Lili and the Colonel

Originally Aired: May 17, 1955 Suspense #598, "Lili and the Colonel," presents a gripping tale of colonial tension and deadly secrets in Kenya Colony, East Africa. Lieutenant Charles Temple, a young British officer stationed to combat the Mau Mau uprising, encounters the imperious Colonel M.O.V. Abernathy at the exclusive Ribb Valley Club. When a neighboring farmer, James C. Carey, is found murdered beneath a rose bush, Temple enlists the Colonel's help in identifying the body. The investigation takes a sinister turn when Temple suspects that the Colonel's head boy, Ngambe, may not be the Jalulo tribesman he claims but rather a Kikuyu with possible Mau Mau connections. The danger escalates dramatically when Mrs. Abernathy's cat is found hanged outside their home, a clear Mau Mau warning. During the attack, Temple shoots one of the intruders, and before the wounded man dies at a clinic, he reveals crucial information: he is Matemba, a Kikuyu with Mau Mau ties, and his brother is none other than Ngambe himself. Temple returns to warn the Colonel, only to find the household deserted except for the increasingly unstable and heavily drinking Mrs. Abernathy, who seems to harbor dark secrets of her own.