₦airaland Forum

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She asked seeing Prince Ikenna outside the royal court , it was customary the chiefs remain at all time within the court except of course nature called.

“Oh I am feeling a bit lit headed today and I have decided to take a rest from the meetings , the prince was kind enough to let me off easily on this one , be rest assured the young prince has everything all under control, I have to take my leave now , my queen if you wouldn’t mind”
Prince Ikenna said before he took his leave , the prince may look like a lot like her late husband but he wasn’t good at hiding truth like her husband did , clearly something had happened , something she intended to find out.

It was during the calm evening, she had asked for her son’s presence who came to join her soon afterwards.

“my prince , I trust the meeting of today with your chiefs was a success?”

“Yes mama, Uncle Ekelemchi made sure everyone followed through with our decisions today”
“and what about your father’s brother …”
“mother , I well he was not around today , mother I don’t think henceforth he should attend the meetings anymore “
“my prince but I thought you of all have been in support of his participation in such activities why the sudden change “
She asked quite concerned about his son’s change of behavior towards his uncle ever since the cleansing rites were performed but the prince was a bit reluctant to say anything further which made the queen even more interested in the reason.

“My prince , I am your mother , I demand to know this from you immediately”

She beckoned on the young prince once more.
“Mama , are you not aware he performed the asigwu during the cleansing rite, what do you think that means for me?”
His mother smiled calmly , she had wondered if this might be the source of her son’s change in attitude, something she hoped wouldn’t be not now all eyes are on them.

“My prince , what is it really you were told of the Asigwu and one who performs it”
“well mama, uncle Ekelemchi said its one who was destined to do great things for the people that was always chosen to slaughter the animals”
His mother paused for a minute before she chucked.
“And my brother told you this?”
“of course mother , the asigwu…”

“The asigwu is meant for the most senior male member of the royal blood and that is your uncle , it means nothing else my prince”
She could see how sullen he had become soon after , she understood his feelings almost immediately.

“Am sorry you feel the way you feel , its okay to feel such as the future king, misunderstanding like this will always come up , its however what you do to make amends that counts “
She stood to take her leave.
“Mother , thank you”

He managed to say with a dull smile hanging on his face, indeed he had made a huge error , tomorrow he however planned to make amends.
Far away from the queens court ,Chief Ekelemchi joined his fellow chief and friend at his chamber , Chief Emeribe who he had told to come see him later , they had much to discuss as the coronation drew near.
“you are early , I thought you had a lot of things to do today?”
Chief Ekelemchi said seeing his friend had settled down to enjoy his meal he had hoped to take later.

Chapter Three

The cleansing rites had gone unhinged after which Achike the chief priest had asked that Elu choose five of her best hunters and set them for Dozoh , that after seven days they shall return with the head of the elusive man eater, whilst this was a good news it was however one that got the people talking for the coronation of the new king was also billed to happen seven days as well from then, perhaps a coincidence or perhaps the plans of the gods , it was however worth discussing by some.

“I don’t really understand , don’t you think something else is in stock for us on the crown prince coronation”
Mama Chisimdi said as both walk back from the market .
“First of all , Achike is only using this as a ploy to get people to offer sacrifices for protection …”

“The god forbids it , hah Ijeawele how dare you accuse the Achike of such “

Mama Chimsimdi asked quite surprised by her friends words.
“See everyone knows that it is because of prince Ikenna , people have now started patronizing Achike again , ever since he made the declaration at the royal court everyone including my husband has gone to offer sacrifices of protection with my chickens ….”
“Ijeawele so it is because of your chicken that you are hear saying…”
“..i didn’t not say anything oh , please let me be , with the amount of chickens , goats and food stocks Achike has taken from us , I wonder why the gods will still have to wait till the day of the coronation of Prince Ikenna”

Ijeawele said.
“By the gods , Ijeawele don’t tell me even you too are rooting for the Prince Ikenna to succeed the throne?”
“my dear let me tell you since you would rather pretend that you do not know the news that is going on, come seven days time , Prince Ikenna will be crowned king of Elu”
“Ijeawele , okay but who would you prefer if you were one of the chiefs to decide”

“My dear since the return of Prince Ikenna , many more traders from Obosara have been coming around , the prices have been stable between us and them , its no news this is because of the good relationship Prince Ikenna has with the Obosara , something his brother and father and even his father’s father have never done there are rumors that he may be the one to broker peace finally between the lands , He goes around daily to see the chiefs and talk with them ,even Achike has benefited from his arrival , he is down to earth and we the people can relate with his good characters , he has respect for traditions and customs of the land , my dear friend if I don’t choose such a person to rule who else will I chose, does the chicken choose the mouth of a lion over its shed?”

Ijeawele said and for a long time , mama Chisimdi thought to think through of what her friend had said, something she rarely ever does.
“you know you could be right , there isn’t a day now I don’t get to hear about Prince Ikenna hmmm it is well, its is funny how we get to talk and talk about this and yet the gods already know who they favor”
Mama Chisimdi said with a smile , Ijeawele had hoped to end the discussion but this time , she couldn’t have agreed more with her friend ,indeed the gods know who would eventually become king.
At the Royal Palace , decisions on how and who to oversee the task of finding the best hunters was set for discussion , Prince Ikenna had seen shortly Ogemdi before he made his move for the royal court to join the chiefs however it was Ejiofo who had stood in front of his way.
“My lord , I am sorry but I have been ordered by the prince not to allow you in, I am very sorry”
Ejiofo said.

“Oh its okay, I can only hope and believe that the right decisions are made for all our sake”
Prince Ikenna said before he took his leave, it was when he had decided to leave the palace he had come face to face with The Queen who he exchanged pleasantries with soon after.
“My lord , is there something wrong?”

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things are not as they seem anymore , every market day my mother’s people come all the way from Obosara to sell and to buy here as do our people go over there , we share Ikudhe the flowing stream and have never for a long time had any issue , my father as you all know married my mother who is from Obosara , so please I ask that we don’t let such things as history draw us back in a negative way”
Prince Ikenna said.

“you are indeed correct, I see no reason to hold on to such sentimental issues as such as wars which were fought even before our great grand fathers existed, please go on”
Chief Eze said in approval of Prince Ikenna’s opinion.

The meeting did go on without a hitch from there as the chiefs shared their opinions and a decision was made , the royal house under the supervision of chief Ekelemchi would select traders through buchi the royal treasurer who can go sort out most of the needed items in time for the cleansing rite, Prince Ikenna did offer his assistance to help connect with the best traders in Obosara by which they could get the best quality for less, in the end the meeting was described by most of the chiefs as one of the best so far the young prince had preceded over.
It was later in the Evening, Prince Ikenna had decided to go see Chiazokam , the retired royal herbalist who saw to his brother during the time of his illness , she had been the only one he didn’t get a chance to see during his first visit to the palace, though he soon learnt the herbalist had retired soon after the death of his brother, he did hope to thank her for all those years the old woman had taken care of his brother and his family.

“My prince , you should never had bother yourself , this is too much for me I say”

Chiazokam said admiring the silk material the prince had bought for her, they had soon sat to discuss about everything , he had missed so far and some good old memories in the palace.
“I just don’t know why your brother , king odum never recovered as expected”

She said a bit sullen at the fact, her experience in her field had always made her the most after herbalist in the whole of the village , in fact it was said that if there ever was any sickness or disease Chiazokam the herbalist couldn’t heal , no one else was able, the illness wasn’t a strange one for her , in fact it was one king odum suffered consistently even when he was a child, had she not been the one always there to help relieve him when it needn’t to be.

“Mama , I don’t understand , what do you mean by that, never has anyone doubted the potency of you herbs or your knowledge nor experience”
Prince Ikenna asked calmly.
“Well my prince , so I thought myself perhaps I got sloppy ….”
She paused for a moment and shook her head vehemently , it was not even a question worth asking.

“My prince , your father trusted me with the health of the royal family as did his father to my mother , I have tended to Injuries, poisons , illnesses and so many more , never for once was my ability to deliver called in doubt , my Prince it was out of disbelief and shame that I had to resign the way I did , but my prince I would swear on my life that King odum may not have died from the illness…”

“..The gods forbid it , mama what are you saying ,are you saying my brother the king could have been…..”
He paused unable to bear the possibility of what the old woman was saying.

“..impossible mama, it cant be , please mama for our sake , swear to me you will not speak of this to anyone at least not yet , please mama I cant imagine someone could have done such a thing to my brother”
Prince Ikenna said sadly.

“hmmm your brother , king odum was one of the nicest men to have wore that crown ,sometimes been nice comes with a price , I have gone over the details constantly since the day I left the royal palace , something terribly happened to the your brother the king, prince Ikenna this is the truth”

Chiazokam said emphatically.
“mama, be rest I will not sleep till the day I find out who is truly is responsible for the death of my brother ,king odum and I swear by our gods and our fathers that I will make them pay before the people of Elu , this I promise you”
Prince Ikenna said.

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wants us to suffer , if you feel this is a punishment by the gods …”
“Achike, Achike the great priest of our land , one who sits and dines with the gods , one who is able to whisper into the ears of the spirits , he who has gone far and beyond without moving his feet , he who has seen what tomorrow holds even before the dawn , the great custodian of the spirit realm..”

Prince Ikenna jumped to his feet as he continued with praises after cutting chief Ekelemchi, his wooden flute in hand.
“..The true giant of Elu , my father ‘s father , one who makes a case for his people , Achike hah Achike …”
He paused and went to his kneels before Achike , much to the confusion and shock of the other chiefs.

“..Achike , you cannot abandon us like this when we need you the most , our people are scared and frightened , we do not know when next this strange beast will come to claim our children or our parents , Achike whatever that we need to do , we will surely do it , please Achike your children need you”

Achike stood there for a few minutes , he knew too well the praises of Ikenna , long ago when he used to stay in the palace as demanded by the twins father who thought highly of him , it was however the way Ikenna’s father who was one of the best flute player sort to boost his moral whenever there was an issue in the spirit realm.
“Ikenna you have done well..”

He paused and beckoned on him to stand up.
“…perhaps I can beckon on the gods to reveal their true intent but we will have to perform the cleansing rites before the next three days to calm the gods , only then can I begin this task you ask of me”
Achike said before he finally took his leave.

