MAN ON DEATH ROW

(BETRAYAL AND CONSPIRACY)

…would you shoot your friend in fire in the head or

let him burn to death?

Tim a. olawumi (rn)

 Acknowledgment
I want to appreciate the Almighty God for such gifts, to Him alone be all the
glory, and to everyone who has been a part of my life (Well, you know yourselves)

DEDICATION
Dedicated to all who are fascinated with reading and to all who are passionate about
pursuing their dreams.

About the author

I am a science fiction, action thriller laced with sparks of romance writer, whose intention
is to blend science and arts together to form a fortified and mouthwatering, suspenseful and
delicious piece of work that is appealing not only to a huge section of your cerebrum but also to
your emotions.
You can reach me on;
My cell number: +2348164702847
Facebook address: Tim Aduragbemi Olawumi
Facebook page; The Carers
Email Addresses: timolawummy@yahoo.com or mistertimolawumi@gmail.com \

About the book

Confronted by a dilemma, Tom broke the boundaries between legality and morality to
help a friend, a decision that came back to haunt him, led to his arrest and unfolded series of
conspiracy and a bigger plot. Man on death row is unlike anything that you have read before, it is
a thrilling, educative and an unprecedented story. So what are you waiting for? Enjoy.
 CHAPTER ONE

The room was dimly lit with a fluorescent bulb and parted from the rest of the building
by a translucent glass window, behind which the observers stood. The only window to the
outside world was high up and measured 20 by 10 in inches.
The accused, sat on one of the chairs that were positioned on the opposite ends of a
metallic table, his right wrist was cuffed and secured unto one of the legs of the table. Although
he had the feeling that people were standing behind the translucent glass window staring at him,
he couldn‟t see them but he just kept staring anyway. His heart began to pound very loudly
within his chest, he held his chest like he was going to prevent his heart from popping out. The
ceiling fan offered little or no help, even though it was blowing at the highest speed. Sweat
constantly trickled down his spine, and he could feel his shirt very wet at the collar and against
his back.
He fought so hard to keep his mind at rest but he just couldn‟t help it, untoward thoughts
flooded his mind, and he wasn‟t even scared of why he was arrested because deep down him, he
knew he had committed no offence, he was scared only of what might be the outcome of this
arrest and he couldn‟t stop thinking about what could happen to him in the hands of these men of
the law.
Deep down him, he knew he was innocent, “but could it have been a case of mistaken
identity?” he asked himself, but then, he was quick to find an answer to this question in his mind.
The officers actually confirmed his identity before they put him in cuffs. “Are you Tomiwa
Williams?” he called to remembrance this subtle question, asked by Officer Kolawole
Okanlawon, a tall man in his late thirties who was accompanied by his partner who had just been
transferred from the Federal Capital Territory, Detective Clara Dehinde. Clara is in her late
twenties, she graduated from Los Angeles Police Academy in the United States just two years
ago with Honors and had since risen up the ladder so quickly simply because of her doggedness
and the influence of her late dad who happened to be a Cop too but died in the line of duty when
Clara was growing up. The duo work with the Criminal Investigation Department.
Tom couldn‟t have denied his identity even if he wanted to, he had his identity card on
and his name boldly written on it. He asked the Officers what the problem was but they only told
him that they had a warrant for his arrest and then they read him his rights and put him into cuffs.
Helen, a colleague of Tom who happened to a Nurse too, was on duty together with him
when the arrest happened. She could not find her tongues for a moment, she was too shocked to
see his colleague arrested at the wee hour of the day but she did manage to ask why Tom was
being arrested but they told her to show up at their department if she needed an answer. Without
wasting any time at all, Helen rushed down to report to her superior of the absurd development.
***
 Relentlessly staring at the glass window in this room where he was, he just couldn‟t stop
wondering what the people behind the glass were discussing or devising against him. He had
heard stories about how Nigerian Police Officers torture their victims to extract confessions and
he had even seen it in movies when he was growing up how this is being carried out. His mind
drifted back to a movie he watched few years back where an officer was threatening to use a hot
pressing iron on his suspect if he refuses to confess, he began to shiver and pray that such would
not happen to him. “But this is twenty-first century, things should have changed” he thought.
When he realized that his persistent staring at the glass wasn‟t going to help, he decided
to divert his focus to the door. He knew that at one point or the other, and sooner than later,
someone was going to come through that door. While staring at the door, Tom‟s mind began to
drift around again on what could be the reason for his arrest, he thought and thought but couldn‟t
find any wrong he had committed of late. Deep down him, he is certain of his innocence but this
waiting is killing in itself.
Tom was so lost in thoughts that he did not notice when someone came in through the
door that he had been staring at for couple of minutes. The fellow stood before him with his
hands tucked in the pockets of his trousers. Detective Roberts Okonkwo was dressed in black
suits, white shirt and a red tie. His shoes were conspicuously shiny. Bob, as they fondly address
him is in his early forties. He is specialized in cybercrime and also has some basic knowledge in
