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crossfm:
Thanks for these great work.

Detective Cyril is our Nigerian version of Jack Bauer.

Love every bit of it.

jack was on a whole new level , my respect to the entire franchise and actors who kept me glued to the show all season through.

UPCOMING PROJECTS BY WRITER X

i have no idea when eventually i am going to write every piece or rewrite in some cases but i pray for good health, strength and peace to write out all my books ready planned out, which would you be looking out for?


1. NATION, ZOMBIE- (BOOK 1,2,3,4 and 5) - REWRITE

2. AGBERO- STRANGERS AMONGST US SEASON 1- REWRITE

2. MY FOOTBALL DREAM- AJAYI MAKES THE CUT

3. JOHN KNOCKOUT- A CHAMPION'S FALL

4. ERIC MIGHTY- HEROES WE HATE

5. THE GREEN VIGILANTE- REWRITE

6. JACOB BOLT- THE WAY HOME PART 2.

7. EDWARD OSAGIE- THE TIME TRAVELLER

8. TEACHER JOHN, OUR ENEMY

9. A VILLAGE LOVE AFFAIR- THE NORTHEN STORY- REWRITE

10. A SIMP'S GUARD TO REALITY- LOVE COST A THING.

DETECTIVE CYRIL IN JUDAS CARES NOT VOLUME 5


Okay so am currently connecting the plots for my second series here on naira land which be running alongside detective cyril till the crime thriller hits its ten volume target for season 1.

Having already written out all stories to be featured out for the crime thriller, i will ensure the fifth installment is out here before the first episode of Nation, zombie drops.


JUDAS CARES NOT VOLUME 5

When an upcoming musician and choir mistress is found dead, all fingers point to her boyfriend however secrets held by her brother will lead cyril battling a popular occultist and religious leader leading to betrayals and a twist to the truth not even the detective is prepared for.


COMING SOON THIS MARCH

WRITER'S UPDATE


NEW BOOK SERIES NATION ZOMBIE IN WORKS



IN 2019 I DECIDED TO WRITE A ZOMBIE APOCALYPTIC NOVEL BASED IN NIGERIA, I FAILED HORRIBLY DUE TO THE MASSIVE STRUCTURE OF THE PLOT AND HAD TO ABANDON SHIP.

YESTERDAY I REALIZED AMONG MY MANY FAILS SO FAR, ZOMBIE NATION HAS BEEN A BIG ONE FOR ME AND I DECIDED TO GIVE IT ANOTHER TRY, I WORKED OUT MY STORIES AND MY CHARACTER AND I AM PLEASED TO LET YOU KNOW

NATION ZOMBIE: GENESIS


WILL SOON BE IN WRITING AND MAY DROP ITS FIRST VOLUME BY ENDING OF MARCH IF EVERYTHING GOES TO PLAN.

DETECTIVE CYRIL WILL WILL GO ON AS A SERIES HERE AS WELL BUT FOR NOW I WOULD LIKE TO FOCUS ON NATION ZOMBIE AS A BREAK FROM THIS CRIME THRILLER.

SO STAY TUNED ADN ENJOY - LINK FOR NATION ZOMBIE: GENESIS

https://www.nairaland.com/5561935/nation-zombie-genesis-updated-soon#84647364

CHAPTER SEVEN



‘what is this?’ Rebecca asked as he stretched out a piece of paper to her.

‘it’s a job offer from a friend its not much but its something, I know there is a lot you are doing right now just to get things going whilst I am stranger I think I understand your struggle.’ Cyril replied Rebecca.

He had meant to talk with her earlier while her bills were been sorted out but there was really no time to do that.

‘I just didn’t want him to know, I thought you would tell him about what I truly do out there.’ Rebecca.

‘so you saw me at the club, didn’t you?’ Cyril asked as Rebecca nodded.

‘thank you, thank you very much, this means a lot to me and my brother.’ Rebecca said before she gave Cyril a peck the detective couldn’t refuse.
It had been there since he walked into the motel, she did like him a loT but she wouldn’ before she walked out of the car.

It was then his phone began to ring; it was the state holding officer.

‘Where are you detective Cyril, you are running late, I need you here for the press briefing.’
‘Has anyo of them confessed yet?’ Cyril asked.

‘yes, it was Andrew, you were right to make him the subject of our interrogation, Fredrick, marshal and the other guy wouldn’t spill, a new dispatch special crimes squad is on track to get bosaki’s armed robbers, we will get them, we will have all of them.’ Davies said happily.

‘afobe, was he a part of this whole thing, did the kid say anything?’ Cyril asked again.

‘yes he did detective, apparently segun wasn’t just the previous state holding officer but also the armory officer, they killed him to get afobe there but he threatened to expose bosaki over his sharing formula of the loot, he wanted more so bosaki set his dogs upon him as well.’ Davies replied.

‘oh I see, now it makes a lot of sense, I would have loved to see this to the end you know’ Cyril said.

‘well, whilst that is possible, this again is police business once more, we will take of this from here plus the state’s commissioner will have my badge if he knows that the NCIB had the final say on this, I am sure you understand.’ Davies replied.

‘well, I guess you can handle the interview then because NCIB might have more details you don’t want the press to know about, don’t you think?’ Cyril replied.

Davies laughed cheerfully for a while before he cut the phone, he hadn’t said yes thought but obviously that was what he meant.
But he still had one more calls to do, the following week after bosaki and his gang had been rounded up, he did check out something else crucial for Jennifer.

‘hello detective, so I think you owe me an interview for real, congratulations on your burst.’ Jennifer said once she picked the call.

‘I have got something better, your court case, it lacks evidence, I have sent some files to your number, it contains the names of the officers involved and three members of the armed robbers who were never prosecuted, if the court finds this, the police won’t be able to escape this one.’ Cyril said.

‘I see what you are selling, oh well I guess we won’t have that interview anymore, thank you for your assistance, I will let her know of your contributions.’ Jennifer said.

‘No, this is your case, you helped her out when I couldn’t, this is all on you.’ Cyril said.

‘okay, I guess that’s a good deal.’ Jennifer said. ‘I will see you some other time detective,

take care of yourself and say hi to mike for me, tell her my twin sister still thinks they have a thing going on.’ Jennifer said before she dropped the call.

He noticed dammy at the entrance door waving at him, he had helped him pack his stuff out of the room that morning before he went to the hospital to pay for her sister’s bill now he remembered his hand still felt like hell each time he stressed it but it was going to be okay, he waved back at the kid before he pulled the car into reverse and drove out.

THE END

COTINUED



something about the first two officers been killed as a result of their account with the bank robbers, what if there was more to this he wondered.
Certainly she was worth seeing, he nodded to himself.

‘okay, uhm why don’t we see at the spectre’s club tonight by 9 oclock.’

‘that would be great and I promise you, you won’t regret calling me, this is a big opportunity for the both of us.’ Jennifer replied before she hung up.

He however did do a little search on his phone quickly and realized something which could be crucial.

There had been seven bank robberies within four months letting him wonder why the rise in bank robbers in the area, his bet to getting an answer would be tonight.

****************

By 9 oclock he had arrived at the club and only had to wait for some few minutes before Jennifer showed up.

It was her all along, the media personality who had arrived the press briefing rather too late.

‘you were at the station earlier on, weren’t you?’ Cyril asked as she joined him.

‘yeah, I guess the SHO wasn’t ready for my questions.’ Jennifer said trying her best not to show how embarrassed she did feel about coming late.
‘you said you knew me, how is that?’ Cyril asked.

‘six months ago while I still had my job at the NTB, we did an interview on a woman, whose husband had been allegedly tortured and killed and branded an armed robber, she mentioned you as the detective who she talked to, the one who she was going to appeal to take up the case, she was supposed to be updating us on the progress but she never did so my guess was that she never did get through to you.’ Jennifer said.

‘it was an unsolicited case, my hands were tied, taking a case which has gone through the pipes is a serious offence.’ Cyril said as if to defend himself.
‘it doesn’t matter now does it, a cry for justice is a cry for justice, the NCIB is nothing more than a glorified security force if I should say, its all saints and cops in this country.’ Jennifer said dolefully.

‘saints and cops, what does that mean, are you trying to brand us the bad guys now?’ Cyril asked.

‘No just the guys who watch the bad guys get away with their bad deeds.’ She paused to think. ‘anyway not me, you can say the woman’s story changed me and my focus, I knew I had to be the voice, I knew I had to do something and went after the case, thankfully your friend was a big help to us, we sued and the case is still on going, but we have the Nigeria police locked in deep, they have no way to escape, they either produce the real criminals or pay for damages.’ Jennifer responded.

