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Chater 5


What!!!!??

°•°•


I was standing, legs shaking and a great deal of apprehension in my heart. My eyes burned..a fiery bright red mirroring the horror I watched. The flames burnt brightly into the night as the roof collapsed with a crash. Fomé was dead, blown apart in the explosion and her remains were now no doubt burning with the house.
I could still feel the heat.
I could still feel the pain...so raw, the guilt...if only I hadn't released the gas...if only...


"What the hell is happening?" Andy asked again "how can that be possible...the print belonging to Fomé?"

I snapped out of my trance and shook my head trying to clear the lingering images "it has to be some kind of mistake...the system obviously made an error."

Tonye nodded "but you know in our business we need to consider everything as a possibility..you all know that"

There was silence. I looked at Bami he seemed to be in his own trance.

"Is it possible Fomé survived that night?" Tonye asked
Andy looked at me "I wasn't there but Fomé died that night"

"Well I was there and before my eyes the house went up in flames" Bami found his voice finally.

I nodded yet to find mine. After the explosion I had slipped out of the compound and gone straight to Andy's house.
Bami had been in the compound including the chief and his two children not to mention a handful of agents. The ones who hadn't gone into the house before the explosion. Not to also mention the two dead bodies on the floor belonging to the old assassin woman and Mona....Mona, Andy's wife and Fomé's sister. I shivered

"Rex are you okay?" Tonye asked worriedly
I nodded again.
"So is it possible that maybe she got out of the house before the explosion?" Tonye asked her husband.

Bami shook his head. "The fire didn't burn for long before we put it out. And infact we saw her remains....as well as D.y and Alpha's team"

Tonye was nodding sorrowfully at the memory of the fallen agents. "I remember.....this case is indeed a peculiar one"

I found my voice suddenly. "The body...the body is the answer...we exhume it and match the DNA...that's the only way to know."
"Isn't that a bit extreme" Tonye said
"No he's right but I don't know where the body is" Bami affirmed. I knew he also needed to know as much as I did.

"I do" me and Andy said together.



°•°•°•°•

Olivia



"See Rex that you said would call us later...its 8:30 already" her father in law said as he leaned back and burped discreetly.

"I don't know what's keeping him...maybe he forgot" Olivia said as she cleared the dishes from the table. They had just finished dinner which consisted of semovita and banga soup.

She carried the dishes to the kitchen and was surprised to find Utebo already at the zinc washing.
"Don't worry go and relax eh...I think Emma has slept off." her sister in law said with a smile.

Olivia checked her daughter in the parlour and true enough she was sprawled on the couch sleeping, the twin boys weren't running around now but focused on the television which was still on.

'I killed an eel, I buried its guts, sprouted a tree now you got coconuts, what is the lesson what is the takeaway don't mess with Maui when he's on a breakaway.....' The cartoon was still on and a huge man covered in tattoos was rapping rather impressively.

She carried her daughter noticing the twins were yawning sleepily. " oya its time to sleep..your food would have digested by now" she said before the boys could protest. That was always their line to stay up longer at night. They were smart boys.

When Emma was on the bed asleep she called her husband. "Have you booked the flight?"
"My assistant should have done it..check your inbox or your mail for the details."
"Rex..are you okay?" She asked
"Yea...I'm fine" he replied. But he sounded somehow...she couldn't place her hand on it but he didn't sound 'fine'.
"You forgot to call your parents and I told them you would call tonight"
"Oh...I totally forgot...I'd call my mom right away" he sounded absent minded.
"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked worriedly.
"Yea I'm fine, I'd see you tomorrow"
"Okay goodnight dear"




°•°•°•°°•°•


?? ?? ??


The room was clustered. It was a small room, store size actually and the only furniture was a table and chair. The latter was presently occupied by a woman and she sat hunched over the desk looking intensely at the papers before her. Mostly newspaper articles and press clippings.

The bulb swung a little once in a while and it tilted now dimming her view, she sat straight and studied the wall at the pictures.
On the left was a picture of a good looking man in his late 20s. To the right was a lady also in her late 20s, she was beautiful and had a beautiful radiant smile. In between both pictures in the middle was a beautiful baby girl. She had a happy smile that was much like the woman's own and she actually had much features of both the man and the lady.

On the picture of the small girl, her face had been circled with a marker. A blue marker.
And under the picture was the name; Emmanuella Obasi.

Ayoshewa12:
Thanks for the dedication sir Souloho,Lot of love ❤

You welcome dear

phoenixchap:
Souloho19, you are always killing it, I duff my hat and you timely updates I just can't deny you this comment.

Thanks a mil bro..Jah bless

Oroolorun:
[color=#006600]

You very welcome bro

chisiudeh:
Baba souloho19 you too much. Before it was olivia now it's fome. Hmmm who is the next in this twist. Keep the suspense up jarey. I'm happy though that Olivia is not the suspect.

Lol...to be honest me too...Olivia is the perfect saint in my eyes

DzTzl:
lemme join Andy and ask "what the hell is going on"?

