A MIND TO READ

Every knot has its untying thread
In the same way, every puzzle has its announcing clues
Which when followed
…unveils its hidden answer
That is why Inspector Zuga failed his investigation
And Inspector Akplah passed and was promoted

II
Davec and Dekil lived in Hohoe
In a big house which welcomed no guests
Many called it the No-Go-Area
All their meetings and parties
…were held at their Boys quarters
They were known for their wealth
…but never their occupation

III
Time passed and myths about them
…turned into chilling fears
Mysterious deaths were linked to them
Atrocious crimes were linked to them
Horrid accusations were thrown at them
But none stuck throughout a decade
…because none had the evidence to lead them
…behind bars

IV
Many were sued for defamation
As the brothers thrived
They bought their provisions and foodstuffs from Accra
…and cared less about their neighbours
…who were dying from fear of them
The complaints grew
So an order came from headquarters
…to have Inspector Zuga handover
So Inspector Akplah would take over
Inspector Zuga was angry but not worried
As he had gotten a warrant and searched their house
But found nothing other than their sick brother

V
Inspector Akplah arrived like an ordinary villager
And bugged the brothers to help employ him
He fixed himself as their gateman
And earned the scorn of the villagers
As a year turned into two
He gained the trust of the brothers
And was allowed to enter their mansion
That was when he saw him
It hit home that they were hiding their brother
…from the public
Inspector Akplah watched him
As he tried to hide his eyes
Until the grown man run to hide under the centre table
“Is he a retard?”
He asked himself

VI
Inspector Akplah tried hard and became friends
…with Dewan
After realizing he was on the Autism spectrum
The boys took good care of him
Still, the inspector was not allowed upstairs
Where Devac and Dekil took turns to frequent
Always locking the entrance
After exiting or entering
Dewan told Inspector Akplah their mother was in Accra
As to why his brothers lived in mystery
He said without stopping to breathe
“Davec liked flog, gag, scam, macs, gag, golf, Dekil caved”

VII
Inspector Akplah first brushed it off
…as gibberish talk
But Dewan kept repeating
And the words soon got stuck on his mind
He knew the brothers
…known as the Kuabes
Were called Davec and Dekil
And knew the individual words
He read and reread from left to right
And right to left
The sentence had the same meaning
So he intensified his search in the house
By planting secret cameras on some clothes of Dewan
Who could follow any of his brothers upstairs
…whenever he wanted

VIII
He saw the many laptops
…and heard some of their conversations
Which revealed they were scammers
Davec was the lead
There were women Davec liked to flog
…gag, as Dekil and Dewan watched
The former fidgeting with his MacBook as the latter tried to stop him
And there was a big Golf Court
…at the topmost floor
Where they played when they felt like
That is when Inspector Akplah called reinforcement
And got the brothers arrested
After rescuing three women

IX
Their parents came for Dewan
After the two brothers were jailed
Davec, for fifteen years
Dekil for 5 years
Inspector Zuga was puzzled
…as to how his colleague unraveled
…the mystery
All Inspector Akplah said was
“Every being has a language
…no matter how special their build
Dewan’s is a mind to read
And so I read him”
Inspector Zuga shook his hand
Revering a mind which learned languages of geniuses
…thought fools
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © September 7, 2020