by Anthony Mugo
“If I may ask, how do you know all these?”
“I was a receptionist at the hotel,” Naomi said.
“Where is Thomas?”
“I don’t know. He went scot-free in exchange of the List of Shame.”
The return of the List of Shame pointed an accusing finger at the police. Little wonder Pai was so agitated!
“You are a treasure Miss Naomi,” Sanse said. “You are a goldmine!”
Chapter 17
Sanse was about to leave his office when Grace stormed in.
“I terminated your service, didn’t I?” Grace demanded. “Didn’t I?”
Sanse smiled tolerantly. “Of course you did.”
“Yet you continue probing my family. Are you out of your mind?”
“I have a new boss,” Sanse said.
Grace’s eyes became slits. “Bob? Gosh, you are desperate.”
“So are you,” Sanse said. “When Gitonga died leaving behind a torn will you realised that Bob was your only ticket to Gitonga’s millions. You recalled that loving wives wear wedding rings and cry rivers. My magic took too long you grew impatient. I couldn’t advise you on the legal implications of a torn will so you visited Omollo Advocates. There you discovered the existence of a fresh and friendly will. You suddenly realised that Bob was indeed guilty. If you could access the millions with him out of the way the better. So long for the ring that outgrew the finger. We both know that you didn’t cook the mugging story. Rather, you cooked the story about cooking a story. I doubt that you know anything about love because greed is your creed.”
Grace stared at him. “Now you talk of greed, eh? It is Gitonga who approached me for goodness’s sake! When I entered the Kathare Beauty Pageant all I wanted was to win. I came second which did not stop men from running after me. I chose Gitonga because he was cunning enough to give me a job and to treat me like a queen. What is a girl to do?”
“Why not just marry him?” Sanse said. “After all you were carrying his baby.”
Grace stared at him.
“You wedded in May and Dan was born in November, six months into your marriage. You confessed that he wasn’t born prematurely. I wouldn’t be surprised if you are yet to consummate your marriage to Bob.”
“Gitonga denied responsibility arguing that cancer treatment had impaired his fertility. He dumped me on the excuse that I was cheating on him. I didn’t know where to go. I wanted retribution.”
“A big mistake, I gather?”
“You’re dead wrong,” Grace said. “Gitonga patched up with me when he realised that Dan is his blood. He was right to tell Bob that my heart was his. After all I am the mother of his son. This is not about greed. I am only fighting for what Gitonga meant Dan to have.”
Sanse embarked on clicking his knuckles. “Do you honestly think Bob is guilty?”
“I am positive,” Grace said. “You are only wasting valuable time.”
“What is your take on that?” Sanse asked Naomi on Grace’s departure.
“She has no values,” Naomi said. “She fuelled father-son animosity. To scramble for Gitonga’s wealth while celebrating Bob’s troubles is outright gross.”
Elizabeth arrived twenty minutes after Grace’s departure. She was the picture of a defeated bull.
“Surprise surprise,” Sanse said.
“Can I have a word with you in private?” Elizabeth said.
“You’re having a word with me in private,” Sanse said.
Elizabeth studied Naomi and then, throwing caution in the air, she said, “I know RH208.”
“And?”
“I took money from my brother to pay him off. Call it theft or what you will, I call it self-preservation.”
“Yet you accused Eunice of theft,” Sanse said
“I am sorry for her. She would have left anyway. I confessed but Gitonga still wanted me gone by morning. That is why I sought Pastor Munderu’s intervention.”
“Is this quarter, half or whole truth?” Sanse said.
“Whole truth,” Elizabeth said. “I had to consult. Telling you about the blackmailer could boomerang on us.”
“And now you are sure it won’t?”
“We trust your discretion.”
“Why the sudden trust in a mole trapper? Or is it a cobbler?”
“You want to keep your home,” Elizabeth said. “We want the blackmailer.”
Rumu, Sanse thought bitterly. It sounded like blackmail - a welcome blackmail.