forensics. He studied Science Laboratory Technology in Federal Polytechnics Ibadan, before he
proceeded to study Computer Science in the University of Lagos, where he bagged his
Bachelor‟s degree. He tried to start his own business venture but it was not as profitable as he
had expected so he decided to join the police force.
Bob tapped Tom gently on the shoulder, and he tapered. He smiled briskly when he saw
his reaction. He introduced himself before he sat down on the chair directly opposite to him.
Tom was least interested in who he is. He had hardly allowed him to finish his introduction when
he stunned him with, “Why am I here?”
Bob grinned and then adjusted his tie, “Well, maybe you can start by telling me how you got that
kind of money in your account.”
“What money?” Tom demanded.
“No, don‟t do that. He cautioned. “You really don‟t want to play that card with
me if you are smart.”
Tom had no single idea what this whole thing was all about. He looked totally confused
and bewildered. Bob is popular for intimidating and manipulating his victims through his over
the roof top interviews, physical appearance and charisma. He is so clever that sometimes he
forces confession from his suspects without them being aware of it. Tom tried to keep calm as
much as he could but he is uncertain how much he could take being wrongly accused.
“Are you telling me that you are unaware of the huge amount of money that was moved
into your account few days ago?” Bob questioned.
 “I have no idea what the heck you are talking about, Detective?”
“Really?” he scoffed. He picked his mobile phone from the inner pocket of his suit and
handed it over to Tom to enter his account number and his USSD code. Tom reluctantly entered
his account details and retuned the phone back to Bob who sent the information and the output
were displayed few seconds later. Bob never bothered to check what was displayed on the phone
before he handed it over to Tom to see for himself what it was.
Tom couldn‟t believe his eyes either when he saw his account information. He gaped his
mouth in utter dismay, “This isn‟t mine.” He stated,
“Did you enter your account number? Is that your account name?”
“Yes…but the money isn‟t mine.”
Bob grinned mischievously and then he dabbed his face gently with his handkerchief, “I
know the money isn‟t yours. It belonged to the late Miss Cassie Aruwajoye.”
Tom suddenly became light headed upon hearing that name. Cassie was his worst
nightmare, the one he never wished come to reality. It had been almost a year now since she
passed away from a deadly hemorrhagic disease that struck the country like a plague, the disease
from which Tom himself escaped unscathed while he was trying to save Cassie‟s life. The
aftermath of the disease rendered him unconscious for over twenty four hours before he later
regained his recovery. He thought the escapade had been over, he thought he was free, he
thought he would have nothing to do with her nor her memory again but he was absolutely
wrong. Cassie was never going to let him be, no, not even in her death.
Tom just sat there, looking all lost and totally short of words. He panted reverberantly
and couldn‟t stop wondering in his mind what Cassie has to do with all that was happening and
about to happen to him.
“I am sure you knew her, did you not?”
“Yes I did. We used to work together before she passed away.”
“So, are you going to tell me now, how on earth you did it?”
“Did what, Detective?”
Bob couldn‟t take it any longer, he hit the table with fist and screamed at Tom, “How you moved
a hundred and fifty million naira that belonged to late Cassie into your account, Tom?”
Tom sighed aloud, he realized the Detective was beginning to be annoyed, so he calmed
down but he insisted that he had no idea how the money got into his account.
“So, let me get you right Mr. Tomiwa, you saw such a huge amount of money in your
account and you did what exactly? Kept quiet?”
Tom had hardly allowed Bob to finish talking before he interrupted him.
 “I didn‟t know.”
“You mean you are a millionaire and you didn‟t even know it? Did you not get any
notification from your bank?”
“No, I did not.” He sighed and continued. “Look, I lost my phone in a public transport
few days ago and I only just retrieved my line yesterday.”
Bob scoffed, “That‟s too convenient, don‟t you think?”
He got up his seat and began to pace the room ceaselessly with his hands tucked in the pockets of
his trouser. After a while, he stopped and then removed his suit and hung it on the back of his
chair, then he bent and rested on the table staring into Tom‟s eyes.
“You really are making this difficult than I anticipated.”
Tom sighed, “I would gladly tell you if I knew anything Sir, but I know nothing about
this money.”
Despite Tom‟s continual claim of innocence, Bob didn‟t believe a word from all he said. He just
scoffed.
The money Tom was being accused of stealing was the royalty a mining Company paid
Cassie‟s father, the late Chief Aruwajoye before his demise. Long before Cassie was born, the
company discovered an iron ore on a land that belonged to the late Chief. He made a deal with
them for a certain amount of money and they agreed to pay the money in instalment over a
decade. Being a wise man, Chief Aruwajoye fixed the money into each of his children‟s account.
Cassie was just three years old when her father created the account for her and she was supposed
to claim the money whenever she turned twenty-five. Unfortunately, she bit the dust before she
was able to claim the money.
“OK. Let‟s just say for the sake of it, I chose to believe that you didn‟t know that you
have such amount of money in your account, which I don‟t. I would like to know how you
convinced the late Miss Cassie to name you as a beneficiary to the money when you were not
