₦airaland Forum

Broke and suicidal, Daniel takes a 200k mortuary job washing corpses. At first it's just cold flesh, then whispers start, dreams bleed reality. To save his own sanity, Daniel must expose a killer who still walks free before he becomes the next corpse.

Story below

CHAPTER 1: THE BROKEN MAN

Daniel was 28, but he looked 35.

Life had not been fair to him from the start. He was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Okeke. His father was a primary school teacher in portharcourt, his mother sold wrappers in Mile one market. They were not rich, but they managed — they paid his school fees, they gave him food, they loved him.

Then in 2017, when Daniel was just 19 and in SS3, his parents entered a motorcycle on their way back from a burial. A trailer coming from Bayelsa lost brake and hit them. Both of them died on the spot. Blood on the road. No insurance. No compensation. Just two coffins.

Daniel didn't finish secondary school. He dropped out. No one to pay WAEC fees. His uncle took their small family house in Portharcourt and chased him out, saying "Na my brother house, you be small pikin."

He came to Lagos city with one bag. He slept under Oshodi bridge for two weeks. Then a man from his village who owned a mechanic workshop under bridge took him as an apprentice.

For 9 years, Daniel was a mechanic boy.

Every morning, 6am, he would wake up in his one-room face-me-I-face-you apartment at Oshodi — a small room with no ceiling, a single mattress on the floor, one pot, one bucket, a small table. The roof leaked when it rained. Rats ran around at night.

He would trek to the workshop. From morning till 7pm, bending under old Toyota Camry cars, his hands black with grease, his back aching, his clothes soaked in engine oil. He knew how to fix brake, change oil, loose engine.

At the end of the day, his oga would look at him and say, "Today work no too come. Take 1,500." On good days, 2,000 or 3,000. Sometimes, "Oga, nothing today o. Just manage go house."

It was not enough to eat, pay house rent of 6,000 a month, and buy clothes. He was always borrowing.

Mirabel was the only good thing in his life for three years. She was a hairdresser at Ajao Estate. She was beautiful, fair, always laughing. She used to come to his room and cook rice for him. She used to say, "Daniel, you go make am, I know."

But last December, after they went for her friend's wedding and her friend's husband sprayed money, Mirabel changed.

She sat him down in his room, on his mattress, and said it calmly, without shouting.

"Daniel, I love you. But I can't suffer with you. I am 26. My mates are marrying. My mother is asking me when I go bring man. You don't have anything. You can't even buy me ordinary Christmas hair. I want to live, Daniel. I want to live."

She stood up, picked her bag, and left. She blocked him on WhatsApp that night.

Daniel cried that night like a child. He sat on his mattress till 3am, staring at the leaking ceiling, his chest tight. That was the first night he thought of ending it.

He started thinking, "What is the point? My parents are dead. The girl I love left because I am poor. My work is suffering. I have no house, no car, nothing. Why am I still here?"

He had even written a small note in his head: "Nobody should cry for me. I am tired."

He was in that dark place for weeks. Not eating well, not talking to anyone.

Then, one hot Thursday evening, he went to a small beer parlor near his workshop to drink one bottle of small stout — the only enjoyment he allowed himself once a week.

Two men were sitting behind him, drinking big Star and arguing loudly.

One said, "My cousin work for that new mortuary for Iyana Ipaja, private one, Grace Mortuary. Omo, the place dey pay well o! 200k per month!"

The other said, "200k for mortuary? Abeg, who go work for dead body house? Na fear go kill person!"

"Na 200k be fear? If dem pay me 200k I go sleep inside coffin!"

Daniel froze. His hand holding the bottle stopped mid-air.

200,000 naira.

He had never held 50,000 at once in his life. The highest money he ever saw at once was 22,000 when he saved for three months to buy a second-hand phone. 200k was like 20 million to him.

His heart started beating fast. Fear and hunger were fighting inside him.

Mortuary? Washing dead bodies? He had never even entered a mortuary before. He was scared of dead bodies since childhood — he never even attended his parents' burial properly, he fainted when he saw their bodies.

But hunger is more wicked than fear.

That night he walked home, talking to himself.

"Daniel, you wan die of hunger and shame, or you wan face dead body collect money? Dead body no dey kill living person. Hunger dey kill. Poverty dey kill. Shame dey kill pass ghost."

He made up his mind.

The next morning, Friday, he woke up by 5am. He washed his only clean shirt — a white shirt with a small tear at the armpit — and his only trouser that was not stained with oil. He used his last 500 naira to enter bus to Iyana Ipaja.

He asked around. "Where Grace Private Mortuary dey?"

People pointed. He walked down a small bushy road. And there it was — a low white bungalow, quiet, with a small blue sign: GRACE PRIVATE MORTUARY — WE PRESERVE WITH DIGNITY. No noise. Just a generator humming.

A fat man in glasses, the manager, was outside smoking.

Daniel greeted him, his voice shaking.

"Good morning, sir. I hear say una dey find worker. I come apply."

The manager looked at him from head to toe — thin boy, hungry eyes, but determined.

"You fit do am? You know say na dead body you go dey wash? You go see blood, wound, old people, young people. Some dey fear, dem run."

Daniel swallowed his fear and said the words that would change his life forever:

"Sir, I fit do am. Hunger more scary than dead body."

The manager stared for a second, then laughed and threw his cigarette away.

"Okay. You don get the job. Resume tomorrow. Salary 200k. But if you steal from dead body or you run, I go sack you immediately."

Daniel trekked back to Oshodi that day, not because he had no transport fare, but because he was too happy to sit inside a bus. He was laughing and crying at the same time.

He had a job. He had hope.

He didn't know he was walking into a job that would open his eyes to another world.

CHAPTER 2: THE FIRST DAY

Daniel resumed by 7:30am. He had ironed his shirt three times.

The mortuary was not what he expected. No scary signboard, no wailing. Just a low, white bungalow behind a rusted gate. The air conditioner hummed loudly from inside. The smell hit him first — a sharp, chemical smell of formalin, Izal, and cold flesh. It entered his nose and stayed there.

The manager, handed him a blue overall, a pair of long rubber gloves, and black rubber boots.

"Your work na to wash. We embalm, you wash. Make the body clean before we dress am."

Daniel nodded, his mouth dry.

He was taken to the washing bay — a tiled room with two long steel tables with gutters at the side, buckets, sponges, and a hose. A light flickered.

Then they brought the first body.

An old man, maybe 80. Very thin. Eyes half-open. His mouth was open a little. He had died in his sleep at home.

Barry pulled the trolley in. Barry was the senior attendant who had been there for 7 years.

"Come," Barry said.

Daniel didn't move. His legs had locked. His hands inside the big gloves were shaking so much that the bucket he was holding was spilling water on the floor. His chest was tight, he couldn't breathe.

Barry saw it and didn't shout. He had seen it many times. New boys always shake.

Barry tapped him.

"Guy, relax. Na so e dey for first day. Me sef, my first day, I run go outside vomit. I no even wash that first body. Na my oga wash am."

He pulled Daniel gently closer.

"Look, dead body no dey bite. E no dey do anything. Na we dey fear am because we never see am before. But na just meat. Meat wey go soon rot if we no preserve am. Na you dey alive. Na you get power pass am. You dey help am go well."

Daniel swallowed.

Barry showed him — how to close the eyelids gently with cotton, how to pour lukewarm water from the head downwards, how to scrub gently with the sponge, how not to be rough, how to turn the body, how to wash the private parts with respect, how to cover the body after.

"You go dey talk small to them," Barry whispered. "E dey help. You go say, 'Baba, make I wash you now.' No be mad man, na respect."

Daniel tried. His voice was cracking.

"Baba... make I... make I wash you..."

He poured the water. The water ran down the pale skin into the gutter, brownish. He scrubbed. The old man's skin was cold. So cold it shocked him. But after five minutes, his hands stopped shaking.

When they finished, Barry dressed the old man in a white singlet they provided for unclaimed bodies, and they rolled him back into the cold room.

"See? You don do one," Barry smiled, tapping Daniel's back. "First one don go."

By lunchtime, Daniel had washed three bodies. By the second day, five. By the end of that first week, he could eat bread and groundnuts inside the mortuary while a body was lying on the table.

He got used to everything — the formalin that made his eyes sting, the way the cold room made his boots stick to the floor, the heavy silence, the way families cried outside.

He and Barry became inseparable. Barry was 35, had two kids, and had been in the job since his own wife chased him out of the house.

During night shift, when NEPA took light and the generator was humming outside, they would sit on low stools at the entrance, with Barry's small rechargeable radio playing old Highlife, drinking cold Coke, gisting about women, money, and how to leave the mortuary work one day.

"You know," Barry told him one night, "I dey do this work not because I like am. But 200k no easy for outside. I dey save make I go open barbing salon."

Daniel laughed for the first time in months. "Me too. I go save, go buy keke."

They thought the hardest part was over.

They didn't know the real work had not even started.

