Father Confessor - For the Motherland

Chapter 7

Tsholo was exhausted. Her brown eyes looked bruised and the mouth that was normally so quick to smile had been turned down for the last six hours. She stood in a corner and watched as events unfolded in front of her. Unfolded wasn't exactly the word, however. More like moved at a pace so slow that a passing snail would have appeared to be speed walking. She sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. She had changed out of her party dress and was dressed down in blue jeans, a white shirt and white sneakers. The arms of her shirt were rolled up and her gun was on display in her back holster. Her Botswana police badge was clipped to her black belt and was visible to all who cared to look.

She glanced over to where Detective Chief Inspector Nariti was still grilling one of the hotel employees. They had both been at it for hours but Nariti looked like she had just started. She was wearing the same black dress she had been wearing at the dinner. Her braided hair was tied up in an intricate looking style that looked like it had taken hours to get ready. She held a note pad in her right hand and took notes with her left hand, her full lips drawn in a thin line. Her deep set eyes probably worked wonders in interrogations, cowering her victims and making them spill deep secrets. As though feeling Tsholo's eyes on her, she looked up and stared straight at her. They stared each other down for a moment before Nariti deliberately turned away from her. Tsholo thought she saw her lip curl upward in derision before she continued her questioning.

With another sigh Tsholo pushed up against the wall and straightened up. She walked casually up to where Nariti had just finished with the concierge. For a moment Tsholo thought she saw a look of defeat on her face before she cleansed it stared at her deadpan.

"Anything?" she asked. She knew, however, that she had come out as empty handed as she had.

Nariti shook her head and turned away from Tsholo. "Hey," she said as she stopped her. She reached out to touch her arm but stopped when she seemed to freeze at her anticipated touch. She dropped her hand, feeling like she had been about to do something dirty. "We have questioned everyone who was on duty tonight and came up with nothing. Any ideas on what we can do next?"

Nariti turned her back to her and started walking away. "Detective, I asked you a question?" Tsholo said sharply.

"Detective Chief Inspector," Nariti said tightly as he continued walking. Tsholo felt her hackles rise and her hands curled into fists. She actually took a step towards her but stopped, knowing it could be her badge if she punched a fellow officer like she wanted to.

Seemingly sensing her anger, Nariti stopped and turned, an eyebrow raised haughtily. She gave Tsholo a look that challenged her, wanting her to throw a punch. Wanting her to lose her cool. What the hell was her problem?

Tsholo smiled suddenly and saw Nariti's eyes widen. She brightened her megawatt smile and crinkled her nose, throwing back the same challenge she had thrown at her. "Don't feel bad for failing to get what we need to get the job done. I'm sure you understand that not all detectives are created equal."

With that she walked past the woman who watched her with her mouth ajar. As Tsholo continued forward, she heard Nariti's mouth close with an audible snap and she smiled, not turning around at all. She didn't know what the other woman's problem was but she was here to do a job and to hell with her attitude.

Tsholo walked up to a police official who had just dismissed another employee.

"Please tell me something good," Tsholo asked the police woman who looked even more exhausted than her. The short woman, who wore the dark blue plants and lighter blue shirt, shook her head. Her name tag read Emily Moyo. The three stars on her shoulders ranked her at captain.

"We questioned all the employees who were on the clock tonight. Not one of them saw a thing that was out of the ordinary," Captain Moyo told her. "We double-checked all the people who were supposed to be working but there was one who did not show up. His name is Winston Gadzanani and when he called in sick two hours before the event he was replaced by an Anthony Chavapi. Now, the thing is, we can't seem to find this Chavapi. There were two guards who were killed in the line of duty but neither of them is him. Seems our substitute has disappeared." Captain Moyo looked at Tsholo with a spark in her eye that made both women smile.

"Looks like we have a place to start after all," Tsholo said. "How soon can we get a team out to Gadzanani's place? We need to bring him in for questioning. I need the see the supervisor who authorised Chavapi to work tonight. He might give us answers."

"Already done." Moyo handed some papers over to Tsholo. "Because of the high profile nature of the night's event, all employees were screened and vetted prior to their coming in to work. Seems like the same was done for Chavapi. He came out clean."

Tsholo looked briefly at the document. She handed it back to Moyo. "Run a check on it to check its validity. Chances are it's forged."

Moyo nodded briefly and turned to look around. She nodded briefly to someone behind Tsholo but Tsholo did not turnt to look at who it was. She knew it was Nariti, eavesdropping on their conversation. "My team is exhausted," Moyo said. "There's a shift change in ten minutes. There's not much else than can be done here tonight though. I suggest you go and get some rest, Detective Baboloki."

"You won't get any arguments from me, Captain," Tsholo said with a small smile. "Is there anything else I need to know before I call it a night?"

Moyo thought for a second before moving closer to Tsholo, clearly not wanting to be overheard. "Just one last thing. For security reasons, Commissioner General Maboetsi and his wife were taken to Government House along with the Vice President. The powers that be thought it would be prudent to do so. We do not want anymore messes. Tonight was bad enough as it is." Tsholo nodded in understanding.

"I will see you in the morning," she said. The two women shared a smile and Tsholo walked to the elevators so she could get up to her room. She had opted to spend the night at the same hotel the event was being held in. She hated traffic and had not wanted to brave it going back after the session. As she walked in the elevator and pressed the button for the seventh floor, she turned and looked back. The doors slowly crept towards each other and her eyes met and locked onto the hostile eyes of Detective Chief Inspector Nariti.

Neither woman looked down as the doors slowly closed. Later, after a long hot shower and a nightcap, Tsholo lay in bed, finally resting after nearly twenty-four hours of being on her feet. As her eyes drifted shut and her body succumbed to sleep, a single thought flitted in her tired mind.

Garikai, where are you?

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