“First things first,” Sanse said. “Was Felix in the compound between seven and nine?”
“No.”
“Miss Naomi, meet Elizabeth, our newest client,” Sanse said. “You have our undivided attention.”
“You can’t attract undue attention to us for obvious reasons,” Elizabeth said.
“Settled,” Sanse said. “In your view, who is he?”
“He is police.”
“Is that a fact?”
“Thomas surrendered the list before he vanished,” Elizabeth said. “Someone wanted the photos to blackmail us themselves. No wonder Pai is now all over asking about the blackmailer.”
“So he talked to you,” Sanse said. “What did you tell him?”
“The truth.”
“Namely?”
“I didn’t know my brother was being blackmailed.”
“Was Pai alone?”
Elizabeth nodded.
“When did the blackmailer make his first contact?”
“Two months after Thomas’ arrest.”
“How does he make contact?”
“He calls from a different number each time. The numbers are blocked.”
“How frequent are the demands?”
“He strikes once every month.”
“You made a payoff on 14th, the day Gitonga lost thirty thousand, right?”
Elizabeth nodded. “He has just made a fresh demand. He is turning greedy.”
“That is good news.’
Elizabeth made faces. “The bastard is bleeding me dry!”
“How does he collect?”
“I usually ride on a motorcycle in a given direction at night. I drop the money on his cue. He insists on small denominations, two hundred and hundred bills in an envelope. He is a shrewd bastard alright. Do you know that I hire a boda boda for an hour on the lie that I enjoy speeding against the wind?”
“When is the drop?”
“Tonight. He gives the route minutes to the drop.”
“Is the money ready?”
“Yes.”
“Then we need to hurry,” Sanse said.
“To do what?”
“Just have a little faith in this drunk.”
Elizabeth placed a bundle of notes on the table.
“Miss Naomi, I couldn’t help but notice that you have a classy phone. To be honest, it is a challenge when your employee is more technologically advanced. Kindly take photos of these notes.”
“All of them?” Naomi asked.
“Both sides.”
Sanse got a small embosser from one of the drawers on the office table. He took a one-hundred shilling note and embossed an o inside the first zero on the front, lower right corner. It was barely visible but could be felt by touch. He showed the two women how to use the embosser.
“Make sure they are properly done,” Sanse said grabbing his hat. “Make the drop the usual way if you don’t hear from me.”
Sanse stopped at the door. “Did Wira ever marry?” He asked.
“Three times,” Elizabeth said. “There was Rosemary, Magdalene, Lily and many mistresses.”
“Nimu or Wairimu?”
Elizabeth shook her head.
“Is his promiscuity the reason he can’t hold a marriage together?”
Elizabeth hesitated. “Wira can’t get kids. He resulted to experimentation and now he is HIV positive.”
Alex’s birthday party, Sanse reminded himself as he stepped out of the building. Seven thirty. The day was almost gone. He walked into a boo
kshop and bought a birthday card just in case.
Chapter 18
Anyone looking at Pai would have thought that the detective was engrossed in the open file on the table. However, his attention was riveted to the gagged voice over the earphones. Connecting RH208 to the List of Shame had been easy. Pai could also tell that this was a blackmail demand and that Gitonga had defaulted once. However, cracking the voice was proving impossible. He cursed working for a force that didn’t appreciate the value of technology. How he wished he could nail the blackmailer himself! He had decided to treat the blackmail and Gitonga’s death independently. Separate misfortunes had simply ganged up to spoil Gitonga’s last day on earth.
Pai plucked off the earphones as Sanse walked through the door.
“I feel like trampling on some toes,” Sanse said occupying a chair. “Tell me about the List of Shame.”
“I gave you an inch and now you want a mile, eh?” Pai said.
“If only you were thorough I wouldn’t have needed the inch.”
“The List of Shame is a police matter,” Pai said.
“You mean a police mess, right?”