“Uncle that was incredible , father used to tell me how good you were with the flute , thank you for making Achike see reasons with us”
“Its nothing really my prince , just an habit I took from your grandfather and if you like I can as well teach you how to …”
“..enough of all that , we have a serious issue to tend to if you don’t mind and I have suggestions I would like to share with the chiefs now”
Chief Ekelemchi cut in.

“Ehm we have all heard what Wise one has said , I say we give buchi the royal treasurer to make the necessary arrangements ”
He concluded .

“Uncle I think you are right , the people must know we take this very serious as well”

Prince Ihunna added , again a mild chatter ensures for a moment.
“My prince , if I may suggest I would say we get a list of the items needed first and find how we can manage the expenses , the cleansing rites if I am correct is such that takes toil on the royal finances and having just done the burial rites of my brother the king ,wouldn’t it be wise for us to see to it that the needed items are well managed and sort for at best price , a silk material presently cost A lot more in Obosara..”
“…don’t you say that name here in Elu, this is not Obosara so please keep away everything that has to do with that village out of here”
Chief Ekelemchi said.

“yes chief Ekelemchi is right , it’s a know fact that we and Obosara are not on good terms so why bring up there name here?”
Chief Emeribe added leading to chatter amongst the chiefs for a minute or two.
“My chiefs , I am indeed sorry about that but I believe we know for a fact that

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Prince Ihunna said brining silence once more to the court, they had soon gone over the details they knew so far, three were already confirmed missing and one just recently was confirmed clawed to death , expert hunters had unanimously agreed the claw marks and manner of death were indeed that of a wild animal , one they themselves had never encountered.

“Wise one, your presence here gives me great confidence , that the gods can help point us to the right direction ,people are becoming scarred and the prices of a few bush meats have gone up since then , I cant afford to get two antelopes for the price I used to get them anymore..”

Chief Emeribe , the fattest of all the chiefs said quite unhappy about the situation , although a bit of laughter ensured shortly after he mentioned the price hike , he however went on.

“..please wise one , this is indeed very serious , I fear one day I might open my plate of food and meet only three pieces of meat inside”
He added which again sent more chiefs laughing until Achike eventually began his rites by which he was able to communicate with the gods, the moment was indeed tense as always , as he sang various songs and made various incantation for over thirty minutes, he finally stopped and gave a disappointed look, he made no intention to speak and only nodded his headed in sheer disappointment.
“Wise one , please what do the gods say?”

Prince Ikenna asked quite concerned about the expression written on Achike’s face ,an expression he was now familiar with over the time to mean something very bad.

“Wise one , please surely the gods did say something , please tell us what the gods have for us , what can we do and how we can do it”
Chief Eziamaka added as they all beckoned on the chief priest to say something.

“Wise one please , what is it that the gods have shown you , what is this calamity or danger that we are faced with, please we are merely the mortals without the gods we have no sense of direction , please you must tell us ,wise one”

Prince Ikenna added, the old chief priest had decided to speak afterwards , he didn’t need to really , for if there was one person the king had no authority over it would be him , he could decide to go away and not be bothered by the outcome of the meeting nor the problems of the people but he decided to speak , had it not been prince Ikenna who saw it fit to follow traditions and make him the first person to visit once his feet touched his village , had he not been the one who begged him to come for the meeting , it was only right he played his part once someone recognized his importance in the village once more.
“Our people say that if a child purposely keeps on crying the people will eventually carry the corpse past him”

Achike said , as the chiefs sought understand the parable the old wise man said.

“Wise one , please what do you mean , you speak with parables only someone as wise as you alone can understand , please I beg you , what is it that you mean”
Prince Ihunna added.

“My prince and my chiefs , the gods did indeed show me all that I needed to see and hear but they have warned me not to speak of them however they have asked me to tell you of terrible times that are to come for the people of Elu, I will take my leave now….”
“..Wise one there is no problem you can go , if you are saying the gods

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“My lords in order not for the seeds of discord be planted amongst us this morning where issues that concern the lives and safety of our people I saw it fit to come along , to listen and to share my opinions as well and as traditions will have it , it is however a choice for the royal family to attend meetings such as this , while he or she does not participate in the decision making aspects of such meeting he can contribute and learn …”
He paused and gave a reassuringly smile to everyone and then continued .

“..and as such I took it upon myself to go see Achiga , the mouth piece for the gods themselves and beg him to come along, if I can remember that wooden chair over there..”

Pointing to a vacant wooden chair quite different from the others.
“..is the seating place for the chief priest of the land , something my father and his father’s saw fit whenever there was a royal meeting of such importance as this , his wisdom and experience in matters has served us time and time again, I believe I am speaking the truth here my chiefs”

“yes indeed”
One said.
“that’s true and thoughtful”
Another said.

And hence everyone had all taken their seat as the meeting began finally with chief Ekelemchi giving the opening speech.
“My lords, it has come to notice of the royal family that there has been some happenings within Elu and its forest , there are rumors of wild animals roaming around and taking up our people , this I believe we all know …”
“Am sorry to cut you off , Chief Ekelemchi there is something I do have to seriously point out”
Prince Ikenna said , as the other chiefs looked on.
“what is it , what is so important you couldn’t allow me finish my speech”

Chief Ekelemchi asked quite confused.
“Well my fellow chiefs , I understand the young prince weeks from now we be succeed the throne and as I have heard he has started to take on responsibilities f the throne right from the point my brother fell ill, if I remember never has it been the job of a chief to give the opening speech for a royal meeting, if we do not give the young prince the chance to show his ability to contribute effectively to meetings such as this when else can we?”

Prince Ikenna asked , again a mild chatter ensured shortly among the chiefs.
“what, how dare you call me a mere chief , I am not only the brother of the queen but also was king odum’s royal adviser as I am to the heir apparent”
Chief Ekelemchi replied angrily.

“Ehm , my chiefs ,as I among you , I chief Eze personally think Prince Ikenna is right on this , it’s the duty of the heir apparent to open the floor as traditions demands, I believe I speak for the rest of us too”
Chief Eze declared as many of the chiefs nodded in agreement.
“I am sorry Chie Ekelemchi , if you feel I belittle your importance but they say If one tells of the place where the rain met him , he is given a palce to warm up by the fire , I believe this is for the good of the future king, my chiefs I believe I have spoken well”

Prince Ikenna said once more as more chiefs nodded in agreement quite impressed by his attitude so far.

“Uncle , thank you for your advice and the opportunity you are willingly to give to me , its true that this however is my duty but I can assure you I did ask Chief Ekelemchi my Uncle as well to open the speech but I think its only best I take the stand here”

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Prince Ikenna said with a smile , Ogemdi had been one of many people he had thought of on his way back , a father figure to him and his brother while they both grew up , he did take them both as his sons as well and now he was back he hoped to see how age had treated him all these years.

“Please you may do as you please uncle , this is also your home and if you don’t mind I would like to hear know about you , father used to tell me a lot about you uncle”

The young prince said excitedly.
“Did he ever tell you how bad he was at Akuso and how many times he lost his dinner to me?”

Prince Ikenna said with a smile on his face , indeed his childhood memories were fun for the most times .
“I am sure we can talk a lot about while you show me around the palace , I almost cant remember much about this place”
He said anxiously , his offer was well received as both Uncle and cousin walk away with the guards leaving the queen mother and her brother alone to discuss more.

“I don’t like him , I know this is all just a ploy for him, I must go speak with the chiefs immediately”

Chief Ekelemchi said in a low tone to his sister before he also took his leave, the queen stood there for some minutes , he didn’t look any bit as someone who was interested in the crown but this too could be part of some grand plan, he hadn’t been around when his brother was buried he may have had good reason but why now , after good eighteen years , why the sudden reappearance when talks of her son’s succession was up in the air , she gave a sigh and decided to not bother herself over this anymore because in due time , his true intention will be revealed for all.

As days flew by news of the Prince Ikenna was received by all with mixed reactions yet it was however the tally of people who were beginning to disappear in Elu’s forests that was beginning to make the waves , from the first incident reported by Azu the hunter who came home three days after going for hunting to find out his friend never returned back to another hunter and his son and just yesterday two days after the arrival of prince Ikenna , a young maiden had been found clawed to death by a nearby stream by an unknown animal , rumors quickly spread about an unknown wild animal that has a preference for human flesh , that has found a home in Elu’s forest.

Today the issue is set to be discussed by the heir to the throne and his chiefs within the royal court where all meetings are held , although whilst Chief Ekelemchi had offered to take care of the meeting , Prince Ihunna had insisted to put up a present.

“Uncle , if I am to ascend the throne surely I would have to sit with the chiefs to delete on issues like this , the thought that our forest is becoming unsafe for us all is troubling “

He had made his opinion known as they both joined the other chiefs at the court, it was barely five minute into the minute before Prince Ikenna and the chief priest of Elu, Achiga had walked in and for a brief moment , a mild chatter filled the court house.
“Uncle ,Wise one, it’s good to see you all here with us “
Prince Ihunna said.

“While we are all pleased so to say of your arrival Prince Ikenna , I am not certain of why you are present at a meeting such as this”
Chief Ekelmechi said beckoning on the other chiefs for certainty as to while Pirnce Ikenna was at the gathering.

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illness as well , its with great care from the best medicine man I could get that boosted my recover hence my presence before you”
He said calmly before them.

“Thank you very much Uncle , we have been expecting your arrival once you sent the messenger down to let us know of your imminent arrival , please we have arranged a little feast for you”
The crown prince said happily.

“While I would like to thank you for that , I cannot accept such offer at a time like this when we should be mourning my late brother , I believe a feast at a time like this is a sacrilege but thank you for thinking of me as worthy of such , I have performed Alum already and…”
“you performed Alum , why if I may ask , Alum is the rites performed for our people who were born outside the Elu and wish to be recognized here , so what was the need for such?”
Chief Ekelemchi asked.

“oh yes while that’s true, if you know the traditions as well as you should , you should also remember alum can if preferred can be performed for people who have been far away from Elu , if I remember our great grandfather during the wars performed this same rites after sixteen years away from the land , I merely saw it fit to perform such once I got the go ahead from the chiefs and Achiga the mouth piece of the gods”

Prince Ikenna replied.
“Ehmm you are welcome back my lord, I personally saw to it that your court was renovated and cleaned up , I am sure you are going to like it.”
Queen Akuada said changing the topic entirely.

