Chapters (109)
- Part One
- ONE
- One day earlier
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- PART TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- EIGHTY-FOUR
- EIGHTY-FIVE
- EIGHTY-SIX
- EIGHTY-SEVEN
- EIGHTY-EIGHT
- EIGHTY-NINE
- NINETY
- NINETY-ONE
- NINETY-TWO
- NINETY-THREE
- NINETY-FOUR
- NINETY-FIVE
- NINETY-SIX
- NINETY-SEVEN
- NINETY-EIGHT
- NINETY-NINE
- GLOSSARY
- Acknowledgments
- Continue reading
- Part One
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
Hungry, Emma and Sowah bought a packet of biscuits and some Alvaro soda to wash them down. They continued about a mile farther to the Riverview Cottage, which was down an incline in a picturesque and shady area not far from the Volta River’s right bank. The lake itself, formed by the Akosombo Dam, was north of here. Emma noted how emerald green the environment was. Living in Accra in traffic and billboard purgatory made one forget what the natural world had to offer. She noticed the chirping of birds, a sound invariably drowned out in the urban environment.
Mr. Labram had been expecting them. Fortyish, he was heavyset with a belly that spilled over his beltline.
“Very happy to meet you,” he said, shaking hands first with Sowah and then Emma. “Please come this way into the house—you said you would like to look around. We have a tenant but they’re out right now.”
They followed Labram along a shaded walkway with inlaid sandstone tiles. A breeze came off the river, glimpses of which they could see through a lush flank of trees.
“I’m glad someone is paying attention to this case,” Labram said, unlocking the front door. “Mr. Tilson was here for only a few days, but he was a kind, decent man. I also met Mr. Derek when he came here looking to find out what had happened to his dad. Has Mr. Derek returned to his country?”
Sowah replied, “Not yet.”
Labram asked a little about the history of Sowah’s detective agency and Emma noted how humble Sowah sounded in his response. His words conveyed a quiet wisdom born of years of experience. Emma hoped to be like that someday.
Labram must have been impressed as well. “That is very good, Mr. Sowah,” he said, nodding in approval. For his part, Labram was an Akosombo Dam engineer who had the option of free housing from the Volta River Authority. The Riverview would be his retirement home, but in the time being, he was reaping the benefits of Airbnb.
“I hope we can find out what happened to him,” Labram said, “and that, God willing, it’s nothing bad that has occurred.”
“Did anyone from CID get in touch with you?” Emma asked. Sowah wanted her to pose as many questions as possible, and she was gathering up the courage to do so in his avuncular presence.
“One lady detective,” Labram said. “I think the name was Damptey—Dorothy or Doris—she called me and asked a few questions to confirm the dates Mr. Tilson had arrived and was supposed to have left. She said she would send someone from Akosombo Police Station to interview me, but no one has ever shown up.”
“I see,” Sowah said, exchanging a glance with Emma.