even related to her…except of course you want to tell me something I did not know existed
between the two of you.”
Tom sighed heavily, it was now evident that he was getting more confused about the whole
thing. Initially, Bob was accusing him of stealing Cassie‟s money…now he‟s talking about
convincing Cassie.
“What exactly are you talking about? I did not even know that such amount of money
was waiting for her to claim let alone knowing that she used me as a beneficiary for it…and
nothing existed between us save that we were co-workers”
It was as if he was waiting for Tom to utter those words, he just busted into a hysterical
laugh. Tom couldn‟t have been more embarrassed with his absurd display of character, he was
very infuriated at Bob but he never cared a bit about his reaction. He signaled to another
colleague through the translucent glass and the fellow came in almost immediately with a diary.
He handed over the diary to Bob and he left thereafter.
He sighed, and opened to a certain page of the book and asked Tom to go through what
was written in it. Without wasting much time, he quickly scanned through the write up. He
became so uneasy when he was done reading. Beads of sweat gathered on his eye brow and he
brought out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. He looked at Bob shaking his head vigorously
“No, this isn‟t true! I don‟t know whatever this is but whoever wrote this was lying.”
Bob smiled briskly, “Not whoever. That was actually Cassie‟s handwriting. You see, the
late Miss Cassie developed a habit when she was growing up, she used to write down events in
her life. As you may know, she lost her parents when she was little and being the only female
amidst four other siblings who happened to be from another mother; Chief Aruwajoye‟s second
wife, whom he married when his first wife; Cassie‟s mother could not give birth early enough for
him, she was always feeling lonely, so as a compensatory mechanism, she used to write down
major events her life in this diary.”
Bob sat down again after he had been standing for a while. He sighed, “So tell me Mr.
Tom, are you really saying this innocent lady was lying about what she wrote?”
“Well, whatever you say, Bob. The truth is…”
Tom held his index pointed at the table and he continued hitting the table as he stated in
separated, single syllables, “She…Never…Told…Me…A…Thing…Maybe she wanted to…but
she never did.”
Bob grinned his teeth in exasperation, he was becoming frustrated. He thought it was
going to be much easier interrogating Tom but it seemed he was wrong. He was about
proceeding to the next question when he heard the creaking sound of the door. Both he and Tom
looked towards the door to see who was about entering. Detective Clara Dehinde stepped in and
she was almost embarrassed by the staring gazes that she met. She walked gently towards Bob
and whispered into his ears.
Bob chuckled and looked at Tom, whose gaze was already waiting for his. Then he said,
“She just told me that your Lawyer is around.”
He looked at Clara and signaled to her to let the man in. It was as if he was waiting for the door
to be opened, Mr. Aderinlewo stormed in even before Clara could tell him to enter. He headed
straight to where Bob was seated and challenged him on why he was interrogating Tom without
his knowledge. Bob stood up his seat and extended his hand to shake Mr. Aderinlewo but he
ignored him and repeated his question. When Bob realized that he wasn‟t ready to shake him, he
offered him his own seat while he remained standing.
Mr. Aderinlewo took his seat beside Tom and asked if he was alright. He nodded in assent
“You really have nothing to worry about, Barrister. Mr. Tom and I were just having a
conversation.” He said with a smile.
 “You see, Tom was just telling me about the romantic relationship that existed between
him and the late Miss Cassie. Otherwise, I wonder why she decided to choose him as one of the
beneficiaries.” He sighed, “I am surprised though. I never really pictured Miss Cassie as being
double faced.”
“What exactly do you mean by that?” Mr. Aderinlewo queried.
“Oh…she had a fiancée. She was engaged to Greg and they were supposed to get married
in three months before her death…You know the amazing thing about this whole thing was that,
she chose to give 60percent of her royalty to Tom, while he gave 10percent to her fiancée whom
she had been dating for two years and then donated the other 30percent to charity.”
“…and you thought it is a strange thing if she was double dating?” Mr. Aderinlewo
intruded
“No. I didn‟t think so…except that Mr. Tom here was denying the fact that he had
anything to do with her. So, I am wondering how he got Cassie convinced to change her mind
because initially, she had only Greg named as her beneficiary?”
“Wait, wait.” Mr. Aderinlewo cautioned. “Since when has it become a crime to be named
as a beneficiary to a royalty?”
Bob grinned, “Well, it isn‟t a crime…except when it is preceded by a murder.”
“A murder!” they (Tom and Mr, Aderinlewo) both exclaimed.
“What are you talking about?” Tom questioned.
“You know I believe you, Tom. I believe you didn‟t know that Cassie named you as
beneficiary to her money. I believe that you weren‟t aware that she was going to give you the
60percent of the money. Because if you were, you wouldn‟t have killed her and planned to move
the money into your account.”
Mr. Aderinlewo became infuriated and got up his seat. “You had better be careful
regarding these allegations you are rolling out, Officer.”
Bob grinned, “I am being careful, Barrister…I guess I‟ll see you in court then.”
He removed his suit from where he hung it at the back of the chair and then he walked
out of the door leaving Tom petrified…but before he got out of the room. He looked back at Mr.
Aderinlewo and said.
“By the way, Barrister…it is Detective, and not Officer, please.”
 CHAPTER TWO

