TWENTY-TWO
KUBU AND SAMANTHA WAITED until about five before they left for Witness’s house; they decided to drive separately since Samantha lived close by. As Kubu followed Samantha’s old Toyota, he wondered what to expect from this man who had just lost a daughter. Could Witness Maleng have turned his grief into rage and then murder? And, if so, why Marumo? Or did he somehow know that Marumo had muti in his desk? Did he think some witch doctor had killed his daughter for Marumo? As for the blue Volkswagen, there were many on Gaborone’s streets. Was it just a coincidence that a car that looked like Witness’s was parked near Marumo’s house on the night of the murder? The man who reported the car hadn’t seen it in the neighborhood before.
Kubu thought it unlikely that Witness was responsible for Marumo’s death, but they needed to check it out. After all, Mabaku was on a mission. If they left a single stone unturned, there’d be trouble.
Kubu pulled in behind Samantha, climbed out of his Land Rover and joined her in front of the small house. The curtains were drawn, and there was no Volkswagen in the drive.
They banged on Witness’s front door, but there was no response. They circled the house but the windows were closed.
“Let’s check with the neighbors. You take that one. I’ll take this.” Kubu walked to one of the houses and knocked on the door, but there was no reply. He glanced at his watch. It was nearly half past five. Maybe they haven’t got back from work, he thought.
He looked over to see how Samantha was faring. She was talking to an elderly woman, so he walked over to join them.
“This is Mma Bule. She’s been at home all day,” Samantha said, closing her notebook. Kubu nodded as Samantha continued. “She saw me this morning, and says Maleng drove off after loading his car not long after I left. She doesn’t know where he was going.”
“Dumela, Mma Bule,” Kubu said. “How’s Witness been since his daughter disappeared?”
“Eish.” She shook her head. “I think the spirits are in him. Ever since Tombi didn’t come home, he’s been a different person. He loved her very much, and, after his wife’s death, this must be too much for him. Tombi was such a good girl. They were always happy together.”
“How did his wife die?” Kubu asked.
“Of the AIDS! They were very happy together, then she told him that she had it. Witness was very angry that she wouldn’t tell him how she got it. She died very quickly—just over a year.”
“Did he talk to you about who may have taken Tombi?”
“No. Everyone tried to help, and we looked everywhere. It’s so sad. Then he started drinking, and many times I saw his friends bring him home late at night.”
“Do you know where he went to drink?”
“Everybody around here goes to BIG MAMA KNOWS ALL. It is a shebeen not far from here, on Letsopa Street.”
Kubu glanced inquiringly at Samantha. She nodded. “I know where it is.”
“AAII. HE WAS ANGRY. Sad and angry.” Big Mama wiped her brow with a dishcloth from behind the bar. “Until Tombi disappeared, he didn’t come here very often. Never drank very much and was always quiet. I think he preferred being at home.”
Kubu and Samantha didn’t say anything.
“But after Tombi couldn’t be found, he started coming here a lot. And drank too much. Sometimes he was so drunk that his friends had to take him home.” She looked at Kubu. “I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen. He drank and drank and would sometimes cry into his beer. It was so sad. He loved Tombi so much, especially after his wife died. She was all he had.”
“Did he ever suspect anyone of taking Tombi?” Kubu asked. “Did he ever mention anyone who might have done it?”
Big Mama shook her head.
“No. Eventually he thought someone must have put a curse on him. He said it was the only way to explain why a good man like him could lose everyone he loved.”
“Did he suspect anyone?” Samantha asked.
“No, but I suggested he visit Mma Gondo.”
“Mma Gondo?” Samantha asked quietly. “Who’s she?”
Big Mama looked at her curiously. “Everyone knows Mma Gondo. She’s a very powerful witch doctor.”
Kubu stiffened, and Samantha inhaled sharply.
“Big Mama,” Kubu said taking out his notebook, “tell me about Mma Gondo. Everything you know.”
Big Mama pointed to a small table in the corner. “Sit there.”
She then went through the door behind the counter.
Kubu and Samantha looked at each other, then walked over to the table and sat down. A few moments later, Big Mama reemerged with a tray on which there were three plastic glasses, a pitcher of water, and a Tupperware container of ice cubes. She filled the three glasses, pushed the Tupperware container into the middle of the table, and sat down.
“Help yourselves to ice.”
She leaned back in the chair.
“About a week after Tombi disappeared, Witness came to me and said he was convinced that someone had put a spell on him. There was no other reason that made sense. He was a good man, then his wife died, and now his daughter had disappeared. It had to be a spell.”
She took a deep drink.
