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’s done a little of everything—the rom-cons, like yours, and so on, but the most lucrative for him are the gold scams. They make thousands of dollars, and with a strong dollar they reap a boatload in local currency.”
“You think I could meet this guy—Nii? You’re still in touch with him?”
“In a way,” she said cryptically. “Not like before. I felt uncomfortable about his lifestyle and livelihood.”
“Why didn’t you turn him in to the authorities?”
Susan fixed him with a look. “You’re kidding, right?”
Gordon turned sheepish. “Sorry, bad question. Anyway, can I meet this guy?”
“Depends what you’re looking for.”
“I’m hoping he might know who ripped me off.”
Susan was doubtful. “Given how many fraudsters there are in Ghana and their unwillingness to snitch on each other, I’d say the likelihood of your finding that out is small, but we could try.”
“What about how police and other government officials are in on the game?” Gordon asked. “Could he help me there?”
She pursed her lips. “Maybe, but we’d need to sweeten this up a lot.”
Gordon nodded. “I fully expected that. How much do you think he would want?”
“It’s hard to make Ghanaians name a price upfront, but I would say three-hundred fifty would be reasonable.”
“Three-fifty cedis?”
Susan looked amused. “Dollars.”
“Of course. What was I thinking?”
“You have dollars with you?”
“I have some back at the hotel, yes.”
“If you’re short, you can give the rest in cedi equivalent. You want me to text Nii now?”
“That would be great.”
Susan did, and about ten minutes later, her phone rang.
“Hi, Nii,” she said, and Gordon was impressed by how instantly her voice switched to tones of honey. “How are you? I’m fine, thank you. I have a very dear friend from the States I’d like you to meet. He needs help, and I told him I know exactly the person.”
SEVENTY-THREE
SEVENTY-THREE
Independence Day, Washington, DC
Cas’s body was being ravaged by metastatic lung cancer. He had almost died of respiratory failure in the hospital ER and had spent ten days in the ICU. That could enervate even the most robust of patients, never mind one riddled with malignancy. By the time Cas was back on the recovery ward, he looked like a bag of bones.
Derek was his durable power of attorney and next of kin by default. Once Cas was strong enough, he would go to an assisted living center to spend the short time he had left on earth. At the bedside of the dying man, Derek felt pity for him and a kind of sad anger.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t attend Gordon’s—your father’s—funeral,” Cas said, his eyes closed, his voice feeble and his words muffled by the oxygen non-rebreather mask over his nose and mouth.
“You were in no state,” Derek said.