Lost in thoughts and crippled with fear, Tom sat down in the holding, waiting for Mr.
Aderinlewo, his Defense Counsel and the Legal Adviser for the hospital where he works, who
had gone to cross-check with the Prosecuting counsel, the controversial evidence that Detective
Roberts had gathered before the court proceedings start. Tom had been charged to court for third
degree Murder and grand theft but the police had failed to present evidences supporting their
claim and as a result, his Counsel had refused to honor the court injunction except he sees some
of the evidences.
Tom‟s mind kept wondering around trying to think of the possibility of the authenticity of
the police‟s claim. First, he wasn‟t even aware of the huge amount that he found in his account
and now he‟s being charged with murder. His head banged repeatedly like it was being
hammered with a welder‟s hammer. The whole thing still looked like a cascade of unending
dreams to him.
“How could Cassie write in her diary that she had told him about the money and made
him a beneficiary when she did not? Why would she do that? Only if she had been here, she
would have defended him. She would have told Bob and his colleagues that she wanted to tell
him what she wrote in her diary but death would not allow her…but how will he defend himself
now, who will he tell that he did not know a thing about the money? Not even now that the
money is already in his account and…not by mistake. The agency that paid the money to Cassie
had already confirmed that she included Tom among his beneficiaries for her money.”
He sat down helplessly as these thoughts ravaged his mind while he eagerly await Mr.
Aderinlewo to show up. The thought of what would be his finding was incapacitating enough
and not to talk of the fear and the silent prayers in his heart wishing what he was thinking would
never come to pass. His singular prayer had been that his secret would never come into the open
and not even now that all fingers are pointing in his directions. He sighed and tried to calm
himself to at least wait it out and not kill himself with anxiety.