Haha..serious I'm even confused

HORLADSTAR:
SECONDED

Thirded

dimssy:
D
I tell you....it's Palm Sunday....brother Souloho19, come and give someone palm Sunday update jare.

Don't worry its coming bro

Charminee:
Ghen ghen ghen ghen

nice suspense sound track

Joislim:
I'm comfortably seated in this Venza not knowing the direction we are headed.

I trust our driver 'soul, he will maneuver us to a great destination.

Ride on bro, we are with you.

Lol...thanks dear in fact I must turn F1 driver

queenitee:
Ah, thanks for the dedication.
Fome bawo? She's dead nau?

Hehehe...maybe she went ghost mode

meneski:
Fome! Dis cant be... Shey na person way don die? Anyway thanks for de dedication.

You welcome bro...make we just dey watch as e dey go

EkopSparoAyara:
Obviously...Someone is playing games..

That one is sure...very deadly games

WHOcarex:
I got the mention

Well, I always have the feeling that the one that got lost in the smoking house must have escaped. Well, let see how you will twist it again

Fome still dey para for Rex that why she used the wife's name

Haha..I actually agree with your last paragraph, you welcome on board bro

Damibiz:
Damibiz don showwww,Guccqueen come nd see American wounder......my guy frm the devil wears Okrika at work

Welcome ma niggy

Nostradamus:
hi souloho nice story here, keep on the creativity.the link above is not opening

The antispam kept on editing it..and even banned me after my first reply its actually after the https// chat (dot) what's app (dot) com / then the rest I.e the (GY2ALLvM......)

Dedicated to ekopsparoAraya oroolorun queenitee meneski yemike Ayoshewa12 genius43 horladstar queenDD mitcheljunior
I appreciate ur comments fam�




°•°•°•°•°•


I paused my narrative when Tonye's assistant knocked and entered the office. She handed a flash drive to Tonye.
"This is the soft copy you asked for ma, is there anything else you need I'm about to close for the day"
"No..I'm good. I love the report it was top notch"

I could tell the latest development had cooled off the urgency that had been burning in her.
"Yea its really good" I added glancing at the file still in my front.

She blushed "Thank you. See you tomorrow ma" she left the office.

Tonye plugged the flash drive into her computer then glanced at me "have you told Olivia?"

"Not yet..I'm going to call her now" I replied.

"So the killer is a woman..interesting" Tonye said
"Yea that was quite a surprise" I replied
"Wait gimme the report I want you to read something"
I handed the big book to her and she flipped the pages her eyes scanning the contents as she did so. Finally she found what she was looking for.

"Here" she handed the report back to me.
For the next ten minutes I was silent as I read about the man who had witnessed the 'imaginary' lovers fight. And how he had been killed a week later.

"Do you think the hotel is the same with this one the Shadow's body was found?" She asked when I finally looked up.
"Its a possibility and it does have balconies....in fact I'm sure of it now" I remembered the hotel was in a residential area so it was possible for the man to have seen the tussel from his apartment.

"Hmmm...then it may as well be this same woman...I'd let Kristen dig into the woman tomorrow but I don't think she'd find much" Tonye said


The door opened and Bami strolled in.

"You're lucky its not my office, I would have kicked you out for not knocking" the shadow was dead and I could kid around now.

Bami smiled although it was strained "its my wife's office mister...what is her's is mine and vice versa" he went round the table to his wife and bent to kiss her but Tonye turned her face away.

"Why didn't you tell me about the murder when the call came in?" She asked accusingly

Bami straightened "I didn't want to wake you, you know how stressful the last few days has been and I only wanted you to rest."

I saw Tonye soften immediately, trust Bami with his sugar tongue.

"But you should have called me later at least"

"I did..didn't your assistant tell you"
"Oh, she did I totally forgot...I've been nose deep in that report since morning" she pointed at the book I still glanced at occasionally.

"Heey...shey you people know I'm not a marriage counselor sha"I said jokingly
Tonye looked at me "Rex you should call Olivia and tell her so she can stop worrying"

"Worrying? But she doesn't know about the threat in the first place" then I frowned at her "right?"
"Just call her baba!" Tonye said exasperatedly

I brought out my phone and dialed her number from memory.

"We need to discuss this case when you're done" Bami said perching on the arm of Tonye's chair.

"Which case? The man was killed, its not as if- hello" Olivia answered the call.
"Hello, Rex"
"Sweet, how are you..hope you're not bored"
"Bored ke...its impossible in this house" my wife replied.
"I have something to tell you.."
"I'm listening"
"You remember the shadow we have been searching for the last two years?"
She sighed tiredly "how could I forget"
"Well cheer up...he's no more, his body was found this morning"
Her voice was immediately vibrant "he's dead?"
"Yes darling" I didn't dare add the part that the killer had used her name to check in the hotel.
"Oh thank God" relief flooded her voice "this means we can come home now...no more threat"

I looked at Tonye as my suspicion was confirmed. These women told themselves everything! One had to remember that.