“He wanted me to confirm this.”
“Why you?” Kubu asked.
“He thought I was a witch doctor. But I’m not. I’m a traditional healer. Anyway, I told him about Mma Gondo. Now she is a witch doctor—a powerful one, known far and wide.”
“Does she deal in muti?” Samantha interrupted.
Kubu raised his hand, indicating that she should be patient.
“Yes, she does. But not in human body parts, as far as I have heard. Animals, yes. Plants, yes. But not humans.”
“Did Witness see Mma Gondo?”
“Yes. He told me he was very disappointed. He said he had spent nearly all his money, and all she had said was that he must look for a man who was nothing, and is now something. He was very angry, because he didn’t know how to find such a man in a big city like Gaborone. He said there must be hundreds of men like that.”
Big Mama shook her head.
“Sometimes men don’t listen. I told him when the time was right, he would recognize the man. I didn’t convince him, and he stormed out.”
“Is that all? Did he say what Mma Gondo had told him about muti?” Samantha was getting frustrated.
“I haven’t finished. Mma Gondo didn’t talk about muti, only about who may have benefited from it. Anyway, a few minutes later, Witness came back and said he knew who Mma Gondo meant and started talking about Bill Marumo and the Freedom Party. He said that they were going to win the by-election. I told him that was impossible because the BDP always wins in this area, by a large margin. He told me to wait and see. Then he left.”
She took a deep breath and looked at Kubu.
“And the Freedom Party did win—against all odds,” he whispered.
Big Mama nodded.
“And Bill Marumo was murdered right after.” Samantha’s eyes glistened with excitement.
“Was that the last time you saw Witness?” Kubu asked.
Big Mama nodded, then hesitated. “I went to his house to look for him yesterday. I was worried after that talk about the Freedom Party and then the news about Marumo. I think Witness was in the house because his car was there, but he didn’t answer when I called him. So I gave up.”
The three of them sat quietly for a few moments.
“There’s one other thing,” Big Mama said. “A few weeks ago, just after his daughter disappeared, Witness went to a rally for the local Freedom Party candidate, Jacob Pitso. Marumo was also there. Witness tried to attack him. Luckily some of Marumo’s supporters stopped him before he did any harm.”
“Did he tell you why he went after Marumo?”
“No. But people I spoke to said Witness called him the Devil and accused him of being a rapist.”
“A rapist?” Samantha asked. “I haven’t heard anyone accuse him of that.”
“It was nonsense,” Big Mama replied. “He was very mixed-up.”
Kubu struggled to his feet. “Thank you, Big Mama,” he said, a little self-conscious at using that name. “Thank you very much.”
AS SOON AS THEY left the shebeen, Kubu phoned Mabaku and told him what Big Mama had said.
“I’m going to get a constable over to Witness’s house in case he comes back,” Kubu concluded.
“Good,” Mabaku replied. “And I want you to come to the office now to fill out a search warrant application for his house. I’ll phone Judge Lope to alert him we need the warrant signed this evening.” He hung up.
That’s Mabaku, Kubu thought, a bit miffed. Not long on positive reinforcement.
“How will the courts regard a revenge killing?” Samantha asked. “Especially if that muti you found at Marumo’s came from Witness’s daughter.”
Kubu shrugged. “Nothing’s clear when muti is involved. Everyone’s scared that a spell will be put on them. I think you’re going to see the ball passed along the line like a hot potato.”
“That’s why muti murders never stop,” Samantha cried. “Nobody has the guts to stand up to the witch doctors. If the president had a daughter, and she disappeared, maybe things would change.”
Before Kubu could answer, his phone rang.
“Assistant Superintendent Bengu,” he answered. He listened for a while.
“Are they sure it’s not at his office?” He frowned.
“And you’ve searched the house and his car?” He listened to the answer.
“And the garden?” He nodded.
“I’ll send someone there right away to get the details. Thank you very much for calling me.” He pressed the red button on his cell phone.
“That was Jubjub Oteng, Marumo’s girlfriend,” he told Samantha. “The new head of the Freedom Party just phoned her asking for Marumo’s briefcase. It has important party documents in it. Apparently they saw Marumo take it with him when he left the office on Saturday evening. Jubjub checked in his car and around the house but can’t find it. Please go and speak to her and get a detailed description. Check also whether she knows what he may have had in it. Then do the same at the Freedom Party offices. If it’s still missing, let all the local police stations know and also the garbage haulers. They should all keep a sharp lookout for it.”
Samantha nodded. “I’ll see if anyone at the Freedom Party headquarters has a photo of him with it. That’ll help.”
