by Kwei Quartey
“Why didn’t you tell the truth?” Gale prodded him.
“Because I knew it would have seemed suspicious.” He dropped his head. “Maybe I’m a coward. I’m sorry.”
“You’re not a coward,” Gale said, reaching out to squeeze his hand.
“A lot happened that Sunday, didn’t it?” Paula said to him.
“I confess I only told you some of the story,” he said despondently. “What I said about Heather being unusually quiet was true, but what I didn’t tell you was that we quarreled that evening.”
That concurs with Jost’s story, Paula thought.
“I loved Heather,” Oliver continued, “and she said she loved me. I wanted us to be married and I told her that many times. But she could never say yes to me, and I couldn’t understand why. On Sunday evening when we went for a walk in the hotel garden, I asked her if she could write a visa request letter to the U.S. embassy officially inviting me to the States. She said the process is not as easy as all that, and I asked her why she wasn’t willing to try. I asked her, is it because you don’t want to see me again after returning to the US?
“Then she became annoyed. She said she didn’t want to do this anymore, and I said, what do you mean? She said she’d heard about how young Ghanaian guys like me try to take advantage of American girls and use them to get visas, or to marry them so we can become US citizens, and I was shocked. I asked her who told her such a thing but she wouldn’t say. It really pained me.” He touched his chest over his heart. “And me too, I have a hot temper and I began to quarrel with her. She turned her back on me and ran into the hotel.”
Paula was visualizing what must have been quite a dramatic scene.
“After a few minutes,” Oliver continued, “I went to her room and knocked, but she didn’t answer, so I called her on the phone three or four times. She still didn’t respond. I tried to talk to her through the door, but she told me to go away. I sat in the lobby for a while, not knowing what to do, but I had to leave at eight thirty, because I had promised my father that I would visit him in hospital. I don’t think Amadu was on duty yet, so he didn’t see me leave.”
Paula was watching him closely. Knowing his mannerisms well, she felt he was telling the truth—so far.
“I stayed with my father for about one hour,” he went on, “but all the time I was thinking about Heather. I was very confused. She had hurt me, but at the same time, I started to feel bad about the things I had said to her. When I was leaving the hospital, I called her again and told her how sorry I was. I asked if I could see her again that night. At first she said no, but I begged her over and over, and she agreed. So I went back.”
He folded his lips inward, as if the next part of the story was going to be the hardest to tell. “Heather told me we had to have a serious talk. She said she liked me very much, and that she enjoyed sex with me, but in her heart, she didn’t believe we were made for each other and so she didn’t see her future with me. I asked her if she had someone waiting for her in the States, and she said not at the moment. So I asked her, what shall we do next? She said we should give each other some space and not see each other romantically any more. We can work together, but not sleep together. That’s how she put it. I felt stabbed through my heart. I was sad, but I was angry, too, because I felt she had wronged me for no good reason.”
He lowered his head again. Gale got up and stood beside him, gently rubbing his shoulders. “Tell us what happened next, Oliver.”
He shrugged. “That was the end.”
“The end?” Paula asked.
He nodded. Stunned, the two women exchanged glances. They did not want this to be the resolution, nor Oliver the culprit, but they both knew that the confession they had feared most was soon to come.
“Then you persuaded her to go down to the pool with you?” Paula asked softly.
He looked up at her, puzzled. “What do you mean, go down to the pool?”
She was confused. “You didn’t…take her to…”
“Take her to where?” he said with another shrug. “There was nowhere to go anymore. We shook hands and agreed to end our relationship then and there, but not as enemies. I said good-bye to her and returned home. Like Amadu said, by that time, it was about eleven thirty.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Oliver had departed, leaving the two women both relieved and embarrassed.
“I jumped to conclusions,” Paula said, wincing. “I thought he was saying he killed Heather.”
“So did I.”
“We made a mess of the interview.”
“I don’t suspect him anymore,” Gale said.
“Neither do I, and now I feel terrible that I suspected him.”
“Boss,” Gale said hesitantly, “this may be a sign that we have to let this go. Maybe we have this wrong. I mean, I loved and respected Heather, but—”
“But maybe she did go swimming in the nude?” Paula cut in. She shook her head firmly. “In fact, I believe I can prove to you right now that she did not do that.”
She picked up her phone and dialed Mr. Peterson.
“How are you, sir?”
“Frustrated,” he said sharply. “How does anything get done in this country?”
“Is there something I can help with?”
“I spent the whole morning and part of this afternoon just trying to reclaim Heather’s belongings,” he said angrily. “Why is this so difficult? I went from one department to the next, filling out I don’t know how many forms. Half the time, people weren’t in their offices and I kept being told to come back tomorrow. I had to get someone from the embassy to apply pressure before I finally got my hands on her belongings.”
“So you have them now?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry it was so vexing,” Paula said. “You shouldn’t have to go through all that.”
He blew his breath out sharply in exasperation.
“Where are you at the moment?” she asked.