***
Tom did not have to wait too long before Mr. Aderinlewo showed up. He exhaled loudly
when he saw him as he walked in through the door. He leaned his back against the chair and then
sighed again. Mr. Aderinlewo took another seat and sat beside him. He looked deep into his eyes
and exhaled loudly, and then put his hand into the inner of his suit and brought out a neatly
folded white paper and he handed it over to Tom. Without wasting time at all, he flipped open
the paper and scanned through the printing. Suddenly, it turned out that his night mare had come
to reality. What he never wished for had just come into existence. He took a deep breath after he
was done reading the report and held his head down in frustration. Mr. Aderinlewo looked at him
and asked if what was written in the report was actually true…and Tom nodded in reply. He
became confused and then inquired from him what really went wrong.
 Tom sighed, he got up his seat and walked gently towards the window side…then he
proceeded to share his own side of the story.

***
“Nurse Fredrick Obasi, could you please tell this court what really happened on the 25th
of August, last year?”
Fred took a deep breath as he sat down in the witness box during the interview by the
Prosecuting Counsel, Mr. Keshinro Kuti (KayKay as he is fondly called.) then he began…
“A colleague and I went to visit Tom in the isolation ward after we had that he had been
exposed to the deadly viral hemorrhagic disease called the Dodan virus…but when we got there,
he gave us the news that his test result came out negative, that he didn‟t have the virus. We were
very happy to hear the news but then were a little taken aback on why he was yet to be
discharged. Tom told us that he wanted to remain in the isolation in order to be able to render
care for the other people who was suffering from the disease…I wasn‟t too surprised anyway,
because I have always known Tom to be a very caring person and could go to any length in
ensuring his patients get the best of him”
He sighed and then continued…
“Tom went ahead to tell us that Cassie had requested for a euthanasia. In his words, he
said, „Cassie wanted me to help ease her death.‟ I asked Tom what his response was and he told
me that he had promised to help her out. I was baffled as to why he would make such promises
when he was aware that such practice is illegal. Although I and the other colleague tried to
dissuade him from attempting such act but he insisted by stating his reasons.”
“And what were the reasons, Fred?” Mr. KayKay asked.
“He told me that he couldn‟t bear to see her die painfully…Sir, I was opportune to
witness a clip on some people that were affected and died from this Dodan Virus , it was such a
horrific thing to witness, so I guess he had a good reason even though it was wrong.”
Mr. KayKay walked gently towards where Fred sat and leaned on the counter,
“How exactly did Tom plan to carry this out?”
“Well, at first, he told us to help to contact another colleague, who happened to be an
Anesthetic Nurse to obtain some anesthetic agent from him but he changed his mind stating that
he didn‟t want to involve another person. He told us not to bother, that he didn‟t want to involve
us either and then he said, he knew what he would do.”
The prosecuting counsel appreciated Fred‟s contribution and then he asked him to go
back to his seat.
Tom had been charged to court on account of murder and aggravated theft. Prior to this,
the police had laid their hands on the post mortem result of Cassie. Nobody knew how they got
hold of it, even though the hospital management where Tom worked had refused to release it to
them on account of patient‟s confidentiality. Bob, who happened to be the Officer in charge of
this case had made every effort to interview Tom‟s colleagues at work and he somehow managed
to get hold of Tom‟s closest friends, Kate and Fred. Both of them were Nurses like himself with
degrees of closeness to him. Kate had been friends with Tom since their university days, she was
his crush and the lover whom he never dated before Kate finally got married to Wilson, a Doctor
in the same hospital. Kate is his longest friend after Kelvin whose friendship with Tom got
severed after he found his girlfriend named Ijeoma in a compromising position with Tom, even
though the latter claimed that nothing happened between them.
Bob had held series of interrogation with both Kate and Fred in order to find out if they
were complicit in what Tom was charged with. He had threatened to implicate them if they
refuse to tell him the truth. While Kate was able to hold on to her guns and resisted any
intimidation from the Police Officer, Fred couldn‟t do the same, he feared for his life and in
exchange, he offered to serve as witness and share his own story.
***
After, Fred had gone back to his seat, Mr. Aderinlewo, the Defense Counsel got up from
his seat and acknowledged the Judge before proceeding…
“This court is yet to answer a question. Why would Mr. Tom here kill Miss Cassie if she
had already made him one of his beneficiaries to her property? It doesn‟t make any sense at all.
From what we know and have heard so far, Tom is the ideal definition of a Nurse. He is
compassionate and passionate. As a matter of fact, he has had commendations from his
colleagues, the hospital management and the patients alike. We have all heard how he was
instrumental in the recovery of some people that were thought was going to die from the deadly
viral disease. We have heard the testimony of Doctor Temitayo, the clinical pathologist who
gave account of how Tom suggested the remedy for the disease. For what it‟s worth, this type of
individual should be celebrated. ”
“Celebrated? Objection my lord.” the prosecuting Counsel intruded
The Presiding Judge sustained him and asked him to go ahead.
“It seems the Defense Counsel really didn‟t know who his client is, actually.”
“Could you please be more specific, Counsel?” the Judge intervened
“I have a record of Mr. Tom here when he was seventeen. He and a friend hacked into the
account of an insurance company. When he was arrested and the police asked him why he did
that, do you know what he said? „They took a bet that I wouldn‟t be able to crack the code and so
I did.‟ So tell me, Defense Counsel, What the heck is heroic about that?”
Mr. Aderinlewo sighed, “He was just seventeen…and I am sure he had moved past that”
“Are you sure about that?”
 “…and what other record do you have of him over there prosecuting counsel, which you
would like to share?”
He turned and faced the judge, “Let he who is without fault be the first to cast a
stone…we all have done things we wish we shouldn‟t have when we were young. So I guess that
claim doesn‟t hold water, your Honor, and besides, that was the only record the police have of
him, so basically, he is clean.”
“I am afraid Counsel, it is not in your place to tell this court what claim holds water and
what claim doesn‟t” the Judge pointed out.
“Apologies, your Honor.”
The judge is a moderately fat man in his middle age marked by his distinctive distribution
of gray hair. The gray hair somewhat formed a circumference around his head with some
scattered and distributed within the circle. He is dark in complexion and a height of 6.8metres.
His pair of glasses was loosely seated on the bridge of his nose.
He sighed aloud and looked at the Counsels who were apparently apprehensive on what
was going to be his judgment.
“I think the most reasonable thing to do right now is to allow you two to gather more
evidences as regards this case. So, I am going to adjourn this case to a month‟s time. We will be
gathered here again on the night of 28th of December.”
The whole court stood up as the Judge left his seat. Tom was ushered back by the police
into the holding where he would remain till he returns back to court in a month‟s time. The court
had refuse to grant him bail despite his Counsel‟s plea. Now, he‟s just had another one month
before he knows his fate. Now, he can only pray that his Counsel get it right this time and just
maybe he can prevent him from going to jail.
***
Kate, who happened to be Tom‟s closest friend at the moment was burning with anger
immediately the court was dismissed, (and just before the police could usher Fred back into the
vehicle; being a witness, they had to protect him) she grabbed him by the hand and took him
aside to scold him.
“What is wrong with you? Why did you this?”
“I believe it is the right thing to do” she replied.
“The right thing to do? For who? For who, Fred? You are just scared.”
He sighed, he knew Kate was right. “Look, not that I wanted to do it but I didn‟t have a choice.”
“Of course you did, you did have a choice. You could have kept your mouth shut.”
Fred scoffed, “Easy for you to say. He is your friend, isn‟t he?”
“…and is he your enemy?” she shook her head in pity and just when the police could interfere,
Kate‟s husband; Wilson, came to drag his wife away.
 CHAPTER THREE

