Read Murder at Cape Three Points for Free Online

able to look back and say that he had spent time with his younger brother, Darko, not long before he died.
    Cairo had been a paraplegic since he was a teenager. In a tragedy that had occurred in just a few seconds but would affect him for the rest of his life, a car had hit him as he crossed the street on the way to buy some provisions. Flying up over the roof of the car and down the back, he had severed his spine and become paralyzed from the waist down.
    In years past, he had relied heavily on the care of others, but the Cairo of today was fiercely independent, far from helpless, and doing very well for himself. His curio shop was located along the tourist trap, clustered around Oxford Street. It was packed with souvenir vendors, restaurants, hotels, nightclubs, banks, and telecom giants like Vodafone. During the global economic downturn, Cairo had fallen on a rough time, as had other merchants, but he had survived and trade had picked up again. Until only a couple of years ago, he had been single, but now he was married to Audrey, a gem of a woman, and they had one daughter.
    The shop, Ultimate Craft, was air-conditioned and filled with the sweet smell of wood and leather goods. Recently Cairo had expanded, buying out the neighboring shop and annexing it. Georgina, his faithful store manager, greeted Dawson and told him his brother was in his office.
    Dawson poked his head around the door. “Busy?”
    Cairo looked up and grinned. “Darko, come in! Not really. I’m only pretending.”
    Dawson laughed and leaned down to hug his brother. “How are you?”
    “Fine—just going over the books,” he said, waving at the laptop on his desk. “You know how that is.”
    He was three years older than Dawson and had the same closely shaved hairstyle. They resembled each other in the face, but the physiques differed. Cairo, athletic as a boy before the accident, was now chunkier than his younger brother, although he had recently lost weight on the orders of his doctor.
    He swung his lightweight wheelchair around to face Dawson as he took a seat. “So, what’s up, little brother?”
    “I’m off to Takoradi on Tuesday,” Dawson said.
    “Oh? What’s going on there?”
    “New case. Don’t know if you ever read about the murder of Charles and Fiona Smith-Aidoo off Cape Three Points.”
    Cairo searched his memory for a moment and shook his head. “Doesn’t ring a bell. What’s the story?”
    Dawson gave him a quick rundown, explaining that the case came to CID via petition.
    “Hope it goes well for you,” Cairo said sincerely. “You know we all like to have you right here in Accra. It’s a pity you have to leave Hosiah right now.”
    “I know,” Dawson said, shaking his head regretfully. “I hate it myself, but Lartey is in no mood to be messed with, and I’m coming up for promotion soon.”
    “Audrey and I will have Christine and the boys over at the house or drop in to see them,” Cairo offered.
    “Thank you. I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.”
    There was a slight pause.
    “I saw Papa yesterday,” Cairo said quietly.
    Dawson leaned his cheek against his knuckles and fixed his gaze at the floor. “And?”
    “He asked for you.”
    Dawson grunted noncommittally, and Cairo cleared his throat awkwardly. “Darko, I know there’ve been hard feelings between the two of you, but he’s getting old now, and he’s not going to live forever. I’m just saying maybe it’s time to not so much forget, but to forgive. He does love you.”
    Dawson snorted. “You don’t hit the people you love, and whetherPapa used his hand or a cane, he hit me a lot. It was never the same for you, since you were his favorite, so maybe you don’t understand, but I didn’t deserve to be treated that way just because I was attached to Mama and a skinny boy who wasn’t good at sports.”
    “I think I do understand, Darko.” Cairo sighed heavily, rubbing the fist of his left hand slowly against the palm of his left as he