The Flowing Pen - An Anthology

Crime of Passion - Part 2

"Your witness," Ms Hobkirk said with a small bow to the prosecutor, before taking her seat.

The state prosecutor was Mr Rahman Guchu, a short, dark and potbellied man with a puffed face who walked with a limp. He shambled towards the witness stand, smoothing his wig with his left hand while his right was in hus trousers pocket.

"Mr Ben Damba," his voice was high pitched as he addressed me. "Would you describe yourself as a violent person?"

Is this a trick question? "No."

"A short-tempered one?"

"No."

"'No',you say." He turned on his heels and faced the gallery, his head cocked to one side. His limped to his desk where he picked a sheet of paper before facing me again. "Yet six years ago, there was a complaint filed against you at Sakubva Police Station. Can you tell the court about that?"

I gulped. Here we go. "A drunk prostitute vomited on my doorstep. I tried to make her clean it up but she bit me on the hand. All I did was try to stop her."

"And in so doing you broke her nose?"

I kept my mouth shut.

"Had you slept with this so called prostitute?"

Ms Hobkirk rose. "Objection, your Honour. Irrelevant."

The judge fixed a stare at the prosecutor.

Mr Guchu explained. "Your Honour, I intend to show a pattern of the accused's behaviour."

The judge said,"Overruled. Witness may answer the question."

"No, I didn't sleep with her."

"But she said you did, and she was in your apartment."

"She my house, yes. But only because she had slept with a friend of mine who was visiting."

"Yet this friend denied having been at your house. Why was that?"

"I don't know."

"Anyway, let's move on." He paused a bit then asked, "Who is Teresa Mate?"

My lawyer frowned. She was in the dark.

I answered without hesitation, "A former schoolmate."

"Why did you break her leg, twelve years ago?"

A thought crossed my mind : the past is coming back to haunt me. Karma is a b...

"Mr Damba? Did she vomit on your doorstep too?"

I sighed. "She was part of a group of girs who ganged up and bullied me back in school. One day on the way from school, they ambushed me and tried to...to..fondle me. I fought them off and Teresa was injured."

"Are you sure that's what happened? Because Miss Mate has a different story."

"That is what happened."

"Mmmm," Mr Guchu mumbled, a thoughtful and skeptical expression on his face. "Anyway, weren't you supposed to be at work on the evening of February the first?"

"Yes."

"Why did you leave before your clocking off hour?"

Focus. Tell the truth. "I received a tip that my wife was cheating on me."

"So you went back to kill her?"

"No, I went back to find out if it was true."

"How many tips did you receive exactly, Mr Damba?"