‘I see so is there anything you can tell me about all this, I mean the deaths of the officer and the bank robberies, do you think there is a connection?’ Cyril asked.

‘I don’t know but I want you to look at this and tell me what you think.’ Jennifer said handing her phone over to the detective.
Where he was able to watch recorded cctv footages of three of the bank robberies.

‘how did you get these?’

‘detective, I have my sources but enough talk, go over the clip as much as you like, this clips were of the second robbery, third and fifth, look closely and tell me what you think.’ Jennifer said.

It seemed like any filmed real life crime, an unexpected shoot out announcing the gang of five who then invade and over power the banks guards and then they storm the bank and make way with their loot however Jennifer was right, something did seem strange with all three robberies caught on camera.

‘these guys are bloody amateurs.’ Cyril said in disbelief.

‘the same I said once I began to compare the footages, at first I thought it was just normal but these guys are in fact amateurs, they are clumsy, reckless and just dumb.

The clips showed more than was needed for Cyril to make such a statement, out of the five only two had two ak-47’s with them loaded with just a single clip whilst the other two had hand guns with them, the last had nothing on, not even as much as a knife was on him.

‘they are the same guys, they might be sloppy but they seem to be able to evade the police very well, I did a bit more search, and these banks seem to be well scouted before hand, they know where and when exactly to hit the bank.’ Jennifer said.

‘it still doesn’t explain their connection to the slain officers.’ Cyril said but he didn’t give Jennifer any time to respond before it hit him.
‘except this officers might be involved in one way or another with them.’ Cyril said.

It was an audacious claim to make and even one he would not make in the presence of police officers but it was a thought that he was unprepared to push over anytime soon.

‘I think there are a lot of questions you need to start asking your police friends, surely someone knows something, how can some bunch of amateurs elude the police this long, does it really make any sense, its what I need you to help me figure out as well?’ Jennifer asked.

Her question had already registered itself in his mind whilst they were talking.

‘I don’t think they are eluding the police.’ Cyril said. ‘thank you for the information.’ The detective added as he made to leave.
‘I hope I can get an interview when you do eventually solve this case.’ Jennifer said.

‘we already had an interview, miss.’ Cyril said as he disappeared out of sight.

He made out of the club and only stopped on his way to his car when he saw Rebecca.

She was dressed in skimpy clothes and was with a pair of similar dressed young ladies just outside the club.

She hadn’t seen him and he had decided to keep it this way, he drove out of the club and made his way back to the hotel where he met dammy at the courter picking out a bunch of keys for a young man and a girl who wanted to lodge.


‘the room is two thousand naira for a night but our executive suite is just three thousand naira.’ The sly fox said letting his customers do some invisible mathematics in his head before bringing out some money while Cyril walked past.


Perhaps he could have said a thing but the male who was in company of hi girl seemed rather too old to be unmarried and he bet if he did look closely, his wedding ring was still intact on his hand so maybe this was some sort of well deserved punishment, Cyril thought as he made his way into his room.

‘What did she tell you, detective?’

Cyril stiffened his grip on the door knob, he hadn’t turned around to see who it was or give him a chance to draw his firearm from his belt holder but he was certain who had asked that question.

‘what are you doing here, captain?’ Cyril asked as he tried to turn around slowly.
‘don’t move detective, close the door and then let me see your gun tossed to the floor.’ Bosaki said from where he sat behind Cyril, comfortably in the plastic chair he could find in the room.
“damn it.” The detective thought to himself as he closed the door and reached out for his gun and made to toss it out.
‘I ask again, what did she tell you about the robberies, I saw the look on your face once you were out of the club, you know something?’ bosaki asked demandingly.
‘Nothing really, just that your boys have to be the sloppiest bank robbers but they needn’t be professionals with the captain and his patrol squad behind them, do they?’ Cyril asked as he tossed his gun on the floor.
‘so you figured it out, didn’t you, well i have imagined what it will be like for the boys to put a bullet in an NCIB detective but i knew i had to save you for me, i am going to kill you, you know.’ bosaki said dully as he pulled the hammer back off his gun.

‘you don’t want to shot me,captain, you already have four murders tagged to your boys, what I don’t get though is why afobe and the sergeant had to go?’ Cyril asked.
‘No one will give a damn about all that once you are dead, do you really think we police men get alot from this stupid job, do you? we risk our lives daily with little to nothing been given to us as salary and you expect us to be all saints? anyway it doesn't matter like i said earlier, someone would eventually find your body and never know what happened to you just like the others, detective.’

Bosaki said but he hadn’t had the chance to pull the trigger before he heard a knock on the door, that slight distraction had been what the detective needed to tackle his killer.

He went to the ground as he heard a gun shot fly over his head, his hands reaching out for his weapon just as bosaki aimed a second shot at him, it was a matter of seconds as both men fired at each other.

Bosaki had shot Cyril in the left hand but he himself had received a gaping hole in his chest, he managed to tighten his hand around the trigger once more but Cyril wasted no time shooting again.

Bosaki’s weapon slipped out of his hand freely as he succumbed to his death.

Cyril winced painfully, thankfully the shot had gone through his hand and exited it, he struggled to stand up and made to check up on bosaki.
It was then he realized the whimpering of someone just outside his door.

Cyril rushed out and found Rebecca lying in a pool of her blood, she had been shot in the stomach.

He rushed to check up on her just as dammy ran in on them, her vitals was still good but there was no time to waste.

‘she is going to be alright but we have to hurry.’ Cyril reassured dammy as they ran out to his car.

CONTINUED




whatever he was letting anyone else know about his investigation, it was nothing in particular but just some old habit he picked up as military personnel.

He was on his second cigarette when he noticed a young lady, dressed in a flower top and a jean trouser rush inside the station, it was easy for him to guess what she was doing there, in her hands was here phone, a little jotter and her pulse, he scoffed merely thinking about her having come late for the press briefing.

She seemed disappointed and made a frown once she realized the press briefing had already be done, she joined two other media personalities and held a conversation with them before she walked out of the station.

‘sorry, no news for you.’ Cyril said to himself as he quenched his cigar and got down from his car.
He made his way into the station where he found Bosaki and Andrew talking.

‘hah, there you are detective, good morning sir.’ Bosaki said rather light hearted upon seeing Cyril.

‘Good morning captain, thanks for yesterday again.’ Cyril said extending a hand to the captain.

‘it was nothing, too bad fred wasn’t ready, he would have made the night so much fun.’ Bosaki said.

‘Anyway I was just talking about Andrew waiting around the station, while me, marshall and paul go on morning patrol, we will pick the celebrant on our way.’ Bosaki said.

‘okay, good luck captain.’ Cyril said before he made his way to his office.

There wasn’t much to do in the mean time, he was going to go through whatever he had written down all this time and check out for some clues or something, in all honesty he still felt a bit shaken by the effect of last night’s alcohol.

By 10 o’clock, feeling a little bit better now, he had decided to go see Andrew, the idea was to go check up of afobe’s family, perhaps snoop around and see what he could find out.

But Andrew was nowhere around the station. “where on earth is he?” Cyril wondered as he held back to his office, there was nowhere he could go anywhere without someone to help him navigate the roads, he would eventually try to call him once he returned to the office but he paused for a second and decided to go check up on afobe’s office, he had seen Andrew and whilst the lad did have a pretty solid excuse for been there, it was his level of apprehension that seemed strange.

Luckily the door hadn’t been locked, and once he twisted the door knob it did sway open.

Perhaps he could learn more about the slain officer, the office was in total disarray, Andrew had made a mess of everything, every cabinet was turned inside out and drawers turned out, he had nothing in particularly he was looking for but something had to give if there was something worth it, he reassured himself as he flipped through a few documents.

Weapons inventory and records dating over twelve years back filled the entirety of the office, he produced his jotter just to confirm the year period of afobe’s employment which could help him pinpoint the exact year records he was looking out for.

‘three years back.’ He remarked as he replaced the jotter back to begin his search, it was tedious and seemed unending at some point but this could well be what he might be able to do all day.

Thirty minutes into the search, he was able to gather a few out of the pile of documents that laid around, he made himself comfortable on the chair and began to skim through, hoping something would or might spark his interest.

Perhaps this was merely a wild goose chase, two and a half hour had produced nothing but he did made two findings, firstly afobe was a sloppy and lazy record keeper, there were days over the years were he made no records or reports and also who his predecessor was, the late state holding officer, how important this little details would prove he didn’t know but thankfully he would scribble them down on his jotter before he left the office.


