Deadly Harvest: A Detective Kubu Mystery

by Michael Stanley

  “Assistant Superintendent! I trust it’s not a close family member who has passed on? Of course I will help in every way. And we’ll certainly be able to come to a satisfactory arrangement as far as the cost is concerned. Please sit down, please sit down.”

  “Rra Rampa, I’m glad to tell you that this is a police visit, not the result of bereavement. This is Detective Khama, also of the CID. We’re hoping you’ll be able to help us with a case we’re investigating.” Both detectives passed Rampa their identification. He glanced at them and handed them back.

  “I don’t quite understand,” he said.

  Kubu opened his notebook. “Rra Rampa, do you know a man called Sunday Molefe?”

  The undertaker looked around the room as though he expected to find Molefe hiding somewhere. “Molefe? I don’t think so. But we have so many clients these days—too many really—that it’s possible I’ve forgotten.” If Kubu had hoped for shock to be displayed on Rampa’s face, he was disappointed. But he plowed on.

  “Well, it seems that he knows you.”

  “Does he say so? In what context?”

  “He contacted you about ten days ago. Perhaps you recall that? It was on Saturday, the fifth of May, at around half past nine.”

  The undertaker shook his head firmly. “I don’t give clients my private cell phone number. And I’m an early riser; I don’t take calls that late.”

  Kubu thought for a moment. Then he said, “This was a text message.”

  Rampa shook his head again.

  “Would you mind if I looked at your phone?”

  “You won’t take it away?” Rampa looked uncomfortable, but after a few moments’ hesitation, he dug in his pants pocket and handed Kubu a phone. He passed it to Samantha.

  Turning back to the undertaker, Kubu said, “The text message read: ‘Next half hour.’ Does that ring a bell?”

  Rampa shook his head again. “Someone was trying to set up an appointment at ten on a Saturday night? It makes no sense. Are you sure you have the correct phone number?”

  Kubu took out his own phone and typed in the number he’d written in his notebook. After a few seconds Rampa’s phone started to play “Amazing Grace.” Kubu gave a wry smile and cut off the call. Samantha passed Rampa’s phone back to him.

  “Look, Assistant Superintendent, we all get spam messages or messages sent to the wrong number from time to time. It happens. Now, how does Rra Molefe claim to know me? If you give me some context, maybe I can help you.”

  Kubu stared at Rampa, trying to strip off the formal dark suit and tie and replace them with a leopard skin and baboon mask. Somehow it seemed comical. But if Rampa was indeed the “invisible” witch doctor, then Kubu was looking at an extremely dangerous and vicious man.

  “Do you mind telling us where you were on the night of Saturday, the fifth of May?”

  Rampa thought for a few moments. “I was at home. I had supper, watched some television. Then I went to bed at around ten.”

  “Do you live alone?”

  “I do. My wife died about three and a half years ago. And yes, I arranged the funeral. People always ask. What is supposed to have happened on that night?”

  “An albino man was abducted and, we believe, delivered to a witch doctor to be used for muti.”

  “And you think I was involved?” Rampa sounded angry now, and somehow the image of the baboon mask seemed a better fit.

  “I didn’t suggest that. But the text message was probably connected to it.”

  Rampa hesitated. “It’s possible I got the message. If I don’t recognize the sender, I often delete the message without reading it. That must’ve been what happened.”

  Kubu nodded. “Probably,” he said. He rose, thanked the undertaker for his time, and left with Samantha.

  ON THE WAY OUT, Kubu thanked the receptionist and picked up a couple of copies of a flyer advertising Rampa Undertakers and containing a head-and-shoulders picture of Rampa in a jacket and tie. He handed one to Samantha, and when they got to the street he asked her what she’d made of the interview.

  “There was no text message on Rampa’s phone, and I quickly checked his contacts for Molefe’s number, but it wasn’t there, either. Still, I don’t think he’s telling the truth. He seemed uncomfortable when you mentioned Molefe, although he hid it pretty well.”

  Kubu nodded. “I agree with you. And he immediately thought the call was to his cell phone at nine-thirty at night—I didn’t say that—when a business call at nine-thirty in the morning was more likely.”