CHAPTER 3: THE WHISPERS AND THEIR STORIES

On a Wednesday night. Daniel was alone on night shift. Barry had gone home early with a headache. The mortuary was too quiet. The small radio Barry always carried had lost signal, just static.

Then Daniel heard something strange.

Behind him, inside the cold room where 12 bodies were lying on steel slabs, there were voices. Not loud. Low, like people gisting after midnight, trying not to wake someone.

Daniel froze. He switched off the radio completely. The whispers continued. He walked to the cold room door, his heart hammering, and pushed it open. Bright white light. Silent bodies covered with white sheets. Nothing moving. No one talking.

He closed the door.

The moment he turned his back, the whispers started again.

He ran outside and sat by the gate till morning. He didn't tell the manager. He told Barry the next day, "Guy, I swear yesterday night I hear people dey talk for inside that cold room."

Barry laughed. "Na rat."

Daniel believed him and felt it was nothing serious.

Three days later, Daniel had just finished washing a 45-year-old driver who died in his sleep. He went home, ate garri, and slept on his mat.

He was fast asleep when he started having a dream.

In his dream, his small yard was full. Under the mango tree in front of his one-room apartment, there were plastic chairs arranged in a circle. And sitting there were the dead people he had washed that week — all of them, with their eyes open, looking normal, but pale.

They were talking to each other like old friends at a wake.

He hid behind his door and listened.

A young man with a deep cut on his head was talking to an old woman.

The old woman asked, "My pikin, how you take die? You young na."

The young man sighed. "I was a chronic womanizer. I too like woman. E get no woman for my street i no sleep with. My mama kept warning me but i didn't listen. Na so i carry one babe that night, i no gree pay her. We got into a fight. She used a knife and stabbed me to death. I wished i listened to my mum. I would have been alive today.''

He was crying, but no tears were coming out.

Then an old woman, maybe 60, with swollen legs, spoke. She had died of high blood pressure, brought in that Monday.

"My own na my children," she said. "I born five. I suffer train them. When my husband die, I sell akara for 15 years. But when I get stroke and I no fit waka again, none of them gree carry me go hospital. They say I be witch, say I dey pretend. I dey inside my room dey call them, 'Water, water,' for three days. No food, no water. Na for that room I die. For three days, my corpse dey there before neighbor perceive smell come break door. My children come for burial dey wear fine aso-ebi, dey share food. I just want make them know say I hear everything."

The other ghosts nodded slowly. They understood.

There was a young girl, maybe 19 years old, sitting quietly.

"My own na hookup o. I loved material things a lot. I wanted to be like all these lekki big girls that wears expensive wigs so i started selling off my body to rich men. I made a lot of money i swear but one day i went for my hustle. Na so i didn't know the boys were yahoo boys. After sex, my body began to scratch me. Na so i fell into convulsion then i passed out and died."

Another guy who looked young like in his 20s shared his story.

''My own was by suicide. Life wasn't going well for me. Everyone around me was doing well. Buying houses and cars and I had nothing. I couldn't even afford to buy Okada. My father insulted me everyday. Calling me a useless son. I swear i tried all my best to succeed but nothing ever worked out well for me. So i decided one day to put an end to my life. I hanged myself. But i regret doing this now. I should have waited more. Now I know there was a bright future ahead of me if i never gave up. But its too late now," He bows down his head in sadness.

Daniel was shaking inside the dream. He wanted to wake up, but he couldn't.

Then the newest ghost spoke. She was the beautiful 24-year-old who died in a car accident on Friday. Her head was still bandaged in the dream.

The old woman asked her, "My daughter, na accident?"

She started crying hard.

"No, mama. No be accident. Na my sister, Ada. Papa love me pass her because I go school pass her. Papa say he go give me him house for GRA and his shop. Ada hear am. She vex. She go meet her boyfriend wey be mechanic. Them loose my brake pad for night. Next morning, I dey go work for 6am, brake fail for NTA road. Car somersault. I die. Ada dey cry pass everybody. She dey shout 'My sister! My sister!' Na she kill me."

She turned and looked directly at Daniel — straight at where he was hiding behind his door in the dream — and Daniel knew she could see him.

"Please," she said. "Tell my father."

Daniel woke up with a loud shout, soaked in sweat. His wrapper was on the floor. It was 3:14am.

He ran to Barry the next morning, his voice still shaking.

"Barry, I saw them o last night in my dream! I see all of them for my yard! Dem dey talk how dem die! That new lady, na her sister kill am!"

Barry looked at his eyes — red, no sleep.

"Daniel," Barry said quietly, "This work don enter your head too much. You don dey see things. Make you go hospital. No be ordinary dream be that."

But Daniel knew. This was not stress. The stories were too detailed, too emotional.

That night, he heard them again. Not in a dream. While he was mopping the floor of the mortuary at 7pm, alone. Behind him, faint whispers:

"Help us..."
"Tell them..."
"I didn't do it..."

He dropped the mop and ran outside, his heart almost bursting.

The dead were no longer quiet. And they had chosen him to be their voice.

CHAPTER 4: THE DOCTOR AND THE GIFT

After his dream last night seeing those dead people in his sleep and how they narrated how they died. Daniel didn't sleep for two days.

He would close his eyes and see their faces. He would hear all of them — all talking at once inside his head, like a market.

He started losing weight. His eyes sank in. He couldn't eat. At work, he would be washing a body and his hands would freeze mid-air because he thought he heard the corpse whisper, "Help me."

Barry noticed.

"Daniel, you dey okay? You don lean. You no dey chop?"

Daniel broke down right there in the washing bay. He sat on the cold tiles, holding his head.

"Barry, I no fit again. I dey hear them even for day. I dey hear them for my head. For night, dem full my house. Dem dey tell me how dem die. I wan mad. I swear, I wan mad."

Barry got scared. He had seen this before — a guy before Daniel who worked for only one month and started shouting that dead bodies were calling his name. He resigned and never came back.

Barry said, "Make we go hospital first. No be spiritual matter be all things. Maybe na trauma. Mortuary work no easy."

The next day, they went to a small private hospital. The doctor was a young Yoruba man in a white coat.

Daniel told him everything. He knew the doctor would think he was crazy.

"I dey dream of dead bodies every night. I dey hear whispers for day. I no dey sleep."

The doctor nodded like he had heard it before.

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Anxiety. Hallucination from occupational exposure to death. Very common with mortuary workers, soldiers, policemen. Your brain is overworking."

He wrote drugs — diazepam for sleep, some antidepressants, some multivitamins.

"Take these for two weeks, stop night shift, stop thinking too much, and you will be fine."

Daniel took the drugs religiously. He swallowed them every night with water.

They did nothing.

In fact, it got worse.

The first night after starting the drugs, he slept heavily, but the dream was clearer than ever. This time, the whole yard was full. More than 20 ghosts. Some he didn't even wash — old bodies that had been in the mortuary for months. They were all looking at him. One man with a swollen stomach pointed at him and said, "You can hear us. Don't leave us."

He woke up and vomited. He threw the drugs away.

The next afternoon at work, while mopping the hallway, he heard a clear voice behind him, right by his ear, not a whisper:

"My name is Steve. Please help me."

He turned. Nobody.

He dropped the mop and screamed, "WHO IS STEVE?! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

The manager came out. "Daniel! What is wrong with you?!"

Barry pulled him outside.

"Barry, I no fit do this work again. I wan resign today today. If I stay here, I go die."

Barry held his shoulders tight.

"Daniel, listen to me. I no tell you before, but my uncle get power. He no be fake native doctor wey dey do Yahoo. He dey see things. If na medical problem, hospital for solve am. Hospital no solve am. Make we go see am. If he say na madness, I go allow you resign. But make we try one last place."

Daniel had nothing to lose.

They went the next evening, after work. The shrine was deep inside, past a cassava farm, inside a compound surrounded by palm trees. No signboard. Just red cloths hanging, and the smell of incense, dried leaves, and palm oil.

The native doctor was an old man, maybe 70, with white hair, tribal marks, and eyes that were cloudy but sharp. His name was Baba Ijoma.

He didn't ask Daniel what brought him. He just pointed at a stool.

"Sit."

Daniel sat. Baba stared at him for a very long time. He stared at his forehead, his chest, his palms. Then he brought out cowries, kola nuts, and a small calabash with water. He chanted in Igbo, a low, humming chant that made the small hut vibrate.

After some minutes, he smiled and showed his brown teeth.

"You are afraid of your own shadow."

Daniel was confused.

Baba continued, "You think you are mad. You are not mad. You have been carrying a gift since you were born. Your mother had it too. She used to see spirits, but she was scared and she locked it. She never told you. It slept inside you for 28 years. When you entered the house of the dead to work, the gift woke up. The mortuary opened your eyes."

Barry whispered, "I tell you."

Daniel's mouth was open. "Gift? My mother?"

"Yes," Baba said. "You are an _Onye Nti Mmuo_ — one who hears the dead. The dead don't come to everybody. They come to people who can hear them. Especially those who die with pain, with unfinished justice. They are stuck. They need a mouth in the world of the living. You are that mouth."