Just in good time to see the patrol van drive, other officers from within the building had thronged outside sparking interest from the detective who joined the officers.

‘what is happening?’ Cyril asked one of the officers.

‘there has been a robbery at some bank downtown, they went to respond some hours ago, they are just returning.’ Officer explained.

Bosaki,marshal,Fredrick, Andrew and paul were all together , perhaps this explains why he couldn’t find Andrew earlier.

‘captain what happened?’ Cyril said walking out of the crowd to join them.

‘We got some information this morning when you left that there was a robbery operation at some bank, we went to confront them but we were unlucky, they had managed to escape but we did give chase to them but we lost them.’ Bosaki said. ‘I have to go, the officer davies wants a word with me.’ He added before he walked out.

Cyril watched them leave before he returned to his office, he searched for a number in his jotter but was unlucky so he returned back to his car where he found what he was looking for.

Once he punched in the number, he felt relived it did ring.
‘hello, who is this?’ Jennifer asked.

‘hello, I am detective Cyril oderga, I am a friend of detective mike.’ Cyril said.

‘I know who you are detective, I just want to know why it took you this long for you to call me but we can’t talk on phone, we need to see, is that okay?’ Jennifer replied eagerly.

He hadn’t heard of anyone who seemed happy to want a conversation with a detective but he could feel she was anxious for this.
‘wait a minute, do you even have an idea what or why I am calling?’ Cyril asked.

‘does it add up, detective?, does the whole killings fo police officers and bank robbers who never seem to be caught add up because I have been on this for long and nothing makes any sense to me.’ She said.

A wild eyed Cyril gave a frown, not the kid that suggested he was irritated by her words but impressed, bosaki did say

CHAPTER SIX




The morning was rather slow, it seemed the detective had underestimated the effect of the alcohol he had take thankfully the knock at the door made him realize he had been sleeping longer than he would.

He made his way to the door to find Dammy the youngster at the door, now he thought of it he hadn’t paid him yesterday, it was pretty late when he returned from the club and there hadn’t been any one at the courter.

‘I haven’t paid you, have i?’ Cyril asked almost to himself as dammy responded with a nod. ‘okay, just wait here while I go get you your money.’ Cyril said.


‘wait sir, please don’t give me the money yet, I actually came to ask if you had any other jobs for me to do, I have already washed your car for the day, I want to save them and since you will be staying for a long time I can always collect the money when the time is right.’ Dammy said, his eyes beaming with hopes.

‘ what about your exams, I thought that was why you were doing all this?’ Cyril asked.

The youngster seemed to have thought about a response for a minute or two before he replied.

‘well, I don’t know how I am going to get all that money but my sister says she will find a way so I want to do my best for now, I can always find my way around, so do you have any other job?.’ Dammy said.

‘I don’t know for now but maybe when I get back.’ Cyril said, the kid did seem unhappy at his response but was quick to wave it off with a dull smile.
‘okay, just let me know if you need anything, my sister also cooks as well, she walks during the day and some nights at other places.’ Dammy said.

‘oh I see, okay thanks for letting me know.’ Cyril said, this time he was more in a hurry to end the discussion and get to the station.
‘I will leave you now.’ Dammy said as he walked away as Cyril locked the doors behind, he did feel sorry for the kid, perhaps there was something he could do for the kid but that had to wait.

He took just twenty minutes to get ready and another twenty five to get to the station, where he met the state holding officer talking with a few journalist for a press briefing, he wanted nothing to do with it and decided to use the time to lit a cigarette and take a smoke in his car.


The press briefing as suspected didn’t take long, perhaps it had been on a previous case that needed some publicity or clarification or whatever it was, it was over quickly, the SHO hadn’t noticed him where he had parked, now he thought of it they hand’t seen eye to eye for some time now but perhaps he was the one avoiding him, it was vital at the early stages he minimized

COTINUED



Could the murders really be unconnected at the best, could this be just random acts of senseless violence?

He wondered as he stared at the most vital information he had written down on his jotter.

He walked out of his office and decided to take a walk and get some air once his head began to ache from the stress.

He walked to and fro the passage stretching as much as he could before he noticed the office of afobe whose name tag was still inscribed on it.
Normally his stuff would have already been sent to the family and the office cleared, could it been they hadn’t done that already, he wondered as he drew closer to the office.

There was no one insight and the passage did seem silent at the time, perhaps a peek wouldn’t hurt so he moved closer and noticed the door hadn’t been locked either, merely pushing the door with the tip of his foot, the door swung right open, letting him come face to face with Andrew who almost instantly froze, apparently he hadn’t been expecting him.

‘Ehn detective.’ Andrew managed to say as Cyril stared at him.

‘this is your office?’ Cyril asked seeing he was busy going through some files that had been stacked up on the desk however he did noticed framed pictures of afobe still around the walls letting the detective wander what was really happening.

‘Ehn yes, I mean no detective.’ Andrew stuttered as he dropped the file he was holding back to the pile of files on the desk.

‘Oh don’t mind him detective.’ Fredrick’s voice came from behind as Cyril turned around. ‘I asked him to help me sort out the files for the armory, since my promotion I haven’t been able to sort the mess, I thought it would be nice to start sometime soon.’ Fredrick added.

‘oh I see, okay I get it now and congratulations, the captain says you are having a little bit of celebration tonight.’ Cyril said a bit more relieved now.
‘its just something we do here, it’s a little celebration and hope you are planning to come around, spectre’s club are excellent at pepper soup, you just have to try it.’ Fredrick added.

‘I will try be around.’ Cyril said with a nod before he took one long glance at Andrew and then made his way out.

****************
By 8 o’clock Cyril that evening Cyril had arrived at the spectre’s club where he quickly found Bosaki, marshall, paul and Andrew although the celebrant was no where to be seen but it did let him relax a bit seeing the faces which were seated around a large table filled with drinks.

‘ah, detective welcome, please come have a seat.’ Bosaki said. ‘I though you might not make it down to the club to be honest.’ Bosaki added.
‘what makes you think so?’ Cyril asked taking a capped bottle the captain had stretched out to him.

‘well you know, you are NCIB and not the police, our colleagues say you guys like to act tough and high above the whole force so we can’t really tell how you would react to joining a bunch of police officers for a drink.’ Bosaki said as Cyril scoffed a bit.

‘well I am not the guys your colleagues talk about.’ He paused for a brief moment. ‘where is lieutenant Fredrick by the way?’ he continued , changing the subject quickly, but his question only made the police officers laugh such that Cyril was confused.
‘what is it?’ Cyril asked again for clarification.

‘oh no nothing, just that our celebrant has woman issues to sort out in the main time.’ Bosaki said.

‘its his wife, he called him to let us know he may not be showing up as he is deeply locked in a fight between his two wives.’ Marshall said.
‘I didn’t think you would come around so I didn’t bother to call you about the change of plans but we decided to just have a few drinks on our own since we had decided to meet up.’ Bosaki added.

‘I see, well good thing I was around.’ Cyril said calmly as he drank his beer.

The gathering made the most of the night, chatting and talking about everything from football to women and to politics, Andrew and paul had bidded the group farewell soon enough but bosaki, marshall and Cyril stayed on for a bit longer.

‘Captain, you won’t believe what she has just published yet again?’ marshall said with disbelief in his eyes as he handed his phone over to captain whilst Cyril watched them.

‘this is all trash as usual and shuldn’t concern you nor anyone, I mean she still haven’t gotten over the fact she lost her job and has decided to turn to the internet to spew more nonsense.’ Bosaki said seemingly unbothered by what he had read as he slid the phone back to marshall.
‘what is it, is there anything wrong?’ Cyril asked.

‘oh its nothing, just some nobody ranting about nothing in particular.’ Bosaki said.

‘you know these people don’t know anything exactly, they just ran their mouth as wide as they can saying nonsense about the police, it is really sad because why we are trying to do our best someo people don’t believe that.’ Bosaki said dully.

‘I get the feeling as well, it happens with the NCIB as well, criticism is a part of the job I guess.’ Cyril said.
‘yeah, that’s true, that’s so true detective.’ Marhsall said.

It was now really late although the loud music and the flow of drinks and customers at the club was getting higher by the minute, for him it was past his bed time but Fredrick was in fact right, the club did sell one of the most delicious pepper soup he had ever tasted, perhaps this wouldn’t be his last visit to the place he thought to himself as he stood to take his leave.