But I was extremely pleased "I'd book the flight now against tomorrow, I'd call my parents later in the night to greet them"
"OK lovely" over the line I heard my daughters voice clearly "daddee!daddee!phone....daddy...!" I smiled as I pictured her tugging on her mother's skirt and pointing at the phone.
"Let me speak to my princess" I said
"Okay o...I'm jealous o" Olivia said with a laugh
"Haba...you're my queen now." I laughed. When you found out the deadly killer after your family was dead everything was funny.
"Ello...daddee" Emma said in her cute voice
"My love, how are you"
"I'm fine...my cheeetch is shaking"
"Your teeth...you're a big girl..I can't wait to see you tomorrow"
I heard her cousin, my niece Soma call out 'Emma!'
"Okay byebye daddy I loff you"
"I love you too my princess"

Olivia's voice came over the line "and she's off again..I also can't wait to see you tomorrow..there's something I got last week but I haven't had the chance to try it yet...so get ready"
I was hot immediately "what's it?"
"Its a secret..the kind of secret Victoria keeps" she laughed happily "you're the detective you figure it out"

I also had a vivid imagination and I could see her clearly in the sexy lacy underwear she had hinted at"

I ended the call with a smile on my face and was shocked to find Andy leaning on the other side of the desk. The three of them were watching me and Tonye was smiling mischievously.

"When did you enter?" I said to Andy
"Not long ago...you were in your own world...Olivia is good I take it"
"She's wonderful..they'd be here by tomorrow"
"I stopped by the room when I went to get my car" Andy said "I met the crime scene technician and he said he found a print in the hole"
"Wow....that's a lucky break" I said
"Whose print is it?" Bami asked
"He was running it on the server then..but he'd call us once there is a match"
"If we're lucky it won't belong to the victim and we'd get the killer on a silver platter" Tonye said
"Yea...that would be the best" I agreed.

I was about to ask Tonye for a USB cord to send the report to my phone when the landline on her desk rang.

Riiiiinnnggg!!
Rrriiiinnnngg!!


"Who is this, this is almost five" she said and raised the receiver to her ear. "Hello....oh...yes, OK hold on" she pressed a botton on the phone and the call was on loud speaker.
"Okay...go on please" she said.

The voice was a bit shrill but it was filled with energy. I knew it belonged to Terry immediately.

"I got a match on the print....a kiddies bank account was opened for her about 15 years ago and that's the only match, that was just lucky...I checked out the account and by tomorrow I'd get the statement from the bank, I'd let you know"

"Wait...you haven't told us who the print belongs to" I called out.
"Oh....it was a positive match with one miss Fomé Oliseh"

I suddenly wished I hadn't asked as my heart began pounding and I felt a pressure in my chest. "That's not possible....Fomé is dead" I said as my voice shook.

"Hmm....what are the odds..." Terry said thoughtfull "that's the match I got...I have your card and I'd send the picture I'm looking at to the email address here...it may just be a namesake...no name is exclusive you know"

"OK...thanks a lot we'd be expecting the mail" Tonye said and ended the call.
She looked at me suprised. The expression on Bami's face was undescribable but he was looking at me in shock. Andy was staring at the phone in disbelief as if he was still hearing the words.
None of us could believe what we just heard.

Finally Andy broke the silence. "What the hell is going on"

°•°•°•°•°•


Tonye


"Bami where are you..I've been calling you since what's going on?" She asked closing the big file. She was going to ring Kristen after this call for the flash drive containing the soft copy of the report. She would use her computer instead and when she went home she could use her laptop plus she could easily refer to any detail anytime once she sent it to her phone.

Her husband sounded stressed over the phone. "I'm coming to the office, have you heard what happened?"

"No I've been buried in this report I lost track of time. What happened?" The words were barely out of her mouth when there was a knock and the door opened.

Rex strode into the office she noticed irritably he seemed relaxed.
Bami was saying "there was a murder this morning or rather at midnight, I just confirmed the ID and its the last shadow"

She was shocked, that was the last thing she had expected to hear but it was good news.

Rex sat down on the only chair on the other side of the table. He glanced at the report on the desk which was as big as a dictionary and pulled it towards him.

"Is Andy in the office?" Bami asked
"No" she replied
"He's probably still at the crime scene, what of Rex?"
"Rex is here he just entered now"
"OK...I'm almost there" with that he hung up.

"That was Bami" Rex commented without taking his eyes off the report.
"Yes, he'd soon be here...he told me what happened"

He glanced up and grinned "The bastard is gone blown away and I don't feel the least sympathy for him...this is a hell of a report by the way"

Tonye also gave a sigh of relief. Her best friend and goddaughter were safe, the immediate danger was gone. "Yes, its Kristen who compiled it, who killed him?" She asked

"We don't know yet but the method was quite unique" he then proceeded to fill her in on the details.


°•°•°•°•°•°


Andy


His car was exactly were he had left it and at first he wanted to get in and drive off but then he decided to check the scene again if the crime scene expert Terry was still working.

The clerk was sleeping just like in the fake video upstairs and the hotel was empty. Other guests had checked out after finding out a murder had taken place in one of the rooms and the few that remained left immediately they found out the police had carted hotel guests to the station.

