Deadly Harvest Read Online Free Page A

men in Botswana were involved. That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Justice for some, a blind eye for others. Who cared that a little girl was murdered for body parts, when the reputation of men had to be protected. The same thing may have happened to Lesego Betse, and the trail is fresher.”
    What happened to her that makes her so intense? Kubu wondered. He made a mental note to ask his mother whether she knew Samantha’s parents.
    â€œWe need to keep all the possibilities in mind,” he said. “With no word after four months, we have to assume she didn’t just run off. Someone abducted her. That could have been for a variety of reasons. It could have been for sex, or to take her out of the country and sell her as a sex slave. There have been cases of that. The fact that we haven’t found a body suggests that might be the case.”
    â€œOr it could be a witch doctor who’s taken her. For muti .”
    Kubu nodded. “In any case, this is how I would proceed.”
    For the next hour Kubu gave Samantha insights about undertaking such an investigation—­the ­people she should speak to, the evidence she could trust, the evidence that might be unreliable, and the hostility she would encounter, both from ­people she would question and from Betse’s family, who likely thought the police had not taken the investigation seriously. He also suggested that she check on unidentified bodies of children that had turned up since December. If she could find Lesego’s body, that would be her best break.
    Eventually Samantha stood up to leave.
    â€œI hope you’re successful,” Kubu said. “Let me know how it goes. Come and see me anytime. Cases like this need to be solved.”
    She thanked him and left.
    Kubu sat quietly for several minutes, reflecting on what had just happened. The CID will never be the same, he thought. I just hope that what emerges is a better place.

THREE

    K UBU GLANCED AT H IS watch. He had about an hour and a half before his meeting at Marumo’s house. He turned on his computer and went to get another cup of tea while it booted. As he walked back into his office, he heard the familiar Windows start-­up sound. Ignoring his e-­mail, he went straight to the Internet. Google is my friend, he thought as he typed in “Bill Marumo.” He had more than seventeen thousand hits in a fraction of a second. I’ll start with Wikipedia, he muttered. He picked up his pen and started to take notes.
    â€œWilliam Mishingo Marumo. Born Maun 11/11/1972.
    â€œOnly child. Father killed in mine accident in 1984.” Kubu wondered whether it had happened in Botswana or South Africa.
    â€œGraduated Maun Secondary School, 1990. BA (Honours) Political Science, University of Botswana, 1995. Member of Student Representative Council, 1993–1995, president 1995.” That’s where he got started in politics, Kubu mused.
    â€œMochudi, January 1995: arrested in protests against alleged police cover-­ups in investigation of ritual murder of Segametsi Mogomotsi.”
    Kubu put down his pen. Now there’s a coincidence, he thought. Not half an hour ago Detective Khama and I were talking about the murder of Segametsi Mogomotsi, and now I read that Bill Marumo was arrested in the ensuing protests. He scratched his head. It’s impossible that the two are related. Still, he felt a niggle of discomfort. He really didn’t believe in coincidences.
    He continued to browse the numerous reports about Marumo—­newspaper articles in all of the Botswana newspapers, blogs, and even some coverage overseas.
    â€œJunior reporter at the South African Sunday Times , 1996–1998. News reporter Botswana Radio, 1998–2000, then Botswana TV, 2000–2004.” Kubu made a note to check what types of programs Marumo had worked on.
    â€œJoined the BDP in 2002. Elected to parliament 2004 representing BDP in Gaborone