A picture of him waiting in the snow. No Iris around. Him staring at the building, a father waiting for his son-to-be. Pensive.

He remembers to breathe.

He skips through the other photos. Pictures of them outside the courtroom. Pictures of Iris holding a naked Grant, about to put him into the clothes they brought for him. Pictures of them in the courtroom, before the judge came in—Danielle wouldn’t have dared take a picture with the judge present—Iris and Kyle sitting at attention, posture erect, trying to look deserving and capable. Sober and parental. Like they could be trusted with Grant’s life.

He moves through the pictures: leaving the courtroom, Grant in their arms now. Smiling as they boarded the plane. Waving his little hand goodbye to his motherland. Grant looking sleepy and confused. Iris weighed down with bags of clothes and bottles for the long series of flights to take them back to Texas.

The next picture stops him and he ejects the drive, not wanting to see it.

Drops of blood, on pristine snow.

22

Transcript from Interviews for A Death in Winding Creek by Elena Garcia

Elena Garcia: So much has happened in the days since you arrived in the United States after your ex-wife’s death. I’m sorry for your loss.

Gordon Frimpong: Thank you.

Garcia: Let’s talk about your relationship with your son, your relationship with Danielle.

Frimpong: Yes. You have to understand, I followed Danielle’s requests regarding our son. She didn’t want me around, and I had my own life to lead. People are so judgmental until I have a chance to explain.

Garcia: I’m not judging.

Frimpong: I just found it very strange that it was written about in the news accounts that I had not spent much time around my son. What did that have to do with Danielle getting herself killed? Nothing.

Garcia: “Getting herself killed” is an unusual way to put it. Like you think she was responsible.

Frimpong: Well, pardon an infelicitous turn of phrase. Danielle was a wonderful woman, and no, I’m not blaming her. I’m still in shock. It’s turned all our lives upside down.

Garcia: How did you meet?

Frimpong: I had banking clients in London who had a cousin in the United States. This cousin wanted to do a foreign adoption from Ghana, which is my homeland. Danielle handled it. It went very well. She was in London on a connecting flight to Moscow and she had an overnight. I was based in London then. They asked me to take her out for a drink or dinner if she felt up to it. I’m ashamed to say I viewed it as a chore, but I met her and we hit it off. She was a delight.

Garcia: And then you dated for a while?