"But why me? I don't want it!" Daniel almost cried.

"Because you have a soft heart," Baba said. "If you were wicked, they would never show themselves to you. They know you will pity them. That is why they sit in your house. They feel safe there."

He poured some black powder into Daniel's palms.

"Listen, my son. If you chase them away, they will go, but you will lose something big that God kept for you. If you help them, they will help you. The dead don't forget who helps them. They will bless you. They will push good things to you. But you must be brave."

"What should I do?" Daniel asked, his voice small.

"Don't be afraid when they come again. Ask them, 'How can I help you?' Help one. Just one. And your fear will turn to power."

He gave Daniel a small white thread to tie on his wrist, and a small bottle of water that had been prayed over.

"Pour this water in your bathing water for three days. And don't eat meat for three days. Your body is too heavy. The thread will protect you so you don't carry their sadness inside you."

On their way home in the keke, Barry was excited.

"Guy, you hear am? You get gift! No be everybody get this kind thing o! My uncle no dey lie! You lucky!"

But Daniel was quiet, looking out of the keke at the dark Port Harcourt road.

He wasn't sure if he was blessed or cursed. But for the first time in weeks, he felt a small relief — maybe he wasn't going mad after all.

CHAPTER 5: THE BODY THIEVES

Three days after the native doctor tied the white thread on his wrist, Daniel slept without drugs for the first time in weeks.

The water Baba gave him worked. His body felt lighter. The constant whispers had reduced to a low hum, like a radio far away

On friday night, Daniel was supposed to be off that evening and Barry closed early and left the mortuary before 8pm. Oga had also left. The place was almost empty.

But Daniel remembered he left his charger in the locker room, so he returned around 9pm to pick it.

Suddenly he heard a sound. He thought it was from the dead bodies again— the squeak of a stretcher wheel from Room 12, the storage room where fresh bodies were kept.

He walked quietly toward the sound.

Inside there was Madam Roselyn.

Roselyn was the female attendant, always loud, always with her lipstick, who had worked there for years. With her were three strange men in black shirts, carrying a corpse wrapped in a white sheet.

Daniel stepped out.

"Madam Roselyn, good evening. Where una dey carry this body go for this night?"

Roselyn jumped. She clearly did not expect to see him.

"Ah! Daniel! You? I thought you and Barry don go house?" She quickly forced a laugh. "Na the family o. They come carry their brother. They say burial must be tonight. Family matter."

Daniel looked at the car outside. Not an ambulance. A faded Toyota Sienna, boot wide open. No family crying. Just three hard-faced men.

"Family come by this time? And Oga know?"

"Yes na, Oga know everything. You worry too much. Go house."

Daniel didn't argue. He stepped back, pretended to leave, but hid behind the small generator house and watched.

He saw the men throw the body into the boot like firewood. One of them brought out cash and counted it into Roselyn's palm. She counted it quickly and shoved it into her bra.

Then they drove off into the darkness.

Daniel's spirit told him: this is not family business. This is business.

That night, sleep refused to come.

In his dream, he saw a man lying alone in a thick forest. The forest was dark, full of mosquitoes. The body was naked, cold, and it was crying.

"They want to cut me. They want to destroy me. Help me," the body wept.

Daniel woke up shouting, his singlet soaked in sweat.

First thing in the morning, he pulled Barry to the back of the mortuary.

"Barry, something dey happen for here. I see Roselyn last night dey sell body. Men come carry body for night, give her money. I dream see body dey cry for bush."

Barry hissed.

"You sure? Roselyn? That woman don tey for this job o. You sure say no be family truly?"

"Barry, which family dey pay mortuary attendant for night inside bush car? And why her hand dey shake? My mind no rest. I think say na ritual."

Barry held his shoulder. "If na true, those people no be small people o. You get to shine your eye well. Make you no go talk am anyhow."

"I go watch her," Daniel said. "I go catch am again."

Two nights later, Daniel set the trap.

He told Barry to leave at 7pm and he also left, but he didn't go far. He sat at the suya spot opposite the mortuary, where he could see the gate.

Just as he thought — 11:40pm, the same Sienna entered.

Roselyn opened the gate herself, looked left and right, then opened Room 12.

This time, they were carrying a girl corpse.

Daniel stood up and entered.

"Madam Roselyn! Enough! Who are these men really? If you no talk true, I go call Oga and DPO now!"

The room became silent.

Roselyn's face changed completely. From smiling to wicked.

She looked at the men and said, "I told this small boy to mind his business. He no hear."

One of the men pulled a pistol from his trousers and pointed it at Daniel's head.

Before Daniel could run, two others grabbed him, covered his mouth with a dirty rag, tied his hands with rope.

Roselyn came close and slapped him hard.

"You like to put mouth for wetin no concern you. Oya, you go follow the body go where e dey go."

They carried the girl's corpse, pushed Daniel into the back seat, tied his legs, and zoomed off. Roselyn stayed behind, cleaning the blood trail with hypo and water, as if nothing happened.

They took him deep into a forest — a place where there was no network, no houses, only a shrine with red cloth tied everywhere, skulls, calabashes, and dead bodies already half-cut.

That was their ritual camp.

They kept Daniel tied near the shrine, planning to use him for "another work" the next day.

By 8am the next morning, Barry was looking for Daniel. Not in the mortuary. Phone off.

He went to Roselyn.

"Roselyn, you see Daniel yesterday?"

"No. I no see am," she answered, chewing gum.

"You sure? Because Daniel told me he was watching you."

Roselyn shouted, "Barry, you dey accuse me of something? I say I no see am! Comot for my front!"

Barry knew something was wrong. He went straight to the manager.

"Oga, Daniel missing."

The manager was dialing Daniel's number when Daniel limped into the office.

Everyone shouted.

His clothes were torn. His eyes swollen. His knees bleeding.

Barry held him. "Guy! Na where you from come?"

Daniel pointed at Roselyn, breathing hard.

"Sir, she is a thief. She is selling our dead bodies to ritualists. For money. They kidnapped me yesterday. I manged to escape. Four bodies don miss from Room 12. Go count am. I know where their shrine is."

The manager ran to Room 12 with the record book.

18 bodies were supposed to be there. Only 14 were left.

He came back sweating.

"Roselyn! Where are our four corpses?!"

Roselyn started crying fake tears.

"It's a lie! He is lying against me! He wants my job!"

The manager didn't waste time. He called the police.

The police detained Roselyn that day and took Daniel's statement at the station.

The next morning, with a full team of armed policemen, Daniel led them to the forest.

The moment the ritualist Baba saw police uniforms, he tried to jump over the fence and run. Police shot him in the leg.

They arrested all four men.

Inside, it was horror — three mutilated corpses on the ground, heads cut off, chests opened, organs removed. Pots of blood. Charms.

They confessed on the spot.

Yes, Roselyn supplies them. 150k per fresh corpse. They use them for money rituals and they also sell organs.

Roselyn was formally arrested and handcuffed that same morning.

The manager held Daniel's hand with tears.

"You saved the name of this mortuary. Thank you."

Daniel was taken to the clinic and treated for his injuries.

That night in the clinic, Barry came with food.

"You are too brave, my brother," Barry said, sitting beside him. "From today, you no go stay for that your one-room again. Come live with me and my kids for our two rooms. You are my blood now."

Daniel looked at him, his face bruised but his heart warm.

This time, he didn't say no.

Some few weeks after the Roselyn case, a dead man was brought into the morgue.

The ambulance driver said his cause of death was by a mysterious illness. Nobody knew what killed him. He was young, around 28 years old.

The corpse was laid in the morgue, on slab number 7. But from that night, the corpse started disturbing the whole morgue.

Every night, strange things would happen. The lights would flicker. Cold breeze would blow inside the cold room. And the corpse would not stay still.

When Daniel was cleaning up the morgue in the morning, he would notice the corpse had shifted position. The body was supposed to be lying straight, facing up, but now it would be facing sideways, or its hand would be hanging down from the slab.

He asked Barry, "Barry, did you change this corpse's position? Why is he always moving?"

And Barry said, "No, I didn't touch him. I don't even go near that slab. That body is restless. Even me, I'm scared of that corner."

The corpse was restless.

Daniel then started having bad dream again. Every night he sleep, the corpse would appear to him in the dream. He tried not to be afraid as Baba taught him — The corpse stands at the foot of his bed, eyes open, mouth moving but no sound, wearing the same white shroud they used to cover him.

One night in the dream, Daniel gathered courage and asked the corpse, "What do you need? Why are you disturbing me? What do you want?"

The corpse finally spoke in the dream, his voice like a whisper, "I am a cult member. I belong to the Serpentine Cult Group. Tell my family not to bury me yet until my coven is appeased. They have to do this before 2 weeks else my cult members will come for my body and take it away."

