In the middle of February, the legal team began in earnest to prepare for the trial of Darious Nyambo. Zoe collaborated with Sarge and Niza in compiling a witness list and assembling signed statements and affidavits, and she worked with Joseph to confirm the willingness of each witness to testify at trial. Soon, Sarge convened a meeting to discuss the evidence.
They went through the preliminary witnesses chronologically—the teenage girl, Given, who saw the silver SUV in Kabwata, not far from Doris’s house; the adolescent, Wisdom, who saw the SUV heading down the lane at midnight; the boy, Dominic, who saw Darious and Kuyeya outside Agnes’s house; Agnes, who heard the sound of an engine and doors closing; Abigail, who found Kuyeya on the street; and Dr. Chulu, who examined her at the hospital.
When they got to the subject of Joseph’s testimony, Sarge sat back in his chair. “We’ll run through your investigation, the arrest, and your conclusions about Darious’s health. We’ll wrap up with your discovery of the nganga, Amos.”
“Is the good doctor still in Lusaka?” Niza interjected.
Joseph nodded. “I saw him a week ago. He’s still there.”
“That brings us to Doris,” Sarge said. “She can talk about Bella’s history with Darious.”
“If she agrees to testify,” Zoe said. “The last time I talked to her she was undecided.”
“I have confidence you’ll convince her,” Sarge replied. “After Doris is Amos. He’ll develop Darious’s motive. If he strays from his prior testimony, we can use the recordings against him. When was the last time you spoke to Bob Wangwe?” he asked Joseph.
“I talked to him a few days ago. He’ll be there with his client.”
“Very good,” said Sarge. “The last witness on my list is Kuyeya.”
“I don’t think the judge will let her testify,” Niza countered. “Dr. Mbao said—”
Sarge interrupted her. “Mwila told me yesterday that Dr. Mbao has revised her assessment. Kuyeya can answer simple questions.”
Niza frowned. “It’s a gamble. We don’t know how she’ll react in Darious’s presence.”
“That’s why we’ll prepare her,” Sarge said. “What’s the worst that could happen? She doesn’t speak. She starts to cry. Other kids have done that, and it hasn’t stopped us from putting child victims on the stand. I hate the thought of traumatizing her again. But we don’t have DNA. Without her testimony, we could lose the case.”
Zoe glanced at Joseph. “I’m still hoping the housekeeper will come through.”
“Do you honestly believe she would testify?” Niza asked.
Zoe took a breath. “I don’t know.”
Sarge surveyed the faces around him. “There is one other matter we need to discuss—the media. If word gets out about the trial, we could have a lot of attention. The Post would love to cover this, and if the Post covers it, so will the Times.”
Zoe shook her head emphatically. “A leak would be devastating. Doris would never testify, to say nothing of the housekeeper.”
“I don’t see it happening,” Niza chimed in. “The Nyambos don’t want press any more than we do. Darious’s reputation is expendable, but Frederick’s and Patricia’s are not.”
“Regardless,” Sarge went on, “if someone from the media contacts you, send it to me. We need to handle it delicately. We want the press on our side in case Nyambo appeals.”
A week later, Zoe drove to Kabwata to visit Doris. She left the GPS tracking unit at the office and took a roundabout route, reversing course several times and keeping watch for a tail. She hadn’t seen Dunstan Sisilu since the day he put a gun to her head, but the memory of his revolver and ominous words replayed often in her mind. When she satisfied herself that nothing was out of the ordinary, she parked in the lot outside Doris’s apartment and knocked on the door.
Bright appeared in a T-shirt and jeans. “What do you want?”
Zoe didn’t blink. “I need to speak to your mother.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Bright conceded.
Zoe sat on the couch and studied the ancestral mask above the door.
Eventually, Doris entered the room and sat down. “Why do you keep bothering me?” she asked. “I told you I have not decided.”
“Kuyeya needs you to decide,” Zoe said frankly. “The trial is in a month.”
Doris stared at the floor.
“I know you’re afraid. But you owe it to Bella.”
Doris looked up sharply.
“It’s in her journal, what she did for you. She could have run, but she saved your life.”
Doris closed her eyes. “Darious is dangerous. He could hurt my children.”
He already did, Zoe thought, empathizing with the woman. “I know it’s a risk, but the judge needs to hear about the relationship he had with Bella.”
Doris rubbed her hands together nervously. “You asked me once whether she called him something other than his given name. I thought of it the other night. It was a Tonga word.”
“Siluwe,” Zoe said softly.
Doris froze. “How do you know?”
“She used it in her journal,” Zoe replied, struggling to contain her excitement. Suddenly, Bella’s diary was not only relevant but also admissible as evidence. “Do you know why?”
Doris shook her head. “If I come to court, can I tell the judge about Bright?”