Andy strolled past the sleeping clerk and skipped the stairs two at a time.

The second floor was empty and apart from a uniformed officer outside the room the hallway was deserted. The police man didn't say anything but stepped aside when he glanced at the badge on the belt.

Inside, the bed had been turned to the other side and Terry stood to the side putting different evidence he had bagged in ziplock bags in a bigger box. Cigarette butt, hair strands, a boxers, the items all pointed to the murdered man who had been in the room.

Terry mumbled to himself then wrote something on his notebook. He finally looked up and saw Andy.

"Hey you're back"
"Yes, I thought you would have left by now"
"Oh I'm rounding up already" he said "the policeman outside is about to seal this room. Hope the media people have left?" He asked worriedly.
"Everywhere is clear don't worry...did you find anything while we were gone?"
"Oh yes" the young man said excitedly "I was able to get a print off the inside of the wall"
"Great...I just hope it doesn't belong to the maid" Andy said
"We'll find out soon enough. As long as the owner of the fingerprint has a bank account, passport, drivers license, voters card even a registered sim we'll get him" Terry said confidently
"Her" Andy corrected.

He handed the man the BROTA agency card. "Please once you get a match let us know..if possible before you alert the police.
" That's not possible its the police server I'm using, besides I'm a police man" he added indignantly.
"Tooh...anyhow let us know anything you come across...anything at all. Good job" he turned and left the room.

He got into his car and pulled out of the hotel. He put in a 'Naija greatest hits' CD and drove toward the BROTA agency.

•°•°•


Bami


Bami was worried. There were so many thoughts in his head but they all had the same conclusion. And one theory in particular scared him.

He left the lab instructing the medical examiner to perform an autopsy.

He drove round undecided. He was supposed to head to the agency and fill some paperwork but the latest developments had him worried and undecided. Finally he trafficated and got on the bridge. He had made up his mind just before he trafficated and the bridge didn't lead to the headquarters.


After navigating through traffic and potholes for 1 hour 45 minutes, Bami got out of his car and observed the building. He hadn't come here in years and nothing had changed although the paint had began peeling here and there and it almost looked like one of those roadside buildings that had been abandoned because it was marked for demolition.

But it was far from abandoned. Bami knew this. He strode through the door aware that his plates had been run the moment he switched off the engine.
Inside, this was the part Bami loved. It was always a shock for first timers. There was nothing but a big wall. The minute one entered the building you were staring at a wall, nothing else. The words: Mark and Mack legal advisers was written in uppercase with an arrow after the last word.
He turned right like the arrow pointed and there was a staircase hidden in the corner. It was also behind a small gate that was locked. Behind the gate, sitting on the steps was an unsmiling face. He looked at Bami with expressionless eyes "we're closed"

Bami checked out the man hunched on the stairs. He hadn't seen him before but he was no doubt an agent. He decided to go with the code.

"I have annulment papers I have to sign for my divorce hearing."

"We're closed" the man repeated.
"Look" Bami took a step closer but stopped when the man straightened alert. "This is very very important I need to see Mark Zipiter." He added the unknown last name so the man would know he wasn't just anyone. Then lowered his voice "This is a north grade situation" that was a code and meant the situation was very urgent and important.

The man looked at Bami with unblinking eyes "we're closed"
Bami was sure that was the only phrase he was going to get. This man was like a recording. Bami was sure the man in fact knew who he was which would mean he had been blacklisted and no one wanted to see him. The agency still regarded him as a defector after all.
But he had questions he needed to ask. Once he had followed orders blindly and he had haunting memories and situations that needed clarity. Especially events from two years ago.
He sighed in frustration and stormed out of the building.


°•°•°•°•°•
I dropped Andy off at the closest bus stop and he took a bus to the hotel. He wanted to get his car and we agreed to meet up at the agency.

As I headed to the BROTA agency, the 4oclock news kicked in and one of the headlines was the murder and the announcement that the agency was looking into the case.

To be honest I didn't think we were going to catch the killer and it wasn't a priority to me. The killer could very well be an agent from the UK,Russia,Israel,China......the list was endless but the most important thing was the shadow was dead, gone. Along with the threat that had shaken my home three days ago.

I couldn't wait to tell Olivia. Although I hadn't told her about the previous threat and I knew she wouldn't appreciate that omission but there wouldn't be need again, the shadow was gone.
For the first time in 72 hours I smiled and it reached my eyes.

For the first time in a long time the road was free and I arrived at the agency in no time. I wondered where Bami was when I didn't see his car in the lot. I was going to call him once I got in.

"Good evening sir"
"Welcome sir"

"What are you still doing, its way past four already" I said to the two employees who were standing close and probably chatting idly.

"I'm waiting for Mrs Tonye to ring me, there's something I'm supposed to give her before I leave" the pretty girl said with a slight blush.

I recognized her as one of the promising talents we had in research. Kristy or Karen something was her name. I looked at the second person. "How about you Jimoh?"

