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here.”
    He continued carefully with short, precise incisions with the
scalpel, peeling away the layers covering the larynx.
    “Ah.”
    “What is it, Dr. Biney?”
    “Fractured thyroid cartilage. Gracious. Do you see it, Inspector
Dawson? Let me show you. This is the thyroid cartilage. It looks
like a roof we’re viewing from above. This is one side of the roof
sloping up, this is the other, and where they meet is the
prominence everyone knows as the Adam’s apple. We can’t see them,
but the vocal cords are behind the cartilage – underneath the roof,
so to speak. Got it?”
    “Got it.”
    “Look at the left side of the cartilage here. It looks smooth.
When I poke it, it moves in one piece. Now look at the right. I
depress it firmly, and what happens?”
    “It bends in the middle.”
    “Yes. Why?”
    “Because it’s cracked.”
    “Ten points. There you have it. Fracture of the thyroid
cartilage.”
    “Besides strangulation, is there any other possible cause of a
thyroid cartilage fracture?”
    “There are – such as falling against something and striking the
front of the neck,” Biney said. “The armrest of a chair, for
instance. Another would be a karate chop to the neck. But fractures
of the larynx in circumstances like this mostly result from
strangulation, and my finding of perilaryngeal focal hemorrhage –
in other words, bruising – is consistent with this. I wonder if the
hyoid bone was damaged as well.”
    He returned to Gladys’s neck and moved upward from the thyroid
cartilage to the apex of the throat.
    “Dissecting around the hyoid bone now,” he said. “It’s a much
harder structure to fracture because it’s protected behind the
lower jaw.”
    A few minutes later, Dr. Biney said, “It’s intact. No fracture. But , there’s swelling and hemorrhage around it. Again,
consistent with considerable force applied to the neck over some
sustained period.”
    Dawson gazed at Dr. Biney, and their eyes met. It was, quite
frankly, breathtaking.
    “What you’re saying is – ”
    “That’s exactly what I’m saying, Mr. Dawson. In the case of
Gladys Mensah, the cause of death is asphyxiation by strangulation.
Manner of death is homicide.”

∨ Wife of the Gods ∧
Ten
    V ictoria typed up the
official autopsy report in no time at all and gave Dawson a
copy.
    “Would you like to meet my wife and have some lunch before you
set off to Ho?” Dr. Biney suggested as he saw Dawson out. “We have
a place on the water and a floating gazebo on the river, and my
wife makes an exquisite grilled tilapia.”
    It was certainly tempting, but Dawson declined with thanks. “I
should get to Ho without delay,” he explained.
    “Very well – perhaps another time. You are always welcome.”
    They exchanged calling cards as they continued on to Dawson’s
car.
    Just as he was about to open the door, Dawson thought of
something. “You know a lot of people, Dr. Biney. Would you mind
taking a look at this?”
    He dug into his pocket and fished out the gold watch he had
confiscated from Daramani. “Stolen item, seems it belongs to a
doctor. Do you know this name?”
    Biney looked at the engraving on the back plate. “Good
gracious,” he said in surprise. “I most certainly do know this
fellow. He and I were classmates in med school and we’re still in
touch.”
    “Any idea where he lives or works?”
    “In Accra. As a matter of fact, I have to be in Accra in two
weeks and I can see to it personally that he gets it back – if
that’s okay with you, that is.”
    “It’s a million times better than okay. A huge relief, really –
one less thing to do.”
    “Consider it done, then.”
    “Thank you, Doctor. For everything.”
    “You’re most welcome, Inspector Dawson. If there’s anything I
can help you with, please don’t hesitate to call. Good luck, and
drive safely.”
    ♦
    To get to Ketanu from Akosombo, Dawson went south again to
Atimpoku and took the Adomi Bridge across the Volta River.