“Oh that’s quite wonderful Queen Akuada but I have made arrangements for a place to stay for now , you must forgive me my audacity to refuse your kind gestures towards me , it’s just that where I have lived all my life now , I have lived as just a simple and ordinary man , royalty really feels new once more to me, I will in time return to the palace once I get accustomed to such but for now I wish to live outside the palace walls if you don’t mind”

Prince Ikenna replied , whilst it did come as a surprise to all it was however chief Ekelemchi who would have none of what he thought was a show of rudeness to the royal family.

“That’s not done , that has never been heard of before , what would do the people think when they hear that a royal prince is living outside the palace , it’s a taboo and cannot be allowed …”

He paused and turned his attention to the crown prince , prince Ihunna.
“..my prince surely you wont be allow this , its unheard of …”

“..ehmm actually it is not , if traditions still stand which I know they do chief Ekelemchi , then you would know that once a heir has been chosen among the kings children , the others by tradition are allowed to live the palace or stay if they want , in fact tradition deems me less of royalty once it was decided that my brother will ascend the throne , I can assure you the people will think nothing of this”

“We will not allow this , you are our guest here it doenst matter still , your place is here with us at the royal palace , that you must understand”

Chief Ekelemchi said impatiently.
“No , its okay uncle if you chose to stay outside the palace, my only request is that you always come around to see us , me especially”
The young prince said.

“I am grateful my prince for your hospitality and kind gestures , there are so many people I would like to see within the palace especially Uncle Ogemdi , please if you don’t mind , I would like to see the old man now”

Chapter Two


At the early hour of the next day , Ejiofo rushed in to see the queen and who was in the company of her Brother and the young prince , news had met him about the unnoticed presence of the Prince Ikenna in Elu,though he hadn’t believe but once the village town crier carried the news verified the news he thought it wise to let the royal family no at once.

“My prince , My Queen and Chief Ekelemchi I bring news about the return of prince Ikenna”
He said as soon as he took a bow before them.
“News, what news is that?”
The Queen mother asked.

“It has been confirmed that Prince Ikenna has been in the village and is up and about visiting the chiefs of the land..”
“..behind our back?”
Chief Ekelemchi said quite irritated by the audacity of the prince.
“Mother , is that really a bad thing , surely he must have a reason for doing that”

Prince Ihunna said quite uncertain about his uncle’s outburst.
“My prince, while you could be right about this, I think its definitely strange as to why he would want to go visiting the chiefs first before coming to the palace, I mean does he mean to say the chiefs are more important to him than his family?”

She said almost to herself.
“My Queen , My prince I must take my leave immediately if you will allow me , I am not sure of this move by the prince but I intend to find out what plans he has…..”
He halted as another royal guard rushes in bearing news of the prince’s presence in the palace.
“he is here?”

Chief Ekelemchi asked quite uncertain of what to do further.
“Mother , Uncle we must go welcome , give Ogemdi the order to begin the feast immediately”
The young prince said quite anxious to see his late father’s twin brother , one who he had never see but only had stories of from his father and many others.

They all made their way to the royal court where they were told Prince Ikenna was, and there he was truly , dressed in a rather different attire than what the royal house is known for ,he was in every way identical to his father but his appearance showed more of someone who may have lived a different life from that expected of a prince.
Before any of them had had the chance to say anything , Prince Ikenna bowed his head before them to greet them.

“My prince, queen mother , chief Ekelemchi its indeed an honor to be in your presence , I say a very big thank for letting me stand before you, Its however painful that I come at such a time when the royal family are still in mourning over my brother , the late king , I am deeply sorry for not making it down during the burial rites and procession I myself had fallen ill to a strange

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“Ejiofo, have you seen my brother so far?”
She asked.
“yes my queen , he is attending a meeting with the chiefs on behalf of the prince as we speak”
“ Oh that’s really good and the prince himself ?”
“My queen , he is in his chambers resting, shall I go get him for you?”
He asked.

“Oh no don’t worry about that , I will see him soon enough”
The queen replied with a smile , things seem to moving steady for now , with her Brother’s help Ekelemchi , a respected chief and top figure among the chiefs , her son’s path to the throne was certain, though there was a lot to do , convincing all chiefs to support his son’s claim would be tough but she felt good about , Prince Ihunna under the tutelage of her brother over the past weeks right from her husband’s period of illness to his death and burial has been an impressive feat and a feather to his son’s cap in his quest to succeed his father.
Far awhile from the king’s palace right into one of Elu’s forest and a favorite for every hunter due to the increase of games found there , Azu the hunter and his friend go deeper in search for a big score after a day and a half with no luck ; a phenomenal which is very uncommon for such forest.

“this is very strange, very strange I say”
His friend said in disbelief as they went deeper , their Dane guns steady in their hands.
“if it was Ahurah , I will believe there is scarcity , I will even believe the animals have finally parked their loads and relocated , I will believe we have hunted everything there is to hunt their but not this forest , hah the gods forbid it!”

Replied Azu obviously frustrated and angry , it was the second consecutive day without a good game for him to take back home and with a family of five to feed and his primary source of income bent on whatever he brought home from his hunts , it was critical that he lands a good game today or risk going home with nothing.
“Azu we should return back now , I have ran out of oil in my lamp and this is the farthest I have ever gone, we go further and we wont be able to make It to the village before sun set”
His friend reminded him.

“Maybe you can but I cant , my family depends on this game and I am not about to go home empty handed after spending a whole day in here”
Azu replied quite decisive about his choice much to displeasure of his friend.

“well Azu, I have to go now , definitely the traps we laid would have caught some bush meats over the night that would have to do for me, you can have the little oil I have for your lantern , I have to be on my way now”

His friend replied.
“you can keep your oil , I still have some reserve luckily ehm but since you are on your way , can you help me drop my share at my house , I don’t know if eventually I will make it back today”
Azu responded back.

“Okay I will but Azu please be careful okay , this forest is still uncharted territory even for the most skilled hunters , no one has actually gone through the forest so please be careful , if we have no game today there will always be a next time”

Hi friend beckoned on him to return with him much to Azu’s disapproval who jokingly talks it away , he is soon left alone afterward by his friend who retreats back whilst he continues to go deeper, who knows today might be his lucky day.

continued




She asked quite ready to launch on her friend’s next reply.
“Well I don t know about that , we all know why he left for his mother’s land , its no news among the people anyway oh…”
Ijeawele paused having reached a junction which separates both friends’ paths.

“..let me go and attend to my family but what we should not forget is that there are other people who would like to get their hands on the crown as well”

Ijeawele made her move quickly abandoning her friend who she knew was already calling her back to try and ask for more information, this way she is able to secure a small victory over her friend and leave much to wonder on the matter.

Few kilometers away , the late king’s palace stands at the heart of the village, there is however preparation on going for the arrival of Prince Ihunna as commanded by the heir apparent , Ogemdi the Palace custodian ; a job that has been passed from his generation downwards and one he hopes to pass down to his own son, ensures everything is in order from renovation to ongoing maintenance work , he ensures the servants are up and doing like he has done for the last sixty nine years of his active life.

“My lord, the Queen mother has asked for your presence immediately”
Ejiofo , the Queen’s personal bodyguard said authoritatively before both walked back to the queen’s court where the queen was waited , seated in her garden.

“My queen, you sent for me”
Ogemdi said lowering his head before her presence.

“My lord,you need not always lower yourself when we speak , this I have said severally , you are like a father to the royal family you know”
She said with a smile , truly the old man had stuck around the royal house far longer than anyone ,he had been around when the his husband and his brother had been born , even when she was still a young maiden who came with her father , a Chief of the royal palace , somehow she liked and respected the man whose service never for once was ever called to question just like his father’s before him.
“My queen , its only proper that I always pay my respect to every member of the royal family”

He said cheerfully like he always do.
“My lord , I wish to know why the royal servants are maintaining and cleaning up the servants at a time like this , if I am not mistaken this is only done in terms of a feast or celebration”
She replied.

“I am very sorry My queen, I had initially thought Prince Ihunna had informed you last night just as he sent me the orders, he asked that we prepare the palace in anticipation of the return of Prince Ikenna”
He replied gently.
“Really , did he give such orders?”

She asked again , a mild smile appeared on her cheeks, it was quite a thoughtful move to get the palace in order , one she herself hadn’t thought of yet.

“Oh yes, he did my queen , if you would permit me to say something else my queen..”
“Please go on”

“I think the young prince will indeed make a great king just like his father did”
“Thank you very much for your kind words my lord , you may return back to your work now”

She said again with a smile , truly his son may indeed make a fine king but then there were still a lot of things that troubled her mind , one which is at the top of her worries was the return of her late husband’s twin brother who happens to have equal rights to the throne as did her son, why was he returning back after such a long period, would he cause trouble for her and her son , what really was his motives. although while it seemed unlikely that the elders would choose him over her son , their inability to trust the affairs of the village to a fourteen year old could force their hand but then had it not been roughly same age her own husband ascended the throne , why would this time be different she wondered.

Chapter One

Elu, a large and lively village surrounded by dense jungles and few rivers, connected to its neighboring villages by small and large forest paths scattered all round , easily connectable by all other villages , its described as a hub for all sorts of business and commerce.
With Hunting the primary profession of many , its fertile soil and numerous paths that connects it with the remaining villages also provides a good means for farming and trading by all .

History did have records of wars between the people of Elu and many neighboring villages who shared boundaries with It from time to time over various issues among such was Obosara, another village which for the longest time severed any connection between both villages also the undesirable methods y which succession by the preexisting royal families over the years which has led to whole generations completely wiped out of history through unscrupulous means but for the longest time now Elu remains a safe and quite peaceful Village.

Today however marks seventh day of mourning for the people of Elu , having lost their King ,King Odum Achike the third to a brief illness as the customary mourning period which last for 2weeks is in session , there is however uncertainty about who is to succeed him, whilst King Odum does in fact have an only son prince Ihunna from his only wife Queen Akuada , his age and ability to run the affairs of the village is called into question barely fourteen and inexperienced at that, the juvenile may in fact be deemed unfit to rule and the mantle passed on to someone else within the royal family, the rumors grow by the day as News spread of the long awaited return of Prince Ikenna , the twin brother of King Odum.

