Facets of Death

by Michael Stanley

  “That’s a pity. Anything else?”

  “Yes, because Tau was suspicious, he arrived early for a meeting with the witch doctor and saw him arrive in a pickup—a white pickup. He didn’t pay attention to the make, but he wrote down its licence-plate number.” He held up a piece of paper.

  “Did you write it?”

  “No, Tau did. I asked him to.”

  “Please put the paper down on the desk.”

  The major complied.

  “Do you have an envelope?”

  The major pressed a button on his phone and asked his PA to bring one through. While they waited, Mabaku copied the number into his notebook. When the PA put the envelope on the desk, Mabaku used his handkerchief to pick the paper up and put it in the envelope.

  “Need to check for fingerprints. Now you see why it’s useful we have yours. May I use your phone?”

  The major dialled nine for an outside line and handed the handset to Mabaku.

  Mabaku dialled the CID number, and the director’s secretary answered.

  “Miriam, this is Mabaku. I need to speak to the director.”

  Mabaku spent the next few minutes bringing the director up to date and asked him to have someone follow up on the licence-plate number. It was a South African number. Probably stolen anyway, Mabaku thought.

  “Thank you, Director. I’ll phone back in an hour to see if you’ve got any more information.”

  Mabaku handed the phone back to the major.

  “Are you mad? Why didn’t you tell him about the meeting in Joburg?”

  “I will when I’m ready. In the meantime, Mr. Chamberlain, the local police think Tau died between eleven and one last night. Where were you at that time?”

  “Are you insane? Do you think I killed Eddie? He bloody well committed suicide.”

  “Until his death is officially pronounced a suicide, I have to assume it may be a homicide. It’s my job to gather information. Let me ask you again, where were you between eleven and one last night?”

  “I was at home with my wife and daughter. She’s visiting from Johannesburg. We watched a couple of episodes of a BBC series called Morse. And I went to bed about half past eleven.”

  “Thank you. I’ll talk to them later.”

  “Don’t you believe me?”

  “Mr. Chamberlain, I don’t have the luxury of believing anyone. I work in the world of facts that have to be checked and double-checked. Do you own a firearm?”

  “This is preposterous. Of course, I own one. I’ve a British-Army-issued handgun, a Browning nine millimetre.”

  “I’ll need to get it from you.”

  “Never! I’ll never hand it over. I’ll never see it again.”

  “Mr. Chamberlain, you will hand it over, right after we’ve finished here. And you will get it back if it wasn’t used in the commission of a crime.”

  The major was quiet for a few moments. “Why do you need it?”

  “We need to eliminate people such as yourself as suspects. We’ll fire your gun and see if the bullet markings match with whatever we find in Tau’s head. If what you say is correct, there won’t be a match and you’ve nothing to worry about. I’ll have a constable accompany you home.”

  The major sat scowling. “Any more accusations you want to make, Assistant Superintendent? Do you want me to stick out my hands so you can arrest me?”

  “Not at the moment, thank you, Mr. Chamberlain. But I do have a few more questions. Do you owe anyone money? Any gambling debts? Anything you would like but can’t afford, such as an anniversary gift for your wife?”

  “You’re a bastard, Mabaku. Digging into my private life. How did you know our anniversary is coming up?”

  “I didn’t. I just used it as an example.”

  “Well, for your information, I’m taking her for a couple of weeks to lie on the beach in Mauritius. And it’s all paid for.”

  “When are you leaving?”

  “We’re going for Christmas and New Year.”

  “I asked you if you had any debts.”

  “No, I don’t. Except for a little on my credit card.”

  “Please wait here until I can arrange for someone to escort you home to get the handgun. If your wife and daughter are there, please ask them to come to the station to give a statement about your whereabouts last night. It should only take a few minutes.” He stood up. “My condolences for Rra Tau’s death. Thank you for your time.”

  Chapter 78

  Mabaku left the major’s office and walked down the passage to speak to Goodman. When he got there, he noticed Tau’s secretary sitting in the office opposite. Her eyes were red, and she’d clearly been crying. He went across to her.

  “I’m very sorry about your boss’s death, mma.”

  She nodded and wiped her eyes.

  “May I ask you a question? Was Rra Tau right-handed?”

  She looked puzzled and shook her head. “No, he was left-handed. I’ve seen him sign documents many times. Why do you want to know?”

  “I’m just curious. Thank you.”

  It didn’t take him long to be sure that Goodman hadn’t been involved in Tau’s death. Not only did Goodman have a watertight alibi, but Mabaku believed that his anguish at Tau’s death was genuine. In addition, Goodman didn’t seem concerned by the phone call he’d received from the deputy commissioner the previous afternoon.

  “I didn’t know who he could be referring to,” he told Mabaku. “I couldn’t believe it was the major, and I’d have bet my life it wasn’t Eddie. I was shocked when the major told me he had committed suicide. I thought I knew him well.”

  “You had no indication he was involved in the robbery?”

  “No.”

  “Nor that he might take his own life?”

  “I still don’t believe he would.”

  Mabaku thanked him and asked if he could use an office with a phone for an hour.