Jimoh used to be my assistant but since there was nothing to assist these days he ran errands and performed any task given to him.
"I was waiting for you sir...I wanted to tell you the audit for last month just arrived"
"OK, that can wait...take a break, tomorrow is still a workday" with that I headed up the stairs.

°•°•


"Is that all? I have things to do..I'm a busy man" The man held up his hands and inspected his nails in a slightly feminine way.
"You're not going anywhere Jeff-"
"Its Heff"
"Whatever..." Dagnet leaned dangerously close till her face was inches from his. "You're being charged with assault. On a policeman for that matter so I'd advice you to get ready to spend the night, maybe more"
"It was my right..I paid for my room and someone would now be telling me that I can't go to my room? Is this not senseless brutality?!"
"But you tusseled with him"
"That was because he shoved me, I almost fell down the stairs,what if I had broken my neck. What would-"

I watched the interrogation pacing behind the man's chair. The hotel guest who had struggled with a policeman definitely had a temper. He kept on craning his neck to see what I was doing.

"Did you mix with any other hotel guests on your floor, maybe meet anyone in the hallway or anything?"

"No..I was inside all the time, I only went out to eat once, the next time I ordered room service. I was working on a presentation that is long overdue and I only fell asleep around six and so when the cleaner entered my room I shouted that she come back later only for her to still wake me up with her bloody screaming."


The interrogation had been divided into two; Dagnet and I handled the first batch while Andy and a second detective were in the next room interviewing the other guests.

There was no encouraging information coming from this sassy man and so I left the room noiselessly and slipped into the next.

Andy was doing the talking and a young pretty girl was in the hot seat.

Andy was saying "...so try and remember when you met her on the stairs,what did she say? How was she dressed?"

My ears perked up and I moved closer. The other detective who was a bit overweight and sitting in the second chair in the room glanced at me then my belt expecting to see the badge. He frowned slightly but didn't say anything.

The young girl's expression was so intense as she tried to remember what had taken place.
"We were quit drunk, Agogo and me and we were still singing the songs from the club as we climbed up, she was going down the stairs..." She thought harder "yes...she had on a beautiful gown but it was too short and I suspected she was a prostitute and she was very mean..we greeted her but she didn't answer, it was like she didn't even see us she just waltzed past us without looking back"

"Hmmm..." Andy scratched his jaw thoughtfully. "Around what time did this happen?"

"I'd say past one...or before one sha because we left the club around 12:30"

Andy looked at me and I knew we shared the same thought, the killer had probably struck and was making her escape by then.

I stepped to the desk and she looked at me "please relax your mind, focus on every detail...you're a female, females tend to notice appearance with scrutiny. Think back please"

"I've told you all I can....oh yes she had a purse, a matching red purse with her red gown that was short and still had high slits...and she was putting on shades"

"Thank you" I stepped back. I wanted to ask her about the size of the 'boobs' but I knew who to ask.

Ten minutes later, the detective excused himself he hadn't really been involved and didn't seem to have the slightest interest in the case.

Agogo who was the boyfriend of the girl we just interviewed confirmed the clerks earlier decision. She had huge watermelons although the clerk might have exaggerated a bit but according to Agogo it was bigger than average.

"My Eunice was watching me closely you know how girls like to do if another one is close by, they don't even want you looking at another so I had to resist the urge to turn and see if the backyard had enough parking space like the frontyard if you know what I mean" he winked

I gave him a blank look, Andy raised an eyebrow and he hurried on "not until we got to our room 32 that I looked back and saw she had been standing at the mouth of the stairs watching us...when we opened the door I glanced back and she was gone"

"I'm sure she wanted to know the room you guys would enter because she had just killed someone in one of the rooms moments ago." I concluded

"Jesus! You mean she is the one that killed...someone I was lusting after..chei! That is how someone would just pick up the wrong girl and before you know she has killed you..." He shivered "the best thing is to remain loyal...Eunice for life at least she is pure"

"Good for you...now what else can you remember? Anything at all."



°•°•°•

The maid who had found the body was still shaken although she had calmed down a bit. Now she seemed to have lost her voice as a result of all the screaming, it was faint and hoarse. Her name was Evelyn and she had been working in the hotel for close to 3 years.

She went through her routine again step by step, from when she had pushed her cart with fresh towels and sheets on the 2nd floor.

She complained of one guest who shouted at her rudely and ordered her to come back later and I knew it had to be the man Dagnet had been questioning minutes ago.
She described how the hole in the wall had caught her attention. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she remembered the blood and offensive smell. Recounting the detail was obviously tough on her and I signaled Andy to cut the questions.

We interrogated two more guests both elderly men in early fifties. They hadn't been around when all the shouting had begun that morning as they were having breakfast in a nearby canteen. They lodged in the morning before and were waiting for someone else to join them so they could continue their journey to Osun state for a distant cousin's burial.

We had just rounded up the interview when Dagnet strolled in with an astonished look.

"You finished all the interrogations?!"

I didn't know if she sounded happy or angry. But then again she had spent 30 minutes interrogating one guest and her slow method was what made me leave. Now under the same time frame we had questioned 4 other people.