“The Gods forbid it , it’s a lie”
Mama Chisimdi replied vehemently brushing her hands on her thighs as she and her friend Ijeawele walk back home from the stream that cold morning.

“I am telling you , If the news we are hearing is true , then we must accept the fact that he is only coming for the crown , by right you know he among all has the biggest claim to the throne if I am not mistaken”
Ijeawele continued much to the displeasure of her friend.
“Ijeawele what are you saying , don’t you know the winds have ears , why would you say such a thing , its impossible , the elders will not pick Prince Ikenna over Prince Ihunna , so you know our late King was crowned same age as his son is and also you forget that Prince Ikenna hasn’t been around for over Eighteen years now ….”

She paused hissed and spat on the ground vehemently and the continued.

“…do you think the elders will willingly give up the crown to someone who left his father’s land to be with his mother’s people , do you think the elders will prefer their own king’s son to someone who has lived all his life in Obosara ehn?”

MAN EATER IS OUT GUYS COMPLETE WILL DROP THE LINKS TOO

Ayemileto:
Wow.


I have to skip a good portion of the story just to quickly read the ending.



Nice story OP. You did a really good job.

thank you for your kind words , please anticipate my next book MAN EATER , thanks again.

Ann2012:
Interesting
Well done OP

thank you very much for your kind words i am working on my next book MAN EATER i hope you would like it too, thanks again.

“Sir ,what is it?”
The sergeant asked.
“All the test on the drugs found in his apartment came back negative , they said none of the substance matched what was found in her system , ..”
He shook his head sideways more confused as he tried to figure out what had happened, if this joseph didn’t sell out the killer drug could peter had brought his own and used joseph as some cover up , could the statement he was handed be telling the truth, now he thought about it he knew his answers were gone in the wind, he would never know what happened now he thought.
“…I guess the case is closed here sergeant , my one week is almost up , we found what killed the victim and her likely killer”
He said quite disappointed at something , the case had a lot of loop holes that needn’t answers but he knew wouldn’t get any closer now.

“Mr.joseph , I can assure you wont be facing any serious charge that will involve a jail time , your benefactor made sure of it once you agreed to his terms , he wishes to say thank you for returning what was left of the money peter tried to collect from him however he wanted to know why peter only took 30 million ..”

“..well sir he forced us to transfer that amount at first and was in the process of transferring more before …”

“please don’t stress yourself anymore, 270million compared to what he was able to take out is okay, sadly he is dead and we will never know which account or how possible it is to recover that money, once more you did the right thing by calling Mr. Bishop and letting him know of what was happening just in time , before him and your friend arrived, you are going to be okay Mr. joseph and Mr. Bishop wants you to say hi when you get out of here to your mother and siblings”

The barrister gave a reassuring smile much to joseph’s confusion, how did he know about his mother , what did he mean by that .

"Did he really kill her?"

joseph asked as the barristsr was about to take his leave.


"hmm lets just say Mr. bishop knows whole lot than you think you know , enjoy your rest now"

the barrister replied as joseph sat there wondering , coulf he have really killed her , could he have been a part of a plan he knew nothing about , He gave a sigh and rested his head again , he had been through alot now and with 28 million still intact with him , there was much for him to do in life.


THE END.

“Ehmm you will have to hold on , let me check the hotel’s employee form he filled am sure it must be there…”
She paused for a minute as the detective waited patiently , eight minutes had passed before she returned back.
“ I found it , I will have to send it as a text to you , I have some people to lodge in right now”

“Please do , I will be waiting for it , thank you very much”
The detective replied before ending the call, perhaps this reception could help him confirm peter’s involvement with the deceased once he gets to find out , why he would seem scared right now only meant he may have actually been the one who sold the drugs to peter.
Joseph was still waiting patiently for Eric , once he called in the transfer had been made he sought to let his friend know , after then they are to plan how best to deal with Peter , his previous plan hadn’t been fool proofed , still peter who had shown more than capable he could kill them could still finish them off at one point in time other than that he also had a detective to worry about now , had Bishop talked to the police already , if he did that would even be more scary for all of them or was this the handiwork of Peter , could he be planning to use the evidence against them as well?

He asked himself ,there was a lot going on his head at the time when he heard a bike stopped right outside, once the knock came he knew who was at the door.
“Eric we have to make a plan now”
Joseph said opening the door for Eric and returning back to his chair where he sat .

“I have a plan but it doesn’t involve you”
Eric said , there was something in his voice that bothered joseph , he made a u turn only to find a gun pointed at him and a stern face.
“what’s this , Eric what are you doing ?”
Joseph asked frantically.
“I am going to have to kill him, joseph…”
Eric said calmly with a grin as he walked closer to joseph who became a bit relaxed.

“..you didn’t think I have it in me to kill my best friend , did you?”
Eric added seeing how tensed his friend was some seconds earlier.
“and I am going to kill the both of you here!”
Peter said announcing his presence with a boot to the door which hadn’t be locked yet but Eric was closer and had a good opportunity to take a shot at peter who hadn’t noticed he had a gun on him.
Eric tightened his grip around the trigger of his gun with a good aim at peter , and just for a few seconds he hesitated for no reason apparent peter had ultimately taken the first shot.
“kwihh!”

Came the quite sound letting Eric clutch to his stomach painfully as he fell to the floor.
“Eric!”
Screamed joseph who tried to rescue his friend but a kick to the face from Peter sent him to the ground. “you are going to join your friend shortly that I promise you , did you think I wouldn’t know you guys were trying to play a fast one on me..”

He asked angrily smacking joseph viciously with the butt of his gun.
“Did you think you can get away from me , I am smarter than you low lives , I promised if you tried to play a fast one on me you were going to pay , now gimme the phone with which you made the transaction now”
He ordered pointing the nozzle of the gun dangerously at joseph’s head.
Dangerously.
“Freeze right there!”

The commanding voice of Detective ahmed filled the air sending peter into a shock who quickly tried to grab hold of joseph up as some form of human shield against the detective but he hadn’t been smart about it , a split decision between taking a cheap shot at the detective and shielding himself behind joseph came with great consequences.
“Gboah!”
The sound of the gun shot was followed by a wide scream from joseph who passed out moment later.

Two days later , Detective Ahmed and the police patrol van arrive at the SAINT OF LIGHT PRIVATE HOSPITAL where they had admitted joseph the previous days, it was going to be his second time of meeting up his prime and only witness or suspect in the case.
The following day had seen him send samples of the illegal drugs found in the house to the lab in hopes to match the key components responsible for his victim’s death.

Although he had hoped joseph’s phone would provide some information but the damn thing had been smashed in the process of scuffle that had ensured shortly before his arrival making it impossible for him to know what information was on it, the deceased peter on the other hand had none of his phones present at the scene .
With two persons dead amid the situation , he wondered what information the boy would give him , was he a likely suspect or a witness, he wondered.

Once they made their move to the ward , they were however greeted with the presence of a strange man dressed in corporate black.
“who are you?”

The detective asked as they arrived on scene.
“Ehmm My name is Barrister John Idoh and my client here has written out his statement for the police , any question you will like to ask him has to go through me first as his lawyer , my job here is to protect my client who happens to have unfortunately witnessed the tragic death of your victim at the hands of the said peter Igue who threatened him to keep his mouth shut once he found out that fateful night, mu client hopes to be fit soon enough for a trail , the doctor has asked that he stays a week more to fully recover ,and I will be enroute to see the deputy to perfect his bail conditions too“
The man said in a professional manner stretching a piece of document to the detective who took it confusingly.

“wait , am sorry how is it that a mere receptionist can afford a lawyer ..”
The sergeant asked starring at Joseph who watched on without saying a word.
“just so you know , your client is a person of interest in an on going murder case and if I am not mistaken he sold the alleged drugs which caused …”

“is that a fact or what detective , whatever you have going ensure you have them for the trial as far as I am concern right now you have nothing against my client ..”
The barrister paused and took a stare at joseph who was listening to the ongoing conversation.

“..my client has had enough for today detective ,as you can see he is resting , the media will be around shortly , my client has a thing or two to say to them also , we wouldn’t want someone saying something false about the case , would we?

The barrister added , it was a move the detective knew all too well , getting the media involved will further more restrict his ability and to make any sort of possible headway now , a smart move he thought but he was a lot smarter, the test would come out and prove those substances found in his apartment where what actually caused the health complication and that was something no one could get away from.

“I see, well thank you very much for helping us get a statement from your client but I can assure we will meet again , very soon”
The detective said before he took his leave , once out he took his time to read through the statement , it seemed all too perfect , cleverly crafted in such a way that joseph would never be put on trial for anything serious, his phone had soon rang ,thankfully it was his one good opportunity to get to the truth.
“hello good afternoon , is it out?”
He asked eagerly.

“Yes sir , we have sent a soft copy to your email and the hard copy down to the station , we simply called to con…”
The detective was much too anxious to continue the call , ending it immeidtaely he realized the mail had truly been sent to him , he downloaded the copy and read carefully.
“what, what is this, what is this , what does this mean?”
He asked himself in disbelief .

Chapter Five


Joseph made his way to the doctor’s office the next morning who was on a phone call, after waiting patiently the doctor did make time for bopth of them to talk.

“Ehmm Mr. Joseph , good afternoon , how are you doing?”
The doctor asked calmly.
“I am good sir , I came in respect of my mother , I was told by the nurse we have three days to move her out of the hospital as her case has deteriorated significantly…”

“I am very sorry about this but you must understand this is managements policy, we can’t keep having such cases here , its really not good for business at all you see, I am very sorry..”
“Its okay I understand doctor , I came to ask you the procedures for the surgery”
The doctor paused briefly, quite uncertain about the interest of his guest at such information when clearly he had no means but again who knows.

“Well, first of all you will have to pay the needed amount for the surgery , we will make contacts with our personals up in the US who do the surgery , we will also be responsible for her travel documents and also the person who is to come along with her , it’s a bit longer than that but we have been doing this for years and I can assure…”
“can I have the account number then?”
Joseph asked.

