A Gilded Deception

By Tafadzwa Makunde

A family man’s life is turned upside down when he makes an unplanned short trip to see a respected evangelical pastor for a confession. The unfortunate events that unfold from thereon open a new world in his life that exposes a shocking secret swirling within his family. With the efforts of a relentless detective and the cleric’s collaboration, a deep and devastating revelation is uncovered. This leaves him, his wife, and their children charred with grief and a painful testimony leaves an emotional scar that will haunt them forever.
A Gilded Deception is a fast-paced and vociferous fictional novel that intertwines the subjects of family ties, university student life, views on religion and the practice of various forms of medicine.

About the Author
Born and brought up in the township of Glenview, Harare in Zimbabwe, Tafadzwa Makunde attended high school at Chindunduma High 1 before enrolling at Monash University in South Africa for his tertiary education. It was a great admiration for the work of other novelists that inspired his passion for writing. His deep appreciation of literature is evident in his novel, A Gilded Deception.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tafadzwa Makunde
• Release date: Nov 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005565879

Book preview

A Gilded Deception

A GILDED DECEPTION

Tafadzwa Makunde

Copyright © 2021 Tafadzwa Makunde

Published by Tafadzwa Makunde Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2021

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Tafadzwa Makunde using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Edited by Bronwen Bickerton for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.org

E-mail: [e-mail]

Tafadzwa Makunde

[e-mail]

Table of Contents

1. Sunday Service

2. The Arrest

3. Confession

4. 9am

5. The Hudgens Family

6. Conjecture

7. Contents of the Box

8. Journey to the West

9. The Cabin, the Smoke and the Maize Field

10. A Toddler’s Walk

Chapter 1

Sunday Service

Pastor Raymond was delivering his usual Sunday morning service in the small town of Hammington, Harare. He had a huge following as he was born and raised in this town. His congregation was always filled to full capacity. Some churchgoers even had to sit outside during some sermons to listen to his husky voice through the PA systems installed around the church building. His teachings of the gospel had positively impacted people’s lives since he started the church eighteen years ago. He was a respected towering figure and was viewed as a spiritual enlightener by members of the community. His flawless reputation in this town was unequivocal. Over the years, he had built a famous shelter for homeless children. He offered marriage counselling to couples who were struggling with their matrimonies. He had created employment around the church for yard work and other menial tasks. He was often regarded by many as a man with a golden heart, and, more often, a saviour of the people.

The man of God was a relatively tall, dark, and chubby man. He was sixty-four. He kept his hair short, white and grey, and had a beard. His church was in Sixways, a middle-density suburb in Hammington. The church had taken about two years to build through donations from various church members and small business institutions alike that had volunteered to giving back to the community. Inside the church yard was a three-bedroomed cottage that provided residence and offices to the pastor, although he had his own house about a twenty-minute drive from the church site in the same suburb. That week, the pastor had been preparing for the upcoming wedding of a couple that attended his church. He had also been at the church site for most days during the week to oversee the building of his own gigantic statue inside the church grounds near the entrance. His wise and pure reputation had attracted him to preside over most weddings in Hammington, giving and writing obituaries at funerals, as well as delivering opening prayers at galas the community held from time to time.

However, all this was to come to an end. His character was to suffer a harmful and vicious attack. His once perceived grandeur personality and his impeccable status as a saint were no longer tenable. It all started when Lali Hudgens, a forty-seven-year-old local salon owner, stormed into church during the church service with a red face full of anger directed solely at the cleric. This was after the choir had sung their hymns and graced everyone’s ears with their angelic voices. The ushers were done collecting offerings. The weekly announcements had been made and everything seemed usual until Lali’s outlandish grand entrance. She opened the church door so violently and full of Herculean energy that it got everyone’s attention. Babies that were breast-feeding took a hiatus at the same time as if these toddlers had rehearsed it. The majority of the people stared at Lali with faces filled with horror and shock. Lali was holding a handgun, ready to fire it at the man of God. The gossipers only had their curiosity piqued in enjoyment as they could sense the developing juicy drama slowly unfolding. They were eager to see what was to transpire. They immorally saw it as an accidental twofer; attending church and a theatrical drama at the same time.

Lali was wearing a wrinkled tight white dress underneath a black corduroy jacket, a green woollen beanie and red training shoes. Any partially blind person would have mistaken her look for a Palestinian national flag. Her dress code seemed uncoordinated and rushed, which made her look like a deranged person. The firearm she was holding in her left hand was loaded. Anyone who was paying attention to her could notice this, and everyone was paying attention and with so much interest. The gun looked heavy to her as she held it. Her hand kept on wriggling involuntarily the whole time. It remained a mystery inside everyone’s head as to why Lali, a woman of her calibre and success, had become so malicious and hostile. Members of the Hammington community that knew Lali regarded her as friendly and from a family of well-mannered demeanour. She was socially perceived as royalty. So, what had driven her to be the mad queen? It was surprising to many, unbelievable to every creature witnessing it. It was a very ironic moment considering that the people of faith themselves had become the non-believers inside the holy land in that instance. As puzzled and bewildered as the people were, their minds already were processing different scenarios and assumptions. You could tell this by the sound of whispers that began to resonate across the church hall.

Lali was a very light-skinned woman. She was of average height and was famous for her curvy, hourglass body figure and glossy lips. Any view of her got men so parched that all they would want to do was drink water in admiration. Her beauty was enthralling. In addition to that, she was admired for her great streak of knock-out sartorial choices. She always wore clothes that matched her handbags. The colours would suit her and make her look like a local glamorous celebrity. Under all that, she was very humble and never brash, neither did she display any gloating traits to those around her. No one ever saw her as ostentatious. She never made anyone feel less of themselves, both directly and indirectly. Some saw her purity and could joke that she was someone who would sob for accidentally stepping on an ant, and even went on with the joke to say she would attend its mini funeral for feeling guilty. Others that knew her looked at her with genuine praise as if to suggest they would vote for her without doubt if ever she ran for public office.

Even more so, Lali was familiar for her salon that she owned which was situated in the upmarket northern suburb of Hammington called Greencroft. It was the same neighbourhood she lived in with her family. Almost every woman in this town had their hair done at her establishment. She had owned it for a few years. The majority of her equipment in the salon, like hair dryers and hair straighteners, had been imports from overseas. Her husband, Tom Hudgens, had helped her in setting up her business. Tom was a qualified chartered accountant himself and ran his own accounting practice, Hudgens Inc. Accounting Firm. The family was successful.

The salon was well maintained and was righteously clean. This, in addition to the decorative embellishments inside and out, helped create the exquisite status the salon had. No matter what time of the day, the place was never in a filthy state. She had a vast number of clients and the salon was always busy. She had taught all her employees the good principle of cleanliness and all her employees adored her as she made them feel like family. She was paying for their kids’ fees in junior school through the salon. This was one of the perks to them as a token of