  “Of course!” Samantha had missed that. “Another thing, if Molefe did send the text message to the wrong person, why isn’t Owido still at the place where they left him?”

  Kubu nodded again. “Of course, it’s possible Owido got free eventually and was so scared that he fled, leaving all his possessions behind. That’s credible, and I hope for his sake that’s what happened. But I don’t believe it. I think he’s buried somewhere in an unmarked grave or maybe in someone else’s grave. Certainly not a funeral of distinction.”

  FORTY-SIX

  ON HER WAY HOME, Samantha paid another visit to the Welcome Bar No. 2. This time the place was buzzing with people having an after-work drink. A noisy group seemed to be set on breaking the foosball machine with their excessively enthusiastic playing and, from time to time, there was a yell of triumph or disgust. The manager was busy helping the bartender, but he recognized her as she reached the bar and brought her a Coke.

  “Everyone’s happy with the machine you loaned us,” he said, indicating the group around the computer. “I’ve told them the other one is in for repair. One guy was worried about some stuff he’d stored on it. I told him he was an idiot to leave anything on a public machine, but his data would probably be okay. Is that right?”

  Samantha nodded, but the man had already rushed off to pour more beers. She’d almost finished the Coke by the time he returned.

  “Sorry, busy here this evening. But that’s good, isn’t it? Did you have some more questions?”

  Samantha showed him one of the flyers Kubu had picked up at Rampa’s funeral parlor. She’d carefully folded the paper so that only the picture of Rampa in his formal suit was visible. “Does this man ever come in here for a drink?”

  The manager looked at the picture carefully, then shook his head. “Ron! Come over here a minute.”

  The bartender finished taking money for two cane spirits, then hurried over, looking harassed. “What?”

  Samantha showed him the picture, and he nodded. “Yes, he comes in occasionally. He’s that undertaker chap. I think he visits the clinic up the road sometimes to collect bodies, you know? Stops for a drink on the way.”

  “Do you remember when he last came in?”

  The man shook his head. “He only comes very occasionally. Maybe a couple of weeks ago?” Someone thumped his empty glass on the bar and waved. “Do you think I remember who comes in and when with this lot?”

  “Does he ever use the computer?”

  “Can’t recall. Is that all?” Samantha nodded, and the man hurried off to refill the thirsty glasses.

  Samantha finished her Coke, thanked the manager, and left. So Rampa had the opportunity to pick up the Hushmail messages that had been sent to the witch doctor. And the pay phone the witch doctor had used was just down the road. Samantha felt they might be getting close to tying up the case.

  ON HIS WAY HOME, Kubu stopped at Debonairs Pizza and collected two large quattro stagionis. He would polish off one by himself, and Joy and the girls would eat the other. No doubt Ilia would get a few crusts also. Joy was making a salad to go with it, and Kubu decided they would wash the food down with an inexpensive but acceptable dry red he’d discovered. The aromas of herbs and warm cheese filled his Land Rover, making his mouth water as he drove home.

  I always think of them as Joy and the girls now, he mused. My family. What happens if they find Nono a permanent home? We’ll all miss her, and Tumi will be devastated. My moth
er already loves Nono, and my father thinks she’s our daughter. I must speak to Joy about her.

  When he opened the gate, Kubu managed to finesse Ilia’s overenthusiastic welcome at the same time as keeping her away from the pizzas. But at the house, with both girls demanding his attention and the fox terrier jumping up at him, he nearly dropped the boxes. Joy grabbed them, laughing as Kubu collapsed into an easy chair under a pile of children and dog.

  “I’ll put the pizzas on a plate and get the wine,” Joy said. “The salad is ready. Come to the table as soon as you can before the pizzas get cold. And you girls must wash your hands nicely first. Especially with Ilia licking everything.” Tumi and Nono nodded and then returned their attention to Kubu.

  “Daddy,” said Tumi. “I found a chameleon today. My friend said it was unlucky, but mommy says it’s very lucky. Mommy put him in a box so I could show you. She says then we must let him go so he can get food.” A thought struck her. “Maybe he’ll eat pizza?”