“Sure, just meet up with the matron who sits outside my office , she will give you the necessary forms to fill , once you are done with that , you can then go on and do the transaction , you do that and we will take care of everything else , I can assure you that”
“Thank you very much doctor “

Joseph said once more before he returned to see his mother who was conscious and managing a conversation with his sister.

“you shouldn’t be stressing mama with those your petty talk “
Joseph said cutting into the conversation.
“Joseph, your sister has been telling me how you have been taking care of us here”

His mother managed to say.
“Nneka here take this forms and fill them , you will be the one to accompany me for her treatment abroad”

Joseph said happily unable to contain his joy , he beamed a little smile as he handed his sister some documents to sign much to her surprise.
“brother tell me it’s a lie, is mama going for the treatment really , how did it happen , what happened?”
Nneka asked.

“Too much questions, do and fill the forms I have to take them back “
Joseph replied tugging his sister in a playful manner.
“Joseph is this true , how , who has come to our aid , I must thank that person”

His mother replied.
“mama , I really don’t know the person , he got to the doctors who called me to let me know .
Joseph replied , there was a bit of sadness in his voice ,something his mother suspected.
b
“Joseph are you okay?”
His mother asked again.
“yes ma …”
He paused to brighten up his face.
“..yes mama , I am okay , am happy you are going to be fine now and you too Nneka…”

Directing his focus towards his sister.
“..you and your brother are going to back to school too , so don’t you worry , everything is going to be alright?”
“Will you be alright my son?”
His mother said.

Joseph kept silent for a while and then nodded his head calmly.
“yes ma , I will be alright ,now I have to go take care of something , I will be back later on..and you Nneka once you are done keep them to yourself , the matron will come for them later , is that understood?”
His sister had nodded positively before he decided to take his leave.
Miles away , the detective rolled his car out of the station’s parking lot , he had a lot to do today , most especially he had Peter Igue to hunt down, after discovering he had put in his resignation letter and hadn’t returned home that day , the all too familiar scenario of a suspect fleeing for safety had sent him into an over drive.

None of the stations he had passed a call or two to look out for his suspect had returned back with anything positive so far , he couldn’t have travelled out of the state already the detective thought to himself so where could he be hiding , none of his numbers were going anymore nor his social media accounts active, indeed the task ahead of searching for his man was going to be tedious but reassuringly he felt ready for the task, he would have to visit every location he could think of his suspect had visited in the past but his phone rang , good news perhaps he thought as he answered the phone.

“this is detective ahmed , who am I speaking with ?”
“Oh sorry sir, hello its the receptionist at sterling hotel”
The detective paused for a moment and soon realized who was on the line, he hadn’t expected her to call back as really not a lot of people did call him whenever he offered his number.
“Oh hello, is there something you want to tell me?”
“Oh not really sir , its just that joseph the one you were asking of came around some minutes ago..”
“..oh is that so?”

“yes sir , he says he is quitting the job , I don’t know why then I told him there was a detective who was looking for him to ask him some questions and then he just ran out hurriedly , he seemed really scarred when I said you were a police man”
The detective paused for a moment , was there any other connection this receptionist could have had , was there something he knew about the death?

“hello, do you have any idea about where he stays ,like some address or something I could use to track him maybe later on?”
The detective asked.

“Sir, you are not going to arrest him are you?”
She asked with concern writing all over her face.
“Oh no not at all, my investigation has nothing to do with that , such things are for the police , I have a case on the other hand and a date tonight which your friend can help me make memorable, here is my phone number by the way just incase you remember something or he comes around”

The detective replied reassuringly, he did drop his number and then thanked her before taking his leave.
Now he thought of it , he had a possible theory about how his victim could have died what if she and peter had met here on that fateful day and then purchased the drugs from this Joseph and then somehow she managed to swallow this content leading to her death and then this peter was able to take the body out of the hotel and go dump on that junction, it wasn’t such a perfect theory yet but it was plausible and that alone got him excited a lot more.

Peter made his way out of the director’s office , he had just dropped his resignation letter , he didn’t need to but he swore to reap all his well earned benefits from the bank , besides he after speaking with bishop momentarily who may have felt a bit disappointment in his ability to handle the matter had decided to part with the money after much convincing from him not that his friend had a choice , he slipped into his car and ensured the tinted glasses were up before producing his gun strapped underneath the passenger’s seat, the plan was simple , once he was able to confirm the money had been transferred he would call them to one of his desired location where he would kill the both of them and thereof make his way out of the country before the week ended.

He was still tying out the loose ends of his plans when one of his phones rang, had the money been sent already?
“hello, who is this?”
He asked impatiently in a brisk tone.

“am I speaking with Peter Igue?”
The voice asked. “Yes this is Peter , who am I speaking with ?”
“oh this is detective Ahmed we spoke this morning and I would like us to meet if you don’t mind , say at the station?”
“Ehmm okay, sorry I have to ask how did you get my personal number, I can remember I never did give you this one?”
Peter asked confusingly.

“Oh no, I asked one of the employees for it, am sorry I didn’t ask you directly so can we see or even better you can tell me where…”
“Detective do you have anything against me because I feel I am been focused on for no good reason , do you have anything…”
“On the contrary this is just normal investigation routine, I am sure you understand how this things work but I can assure if you have something to hide then we will have a lot more to talk about”
The detective replied dangerously, making peter to pause for some minutes.

“Erhmnm, you can come down to my working place , am still there , we could squeeze some time to talk and I assure you I have nothing at all to do with this case”

Peter said , he had had enough and decided to end the call immediately , to be honest now he thought about it ,he could sense a bit of danger , if the detective could connect him to the victim then things could turn really ugly, he made a reverse and then drove into the main road, home was way too risky to go now , who knows what the detective may have found out ,however he was this close to getting the biggest pay of his life and no one was going to stop him.

walked up the stairs and then came down , it was then he met a young girl who had taken her seat behind the reception desk.
“hello , good afternoon”
He approached her saying.
“good afternoon sir”

She said faintly putting up a smile for him.
“Erhmm, can I see the owner of this establishment , my name is Detective Ahmed with the state criminal and investigation bureau , am investigating a case and there are questions I would like to ask if you don’t mind”

The detective said flashing his ID card at her just quick enough to notice how nervous she had become .
“Sir, well sir the owner is currently not around for now , he travelled to Ogun state two days ago , but I can give you his contacts to call if you want”

She offered the detective who felt a bit disappointment but decided to take her offer unfortunately none of the numbers did in fact connect he was bent on getting some information.
“Ehmm listen , can you tell me if this lady by any chance was here four days ago ?”
He said waving his phone at her with the picture of his victim at her face.

“Four days ago , oh no not at all sir , I wasn’t on night duty sir , someone else was on duty so I wouldn’t really know?”
She replied.

“where is this other person if I may ask?”
The detective continued.
“Oh he is on a sick leave now sir , our boss let him off so he could recover”

She said quite forthcoming with the details.
“when was this?”
The detective pushed again.
“yesterday morning ,sir”
She replied.
“Okay , do you people have some sort of register or book where details of…”

“We do have a lodge book here although its not compulsory for customers to write anything down and not everything they write can be confirmed to be true, I can bring that for you to check if you want”
She said again moving over to a separate cabinet hung on the wall where a series of books where kept ,taking one out of and returning with it back to the detective.
“Thank you very much”

He replied before going through the content of the book, it was indeed filled with less meaningful words than he had thought of at first , how disappointing he thought as he went through it .
“this is also the lodge book for last book and this one is for the previous month , we try to keep them just in case “
She said producing two more books for him much to his displeasure at the time.

“Oh no , I wont be needing those ones…”
He replied with a smile but then he had thought how helpful she had been all this while and decided to accept her offer after all its not like he had a lot to going for him at the moment , this was his best lead so far.
“On a second thought , let me have then who knows what I may find”
“that’s true sir”

She said happily as she gave him the books.
Again the search was disappointing as he had already expected however it was one name he found on the lodge book dated back two months earlier that had caught his attention.
“Mack Igue”

He muttered whilst the first name was not familiar to him , he did however know who shared that surname in fact he had talked with that same person that morning, could this be a coincidence he wondered , he got his notebook out and scribbled the name and the phone number attached to it, whilst the search didn’t provide what he had hoped for he did manage to get one piece of information that could be vital in his investigation, he returned the books soon afterwards and sought to ask one more question.

“Ehmm is there anyone here who sells some…”
He paused and drew closer to her lowering his voice too in the process.
“..is there anyone where I can get something for me and my lady if I come around to lodge here later?”
He asked.
“I don’t understand?”

“I mean something to help me satisfy my woman more”
He replied again giving her a few seconds to think.
“Ehmm well sir , If you are taking of man power and all that , you should talk to Joseph”
She said.

“Joseph , who is he , is her here ?”
The detective asked.
“Oh no ,he is the other receptionist , the one who was also here four days ago, I think he should be able to help you with some good ones”
She replied .

“Ehmm , can I get his number or is there somehow I can reach him , I might be lodging here tonight you know”
The detective said , she had thought about this for a minute or two before she smiled once more and wrote his number on a piece of paper for him.

The trip back to the station was a lot quicker than he had expected , finding a gateman who was able to give precise account of how and where a tenant was at a particular time was quite helpful although he did lose a thousand naira to get that information , it did turn out Peter wasn’t in fact telling the whole truth, he had left the compound around 10 in the evening and came back at to 12 according to the gateman he seemed quite angry at something when he returned back.

Perhaps he had gone for a drink or something and didn’t remember to tell him however he did took it upon himself to write out the little detail in his notebook.

Once he came out of the car , he noticed a police pickup truck drive also coming to a stop right in front of the station, it had a number of young adults ,many who were partially unclad handcuffed in the back who the sergeant and a three other armed officers dismounted and walked into the station.

He soon joined them at the station and exchanged pleasantries with the sergeant and then sought to know people’s offences who were pleading to be let off.

“Sir, you shouldn’t worry yourself about this people, they were caught in some hotel engaging in drugs and activities of the sexual kind , you can imagine , how young they are”

The Sergeant said disdainfully starring at them.
“Really? , that’s really bad and what sought of hotel allows young kids like this to lodge in a room to commit such acts?”
The detective asked quite concerned about the standards of such a place.

“Oh that’s even a normal thing oga , this idiot here…”
The sergeant paused pointing to a much older male handcuffed separately from the others.