Daniel woke up sweating, breathing hard. He brought out his small notebook beside his bed and jotted down everything the dead man told him in the dream, including the address of his family house that the dead man mentioned in the dream.

In the morning, he told Barry everything.

"Barry, this man said he is from Serpentine cult. He said his family must not bury him until his cult coven is appeased or his members will come for his body," Daniel said.

Barry was scared but volunteered to accompany him. "Let's go and tell his family. It's better they know. This kind of thing is not ordinary."

When they got to his family house to tell them what their son told Daniel in the dream, the family was doubtful. They knew him to be a decent boy, a graduate, quiet boy who goes to church.

"Our son? Cult? No! You are lying! Our son cannot be a cultist. He was a decent boy! He was working in a bank!" the father shouted. The mother cried, "My son is not a cultist, don't spoil his name!"

They told Daniel he was lying, that he was looking for money. Then they ignored his warning and went ahead with the burial that was fixed for that same weekend — just 3 days after his death, not 2 weeks.

At night, after they fixed the burial date, strange things started happening in their house.

While the parents were sleeping at night, a heavy breeze would be blowing inside the house, even though all windows were closed. The curtains would be moving, shaking violently. Cold wind blowing. Doors opening and closing by themselves. So scary that they would wake up in fear every night, sweating.

On their way to the burial, on the day of the burial, the ambulance carrying the corpse suddenly broke down in the middle of the road. The engine stopped. It refused to move again. The ambulance driver tried all his best — he checked the engine, kicked the tyre, prayed — but to no avail. The car refused to start.

Then they got a call — some people also going to the burial, his friends, almost got into an accident on their way too. Their car almost somersaulted, brake failed suddenly.

They knew this was a sign of a bad omen. Something was wrong.

So they stopped the burial that day and carried the body back to the morgue.

They started talking and suggesting, "Maybe that Daniel boy could be right o. Maybe our son was hiding something from us."

They later went to the mortuary to see Daniel and told him about what happened — the car breaking down, the accident, the wind at night.

They asked him, "What more did our late son tell you in the dream?"

Daniel told them, "He also said that he has a Serpentine staff hidden in his upper cupboard, locked in his house. And the keys to the cupboard lies in his first drawer in his room. But be careful because it is guarded by 2 huge cobra snakes. He said after getting the Serpentine staff from his cupboard, you should take it to Baba Ijawo, a native dibia that resides in Oju Shrine close to River Mbene. And he will tell you how to perform the rituals with the staff to appease the gods of his cult members so they can allow his body to be buried."

The family did as he said.

The father and mother went to his house with some men — snake charmers they found in the village, men who know how to handle snakes.

They went into his living room and saw the key in the first drawer as Daniel said. Then the father was kind of tensed, shaking. He told the snake charmer to open the upper cupboard.

As the snake charmer opened it — lo and behold — two big cobras were lying there, coiled around a black wooden staff, hissing loudly, eyes red. Seeing this, the father and mother ran out in fear, trembling and screaming.

The snake charmer men killed the snakes with their charm and sticks. Then they opened the box and brought out the staff — a long black staff with a serpent head carved on top, with cowries tied around it — and gave it to the father.

The father and mother traced the Baba's shrine by the address Daniel gave them.

When they got there, Baba Ijawo performed divination — throwing kolanut, cowries, and chanting — and told them, "You are right. Your son was a cultist. He was a member of Serpentine. And you need to appease his cult member leaders, the Queen of Serpentine, so she can let you bury his body. For that, you should bring five he-goats, two cows, and 3 cartons of Fanta and 3 python snakes. And you must be fast about it, before the members come for the body themselves."

The father and mother flinched at such request. It was too much. Two cows? Five he-goats? Three pythons? Where would they get python snakes?

But they managed to get it fast, borrowing money, selling land. They did it fast because they were scared.

Baba performed the ritual at the river — River Mbene. He killed the goats and cows, poured Fanta inside the river, released the python snakes, and threw the Serpentine staff into the river too, chanting incantations for hours.

Then he told them, "It is done. His spirit is appeased now. You can now bury him. Do it fast."

They fixed a burial again so fast and they moved his body again from the morgue. And this time around, it moved. The ambulance started, no breakdown, nothing stopped it. It got to the village for burial.

Everyone was there at the burial ground, crying, when a black Toyota Hilux arrived. And some men dressed in black uniform came out, matching with military steps, with a woman leading them — the Queen Leader, wearing black and red, with a serpent crown.

The father tried to stop them from entering. "Who are you? This is my son's burial!"

They said, "If you try to stop us, the burial will not be good. We are his cult members. We are the ones that gave him the powers and money he has today. We are here to show him our final goodbye. We will not take his body, we just want to say goodbye."

The mother and some elders begged the father to let them in, "Please allow them, before something bad happens again."

They later went to where he had been buried — the grave. They touched his coffin with their own Serpentine staff, each of them, chanting in a strange language. They all marched round the grave three times and left, entering their car and driving away silently.

The burial later took place properly and he was buried and his soul rested in peace.

After the burial, the parents went to thank Daniel very much for his help, crying and holding his hands.

"Thank you for letting our son's soul rest in peace before those men take him away from us. Thank you, Daniel. If not for you, we would have lost our son's body to the cult," the mother said, kneeling.

Daniel just nodded, tired, but relieved that the restless corpse could finally rest.

Yes please

Evaress:
Should i continue?

Let me finish Ada the mad woman then i complete this story.

Finish one before jumping to 2 now. 🤦🏾‍♂️

Evaress:
Let me finish Ada the mad woman then i complete this story.

Im loving this..
Can we make this into an online series
Inbox me ur WhatsApp details.
Nigeria has lost its horror genre..
Let's revive it

ghettochild:
Im loving this..
Can we make this into an online series
Inbox me ur WhatsApp details.
Nigeria has lost its horror genre..
Let's revive it

alright let me dm you

ghettochild:
Im loving this..
Can we make this into an online series
Inbox me ur WhatsApp details.
Nigeria has lost its horror genre..
Let's revive it

check your email

Give me more please

Bro I take God beg u please finish this story

The next evening, Daniel and Barry went to one bar at night to drink and relax.

They were seated, drinking, gisting, about the whole happening in the mortuary. The Roselyn case, the dead cultist case and how he survived and how they thank God he is okay.

As they were drinking their second bottle, Daniel suddenly turned around and saw a woman sitting next to them on the next table, alone, drinking a small stout.

He stared at her strangely and was terrified. His eyes widened.

He kept staring at her, his bottle frozen in his hand.

The lady noticed him staring, smiled, and greeted him softly,

"Hi Daniel."

Daniel was even more shocked. How did she know his name?

"Wow Barry, you can't believe what I'm seeing," Daniel whispered, nudging Barry.

Barry was like, "What is it? What are you seeing?"

"See this lady here, sitting here next to us," Daniel said, pointing.

Barry turned and looked, confused.

"Which lady? Where? I don't see any lady there. That table is empty na."

"This one seated here! This one wearing black gown, drinking stout! Isn't she among the old dead bodies we kept at the mortuary? The lady that died last week in accident? The one in compartment 3?" Daniel said, his voice shaking.

Barry laughed and told Daniel,

"I think the drink don dey get into your head. You don high. Which dead body? There is no lady there."

"I'm serious! Can't you see her? She's sitting there! She's looking at me!" Daniel insisted.

"Guy, there is no one there. The table is empty. You are just seeing things," Barry said.

Daniel froze as he heard this. His heart started beating very fast.

The lady turned to him and smiled, her face pale.

"Yes dear, I'm dead. You are right. My spirit comes here from the mortuary to this bar at night to drink and have fun, then I return back to my body in the mortuary. I like coming here. I like beer," she said calmly.

Daniel was frozen, his mouth open, unable to talk.

Barry asked him if he was okay and who he was talking to, because to Barry, Daniel was talking to empty air.

"Daniel, are you okay? Who are you talking to? Are you okay?" Barry asked, worried.

The bar man saw Daniel panicking and sweating. He came and asked him,

"Sir, are you okay? Is everything fine?"

Barry quickly covered up for him, telling the bar man,

"I think the drink don get into his head. He's okay, he's okay. Too much drink."

The dead lady continued telling Daniel, as if nobody else existed,

"Seems only you can see me. Well, I don't have the power yet to make everyone see me like those girls seated with those men there," the lady pointed at two ladies dressed in short gown, fine hair, looking very beautiful, seated with a rich man, laughing and talking, drinking.

"Yes, those ones are also dead, but they can make themselves visible to humans. They are more powerful than me. They can make men see them, touch them, carry them home. But me, I can only make people like you see me — people with the gift," she explained.

Daniel forced himself to ask, his voice shaking, "What?"

Barry was starting to get scared seeing Daniel talking to himself.

He told Barry, "Guy, I think we should leave here now. It's getting embarrassing. People are looking at us."

Daniel agreed immediately, standing up, his legs shaking.

"Abeg make we leave here fast. Too much spirit inside this bar. This place is full," Daniel said, dropping money on the table.

