Presently Aunt Deline asked: ‘What is this I am reading about the permanent secretary misplacing some papers?’
‘You know’, Inspector Gogo said, leaning forward confidentially, his hunger forgotten, ‘I have a theory about those papers, but I am interested in hearing yours.’
‘No, let’s hear yours first’, Aunt Deline insisted.
‘Ok. I think the permanent secretary forgot where he put the papers.’
‘The report says he said he kept them in his briefcase.’
‘He might have thought he did. It happens many times. Remember the case of the missing diamond brooch of Mrs. Tango? She swore she had kept it in her drawer but where did we eventually find it? In a case in her bathroom! Did she not confess that she remembered putting it there when she heard one of her servants coming into the room? People forget things.’
‘Granted, people forget things,’ Aunt Deline persisted. ‘Even I forget things. But let’s give credit to a man who says he still saw the envelope in the morning while at another meeting and he never touched it all through the day but occasionally checked on it and always saw it. I think your theory of a memory lapse cannot hold here. I rather think that I believe him.’
‘Believe him all you like; but I have seen enough of the lapses in human nature to put my faith in the staidness of any man. Have you forgotten the case of the civil servant who killed his girlfriend? Everyone swore he was an upstanding man but one lapse of judgment caused him to commit murder…’
‘We’re not talking murder here, just some missing papers. And I think I might know where the papers are,’ Aunt Deline replied.
‘You do?
‘Oh yes, from my reading of the newspaper report, I can plot you the exact spot where those papers are. However, I will not say where until I have visited the office and tested my little theory.’
‘Surely you can do that tomorrow. I will hold my theory till then.”Yes do; I don’t want your theory contaminating mine. I have found that the average policeman thinks linearly. In situations like this, you must think within the entire radius of the problem. As soon as the sun rises tomorrow, I will go and test out my theory.’
‘I can go with you. The permanent secretary has asked for my help on the matter. He got to know me through an old classmate, I guess. I can tell him I have come to survey the place myself and introduce you as my associate.’
Aunt Deline looked hesitant. ‘I would have liked to go on my own. But you can come along I guess.’ With that, they fell into talking about other things.
When the morrow dawned, I found myself breakfasting alone. Aunt Deline left home early and returned about two hours later, fuming.
‘Did you know that taking a taxi ride in this town is just like taking a ride through hell? Not only are they tiny for the six people they cram inside it, the drivers are very rude, impatient and lack the human connection. Sometimes I wonder, what is the point of their life? They would sooner lose their passenger’s life than lose their money.’
‘What happened, Aunt Deline? Where did you go? The Inspector came to look for you.’
She waved her hand dismissively at me. ‘Oh, never mind, you’ll hear about it soon enough. Where is breakfast?’
After I had presented her with her favourite pap and akara meal which I had bought from the woman downstairs who specialised in frying akara, she ate heartily. You would think she had never eaten before.
‘Mama Sikira sure makes the perfect akara, I tell you. If I happen to pass out, don’t go for sniffing salts. Just put one fist wrap of her akara under my nose. Believe it or not, my mouth will open.’
Immediately after breakfast, Aunt Deline disappeared again and did not reappear until evening. I occupied myself by studying. After all, my exams were approaching.
About half past seven, Inspector Gogo came down to our flat. Aunt Deline was not only back but had freshened up and had had supper. I had cooked some stew and white rice which I garnished with some fried slices of plantain we call dodo around here. I was proud of myself after watching my aunt smack her lips on the last slice of dodo. If I had to say so myself, I certainly had a nifty hand in the kitchen; obviously, I could not depend on my aunt to say it. Around here, you have to help yourself to everything, including praise.
The inspector had come along with the day’s paper, which he proceeded to read to himself, semi-aloud.
‘Even with a university education, the man still reads like a kindergarten cop.’ Aunt Deline’s remark lighted the spark as she came into the parlour.
‘It’s not everyone who had the privilege of a straight-line education from nursery to primary to secondary to university. Some of us had to do farm work before we could do GCE privately to even be able to go to pivotal or sandwich to earn our degree,’ replied the inspector before he continued mouthing his reading.
‘Well, you don’t have to be so proud of your lengthy educational journey. The question is, has it helped you find the missing papers?’
‘No. You left me behind, remember? My theory has not changed though… What did you find?’
‘I said it, you need to go back to school and get your money back if you cannot solve a simple enough problem like some missing government papers.’ She made it sound like it was a problem that amateur detectives used for practice.
‘If I remember correctly, even the great detective, Sherlock Holmes, had some difficulty solving a similar case involving some missing government papers,’ replied the inspector.
‘Perhaps; but I’m not sure he will agree with you that he ‘had some difficulty’. To start with, he was dealing with a professional criminal class whose system was more advanced. In this case, we are dealing with a criminal whose interest in trade overrides everything, including loyalty. You must remember that where the Nigerian is concerned, money comes first.
‘So, I asked myself, who is likely to benefit more from these papers? First, the permanent secretary had taken them in order to use them, not sell them. That was motive enough, but in this case, he was the victim not the beneficiary. He also stood to gain but indirectly. So, clearly, he did not take the papers. The question is, who did, since no one else knew about the papers, and papers do not get up and walk away? Papers fly away, yes, but only if the window is opened, but that was not the case. According to the report, the man was had already left the office and was home, so presumably, his windows would have grills. All home windows in this country have metal grills.’
‘Someone could have concealed him or herself in the room without anyone observing…’
‘I thought of that too, and I must confess that was my main thought when I went to the office this morning to see things for myself.’
The inspector bristled. ‘Were you well received there? Were you able to take a good look at the place?’
‘Yes to both questions. How else can one arrive at the truth? You must see things for yourself. I ask you: can a doctor arrive at a true diagnosis of a disease without inspecting the patient? Every disease leaves a trail as plainly as a crime. It is then up to the doctor to follow the trail to catch the criminal.’
‘Now, you are talking like an academic — being simplistic. You think diseases are so easy to catch? If so, no one will be sick. Don’t you know that there are people on hospital beds whose doctors are as baffled about the nature of their illness as I am about many crimes? You are just a typical woman, jumping to conclusions!’
‘That’s where you’re wrong. There is nothing yet that has not yielded its true and explicit nature to the observant eye. The eye is the key. If you miss one step in your analysis, the data will deal falsely with you. You must pay close attention.’