“Excuse me?”
“You are excused.”
Pai swallowed hard. “Are you planning to take on the police?”
“Not when I can pin the mess on you,” Sanse said.
“How dare you!”
“You almost jumped out of your skin when you heard the blackmailer’s call. You questioned Elizabeth in Mavedi’s absence.”
“Mavedi is a dunderhead,” Pai said.
“Then I remembered Rose.”
Pai snapped the file closed.
“Rose loved life,” Sanse said. “Why would she throw it away?”
“We are done talking.”
“If you say so,” Sanse said getting on his feet. “Is your boss in?”
“Damn you!”
Pai led Sanse outside wiping his sweat-shiny face. He stopped at the station canteen and bought a half-litre bottle of mineral water. He emptied the water down his throat and threw the bottle away.
“The List of Shame,” Sanse said.
The two men walked in silence for a while.
“You cannot share what I am about to tell you,” Pai said.
“Why not?”
“I have two kids for heaven’s sake...” Pai stopped as a new realisation hit him. “Is this about revenge?”
“It is about a helpless, innocent man who is facing a murder charge.”
Pai closed his eyes and breathed in hard. “When the list surfaced my marriage was on the rocks. Rose was disrespectful and withdrawn. We rarely talked and when we did she called me names. I was the stupid, hopeless policeman. When Thomas was arrested she changed overnight. She became interested in my work and even gave in to my sexual advances. After adding two and two I knew she was a victim. The thought of sharing her with another man drove me mad. I grew obsessed with the identity of whoever was wrecking my marriage. I accosted Thomas flashing Rose’s photo. He confessed that she looked familiar but couldn’t recall her partner. It meant that I had to access the photographs which were under lock and key in the Divisional Criminal Investigative Officer’s office. When the decision to destroy the list was made an idea struck me. I bought a replica memory card and positioned myself as the person to destroy the list. When I talk of the List of Shame I mean the camera, the memory card, the photos and everything relating to them. I managed to switch the cards.”
“When was this?”
“5th September 2006.”
“I was so relieved when the DCIO retired to his office satisfied that the evidence was destroyed. After a minute he called me from his office. I was all jittery at the possibility of being caught. Had he seen me switch the cards? I slid the memory card under the file on my desk and dashed to his office. ‘Fever?’ The DCIO asked. I nodded without much thought. I was damp in sweat. He said he had seen it all morning. Not only did he insist that I see a doctor, he escorted me to the gate! I felt like killing myself. What if someone found the card? I managed to return but the card was missing. When Rose committed suicide in February I knew that the list was behind it. She had been troubled for weeks.”
“How many officers were present when you hid the card?” Sanse asked.
“The office was empty.”
“What have you come up with?”
“I am still doing a lifestyle audit of my colleagues.”
“How many are you?”
“Nine.”
“Any transfers since the list disappeared?”
“None.”
“I need photographs of the officers,” Sanse said. “Your boss included.”
“Why do you need them?”
“Because you messed up and people are dying.”
Pai cursed under his breath.
“How soon can I get them?”
“Tomorrow. You should find it in your heart to look the other way.”
Sanse got in his car. “The police and private investigators cannot coexist without some toes being trampled on. Your exact words, right?”
Sanse started the car and took off leaving a stranded Pai. Elizabeth and Naomi had just finished preparing the notes when he arrived in the office. He inspected the notes and instructed the two on what to do the following day.
“Tomorrow there will be a fund-raiser towards Kathare Orphanage,” Sanse told Elizabeth. “A hundred bob from each mourner.”
“I know nothing about a fund-raiser,” Elizabeth protested.
“Really?” Sanse said. “I never knew anyone to disown their ideas so forcefully!”
Elizabeth hesitated. “It is too late to organise one.”
“You want the blackmailer, right? Just give me a fund-raiser.”
Sanse left for Ikeno Bar where he planned to verify Jimia’s alibi. He was excited to find Felix there. Sanse joined him at his table.
