“Do you believe your aunt would have started the rumor about the embezzlement in order to discredit DeSouza?”
She shook her head vigorously. “Not her style.”
“Did he show his resentment after losing to her?”
“Yes, of course he did,” she said, as if it should have been obvious. “Things like being disruptive at meetings, coming in late, interrupting my aunt, and claiming she wasn’t following various protocols. Mean-spirited, spiteful little man who couldn’t stand the thought that a woman, if you please, had beaten him.”
Dawson nodded. He knew a few men like that. “Did he ever make any threats to her?”
“Not that I know of, but there’s no doubt he hated her.”
“I understand he strongly criticized your aunt on that radio program.”
“Criticize?” Smith-Aidoo lifted her chin slightly “No, Inspector Dawson-it was a tirade.”
“Did he have animosity toward your uncle as well?”
“He did, because after the broadcast, Uncle Charles went to the STMA offices and lambasted him. DeSouza tried to hit back by saying, ‘Just you try setting up a business in this town and see how far you get.’ ” She rolled her eyes. “Empty vessels make the most noise.”
Dawson found her indignation attractive. “Do you believe that Mr. DeSouza hated your aunt and uncle enough to kill them in such a brutal way?”
“What do you think my very biased answer to that is, Inspector?” she said, a little mockingly, perhaps.
That’s a yes, Dawson thought with a slight smile. He was eager to talk to DeSouza and find out for himself if he was as detestable as the doctor made him out to be.
“May I look through the rest of these boxes?” he asked her.
“Yes, feel free.” She stood up. “I’m going downstairs to talk to Gamal for a moment, so help yourself. I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Okay, Doc.”
He examined the other documents in the STMA box, many of them minutes of different meetings. One of them caught his eye.
MALGAM OIL: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Attendance Register
Meeting location: Raybow Hotel Conference Center
Date: 8th March, 2012
The attendees had signed in with their phone numbers, email addresses, and the organization each represented. Charles Smith-Aidoo had been present, with an environmental advisor from the Malgam head office in Accra, a district finance officer, an engineer, Fiona Smith-Aidoo, Kwesi DeSouza, and Reggie Cardiman, owner of Ezile Bay Resort.
Dawson turned the page.
Mr. Reggie Cardiman (RC) stated that he was very concerned that he had yet to see a detailed plan from Malgam Oil on what specific measures they will take to protect the shoreline from destruction in the event of an oil spill. RC stated that Cape Three Points, where the Ezile Bay Resort is located, is a major nursing ground for marine turtles from August to March. Dolphins and whales also inhabit this area between October and December. Many birds feed in shallow waters at Cape Three Points, and their habitat is delicate.
In response, environmental consultant Hayford Nkrumah (HN) stated that Malgam Oil and the Ghana government were drawing up policies to delineate environmental measures and corporate responsibility in the face of oil exploration and production. Charles Smith-Aidoo (CSA), Malgam Corporate Relations Director, said he wanted to assure RC that a significant oil spill that would affect the flora and fauna of the shoreline was highly unlikely.
However, RC said that CSA’s declaration regarding the small likelihood of a harmful oil spill was unsatisfactory, as oil spills occur regularly worldwide, citing the Gulf of Mexico disaster of 2010. RC stated that even discharge of ballast water from tankers could affect the integrity of the coastal environment. HN stated that the vast volumes of water in the Gulf of Guinea would dilute the ballast waters.
RC disagreed with HN’s above statement, stating it was disingenuous and designed to allow Malgam to get away with polluting activities with impunity. Kwesi DeSouza requested that the meeting move on to the next item on the agenda regarding waste disposal at the hangars (warehouses) on the Ghana Air Force Base.
The box contained a lot more concerning the STMA. Dawson could spend hours on this. For now, he moved on to the Malgam box, which held policies and procedures, lists of personnel in Malgam, and available positions. The legal papers container included Malgam contracts and personal ones involving the Smith-Aidoo residences in Takoradi and Accra and some land in the Eastern Region.
He turned his attention to the bookcase against the wall by the window. A framed photograph of Charles and Fiona stood at an angle on one shelf. They were both well dressed for an obvious studio pose complete with misty borders. Charles appeared friendly, with a vanishing hairline and an expanding waist. Fiona looked intelligent and attractive; head tilted, she wore crimson lipstick and her hair was stylishly tucked behind ears that flashed pearls at the lobes.
Dawson examined the books. Oil, oil production, economics of oil production, rig technology, and one called Environmental Impact: How the Petroleum Industry Affects Indigenous Peoples. Dawson thumbed through the case studies: Nigeria, Ecuador, Norway, Equatorial Guinea, and the Gulf of Mexico. He supposed Ghana would be included in the next edition. He replaced the heavy book on the shelf and went to the window, where he stood watching Sapphire talking to Gamal as he finished wiping down the Jaguar, which looked as glossy as glass now. Baah was leaning casually against his taxi.
Dawson took down a box that had been thrown up on the top shelf and found a jumble of discarded items that people never knew what to do with-electronic cables, electrical outlet plugs, a damaged power strip, and two battered, old style Nokia phones. He switched on one of them. It still had a little battery life left. He went to the inbox and found five text messages to Fiona.
The battery of the other Nokia went completely out. He looked for and found the phone’s charger, plugged it in, and connected it to the Nokia. He went to the log of received calls. They were from Fiona, Sapphire, twins Paul and Paula, and a few other names that weren’t familiar. Dawson’s guess was that the phone had belonged to Charles.
He came to one that made his scrolling finger stop.
Lawrence Tetteh, 020-156-4676, 19:46 27 Mar
Lawrence Tetteh, CEO of Goilco? Voice mail, a more recent addition to mobile service in Ghana, was not available on his phone. Dawson went to the log of text messages received and scrolled again. He found three sets of messages received from Lawrence Tetteh, all on Friday, 4th May.
The first one said HOW R U
The second and third messages were:
DOING OK, NEED TO CHT WITH U IN PRSON
CALL ME WHEN U R IN WE CAN MEET
Of course, “prson” meant “person,” Dawson thought, smiling at the way he had for an instant interpreted it as “prison.” Too much time being a detective.
He went to the messages sent list and found the corresponding replies:
IM GOOD & U
WILL B IN ACCRA TUE
OK
He dialed 020-156-4676, and it rang repeatedly until it abruptly cut off without any kind of error message. He went through the phone’s menu and found that the provider was Vodafone, which was good, since the company seemed to have an overwhelming presence in Takoradi. It should be possible to find out if this was the right Lawrence Tetteh.