“..that idiot there didn’t only lodge them in but also sold illegal relaxation and performance drugs to them too, you can imagine that!”
The sergeant stressed although none of that did make any sense once he heard the word performance drugs, the same thing responsible for the death of his victim .

“you said performance drugs were also sold by the same person who lodged them in…..”

He paused and took a look at the young man and then continued.
“…are such drugs easily sold to people in these parts?”
“Well no not really, but most of this small boys who work in this little hotels around the block tend to sell to their customers and been the fact it’s an hotel , well it makes it the perfect market for such drugs plus this are drugs that are only found in the black market too”

The sergeant replied, this however sent the detective thinking for a moment, could his victim have come in contact with the killer performance drug at a hotel too, could she be some sort of high class sex worker or something , certainly that would explain her lifestyle in terms of her relationship and her taste in luxury , he thought for a minute.

“Sorry sergeant , so can we say these performance drugs are easily accessible at hotels”
“Just the small ones , the local ones so to say , why I can say not all of them but many are dens for such drugs sir”
“I see , hmmm remember where you found my victim , are there any hotels around that place?”

The sergeant paused for a minute to think and then called another officer who introduced himself as bawo.
“bawo can you please help us with a list of hotels around your area, that place we recovered a body from the other day”
The sergeant asked.

“Ehn there is Orange City , that one is too expensive shall there is also the Night Rest Motel and Sterling Hotel , you should try lodging at sterling its easier to access if you are driving through the express by the way and less expensive “

Bawo said after which he provided a description for all three before taking his leave.
“So what are you going to do sir?”

The sergeant asked quite unsure of the detective’s plan.
“I don’t know , I am just going to check up on the hotels , they must have some sort of register or so , if my victim was there that night , I might be able to find out who she was with too” The detective replied , he tried to memorize the description of all three hotels once more before he took his leave, it’s a wild goose chase but who knows what would come out of it.

Three hours after he located the first hotel and the second hotel proved quite unfruitful in fact one had been so equipped it was able to provide CCTV records of that fateful day , once he was able to get a joint which surprisingly served good food and a good smoke to top it off , he brought the engine back to life and made his way for his last destination The sterling hotel although he did have a second thought about going , having wasted his time with the other two however the feeling that his victim may have been to one of this places that night was a lot stronger now.

Once he arrived , he took a good look at the structure and then remembered what the sergeant had said about the type of hotels such stuff were sold , this out of the three seemed likely the obvious one, the compound was huge and quite empty as he rode inside , the gate was unmanned even though there was a gate post, the building itself was a two storey building painted yellow with a huge entrance door , such poor structure he thought as he walked past it and right into the lobby, there was however nobody at the desk prompting him to walk around and take a look for himself.

A hotel with little to no security , where anyone Is capable of going in and out is quite a perfect place for a murder he thought as he

The detective stood too and offered his hand for an handshake which peter took after which they both went their various ways, back in his car he wondered if Peter was been truthful with anything he had said , a quick search online had showed him his various social media account , nothing in fact did point to any existing relationship between the two but also he was able to get his house address , a flat alongside three others in a wide compound surely someone should be able to know if indeed he was home all through that day and prove he was telling the truth, he brought the engine back to life and sped off.

At 11:13 AM, Joseph and Eric reached the hospital , they walked hurriedly through the ward until they got to his mother, The call had came through very early in the morning while he was still trying to work out the circumstance he and his friend were now faced with .
“Mama!”

Joseph said sympathetically as he joined her sister at his mother’s bedside who looked even worse than she had seemed previously.
The call had been from his sister telling him how critical their mother’s situation had become which almost claimed her life a night ago.
“welcome brother…” Nneka said offering her chair to his brother whilst eric stood by to watch.

“…the doctor was able to stabilize her , he said it was by the intervention of God as mama’s condition has become a lot worse than he had thought of before and the need for the operation soon if her life was to be saved, brother what ar we going to do now?”
She managed to say In between tears.

“its okay, I …I… am thinking of something as we speak …..”
He paused to wipe a tear away from his eyes.
“…Mama will soon go for the operation oh, don’t worry someone has planned to give us the money , mama is not going anywhere , do you understand me?”

Joseph said reassuringly , both friends sat for an hour or so before Eric had convinced his friend they needn’t to go tend to go, once they made it out of the hospital they began to discuss their next plan of action.
“We cant run , not anymore”

Joseph said with a sullen expression on his face.
“I know we can’t, this is the only place I know , even if I do where will I go to , what do I have to start a new life , its no good, our backs are against the wall in this mess”
Eric stressed.

“I am very sorry for bringing you into this , I shoud have know better…”
“don’t say that for all I know you saved us , think about it , if we hadn’t started the whole thing , he could have just killed us and do the whole thing himself , the fact that he kept us alive to continue the deal is because we had already started it, I mean there is still a chance he is going to kill us once he gets the money but…”
“..he wont “

Joseph said calmly , their was something reassuring in his voice that made Eric to question his statement .
“how do you know that, that guy put two bullets in your ceiling , that could have been the end of us , how do you know he is not going to kill us?”
Eric asked.

“I did something , it was a mistake at first but now I think about it I think it might be our way out of this mess you know”
Joseph replied.

“what did you do joseph?, tell me , what is it that could save our lives?”
“the new account number he gave for the renegotiation , I didn’t use it , I was tensed up and scared to death , I thought I used it but I realized I simply sent the former account again, whilst I am scared he is going to find out soon enough , I am hoping he does when the money is already sent….”

“..and if we have the money , don’t you think that’s even more reason to kill us?”

“Oh come on , he won’t if he does he can’t get the money , he is going to need us to get the money out whichever way it is , giving us enough opportunity to find our way out , this can buy us time Eric , apart from this , I don’t see any other move for us , we have now become pawns in his game for now and now more than ever I really do need that money for the sake of my family”

Joseph said finally , there was indeed no going back now he thought of it, seeing this out to the end was the only way out.

Chapter Four

The next morning was colder than usual , Detective ahmed had slipped out of his hotel room and right into his blue sedan once he had had a good breakfast and a smoke , today was a good day he thought to himself , he had two hours of sleep through the night whilst he tried to work his case out , he did call a number of family friends of the deceased and a few other associates , however she did keep her relationship private and very close to her so much a few friends didn’t have a single clue about any mysterious man in her life at the point of her demise although a few who had given a hint or two came up with a name he was now familiar with , Peter Igue, while his social life seemed to be quite active and notably were his presence around the high and mighty of the society , as depicted by his media files posted in his social channels at various occasions and ceremonies where he had taken a picture or two with various business moguls and political personalities.

He sped off through into the highway in hopes to reach Her working place early , been early was a good thing , people were always calm at that moment with little to think and do such that it did make his job of questioning quite easy.

There were a lot of questions he needed to ask him , if he indeed was seeing the deceased that could either mean he was the one she was going to see or there was someone else in her life.

The drive took thirty minutes before he killed the engine and walked up to the bank just across the street, once inside he was directed to his courter, quite a gentleman he was, great smile , a good body, probably around 6feet tall, dark and masculine , his blue long sleeves and tie to match fit him properly , he even smelled nice too, his cubicle was quite neat and clean except for some picture frames he laid around strategically for others to see, he was forth coming during the introduction after which Peter took him to an empty office where they could talk properly.

“We all are still in shock over what happened in fact we are to see her family by 4 today , all staffs of the bank , you must understand Mirah was a hardworking employee and quite a nice person to be around , we will all miss her”

Peter said calmly as the detective produced his notebook and seem to be going through some vital information.
“Indeed, so does everyone keep saying, uhm Mr peter ….”
“please call me Peter”

“…Oh okay peter , I would like to ask you a few personal questions if you don’t mind , just so you know we have ruled out the possibility that this is some suicide or hence a need to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death and this includes those who we feel may have a personal relationship or were closer to her in some way or manner , am sure you understand …”

He stopped briefly to observe any changes in peter’s countenance which he didn’t get and so decided to push on.
“..Peter can you tell me what was your relationship like with the deceased ?”
He asked.

“Relationship? , I don’t understand like work relationship or what?”
Peter asked in a tone that suggested he didn’t understand what the detective might have been hinting at.
“I mean where you two seeing each other at the time?”
“Oh no definitely no sir …”
He chuckled briefly and continued.

“..sir, I understand a lot of people might have thought that of us but we weren’t , we were just close friends and I can assure you the only relationship between us was just work based “
Peter concluded , his eyes seem to tell the truth but then he wouldn’t be the first who was good at lying besides the deceased had mentioned of both going on dates at some time.

“is that so but according to the deceased sister , she said the both of you had gone on dates in the past”

He was quick enough to catch the flare in his eyes , a flare he could recognize whenever he did question someone who was lying , what was he hiding , why did he need to lie, he wondered.
“Oh…”

Peter chuckled again then readjusted himself on his seat under the watchful eyes of the detective.

“..well you see , well we did go on a couple of dates back then but it was nothing more than that in fact I wouldn’t even call it a date like a date , we sometimes just went for dinner and all that whenever we could and that was just it”

Peter said as silence filled the office for a while which did make him feel very uncomfortable at the time.
“Do you still have more questions , you must understand I have a job to do just as you too have yours, detective”
Peter added .

“Oh am sorry to keep you waiting , that would be all for now ..”
Peter had stood to take his leave before the detective decided to ask just one more question.

“..ehm sorry can you give me a break down of what you did four days ago between the hours of 7:00PM and 6:00AM the next day?”
“I ….I was at home all day , I had a headache so I decided to stay in door and rest it off , is there any other question you have in mind to ask me?”
Peter asked again.

“Oh no , that will be all if I have any more questions , I can come by and ask you…”

Peter asked the both of them who nodded positively, he stood up and took some time to stare at them and then asked for the phone once more after which her transferred the files to his own personal phone and then deleting the originals from Joseph’s phone.

“right now the two of you have nothing , you go to the police , you would only successfully finger yourself into the jail for life for aiding and abetting murder , I hold the aces in this game now not you , I know where you live ,where you work and soon I will know more about the both of you ,I will always be watching you so don’t think I am stupid , you try to run I will find you like I have done and there will be no mercy for the both of you but play this game like I want you two to and I promise you both will have you money …”
He paused again and seemed to remember something.
“….where are mirah’s phones?”
He asked.

