Baby X by Keeble Harry
Author:Keeble, Harry [Harry Keeble]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781849831727
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
BIG GAME
If you’d told me six months ago I’d be on a plane bound for a tiny West African country to take a witness statement I would have laughed my head off. Instead, I was holding my breath as we descended towards Ghana’s international airport – a fellow passenger had tapped me on the arm to tell me (with a grin) that we were lucky – the runway had just reopened after a Boeing, just like this one, carrying delegates to Liberia’s peace talks, collapsed on its wheels during take-off.
Luckily this sort of thing just added to my excitement. I always enjoyed a challenge, and this was about as challenging as it got. Besides, I was damned if a few thousand miles of ocean and desert were going to stop me from convicting Omari.
The Republic of Ghana is a small country about the size of the UK, which sits on the Gold Coast between the Côte d’Ivoire and Togo and faces the Gulf of Guinea. Its coast is lined with colonial ports, built by the French, English and Portuguese, who all mined the little country dry of gold. Now they’re after the estimated 3 billion barrels of oil hidden below the dusty earth.
Sarah was with me. We stumbled our way out of the plane, through the chaotic airport into a gusty evening heat – it was like being slapped with freshly boiled towels. Outside, a makeshift bus station was packed with overloaded minivans coming and going, disgorging dozens of passengers. Nearby was a ramshackle market where women squatted behind tiny tables stacked high with bowls of rice, salted fish, as well as dozens of baskets of fruit and vegetables. They shouted out their prices to passing shoppers. Another sauntered across a dusty, cracked football pitch, a large tub balanced effortlessly on her head, oblivious to the game under way – kids shouted for her to get a move on.
We were met by Ray, our very smartly turned out official unarmed police escort. ‘Hi, Mr Keeble,’ he said, throwing out his hand with enthusiasm. ‘We’ll drop your things off at the hotel before going to the police station.’
He led us to the 4×4 we’d hired, along with a driver (who had cost less than the fuel). We needed it because our witness lived ‘up-country’; in other words, it was a bloody long drive.
As we loaded our equipment, a screaming voice suddenly erupted from behind me. I span round to see Ray rummaging frantically through his trouser pockets. This continued until Ray retrieved his phone. ‘That’s my boss,’ he grinned apologetically, ‘I recorded him telling me off.’ I took an instant liking to Ray; he seemed like a man to trust.
Having said that, when we reached the hotel, they had no record of any reservation for us and were full. Ray was mortified. ‘Never mind,’ I said, ‘the Metropolitan Police will have to pick up the tab. Where’s the biggest hotel around here?’ Unfortunately, my hopes of staying in the largest hotel (and therefore the plushest) in town were dashed when that turned out to be full too.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Child Abuse | Elder Abuse |
Partner Abuse |
Should I Stay or Should I Go? by Ramani Durvasula(6751)
The Lost Art of Listening by Michael P. Nichols(6442)
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion(5166)
We Need to Talk by Celeste Headlee(4845)
Beartown by Fredrik Backman(4372)
Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford(4258)
Hunger by Roxane Gay(4187)
Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday(3959)
I Love You But I Don't Trust You by Mira Kirshenbaum(3208)
Mummy Knew by Lisa James(3153)
Crazy Is My Superpower by A.J. Mendez Brooks(2849)
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Coping With Difficult People by Arlene Uhl(2816)
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis(2807)
Toxic Parents by Susan Forward(2794)
Not a Diet Book by James Smith(2695)
The Hard Questions by Susan Piver(2543)
Name Book, The: Over 10,000 Names--Their Meanings, Origins, and Spiritual Significance by Astoria Dorothy(2479)
The Gaslight Effect by Dr. Robin Stern(2341)
The Social Psychology of Inequality by Unknown(2290)