“Oh, Darko,” she said furiously. “How could you leave something so horrible lying around?”
Dawson sat down heavily on the bed. “I don’t know,” he said hopelessly.
“You’re usually so careful.” She shook her head and grimaced. “That’s Dr. Smith-Aidoo’s uncle?”
“Yes, Charles Smith-Aidoo. He was the director of corporate affairs at Malgam Oil.”
“Poor man.” Christine frowned. “Wasn’t there another oil company executive who was murdered not long ago? The one who was shot dead at his home?”
“You’re right. Lawrence Tetteh, CEO of Goilco, the government’s oil company. Shot execution-style in the head in June about a month before the Smith-Aidoos were murdered. They arrested and charged Tetteh’s stepbrother, a guy called Silas. He’s awaiting trial now. Some people think he was framed.”
“What do you think?”
“There are still questions. Everybody agrees it was a professional job, but this Silas was definitely not a professional killer.”
“Hmm. Well, regardless of who killed Tetteh, do you think the Smith-Aidoo murder could be related?”
Dawson gave her an impressed look. “That’s what I’ve been wondering myself. Tetteh and Smith-Aidoo were both in the oil industry, both shot in the head, and only about a month apart.”
“Who’s handling the Tetteh killing?”
“Some kind of political monkey business went on at the top, and the Bureau of National Investigations took it over from CID. I know Chief Superintendent Lartey was incensed over losing the case. He doesn’t get along with the BNI director. Anyway, I’m still going to keep the Tetteh murder in the back of my mind while I’m investigating the Smith-Aidoo case. One big difference between the two cases, though: the beheading.”
Christine shuddered. “Why cut someone’s head off and then display it on a stick tied to a canoe?”
“Sly said something that made me think. He said his uncle had always told him that when you see a body part severed, it means it has something to do with witchcraft or juju.”
“And you, Darko Dawson, believe that a witch did this?” Christine said disbelievingly. “Come on, I know you better than that.”
“No, I don’t, but maybe the murderer wanted people to think so, in order to shield the real motive behind it. That’s what I have to find out: the real motive.”