“Are you following me?” Felix asked.
“Is every patron in this place following you?” Sanse asked. “Jimia says you met here on the day your uncle died.”
“Is that a crime?”
“Not at all. Did you?”
“What if we did?”
“Where did you go from here?”
“Didn’t your mother tell you about our date?”
“How could she when she is dead?”
“You’ve taken this nonsense too far,” Felix said. “You need a lesson on how to respect other people’s privacy.”
“Where did you go from Ikeno Bar?” Sanse repeated his question.
“Go hang,” Felix said. He got on his feet and walked out. A waiter approached Sanse.
“Earnest?” Sanse asked.
“That is me,” the waiter said.
“I am Mike Sanse. I was referred to you by Mr. Samuel Jimia.”
“Why?”
“It concerns the 16th of this month,” Sanse said. “It was on a Tuesday. Mr. Jimia says you served him around eight.”
“Is that so? What is this all about?”
“I just want to capture the events of that evening,” Sanse assured him. “In particular I want to know when Mr. Jimia left.”
“I can’t tell,” Earnest said. “To be honest I can’t tell much that took place on the day before yesterday.”
“What I am asking is of utmost importance.”
“I have no quarrel with that but I just can’t recall. I serve hundreds of customers every day. Do you honestly expect me to recall what each one of them did or didn’t do two weeks ago?”
“I can imagine the challenge,” Sanse said. “I will have a glass of Medusa.”
“We don’t sell Medusa.”
Sanse went to Busy Bee where he ordered for a glass of Medusa. At this point he had no doubt in his mind that Bob was innocent. Two men had travelled from town to Gitonga’s place about the same time Bob did: Pastor Peter Munderu and Samuel Jimia. Pastor Munderu’s departure was closest to Bob’s. Was Nimu a shortened form of Wairimu, Pastor Munderu’s wife
? If not, could Munderu go as far as assisting Elizabeth murder her brother? Sanse cursed his inability to verify when Jimia left Ikeno Bar. Felix was by far the biggest loose end. Felix knew of Bob’s outbursts about killing his father. He had ample time to rush to First and Last, pick Bob up and rush him to Gitonga’s place. It was unreasonable to expect Elizabeth to give away his son if he was in the compound. Again, mother and son could have been working together.
After clearing the forth glass Sanse drove home wondering how to deal with Alex. He imagined knocking on the door and Catherine turning him away. He imagined her pouring her venom on him. ‘I hope they succeed next time,’ she would repeat her favourite wish. No, he would not attend. That Catherine had ordered him to keep off and he had promised to oblige was enough. Of course Alex would be hurt but attendance would hurt more. In actual sense I didn’t accept the invitation, Sanse comforted himself. He stepped out of the car, stretched and yawned wondering what to do with the birthday card. What a day!
The man came from nowhere. His blow rammed against Sanse’s left ear and sent him sprawling on the ground.
***
Catherine was devastated to learn that Alex had invited Sanse to his birthday party. How could he? What did he see in a drunkard? Did he know that his father died in Sanse’s place? She had drummed it in Alex’s head that Sanse was responsible for their woes. Was he too young to understand loss? How could he be so naïve? He was seven for heaven’s sake and there was this gaping void! How could he not thirst for revenge? Catherine started as a disturbing thought occurred to her: in Sanse Alex saw father-figure! A pang of anger tore at her heart. She fought back tears. Damn Sanse!
By eight the mood in the house was anything but celebratory. Alex was withdrawn and mournful. Sanse had not showed up and Catherine didn’t know how to handle the stubborn boy. Of course Sanse had accepted Alex’s invitation with the intention of causing them pain. But his default was very consoling to Catherine. She couldn’t stand him filling the void he had created.
“Sanse is a busy man,” she cajoled. “He is probably chasing a thief or investigating a murder. Baba, nothing should stop our lives.”
“Okay,” Alex said.