"Hope you recorded it sha" she said taking our silence as an affirmation.

I pointed to the ceiling were a CCTV camera had its red light on. "Unless this is just for display you should have the interviews on tape"

She looked at me in the fowl manner I had become accustomed to.

",How about your detecting....any luck?" Andy asked her.

"Nothing substantial, Terry called me from the hotel. He combed the room the killer lodged in but he didn't get anything. No fingerprints but she must have used the bathroom because the two towels were on the floor and quite damp"

"She must have worn gloves throughout then" I suggested

"Yes, its very possible and the clerk said he didn't see her again meaning she stayed in her room till she carried out the murder"

"And immediately she killed him she left the hotel"
I explained what the young couple said about the encounter in the corridor.

"The clerk is currently downstairs with a sketch artist he was the only one she spent some time with but the useless man couldn't look at her face but her chest!" She looked at me "men! Tufiakwa" and snapped her fingers.

"This sketch artist, is he any good?" Andy asked a little too quickly.
"Yes very good, one of the best, the couple might be able to also add some features, I'll send for them" she brought out her phone and dialled a number "constable lead the young couple to Tina's desk you'd see Sama sketching with somebody, tell them to also describe the woman they saw this morning" she ended the call and looked at us

"Did any of the people you interrogated seem suspicious?"
"Of course they'll feel suspicious they're all suspects" Andy said.

I suddenly remembered something and I asked "Terry found a strand of hair earlier remember? He said it was likely to be feminine"

"Yes feminine but its probably a wig or weavon or attachment" at my questioning glance she added "Terry called me, he examined the hair and there is no root, no DNA..he's going to study it better in the lab but don't get your hopes up"

We both nodded. "Please keep us informed on the investigation" I said
She nodded "likewise"
"Surely...surely"

EkopSparoAyara:
What is this Helen Edith Koker trying to do??..
Am hating her already and worst of it all her facts aren't right.. Amadioha will soon visit her..
Bravo Souloho..

hahaha...you know all these journalists looking for headlines

Gracito:
Reporting for duty sir!
Following...

Welcome ma'am

mitchelljnr:
Wow, Mr soul sees my as one of NL's detectives, I must detect this one

hehe..happy detecting...welcome on board bro

Chapter 4

Why?


It was few minutes before 2 in the afternoon and the sun was at its very best or very worst.
We stopped by my vehicle which was closest to the entrance. The swarm of reporters had followed us outside.
"What can you tell us about the murder?"
"Have you found out who the killer is?"
"Is it true the deceased is in fact the long wanted shadow?"

The questions kept coming from different directions making me feel like a boxer cornered on the ropes by an unrelenting opponent.
"What has the manager got to do with the murder and is he under arrest?"

"You should have asked him yourself when he passed here moments earlier!" Andy retorted. I unlocked my car and we slid in gratefully shutting out the sounds.

"So we head to the station to interview the maid and the other guests...plus I want to speak to that clerk again, right now he's the only one we know who made contact with the killer" I said as I fiddled with the knob control looking for a suitable radio station.

"Honestly man before I can go to any other place I need to eat first." Andy said and I suddenly realized I hadn't eaten. I was famished.

"How about your car" I asked him
"I'll come back later..let's just leave this place"

I started my car still pleased it responded once and didn't cough anymore and drove silent in my thoughts. Apparently so was Andy because he suddenly looked at me. "What do you make of everything that has happened so far?"

I shrugged "the shadow was a killer, a deadly one but basically an assassin for hire. Its not hard to imagine he offended the wrong kind of people but this time someone got close. Too close" Even as the words left my mouth I knew it was deeper than that, it was more personal.

" so why would the killer use Olivia as an alias?"

I slowed down for a zebra crossing of children coming back from school. "I swear that is the question of the hour"
"Does Olivia know about any of these yet?"
"I'm yet to tell her, not even the email from shadow"

Andy sighed then looked out the window "whatever it is we'd get to the bottom of it."
"I hope we've gotten to the bottom already or that it can get to the bottom of itself by itself" I trafficated into the driveway of a brick building painted with the blue, yellow, black colours of the Nigerian police.

°•

The metro station city of excellence or MSCE as the cops often referred to it was a massive building in the heart of Obalende. The msce was supposed to be a world class police force with state of the art equipment and had been installed by the outgoing Governor in partnership with the president. And according to the papers, construction had begun in badagry for another branch and about a dozen states as well.
The building also served as a holding cell and a special elevator led to an underground prison that had the capacity of holding 150 people. It was supposed to be a holding cell until the bail was paid or the court date set but with the backlog in most courts and the steady uprise in crime the cell was more or less a prison and probably overflowing too.

As I navigated the parking in between the red and white police Honda cars around, Andy stretched and picked a paper from the dashboard. It was the newspaper I had bought two days ago in traffic.

He saw the heading immediately. It was small and at the bottom but it caught the eye immediately and was indeed the reason I had bought it.
He traced the number the article was on then flipped the pages.

I watched him while he read and finally parked in between an armored van and a hilux. His brows were drawn together as he read the folly that was in print. I had also been livid but my mind had been on more pressing matters at the time. Now with the shadow dead and the threat nullified, it came rushing back.