  While he took them to the bathroom to wash, Kubu explained how chameleons catch live insects and wouldn’t like pizza. Tumi was uncomfortable with the idea of eating flies, but Nono said she’d eaten moths a few times, and they weren’t too bad. Kubu decided they should have dinner while he still felt like eating and promised to admire the chameleon later.

  AFTER ALL THE FOOD had been polished off, and the children had climbed into bed, Kubu read them a story while Joy cleaned up. Later, Joy came in to kiss them good night and rescue Kubu from further encores. Then the two adults could settle for a few hours of peace, and drink another glass or two of the wine.

  “Nono really loves you, Kubu,” Joy said. “Do you see the way she looks at you? As though the sun comes out of all that bulk.” They both laughed.

  “I’ve been thinking about Nono,” Kubu said. “Tumi is very fond of her, and it will be awful to separate them. And where will she go? With the HIV and everything? Perhaps we should think about adopting her?”

  “You don’t have to ask me, Kubu,” Joy said quietly. “It’s what I want, but I waited for you to come round. It was only fair.” She gave Kubu a big hug, and they sat close together for a few minutes. Then she moved away, looked at him sternly, and said, “But we’re not keeping the chameleon!”

  Kubu laughed, but then his face turned somber as he thought of Nono as he’d first seen her, tiny with not an ounce of fat. Hungry enough to catch moths.

  “Seloi would be so grateful,” Joy said quietly. A few tears trickled from her eyes, but she wiped them away.

  Kubu remembered Nono, big-eyed at her sister’s funeral, not knowing what to make of it. That was the first time he’d met Rampa. Funerals of Distinction. At the time he’d thought the title laughable—a one-man show arriving late in a bakkie with the coffin bouncing on the back. But he’d been wrong about that. It turned out Rampa was very successful. So why had he come by himself? Did he work alone in the hot sun to save a few pula? And why was he late? The mourners had been forced to wait for quite a while.

  He realized Joy had said something.

  “I’m sorry, my darling.”

  “I asked if you wanted coffee.”

  “Coffee? Yes, please.”

  Joy smiled, recognizing Kubu in think-mode, and left him to it while she made the hot drinks.

  Kubu went over the funeral again in his mind. He remembered the undertaker, hot and sweating, calling for a few strong men to help him. And the strong men struggling with the pinewood coffin of a girl wasted away by AIDS.

  Rampa had come late. What if he’d done something along the way that delayed him? What if he’d opened the coffin and added another corpse? Then he would have had to be alone. And the coffin would indeed be heavy if it contained two bodies instead of one. But the timing was wrong. It couldn’t realistically be either of the two girls they knew had been abducted. Maybe there were others?

  Joy put the coffee down next to him. It came with two shortbread cookies on the side. He smiled his thanks.

  “Joy, do you remember Seloi’s funeral? Do you know who organized it?”

  Joy nodded. “It was the relatives Nono was staying with before she came to us. They said that Rra Rampa—the undertaker—occasionally helped very poor people to have a proper funeral when they couldn’t afford it. They approached him, and he agreed to do it for very little money. We all chipped in to cover the cost, and to have some cake and tea for the mourners at the house.”

  Kubu put a shortbread in his mouth and chewed slowly, savoring it along with a new idea.

  “Was that why he came alone with the coffin on the back of a bakkie?”

  “Yes, he said the men there would have to help him bury the coffin; he couldn’t afford to pay for workers. I suppose his hearse was being used for another funeral. There are so many nowadays . . .”

  “Yes,” said Kubu, sipping his coffee. “Only this time maybe there was one too few.” Joy looked at him, puzzled.

  He smiled at her. “Let’s talk about something else. Tomorrow, let’s tell Nono we want her to stay with us and see what she says. Maybe we should ask Tumi first? But they’re sisters already, aren’t they?”

  Joy laughed, delighted. “Oh, yes, they’re sisters already!”

