. “No, they were surprised. But they don’t ask questions. They follow instructions.”

  “Did any of the people you talked to give an indication that they were expecting your call or weren’t surprised?”

  Tau took a few moments before he responded. “I don’t think so. I would have picked up anything out of the ordinary, I’m sure.”

  “Where were the dummy boxes at this point? Did you prepare them on the spot?”

  “No. We have them ready, stored in an annex off the cleaning plant. But once I knew how big the shipment was, I had to get some more gravel to fill them up. We wanted the weight of the dummy boxes to be as close as possible to that of the box with the diamonds.”

  “And what actually goes on in this cleaning plant?”

  “Let me give you some background. The plant is where the diamonds are cleaned up, washed, dried. Small chips are set aside and dealt with separately. Jwaneng is a very rich mine. More than two-thirds of our diamonds are gem quality, and the rest are good for industrial use. The final sorting and cleaning happens in Gaborone. Here the diamonds are cleaned of the host rock, called kimberlite, and packed for transport.

  “The plant is where we have the greatest risk of loss. So, anything that goes in or out of the plant is searched and x-rayed. People go through scanners both ways and change into work overalls when they go in and back into their own clothes only when they leave. In addition, they can be and often are body searched. You wouldn’t believe where people hide stones on their bodies. It’s my biggest headache. We’re actually planning to have a completely automated plant in the future, but that’s still a way off.”

  “So, what exactly happened at two p.m.?”

  “I went over to the cleaning plant and supervised the transfer of the diamonds. I took Peter Tshane with me. He’s one of the guards. No one is ever alone with diamonds. No one. Always in pairs. Two of the men from the plant brought the box to us. We took it through to an annex off the main plant, where I weighed it and gave it a final check before locking it with two heavy-duty padlocks. After that, we got out the two dummy boxes and topped them up with granite chips until their weights were within a few grams of the diamond box.”

  “Do the boxes look identical?”

  Tau nodded. “They look exactly the same and weigh the same. No one can tell them apart.”

  “So only you and the guard knew which box was which.”

  “We knew at that point. But after that, I asked Tshane to arrange the boxes any way he liked. Then I locked up, and we went and had a coffee together. At two forty-five, three different guards—I don’t even know who they were—collected the three boxes and took them out through the plant security gates to the collection point. They set them out next to each other, again in no particular order, and went back to their other duties as soon as they saw Tshane and me approaching.”

  Kubu caught on at once and blurted out, “So no one knew which box was which at that point?”

  Tau smiled. “That was exactly the plan. No one knew. None of us. And not the security guards from Gaborone Cash in Transit or the people at Debswana in Gabs. There was no way anyone could tip off an attacker. The major dreamt it up, and everyone went along with it. He was very proud of it.”

  “Pity it didn’t work though, isn’t it?” Mabaku commented dryly.

  Tau’s face fell. “No. There was always the chance they would hit the right vehicle. It was unlucky.”

  “Especially for the people who are now dead.”

  “Yes.”

  “Who else had keys to the annex room?”

  “There are only two. I had one when I went in with Tshane. Three guards went to my office, and my secretary gave them the other. I collected that one from them afterwards.”

  “We’ll need to talk to those guards.”

  “No problem. I’ll find out who they were and let you have their names.”

  “And what about the keys to the padlocks? Who had them?”

  “Again, there are only two for each lock—a total of twelve keys in all. I have six here, one for each lock, and the other six are at Debswana in Gabs.”

  “So the keys weren’t with the boxes.”

  “That’s right.”

  Mabaku considered that for a moment, then stood up. “I need to check in with Director Gobey. Is there a phone I can use?”

  “You can use the one in my secretary’s office. Just dial nine to get an outside line.”

  Mabaku thanked him, and Samkoa and Kubu remained in the office while Mabaku made his call in private.

  He returned after about five minutes. “Thank you for your time and the sandwiches, Rra Tau. We’ll need a set of your fingerprints for elimination purposes.” He paused, and Tau nodded.

  “We’ve still got a lot to do, so I told the director we’ll stay over. I’d like to look around and interview this Peter Tshane and the other guards. Can you arrange that for tomorrow morning?”

  “Of course. And I can organise accommodation for you. We have a guesthouse for visitors.”

  “Thank you. We’ll see Rra Goodman now. He’s had a long wait.”

  Chapter 25

  Almost from the word go, Inspector Dow had difficulty with Inspector Pono, his counterpart from the Sejelo CID. It wasn’t that the man was particularly unhelpful, or that he wasn’t competent. The problem was that he was dour to the point of pessimism, while Dow’s nature was completely the opposite.

  When Dow arrived in Sejelo from Gaborone, Pono shook his hand and then said, “Waste of time you coming out here, you know. Everything’s going to Gabs anyway. They’ll take the bodies to the mortuary there, and you can read the forensics report there as well as you can here.”

  “I’m just here as liaison for Director Gobey,” Dow soothed, “but of course I’ll help any way I can.”

