The night was cold and windy, it was a good night to kill. He had watched her for two weeks and he knew she was coming, she always did. The road was straight and clear, he would see her long before she came close. He held his palms against his cheeks, holding his trembling lips with his thumbs. He was standing under a tree just after the bridge he was sure she was going to cross. He smiled, it was very cliché; the boogie man always came from behind a tree in the dark. No cars were passing, he did not expect any to, he could not afford any witnesses and he would have none.
A shadow crept into the horizon, his heart skipped a beat; she was coming. The cold was gone and he began to sweat. His lips still trembled and now his teeth were joining in the freak-out party. Calm down, she’s just a woman – a girl. He pulled his hood lower, he could not make any mistakes, it had to be that night, he had waited long enough.
She was getting closer. He shoved his hands into his pockets to keep them from falling off, he could not scare her away. She was getting closer. He inhaled deeply as the wind blew the scent of her cheap perfume on him. She was very close now, her heels clicked as she moved towards him.
She was four feet away when he stepped out from behind the tree.
“Hello babe.” He whispered trying his best to hide the tremor in his voice.
She jumped when she saw him. “Hey, why na? You scare me, wetin you want?”
“You know what I want, the question, do you have it?” He answered, moving closer to her. His heart was racing. It is happening!
“See you, do I have it?” She staggered backwards, he could smell the alcohol. It did not matter, she would do. “If you get the money, you fit get anything you want.”
He brought out a wad of cash and waved it, she stumbled forward to take it but he pulled back.
“Nope, not until your job is done. Let’s go.” He held her by the arm and led her to the bus he had packed not far away from his pick up point. She climbed into the bus and slumped into the seat. He closed the door behind her and locked it. He went round the vehicle and climbed into his seat.
It had taken many years, but the night had come; Diana would have her sacrifice.
The light stung his eyes as he opened them, Adam Ademola shielded his eyes with his right hand and pulled himself up from the sofa with his left. He rubbed his temples, they banged in a way he had never experienced before. He was used to waking up with headaches, but the pain he felt at the moment threatened to split his head. He reached for the television’s remote control, the sound coming from the television was going straight into his head. He put the television off and threw the remote on the table.
He stood up and knocked over an empty bottle as he staggered towards the refrigerator. There were a number of empty bottles around the sofa, the splintering head was not a surprise. He reached for the top of the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of aspirin and popped three tablets into his mouth. He picked a bottle of water from the refrigerator and gulped the whole bottle.
He had promised himself he would not wake up like this anymore, but he had kept the promise for all of three days before he picked up the bottle neatly tucked away in his car. Idiot! He had no idea what time it was but it did not matter, he was going to bed.
His phone rang and he jumped, stumping his toe against the table. He cursed and snatched his phone from the table.
“What?” he screamed into the phone.
“Sir, you need to come to the office now!” Who is this fool?
“I don’t need to do anything. Who is this? Whoever you are, know that you have lost your job.”
“Sir, this is serious, you need to be here.”
“Look here, nothing serious happens in that office. Whatever it is, it will have to wait.” He ended the call.
He sat heavily on the chair making it squeak. He placed a finger on a vein that was threatening to pop on his neck, it was probably a foolish idea but he needed some scotch.
His phone rang again.
“Why are you disturbing me so early in the morning?” he said in a barely audible whisper.
“Adam Ademola, it is Eleven A.M.” What! “Are you hung-over again? Anyway, you need to be in the office. You have any doubt, well turn on your TV. Your girlfriend is on.”
He threw away the phone, picked the remote and switched on the television.
“This is the first murder of this kind that this city has seen.” She was still pretty even when she was reporting a murder. She was not his girlfriend, they had had a brief relationship but it had ended for years. “It looks like a ritual killing but the police are yet to comment on the murder. We will come back with an official police statement in a few minutes.” The reporter said and her pretty face gave way for a bank commercial.
He switched off the television and headed for the bathroom, he really needed to be in the office.
One hour later he drove into office of the Crime Investigation Bureau of the newly formed Kwara State Police Department. The guards saluted as he drove past the gate, he ignored them and pulled into the carport. Reporters had gathered and were waiting for him, they identified his car and were now rushing towards him. He had taken a couple more of aspirin pills before he left his house. His head still throbbed and he had difficulty looking at anything for more than five seconds before he felt dizzy. His sunglasses covered his sunken red eyes, he had to hide them, the journalists would have a field day if they knew he was hungover.