  FORTY-SEVEN

  THE NEXT MORNING MABAKU, Kubu, and Samantha gathered in the meeting room. Kubu reported on his meeting with the undertaker and his subsequent thoughts about the rather odd funeral of Nono’s sister. Samantha chipped in with the news that Rampa had occasionally visited the Welcome Bar No. 2. In turn, Mabaku informed them that he’d obtained the commissioner’s grudging approval to probe the late deputy commissioner’s records for leads to the witch doctor.

  Kubu and Samantha split up the tasks ahead. Kubu said he would follow up on phone calls and text messages to and from Gobey’s phones, particularly during the week prior to his meeting with Mabaku. He also would check with Helenka in Forensics to see if she’d prepared the necessary paperwork to send to Canada to get information from Hushmail. Samantha would interview Gobey’s personal assistant to see if she had any useful information.

  Kubu and Samantha agreed to meet back at CID headquarters after lunch.

  “MY MEETING WITH LORI, Gobey’s PA, wasn’t particularly helpful,” Samantha told Kubu. “She said that nothing out of the ordinary had happened during the week Gobey told you he’d spoken to his informant. He was his normal self, except when he received the call from the witch doctor and another time after he’d talked to his nephew, Joshua.”

  “Joshua Gobey? That’s his nephew? He’s head of the diamond division. I wonder what he was talking to his uncle about.”

  “Lori said he visited Gobey twice. Once”—she pulled out her notebook—“on the twenty-fourth of April, and then on the second of May. It was after the second meeting Lori thought Gobey was upset.”

  “I wonder if he’s also after his uncle’s job,” Kubu mused. “Perhaps he was trying to persuade Gobey to pull some strings.”

  “That’s the job the director wants. Right?” Samantha asked.

  Kubu nodded. “Gobey wouldn’t try to influence the commissioner, from what I know of him. He might have advised his nephew, but he would never have used his position to push him just because he was his nephew.”

  “Maybe that’s why Gobey was upset. His nephew was angry that his uncle wasn’t going to oil the process. Lori also said that Gobey was like a father to Joshua—ever since Joshua’s father died.”

  “I think I’ll have a talk to him. Perhaps he knows something about the witch doctor, although I’d be surprised. I should also speak to Gobey’s wife, although I doubt she’ll say anything.”

  He stood up. “I’d better speak to the director about this first.”

  MABAKU’S REACTION TO KUBU’S request to speak to both Joshua Gobey and the late deputy commissioner’s wife was not what Kubu expected. He’d thought that Mabaku would have sent him to Joshua and visited Gobey’s wife himself.

  “Kubu, I’ll try for an appoint
ment to speak to Joshua Gobey tomorrow. I’m told he also aspires to the position of deputy commissioner. I don’t want him or anyone else to think I’m undermining his position by having one of my staff question him. You’ve met Mma Gobey, so it’s fine for you to talk to her. Don’t push too hard if she doesn’t want to share what they talked about in private. She may not want to talk to you at all, and that’s fine just at the moment—at least until after the funeral.”

  IT SEEMED LIKE A long shot, but Samantha took it anyway. Something had happened to Owido on the night of the fifth of May, and Molefe had sent Rampa a message that night at about the right time. If Rampa had been involved in some way, she thought, it was possible Owido had been brought to the funeral parlor, or perhaps even to Rampa’s home. If so, someone might have noticed something. The area around the undertaker’s premises would be pretty dead on a Saturday night, so her best chance was if something had happened at Rampa’s house.

  Rampa lived on Tshwaana Road in a newer middle-class area not too far from his Broadhurst premises. His house was well set back from the road, and from the outside it looked comfortable, but not ostentatious. A narrow driveway led down one side of the property to a single garage. Samantha spent a few minutes looking at the house from the street to fix the layout in her mind. She checked her watch. It was 6 p.m., a good time to find people at home after work.

  There were seven houses on each side of the street, and Samantha chose to start at the one opposite Rampa’s home. She worked her way up the street, asking the residents if they could recall any activity late that night. Most just shook their heads, puzzled by the question. One or two had grouses about noisy neighbors and their even noisier pets, but no one had anything remotely useful until she reached the house on the right of the undertaker’s.

  When she knocked, the door was opened by a large woman wearing a loud dress printed with bright red roses. Samantha stated her business, and the woman looked blank.