He quickly went outside with Barry, almost running.

Outside on their way home, walking fast in the dark, he kept telling Barry,

"I swear Barry, I saw 3 dead people in that bar. One was invisible to you, but two were visible, sitting with that rich man. That rich man doesn't know he's drinking with dead bodies!"

"Wow, amazing. And people no go know o. Who knows how many guys for don carry them, not knowing they are dead bodies from mortuary," Barry said, shocked.

"We need to be careful o," Daniel said.

"Indeed. This your gift wey Baba tell you is really powerful," Barry said.

"It's powerful and also scary. Because to dey see dead people will make other people think you are mad," Daniel told him as they kept walking back home, looking back, scared that the dead lady might be following them.



CHAPTER 6: THE BODY THAT WOULD NOT REST

A few days later, Daniel was at work at the mortuary when a new corpse was brought in.

It was a man in his early thirties. Handsome, well-built. The tag on his toe read *TONY WILLIAMS — Age 34 — Cause of Death: Kidney Failure.* The ambulance driver said he died in a private hospital after weeks of kidney illness.

Daniel was assigned to wash and dress the body for the family viewing the next day.

But from the moment he touched the body, something felt wrong.

Every other corpse Daniel had washed was cold and stiff, lifeless. This one was also cold, but it felt like it was resisting him. When Daniel tried to lift the arm to wash under it, the arm felt unusually stiff, like the man was holding it down. When he tried to turn the head, the neck wouldn't move easily.

It was as if the man didn't want to be touched.

At night, when Daniel was alone doing his final rounds, he swore he saw the eyelids of the man flicker. He would look — the eyes were open, staring blankly at the ceiling. He would blink and look again — they were closed. Then open again.

And sometimes, in the quiet of Room 12, he heard a faint whistling, like someone whispering his name through the air-conditioning.

"Help me... Daniel... help me..."

Daniel's blood ran cold. He told Barry the next morning.

"Barry, this body is different. This Tony guy, I think he is trying to tell me something. Since he came, I no dey rest. His eye dey open for night. He dey call my name. Other corpses no dey do like this except that other cultist guy," Daniel said, looking tired.

Barry remembered what the old Baba at the shrine told them.

"Daniel, remember what Baba told you? He said your gift is not a curse. You are the mouthpiece for those who cannot talk again. If the dead are coming to you, it's because they need you. Don't run from it. Try and listen."

Daniel nodded, though he was scared. "I will try. But this one dey fear me."

That night, after Daniel closed from work and him and Barry went back to Barry's house where he now resides. At night, he fell into a deep sleep without taking his sleeping pills — for the first time in a long time.

Then he had a dream. Tony appeared to him in his dream.

In the dream, Tony was not lying down. He was kneeling in front of Daniel, in the same white hospital gown he died in, his face swollen from kidney failure, tears in his eyes, begging.

"Please help me, Daniel. Please. I did not die naturally."

Daniel asked him in the dream, "How can I help you? You are already dead. What can I do for you?"

Tony then narrated his whole story, crying.

"My name is Tony Williams. My wife killed me. She has been poisoning me slowly with rat poison — small small inside my food every day. She puts it in my soup, my tea. That is why my kidney spoiled. The doctors thought it was kidney disease, but it was poison. She did it because she is cheating on me with my best friend. They planned to kill me and take all my money. I loved her and trusted her. Please, Daniel, help me get justice. Tell my parents not to bury me yet. My soul cannot rest. I am wandering. My body is crying for justice."

Tony then gave Daniel an address.

"Go to GRA. Chief Williams house. That is my father. His house is the big white house with two black gates. Tell them what I told you."

Daniel woke up with a jolt, sweating, his singlet wet. It was 2:13 am.

He quickly brought out his small notebook and pen from under his pillow and wrote everything down fast before he forgot — Tony Williams, rat poison, best friend and wife, Chief Williams GRA address, don't bury yet.

The next morning, he showed Barry the notebook.

"Barry, this man came to me again last night. He said his wife poisoned him with rat poison. He said his wife is cheating with his best friend. He said we should go to his father's house in GRA. His father is Chief Williams, big man for this town."

Barry read the notes, shocked.

"Chief Williams? That billionaire wey get Williams Oil and Gas? Na him son be this?" Barry said. "Guy, if this is true, this is big case o."

"We have to go. He begged me. He said his soul cannot rest," Daniel said.

Barry agreed to follow him that afternoon.



CHAPTER 7: THE FIRST REJECTION — THE RICH DON'T BELIEVE GHOSTS

GRA in this town is where the rich people live. Big houses, big walls, security dogs, CCTV everywhere.

When Daniel and Barry got to Chief Williams' house, the gate was huge and black, with two gatemen in uniform and a security camera.

The gateman asked, "Who be una? Wetin una want?"

"We are from the mortuary. We have important news about your Oga's late son, Tony," Barry said politely.

The gateman went inside to call madam.

Chief Mrs. Williams came to the gate. She was a fair, elegant woman in her fifties, wearing expensive lace. She told the gateman to let them into the compound but to wait in the outer parlor.

They entered the big living room — gold chairs, big chandelier, AC very cold.

Daniel greeted her, "Good afternoon ma, we came from the mortuary concerning your late son."

She told them to sit.

Barry started talking for Daniel, because Daniel was too shy.

"Madam, my friend Daniel here has a gift from birth. God gave him the ability to see dead people in his dreams and communicate with them. Your son has been appearing to him. He says he has something to tell you people."

Mrs. Williams frowned, confused.

"I don't understand where this is getting to. What does that suppose to mean? How is that my business? Is this some kind of joke?"

Barry continued, "Your son appeared to Daniel and told him he was poisoned by his wife, and that his death is not natural."

Daniel added quietly, "Yes ma, he said she poisoned him with rat poison."

Mrs. Williams exploded. She stood up, her face red.

"What nonsense are you saying? How dare you? How dare you accuse my daughter-in-law of something horrible like that? Do you know who Amaka is? She is a very good, decent girl! She loved my son! She was crying every day since Tony died! How dare you come to my house to say this rubbish?"

"I swear ma, I saw him in my dream. He said his spirit is still wandering, not resting. He said you should not bury him yet until justice is done," Daniel pleaded, kneeling a little.

"I think both of you are mad! You are lucky my husband is not around, else he would have locked you up and dealt with you! Amaka would never do such a thing! Get out of my house this moment before I call security on you!" she shouted, pointing to the gate.

They tried to explain more, to beg, but she pushed them out and shouted at the gateman as they left the compound.

"I never want to see those two idiots ever again in this place! Don't ever allow them inside my gate again! Useless mortuary boys!"

Outside the gate, under the hot sun, Daniel and Barry walked home silently, embarrassed.

"I told you guy, they will never believe us. Rich people don't believe ghost story," Daniel said, angry. "Now they think I am mad, talking about dead body."

"Relax Daniel, I understand. That is why we need proof. Without proof, nobody will believe this kind of story. It sounds like Nollywood," Barry said.

"Proof? How do we get proof? The man is dead already. How can a dead man give us proof?" Daniel asked.

Barry pulled him to one corner of the road, under a mango tree, and whispered,

"Listen, when next that guy appears in your dream tonight, ask him to give you proof. Ask him to tell you something that only his family knows — something secret — so when you tell them, they will know you are saying the truth. Else they will never believe us."

"I'm not going back there again, not after this embarrassment," Daniel said.

"Daniel, listen to me. Believe what Baba told us. Have faith. That late man really needs help, that's why he is appearing to you. He chose you. Ask him for proof tonight. We will solve this case together," Barry pleaded.

"Did you see how that woman embarrassed us? She almost locked us up and you are thinking of us going back again? You no dey fear?" Daniel said.

"I believe you are gifted Daniel, and you should not run away from your gift just as Baba told you. Please try one more time," Barry said.

Daniel thought for a long time, then finally nodded.




CHAPTER 8: THE SECRET LIFE OF AMAKA

That evening, when Chief Williams returned from work, his wife was waiting for him in the living room, angry.

She told him that some men from the mortuary came and said something horrible.

"What did they say?" Chief asked, dropping his briefcase.

"Can you believe these men accused Amaka of killing Tony? They said they saw the ghost of Tony in their dream and that Amaka killed him with poison and needs justice. Can you imagine?"

"What! I hope you had them locked up?" Chief Williams shouted, furious.

"I almost did. I just chased them out of the house immediately. I told the gateman never to allow them again," she said.

"You should have called security to lock them up. Just imagine what nonsense! I'm sure they are only trying to extort money from us, cooking up cock and bull stories to get 5 million," Chief Williams said angrily.

"Just imagine, Amaka that is like an angel to us," Mrs. Williams said.

"A very decent girl," Chief Williams added.

"Anyways, I even plan on going to see her tomorrow. I want to know how she is faring. I know it hasn't been easy on her since Tony passed away, and we also need to talk about burial arrangements for next month," Mrs. Williams said.

"Alright, send my greetings to her," Chief said.


