The Detective

Detective Kayange sat serenely behind his cypress desk thinking about how he would present himself before this woman whom he had been assigned to investigate. Her name was Anganile and she had been dating Mongololo, the General Manager of a certain downtown hotel, for three years now and they were planning to tie the knot the following month.

Mongololo had been tipped by some of his workmates that his fiancée was having an affair with another man. But he was not a man who would rush to act based on rumours but always wanted to establish the truth.

Above everything, he loved Anganile so much he never thought she would ever double-cross him.

Anganile was a raving beauty. Her gleaming ivories were like pellets of frozen rain. Her gentle smiley countenance spoke volumes of how much she cared for it. As she walked in the streets, men would stop dead in their tracks to feast their eyes on this wonderful creation of nature.

Only those who were confident enough had the guts to greet her. Men feared her like hell, yet she was a very sociable woman according to circumstances.

Now Kayange had been given this task by Mongololo to find out the truth concerning her alleged promiscuity. It was part of his profession and he could hardly turn down the assignment. After all, he was known to be a very competent detective, but somehow he thought that this special assignment was too difficult.

Never in his challenging profession had he ever come across such an episode which appeared to be thick with labyrinths. He knew that he was dealing with the future of both Mongololo and Anganile and that the former would kill him if he messed things up, while the latter would be terribly angry with him should she learn that her husband-to-be had jilted her because some nosy parker called a detective had fed him with some negative information.

And to another extent, the detective decided that Mongololo would not believe it should he come to him and tell him that all the rumours about Anganile going out with other men were just baseless.

Kayange pulled a file from the lowest compartment of a desk drawer, subsequently discarding some old newspapers and magazines. Holding one magazine in front of himself, he flipped through its pages purposelessly. Then he dropped it back in the drawer.

The vague impression on his mind that could be easily read on his face meant nothing progressed in him better than the usual reflex actions which he could not control. He had not been tipped by anyone what he would rank a good clue so far because he did not want anyone to interfere with his investigation.

No informant was needed as far as the secrecy of the investigation was concerned, he assured himself.

He walked out of his office with gentle springs in his measured steps and headed towards Anganile’s workplace where he though that the investigation had to start. She was working as a sales officer at a certain company which was about 200 metres away from the detective’s office.

He just thought that the investigation had to start there without making any premeditated plans. He believed that sometimes spontaneous plans worked best in his profession.

A few minutes later, he found himself on the road that connected with the one leading to Anganile’s workplace. Across the road stood a three-storey complex where the woman worked.

“So far so good,” the detective mumbled to himself as he neared the complex.

Suddenly he became unfocussed and disorganised but still he did not completely flinch from doing the assignment. He stood in front of the doorway into Anganile’s office and seemed to lose all the confidence with which he had started.

Then he knocked at the door gently and a soft feminine voice ushered him in.

After some formal greeting, Detective Kayange said to Anganile: “I am the General Manager of Tuliko Bank and have heard quite a lot about you; how you diligently work and how you have helped your organisation make outstanding profits this year.”

“What do you mean sir,” asked Anganile.

“Anyway, to be frank, my coming here is to ask you if you may consider joining our bank as an employee. I know that it might surprise you but sometimes where there is honey, you don’t necessarily need to wait till the bees leave; for they cannot leave when the honey is still there.”

Anganile smiled. She had always looked forward to the day when her welfare would be improved and here was this grand opportunity which she could hardly despise. It was a stepping stone into a brighter future, a future filled with glory.

“What should I do to return the gesture?” she wanted to know.

“You can have dinner with me tonight if you don’t already have an appointment.”

“I am a married woman.”

“Wow, I never knew. Alright what do you think you can do which you will be comfortable with?” He decided that perhaps it could have been better if he had brought with him the recorder so that he would record the whole conversation.

Anganile just smiled without saying a word. It was clear that the ball was in the detective’s court. The woman just moved to and fro in her swivel chair. The detective decided that he had discovered enough about this woman but the only problem was that he did not have any evidence that she was promiscuous.

He wanted to leave, but her beam was so inviting and he could hardly ignore it.

“Come,” she beckoned him pointing at her lap.

Who was Kayange to reject the offer? Who was he to discount this angel beckoning him, this bird which had perched itself on a snare which he had never set. He was human, born of fresh and blood and he had feelings like all humans. He ambled towards her and looked in her roving eyes.

“Come and sit here,” she repeated and pointed at her left thigh this time around.

He resisted but finally he fell to the temptations of the fresh. He forgot that he was on a mission and that he had a family at home which relied on him on everything. The two were like they had been lovers for a decade, yet they had only met that day.

That marked the beginning of a love relationship. Mongololo kept waiting for Detective Kayange to give him the final information as soon as possible. After waiting for too long he decided to visit the detective and ask how far he had gone with the investigation.

But when he arrived at the detective’s office, he was told that he had gone out. Then he decided to go to his fiancée’s office. There he found the detective sitting on Anganile’s lap comfortably reading a newspaper. Mongololo could not believe his eyes. What the hell was going on? Why the hell would Kayange do that to him? He collapsed.