No one had been more devastated than Kate in the past few days since Tom‟s arrest. She
could hardly concentrate on anything at work. Even her role as a wife and a mother had been
suffered a severe blow and this had been causing straining in her home. Her husband, Wilson,
whom she fondly calls, Will could understand his wife‟s feelings but couldn‟t just bear it
anymore. Just three days ago, after closing from work, she was supposed to pick her kids from
school but she couldn‟t. She had to call her husband who was on call to go instead while she
went to visit Tom where he was held. Her husband had tried to discuss things with her but she
seemed not to get the message at all. She had been clouded by her concern for Tom. First,
because of her friendship with him, second, because of the fact that Tom had no relative to do
that for him and third, because of the undying love they have for each other. She had always
loved Tom since they were in school, even though he never asked her out; a decision that he later
regretted.
Kate came in late after her shift was over, she had gone to visit Tom as usual. Their two
year old son had gone to bed while her husband was waiting in the sitting room for his wife. She
did not even wait for her husband to speak before she started apologizing profusely. Wilson
sighed loudly at the sight of his wife as she threw her arms around his neck. He asked her to sit
down and told her that they needed to talk. Kate sat down quietly beside her husband.
“I don‟t think you understand what is going on here, Kate.” He started. “We both left the
house this morning and your shift was supposed to be over by 4pm, this is 9pm already. Look, I
understand that Tom is your good friend and you two have history together but you can‟t do that
at your own expense. At our expense.”
“…but babe, I thought I told you I would be checking on him after work.” She intruded.
“Yes, you did, and it was alright but did you tell me it was going to take this long? You
were there yesterday, were you not? And the day before that? Babe, you have been going there
every single day of this week and ever since his arrest.”
He rubbed his forehead vigorously and then stood up and walked gently towards the
window side and held the rail with his right hand. He turned around and faced his wife who was
walking towards him. She held him by the waist and kissed him lightly.
“You do know that Tom isn‟t just my friend. He is the best friend I have except you.”
“I understand, Kate…and I already considered Tom a part of this family.”
She looked at her husband with admiration and her lips curved out a broad smile.
“I have to be there for him Will, you know he does not have anyone to do that for him.”
Wilson grumbled, “That doesn‟t mean that you should do that at the expense of your own
family.”
Kate chuckled, “But…but you just said that Tom is already a part of this family.”
Will couldn‟t help it but to smile, and pulled his wife nose affectionately, “Well, I am
talking about your primary family. You seemed to have neglected me and our son since Tom had
been taken into custody.”
“Babe, you know that is not true now.”
“It is Kate. It is true.” He freed himself from Kate‟s grasp and then sat down on the chair
again while Kate remained standing and staring at him.
He sighed, “Look, things have been somehow between us lately and you know it. For
example, when last did we have sex, Kate?”
She walked quickly to her husband and knelt in between his leg while she held his laps
with her hands. “But we already agreed that we weren‟t ready to have kids yet now.”
Will scoffed, “So, we are to have sex only when we want kids?”
Kate laughed hysterically, “You should know I am joking now.”
“Well, I am not joking.”
She held him by his face with her hands and stared into his eyes, “Please gimme few
more time…I‟ll make it up to you, Babe.”
Will inhaled, and then exhaled loudly. He stood up gently and picked his wife off her
knees at the same time, “Well, maybe you can start tonight.”
“What? No Baby, I am very tired.”
Will kissed her gently along the napes of her neck and then gradually towards her
clavicle. Kate moaned satisfactorily as he ran his hands down her spine to her waist. Then he
whispered into her ears, “Are you…?”
“Am I what?”
“Are you very tired?”
He grabbed her by her buttocks and she shivered. He put his lips lightly on hers and she
could hardly resist. She leaned forward to kiss his lips but he withdrew as soon as her lips gently
touches his. Then ran his index and the middle fingers across her lips thus exposing the inner
surface of her lips briefly. Kate moaned in anticipation. He carried her off the ground and took
her to the room upstairs as Kate giggled seductively all the way.

***
 “You know my Mama once told me that you are all good and loving.” He scoffed. “She
used to serve you every day of her life, she used to pray to you, night and day, and yet, you killed
her …and my Dad too on the same day. If you are all good and loving, then why did you do it?
He exhaled loudly. “I used to thank you for sparing my life in that accident but now I just
wonder why you did that only to leave me to be killed at this time when I have so much planned
for myself.”