‘Oh no, don’t tell us you are leaving as well.’ Bosaki said.

‘well, I have drunk my limit already, I had a good time as well and I think a good night rest would be the next best thing for me, officers, thank you for inviting me here tonight, I will see you tomorrow.’ Cyril said passing a handshake to both men before he exited the club.

CHAPTER FIVE



‘We took nothing of it, it wouldn’t be the first time a police man was gunned down at the checkpoint, I mean it is why its called a check point, you are out there looking for the criminal elements on the roads.’

Bosaki said hours later when Cyril had finally gotten a chance to speak with him concerning the medical reports of the first two slain officers.
‘so no one asked for a medical report?’ Cyril said most certainly disappointed.

‘well, by the time we realized they were late and hadn’t reported in and of course people had already started calling in, it was already too late, we deposited their bodies at the morgue and contavcted the families immediately.’ Bosaki said.

‘what do you think captain, what did you think about their murders, some fallout with some persons or what? What was the rumor at the time?’ Cyril asked scribbling some notes into his jotter.

‘well there wasn’t much but here is what I can say, four days after the murders, one of the microfinance banks was robbed, we think perhaps the two officers might have actually been the first set of people who saw this guys, the bank robbers I mean.’ Bosaki replied.

Cyril did give it a thought for a minute as bosaki watched on closely.

‘of course its just rumors, we were unable to get any of the bank robbers because by the time were on the scene , they had already gone.’ Bosaki added.

‘I see, I was told you had a personal relationship with sergeant afobe, how well do you two know each other.’ Cyril asked.
‘well he is a good man, he was the one who introduced me to my wife just so you know, he is a disciplinary and by the book type of person, which is why I admire him, he was more like a brother to me than a senior officer.’ Bosaki said dully.

‘do you think he was in any sort of trouble or maybe threatened by someone or anything that could have put him at risks, you guys arrest a lot of bad guys every now and then, any person in particular that may have stood out?’ Cyril asked again, he didn’t know what his questions could bring out but he was determined to ask every question he could think of while he had the chance.

‘uhm its hard to say, we are police men, our job has us against every miscreant and scum of the earth, its hard for a police man to pick out an enemy than it is for a soldier but the sergeant was quite friendly, sure he has had his run-ins with some people over the time but none I believe that would pose a direct threat to his life.’ Bosaki replied.

As guessed already afobe was beginning to sound like a dead end for him.

‘if that Is all I would like to take my leave, my wife’s goods are stuck on the road, I already took permission as well.’ Bosaki said.
‘okay, thank you very much.’ Cyril said showing him the door as bosaki took his leave.

‘if you are not too busy detective, maybe you can come around spectre’s bar by 8 in the evening, me and the squad were supposed to celebrate fredrick’s promotion to lieutenant but it has been on hold for long so we decided to do that this night, you can get to ask the boys a few questions as well.’ Bosaki recommended.

The idea sounded good and there was still segun the deceased SHO who he still had nothing on.

‘sure, just text me the address some time and I will try to be around.’ Cyril replied, letting bosaki smile out of his office.

CONTINUED



sales girl who had made a statement and wasted no time in getting her to talk more about what she had seen that evening.

‘yes, like I said it was just like any other day, there were like six customers already here before the sergeant walked in.’ she said as Cyril collaborated her words with what he had written down on his jotter.

‘so the killer was already here before the sergeant, is that right.’ Cyril asked which the sales girl gave a nod to. ‘you said he was wearing a hood and sun glasses , but what was he like, any thing you could remember would be of help.’ Cyril continued.

‘I know he was tall that’s all and I think he is also left handed as well.’ She said thoughtfully as she recounted her experience.

‘Left handed you say? But how could you tell that, you made no mention of this in your statement, did he take anything at the restaurant?’ Cyril asked.

‘no sir but I was called to clear up a customer’s table when I saw him standing up and pulling a gun out of his belt holder from behind, he held the weapon in his left hand, I instantly froze but he didn’t seem to be after anyone except the sergeant, thankfully I was able to regain my senses and flee for my life.’ She recounted.

This piece of information could prove to be integer to his investigations, a left hand shooter was not a common in fact this could be his big break to connect all four murders together.

‘is there anything else you remember?’ Cyril asked as he scribbled her last response into his jotter as the sale girl seemed to have given his question some hard thought however she shook her head suggesting she hadn’t nothing else to say.

‘well, thank you very much for agreeing to speak with me, if there is anything you remember, please call me.’ Cyril said writing his number out on a piece of paper which he handed over to the girl before he took his leave.


He returned to the car shortly where he had a conversation with Andrew about the medical statements of slain officers.

‘I doubt we have copies of those at the station but we can go back to the station and check out the names of the hospital and go see if they have the records with them.’ Andrew suggested.

It seemed like a wild goose chase but if he could get the medical reports he could determine the number of shots, which were fatal and other details that could help him connect the officers, perhaps he was dealing with a killer who had the same modus operandi of killing his targets, it was vital he made the connection.

‘okay no problem, lets go then.’ Cyril said, before he turned on the ignition of the car on and drove away.

By 11: 14 am, he arrived at the second hospital where segun had been rushed to, it was clearly a fifty-fifty situation, having been unable to get the medical reports of the other two officers killed at a road block.

He made contact with the doctor and was handed his second big lucky break, the medical report of the third slain officer however he was quick to note the differences in both murders.

Segun had been shot just three times, twice in the back, and one that blew his jaws away, perhaps the first two shots had made him turn as he went to the ground only to be shot at for the third time, there had been no witnesses as well, the shots had no alignment and with his failed attempt to get the other two, his hopes of getting some sort of link between all four as having the same murderer might have just faded away.

‘who were the first respondents at the scene where the other two police officers at the check point were killed?’ Cyril asked Andrew once he returned back to his car.

‘That would be the captain, lieutenant Fredrick and Marshal.’ Andrew replied.

He didn’t need afobe’still had the medical report of afobe to check up on but with the first respondents could also help him to provide the details he needed.

CHAPTER FOUR



By 4:15 am in the early hours of the morning, Cyril had made his conclusions having slept at the office , his night was less memorable as he read through and wrote out whatever he felt were important from the files which wasn’t really much for the last three murders had little to nothing to go about perhaps best identified as random shootings with the killer been a complete mystery but the forth wasn’t for there were witnesses who saw the hooded killer perhaps even the sales girl who served both men was willingly to say more once he paid her a visit.

He did his press ups and pull ups and reloaded his firearms and made for the bathroom however he did take the advice of Dammy, using the facilities as he did tell him to,it was when he was returning he noticed a dammy standing at the front of his door knocking but dammy had caught sight of him and stopped knocking.

‘Good morning sir.’ Dammy said dully as such that gave his guilt away.

‘How are you?’ Cyril replied as he approached the youngster.

‘my sister wanted me to.’ He paused and gave a sigh. ‘I wanted to apologize sir for trying to trick you out of your money, am sorry sir.’ Dammy continued.


‘What was it for?’ Cyril asked.

‘what are you talking about?’ dammy asked.

‘the money, what was it for, do you owe someone or are you into something?’ Cyril asked but dammy didn’t seem interested in talking any further.
‘I needed some money to complete my school fees, I have exams this week and you are the only customer we have had in three weeks now, so we are not making a lot of money here.’ Dammy said.

‘what’s your name?’ Cyril asked realizing he didn’t know the kid’s name.

‘Damien but everyone calls me dammy.’ Dammy said.

‘do you want to make some money?’ Cyril asked with steady eyes.

‘yes I want to but there isn’t a lot of work and none pays a lot in these parts you see.’ Dammy replied.

‘I got some clothes inside that needs washing and my car could use some washing, if you can do the washing and the laundry then I can pay you for it, what do you think?’ Cyril said garnering a smile from dammy who nodded happily.

‘sure, anything sir. Thank you very much sir, I will go wash the car immediately.’ Dammy replied.

‘okay, wait here while I go get you the keys.’ Cyril said before he walked inside to get the keys which he handed to the boy once he reappeared.
He watched dammy hop out of sight happily before he went back in, the kid seemed okay at the moment.

At 8:35 am, he had arrived at the station where he found captain bosaki and his patrol squad of four other police men besides a patrol van, it seemed they were on their way out.

He hadn’t had enough time yesterday to talk with the captain or any other person within the station hence it was vital for him to see Bosaki.
Hurriedly he joined them once he got out of his car.