He stepped out of his car, supporting himself with the door of the car. Immediately microphones were shoved in his face.
“Mister Ademola…” a journalist started
“Detective please, Detective Ademola.” He corrected the reporter.
She smiled and continued. “Detective Ademola, do you think this is a ritual killing? Should the people of the city be worried about this?”
“I would normally not comment before full investigation has been conducted but I would like to say this, the fine people of this city have nothing to worry about. Whoever did this will be found very soon and he… or she will be brought to justice. We don’t care if it is a ritual killing, we will put an end to this soon. Thank you very much.”
He turned, picked his I-pad from the car and closed the door.
A ritual killing? He had not had a serious case of murder since he became head of the CIB. He would take his old job back with a huge ‘thank you’ but no one was offering it to him. His head still ached, he had planned to drop in, make his appearance for the sake of the press and pass the case to the nearest deputy. It did not look like he could walk so easily.
He entered into the office building feeling like a stranger. People were huddled in offices, the murder was making the CIB agents go bonkers. Adam smiled, at least they were going to work for their pay. He removed his sunglasses as he entered his office, followed immediately by his assistant. He had reassigned four assistants before he had found the perfect combination of angel and devil he wanted in Tola Dosumu
“Are you crazy Ademola? A murder like this happens and you decide to sleep in?” She put her balled fists on her waist like a mother scolding her ten year old.
“Dosumu, you do realize I’m your boss right? I can fire you anytime I want.” He answered. He set his I-pad on the table and sat on the edge of the table. “Who got killed? Why is everybody going crazy?”
“You know what Ademola? Maybe you should fire me, I can’t put up with this. You realize I am not your secretary, I am a cop who is unfortunate to be your assistant. You are the head of the CIB, yet you come to work anytime you want, usually drunk.”
“I’m not drunk.” He replied looking away from her. His head still pounded, the sooner he was done with the murder nonsense, the sooner he could return to his house and his sofa. And my bottle. “Okay, I had a few drinks yesterday, I’m sorry Mom. Can we move on now?”
“Yes, we can. That file…” she pointed to the blue file on his table. “is a summary of all we know about the murder. I’ll be in my…”
“Dosumu I said I’m sorry.” He jumped from the table and grabbed her hand. “Come on, why are you so angry this morning?” They had a weird relationship, he knew they did but he was content with it. She had saved his butt more than once, while he had done all that was humanly possible to drive her crazy. “You know it’ll take all day to read that file, just give me the main points.”
“Okay, I don’t know why I do it but I forgive you. First, you need to take something for the terrible headache I’m sure you have right now.” She said, walking towards his refrigerator. She opened it and brought out a bottle containing some kind of green liquid. She poured some into a small cup. “Drink this and let’s go meet the pathologist.”
He squeezed his face as he drank the liquid. He had no idea what it was but he knew Tola would not poison him. God knows he deserved it, but she would not hurt a fly.
“Alright, let’s go see the pathologist, hopefully he has something to tell us. You need to see the body also, some crime scene pictures too would help you understand what everyone is freaking out about.”
Okay, ten minutes at the pathologist’s then I’ll go home.
He had never been in the coroner’s office, it was new, one of the last additions to the CIB building. It was very unlikely that he would be visiting the office or the lab very often, he was the boss, he could read all their findings in a file – or have Tola read them to him.
He sneezed; the smell of fresh paint irritated him.
“Bless you sir.” The coroner said. He was a queer one, the coroner. He had learnt a few things about the man a few minutes after meeting him. He was young – too young, eager to please and knew his stuff.
“Thank you Doctor. How about we move to the lab? I prefer if you showed me instead of telling me all these stuff. I have a tendency to forget, something Dosumu is always eager to remind me.” The coroner smiled nervously, Tola just rolled her eyes and looked away. She definitely has respect issues.
“Alright sir.”
Five minutes later, Adam was standing in the lab waiting for the body to be rolled in. Tola had bailed, he was on his own she had told him. From what he had been told, he knew the body was cut up really bad.
“Here goes sir.” The coroner annouced as the body was rolled in. Adam stepped back and held his breath as the covering sheet was removed. He swallowed, even though the body had been cleaned, it looked worse than it did in print. The face had been untouched, the limbs had not been touched either but the torso had been cut. The cut started from the navel and ended in between the breasts. The flesh had been uncovered revealing the inner organs, according to the reports Tola had read to him as they moved to the lab, the liver was missing.