The title alone conveyed hatred;

"The odious actions of Rex Obasi and the unsavory stand of the BROTA agency"

It is no secret that members of the B.R.O.T.A agency are heroes. They rescued women and exposed a trafficking ring. And even now barely two years after and with the euphoria weened down a bit, people are still forgetting that a killer is a killer. Rex Obasi left a long trail of dead bodies in his wake, some innocent some criminals but like I said a killer is a killer. I paid a visit to his former neighbourhood and his next door neighbour had this to say:
"Right from time that boy is hiding something, even when he work in the bank he still kill. With my korokoro eyes I see him drive to this front one early morning when I wan wake my children go bathe. Naso him dump five bodies even plus woman for road speed off. And na because him see me. Everybody been know say Rex na ritualist that time...."
After a little digging, I was indeed astonished at the number of people that had been killed. From his own bank partner, his fiancee, an old woman, a cleaner, a nurse, then the handful of shadows as well.
The intentions may be good, but I think its time we took a critical look at this agency because with the highest clearance pass the Governor signed for them recently it would be a disaster if we put our security in the hands of trigger happy people who hide behind the badge to carry out violence.
~ Helen Edith Koker.


"Jeez..what a bitch!" Andy exclaimed as he leaned back into the chair and tossed the paper on the dashboard.
"The annoying thing is she didn't get her facts right. She's been calling for a statement since just imagine"
"That neighbour that was spewing such trash who is she?"

"Who else if not mama Nkechi." I actually remembered the morning she talked of and she had exaggerated the number of bodies, there were 3 and they weren't even dead just unconscious then. Every event was still clear in my eyes and some still visited me once in a while at night.

We sat still for a moment. The article seemed to awaken memories. 'Dead bodies in his wake..' Mona,Fomé,Fumi...
Finally Andy said "we better go see what we can get from the interrogation"

°•
There were a total of thirteen rooms on the floor the murder had been committed. The rooms numbered from 30-43. Of the thirteen rooms six had been empty. Which left 7 occupied rooms. The deceased had been in room 38, close to the end of the hallway. The killer had lodged in the room next to his. That left five occupied rooms: 30,31,34,36,42. The occupants were 5 males one female. Two were actually a couple and more like teenagers but the rest were much older with ages ranging from 36-51

They were all at the station.

"Mehn its gonna be a long day" I said folding my sleeves.

EVARISTOMONARCH:
What a suspense!


Soul am suspecting you. Douse this suspense now or I signal BROTA to come looking for you.



Please step up in your updates, someone is here always refreshing the page for your updates.

Lol, the suspense has not started yet na
As for the updates once the story begins to flow fully, there's no slowing down, you know how it goes

queenitee:
Eh eh

hehehe

rchilee:
Nice. We want more

Coming right up bro

Oroolorun:
I won't be surprise if it turn out that a staff of B.R.O.T.A is working with outsider to pull the agency down. something smell fishy.
Ride on Oga Souloho19.

Oga I commot cap o....that person would be a very good spy to deceive everyone me included

EkopSparoAyara:
For now, every one is a suspect including Souloho19
For now, every one is a suspect including Souloho19...

Haaa...my hands are 'almost' clean o

Oh boy
meneski cyber5 dview001 oroolorun I'm on sight do you copy? Just found something explosive and you're needed on sight asap...over and out!

°•°•°•°•°•
Bami




The shadow is Tallest



Bami spent minutes staring at the words on the back of the deceased. That was the confirmation. The fingerprints had turned up nothing, DNA tests had turned up nothing apart from general biological information. 52 years, blood group O—, genotype AA, colour of eyes and the remaining gibberish.

There were possible matches with some individuals, just the slightest of similar traits but the probability was a huge leap and besides facial identification was the best identification.

So he had requested the coroner turn the body on its chest and there on the back were the four words that identified this man as a shadow. The long sought Mr Kehinde.
The first thing he did was call Andy.

"I'm at the lab, the body has been ID'd its him..have you seen Rex yet?.......oh..tell him then, I'd be with you shortly"
He ended the call with a feeling of dread. So the last of the shadow was dead. That wasn't unpleasant news, but who killed him?



°•°•°•°•°°•°•


Tonye



The B.R.O.T.A agency was located in a modest two story building. There was no advertisement, no banner signifying the name of the agency or the type of work that went on inside. It was inconspicuous and gave the idea of a private house.

But there was adequate parking space. Tonye parked her Toyota venza and noted her husband's car was not in the lot, neither was Rex or Andy's. She locked her car with the remote, remembering the previous owner. He wouldn't be needing the car or any vehicle anytime in the nearest future. He was locked up with the rest of the excos of the widows initiative. Now the jeep that once belonged to Mr Bright was waxed a splashy red and tinted. She had her tint permit. In form of her badge.


The down floor of the agency was were all the work was done. It was clattered with the recently added roomy cubicles for offices for their recent recruits. Each office was furnished with a desk, a chair, an Intel premium computer, printer, scanner and a telephone. Most of their work would be done here. The whole floor was air conditioned thanks to the giant split unit at both ends of the room.

