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
Derek didn’t answer. Perhaps in time, he thought, straightening up. “I have to get going now. I’m your DPA whether I like it or not. All your affairs will be taken care of.”
When he reached the door, Derek half turned as he heard Cas try for the last word. He had moved his oxygen mask to one side and now he said, in a strikingly stronger tone, “I left everything to your dad. And in his absence, it all goes to you.”
SEVENTY-FOUR
SEVENTY-FOUR
March 25, Accra, Ghana
Nii Kwei didn’t know much about Susan’s American friend: the man was doing research for a book and wanted to know something about how sakawa works. Nii was fine with it as long as Susan had reassured him the guy was okay. Best thing was there’d be some cash in it for Nii as well.
At seven-thirty in the evening, he pulled up in his white gold Audi Q7 to Champs Sports Bar on Ring Road Central. The parking attendant waved him into a secure spot and Nii gave him a tip to keep an extra watch on his gorgeous vehicle.
Inside, the bar was alive with music, rowdy conversation, and laughter while an English Premier League soccer match was playing on the wide screens. Nii looked around and saw Susan waving. He walked over to her table where she and her friend were sitting. Susan stood up to embrace Nii before the introductions.
“This is my friend, Gordon. Gordon, meet Nii.”
The two men shook hands. Nii thought Gordon seemed familiar, but frankly a lot of white guys looked the same, so initially he didn’t think too much of it. The white man seemed to be scrutinizing him from top to bottom.
Susan ordered a carafe of white wine while the two men had a Stella Artois each. She did a good job breaking the ice, but Nii felt awkward and imagined the white man did too.
“So, yes, Nii,” Susan said. “Gordon here is writing a paper on the sakawa phenomenon and I told him you have experience in that world.”
Nii only smiled.
“I hope it’s okay to ask you a little about it,” Gordon said politely.
“No problem at all,” Nii responded, but he felt a chill pass through him like the hot ice of a malarial attack. It was all coming together—hard to believe, but impossible to deny. The voice, the face he recalled from Skype, and the name. Gordon. This was one of his mugus, right here in Ghana talking to Nii live. What did he want? What was he looking for?
“How long have you been dealing with the sakawa phenomenon?” the white man asked.
“Just a few years.”
“Lucrative, huh?”
Nii shrugged, “Anyway, somehow.”
Susan interjected. “Nii, I was telling Gordon the sakawa life is not as easy as it’s sometimes portrayed on the Internet.”