Two Hangmen, One Scaffold Book II: In The Hangman�s Shadow

Chapter 24

231 C Chapter 24 n less than half an hour, the couple had debriefed Jasper indoors of the kidnapping and the subsequent deaths at the hospital and in the compound, and their sudden unpopularity in the community. Matipa did most of the talking as her husband sat beside her in the lounge, cracking his knuckles. Binga’s contribution had been largely demoralizing. He talked about Bomani as a grotesque character backed by unlimited charms and talismans, a beast no sane man could confront, but Matipa thought her brother and he were a formidable force. Jasper had many questions. Was Akar Muja Binga Jochoma? If Akar was Binga, why had he used a false name all the years they had known him? How had he wronged this Bomani to warrant the murder of innocent souls and disruption of life and business at the mine? Matipa and her husband agreed the questions were impertinent, what was relevant was finding Peza dead or alive. Jasper reasoned that if it was indeed true Binga had lied, he had to compensate his wife materially for emotional damage after the storm was over. Binga neither agreed nor disagreed. The three knew that the entire compound was watching the house from a distance. Vurayai’s body was still on the threshold. Logically, someone might have notified the mill manager of the macabre development, who in turn called the police. The two men understood they had to leave the mine without further delay or the arrival of the police would thwart their hunt for Bomani, and Binga would end up in solitary confinement. “Where do we look for the animal?” Jasper asked. “Patchway Mine,” Binga answered. “The berserk prophet gave us the clue.” Jasper gapped his mouth. “It sounds crazy.” I 232 Matipa said matter-of-factly, “I had a dream in which the former prophet featured as a cardinal compass.” “The corpse outside,” Jasper said inadequately and paused “What happens to it?” “Its clearance is a function of the police,” Binga answered. “Word travels faster than light here. I’m sure by now someone has told Gilchrist everything and he’s contacted the scavengers for the job.” Binga excused himself briefly and went into the bedroom. Alone, he prepared for a possible terminal fight by offering prayers to the ancestors for protection or passage to the realm of the dead. He bemoaned lack of time to revisit Mupamombe’s grave as Mjomba, the Malawian sorcerer, had bidden him. Recalling instances of bravery and valour in the army, and the people who fell by his hand on the Shurugwi-Chegutu gold-belt, an inner assurance he could pound Bomani to death, or into submission, gradually rose in him. Bomani was a marauder; he too was one. Whether the brute saw himself metaphorically as a matador or a hangman, he too was all that. Mjomba endowed him the spirit of a bull; hence, he subdued and killed a number of men on emerging from the tunnels of Patchway Mine. He was a dangerous man by any definition. If ever he stood toe-to-toe with Bomani Kumanda, it would be two hangmen in the shadow of the other, two juju-certified men tactfully swinging the noose for an opportune moment. Whoever found a break first and took advantage of it would descend tall the scaffold’s steps while the other dangled. When he returned to the lounge, Jasper was showing his sister two bowie knives on his person; one sheathed inside the waist of his trousers, the other in his left boot. “If he won’t submit, I’ll break all his bones and cut him into dinner-size portions,” Jasper said. “I don’t think anyone can be tried and hanged for killing the brute.” 233 “Have you ever killed a man before?” Binga asked, looking down at him in a sofa. The question visibly dispirited Jasper. He shook his head. “No, but everything has a first time. I’ll be happy to terminate this man.” “The man came looking for me. When we meet him, you’ll allow me to tackle him alone. It’ll give you an appreciation of his capabilities. We must come back alive, with or without Peza. My father taught me that in whatever a man does, he must not die. Death, not the Devil, is a man’s worst enemy. What do you say?” “I’ll let you tackle him...