A Death in the Family: A Detective Kubu Mystery by Stanley Michael

Author:Stanley, Michael [Stanley, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Crime, Contemporary
ISBN: 9781466881556
Goodreads: 25659136
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 2015-10-27T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 35

As Kubu drove back to Mahalapye from Shoshong, he brooded about the meeting with Mabaku. Had he been wrong all along? Instead of believing that he was the only one who could find the murderer, should he have trusted the team and left the investigation to them? He feared that his relationship with Mabaku was permanently damaged. And he didn’t have much to show for his clandestine efforts. His gut told him that Julius was involved somehow, but he had no real evidence and no way of taking the investigation further. He was getting farther away from Julius with every moment.

When he reached the hotel, it was too late to cancel his room for that night, so Mabaku was committed to another day’s cost. Too bad, Kubu thought. He intended to sleep in his own bed that night. But he didn’t leave right away; there was someone he wanted to see before he left Mahalapye, and Kubu knew where he was to be found once evening came. He phoned Joy and told her what had happened, then called Miriam to make the travel arrangements to New York. After that, he spent the afternoon relaxing in the air-conditioned lounge. Finally, he checked out, put his bag in the trunk, and went in search of the Kalahari Oasis Bar. A weird name for a shebeen miles from the Kalahari, he thought. Still, the oasis part of the name was probably more to the point. Apart from its name, the shebeen had another interesting feature: it was only a few blocks away from the pay phone that had been used twice to contact his father the week before he died.

When he eventually found it, he wasn’t encouraged. It was in a rough part of town, and the bar was at least as shabby as the neighborhood. Kubu parked his car, wondering if it would still be there when he came back. For a few minutes he sat there and considered whether he should write off the meeting. The chances were that he’d learn nothing, and even if he did find something useful, he’d only have more angst with Mabaku. He decided that this time he’d follow the rules. He started the car, then realized he hadn’t really come to get information. He actually wanted to see the man who might be the only remaining family member of his father’s generation.

He turned off the engine, took his service pistol, and headed into the bar.

* * *

INSIDE IT WAS dingy and stiflingly hot. Plastic chairs, several broken, crowded around plastic tables decorated with empty cans. People were smoking—totally illegally—but no one seemed to notice or care. Kubu made his way to the bartender and asked for a St. Louis beer. The man shoved a lukewarm can toward him and demanded the money.

“I’m looking for Mzilikaze Bengu,” Kubu said. The bartender pointed to one of the tables, where three elderly men were chatting with empty cartons of Shake Shake beer in front of them. They

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