“Well, I have seen it now“ He stilled his stomach, he was a detective now, he had to get used to mutilated bodies. He looked at his watch. “What can you tell me about this? Sick bastard cut her alive?”
“That was my first thought but then when I opened her up, I caught the distinct smell of almonds.”
“Almonds? Wait, that’s cyanide right?” The course in criminology might not be wasted after all.
“Yes, very good sir, very good. The scent made me check for other signs of cyanide poisoning, it wasn’t difficult as the body was already open. Her blood – what was left of it was bright red and her organs had a reddish hue. So my guess is, the killer poisoned her first and the cut is postmortem.”
“Wow, the killer is really a sick bastard. Have you seen this kind of stuff before?”
“No, definitely not. I’m hoping this would be the last.” Adam nodded and looked at his watch again, the dead body had not helped his headache. “Will you be running this investigation by yourself sir?”
“That’s a good question, I don’t…” His phone rang cutting him off. It was State Chief of Police.“Hello sir.”
“Ademola, are you still at home? You cannot afford to maintain your old habits in times like this. You realize how important this case is, don’t you?”
“Sir, I am at the coroner’s office and I do realize how important this case is.” The old man was just as freaked as everybody. The press no doubt would be on his neck.
“Okay then, you must realize with the attention this is getting from the press, you are the lead investigator. We need to assure the public we have our best people on it. You, Ademola are our best people.” The old man sighed.”God help us.”
Adam looked at his phone, shook his head and slid it in his pocket.
“Looks like I’m lead detective on the case after all. I hope this is just a stupid careless killer who can be caught easily. I have no intention of seeing you again, no offense.”
“None taken.” The coroner answered and bowed his head, he looked hurt. Sorry, seeing dead bodies isn’t my idea of fun.
The sooner the case was closed, the better. If the criminology professors were to be believed, the crime scene was probably the next place to visit. But first he had to get Tola.
“What are you watching?” Adam asked leaning into Tola’s office through her open door.
“Come in if you want to know.” She answered without taking her eyes off the television.
Adam walked into the office, pulled a chair and sat next to her.”What is this?” He pointed at the television.
“Remember the accident involving the governor’s daughter? It happened about three months ago, well the press is digging it up again.”
Adam looked away from the television, his throat felt dry, he needed a drink.
“Are you okay?” Tola was looking at him with her penetrating look. He had seen the look more times than he could bother to count.
“Yes I am. The chief just called me, I’m lead detective on the case, that means we – you and I have a lot of work to do. Work that is not fixing my life, actual police work.”
“You think I’m trying to fix your life?” She chuckled. “That’s not even remotely true. I would love to, but it’s impossible. No mere mortal can fix your life.”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. We’ll be going to the crime scene, there might still be some clue left, something spectators have not destroyed. But let’s go over what we know already.
“Okay, we know that the victim is a young woman, probably early or mid twenties. We don’t know who she is yet, but she doesn’t look like a rich girl, she hasn’t been reported missing too, that’s got to mean something”
“I like the sound of serious Adam. You’re right, she’s not a rich girl – well she might be but get this, she was a commercial sex worker.”
“A prostitute?” He groaned and held his head in between palms. “That’ll make this even more difficult. You know where she plies her trade?”
“Coca-Cola road, that’s where. You realize you are going to be speaking to a lot of hookers, right?” She laughed.
He did not find it amusing, he had to forget about going home, he would be talking to hookers instead. He could postpone that though, the crime scene would be less depressing.
“Where was the body found?” He asked as he walked out of the office.
“St Andrews Anglican Church”
“Say what?

Ese Johnson stopped in front of Adam’s office and took a deep breath. She straightened her skirt and smoothened her hair, she was not nervous but seeing Adam again made her heart beat slightly faster. Of course she had made no time for her heart, today she was a journalist. Maybe some other day she could afford to be an ex-girlfriend.
She was about to knock when the door swung open. A woman carrying some files in her hand stood in the doorway, the woman frowned when she saw her.
“Hello, can I help you?” The woman asked.
“Hi, my name is Ese Johnson and I’m here to see Detective Ademola.” The woman smiled, her name must have meant something to her.
“Is there a problem?”
“I…” She started.
“Who’s there?” Adam called from inside, cutting her off.