  “Why don’t you use the meeting room? There’s a phone in there. Dial nine for an outside line.”

  Goodman showed Mabaku to the room, where he sat down and wrote a summary of his meetings. When he finished, he sat back. He was convinced Goodman wasn’t involved. And he was pretty sure the major didn’t shoot Tau, even though he enjoyed pulling his chain. He stood up and gazed out the window at the huge hole in the ground.

  Maybe, he thought, the problem is that I just don’t like ex-British-Army personnel who insisted on being called by their rank.

  * * *

  Mabaku’s next stop was at the mine’s infirmary, where he found Mma Tau slumped in a chair, sobbing. He introduced himself and offered his condolences.

  “I’m sorry, mma, but I have to ask you a few questions.”

  She nodded.

  “I believe you were visiting your mother last night.”

  She nodded.

  “What time did you get home?”

  “About ten o’clock.”

  “Was your husband at home?”

  She nodded again.

  “Did he seem normal?”

  “Yes.” She took a deep breath. “He’d never kill himself,” she blurted.

  “What happened when you got home? Anything different from usual?”

  “Well, he said he had something important to tell me. I could tell he’d been drinking, so I wondered what it could be. He was usually quite private.”

  “Then?”

  “Just as we sat down, the phone rang. When he returned, he said he had to go out for a quick meeting with Major Chamberlain. That he’d be back in fifteen minutes. When he wasn’t back after half an hour I went to bed.”

  “I know what happened the next morning. It must have been a shock.”

  She choked back a sob.

  “Just a few more questions, mma. Do you know of any reason why he would
want to take his own life?”

  “None. We were happy and lived comfortably.”

  “And when you saw him last, you had no indication he was so depressed he would do such a thing?”

  “I would have known.”

  “Did he have any debts that you know of?”

  “No.”

  “I have to ask this. Was he having an affair?”

  “Impossible. We were always together.”

  “Thank you, mma. My deepest sympathies.”

  With that, he took his leave and walked back to his vehicle.

  Chapter 79

  When he left the mine, Mabaku headed back to the Jwaneng police station.

  “What did you discover about the fingerprints?” he asked the station commander.

  The man smiled. “His prints were on the gun. And only his prints. Just as I expected.”

  Mabaku knew how easy it was to fake that. “And the gun?”

  The smile disappeared. “It’s not licenced. Illegal.” He shrugged. “Some people just want one and take a chance. Maybe he got it for the suicide.”

  “You’ve been tapping the conversations on the home phones of Chamberlain, Goodman, and Tau. I want to listen to those tapes.”

  “Why do you need to do that? He killed himself!”

  “Dammit, Station Commander. I don’t believe he did kill himself. And even if he did, I want to know why. And if he didn’t, I want to know who killed him. Now, how do I get those tapes?”

  “There’s a technician two doors down the corridor on the right. Ask him.”

  Mabaku nodded and walked out, leaving the station commander fuming.

  A few minutes later, Mabaku was sitting in the technician’s office with the tapes set up.

  “Start with the ones on Tau’s line for yesterday.”

  There were several personal calls to and from Mma Tau during the day, but nothing unusual. Then at 6:48 p.m., there was Tau’s call to the major asking him to come around to talk about the robbery.

  Well, that agrees with Chamberlain’s story, Mabaku thought.

  However, the next call was a surprise. It was made at 8:14 p.m. Mabaku asked the technician to play it a second time.

  “Gaborone Sun. How can I help you?”

  “Room two ninety-three, please.”

  “I’ll put you through.”

  There was a pause, and then a voice said, “Yes?”

  “Call me at the second number in fifteen minutes.” Then the call ended.

  It was only two sentences, but Mabaku was sure that the caller was Chamberlain. All he could tell from the one word reply from room 293 was that it was a man. But why was Chamberlain phoning the hotel from Tau’s number?

  “Okay. Go on.”

  The next call was at 10:35 p.m., and it was interesting too.

  “Hello, this is Eddie.”

  “I have a message for you. From the witch doctor.”

  “Who are you? Why are you calling me at home?” Tau’s voice was slurred.

  “Just listen. He needs to meet you. Go to the Pick n Pay parking area right now. He knows how to solve all the problems. Everything will be fine. But you must come right away. It’s very important.”

  “Tell him to fuck off! Look where his visions have led me. Prison! Fuck off.”

  “If you don’t go to him, he’ll come to you. You don’t want your wife involved in this, do you? Leave now.” The line went dead, and that was the last call for the night.

  “Do we know where that last call came from?” Mabaku asked.

  The technician nodded and checked a spreadsheet on his desktop computer.

  “It was a Jwaneng call box, sir,” he replied.

  “Wasn’t a detective supposed to be monitoring these calls every day?”

  The technician shrugged. “I was just told to record them and find out the numbers, sir. The station commander said he’d get a detective to go through them when someone wasn’t busy.”

  Mabaku shook his head in exasperation. He grabbed the technician’s phone, reached the CID, and told them to get someone over to the Sun.

