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
“He said he wasn’t sure,” Quaino said. “But anyway, we confiscated the jacket as evidence and asked the forensics lab to check for bloodstains. They didn’t find any. We were still not satisfied, so a few days later, we questioned Mr. Yahya again and on this occasion, his story changed in that now he claimed Mr. Gordon had given him the jacket as a gift.
“It was on Friday after you called me, sir, that I went over the case carefully with DI Damptey and we realized that Yahya was not really in the clear. On Saturday morning, we went to see him to ask again how Mr. Gordon’s jacket had come into his possession and how he discovered Mr. Gordon had disappeared. He became confused when I asked him why Mr. Gordon should give Yahya a jacket that is oversized for his small stature. I then arrested him for property theft and brought him to CID to question him more closely.
“We questioned him on Saturday afternoon. Eventually he broke down and made a signed confession that very early on the morning of third April, he went to the lodge with the intention of robbing Mr. Gordon of all his possessions. During his attempt, Mr. Gordon accosted him, and a struggle ensued. Yahya knocked him out and took all his belongings including the luggage, his laptop and mobile phone.”
Laryea leaned back in his ergonomic chair. “And where are those items, then?”
“We believe Yahya sold them but either forgot to get rid of the jacket or simply decided to keep it.”
“Yes, but then where is Mr. Gordon?” Laryea asked, mystified.
“Okay, this is another strange part,” Quaino said. “Yahya admits to overpowering Mr. Gordon, knocking him out and taking all his things, but says he left Gordon in the lodge lying on the floor. Yahya says he doesn’t know what happened to Gordon between the time he left him unconscious in the lodge around three in the morning and when he returned about four hours later to supposedly collect Mr. Gordon back to Accra. We don’t believe him. We believe in fact that Yahya murdered the American and has disposed of the body somewhere. He’s just afraid to confess to the full crime, but we believe he will do so in due course.”
Laryea blew his breath out through his cheeks. “You have a perfectly decent job as a driver and then you rob and murder a client? It makes no sense.”
“He’s uneducated and also a little bit stupid, sir.”
Laryea grunted and contemplatively rested his temple against a closed fist. “Just one thing, though. If Yahya had a struggle with Mr. Gordon, there must have been signs of it, surely? Furniture scattered, table lamps overturned—things like that. Did Mr. Labram say anything about that?”
“No, he didn’t, sir.”