‘Detective, good morning.’ Bosaki said with a dull smile; he seemed a bit happier than yesterday Cyril thought to himself as he drew nearer.
‘am sorry we didn’t have enough time to properly introduce ourselves, I am captain bosaki, this is lieutenant Fred and judge but we call him marshall.’ Bosaki said pointing to the two other officers who merely waved at Cyril. ‘and those two are Andrew and Paul, we are sort of the tactical response squad here and we were about to held out for patrolling.’ Bosaki said.

‘And I am guessing the patrol is going to take a long time, I would have hoped I could get you all settled down to some questions about the dead officers and also I need to see one or two witnesses at the last crime scene.’ Cyril asked letting bosaki think for a minute.

‘Well I can’t say when we will be back, we have quite an extensive line of duty to carry out today but.’ He paused to think but this time he seemed to stare at the faces of his other four comrades. ‘Okay, let’s do it this way, why not Andrew go around with you today, he could help you with navigating around, I mean I would have hoped I could help you out here but our hands are occupied at the moment.’ Bosaki suggested.

It wasn’t the best choice or option for Cyril but at least he wasn’t leaving him empty handed.

‘okay, sure. That should be okay for now I think.’ Cyril said.

‘okay.’ Bosaki replied turning to Andrew who seemed a bit unease by the captain’s decision. ‘andrew, please take care of the detective, if there is anything you need just call us, is that okay?’ bosaki asked.

‘yes sir.’ Andrew said with a nod before bosaki and the rest of the crew took the patrol van and drove off whilst Cyril and Andrew watched the vehicle disappear out of sight.

‘Okay officer Andrew, I am going to go drop a few stuff inside and then we can begin.’ Cyril said as he took his leave hurriedly.
A few minutes later, he was out on the road with Andrew, thankfully Andrew had been able to direct him to the restaurant where he was supposed to meet his key eye witness.

‘Is it okay if I wait inside the car?’ Andrew asked.

‘is there anything wrong?’ Cyril asked, unsure of why Andrew had asked to stay inside the car.
‘No, its just that, we were here to remove the body of afobe from the scene, I still have a lot of pictures of the gory scene in my head.’ Andrew said dolefully.

‘okay, sure. You can stay in, I would be done very soon.’ Cyril reassured the young police officer before he walked out of the car.

He made his way into the restaurant and quickly noticed the spot where the crime seemed to have taken place due to the fact that the management had placed any chairs there even when there was no blood stained anywhere, he was soon introduced to the

CONTINUED



walking out of the courter. ‘right this way Minster.’ He paused and signaled his two friends to help the detective with his bag which however the detective refused.

He made his way into the room with dammy closely behind.

‘if you need to take a bath, take the exit door, outside are two bathrooms and two toilets opposite each other, if you want my advice don’t use the left toilet and never ever use the right bathroom, they are no good.’ Dammy said before Cyril watched him walk away before deciding to do same.

He unpacked and merely changed his coat before bolting out to the station, It was a bright day still filled with life and a lot of energy.

He arrived at the Agbira Police Station a little late than he had expected, the directions he got hadn’t been straight forward as he had hoped but he made it still.

‘I am Detective Cyril Oderga from NCIB, can I see the officer in charge here?’ he asked one of the two constables behind the courter as he flashed his id card at them.

‘NCIB Detective?.’ One of them asked, almost to himself as the other stared inquisitively at Cyril.

‘that should be Mr. davies, I would like to see him.’ Cyril added sensing the hesitation in their expression to oblige to his request.

‘Right this way sir.’ One of them replied finally, , walking out of the courter and into the passage by the side, the detective followed closely, luckily the office was just the third door on the right with a wooden tagged inscribed SHO DAVIES.

The constable led him inside where he found a young officer probably around his forties and quite good looking.

‘You must be detective Cyril.’ Davies said stretching his hand out for an handshake as the constable took his leave.
‘Good day sir. Yes I am.’ Cyril replied as they both shook hands.

‘thank you for coming down, please have your seat detective.’ Davies responded pointing the detective, one of the two vacant chairs before his desk.

‘I guess you already read up our problem here at the station, I believe someone has been targeting members or if I should say officers of this police station, the accidents have been random.’ He said producing a file from one of the opened drawers and handing it out to the detective. ‘this is all the basic information of the slain officers and the statements based on their death my men could gather, I honestly don’t seem a pattern myself but it can’t be a coincidence that four police officers have been killed within a space of two months, I think its odd and calls for an investigation.’ Davies said with deep concerns.

‘yeah you are right sir. I will do what I can but in the mean time I think its reasonable to put all your officers on high alert of a possible threat to their lives, they should be on the steady watch out for now, if they see or hear anything they should be able to report that in.’ Cyril replied as Davies nodded.

‘yes, I did think of that and had issued an alert to all my officers once I learnt of what was happening.’ He paused for a moment, seemingly remembering something he hadn’t made mention of. ‘I must introduce you to my captain, Mr. Bosaki Nuhu, he will be assisting you with whatever you need but you will be reporting to me directly that is of course if you want to, I understand NCIB have strict rules and policy regarding their investigations.’ Davies concluded.

‘yes we do but I understand this is police business so I am going to do whatever I can to ensure both parties are satisfied with my work here In the main time.’ Cyril said as he watched davies ring someone at the station.

After which they heard a knock on the door.

‘come in, captain.’ Davies said as captain bosaki walked in, in full combat gear. ‘is there a problem, captain?’ davies as unsettled by his captain appearances.

‘yes sir, the Tactical Patrol and Crime Response Unit have just responded to a bank robbery currently on going within the town, I am assembling my team and about to head out when you called me in.’ he replied.

‘Oh I see, well then this introduction will have to wait.’ Davies said.

‘captain if you don’t mind, I could go with you, I have enough military training and experiences in this kind of things.’ Cyril said as Bosaki turned to look at him, a bit perplexed by the detective’s response but davies had seen him stare such that he knew he had to introduce the two officers.

‘Captain, this is Detective Cyril from NCIB, the one who will helping us with the investigation of the slain police men.’ Davies said however Bosaki gave no courtesy to davies reply.

‘Okay sir but I will have to be on my way now, the team is waiting for me.’ Bosaki said before he took one look at Cyril and walked out.

‘I am sorry for his sort of attitude, he is what you call a hard core professional police officer and one of the best here at the station.’ Davies said.
‘the constable will show you to an unused office, I had it prepared once I got the information you will be arriving, its not much but I am sure it will be okay.’ He added as Cyril gave a nod.

Once he got out of the office, he made his way to the courter where one of the constables seemed to be waiting for him.

‘Sir, here is the key to the office, it’s the last office by the left, if you need anything, you can just ring us.’ The constable said stretching a key out to him.

He returned back to the passage and made his way to his new office which actually did seem convenient for him, an air conditioner, some good space, one big widow, a small cabinet with a desk and two chairs.

He threw the file on the desk and slid into the chair, the clock on the wall read 11:38 am perhaps he could rest for some minutes or an hour before he got down to business.

*********************

By 8:15 pm, Cyril returned to his motel, the day had been slow whilst he had read up through the files it still wasn’t enough, the first two officers were killed at a road block whilst the former SHO was killed along side his supposed girl friend at some hotel and the late sergeant was murdered at a local eatery, there was no obvious connection between the officers apart from the fact they were all officers attached to the same station however with different rankings, it was going to be hard to find out how exactly they were connected.

‘Excuse me sir.’ A Cool voice called out as he walked past the courter; it was a little bit dark now as there was no light at the motel nor was there a generator set to supply light. Just a touch illuminated the place.

The detective turned to stared, he could see clearly Rebecca over the courter.

‘where you the one, dammy collected fourteen thousand naira from?’ she said politely as Cyril drew near.

‘Yes, I checked in this morning, is there any problem?’ he asked, unsure over what she was getting at.

‘Am so sorry about that sir.’ She said dolefully. ‘here is eight thousand, four hundred naira.’ She said producing the money out for the detective. ‘a night is eight hundred, please don’t be annoyed, I am guessing he showed you one of those fake prints he hangs over there.’ She said pointing to the direction where Cyril had found the print that confirmed the dammy’s words; apparently it was a fraud.

‘Am very sorry about that, I have dealt with him and before the day is over, I have told him to go apologize to you, he is not a thief just having a lot of problems at the moment.’ Rebecca said silently.

Cyril smiled dully, he had underestimated the kid’s ability to trick him.

‘thank you.’ Cyril said collecting the money back and stuffing it inside his pocket.