“Back at the hotel with a stiff drink. I couldn’t take it anymore. I was sitting at CID supposedly waiting to speak to the Director-General, and after about an hour someone decides it would be nice to let me know that he wasn’t even in. Jesus Christ.”
“I sympathize. Even us hardened and jaded Ghanaians go insane over the way we often conduct business. Did you have a look through Heather’s things?”
“Yes,” he said, his tone softening. “It was bittersweet. I would never have imagined how even small items could come to mean so much.”
“So true. By the way, you may not know this, but Heather had two swimsuits: a black and a tangerine.”
“Tangerine—really?” He paused as if he was thinking something through. “Only the black one is here.”
“Only the black one.” Paula gave a thumbs-up to Gale. “Just as I expected. You understand the significance of that, Mr. Peterson?”
“It’s just struck me,” he said, as he began to laugh with sudden relief. “It means she didn’t go swimming naked. I knew it!”
“So did I,” Paula said happily. “Mr. Peterson, we’re going to reclaim Heather’s good name. I promise you that.”
“Thank you,” he said with feeling. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your championship of my daughter.”
“She only deserves it,” Paula said. “Do you now have a date of departure set?”
“This Friday—Saturday at the latest.”
She had a sudden idea. “Before you leave, High Street Academy would like to honor Heather’s memory. Can you visit us on Thursday afternoon for an event?”
She was already organizing it in her head: the children could stage singing, traditional Ghanaian dancing and drumming, spoken word performances, and other tributes to Heather—perhaps a little theatrical performance as well. Several of the boys were naturally talented acrobats who loved to put on a show. Yes, it will be good, she thought. In Ghana, when one honors a person who has passed on to the next world, it isn’t all doom and gloom, beca
use one is celebrating her life as well. Paula might even be able to get one of the local Jamestown marching bands to perform. They would be glad to. Finally, they could screen Diane’s wonderful tribute. Paula’s heart leapt at these thoughts. “Can you come, Mr. Peterson?” she pressed eagerly.
“Okay,” he said a little hesitantly. He probably didn’t know quite what to expect. “Yes, sure, why not?”
“Wonderful,” Paula said. “I’ll call on Wednesday evening to confirm.”
As she rang off, she beamed at Gale. “Vindicated,” she said with satisfaction.
Gale smiled. “You win, boss. I shouldn’t have doubted Heather that way. And what was that you were saying about an event?”
“We’re going to put together a beautiful sendoff for Heather and her father. Get all the staff in to start the planning. We have two days to rehearse.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Before Paula left for home that afternoon, she called Jost to ask if she could swing by his office to learn a little more about solar installations for the home, and also to ask him another question in private.
“Actually I’m not in Accra right now,” he told her. “I’m down at beautiful Cape Three Points taking a couple days off, but I’ll return tomorrow.”
“And you’re leaving for Amsterdam Wednesday morning?”
“Correct.”
“I see,” Paula said. Tuesday, the following day, would be packed with meetings for her, including a dreaded one with her boss. “What if I come to the hotel tomorrow evening?”
“Yes, that would be perfectly fine. I’ll be back by then.”
She spent the next few minutes revising the list she had started on Friday night.
It had expanded considerably:
1. Heather – A little wine/beer, but not intoxicated when she drowned
2. Homicidal death, not accidental
3. Black swimsuit with her belongings, but not the tangerine => Heather was probably wearing it when she went for a swim => she was not naked
4. Where is the tangerine swimsuit—murderer took it?
5. Pool lights out—murderer switched off the inverter?
Suspects
1. Amadu—motive? – knows how to switch off lights
2. Edward: spurned lover? Also knows how to turn off lights
3. Oliver – more and more doubtful as a suspect
4. Diane – jealousy? Disgust for “jungle fever”? Doesn’t seem a likely suspect
No. 1 & 2 know about the solar system, inverter, etc. prime suspects??
Her phone rang, and she was surprised to see that it was Chief Inspector Agyekum calling.
“Good afternoon, Chief Inspector.”
“Afternoon, madam.” Long pause.
“May I help you?”
“Yes, please, madam, Mr. Djan called me today to inform me that you are very concerned about the investigation of Heather Peterson’s death and that you still believe there has been foul play.”
“Yes, that’s correct,” Paula said. She was thrown a little off balance by the unexpected call, but she wasn’t going to squander this opportunity to reinforce her case. “As I explained before, Heather did not drink. Dr. Biney has explained to my husband and me that a falsely elevated lab test could have been created during the decomposition of Heather’s body, so that’s why it appeared that she had been drinking heavily when in reality she had not. And now we know that one of her two swimsuits is missing; it is almost certain that she was wearing it when she went swimming—not naked as previously thought.”
“I see,” he said blandly. “That’s interesting. However, our forensic lab is quite confident that the obtained result is correct. Anyway, no problem—as your husband said, when Dr. Biney returns, he will discuss all these things with us and then maybe we will take it to the Director-General for his input. So, don’t worry, we will handle it.”
“So, you’ll reopen the case?” she said hopefully.
