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Back The Missing American Save as PDF
Chapters (109)
  1. Part One
  2. ONE
  3. One day earlier
  4. TWO
  5. THREE
  6. FOUR
  7. FIVE
  8. SIX
  9. SEVEN
  10. EIGHT
  11. NINE
  12. TEN
  13. ELEVEN
  14. TWELVE
  15. THIRTEEN
  16. FOURTEEN
  17. FIFTEEN
  18. SIXTEEN
  19. SEVENTEEN
  20. EIGHTEEN
  21. NINETEEN
  22. TWENTY
  23. TWENTY-ONE
  24. TWENTY-TWO
  25. PART TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY
  54. FIFTY-ONE
  55. FIFTY-TWO
  56. FIFTY-THREE
  57. FIFTY-FOUR
  58. FIFTY-FIVE
  59. FIFTY-SIX
  60. FIFTY-SEVEN
  61. FIFTY-EIGHT
  62. FIFTY-NINE
  63. SIXTY
  64. SIXTY-ONE
  65. SIXTY-TWO
  66. SIXTY-THREE
  67. SIXTY-FOUR
  68. SIXTY-FIVE
  69. SIXTY-SIX
  70. SIXTY-SEVEN
  71. SIXTY-EIGHT
  72. SIXTY-NINE
  73. SEVENTY
  74. SEVENTY-ONE
  75. SEVENTY-TWO
  76. SEVENTY-THREE
  77. SEVENTY-FOUR
  78. SEVENTY-FIVE
  79. SEVENTY-SIX
  80. SEVENTY-SEVEN
  81. SEVENTY-EIGHT
  82. SEVENTY-NINE
  83. EIGHTY
  84. EIGHTY-ONE
  85. EIGHTY-TWO
  86. EIGHTY-THREE
  87. EIGHTY-FOUR
  88. EIGHTY-FIVE
  89. EIGHTY-SIX
  90. EIGHTY-SEVEN
  91. EIGHTY-EIGHT
  92. EIGHTY-NINE
  93. NINETY
  94. NINETY-ONE
  95. NINETY-TWO
  96. NINETY-THREE
  97. NINETY-FOUR
  98. NINETY-FIVE
  99. NINETY-SIX
  100. NINETY-SEVEN
  101. NINETY-EIGHT
  102. NINETY-NINE
  103. GLOSSARY
  104. Acknowledgments
  105. Continue reading
  106. Part One
  107. ONE
  108. TWO
  109. THREE

“On the third of April,” Sana interrupted, “I was in the States doing some TED talks. There are some recent YouTube videos of me with a verifiable date. Is that what you wanted?”

“It is,” Sowah said. “Thank you, sir.”

FIFTY-FIVE

FIFTY-FIVE

DCOP Cleo Laryea generally did not like Mondays and he was already grumpy when, as he had promised the director-general, he summoned DCS Quaino and DI Damptey to his office.

They entered his frigid, air-conditioned office like a pair of guilty children due for a spanking, giving the customary civilian salute by stiffening briefly with closed palms facing backward.

“Sit,” Laryea said curtly from behind his desk. They kept their eyes down until he began to speak. “We have this American man missing since April. That is your case, correct, DI Damptey?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Update me on your progress so far.”

“Yes please,” Damptey said. “After the man’s son—I mean Mr. Tilson’s son, Derek—came to CID to report his father missing in middle of May—around there—we started to work diligently on it while following several leads—”

“What leads? Be specific.”

“Please, we were in touch with the locations where the gentleman—Mr. Gordon—was residing here in Accra and also at Akosombo.”

“What did you learn?”

“At first he was staying at a certain hotel, em—”

“Kempinski,” Quaino prompted.

“Yes, Kempinski, and then he moved to another place one European woman owns. When I talked to her at March ending, she told me Mr. Gordon Tilson had left to Akosombo to stay at someone’s home, but he never returned after that. So, then we called the homeowner and spoke to him. We found out that on the morning Mr. Gordon was supposed to leave, he was absent from his room and all his possessions were gone.”

“Did you find any signs of struggle in the room?”

Damptey, shifting her weight and appearing uncomfortable, seemed to have lost her tongue.

DCS Quaino came to her rescue. “Please, due to transportation issues, we have not as yet been able to visit the Akosombo site—”

“What?” Laryea’s eyes blinked rapidly. “A possible scene of the crime and you haven’t seen it in person?”

“Please, we couldn’t secure a vehicle—”

Laryea cut him off. “Don’t try that old, worn-out excuse because it doesn’t work on me. What about Derek Tilson? Did you ask him to assist you with transportation costs?”

“Sir,” Quaino said, firming up, “we asked him, but he was annoyed because we were asking him to cover our transportation costs. He doesn’t understand how our system works.”

“What system?” Laryea asked icily. “What system? Derek Tilson is right to be annoyed! Why should he pay our transport costs? That is not a system. That’s your laziness, pure and simple. Oh, you think because now I’m a DCOP I’ve forgotten how officers make up these inflated transportation costs and pocket the change?”