‘if you need anything at all, I or my brother run this place together, just be careful when you are dealing with him especially when it involves money and you can always confirm your transactions with me.’ Rebecca concluded before Cyril gave a nod and walked away, he had to set out a plan for his investigation and go through the files once more perhaps there was something he hadn’t yet picked up.

‘Am sorry, did you hear anything about a bank robbery today?’ Cyril asked.

‘Oh yes, one of the commercial banks was robbed today sir.’ Rebecca replied.

‘I see, where there any casualties and where the robbers caught?’ Cyril asked again.

‘oh I don’t think any were caught, they said they didn’t stay around for long, came in quickly and left before the police got a chance to engage them in, some people were killed though.’ Rebecca replied.

‘okay, I hope the police get the bastards responsible for this.’ Cyril said before he walked away.

CONTINUED



Mordecai’s Motel was one of the odd looking places to get a room to pass the night however it had stood the test of time; over a period of thirty years and across two generations perhaps it was more of a symbol of a relic passed down to Rebecca and her junior brother after the demise of their parents but she worked it hard day and night never the less and at 9: a.m in the morning Cyril walked in with his portable travelling bag; the hotel fit what his bank account had to offer at the moment.

He made his way to the courter where at a close distance he could see a rusted platform where a bunch of keys hug idle however he didn’t find anyone behind it.

The courter stood by the side of a long passage which held six doors within; three on each side denoting six rooms and a large window by the side of an exit door at the end which gave the passage a good amount of light, he hadn’t made up his mind on what next to do before he heard some voices behind him letting him turn to stare at the faces.

Three male teenagers who seem to freeze as their eyes met his, he could tell the boys seem scared but it didn’t matter to him.
‘Do you work here?’ Cyril asked calmly at the one who seemed the oldest of the three.

‘No.’ he hesitated. ‘well, my sister works here and I just assist her when she is not around.’ Dammy replied as he walked over to the courter while the other two found a bench to sit on with prying eyes still on the detectives.

‘Okay then. I need a room, can you help me with that?’ Cyril asked as the seemingly unsettled youngster watched on as though he was lost in a trance. ‘hello, I said I need a room.’ Cyril imposed having got no answer from his first reply.

‘Oh am sorr, Ehn. What type of room do you need, we have executive and standard.’ Dammy replied.

Cyril seemed startled for a bit for the rooms did seem the same or at least so it seemed.

‘you have standard and executive rooms here, whats the difference?’ Cyril asked.

‘well the standard have no fans and the beds are placed directly on the floor but the executive have fans, a good window where you can get a good view and cool breeze in the evening and the bed have good frames.’ Dammy explained smartly.

‘okay I will take the standard room then.’ Cyril said with steady eyes, the kid had slipped up through his body language and eye contacts when he spoke, this was definitely a scheme.

‘Ehn you want to take the standard room, oh well sir, That is 2000 per night if you go for the executive I could be willingly to let you stay for just 2500.’

‘I am okay with the standard.’ cyirl replied as he caught sight of a paper plastered close by where it read the same amount although as he had already guessed the amount was for all rooms which made Cyril believe he was indeed saying the truth about the price.

‘hold on.’ Cyril said dipping his pocket so he brought out some money to count. ‘this is fourteen thousand naira which should cover a week for now, handing the money over to the dammy who counted it before giving a reassuring nod to the detective.

‘okay sir but since you decided to pay like this and you are new here, I think its only fair that on behalf of the management that I let you stay in an executive room, you can’t reject the offer its management policy for first timers who pay on the spot.’ Dammy replied picking a key from the hung platform before

CONTINUED



‘hahaha, just the good ones DC, just the good ones.’ Mike replied cheaply as he walked out.

***********************

Captain Bosaki Junior made his way out hurriedly and away from the mortuary, he arrived at the patrol van just enough to find Lieutenant judge aka Marshall and lieutenant Fredrick waiting for him.

‘you didn’t bother to come in and take a look at the sarge?’ Bosaki asked the men who seemed distant and unwilling to say anything at the moment.


‘where are the boys, what are they doing now?’ Bosaki said producing a pack of cigarette from the van and lighting one up for a quick smoke.

‘Andrew didn’t show up for work today, he says he is not fine and the other two went to greet the family.’ Marshall replied.

‘okay, everyone listen up and this should go to the other three. Whatever is happening obviously has something to do with what happened. Mark, Akpos, Segun and now Afobe are good indications that this persons or person knows.’ He paused to catch fredrick’s agitated stare but then decided to ignore it. ‘but more than that, we have to keep calm because I just got words that we are having a detective from NCIB soon who will be investigating the deaths, its important none of you act out of character or do something that would put any sort of suspicion on us whilst I figure out a way for us to get to this persons or person doing this.’ Bosaki said.

‘so we are just going to do nothing and let this person pick us up one by one, just like that?’ Fredrick asked out of fear.

‘yeah but if you would prefer been arrested and tried for the other thing which you damn well know this is really about then go for it or maybe you have some better idea you want to share with us?’ Bosaki replied, easily irritated by fredrick’s response.

‘actually I do sir, I think if this is about what happened then Piggy must know something about all this.’ He paused and turned to Marshall. ‘don’t tell me you are not thinking it too, that rat must have said something to someone, I bet it had to be him.’ Fredrick continued as all three exchanged glances at each other, uncertainty soon evaded their gathering as none said anything soon after.

‘Marshall what do you think about this, you have been silent.’ Bosaki asked but marshal merely shrugged, avoiding having to answer his superior.

‘Well then, I will personally go see him this evening and talk to him in the mean time , inform the others, I want them at the club by 9 p.m this evening, its mandatory.’ He sighed. ‘you are right, we can’t just wait and let this bastards pick us out that easily, we will talk later.’ He added before he walked away.

Marshall and Fredrick watch him return to his car at the opposite parking space and ride out of sight.

‘you know you could have said something while he was here.’ Fredrick said with frustration written all over his face.

‘what do you want me to say freddy, the captain is as worried as we all are, he is doing his best, just take your gun wherever you go and look at the faces that you come across twice, clearly this people aren’t targeting our families so you just got to watch out for yourself in the main time.’ Marshall said in such a cheeky manner that made Fredrick boil inside.

‘I can’t believe what you are saying right now but no problem, I just hope its not you that gets shot in the face next, don’t wait for me I am taking a taxi.’ Fredrick said before bolting out of sight as marshal watched on a bit startled by Fredrick’s reaction.

But it didn’t really matter anyway, Fredrick had no spine beneath his massive frame in fact he had wondered what luck had kept him alive all this time they have been the station’s improvised team of Crime patrol squad but then again such was fate.

CHAPTER TWO


‘you look great Cyril.’ The boss commended the detective as he walked inside his office.

‘well it took only two rounds of boxing and an hour work out session with Mike to let bygones be bygones, thanks Boss.’ A much relaxed Cyril said as he took his seat.

‘well don’t thank me yet, I got something I want you to take a look at, if you like it you could check it out if you don’t I won’t force it on you until I am certain I can.’ His boss replied shoving a file at him.

‘It’s the police branch my wife’s younger brother has been promoted to some weeks back, he has reasons to believe men of the force at that branch are been targeted by some unknown gun men or gun man, yesterday the numbers of slain officers went from three to four over a space of two months.’ The commissioner added as Cyril took a look at the statement issued by the branch’s SHO.

‘but that is police business, shouldn’t they be going after this persons or person, I mean we all know they like to handle such cases on their way own, the numbers are alarming but aren’t they doing something about it?’ Cyril asked.

‘well I don’t know kid but I am a bit worried about the safety of my person over there but I know there are no family business in this line of work which is why i didn’t want anyone on it except some form of higher authority pushed the case through to the bureau but after yesterday’s murder, a call from the states commissioner of the police did officially ask for NCIB’s assistance, its definitely a case worth looking at.’ The commissioner responded hopefully.

‘yeah it seems unlikely you would let me pass out on this one anyway it’s a good case, its not everyday someone or some people have a vendetta against the police and be bold enough to go on a killing spree, I will take the case, boss.’ Cyril said.

‘excellent, just go through the file at your own convenience, the SHO is my person as I already said, he is a good man and will be of help to you, when you ready for your road trip just let me know what you need.’ The commissioner said happily, dismissing his detective soon after.

Cyril returned back to his office to find mike well seated and relaxed, waiting for him.

‘waoh, so you go and say thanks to the old man and he greets you with a case, hahaha.’ Laughed Mike as Cyril took his seat. ‘and that man has guts ,just remind me not to go see him after, I don’t want any more cases than I already have for now.’ Mike said.