  “Find out who was occupying room two ninety-three last night. If he’s still there, keep him under surveillance, but be careful. Don’t try to approach him. He may be very dangerous. Call me back at the Jwaneng police station as soon as you have any information. Tell them I’m with the technician.”

  He turned back to the technician. “Let’s listen to all the other calls now.”

  After about half an hour, a call was put through from reception. The man in room 293 had checked out the night before around 8:30 p.m. even though he was booked in for another night. He was a South African, and they had his name and passport number from the hotel register. Nothing else had been discovered about him as yet.

  “Get on to the South Africans and find out what you can about him.”

  Then they went back to listening to the tapes. It was a long evening, but they discovered nothing else of interest.

  SUNDAY

  Chapter 80

  Although it was a Sunday, almost all the detectives were at the CID. There was a strong feeling that at last they were close to catching the men responsible for the diamond robbery and the murders. No one wanted to miss out.

  Kubu and Dow went to the director’s office and spoke to Mabaku from there. After they’d related what they’d discovered at Otse, and Kubu’s theory about Tuelo, there was a long pause on the line. At last Mabaku said, “Well, Bengu, it looks like you came up with some valuable information and even managed to avoid getting yourself killed. But if you keep pulling those sorts of stunts, you’d better have good unemployment insurance. And a funeral policy.”

  “Yes, sir,” Kubu said, hoping the valuable information cancelled out the unemployment.

  “It’s an interesting theory about Vusi Tuelo. He seems to fit the profile we’re looking for pretty well. Get his fingerprints from the South Africans and take them to forensics. With luck, we’ll know if your theory makes any sense very soon. At the same time, try to match the fingerprints of the man you found murdered with the ones we found on the package that was given to the pilot and the partial we found behind the fetish on the diamond transport box.”

  “I’ll follow that up right away, sir.”

  “What about Tau?” Gobey asked.

  “I’m doubtful about the suicide theory,” Mabaku replied. “But I’m pretty sure the Jwaneng mine managers aren’t involved in his death. If he was murdered, then it was probably the man who was staying at the Sun. We need someone to follow up there with Tuelo’s picture.”

  “I can do that, sir,” Kubu volunteered.

  “I want you to go to the morgue. The pathologist should be doing the autopsy on Tau this afternoon. We asked for top priority. Get his report. And tell him Tau was left-handed.”

  “Left-handed? Yes, sir.”

  “I hope the new pathologist knows his stuff,” Gobey put in. “He’s just out from Scotland. Probably more used to cold, wet bodies than hot, dehydrated ones.” Dow chuckled.

  “Bengu, get on with all that,” Gobey instructed. “Ask Neo to follow up at the Sun. Mabaku, stay on the line. You can give us a more detailed report. Then head back. I need you here.”

  Kubu left, disappointed not to hear more about what Mabaku had discovered but enthused by the urgency of what he needed to do.

  Chapter 81

  As soon as Kubu had received Tuelo’s faxed prints from South Africa, he went across to forensics. He wasn’t sure if anyone would be there on a Sunday, but he met a technician, who called the head of the division, who was in his office. He was an elderly and imposing man and not impressed about being disturbed by a detective sergeant. However, once he’d heard the story, he became interested.

  “Let’s take a look,” he said.

  Kub
u was surprised. He hadn’t expected the head of forensics to do the work himself. The head sent the technician off to fetch the file of fingerprints that they’d lifted from the Otse house. While they waited, he asked Kubu what he knew about fingerprint matching. Kubu tried to recall the details of what he’d learnt at university but was worried that he might be confusing whorls and spirals. Nevertheless, the head seemed to be satisfied by his response.

  When the technician returned with the file, the head took a magnifying glass from his desk drawer, polished it with his handkerchief, and started looking through the prints, checking each one in the file against the set of ten prints received from South Africa. It took him less than a minute to find a match.

  “Take a look,” he said.

  Kubu took the magnifying glass and examined the prints.

  “You see that tented arch?” the head asked, pointing to the ridge patterns with a pencil. “Now look at the index finger on Tuelo’s right hand.”

  Kubu did so and picked out the peaked feature right away. Then he compared the surrounding structures. They were similar, but not identical.

  The head nodded. “Remember that the prints often have smudges and distortions in practice. And these faxed ones aren’t as clear as they might be.” He frowned. “Ask them to send an image by email next time.”

  They found four more good matches, and the head said they didn’t need to check any further. “No doubt about it,” he said. “This man Vusi Tuelo was definitely in the house in Otse. And he was also at the secret hole in the border fence—his prints were on the cigarette found there.”

  They went through a similar process for the dead man Kubu had found at Otse and decided that the witch doctor who’d been involved in the robbery and the man whose throat had been cut were the same.

  Kubu thanked the head and left greatly encouraged. His theories had been proved correct, and he hoped that Mabaku and the director would be suitably impressed. However, when he reached Gobey’s office, Miriam told him the director would be out for some time, and when he went to Mabaku’s office, the assistant superintendent hadn’t returned yet. Since he had to follow up on the autopsy of Tau right away, he scribbled a message and left it on Mabaku’s desk.