The next day, Mrs. Williams went to Amaka's house — Tony's house, a big duplex in another part of GRA.

Amaka was wearing a white mourning gown, no makeup, looking very innocent and sad, her eyes red as if she had been crying all night.

Mrs. Williams sat with her in the living room, talking about burial arrangements.

"I know it has not been easy with you, my daughter. I know how much you loved my son and what a good wife you were to him," Mrs. Williams said, holding her hand.

"Mama, you can't imagine how I feel everyday. Tony was my world. He was everything to me. Oh death, why did you take him away from me so soon?" Amaka cried, wiping fake tears with her white handkerchief.

Mrs. Williams patted her and comforted her.

"I told you to move in with us, you can't stay here all alone. The memories of my late son will keep hurting you here each time you think of it."

"I know mama, I just need some time on my own. I will later come around when I am stronger," Amaka said.

"Also, we will be travelling to the village by the end of the month. We will discuss his burial arrangements with his people. You will also be joining us, Amaka," Mrs. Williams said.

"It's okay mama. After the burial is done, I feel like taking a trip to Canada, because my mental health is deteriorating here. The memories are killing me everyday in this house," Amaka said.

Mrs. Williams patted her again.

"Please take it easy on yourself. I agree, a vacation is what you need after the whole burial stress. I'm so sorry for the loss. I really miss my son too."

"I miss him more, mama," Amaka said, hugging her.

After about an hour, Mrs. Williams said she had to go.

"I have to be going now. I will come again later."

"It's okay mama, thanks for coming. Thanks for checking on me."

"Please remain strong and if there is anything you need, don't forget to call me," Mrs. Williams said.

"Okay mama," Amaka said. She escorted her to the gate and waved her off. As soon as Mrs. Williams' car left, Amaka's face changed.

She went back inside, locked the door, and shouted, "Fred! Fred darling, you can come out now!"

Fred came out from the bedroom where he had been hiding under the bed, wearing only boxers.

"Wow, the bitch is finally gone. I was scared o, she almost caught me here under the bed," Fred said.

"No one will catch us, baby. Until our mission is fulfilled and we finally leave here and go to Canada and get married as we always planned," Amaka said, smiling wickedly and sitting on his lap.

Fred held her and kissed her deeply.

"I love you baby, everything is working out perfectly for us. Tony don die, money don remain, nobody suspects us," Fred said.

"Yes, soon we will be together as we always wanted, with all his riches. Tony's life insurance, his company shares, everything," Amaka said.

"I can't wait for all these burial rites to be over so we can leave this goddamn place finally and enjoy our money in Canada," Fred said.

"Don't worry, let's just be more patient. Small time now," Amaka said, kissing him.



Later that night, Tony appeared to Daniel again in his dream, more desperate, crying louder.

Daniel told him, "Leave me alone now. I went to your parents' house and they almost locked me up. No one believes me. They embarrassed me."

Tony knelt and begged, "Please don't leave me, Daniel. I still need justice. Please help me. My soul is in pain."

Daniel then said, "If you want me to go again, give me proof. Give me something that will make them believe me. Something only your family knows."

Tony nodded, wiping tears, and said,

"I will give you proof. Tell my father that only he and I know that I kept my will with Barrister Chris, my lawyer, at his chambers in town. And tell him that he and I always go to Royal Casino every weekend, Saturday night, to play poker and drink. Only he knows that.

Also tell my mother, she always wakes up by 1am every night to pray with candles and Bible for my soul to rest in peace.

And tell them, if they run an autopsy on my corpse, they will find rat poison inside my stomach and kidney, and the remaining poison is kept in my wife's lower cupboard in her bedroom, hidden behind her shoes, inside a black nylon. All these proofs will be enough to show you are not lying."

"Are you sure? Because I don't want to be kicked out like a dog again," Daniel asked.

"Please do as I told you. I beg you," Tony said.

Daniel woke up immediately and wrote everything down in his notebook, his hand shaking.

He told Barry the next morning everything Tony told him — Barrister Chris, Royal Casino, 1am prayers, lower cupboard, black nylon.

Barry said, "This is solid proof. Nobody outside family can know all these. Let's go on Sunday when everyone will be at home, so both Chief and Madam will hear us."

Daniel agreed, though he was still scared.

CHAPTER 9: THE SECOND VISIT — THE TRAP

On Sunday afternoon, Daniel and Barry went to Chief Williams' house again.

Before entering the gate, Barry hid at a small provision shop opposite the house, where he could see everything. He told Daniel,

"No worry guy, in case anything happen or I see police or danger, I go phone you immediately and run to come help you."

"Alright guy, abeg watch out for me o, no forget me o," Daniel said, terrified, and walked to the gate and knocked.

The gateman opened it and saw Daniel and shouted,

"You again! I thought madam said she doesn't want to see you here! You get mind to come back again!"

"Please I need to see Chief, it's urgent, very urgent," Daniel begged.

"Comot here now! Before I slap you!" the gateman shouted loudly.

Because he was shouting, Chief Williams heard the noise from inside and came out to the balcony and asked what was going on.

"Sir, na this man again. Madam said make I no allow am enter," the gateman said.

Chief Williams looked at Daniel from upstairs and said, "Who are you young man?"

"Sir, my name is Daniel, I came from the mortuary with news about your son Tony. Very important news," Daniel said.

"Oh, you are the one that my wife told me about the other day," Chief Williams said, remembering.

"Yes sir, please what I have to tell you is urgent, life and death," Daniel said.

"It's alright, come in," Chief Williams said, curious.

The gateman allowed him to enter. Daniel entered the big parlor and saw Mrs. Williams seated, watching a Christian program on TV.

Mrs. Williams flinched seeing him again, angry, "You again! I thought I warned you never to come here again!"

Chief Williams told her calmly, "It's okay honey, just let him be. You can sit, young man."

Chief Williams then excused himself, went to one corner of the house, to the kitchen, and secretly called the DPO on his phone.

"DPO, please come to my house now with two officers. A criminal is here trying to blackmail us with my late son's name. Come quickly."

Then he went back to the parlor, smiling politely, acting nicely, and asked Daniel what he wanted to tell them.

Daniel, not knowing it was a trap, started talking with hope.

"Believe me sir and ma, your son's ghost is really appearing to me, telling me things. He is restless," Daniel said.

"What nonsense, you are mad!" Mrs. Williams shouted.

"It's okay darling, let him speak," Chief Williams said, pretending to be calm. "So tell me, what more did he tell you? I'm listening."

"He told me his wife poisoned him and cries for justice," Daniel said.

"Wow," Chief Williams said sarcastically, folding his hands, "That is surprising. Continue."

"Yes sir, believe me, I'm telling the truth. There are many things he also told me to prove that I'm not lying," Daniel said.

"Tell me, I'm listening," Chief said, leaning forward.

"He also told me about you and him going to Royal Casino every weekend, Saturday, to play poker, and his will held by Barrister Chris," Daniel said.

Chief Williams' eyes widened. He got shocked hearing this, his mouth open.

"Really! How did you know that? How did you know about Barrister Chris and Royal Casino? Nobody knows about that except me and Tony!" he shouted, standing up.

"Yes sir," Daniel turned to Mrs. Williams, who was also shocked, "He also told me you wake every 1am to pray for him with candles and Bible in your room."

Mrs. Williams also got shocked hearing this, her hand covering her mouth.

"Jesus! How did you know I pray by 1am? I never told anybody!" she whispered.

Suddenly a police car arrived outside, sirens off. Two policemen with rifles came down and entered the gate. Barry saw them from his hiding place afar. He tried calling Daniel immediately.

Daniel's phone rang in his pocket — Barry calling — but Daniel didn't pick it, he just canceled the call, still talking to Chief Williams, trying to convince him.

"Trust me sir, if I'm lying let me die. Your son is really telling me these things. An autopsy needs to be done on his corpse and it will confirm the poison. The remaining poison is in his wife's lower cupboard," Daniel pleaded.

Mr. Williams stared at him long, shocked and confused.

"You mean my son told you all this? I mean I'm shocked, because I never knew all this is possible," he said.

"Sir, me too I used to doubt it, but please do the autopsy as he wand," Daniel begged.

Suddenly the policemen entered the living room with guns.

Chief Williams stood up and said loudly, "Thank God you are here on time! Here is the criminal trying to scam us with cock and bull story about my son appearing to him in his dream. It seems this guy is a professional criminal. He must have been spying on our family for long now to know all these details!"

Daniel panicked, begging, kneeling down on the tiled floor, "Please sir, I'm not a criminal or a spy, believe me, I'm saying the truth! I'm not lying!"

"Take him away and lock him up. He is deceitful and a fraudster," Chief Williams ordered.

"Yes, take him away!" Mrs. Williams added, still angry but also confused.

The policemen dragged Daniel away, holding his arms. Daniel still begging, "I am innocent! I am innocent!"

They took him outside and pushed him inside the police van.

Barry watched them from afar, scared and angry.