“You may go in.” The woman said, moving away from the door. “Your girlfriend is here to see you.” She called out to Adam and left the office.
Adam stood up behind his table as she walked in.
“I am your girlfriend? Is that what you’re telling everybody?” She asked with a smile.
“Don’t mind Tola Dosumu, she’s my lovely assistant. Married, unfortunately I might add.” He replied with a childish grin. “You are welcome to the CIB director’s office, please sit. And wow, you look stunning!”
“I’m back to stunning huh?” It was the word he had used to describe her the first day they met. Stay focused!
“Ese Johnson in my office, to what do I owe this surprise?”
“You know why I’m here, Detective.” She said sitting down. Despite her resolve to be distant and professional, she could not help herself, he still had her swooning.
“The murder? You too? Why is everyone so interested in this murder?”
“Detective…”
“Hey…hey, why do you keep calling me ‘Detective’? Just stop it, alright? We don’t date anymore doesn’t mean you have to become all official.”
“Detective…” Adam threw up his hands in exasperation. She smiled and continued. “…this is a big case. The city has not seen something as gruesome as this in years. Everybody is interested; the government, the cops, the people, the press…”
“The press? You mean you?” Adam asked with a chuckle.
“Yes, I am- TBC is interested in the case and that is why I am here.”
“Okay, what do you want?”
“We want exclusive interviews and reports from you and the CIB throughout the investigation.” She watched Adam for his reaction. He just looked at her, he knew how to keep his emotions to himself, it was one of his biggest problems as a boyfriend. Stay focused! “Well?”
“I’m sorry, can’t do that.” He replied pointedly, not breaking eye contact with her.
“Common Adam…Detective, this is going to be a symbiotic relationship, we’ll help you too.”
“You will help me?” He asked, a smug smile spreading over his face. “How would you do that?”
“Okay, what do you know about the girl- the victim, what do you know about her?”
“She was a prostitute and she…well, she was…” Of course, he did not know much about her.
“So you have nothing. Did you know, she was coming from a hotel, one she had frequented, three times a week for the past two weeks?”
“And you know this how?” he asked, arching his eyebrow.
“We have a crime desk, we investigate these things too but there are doors that a police badge can open that my press ID cannot.”
“Do you know who she met with at the hotel? Was it the same person throughout the two weeks?” Now, he was interested.
“Detective, I came here for something- something I’m yet to get and you want to fleece information from me?”
“You know you have to give me that info if you have it, it’s obstruction of justice if you don’t.”
“Wow, you want to play it like this Detective?” Adam could be a hard nut to crack, but she would get what she wanted one way or another. “Well, she met with the same person but we don’t know who that is yet.”
“Thank you for that info Ese. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you but I wouldn’t mind getting a little help from you now and again.” His smugness was annoying. “Why did you leave the NTA anyway? You had a cool job hanging around rich and powerful politicians.”
“Being hit on by filthy corrupt pot-bellied politicians constantly is not cool, I’d rather chase killers, rapists and other non-political scum of this world.” She said standing up.
“It’s not a world for the weak, be careful.” Adam replied without standing.
“The weak? Is that what you think of me, detective? Well, all the best with your investigation.” Ese said and moved towards the door.
“Hey Ese, I didn’t mean it like that.” He said, standing up and moving towards her. “I’m sure you’ll do great, okay?”
“Goodbye detective.” She said and walked out of the office closing the door behind her.
It had not being her idea to ask Adam or the CIB for exclusivity, she knew she could hold her own against other journalists but her boss and her douche bag partner thought she needed help. She had been put in her place by Adam but she was going to shock them all, maybe even get an award out of it all.
His mind could not leave the meeting he just had with Ese as he stood in front of St Andrews. She still had an effect on him, something he had tried not to show. The crime scene was less depressing than his time at the coroner’s or his foolish meeting with Ese, the church after all was supposed to be a place of joy. The body had been found on the stairs of the church, the pastor had met the surprise as he arrived to open the doors in the morning. The church certainly would not be having new comers any time soon. He walked around the building and came back to the stairs, Tola on his heels.
“This is not the crime scene, right?” It did not make sense, he had expected a lot of blood. You could not cut a body open without leaving a mess- except it had been cleaned up. “Dosumu, did this church folks clean up the place?”
“No, they were told to leave it plus the police have been guarding this place. It’s become a tourist attraction, I’m sure the pastor would prefer that they entered instead of gawking from a distance.”
