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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

But before he did that, he had promised Lady Araba Tagoe, who loved decorating her palatial space with flowers and trees, that he would bring her a pair of planters for the upper terrace outside her bedroom.

It was a Monday—a fresh start to the week. Ismael went to the garden shed that stood at the end of Ruby Row next to a motion-sensor exit. From the shed, Ismael removed two large terra-cotta planters and carried them one in each hand to 401 Ruby Row.

For additional security, each mansion in the Valley had a remote-operated wrought-iron gate at the driveway entrance. Among the several different house types and colors, Lady Araba’s was called “The Duke,” painted orange chiffon with a red tile roof trimmed in white. A high-ceilinged portico formed the Duke’s front entrance. As Ismael approached, Lady Araba’s chauffeur Kweku-Sam was washing her Range Rover, which he did every morning before he took the boss out. Any driver worth his salt kept his employer’s vehicles shiny and spotless—barely possible in Accra’s dusty environment. Araba’s second car was an Audi, but she preferred the Rover for its high profile and smoothness over rough roads.

“Morning, Kweku!” Ismael called out.

Kweku-Sam looked up from his work and smiled. “Morning. How be?”

“I dey, oo! Wassup?”

They slipped seamlessly into Twi instead of English. Ismael was from arid Northern Ghana, while Kweku-Sam was Akan, but Twi was their lingua franca.

“Where is the house girl?” Ismael asked. “Usually she’s sweeping the yard by now.”

“She traveled to her hometown for a funeral. Where are you taking those flowerpots?”

“To the terrace,” Ismael responded. “Madam asked me to get them for her.” He worked part-time at a plant shop in town.

“Okay,” Kweku said, glancing at his watch. “She will be down in about thirty minutes. Today is a big day for her—the fashion show.”

“Ah, fine.” Ismael knew next to nothing about that kind of thing. It was a different world. The lives of Trosacco’s residents were far removed from his own.

Ismael took a left across the green lawn with sprawling hibiscus, past the projecting bay window of the living room and the kitchen, then a right at the staff quarters to the rear of the house.