Next day at exactly 11 o'clock, Phil and Nawa arrived at Molly's house in Woodlands. They parked their white Corolla outside the gate and then quietly walked inside. There were four other cars inside the yard. From a distance they could hear loud wailing coming from the house.
A green military tent was erected near the fence in front of the house. There were only two men seated. One was smoking a cigarette while the other- a white man- was holding a bible. Phil and Nawa shook their hands as per tradition and then sat down too.
"This death has really shocked us mwe," said the old man with gray hair seated next to Nawa.
"Where someone is healthy and then pwaaah, you just hear that they are gone. Awe sure."
Nawa shook his head sympathetically.
"Some things are hard to explain. We need wisdom and strength from above," contributed the white man while pointing to the sky. Everyone agreed by nodding.
Just then a young woman clad in a chitenge on top of a black dress came over to the tent carrying a tray. On it were four bottles of coca cola. She knelt down as she distributed the drinks, following the order in which they were seated. Phil was served last. As she walked away, Phil stood up and followed her. He caught up and then whispered something in her ear. She went inside the house.
Phil took out sunglasses from his black coat and then put them on. About two minutes later the same young woman emerged from the house accompanied by Molly's aunt. She then pointed at Phil. Molly's aunt walked over to Phil. She was clad in a long black dress and her hair was covered in a black chitambala. Her eyes were a bit red and wet.
"My condolences once more madam," said Phil as he offered his hand to her.
"It’s good to see you officer. And please just call me Jacqueline, not madam. It makes me feel old."
"I will try to remember that. As promised yesterday after you identified the body, I am here for a statement. If you are not in a situation to proceed, I can come another time."
"No officer, let us do it now. In fact I was hoping you could come yesterday itself."
Phil turned towards Nawa in the tent and beckoned to him. Nawa walked over and joined Phil and Jacqueline on the green lawn away from the tent.
"This is Nawa my partner," said Phil.
"You are welcome sir," said Jacqueline.
"Thank you, madam. And my condolences," replied Nawa.
"Alright let's proceed now. As you are aware, as police we are treating this as suicide. Are you aware of any reasons why she could commit suicide?" Phil asked.
"Officer I actually do not believe that Molly could commit suicide."
"Why not?"
"Suicide doesn't just happen from without. There are always signs. Signs of hopelessness, loneliness, sadness, guilt and so on. But she was very jovial right up to the day I left for South Africa."
"So what you are telling us is that she was acting normal all along?"
"Very normal."
"What was her social life like?"
"She never had any."
"Seriously?" Nawa asked.
"What made up her social life was watching TV here and also visiting her friend in Northmead."
"Did she drink?"
"Yeah a little. From home. We enjoy wine mostly. Red wine."
"What about partying or clubbing?" pursued Nawa.
"Zero."
Phil let out a cough and then said, "Please forgive us if we are failing to follow you Jacqueline. Are you saying she had no social life and was not into clubbing?"
"Never knew the inside of a club. That's what I am insisting on."
"You seem so sure."
"I am."
"Would you know if she was abusing drugs?"
"What are you getting at, officer?"
"We need to know if she was into drugs."
"I would have known. Where is that question coming from?"
"We found heroin in her system."
"What!?" Jacqueline yelled. The two men sitting in the tent turned to look in the direction of the raised voice.
"It may be hard to accept this madam Jacqueline. That is why we are looking at all angles." Nawa responded.
"Heroin? Molly?" she said and then clapped her hands once.
"How was her behavior towards men?"
"You are confusing me officer."
"Was she promiscuous?"
"Not in the least bit."
"Boyfriends?"
"None that I knew of."
"Please try to think more deeply if you can."
"She had no boyfriend.."
Phil and Nawa exchanged looks.
"You don't believe me? Maybe try to confirm with her best friend in Northmead," insisted Jacqueline.
Then Phil said, "What can you tell us about her working life?"
"Molly was the executive director at WEZ for three years."
"What is WEZ?" Nawa asked.
Jacqueline smiled a bit and then said, "It stands for Women Empowerment Zambia. It’s an NGO in Roma residential area concerned with reforming and empowering a certain class of women."
"What class of women?" Phil asked.
"Commercial sex workers mostly. Also victims of gender based violence, former drug addicts and criminals."
"They reform them? How?"
"Yes they run programs to reform them. And then afterwards they are offered skills training and finances to start a new life. But you must talk to the NGO for details of what they actually do."
"Yes we shall need to talk to someone at the NGO too. Perhaps we can pick up clues which can help us close this case."
"In that case, talk to the board chairman- Father Pacciotti."
"Do you have his phone number?"
"You can ask him yourself. That is the man you were sitting next to in the tent."
Phil shot a quick glance at Father Pacciotti who was showing the other man something from his bible.
"That is great. You said Molly had a close friend. Can we talk to her as well?"
"Her name is Claire. She lives at 1523 Benekali road in Northmead. You can ask her about that boyfriend stuff."
Phil took out his notebook and wrote that down. Then he said, "Again madam, we offer our condolences. We are grateful that you found it possible to give us chance to talk to you at this time. Thank you."
"You are welcome."
She had just started to walk away when Phil stopped her.
"By the way, do you mind if we look into her wardrobe?"