“Yeah, I’m sure he would.” Adam stooped to examine the concrete stairs. There were a few drops of blood here and there, but there were no pools or splatter, things he expected. “This murder was not committed here, the body was merely dumped on this stairs.” It made the crime scene almost useless, except that it raised a question; why dump the body in front of a church?
“I know what you’re thinking, why the church, right?” Tola asked, he nodded and she continued. “Come check out the photos that were taken before the body was moved. The Pastor said he did not touch the body so the killer must have left it this way.”
He moved close to her as she opened the pictures on her I-pad.
“The body does not look like it was dumped in a hurry, it was done deliberately. See how he spreads her leg and rests her joined hands on her stomach? Ritual killing is what this looks like to me.” Tola said, pointing to the pictures.
“That’s interesting, maybe the killer is associated with this church, let’s go talk to that pastor.”
The parsonage was just behind the church, seeing the pastor would not be a problem. Tola led the way, she had more experience with Pastors than he had. The parsonage sat between the church and a large burial ground. Adam cringed at the thought of living with so many dead bodies behind your window.
The wooden stairs of the parsonage creaked loudly as they climbed. An old woman sat staring into space close to the door. They greeted her, she ignored them and continued staring like she was deaf and blind or just could not care less what they thought. Tola knocked on the door and a woman he assumed was the Pastor’s wife welcomed them in.
“Wait here, I’ll get my husband. Can I get you anything?”
“A glass of water please. Thanks ma’am.” The pastor’s wife would probably not be willing to give him a cold bottle of beer, so water would have to satisfy his parched throat.
Two minutes later, she returned with the glass of water and her husband. He was quite older than her, probably by ten years. Adam could not decide if the wrinkles on his face were due to his age or what he had seen that morning.
“Good afternoon Pastor.” Tola was already on her feet, Adam joined her. “We are very sorry to disturb you, especially after what you saw this morning.”
The pastor shook hands with both of them and sat down.
“You know, I’ve been the pastor here for over thirty years and every morning – except when I wasn’t in town, I would open the doors of the church. It was something that gave me great pleasure, you can imagine how horrible it was to find something like that on our doorsteps.”
“Yes, I can imagine sir. I’ve been told you left the body exactly the way you met it, is that correct?” Adam asked.
“Yes, I didn’t move the body, I couldn’t touch it. She was naked though, so I covered her with my jacket before I called the police. Do you think it was a ritual killing?”
That was what everybody was calling it, Adam could not decide. “Well sir, we don’t know at this point. Do you know the lady by any chance, was she a member of your church?”
“A member? No!” The old man looked offended. “I heard she was a prostitute, you usually don’t find them in churches.” He was definitely offended.
“We didn’t mean any disrespect to you or your church.” Tola stepped in. “We are still trying to figure out why the body was left here. It doesn’t look random, it feels like your church was chosen.”
“Our church was chosen as a dumping site for a killer? That should cheer me up.” The pastor stood up. “I wish you all the best with your investigation.”
The pastor had ended the interview, Adam was glad to be out of the pastor’s house. There were two sets of people he did not like dealing with; Pastors and judges. They always made him remember all the wrong he had ever done.
“We are done here, right Tola?” He could not wait to be home.
“We are done here but don’t you even think of going home.” She could read him better than she could read the alphabets. “We are talking to the hookers today. You realize the chief would want daily updates…well until this thing dies down and everybody forgets.”
“Can’t we do that tomorrow? You realize I’m still hung over, my head still aches and I could really use some sleep. You know what, I have an idea. How about we go home and we go interview them later tonight? That’s a good idea, huh?” Adam looked at her, eyes pleading.
“Ademola, you know I cannot come tonight. I’m married, remember?”
“Oh, that’s true, you are married. I had totally forgotten, when did you get married by the way…wait, how old are you?” He asked laughing.
“You know what Ademola, I don’t care what you do, you’re the boss, and it is your reputation on the line, not mine. Just take me back to the office and you can do whatever you want.”
“Thank you, my lady.”
“Wait, one more thing, don’t get drunk tonight.”
“That’s not a problem, I’m not touching alcohol till this case is over.”