“Like I said, Mrs. Djan, we will handle everything, so don’t trouble yourself to try and investigate the case. For your own safety and the public interest, we don’t advise that. Am I clear?”
“When can I find out whether the investigation has been reopened?” she persisted.
“We are looking into it. Madam. I must advise you not to interfere any further with the procedures of the CID, or there may be problems.”
His voice had turned hard and flat, and now Paula understood he wasn’t reassuring her. In fact, he was warning her away.
“Interfere?” she echoed in astonishment. “You can only interfere with something if it’s actually being done, Chief Inspector. All I see CID doing is a whole lot of nothing.”
“Thank you, madam. Please, we will handle it. Okay?”
He hung up. She was angry as she speed-dialed Thelo’s number.
“So, you had Agyekum call me to threaten me, is that it?” she asked him as soon as he came on the line.
“What are you talking about?” Thelo said, sounding bewildered.
“He just spoke to me and warned me not to ‘interfere’ with CID’s work. Did you ask him to do that?”
“No, of course not,” Thelo responded indignantly. “I only told him about your concerns, that you had obtained new information from different sources, and that Dr. Biney planned to look into the facts of the case and possibly request it be reopened. I wasn’t asking him to call and threaten you at all. Is it my fault that he did that?”
“I guess not,” she said sullenly, calming down. “Sorry.”
He sighed. “Paula, what’s gotten into you?”
“Do you believe Agyekum is really willing to take a second look?” she asked, ignoring his question.
“I don’t see why not.” Thelo sounded preoccupied. “Listen, I have a meeting. I have to run.”
For a while, she sat thinking about the two conversations she had just had. It was tempting to be reassured, but she knew better. Agyekum was simply stalling her. He wanted her to go away and disappear, but she wasn’t going to. Instead, she would keep probing until she found her answer, and no one—not Agyekum, Biney, or even her husband—would hold her back.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
As Paula had expected, Tuesday was an awful day. Between 8 a.m. and late afternoon, she had meetings in widely separated parts of town. The last of them, and the least welcome, was with her boss. It wasn’t until almost 7:30 p.m. that she was able to free herself from his claws. She felt bone tired as she got into the Highlander to face the ride home, then remembering that she had planned to stop off at Jost’s place. She called him first to be sure he had returned from Cape Three Points.
“I got back a couple hours ago,” he said cheerfully. “I had a wonderful time and I feel rejuvenated. Would you like to come by? I have some pamphlets for you about different home solar systems. And you said you had another question to ask me?”
“Yes, I’ll explain when I arrive. No guarantee what time I’ll get there, though—what with the traffic.”
“That’s perfectly fine. I’m not going anywhere. I always just relax on the night before I leave.”
After hanging up with Jost, she called Thelo, who had picked up Stephan and Stephanie from school earlier on and was getting them ready for bed.
“Are they behaving?” she asked.
“They’re okay,” he said, his tone still somber with her. “Stephan is having his bath, Stephanie is moody about something – don’t ask me what.”
“Kiss them both for me. I won’t be back before they’ve gone to sleep.”
“Why, where are you going now?” he said, sounding a little irritated.
“I have to catch Jost Miedema before he goes back to Amsterdam tomorrow.”
“Oh. Still on this solar energy thing, are you?”
“Yes. I am.” She wasn’t going to tell him that she also planned to ask Jost about a possible Heather-Edward connection.
He sighed resignedly. “I’ll see you later, then.”
Paula could fe
el that the air between them had not yet cleared. The sooner she found out the truth behind Heather’s untimely death, the better, she thought. Then life could return to normal.
She made it to the chalet by 8:25, which was a little better than she had anticipated. Jost opened the door at her knock.
“Paula, how are you? Come in, come in. Take a load off your feet. Would you like some wine or a soft drink?”
“Just water will be fine, thank you. I hope I’m not disturbing.”
“Not at all. I was just finishing up my packing.”
After some small talk, Jost went through the home solar installation pamphlets he’d set aside for her and explained the different plans and options.
“I’m very impressed,” she said after studying them. “I’ll take these with me and show them to Thelo, my husband, and then we should stay in touch by email—perhaps set something up for when you’re in town again, hopefully soon?”
“Probably in July,” Jost said. “Now, you said you wanted to ask me about something?”
“Yes, I did, but I also don’t want to put you on the spot, so if the question makes you uncomfortable, just let me know and I’ll go away.”
He smiled. “I doubt that will be necessary.”
Paula was about to begin when the doorbell sounded.
“Oh, do excuse me,” Jost said apologetically. “It might be Edward coming to say good-bye.”
Her stomach flipped. Edward? She hoped not. That would be awkward.
Jost went around the corner to the door and she listened as he greeted the visitor. To her relief, it was a woman who spoke.
“Good evening, sir!”
“Hi, Selina.”
“Please, sir, I was wondering if you wanted to settle the bill this evening or you will do it in the morning?”
“I can come up a little later tonight, if you like.”
“Okay, that will be fine. I’m going off duty, but I’ll let all the front staff know. I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay with us again?”