  “Well, I’ll take you out to the crime scene in the morning. I’ve just come back from there. We’re not going to find out anything new until forensics and the pathologist provide their results.”

  Dow wanted to go right away to see the damaged vehicle and the bodies of the two guards for himself. Also, he wanted to take pictures so he would have his own record of the scene. He sighed. He badly wanted to catch the men who’d done this, but he wondered if they would if there was little sense of urgency.

  Pono seemed to read his thoughts. “We won’t catch them, you know. They’ll be safely across the border into South Africa by now, and the police there have plenty of their own issues. But you can go out to the scene with the forensics people when they get here if you really want to.”

  Dow nodded. That would have to do.

  At that moment, a constable hurried over and told Pono he was wanted urgently on the phone. The inspector returned after about five minutes looking sombre. He carried a curled-up sheet of fax paper. “Someone’s found a body out on the Ranaka road. It’s about ten kilometres out of town. The man who found it thinks the person was shot.”

  “That a picture of the missing guard?”

  Pono nodded and smoothed the fax so that Dow could see the grainy, monochrome image. “There’s a patrol vehicle on the way there already, and I’m going out there now. You want to come?”

  Dow did. He grabbed his notebook and camera. Neither man had much doubt that it was the body of the missing guard.

  As they walked quickly to Pono’s vehicle, the inspector pointed at the camera. “Forensics does all that, you know.”

  “I find taking pictures myself helps me later with the case. And it’s digital, so I get the pictures immediately.” Dow was rather proud of the camera that he’d bought with his own money. He believed that technology was the future of detection. Having pictures instantly with no delay or cost was a step on that road, but he doubted Pono would sha
re that view, so he said nothing more.

  “Suit yourself. Here’s the car.”

  Chapter 26

  Elijah Goodman was sitting at his desk when the detectives walked in.

  He didn’t get up but waved the detectives to seats opposite him.

  “I feel really bad about those guards,” he said. “We didn’t think it through well enough.”

  “Why do you say that, Rra Goodman?” Mabaku asked. “The plan was set up a long time ago and approved by senior people.”

  Goodman shook his head. “We should have worried more about the plane. Why did it suddenly catch fire? We’ve never had an accident with the planes before, and Debswana is mad on safety. It was quite a coincidence that it happened on the day we had a double shipment.”

  Mabaku leant forward, and Kubu could see that he was suddenly more interested in the interview.

  “You realise you’re saying that information was leaked from here, both about the backup plan and about the large order.”

  Goodman nodded. “What else could have happened?”

  “Couldn’t it just have been a lucky hit for the robbers?”

  “I don’t believe that. Do you?”

  Mabaku didn’t answer that. Instead he asked, “I’ve been told you have charge of the documents. Apart from yourself, Rra Tau, and Rra Chamberlain, who else would have had access to the plan?”

  Goodman thought for a moment. “No one here. They are marked as strictly confidential, and the secretaries don’t have access to those. But the security company? Debswana management? Even the police? I can’t say how careful or circumspect they are.”

  “And who might know about the larger than usual consignment?”

  Goodman shrugged. “Not the actual amount, but it was common knowledge that we were behind with deliveries and trying to catch up.”

  “What was your involvement with this afternoon’s activities?”

  “Not much. I set up the arrangements with Gaborone Cash in Transit with Eddie and then did other work.” He hesitated. “I did ask both Eddie and the major to consider delaying for a day or so. They didn’t want to.”

  Mabaku thought about that for a few seconds but didn’t pursue it.

  “When did you hear about the fire on the runway at the airport?”

  “It was about ten this morning. I was alerted by the airport manager, a Phineas Nari. He insisted on speaking to me, and I’m glad he did. As one of our Cessnas was taxiing for takeoff for Orapa, the right engine caught fire, and then there was an explosion. He saw it happen and took the pilot to the hospital. I was really worried and called the hospital. I was relieved when they said that he’d be okay, even though he had some bad burns.

  “That’s when I started to worry about the shipment. I contacted the civil aviation authorities, and they said the plane couldn’t be moved until a full investigation had been done. That it could be several days. When I heard that, I took the news to Eddie and the major.”

  Mabaku decided he was too tired to explore this any further. “Thank you, Rra Goodman. We’ll pick up on a number of points tomorrow. And we’ll need a set of your fingerprints also.”

  Goodman looked alarmed. “Am I a suspect, then?”

  “It’s just for elimination purposes.”

  “But I didn’t touch anything, I—”

  “Nothing to worry about,” Mabaku interrupted. “Rra Tau said he’d organise accommodation for us.”

  “Yes, of course. I’ll show you the way. It’s in the town.”

  Mabaku thanked him, and they headed out. But at the door, Goodman paused.

  “Assistant Superintendent, those guards who were killed. Did they have families?”

  Mabaku didn’t know the answer to that.

  Chapter 27

  The sun was setting behind them as Inspectors Dow and Pono drove, and the fiery light drenched the plateau overlooking the Ranaka valley, turning everything orange.