The tequila felt good as it slid down his throat. He popped off his shoes, and relaxed on his sofa, glass in hand. He was a slave to alcohol and he hated himself for it, but most days the bottle was his only companion. He had made terrible decisions in the past, decisions that had led to the loss of a life, the loss of his totally cool job as personal aide to the governor and landed him the important job as director of the CIB. He hated the job, many would kill to have it but it represented a punishment to him. It was a promotion technically but it came as a result of making a mistake. He had considered resigning, but it would be admitting to himself and the world that he was a failure. Plus he could really use the money.
Adam stood up from the sofa and placed the cup on the table beside the bottle of tequila and moved away from it, what he needed was sleep, not a pity party.
He was about climbing back into the sofa when his phone rang, it was Kelvin Little.
“Kelvin Little!” It was not his real name. His name was Faruk but he did look a lot like Kelvin Hart, if he was bald and was even smaller in stature. Somebody had called him Kelvin Little and it had stuck.
“Adam, how far? We have not met in a long time, will you come to Caleb’s?” Faruk was one of the people he needed to stay clear of, he fed his alcohol addiction but he was a true friend.
“Faruk, I don’t think I wanna drink tonight. I’m tired plus I have to work later, you heard about the murder, right?”
“Everybody heard about the murder, just come, we won’t drink. I’m waiting.” And he ended the call.
Faruk had not even given him the chance to say no. It was probably a bad idea but hanging out with Faruk was one of the few pleasures he still enjoyed. He was an ex-soldier, which was difficult to believe because of his height, he had fallen on bad times since he was infamously let go for reasons he refused to discuss. He knew a lot and talked a lot, he did not make sense most of the time but when he talked, you had to listen.
Adam moved to room, threw on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and grabbed his car keys on his way out.
His mind went to the murder he was investigating as he eased his car unto the road. Ritual killings were not strange or far-fetched, but this particular one made the air on his neck stand. It was pure evil. And there was the case of the removed liver. Why would a killer remove the liver of his victim? Was he an evil man who fed on human livers or a ritualist who needed a human liver for his money rituals? Then there was the issue of dumping the body in front of a church.
He shook his head, he was not going to let the case get to him. It would blow over and they could all return to their normal lives.
He slowed the car to a stop as he eased into Caleb’s, it was an exclusive lounge and bar where he met with Faruk. Faruk was already waiting outside.
“I can’t believe these people won’t let me in after all these months of coming here with you.” He said as they shook hands.
“Remember, you need one of this.” Adam said, showing him his membership card. “It’s exclusive for a reason.”
“What are you trying to say man? I’m not good enough? Is it because I’m short? Look here, I have fought for this country, what’s greater than that?”
Adam laughed as he showed the guard his card and they were ushered in.
“What do you do here when you don’t drink, Faruk?” He asked as they settled into a corner where they could observe without being noticed.
“You look at rich people and the fortunate girls who will be getting their money tonight! If I was a girl, I could really do some damage.” He threw his head back, laughing hard at his own joke.
“You think I…hold on, I think I have a call.” He dug into his pockets and brought out his phone, he had a call, it was Tola. “Hello Madam”
“Ademola, how are…wait, are you in a club? Adam!”
“No, I’m not in a club. Well, you could say…forget it. Why did you call me?”
“Why did I call? You remember the case? You said you were going to speak to the victim’s co-workers tonight.”
“Yes I still plan to. The time is just…”He lifted his arm to look at his watch.”…oh my God, it’s almost seven. Don’t bother with the lecture, I’m going there now and thank God I have help.” He terminated the call before she could add any reprimands.
Faruk had always wanted to solve a big case. He had seen enough TV shows to know how, in his opinion, he was going to get his chance.
“Faruk, I’ve got something better than watching these fake people. How about we go do some investigation?”
“Are you talking about the ritual killing? Are you kidding me?” He asked, jumping up from the sofa. “Let’s go baby!”
“Who is your baby?” Adam asked chuckling.
The guard at the door eyed them as they stepped out of the lounge, it was strange to enter Caleb’s and not buy anything. They crossed the corridor into the car park and moved towards his car.
Faruk saw it first. The envelope was stuck under the wiper of his BMW.
“You see that Adam?”
“Yeah, I do.” He lifted the wiper, picked the envelope, tore it open and brought out the note inside. He held the note against the light shining from the Lounge’s exterior.
A word of advice Detective,
Leave this alone, stick to your booze.
You were a failure on your last job,
You will fail in this also.
You will not catch me, so don’t waste your time.
“What does it say?” Faruk asked.
Adam folded the note and put it in his pocket.
“Well, it says ‘screw me’”
TBC