“Good thinking.” Kubu nodded. “Also, talk to the woman who saw the man running from Marumo’s house. Ask her if she can remember whether he was carrying something. Call me when you’ve finished. I’ll probably be at Witness’s house if we get the warrant. Maybe the briefcase is there.”
Samantha left and walked to her car. Kubu stood deep in thought. If we don’t find the briefcase, maybe it was a politically motivated murder, he thought. The country doesn’t need that. He shook his head.
I’d better give Joy a call, he thought. Tell her I’ll be late. And to put my dinner in the oven. He grimaced. He detested dried-out meals.
TWENTY-THREE
WHEN ZANELE ARRIVED AT Witness’s house, Kubu was already there. She spotted his Land Rover first, and then saw him standing at the front door. He was talking to two policemen who had just come out of the house. Obviously the assistant superintendent had obtained the needed search warrant, and they had broken into the house already. She sighed as she pulled in next to the Land Rover. She doubted that they’d been careful not to disturb things inside, but she accepted that the house had to be secured before she and her team entered.
She jumped out of her car and directed the driver to park the forensics van next to the house. Then she walked quickly to the others.
“Hi, Kubu. All clear? No one inside?”
Kubu nodded. “According to these two.” He nodded toward the two constables. “I’ll come in with you.”
Zanele nodded. Not much harm could be done now. She liked pristine crime scenes—ready to test her skills and insights like science experiments. This house didn’t look as though it would be that way. She waited while her team unpacked equipment and everyone put on latex gloves and plastic bags over their boots, and then they all entered the house.
The front door opened onto a living area that included a couch and two lounge chairs, a scarred wooden dining table with four mismatched chairs, and a small kitchenette. The room testified to a departed owner. Cupboard doors stood ajar, revealing empty shelves. Zanele pulled out a drawer and found nothing inside. Kubu carefully opened the fridge and found it empty also, and the interior light didn’t come on. It had been turned off at the wall. The kitchen was stripped.
They moved on to the next room, a small bedroom off the living area. It contained a double bed with a worn mattress and a cheap two-drawer bedside table made from a wire frame and woven reeds. No bedding. There was a rickety clothes cupboard, and it too was empty. Kubu shook his head and muttered something Zanele didn’t catch.
There was another bedroom, which was even smaller, hardly more than an annex off the living room. Judging by the magazine pictures stuck to the wall, it had been the daughter’s room.
“He’s on the run,” Kubu said, looking angry. “Damn! I should’ve sent out an APB as soon as we’d talked to Big Mama.”
Zanele wondered what he was talking about, but she wasn’t really interested. She was focused on the task at hand. She was now in the small bathroom, just a washbasin, shower in one corner, and toilet. The cistern was cracked and sweated a little, but the room was clean. Their suspect was a good housekeeper, or maybe he’d cleaned the room recently. She felt a twinge of excitement. She liked bathrooms. They always revealed secrets no matter how carefully scrubbed. She called over one of her men.
“Jonas, have you got the fluorescein and the ultraviolet light? Bring it in here.”
Using a swab, she collected a sample of brownish stain from around the plug hole. Then she sprayed the basin with the fluorescein mixture, and shone the lamp into the basin, carefully positioning it to pick out a hairline crack in the porcelain. It fluoresced. So did the ring where the plug hole met the sink.
“Kubu, there’s blood here. Doesn’t prove anything, of course. Not yet. We’ll have to test the sample. Doesn’t have to be human at all, or he could have cut himself shaving. Let’s look around some more.”
They walked back to the living room, and Zanele found more blood traces in the kitchen sink. Kubu said nothing, but his eyes roved around the room taking in the signs of the hasty departure. Jonas called out from the larger bedroom that there was a blood smear on one leg of the bed also.
“It’s him,” Kubu said suddenly. “There’s the blue Volkswagen and what Big Mama told us, now the bloodstains, and why did he suddenly take off after talking to Samantha? He killed Marumo all right. We just have to find out why. And I’d bet that his missing daughter and that muti we found at Marumo’s house are involved somehow.” Zanele looked up, puzzled at the mention of Big Mama, but Kubu hadn’t finished. “Damn! I’ve let him have a head start. I’ve got to get hold of Mabaku right away to send out an APB. Then I can finally eat my dried-out dinner if Joy hasn’t given it to Ilia!”
After he’d gone, Zanele was left in peace with her team and her crime scene, checking for fingerprints, scraping up blood samples, packeting hairs, collecting soil particles and even a leaf that might be traced to the murder scene. They worked quietly, efficiently, knowing what to do, starting to build the case against Witness Maleng piece by tiny piece.