He exhaled loudly again as tears ran down his cheek and sat among his beard. He gazed up at the
roof of the building where he was kept and sighed again.
“I tried to be nice to everyone I met, tried to give my all to those who need my care even
when I didn‟t feel like it or when it wasn‟t easy for me…but it meant nothing to you now, did it?
What did I ever do to you? What did I do to deserve these untoward gestures from you? Why did
you hate me this much, huh? Why? Please just tell me why, God.”
“You can hear me, can‟t you? Tell me what I did to you. You tell me now.” he shouted as
he broke down in tears. His voice was so loud that the Officer who was on parole for the night
shift had to stop in front of his cell. He looked at Tom with pity and his facial expression could
tell it. He could not say anything, he just looked at him and slowly passed by after few minutes
to the other cells.
Tom had not been able to find any explanation to the pain he had suffered in his life and
since he couldn‟t transfer his frustration to anybody, he had decided to take his anger on God.
His childhood experience had sort of made him resent God, rationalizing that if God was all
good and loving as people claim, he shouldn‟t have allowed all that had happened to him. At the
moment, he had nobody to talk to, so he was forced to talk to his most resented „Necessary
Friend‟.
After expressing his anger to God, Tom felt a little relieved, although he knew it wasn‟t
going to help him in his current situation, he just needed to express his mind. He sat up in his
chair and sighed relief. Now, it is just few hours till morning when he would discover what his
fate would be…

***
He could hardly take a nap throughout the night, his mind was fixed on what would be
the outcome of the second day when he would be presented in the court again. He couldn‟t stop
thinking on what his lot would be. Would he really be sent to jail or for something worse? If
truly euthanasia was as grievous as murder, then certainly, he would lose his own life too if the
right judgment were to be served. His heart kept pounding so hard within his chest each time
this thought crosses his mind. He knew if he were to be spared, it would take nothing but outright
miracle, the one he wasn‟t sure was going to happen. At last he began to take courage as it began
to dawn, preparing himself for whatever comes his way.
 He had thought he was going to receive good news when he saw his Lawyer on the
morning of the court appearance. His heart was lifted when he was told that his lawyer had come
to see him. He jumped out of his seat as soon as Mr. Aderinlewo stepped into his cell with a
smile across his face. He wasn‟t really enthused with the smile, he was only eager to hear what
he had come to tell him that early. He offered him his seat while he stood but Mr. Aderinlewo
refused to sit down, he insisted on standing and asked Tom to sit down instead. He sat down
quietly and folded his arms across his chest and then took a deep breath. Mr. Aderinlewo asked
how he has been faring and he told him he is holding on in reply. Then he sighed too.
“Tom, I‟ve got to be real with you here, this is a very tough case for me…and with all
evidences pointing to you…” he sighed, “that really makes it much more difficult.”
Tom hardly allowed him to conclude his statement before he intruded him.
“…but you do know that I don‟t know anything about the money.”
“Yes I do, Tom”
“So what exactly are you saying Mr. Aderinlewo?”
He sighed again, “Look, I understand what you are going through, but with your juvenile
record…”
“What record? That was a long time ago, man.”
“I know.”
Tom scoffed, “Wait…are you my Lawyer or my Prosecutor?”
“I am your lawyer, Tom and that is why I am offering you my candid opinion.”
“Which is what exactly?”
Mr. Aderinlewo bent his knees and stared into Tom‟s eyes. “I need you to plead guilty…and
then, you leave the rest to me. I‟ll take care of it.”
Tom couldn‟t believe what he just heard. He was too shocked to say anything for a
minute, until Mr. Aderinlewo tapped him gently on the shoulder. He got up his seat and went to
the rails of his cell. His eyes became injected at the instance, he could not understand what was
really going on. He turned around and faced Mr. Aderinlewo who was already walking towards
him. He grind his teeth in great distress. He couldn‟t just believe his own Lawyer would sell him
out. He kept mute and couldn‟t say a word, he was too hurt to speak. He stared at him until a
drop of tear fell off his eyes. Mr. Aderinlewo held him by the shoulder and asked him what the
matter was but Tom did not reply.
He sighed, “You should understand what is really on ground here, Tom. There is no way
on earth we are going to win this case. The only way to lessen your sentence is if you plead
guilty, then I would advocate to the Judge on your behalf…please, you have to understand what I
am trying to say and cooperate with me. It is for your own good.”
Tom backed up from him and went to his seat quietly, he sat back in his chair and looked at Mr.
Aderinlewo who was looking surprised at Tom‟s unexpected attitude.
“I believe, you are through here, Mr. Barrister, thanks for your candid opinion, you may
now take your leave.”
He couldn‟t have been colder if he had been soaked in ice-cold water the way he was with Tom‟s
response. He reluctantly left the cell.
 CHAPTER FOUR