“We disposed them long ago sir”
Eric said quickly.
“okay then , I guess we will be seeing soon enough then , I will keep in contact then “

Peter said before he shot twice at the ceiling which seemed to scare the two out of their skin so much they whimpered in fear .
“that could be any one of you if you try to cross you , I promise you I wont hesitate to put a bullet in your head , goodnight “

Peter said finally before he took his leaving the two alone to absorb the events that had ensured moments ago, he was certain they wouldn’t do anything , he had them in a tight corner , one that boxed them so much they had no means to escape.

At 8:02 PM , Joseph made himself comfortable over the bed in his one room apartment , he had taken a sick leave as advised by Eric for extra security measures , while he couldn’t help been nervous as each day passed after asking for the ransom which he demanded to be paid before the next four days , he however wondered if he had given too much time to such a wealthy person over a ransom as menial as that ,surely they were going to get paid big time , he wondered off thinking about a good business he could invest his share into once they get paid, he was beginning to dose off when he heard a knock on his door.

“It’s Eric , joseph open the door “
Eric voice got him up , once he managed to open the door , he was suddenly pushed to the ground by Eric who fell almost on his face too by someone else who followed Eric in immediately, shutting the door behind them.

His instinct were to make for a door or something but Eric who had sat upright with both kneels on the floor had given him a second thought about it ,finally taking a good stare at their unwanted visitor who brandished a gun anchored with a silencer at the mouth scared him so much he almost let out a scream.
“shut up and go on your kneels!”

The Peter said with a grin , he finally had the both of them were he wanted , after an hotel worker was much too happy to disclose where Joseph and his friend Eric lived for a few change , he had easily gotten to the workshop where Eric was just closing from and offered him a ride home , now he thought about it , they were indeed amateurs , the kind that he needed to execute his plans.
“where is it, give it to me…”

Peter said as both boys starred at each other for a minute.
“..i mean the pictures and the video , where are they?”
He continued angrily.
“Joseph , your phone give it to him please”
Eric pleaded as Joseph hurriedly produced his phone and handled it over to peter.

“is this the only copy of the media of files , where are the rest?”
He asked again.

“Oga sir, that’s the only phone we used , its not on any other phone , please we are very sorry , don’t kill us ,please we ….”
“shut your dirty mouth up …”

Peter paused for a moment , he seemed a bit angered by something as he paced to and fro the room momentarily.
“..it wasn’t supposed to be like this , you fools just ruined everything for me you know…”

He paused again , truly he and Mirah had a much better plan that wasn’t going to be blackmail, one which they had recently devised before her demise , one which could have made him rich beyond his wildest dreams , the situation at hand wasn’t how he had imagined it would be like, this two amateurs were now in the picture now , if what they were saying was true , he could easily just kill them both and destroy the event just as he had earlier promised but then he would end up the biggest loser , having lost two good opportunities to make his money, mirah’s demise was an unfortunate one , if things had gone as planned she would have gotten pregnant for him or worst fake it a demand for a huge payout from his girlfriend would certainly have settled him for life.
“please sir , don’t kill us , we are sorry sir , if it’s the 200 hundred thousand we …”

“I said shut up your mouth and let me think , you fool!”
Peter replied angrily.
“..you are going to ask for 300million naira”
Peter said finally as he found a chair to sit on while both boys starred at each other confusingly.
“Sir?”

“You heard me right , you are going to Bishop , tell him that the person he sent who failed to catch you guys has made you up the ransom to 300 million naira and this time to a different account which I am going to provide ….”

H exhaled calmly and starred hard at the two boys for a while.
“..i could kill the both of you right now and do this on my own but I wont , I and the girl whose body you two were so happy about dumping for a chicken change were going to try a different means to get that money but she is out of the picture now , you too are going to do as I say , you want 20million naira right, is that not what you asked for?”
Peter asked.

“Well no sir, I mean yes sir”
“That’s really low for a guy who is worth over 12billion naira , anyways I will keep the end of your initial ransom and give you two 20 million when this is all said and done…”

He threw the phone back at Joseph who managed to catch it.
“..call him right now and tell him what I told you earlier , this time 300 million naira within the next three days and then you are going to send this image to him along with the new account number to let him know we mean business, mincing of words , you are going to say it just the way I said it , is that understood?”
Peter warned.

Joseph hurriedly took the phone and a piece of paper peter gave to him shortly where he scribbled the details of an account.
He made the call shortly much to the satisfaction of peter, indeed his initial plans may have been foiled by his girlfriend’s untimely demise but this was proving quite efficient as well , one he could use anytime and every time he wanted, he had the perfect set of puppets he could use in blackmailing his dear friend without ever been suspected , the type he could do away with anytime he wished without drawing any sort of suspicion to himself.

He chuckled a bit and gave a very sadistic stare at the two of them .
“..if you ever think of crossing me on this , I promise you , I will find you two and finish you off , I will be constantly monitoring you and your families, I have the resources and I have the means , you do as I say none of you get harmed and at the end you get your 20million , is that understood?”

although whilst her activities gave no clue to where she was or who she was with , he knew for a moment her phone was last used at that time ,a further more search revealed she was a banker with one of the new generational banks up in lekki where she lived in a recently acquired property of hers , images he could see online also gave a detailed account of her luxurious lifestyle with two highly expensive cars which she acquired almost simultaneously , in fact her latest activities indicated she may have been in the process of acquiring a new one, a more deeper search revealed she either kept her relationships out of her social media channels or didn’t have any at the time.

He scribbled important details into his small notebook which he produced from his coat and then replaced it back , as his mind began to go through the details , a lot of things were not adding up at the moment , her luxurious lifestyle was something that definitely couldn’t be supported by her job as a mere banker , what’s more was the rapid or almost instant nature of the acquisitions and her move into her new apartment in one of the most expensive places in lekki, was she involved in some dark deeds or was this the work of some secret lover , why would a lady with two expensive vehicles be found dead , was this some car theft gone wrong but what about the sexual performance drugs found in her system or the bruises which indicated she did have intercourse shortly with someone , could this be a rape case gone wrong?

He wondered as he sat there , now he thought about it , the case seemed pretty interesting and mysterious , he took a look at his watch and hoped the sister would be able to help him put in the missing pieces to all he had uncovered so far.

By 1:00 pm when the sun was blazing high up the sky, his short sleep was abruptly interrupted with a firm knock on the office door.
“yeah , its opened “

He managed to say before the sergeant and a girl in her early twenties , fair and looked a lot like the victim walked in, from her appearance it would appear she was quite upset and shaky about something.
“Sir, this is Martha , she was the one who put the call through”
“where is my sister , I was told you people had information about my sister ,.where is she?”
She asked hurriedly.

“Please calm down and take your seat first, sergeant please you too…”
Detective ahmed replied calmly, it was important he went through this process as calmly and slowly as he could, he reached for his file on the desk and continued.

“..We specifically asked for all calls relating to a missing person or missing persons reported within the last five days , ehmm can you tell me when last you saw or talked with your sister ?”
“Three days ago sir , she said she had some outing and she might stay over the night although there was something not particularly right about the whole thing?”

She replied prompting the detective to ask her why .
“She never goes anywhere without taking one of her cars along well that’s ever since she bought them, when she said she wont be taking her car , I did ask her why but she told me someone was to come pick her up”
“did you see who picked her up then?”

“No but please why this questions , did something bad happen to my sister , what happened ,why are you asking me all these questions?”
“Hmm please just bear with us for a moment , I will let you know of what we found okay?”

“okay sir , i..i didn’t see who came to pick her up because I was in the bathroom by the time I was out she had already left the house sir”
“Did she take anything along?”

“She did , her pulse and her phones were with her , some little fancy pulse she bought from her recent trip to dubai”
“really , she has travelled out to dubai , was this some business trip or what?”

“Oh not at all , although she keeps her relationships private and away from me but my sister has been seeing someone really big with a lot of money for the last two months , I don’t know who this person is , I haven’t met him in person and my sister has never talked about him , although I have eavesdropped on some phone calls and chats to know , she is seeing someone”

She replied , her disclosure seemed quite right and truthful so far.
“Please just one last question , is there anyone who you would suspect this person could be , if you were to take a wild guess?”
He asked once more.

“Ehmm I would say Peter Igue he is a colleague of hers at her working place , they have been on dates before in the past but then again peter is just another banker and from what I know I don’t see him as someone with that kind of money, my sister’s lifestyle has drastically changed within the last two months maybe he suddenly jackpot I don’t know”

She said , both men passed a stare at each other as if to decided how to break the news of her deceased sister to her.
“…I did promise to tell you what information we had concerning your sister , well we were called to a scene where a body had been…”
“..A body, jesus , is my sister dead?”
“..I am really sorry..”

Her scream cut her short as he stretched the pictures taken of the body to her , thankfully the sergeant had held on to her such that she cried bitterly on his shoulders for minutes.
“Please sergeant , do take her home now….”

He starred sympathetically at her as she wept uncontrollably .
“..I am sorry for your loss ma , we will get the necessary details to you soon enough , for now please do make the necessary arrangements you need to make ,the sergeant will fill you in on everything else”
The detective said before the sergeant managed to get her out of the office, while he produced his little notebook once more to write some more details he could see hear her wailing down the hallway of the station , he felt angered and even more determined to get to the bottom of the case.

Sir, what was the last thing you mentioned just now?”
“The report said there were little abrasions …..”

Detective Ahmed paused for a minute , he hadn’t quite thought of the minuscule observation the medical analysis had made until now.

“…bruises around the genital areas , a good indication that the victim had sexual ….”
He paused to confirm what he was saying , surely if what he was thinking was right , the medical analysis must have some suggestions concerning it.
“.. I don’t believe this, miniscule traces of semen where also discovered …”
He dropped the letter calmly with a smile now , the possibilities of this new discovery were numerous now he thought about.
“..our victim dead during or after a sexual encounter with someone , the fact that the body was found alongside a road could mean something else , right now I can’t say much she may have died on her way from this encounter or so but hmmm…”

It was quite a challenge as more possibilities opened up to the seasoned detective , whilst it could be an health complication as observed by the medical analysis , the circumstances surrounding the death itself was a mystery of its own, he had no time to wait to revaluate his choice of sticking around and finding out the answers he seek, optioning to treat the case as a murder case he proceeded to inform eh sergeant on what next to do.

