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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

After dinner, Abena took a quick shower. Kojo wouldn’t wake up for another two hours. She tried reaching Emma, but the call didn’t go through. Abena lay her head down to sleep and she prayed this project of Mrs. Akrofi would end soon. She could understand the purpose and she approved of it, but the stress being put upon her and Kojo was beginning to wear them down.

Voices from behind the servants’ quarters woke Abena. What time was it? Her phone said ten minutes before midnight. From one of the two windows in the room Abena looked out several meters to the hibiscus garden, which—as was the case with most well-appointed homes—was illuminated brightly with security lights installed along the enclosure wall. She saw Mrs. Akrofi in her dressing gown speaking to a man. She seemed upset. Her chin was thrust forward, her voice rose and fell in both pitch and volume, and she gesticulated with her hands. They were both speaking in Twi, but from where Abena stood, she could make out only a few words here and there.

The man had an odd-looking facial scar. His hand gestures indicated defensiveness and frustration as Mrs. Akrofi argued with him. Toward the end of the almost ten-minute discussion, the man’s head dropped, and he appeared crestfallen. Mrs. Akrofi did an about-face and marched away back to the house, leaving the gentleman to see himself out.

Who was the man, Abena wondered, and what had the heated discussion been about? The question didn’t occupy her mind for very long, however. It wasn’t really any of her business. She went back to bed and fell asleep again.

EIGHTY-EIGHT

EIGHTY-EIGHT

On Monday, CID Headquarters in Accra brought in Clifford and Clement from Akosombo Police Station, which didn’t have enough space to keep the twins much longer. Aware of the strong bond between the twins, Commissioner Andoh kept them apart to throw them off balance and render them more vulnerable to questioning.

A constable brought Clifford to the commissioner’s office and stood to one side to keep watch over the handcuffed muscleman. Clifford appeared sullen but nervous. The commissioner told him in Twi that anything he said might be taken down and used later as evidence in court. “Do you understand?”

“Yes please,” Clifford said, but he looked uncertain. He was out of his depth. A person of means might have refused to answer questions without a lawyer present, but Clifford didn’t know anything about that.

“How old are you, Clifford?” Andoh asked.

“Twenty-four, please.”

“Where did you attend school?”

Clifford muttered a name and then admitted he and Clement had never completed high school.

“You are always together, you and Clement, eh?” Andoh asked.

“Yes please.”

“You feel like you are one person—or part of each other.”

“Yes please.”