She hurried past and waved hellos through the open doors. Rex new office was the last on this end. The nameplate still read: Olivia.

It was locked as usual. She climbed the short stairs to the second floor. Visitors, clients and not even every employee was allowed on this floor. In fact only four investigators apart from the BROTA themselves. There was a lot of confidential information and research within these walls.

She found Kristen waiting nervously outside her door. The girl was 22 years and incredibly smart and highly efficient apart from little mistakes she made now and then which could be put to inexperience and probably cause she was scared of being fired. Tonye had a reputation for firing people after handing pink slips to two of her previous assistants. But she had no intention of doing that. Kristen was a gem.

"Ma'am..Agent Bami called your work line few minutes ago, he didn't leave a message, the report is on your desk as requested" she had a steaming mug of coffee and she gave Tonye who smiled. Kristen would always be on the lookout for her car and would be waiting with a cup of coffee every single time. The only time she had been caught unaware Tonye had come with Bami.

"Thanks for this... about the report you know the rules, if its in hardcopy have a backup in soft copy and vice versa."

The girl nodded eagerly and Tonye smiled. "Its alright, let me dig in..I'd beep you if I need anything"

She entered her office and settled behind her desk. She switched on the wall television with her remote and al Jazeera news came on immediately with the usual reports of terrible acts done by men and occasionally nature.

The report was voluminous indeed and she opened it and schemed through. It was like a scrap book. Images printed from the internet and cut to size with the description and information and sometimes "quotation" of the person written neatly.

Everyone the shadow and CSO of Sunrise Steel had made any form of contact with during his working days and hopefully the two years of his hiatus was in the report in her hands. She sipped her coffee and continued reading through.


Mr Kehinde hadnt really led a quiet life, and he had crossed paths with people, literally. They were mostly other workers of the steel company. Managers, contract workers and other staffs.
Some had been friendly visits outside work for events, weddings, parties and the likes. Others had been as a result of the person disrupting or going against the company's policy or for safety reasons.

As one of the largest foundries in Africa, safety was a priority of Sunrise Steel.

The report was immediately tiring with no red flag catching her attention as she flipped page after page. It was no surprise most of the people the shadow had come across were now 'deceased'

She was about to take a break and return Bami's call when she noticed a particular case that caught her eye.
How come they hadn't come across this before? She wondered in amazement and read on.

Kristen had rated this as 'uncertain' meaning it was not guaranteed 100% to be the shadow. It was recounted by a third person who had witnessed the whole thing.
It read;

July 14, 2011

Mr Tom(not real name) recalls witnessing two lovers quarrel on the balcony of the hotel opposite his house. He was about interfering when the quarrel got violent and he watched them fight in amazement. According to the source, the fight was intense and the duo were obvious professionals.
Finally the lady brought out a dagger and appeared to stab the man who went down and out of view. Mr Tom at this point ran across the road to alert the hotel and together with a security guard (doorman) checked the supposed room and all the rooms on the floor facing the street and even the ones on the other side.
They didn't find anyone, no trace of blood and nobody dying from a knife wound. Mr Tom was dismissed as old and senile and no police report was filed.
A fortnight later he had been killed by a hit and run driver and the case suddenly picked interest and the clerk and security guard told their story to the journalists who came knocking but apparently not the police.



Kristen then went further to infer that although no description had been given by the couple as the only one who had seen them was dead but at the same period the shadow had reportedly been spotted in a Nissan Sunny at Allen which was a stones throw from the hotel's location. He had run over a red light and the traffic camera had picked his face and license plates immediately.
The face was blurry as the car had been in motion but the icing on the cake was the plates which was registered to Sunrise steel.

Attached to the report was the picture from the traffic camera, and one of the scene Mr Tom had been killed. The kill had been intentional and the driver had climbed on the corvette partially to obtain maximum contact.

Tonye leaned in her chair as she considered these details unaware her coffee had gone cold.

Who was the mystery woman? and this man had to be the shadow they sought but how was he linked to this woman that they gave the impression of being lovers yet they fought so violently that she had stabbed him. and then what? They disappeared into thin air?

She decided Kristen had to focus on this mysterious woman and dig deeper. There was an angle there she was sure. And with luck they could trace the shadow through her and lock him up once and for all. (She had no idea about the latest developments)

But first she was going to give her young assistant a big commendation and a juicy bonus. The research was neat and thorough.

Kendrickmykell:
Typing is really tiring but make una no vex o. I will try to keep the story running. Thank you for reading. Rational criticism is allowed. Make me better. Ciao.

Keep it up bro, haven't read the recent updates yet but would definitely say something when I do

https:///GY2ALLvMCdVEvM73NLMxJA

fellow bookies, use the link above to join world reader's club WhatsApp group. Basically we share and discuss books and believe me 90% of all ebooks r available.

ILLICITblood:
Its souloho again?


abeg someone pass me the agbara

thanks for the mention

U Rilly welcome bro