  The uniformed officers had already secured the scene by the time they arrived. The body was lying under a large knobthorn tree, whose upper canopy was covered by a sprawling sociable-weaver nest.

  Dow used his camera to take close-ups of the dead man’s face, as well as of the body and surroundings from different angles. It looked as though the man had been shot three times in the chest and then was left where he fell.

  Pono compared the man’s face to the faxed image from the security company. The image was blurred, but it appeared to be a match. More convincing still, the man’s shirt had the Gaborone Cash in Transit logo on the pocket. He nodded. “I’m pretty sure it’s him.”

  Dow went on taking pictures.

  Pono slipped his hand into the dead man’s shirt pocket and pulled out an ID. He glanced at it. “It’s Kenosi, all right.”

  He went back to the road. “Looks like they pulled off here. Probably threw him out of the car and shot him.”

  “Why in the chest? You’d think he’d make a run for it.”

  “Maybe they said they were just dumping him.”

  Dow grunted, unconvinced. “Who found the body?”

  “Chap heading home to Kanye. He reported it in town. He spotted the body as he was driving past, went to investigate, then drove like crazy to the police station when he realised what he’d found.”

  “Where does this road go?” Dow asked.

  “In about fifty kilometres it joins up with the A1, which runs…”

  “Along the border with South Africa,” Dow finished for him.

  Pono nodded. “They’ll be comfortably settled in some kraal on the other side by now. Probably having a few beers.”

  Dow frowned. Unfortunately, even four years after the democratic elections there, the South African police were in transition, and it wasn’t easy to get their attention. “We need to report back to CID headquarters,” he said.

  “Okay, we can radio in from the vehicle. It’s getting too dark to see much now anyway. We’ll need some lights, and we want forensics out here as soon as possible. And it’s going to be a busy evening for your pathologist too.”

  Dow nodded. It was going to be a busy evening for everyone.

  * * *

  When they returned to the Sejelo police station, Pono said he needed to report to the station commander. Dow asked him if there was somewhere he could get something to eat because he’d left Gaborone without supper. Pono directed him to the canteen. “You may find a stale sandwich or something if you’re lucky.”

  In fact, there was some pap and sausage left over from lunch, which they heated in the microwave. He took it to one of the tables and settled himself to eat. The warm food cheered him, and an instant coffee woke him up.

  Four uniformed men came in, a sergeant and three constables. They also took coffee and then, rather to Dow’s surprise, came over and asked his permission to join him. He nodded, swallowed the mouthful he was chewing, and introduced himself. It turned out the men had been manning the roadblock all afternoon and were hoping he’d tell them what was going on.

  Recalling Gobey’s warning to keep the actual case secret, he was careful what he shared. “We’re after some fugitives from the Jwaneng area.”

  “The diamond heist robbers?” one of the men asked.

  Dow nodded. Obviously, they knew the basic story already, so he told them about the body that had been found on the road to Ramaka.

  After a while, the sergeant spotted his camera and made appreciative noises. Dow was happy to show it to him, describing its features and flicking through the pictures.

  The sergeant suddenly pointed at the camera. “Hey, please go back to that close-up, sir.”

  Dow scrolled back to the picture of the dead guard’s face.

  “That man was in an SUV we stopped. He was sitting in the back in the middle. I remember he had a logo of some sort on his shirt. And looked
worried. But the driver’s licence was in order, so I let them go. That was before we heard about the attack on the security company’s vehicle.”

  Dow put down his fork, the food forgotten.

  “Do you remember anything about the driver? Or the vehicle?”

  The sergeant nodded. “I’ve got a good memory for detail. Let me think a minute.” He paused. “It was a Toyota Land Cruiser. The J80 series. White. It had a Botswana B number plate, and the first two numbers were double eight. I remember thinking that it looked like 888. I’m not sure about the rest. The man who was driving had a Botswanan driver’s licence. I think his second name was Poloko or Poloka. I don’t remember his first name.”

  “How many people were in the car?”

  “Five. Two up front and three in the back.”

  “Come on,” Dow said, jumping to his feet. “We need to tell Inspector Pono about this. And your station commander. And the director of the CID. And we need to get out an APB on that SUV right away! This may be our first break in the case!”

  Chapter 28

  The guesthouse had three bedrooms, and Kubu was grateful to have a room to himself. He sometimes snored, and he was worried about disturbing the others. There was also a bathroom, a lounge with a TV, and a small kitchenette. Samkoa excused himself at once and headed to his room, but Mabaku collapsed onto the sofa. “I think I’ll have a coffee and collect my thoughts,” he said to Kubu. “Do you want to join me?”

  It seemed more of an instruction than an invitation, but Kubu was happy to oblige. He wanted to know what Mabaku had deduced from the evening’s interviews. He switched on the kettle, spooned instant coffee into two mugs, found milk in the fridge, and searched the cupboard for sugar. To his delight, he also found other provisions, including a packet of his favourite Romany Cream biscuits. When the coffee was ready, he put several on a plate and offered them to Mabaku. His boss took one, and so did Kubu.