‘well since you are here, what do you think.’ Cyril said sliding the case file over to Mike who seemed hesitant to take a look at it.

‘if it has no romance, scandal, botched love affair or anything that would get me entangled with the rich guys and all, just don’t bother because I have no affinity for action thrillers, no offense. They just don’t pay me enough to risk my ass for such stuff.’ Mike said observing the case file name closely. ‘well, it sounds like what I just said I hate to get involved with.’ Mike concluded sliding the file back.

‘someone or some persons are targeting police officers at some branch in delta state, they need NCIB assistance to track or uncover what is going on over there.’ Cyril said ignoring his friend’s disposition.

‘uhm, police business? And they want to involve the NCIB in it, that’s not something you here every day, they must be in real serious shit to ask NCIB for assistance, don’t you think?’ Mike said.

‘yeah it’s what I said earlier but I suppose it is serious business, four officers have been killed already but then again the police tend to act like the military when it comes to personal stuff, they just hate to share but I will find out what is going on over there one way or the other.’ Cyril replied.

‘well good luck DC and if you need any help from the media assuming the police would want to play tough with you on this, I have got someone at the delta branch of the National Television Broadcast, NTB, her name is Jennifer, she is a top professional journalist and she is single.’ Mike winked at Cyril before scribbling a number into a paper.

‘do you always try to match every single guy or girl you know while on the job?’ Cyril asked dully as Mike stood to take his leave.

CONTINUED



It wasn’t until Cyril had decided to call it a day and exit the car park he got a knock on the passenger’s window of his car while he tried to engage the gears.

Mike seemed like he had done a marathon to reach him as they exchanged glances.

‘thank God, I got to you in time.’ Mike said as he slid inside cyril’s black sedan. ‘the old man is worried about you, he said if I could try and cheer you up.’ Mike said dully.

‘are you going to try?’ Cyril asked, his question begged for no reply however Mike was the optimistic one here.

‘yeah, sure why not. So I came up with a plan, I know we don’t get to hang out much, work and personal life and all that nonsense in between but here.’ He paused to shove a card itno the dashboard of the car where Cyril could see it. ‘it’s a gym center just around the corner, I am sure you can find your way around it, just be around by 6 this evening and don’t tell me you have a lot doing at home, it won’t work this time. Come around and ask for tracy, they will point you my spot.’ He said however he did see his colleague raise an eye brow after he mentioned that name. ‘we used to date turns out she wanted to do some gym and got me to subscribe at the gym center unfortunately so was her gym instructor working her details if you know what I mean so I pulled her out and broke up with her and now I have three months left on it subscription, its actually nice since I took over her subscription, come around and exercise those tensed and disappointed muscles a bit, you might even be lucky to find some pretty girl winking at you if you are willingly to mingle.’ He said.

‘I will try.’ Cyril said hoping he wouldn’t give his light hearted friend any more reason to stay and chat than he already had.

‘splendid, I will be waiting and if you don’t show up, I will have to spend the whole tomorrow in your office.’ Mike said but it was the tone in which he did say it that made Cyril give his invitation a bit more thought, some few hours beats a whole day with Mike, perhaps he really didn’t have an option here. ‘see you later buddy.’ Mike said before whisking away and out of the car.

Cyril starred at his watch a bit, it was a quarter to four already, he could still get home, take a shower, smoke a cigarette or two with some whiskey, get something light to eat and find his way to the gym center in record time, he nodded to himself reassuringly as he put the car into motion, he may have seen one of the biggest criminals in the country walk but perhaps there was no need to be a cry baby over it, it was all part of his job description, some you get and some you don’t.

He rode out of the car park and made his way into the main road quickly.

************************

Along Saphi junction, Delta state, Sergeant Afolbe had just alighted a motorcycle and made his way to his favorite restaurant after a day at the station where he hoped to have dinner and wait out the best part of his evening before he returned back home to his family.

He made his order quickly, pressed by the strong grumblings from his stomach and waited restlessly for it before he caught sight of a hooded figure far off besides where he was seated however he would pay no attention to this figure once the sales girl had placed a tray of his order before him.
At about 8:15 p.m he was almost done with his fifth bottle of beer before he realized how time had flew by perhaps it was the calls he was now getting from his wife which he didn’t bother to answer that made him feel a certain urgency to go home and not the time but he did agree to leave soon after before he noticed the hooded figure earlier on approach him with something in his hands.

Blurry vision and an unsteady body made it impossible for him to see the hand gun that was now been pointed at him but once he managed to see the other costumers in sheer panic as they tried to run out of the restaurant, he did know something was wrong right there but the first three shots ensured he had no time left to react.

He slumped to the ground as he tried to wrap his hands around his bleeding neck which seemed like the more lethal of the three shots before he was overshadowed by the hooded figure once more, helpless and breathless as his killer circled him for a bit as if to observe him closely, he knew he wasn’t going to make it out alive when he made out the hand gun pointed at his face once more.

The trigger was squeezed more times than was needed just as empty shells bounced off whatever they could land on before the figure disappeared into the night, leaving the lifeless body of the sergeant in its pool of blood.

CONTINUED



willing to charge for character defamation.’ Mike hissed. ‘imagine the devil suing for been called the devil.’ He concluded.
‘he keeps getting bolder by every charge he walks freely away from and I still can’t believe none of the key witnesses showed up, that was terrible.’

‘chief what I see as terrible would be for the witnesses to put their lives in danger by testifying in a botched case, you probably know what happened to the last guy who decided to play messiah and testify, hit by a truck just a day after testifying so between saving their ass and serving the country as patriotic citizens it’s obvious they need their ass more and don’t try to raise the whole witness protection program, we both know our police men would gladly turn a blind eye for a deserving bank alert so the case was a doomed one even before Cyril took it.’ Mike replied stretching his whole body so that it covered the full length of the chair as the conversation went on.

‘that’s rather unfortunate.’ The commissioner paused to think for a bit before continuing. ‘you think you can go cheer him up or something.’
‘hahaha, chief I might be a comedian but I am definitely no magician neither am I a motivational speaker and you would need both because you would need some magical words to motivate that guy after that rubbish the cowardly judge spewed at the court house today but so that you don’t feel guilty about sending Cyril on a wild goose chase I will try my best, make you look like the good guy which you are of course.’ Mike sighed. ‘its my coffee mug I came to discuss with you about, I can’t take the secretary’s delicious tea with any other mug, she gave that to me to say thanks and its my favorite like I said already.’ Mike stressed.

‘she gave you a mug to say thanks?, thanks for what exactly?’

‘Ehm.’ Mike paused to clear his throat. ‘chief, that’s confidential, she just said thanks, there is nothing else to it in fact I think I should take my leave now, I just suddenly realized I have much to do now.’ Mike stressed as he got to leave, apparently unprepared to say anything else.

‘just try and talk to Cyril then, i feel bad for the guy, I know he thought chapo would be an easy picking.’

‘I may be an agnostic fella but everyone knows chapo is the devil incarnate, his cases never make it out of the court, Cyril did well, at least he got him up there, that’s an achievement I would be willing to celebrate, chief.’ Mike said with a shrug. ‘I got to go, chief.’

He said one more time before he walked away finally leaving the commissioner to his thoughts.

He was still thinking about his conversation with the detective when one of his work line rung; it was his wife’s brother, a newly promoted state house police officer.

‘Hello davies, how are you doing my boy?

‘hahaha, I am doing just fine sir and you, how is it at the bureau?’

‘everything alright, the usual squabble and all, its okay, so to what do I owe this phone call?’ the commissioner realizing his in-law hadn’t called his personal line.

‘well sir, it’s a case I need help with, I had filed for assistance from the bureau and you may probably receive it soon, as you are aware my promotion came with the inevitable choice of me leaving my comfort zone to somewhere else up here in delta state, sir.’

‘yes, that’s true, your sister is still not happy about your decision to honor that aspect of your promotion but this is the police force we are talking about, anyways go on.’

‘well sir, I took over my office last week and I just realized that there has been three unsolved murders of police men at the station, one happened to be the reason I am now the station’s SHO, its former was the third victim and the murders were never filed, I can’t seem to get any good details on them because the states commissioner isn’t letting me do much, he assured me that it was the pros and cons of the job but I think there is more and I have reason to fear for my safety as well knowing my predecessor might have been maybe assassinated or something.’ The SHO replied.

