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
Nii Kwei was angry with Bruno. “Chaley, you can’t just refuse him like that! What’s wrong with you? Don’t play with this man. He has powers he can turn against you. You better go tell him you’ll do whatever he says.”
Bruno rose and went to Ponsu’s door. He knocked. “Please, I’m sorry, okay? What you want me to do is no problem. I will do it.”
SIXTY-ONE
SIXTY-ONE
Derek opened the door of his hotel room to Emma and Sowah.
“Hello, Derek,” Sowah said. “May we come in?”
He must have read their expressions because his face fell. “Yes, of course.”
They sat in a triangle.
“As I told you,” Emma began, “I asked some fishermen on the Volta River to look out for anything strange. Today, I heard from one of them, who told me that they have found a sack with a body floating in the river.”
Derek nodded. His face was neutral. “Okay.”
A short silence fell over them, then Emma cleared her throat. “I’m not saying it’s your dad. But to investigate this fully, we must ask you to view the body to either confirm or deny the identity. We’ll be going to the mortuary up there in a couple of hours. Can you come with us?”
Derek said, “Yes, of course.”
The Volta River Authority Hospital was relatively well funded with proceeds from the hydroelectric dam, but it still lacked resources. The morgue was overcrowded with more than one body per refrigerator drawer. Only two autopsy tables were available. Dr. Anum Biney, who had been the chief medical officer there for decades, met Emma, Sowah, and Derek at the front entrance.
He had a startling white mustache curled at its tips and shocking white hair to match. Accompanied by a police officer from the Akosombo Police Station, they followed Dr. Biney along a verandah flanking long, low-profile wards. The sky had opened and let loose a torrent that nearly soaked them as they crossed the uncovered space between the wards and the morgue.
Emma loathed the typical morgue smell—human decay mixed with bleach and formaldehyde. She felt nauseous with it as they entered the building. Before they went into the autopsy room, Biney stopped to address them. He had a calm, baritone voice, which gave the impression that no situation, no matter how dire, could ever fluster him.
“We have now washed the body of dirt and other river debris,” he said. “Nevertheless, I must caution you it is still a severe sight—among the worst I have ever seen. The odor also, some of which you might already be detecting, is very powerful and penetrating. That is why I suggest you all put some Mentholatum underneath your nose. We have some for you.”