A Death in the Family Read Online Free

CID headquarters at the base of Kgale Hill, most of the people around the table were bleary-eyed. The only exceptions were the detectives who hadn’t been involved in the late-night investigations of Wilmon Bengu’s murder. Ian MacGregor sat with his eyes closed, his head rocking slowly left and right as though in time to a Scottish dirge. The women in the room, forensic specialist Zanele Dlamini and Detective Samantha Khama, both normally wide-awake and chatting to each other, sat quietly with their eyes open but minds far away. Edison Banda, who had helped Samantha go door-to-door in the early hours of the morning, was slouched forward, arms on the table, head on his arms. No one was talking.
    The door opened, and Director Mabaku walked in and sat down at the head of the table. The chair next to him, normally occupied by Kubu, was vacant.
    â€œGood morning.” Even Mabaku’s voice was tired. A murmur of responses came from around the table.
    â€œI’m going to keep this as short as I can. We’ve got a lot of work to do today.” He turned to MacGregor. “Ian, do you have any updates for us on Kubu’s father?”
    Ian shook his head. “Unfortunately not, Director. I did a preliminary autopsy before I came in this morning. As I thought, he died from a single stab wound to the heart. The other blows all missed and did mainly surface damage. The stab to the neck narrowly missed the left carotid artery and would not have been fatal. The knife was about three-quarters of an inch wide at most and at least seven or eight inches long. It penetrated the heart and went right through it.” He took a sip of his coffee. “The perpetrator doesn’t appear to be professional—the overhand stabs and the multiple wounds probably indicate he didn’t really know what he was doing.”
    â€œOr she…” Samantha interjected.
    Ian glanced at Samantha with a slightly irritated look. “Or she.”
    â€œDid you notice anything else about the body?” Mabaku asked.
    â€œI didn’t have time to do a thorough examination. I’ll do that after the meeting. I’ve juggled my caseload to move this to the top. I thought you’d want that.”
    â€œThank you. Let me know immediately if anything new turns up.” He turned to Zanele. “Has Forensics come up with anything?”
    She shook her head. “It wasn’t a good crime scene. There were lots of footprints in the sand, and it’s very hard to make sense of them. Anyway, I sent one of my men up there at first light this morning to take a closer look in daylight. We also have Rra Bengu’s clothes and are looking at them closely to see if there’s anything there—hairs, threads, etc. We won’t be able to get any prints off them, but sometimes things cling…”
    â€œSo you don’t have anything at the moment,” Mabaku growled. The meeting was not going the way he’d hoped. He needed progress. He needed his best detective back.
    â€œAnd you, Samantha and Edison. I hope you have something positive.”
    Samantha and Edison looked at each other. Samantha pointed at Edison.
    Edison cleared his throat. “We’ve got people searching a wide area around where Rra Bengu was killed looking for the murder weapon or any other clues. But nothing has turned up as yet.” He glanced at Mabaku and then quickly went on: “Of the people I spoke to last night, only one had any information. A Rra Mulale saw Rra Bengu leave his house at about eight fifteen and walk down the street. He’s known Rra Bengu for many years, so he’s sure it was him. He said Rra Bengu was walking faster than usual and that he was alone.”
    â€œWhere does this Mulale live?”
    â€œHe lives on the road where the body was found, halfway between it and the Bengus’ home.”
    â€œDid he notice if anyone was following?”
    â€œI asked him that. He said he