"The guy no gree answer my call, why he cancel am?" Barry said worriedly.

Barry quickly stopped an okada bike nearby and begged the bike man, "Please follow that police van, I will pay you double!"

The bike followed the police van all the way to the central police station where they took Daniel.

CHAPTER 10: THE AUTOPSY THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

At the police station, they kept torturing Daniel in the cell, calling him a criminal, beating him with baton, asking him how much he wanted to extort from Chief Williams.

"Nonsense man, you want to extort money from them with fake ghost stories! How much you want collect?" the IPO shouted.

"Please oga, I no be thief, I no be fraudster, please believe me," Daniel cried, his face swollen.

Barry kept thinking of how to help his friend out. He went home and prayed.

Late that night, at Chief Williams' house, Mrs. Williams had a dream.

In the dream, her son Tony appeared to her, wearing white, crying and holding her hands.

"Mama, free that man, he is innocent. He is telling the truth. Please help me. Amaka killed me. Please free Daniel," Tony said, weeping.

Mrs. Williams woke up panicking, sweating, shouting "Tony! Tony!"

Mr. Williams woke up and asked her what happened. She told him she still has nightmares of her son appearing to her crying, and this time he said they should free that mortuary boy and that he is innocent.

"Nonsense, you still believe this nonsense ghost story?" Mr. Williams said angrily, switching on the light.

"Honey, I think that guy is really innocent. Because I have been telling you Tony keeps appearing in my dream too, every night since he died. And the details he gave us was too much for him to know. How would a mortuary attendant know about Barrister Chris, Royal Casino, and my 1am prayers? Those are family secrets. Nobody knows except us," Mrs. Williams argued, crying.

"He is just a spy and a hardened criminal that wants to get money out of us, fabricating all these stories. Don't believe all this ghost bullshit. Dead people are dead and gone and it is not possible," Chief Williams insisted.

"But he also appears to me in my dream. This can be more than a coincidence. Please honey, let's really do this autopsy to try to confirm if he is really saying the truth or not," Mrs. Williams pleaded, coming closer, patting him on the shoulder.

"I think Tony's soul is restless and is trying to tell us something. Let's do this autopsy, let's see if that boy is lying or saying the truth," she convinced him, crying.

After much persuasion, Chief Williams finally agreed.

"Alright then, we shall conduct the autopsy on his body tomorrow morning. If no poison is found, I will make sure that boy rots in jail."

The next day, Barry came to see Daniel in the police cell. The warder told him he only has a few minutes. He brought some food for him in a small flask — jollof rice and water.

Daniel was surprised seeing him, his face swollen with bruises, his shirt torn.

"Guy, how you take know I dey here?" Daniel asked weakly.

"I managed to track them yesterday as I saw the police van. I followed them with okada. I'm so sorry guy," Barry said, almost crying.

"Please help me out of here, these people dey really torture me here, abeg I no wan go prison, I no do anything," Daniel begged.

"I go try my best guy. I go talk to Oga, our manager at the mortuary. I will explain everything to him. I believe he can use his connection and try to help you out," Barry said.

"Please do before these people kill me here. I warned you before that I no wan do this thing and you convinced me," Daniel cried.

"I'm sorry guy, abeg take food, try chop something," Barry said.

The warder said time is up and took Daniel back into the dark cell.

That same morning, Chief Williams went to the DPO and said they need an autopsy on Tony's corpse before burial.

Tony's corpse was taken from the mortuary to the teaching hospital. The pathologist conducted a full forensic autopsy.

By evening, the result came out — it was confirmed that indeed Tony died of rat poison — zinc phosphide poisoning. The poison had destroyed his kidneys slowly. It was not natural kidney failure. It was murder.

Chief Williams was shocked to his bones and went home and told his wife that the autopsy result really confirmed rat poison.

"That means that boy Daniel is right! He was telling the truth!" Mrs. Williams shouted, covering her mouth.

"Yes, I need to see him at the station immediately," Chief Williams said, picking his car keys and rushing to the station.

At the station, Chief Williams saw Daniel with bruises on his face and body, sitting on the cold floor. He felt ashamed.

He told Daniel that the autopsy result confirmed his claim that Tony was poisoned and asked Daniel if he knew something more that would convince them that his daughter-in-law murdered his son, because autopsy alone was not enough to prove who did it — anyone could have poisoned him.

Daniel, weak but hopeful, told him, "He said the remains of the poison are kept in her lower cupboard in her bedroom, behind her shoes, inside a black nylon. If you check there, you will find it."

Chief Williams said okay and promised that if he confirms it's true, he would bail Daniel that same day and apologize publicly.

CHAPTER 11: THE BLACK NYLON

The next morning, Chief Williams woke up very early, around 7am, dressed in his senator-like kaftan, and told his driver to take him to Tony's house — Amaka's house.

He didn't tell Amaka he was coming.

Amaka was inside having romance with Fred in the living room. She was sitting on Fred's lap, wearing a short transparent nightgown, both of them drinking red wine and laughing loudly, playing music.

"Sweetheart, soon we will be free. After burial, we travel to Canada and enjoy Tony's money," Fred said, kissing her neck.

"I can't wait, baby. This house is full of bad memories," Amaka giggled.

Suddenly, they heard a loud car horn outside — _PAM PAM PAM_ — and the gateman opened the gate. It was Chief Williams' black Prado entering.

Amaka quickly peeped through the curtain and saw Chief Williams coming out of the car.

"It's Chief o! It's Chief! My father-in-law is here!" Amaka whispered, panicking.

Fred was terrified. He jumped up, picked up his shirt, boxers, and phone quickly and ran inside the bedroom to hide in the wardrobe. His shoes were still in the living room.

Amaka quickly hid the wine bottle under the chair, cleaned the table with her wrapper, packed the two wine glasses, and quickly wore her long white mourning gown over her transparent nightgown to look like a grieving widow again.

Chief Williams knocked and entered.

Amaka greeted him acting innocent and surprised, her eyes red like she had been crying.

"Oh sir, you didn't tell me you were coming. Good morning sir. You came early," she said, trying to smile.

"I'm sorry my daughter, it was an emergency. I hope you are okay," Chief Williams said, looking around the living room suspiciously. He noticed two wine glasses hastily hidden behind the curtain.

"I hope nothing serious sir?" Amaka asked, her hands shaking.

"Nothing serious my dear, just that in the company I came to pick some of my son's old files and his briefcase he left here before he died. I need them for the lawyers," Chief Williams said calmly, watching her face.

"Yes, he left that in the bedroom. I kept it safe," Amaka said, relieved.

"Okay, let's go there, it's urgent. I need it now," Chief said.

"No problem sir, come," Amaka said and took him to the bedroom and showed him the briefcase on top of the wardrobe.

He told her, "Excuse me for some minutes, my daughter. I want to check something inside the briefcase."

Amaka left the room and stood outside, her heart beating fast.

Chief Williams didn't touch the briefcase. Instead, he knelt down and opened the lower cupboard in her bedroom — the cupboard Tony told Daniel about.

He searched behind her shoes, handbags, and saw a black nylon, tied tightly, hidden at the very back.

He opened it — inside was white powder, half used, with a small spoon, smelling like chemicals. Rat poison. Zinc phosphide. The same type that killed Tony.

His hands shook. He wrapped it quickly in his own white handkerchief and put it inside his pocket. Then he pretended to take the files and briefcase, zipped them.

He came out and told Amaka, "I'm leaving now."

"Oh so soon sir? Won't you eat something? At least drink water?" Amaka said, trying to be nice.

"I told you it's an emergency. See you soon. Hope you are okay? You look stressed," Chief Williams said, staring at her deeply.

"Yes sir, I'm still trying. It hasn't been easy on me since Tony died," Amaka said, fake crying again.

"I'm so sorry, I will keep in touch later. Goodbye and take care of yourself," he said and left quickly.

As soon as his car left, Fred came out from the wardrobe, sweating.

"My dear, we are lucky o, we almost got caught! That man would have killed me if he saw me here," Fred said.

"We have to be more careful. Next time, don't come in the afternoon," Amaka warned, locking the door.

Chief Williams drove straight to the police station with the black nylon.

He gave it to the DPO and said, "Do forensic test. Match it with the poison found in my son's body."

The forensic lab at the teaching hospital tested it. By evening, the result came out — it was an exact match. The poison in the nylon was the same chemical composition as the poison found in Tony's kidney, liver and blood. Same brand, same batch.

Chief Williams now knew that Daniel was right, and now suspects his daughter-in-law having a hand in his son's death.

He called the DPO, "She need to be brought to the station for questioning."

That same evening, around 7pm, two police officers went to Amaka's house and knocked.

Amaka opened the door, still in her mourning white.

"Madam Amaka Williams, you are needed at the station for questioning concerning the death of your husband," the senior officer said.

Amaka was shocked, "Questioning? For what? What did I do wrong? I am mourning my husband, why are you harassing me?"

"When you get to the station you will know why," they said and took her, handcuffing her in front of neighbors who were watching and filming.