“..we need to send a memo to other branches about cases of missing females reported over the week , identifying this lady is our top priority and how We can get the answers we need , I will call one of my sources in the media and get them to spread the news , lets see what happens”
Detective Ahmed concluded before walking out of the office , once out he stood to comprehend the details a little bit closely , clearly there was lack of distinctive information concerning how she had died , from his personal assessment she seemed more of a middle or upper class citizen meaning she must be a worker or own some business , she must at least have people who are looking out for her by now , what was she doing at the junction and if she was found in the early hours of the morning it only meant she must have found her way there by night , but a roadside such as that was no place to catch a ride at night especially at night for a lady like that , he wondered.

He got out his phone and decided to place a call to a friend who works in the media to assist him on his case , after passing the information he retreated to his office which he shared with another officer and see what he could find online.

Thirty minutes passed before his big breakthrough came in as the Sergeant joined him at the office quite excited.
“You have good news for me, sergeant?”
He asked with hopeful eyes.

“I just received a call from lekki division, after I put a call out for missing females within that timeline, they rerouted a call to us from a certain Alice who filled in a missing report on her sister a day earlier, a certain Mirah Okoubi , I called her and asked for a picture to help us check and this is was the file she sent shortly…”

The sergeant said stretching his phone with an image on the screen to the detective who took it quickly for closer observations.
“..the profile are a match sir , for physical verification I have asked her to come down to the station though I didn’t disclose anything yet to her I did tell her we might have some useful information about her sister”
The sergeant concluded with a dull smile much to the satisfaction of the detective who felt the sergeant had done a professional job at identifying the victim.

“Excellent job sergeant , this is indeed our victim…”
Returning the sergeant’s phone back to him.
“..Please make sure the first person she sees when she gets here is me , once she can identify the victim I will have to ask her some vital questions”

The detective concluded as the sergeant nodded and took his leave.
Once he settled down , he went online to check out what he could find on social media . surely such a girl would have some account online , which he believes would be active and as such could help him establish her last active hours and maybe even her last location.
Just minutes into the search, his findings came back positively , he was able to construct a timeline which followed up to the evening of the day before her body was found indicating she was alive, her last activity online was tagged at 7:15PM three days ago,

“I don’t know I thought you will be the first to know , assuming she is your co staff at the bank , the boys did dispose of her purse and her phones so identifying her might take some time , the body might still be there in the streets as we speak”
Bishop replied.

“Hah this is quite unfortunate Bishop , mirah is dead and now you have people who want to blackmail you on top of it , I know you might be considering giving this people the ransom but bishop they wont stop until they take away everything you have worked for and earned that’s how blackmails work its like one of those spam emails that keep flooding your computer even when you are clearly not interested in it….”
Peter paused for a moment and made his way for the portable executive wine cooler which held some bottles , selecting a good whiskey and two drinking glasses he returned to the table.

“..first we are going to have a drink then I am going to tell you what we are going to do and you are going to have to listen to me on this one”
Peter said stretching the half filled glass of whiskey to his friend who reluctantly takes it, both men had taken a drink or two which did help bishop calm down momentarily.

“..you look better , now this is what we are going to do or rather what I am going to do , I am going to have to track down this guys and convince them to hand over the information they have on you , clearly this guys are amateur I believe I think I can get them scared enough to make them give up those files on you”

Apart from been a banker he was no stranger to this kind of shady stuff in fact it was a threat to life on one occasion a year ago he had handled for Bishop that had opened the door for their friendship, had he not been the one who introduced mirah to him two months when he came around the bank to see the managing director , he did know of the extra marital affair and so many others before this ,for he was the kind of guy bishop trusted with his secrets and once more he intended to stand up to the problem his friend was faced with.
“Can you really do it?”

Bishop asked quite uncertain of his friend’s ability to help him with the problem at hand.

“yes I can , just gimme me the details , the hotel where this boys work , if I am certain the fools wont bother to go into hiding making it easier for me to get to them in time, I promise you I am going to find these people , am sorry about mirah , she may have suffered an health complication you know but then again the idea of been found out in a hotel with your side chick is enough to make you lose a lot including your marriage which you have sacrificed so much for”
Peter said.

“hmmm please don’t put your self in danger because of me , if things don’t go as plan maybe they will keep their word if I send them the money after all but just so things don’t work out the way you have said I will make the payments immediately and hope for the best”
Bishop added.

“you need not worry dear friend , I have never failed you before and I don’t intend to fail you now , I will get them it’s a promise, I don’t want you to worry anymore , what has happened has happened , people are going to discover the body , the police will eventually identify her and get to her family in good time , just relax okay , I hate to see a boss man like you whimper and sob this way , I am going to take care of the problem”
Peter said reassuringly before both men drank a few more glasses.

Detective Ahmed made his way to Sergeant Chirstopher, he walked briskly in hopes to catch up with the sergeant who the deputy police officer had assigned to him to help him out with the investigation , today he was welcomed at the courter by one of the constable with a message , which he hoped to confirm.
“The autopsy result came back?

Detective Ahmed asked as soon as he found himself a vacant chair in the office .
“Good afternoon Detective , yes we finally received the soft copy , I intended to send it to you but ….”

“let’s forget all that now ,can I have the results?”
He asked impatiently snatching the envelope that contained the result from the sergeant who let him have it.
He took his time to go through the document, reading carefully the medical analysis, the results were not what he had been hoping for.
“inconclusive, what do they mean by that?”

The detective stressed angrily dumping the letter on the desk as the sergeant looked on.
“Sir, is there anything the matter?”

“They said she has toxic substances in her guts believed to be key components of a sexual performance drug which she was allergic to, she died from the allergic reaction , its inconclusive because they can’t tell for sure if she willingly took it or not, apart from the bruises in her genital area there was nothing else to indicate a foul play”
Detective Ahmed replied reluctantly.

Chapter Three



Igue Peter made his way for the elevators which took him directly to the top floor of the building, once there he met with Stephanie at her office desk after which they both exchanged pleasantries.
“He is in there , he asked you meet with him as soon as you came right up”

Stephanie said calmly pointing Peter to the office of the President and Managing Director of Specto Oil and Gas Manufacturing Company and personal friend of his.
“you made it ,hah that’s very good please take a seat , there is urgent matter to discuss”

Bishop welcomed his friend inviting him to one out of the two vacant executive chairs before his desk.
“hahah Bishop what has got your feathers ruffled up this beautiful day that you had to send your personal driver to come pick me up from the bank …”

He took his seat finally and continued.
“..you know some of us aren’t multi-billionaires and we do have to work to earn our money right besides …”

“forget that Peter , I am in a lot of trouble right now , I am really messed up right now”

Bishop interrupted his friend hurriedly, he was sweating profusely again and seemed nervous but why wouldn’t he, after three nights ago he escaped a nightmare which he hadn’t quite gotten over and the received call which brought his fears into reality last night.
“..what is it , why are you….”

Peter paused for a moment upon realizing how nervous and agitated his friend seemed which was quite a strange one for a man he believed was always cheerful.

“Bishop what is it , are you in some kind of trouble, talk to me come on”
Peter pressed on for more details.
“Peter I am finished , I am in a hot mess that is going to ruin me , I am really done for this time”

Bishop lamented much to the disappointment of peter who was looking for more information on the what the problem was .
“Oh come on don’t say something like , hah Bishop please enough of that talk , you tell me the problem I believe you brought me all the way from my working place for a reason so tell me , I could just be able to help you out you know like I do, did you get into some trouble with the law or is there a stockholder or…”

“its mirah , peter something bad happened..”

He rubbed his face gently with his palm for a brief moment.
“Mirah , what happened to mirah that reminds me she wasn’t at work today , I had to cover up for her when the a supervisor from the headquarters wanted to see her ”
“..Peter , she is dead”

Bishop said painfully, he held his head in his palm to hide a tear or two that had been threatening to flow down for some time now.
“what , how, when, where , jesus , bishop what happened , I mean how did this happen ,when?”

Peter questioned his friend confusingly, the news came as a bit of a surprise to him once bishop dropped .

“I..I..I..dont know what happened really, it all started three days ago after I secretly planned a night out with her , we were supposed to be at my private suite unfortunately I had some minor renovation and work still going on there honestly I had thought the work would have been done by that time but it wasn’t so she insisted we go to her place but I couldn’t risk it so I suggested we go to some quite place for the night not that I couldn’t take her to one of the big hotels but more eyes means someone might recognize someone of my caliber hence a media outburst so we go to…to this hotel I searched online that fits what would draw non attention to us ,we go there and take a room while she wasn’t too happy about the set up , we made love and then I decided to rest a while , she seemed in a hurry to leave not that it mattered to me but then I felt her body collapse on the bed and I didn’t even take it as anything , it was some minutes later I felt an erring sensation about how quiet she had become that made me wake up to check on her and then I realize ….”

He couldn’t hold himself any longing as the tears rain down his eyes freely.

“Its okay bishop , its okay but I have to know what happened then”
“..yes ,yes of course”

He sobbed a bit more before managing to pull himself together.
“…I realize something was wrong when all my attempts to wake her or get her to respond to me was in vain then I checked for her pulse which had suddenly gone mute it was then I realized she was dead, i was sent into deep confusion and panic Immediately , it wasn’t looking good for me at all, I thought of calling the police but then if I did , I will be exposed as well, I couldn’t imagine someone of my status been in the next day news for murder of his lover in some local hotel ,that would be the end of me…”

Again the emotions threatened but he did manage to continue his story as he explained the events that ensured afterwards.
“My God, I almost cant believe this bishop , you mean the two guys helped you dumped her body on some road side after you parted with some money and they took pictures and video of what happened ,oh my God , bishop…”

“that’s not the only thing peter , the boys called my line yesterday demanding 20 million naira from me which they want paid to some account or they would expose what happened, I am really in a big mess now am I not?”
Bishop asked painfully.

“I knew this was going to happen , I just knew it , who takes pictures of a body just to protect themselves from persecution they practically had the whole thing figured out , but first of all have you heard anything so far about the body?”
Peter asked.