‘hmm, that’s true, there is definitely course to be worried over this, I will put out an APB out for your case and once the bureau gets hold of it, I will see what I can do as for now, be cautious and play calm. it’s a new post along with a new scenery so just wait until I can get something on the case, alright?’

‘yes commissioner, thank you very much, good bye sir.’ Davies replied before hanging up.

CONTINUED


It was such a pathetic tale that made him angry inside, could the police ever be capable of such, definitely yes, there was always a few rotten eggs that ensured no one saw anything good in the hard work the good police officers put in on a daily base but this was just terrible, he thought to himself.

‘so your husband was framed up and never got to a trial, hmmm what about the others, I mean the supposed members of the group?’ Cyril asked.

‘I have no idea what happened to them, I tried to find out more information but none would say anything about them to me, they have denied every accusations we have made against them, the police would never investigate the police its why when I read the papers and saw a case you handled, I knew the NCIB could get me justice, please will you help me, I don’t have much but I will sell whatever I can or do whatever I can to make sure I get justice for my husband.’ She said with much hope in her eyes.

There was such pain inflicted in her heart by the sad tale she had told, the case seemed like a good one he wouldn’t pass up for another however this days he had no hands in the decision that brought the cases to his desk thanks to his boss and policies that ensured that unsolicited cases were never admissible by the bureau and unfortunately this was unsolicited, hence the dreaded thought of refusing her offer which would hurt her even more.

‘Madam, I will see what I can do, just write out your address, the police station that handled the case and everything you know, let’s see what I can do.’ Cyril said stretching a piece of paper to her.

He may not be solving the case but there was no need for him to discourage or disappoint her right now, eventually at some point she would let go off the pain and move on he thought.

She wrote just as much detail the little piece of paper could take before handling it back to her, some sense of hope had crept on her face.
‘I want the world to know why they decided to frame my husband, a good man, why he was tortured and killed like a common criminal.’ She said painfully as she stood to leave.

He watched the lady take her leave and seemed to pity her even more.

********************

‘How is he doing?’ the commissioner asked, putting his glasses down on the desk as Mike entered his office.

‘chief, between bad or worse, I think its worse, the guy already broke two coffee mugs, one of them happened to be my favorite and since he returned he has been in his office, more times than he usually wants to be in there.’ Mike responded disappointedly just as the commissioner shook his head out of pity.

‘Damn it, I should have knew they would let chapo walk, I wouldn’t have signed off the case to him four months ago when I did, a non guilty verdict is completely unacceptable and frankly I didn’t see that coming.’ The commissioner said, almost feeling guilty about his response.

‘hah.’ Mike scoffed. ‘coming from you I think that is even more surprising, come on chief, Chapo isn’t just some average drug lord, he has both economic power and political power to command, it was impossible to tie him to the drug burst, even his own men would never been tempted to testify against him plus the burst was as a result of a call issued to the police for public disturbance, so the cowardly judge deemed the evidences, inadmissible so they let him walk in fact they say he might be

CONTINUED



Cyril.’ She paused as if realizing she had been asleep all this time. ‘Oh my God, I slept off, I must have missed him.’ She said bitterly.
She was quite young, younger than he had predicted however her protruding stomach told him, she was an expecting mother possibly in her first trimester and now he thought about it, he did feel bad about making her wait.

‘No, he hasn’t left, he is talking to you right now.’ Cyril said calmly as she winced her eyes as if to observe him more closely.
‘oh you are detective Cyril?’ she asked somewhat uncertain

‘yes madam, and I am terribly sorry for keeping you waiting all this time, I had no idea who was.’

‘its okay, I didn’t think I would even see you at all, please sir.’ She paused to fight off her tears for a brief moment. ‘please sir, I need help sir.’ She said.

Cyril had no idea of what was happening at the moment, could she be in trouble and needed help or was it something else, anyways it didn’t really matter, the bureau wasn’t open to the public directly, all cases usually had to be reported to the police who then upon proper assessment in terms of the manner of severity then transfer the cases to the bureau.

This seemed like one of the many rising issues the bureau was now facing in recent times, unsolicited cases brought forward by the victims or those close to them which he would have to turn down due to the strict policies and regulations the bureau was working with however he had kept her waiting for hours, it only seemed fair he listened to her.

He led her back to his office where he intended to listen to her perhaps there was someone within the police he knew that could help her.
‘what is it that I can help you with madam?’

‘its my husband, detective.’ She replied wiping a tear off her face.

‘what is wrong with him, did he do something to you, is he alright or is he in some kind of trouble?’ Cyril replied hoping to get more details.
‘No detective, he is dead.’ She said bitterly as she began to cry as the detective tried to console her as best as he could.
‘madam, I am very sorry for what happened, please how did this happen, I am assuming there is a story and that’s why you are here.’ Cyril said stretching a clean handkerchief off to her so she could wipe her tears.

She did calm herself down, wiping her tears soon after. ‘he was killed detective, they killed him, he was a good man and they branded him a robber and killed him, detective.’ Again the tears stopped her from saying any more.

‘who are they, who did this and when and what did the police say?’ Cyril asked.
‘the police?, my husband was killed just a week after our marriage by the police who branded him a robber, it is the police, detective, they killed my husband’ she replied tearfully.

the odds of him ever taking up the case was almost impossible however he wanted to give her a listening ear.
‘what happened madam, how did this happen?’ Cyril asked calmly.

‘it was three week ago detective, we were just settling down to our honeymoon, my husband is a mechanic and so when one of his costumers called him to help pick up a car for him to drop at the shop, he didn’t think there was anything wrong but I told him not to go, I felt strange about it but he waved it off and said he was going to be back but he never came back, I got a call from someone that my husband had been caught by the police as he tried to evade the police in his stolen car, my husband was paraded alongside four others alleged to be members of a dreaded bank robbery gang, they said they had fingered him out but that was all a lie I swear to you detective, my husband was a good man to the core, a good Christian who saw the good in everyone, he would never ever take what doesn’t belong to him even if he had nothing, for him it was always about his integrity and character and yet he was tortured to death and never got a proper trial.’ She said.

CHAPTER ONE



‘Shit.’ Cyril said, snapping at himself just as the cabinet of indexed files fell on ground.

He hadn’t paid attention to the weight of the cabinet when he pulled it with much force than was really needed as if his day hadn’t totally gone off a different path than he had planned when he arrived at the bureau that morning however it was inevitable that his boss asked for the closed file to sign off; the same case file he had paid no attention to where he kept it.

He was still battling to get the mess of files and documents that filled the tiled floor sorted out when he heard mike’s voice outside his office door.

‘Hey Dc, there is a woman here to see, I told her you were busy with another.’ He paused to laugh as hard as he could. ‘she didn’t seem so pleased after I said that but she says she will wait her turn, should I let her slide in?’ he asked.

He hadn’t been expecting anyone nor had he any appointment, probably a press personnel he thought.
‘thanks mikey but no, like you said I am busy with another one.’ He paused to hear mike laugh once more. ‘just tell her, some other time, maybe tomorrow 8 a.m, thanks.’ He concluded seeing how hectic it could be for him at the moment, definitely he was in no condition to see or talk with anyone.

‘sure no problem, I will tell her she has to wait her turn like every other woman.’ Mike replied In between laughter before he turned to leave.
However he had guessed right, the mess did manage to steal his entire day barely leaving his office the entire time, now he thought of it as he laid his hands on the one case file he really was searching for, it seemed only fair if he asked for a new filing cabinet once he got the file signed.
He made his way out of his office and headed for the boss’s office who unfortunately had already left the building an hour ago; for it was past 4 p.m, the closing hours at the bureau.

“what a waste of a day” he thought to himself as he frowned at his watch which confirmed his suspicions, he made his way to his office and got his portfolio and his keys out, if he was lucky he could still get a good plate of Egusi and pounded yam from Mama Dera’s place, at least that should settle the day’s woes.

He made his way to the main building hall where he could find his way out however his eyes did catch a woman at the visitor’s lounge, she laid on her side, perhaps she was tired from waiting that long and had fallen asleep.

Definitely she had to be the woman mike was talking about earlier and he had kept her waiting all day, he sighed bitterly at the thought of missing out on a good dinner at mama dera’s place.

He made his way to the visitor’s lounge and softly tapped her.

‘Excuse me madam, are you looking for someone?’ he asked as she stretched a bit upon waking up.
‘yeah, yes. I was told to wait for a detective, detective

WRITER'S UPDATE

Okay good news, i think there is good chance , my forth installment might be ready by the first week of march, the story is coming up very well and i am firing all cylinders to get it fully done as fast as i can.