At the station, they started interrogating her. They placed the black nylon of rat poison on the table in front of her and the autopsy report.

"Madam, how did this get to your cupboard? And can you explain why the same poison was found in your husband's body? Is it true you have been using it on your husband's food?" the DPO asked.

She kept denying, shouting, crying fake tears.

"I don't know anything about that! Why would I kill my own husband? I loved him so much! Someone is trying to set me up! I'm innocent! This is Chief Williams trying to take my husband's property! I'm innocent!"

They said they would conduct a full search on her house and seized her phone for forensic analysis to see if they could find other evidence.

When the ICT forensic team finally unlocked her phone — she used a pattern lock — they saw everything.

Hundreds of text messages and late-night calls between her and Fred.

The messages they retrieved from deleted folder were damning:

Amaka, 2 weeks before Tony died: "Hey babe, the poison is working, he gets weaker and sick by the day. Today he vomited again."

Fred: "Good one baby, just keep putting small small inside his food every morning. We will soon get rid of him and take his money."

Amaka: "He is now always in hospital. Doctor says kidney failure."

Fred: "Perfect. No one will suspect rat poison. Keep going."

And the worst one, sent the night Tony died:

Fred: "Baby finally the bastard is dead. We can now celebrate. Come to my place tonight."

Amaka: "Yes love, finally we are free. I will come tomorrow, I am still pretending to cry here."

They showed her all the printed messages on paper and played her voice notes. Amaka's legs gave way. She broke down on the floor, crying loudly, no more fake tears — real tears of guilt.

"I'm so sorry, yes I poisoned him. I'm sorry! It was all Fred, his best friend's idea! He told me to marry Tony. I never loved Tony. I was only after his money. Fred was the one who told me to marry him, that Tony has money, that we can kill him slowly and rip him off his money and together we will fly to Canada and live happy life as we dreamt of. It was all Fred's idea and plan! Please I'm sorry, I never meant to kill him like that, Fred forced me!" she confessed, hitting her head on the wall.

"You are under arrest for murder and conspiracy, madam. You will be locked up and charged to court," the DPO said, handcuffing her again.

Mr. and Mrs. Williams came to the station that night to see Amaka. They looked at her through the cell bars.

Mrs. Williams cried, "Amaka why? After all we did for you and your family? We gave your mother money, we treated you like our own daughter, we still had the guts to kill my son? Why Amaka? Why? What did my son do to you?"

"I'm so sorry ma, I'm so sorry. The devil used me. Fred used me. I'm sorry," Amaka cried, kneeling, holding the bars.

Chief Williams just stared at her, tears in his eyes, unable to talk.

Meanwhile, Fred was hiding in a hotel after he heard news that Amaka had been detained. He was scared. He packed his things, shaved his beard, and was arranging to fly to Ghana that night through a smuggler.

When the police stormed the hotel around 11pm, acting on Amaka's confession and phone tracking, Fred saw them from the window.

He tried to jump out the window from the second floor to escape. One of the policemen shouted, "Stop! Stop!" and shot him in his leg.

He fell on the pavement, screaming, blood coming out. He was carried to the police station, his leg bandaged, and detained.



CHAPTER 12: LIFE IMPRISONMENT AND A NEW LIFE

One month later, the case went to court. It was all over the news — "Wife poisons husband with rat poison with lover, best friend."

The evidence was overwhelming — autopsy report, forensic match of poison, black nylon found in her cupboard, text messages, call logs, and her own confession.

The judge sentenced Fred and Amaka to life imprisonment with hard labor for the murder of Tony Williams.

"For taking the life of an innocent man who trusted and loved you, you shall spend the rest of your lives in prison," the judge said.

Amaka fainted in court.

Fred shouted, "It was her idea!"

Nobody listened.

Daniel was bailed out that same week and Chief Williams personally came to the police station to bring him out. He hugged Daniel in front of everyone.

"Thank you Daniel for opening our eyes. So sorry we doubted you. So sorry we locked you up and beat you. Forgive us, my son. You are now my son," Chief Williams pleaded, kneeling a little. Mrs. Williams also hugged him, crying.

Daniel was still not happy with them at first for the torture, but he forgave them, because his mission was done.

Chief Williams promised to reward him greatly for this and compensate him for all the damages, torture and embarrassment.

The next day, Chief Williams came to the house where Daniel and Barry stayed — the small two-room apartment they now shared — with a convoy. He told them,

"Because of what you did for my family, for giving my son justice, I have arranged for both of you to start working in my company — Williams Oil and Gas — as senior staff, no more mortuary work. I will also give you a new house in Efab Estate, and a new Toyota Corolla car each, and the sum of 20 million naira for Daniel and 20 million for Barry — 40 million total — for your honesty and bravery."

Daniel and Barry were shocked hearing such an offer. At first they rejected it out of shock.

"What! 20 million! House! Car!" Barry shouted, jumping up.

"Wow, that is amazing! God has done it!" Barry said in excitement, dancing around the small room.

After Chief left, promising to send the documents the next day, Barry kept dancing and rejoicing with Daniel, shouting, playing music on his phone.

"God don finally do am for you! As I told you Daniel, destiny can be delayed but it can never be denied! You had to be more patient with your gift! If only you didn't listen to me now, we wouldn't have had this huge reward at the end! See! From mortuary to mansion!"

"Ah I thank God o, so all our days of suffering don end! No more washing dead bodies!" Daniel rejoiced, tears in his eyes.

"Indeed, we can now leave that mortuary where we wash dead bodies, inhale formalin and that smelling chemical that makes eyes red, and start a more decent job with AC and suit," Barry said, laughing.

"Yes, and no more nightmare of ghosts haunting me at the mortuary, no more whispers at night," Daniel said, relieved.

"Thank God, God has done it for us," Barry said, hugging him.

Daniel and Barry later accepted Chief Williams' offer. They resigned from the mortuary. They started working in his big company in the administrative department, wearing suits. They moved into their new house in Efab — a 3-bedroom bungalow — and had a car each, parked outside.

One weekend, Daniel and Barry went to Baba's shrine to thank him, bringing drinks, a big ram, and money for Baba.

"Thank you Baba, if not for you I wouldn't be here today. You told me not to run from my gift. You were right," Daniel said as he thanked him, kneeling.

Baba smiled and blessed him, tying another white thread for protection.

"Your gift will now bring you more blessings. Use it well, but don't abuse it," Baba told him.

That night, for the last time, Tony appeared to Daniel in his sleep. But this time, he was not crying. He was smiling, wearing a fine white suit, looking healthy and happy, no more swollen face.

He waved his hands at Daniel from a bright place and said, smiling, "Thank you Daniel. Thank you for fighting for me. Finally my soul can rest in peace. Thank you. God bless you."

Daniel woke up smiling, tears in his eyes.

EPILOUGE
Daniel and Barry started a new life working in that big company, had money now and were no more poor. Daniel later got married to a beautiful girl from church and had two kids. Barry's kids now went to private school. No more working in the mortuary, no more nightmares, no more ghosts haunting them at night.
And they lived happily forever, using their money wisely, and always remembering that what looks like a curse can become a blessing if you have courage.

THE END.


MORAL: Your gift may look like a curse at first, people may mock you, beat you, lock you up for it — but if you embrace it with courage and patience, it will become your greatest blessing. Destiny can be delayed, but it can never be denied.

Finally, i completed the book🙏

Thought you said it's a true life story.
Nice read tho 👌

kayspark27:
Thought you said it's a true life story.
Nice read tho 👌

yes it happens in mortuary where corpse are sold to ritualist. Mortuary attendant claims of hearing dead body communicating.

I ommitted something. I later added it back to the story. The story is what mortuary attendants face o

Yeah i know it happens and I'm not disputing that. But this particular story is what I'm talking about. Is it 100% real or 50% real and 50% fiction
Thank you.
Also do you have more stories like this. True life stories with a little horror.

Evaress:
yes it happens in mortuary where corpse are sold to ritualist. Mortuary attendant claims of hearing dead body communicating.

kayspark27:
Yeah i know it happens and I'm not disputing that. But this particular story is what I'm talking about. Is it 100% real or 50% real and 50% fiction
Thank you.
Also do you have more stories like this. True life stories with a little horror.

seems you like horror? Am i right?

Yes of course '

Evaress:
seems you like horror? Am i right?

My book made it to front page. Thank you so much Admin. At least my works is now being appreciated

Who has time to be reading long stories on this hard economy?

Life goes ON





Someone must dovit

Men, you and the moderator just posted gibberish.

You copied this long garbage and dumped it here.

Seun please look into hiring capable moderators.

Not people who only look at headlines and push it to the front page without reading.

Wow,
You kept it cool
This is nice
I'm looking forward to reading more from you

Nonsense
Daniel ko Daniel ne didn't even read it nor have time for it
Dead men tell no tales
The dead are gone na just empty cartons dey there
I can sleep in a mog for 50m nothing go happen