The hearing began at exactly 10‟o clock in the morning with the prosecuting counsel
giving his opening speech and stating that he had no new evidences to present except to reinforce
the ones he had presented to the court. He urged the court not to delay judgment so that the
confidence the people had already developed in the judiciary system would not be lost. The
judge therefore called upon the Defense counsel to come up…but as soon as he stood up to
advance to the open. Tom interfered,
“Excuse me, your Honor, my Defense counsel is fired as of this moment…and I would
like to plead my own case sir.”
Tom‟s absurd decision sent frenzies across the whole length of the court room. People
began to whisper to one another, and most of them wondering why he would made such
decision. “He must have lost his mind.” one whispered. “I agreed.” Replied the other.
“Otherwise why would he fire his lawyer except he wants to go to jail?” Concluded the first man.
Kate exhaled loudly where she was seated in the court room, “What the hell are you doing,
Tom?” she whispered.
“Mr. Williams, you do understand that you could be charged with contempt if you stray
out of point?”
“Yes, My Lord. I understand perfectly.” Tom replied.
The Judge sighed and asked him to proceed with his defense. He then asked the Defense
counsel to sit down.
Mr. Aderinlewo was shocked with this sudden occurrence but he had to respect the Judge‟s
decision. He reluctantly sat back in his chair.
The whole courtroom remained quiet that you could hear a pin dropped as Tom stepped
out of the box and walked gently to the open space between the Judge and the counsels. He
looked around and all eyes were focused on him. He was so embarrassed that he kept his head
down and was quiet for some seconds.
“Can you plead your case now, Mr. Tomiwa Williams? You were charged with first
degree murder, are you guilty or not guilty?
Tom exhaled loudly, his forehead puckered, he looked up and exhaled loudly again. His
gaze ran across the whole length of the courtroom. “Sir, you asked me if I am guilty of murder or
not, I think the real question should be if I deserved to be arrested or not…? What exactly did I
do to deserve the arrest let alone this charge? Murder and theft? He exhaled loudly and then
continued, “Cassie was a friend and a colleague, and she was one of the most dedicated
colleagues I ever worked with. She gave herself for the service of humanity but unfortunately,
death didn‟t allow her to stay much long, just like they are used to saying in my tribe, good tress
don‟t last in the forest.”
 “The job, hmm, is crazy, is it not? Despite our exposure to daily hazards, do you have
any idea how much they pay us? Stipends. Not even up to the amount you lots spend on your
kids on weekly basis but… yet we go about our business, offering our selfless service to
mankind even when they go unappreciated. It was in the line of duty that Cassie contracted the
deadly viral hemorrhagic disease known as the Dodan Virus. It was me who helped her to the
hospital when I thought I could save her life. It was when we got to the hospital that I discovered
it was more serious, that my colleague had gotten the disease, which means I wasn‟t safe myself.
I was isolated together with other suspected cases of the Dodan virus, where we were waiting for
nothing but death because we knew that the disease had no cure. All they could offer was
palliative.”
Tom paused a little bit and swallowed a bolus of saliva.
“Two days later. Doctor Temitayo (Doctor Tee), the clinical pathologist and the
consultant in charge of the case gave me an unexpected news, that I was free of the virus. I was
in great dilemma. I didn‟t know whether to be happy or to be sad. Not that I wasn‟t excited to see
that for inexplicable reasons I didn‟t have the virus despite having close contact with Cassie‟s
body secretions but I felt bad that I had cheated my colleague and the others that were together
with me in the isolation. I wish I could help them through the disease, I wish I could save
them…but I had no idea how I could do that since I did not have an explanation to why I didn‟t
have the virus in the first place. I began to search for answers, and with the help of Doctor Tee,
we found a temporary measure to treat the Dodan Virus and thankfully we were able to save two
out of five.”
“Cassie was among the three who died from the disease. She was already at the end stage
of the disease, so there was nothing that could be done to save her. She knew that she was near
death but didn‟t want to die painfully, so she asked me to help ease her death, which I did. As for
the money, I had no single idea how the money got into my account. Cassie never told me
anything about the money as well. Whatever the police claimed they have as evidence had
nothing to do with me. I did not kill anyone your honor. I am bound by oath as a professional to
nurse a patient to recovery and if I couldn‟t, I should help him achieve a peaceful death. Which
was what I did for Cassie.”

***
The whole courtroom was quiet when Tom concluded his statement. The Judge took a heavy
sigh, his eyes danced to and fro within his sockets as he peeped through the window of his
glasses
“Erm…does the prosecuting counsel has anything to ask Mr. Tomiwa before I proceed?”
Mr. KayKay cleared his throat where he was seated, he adjusted his suit and tie and then walked
towards Tom where he was standing.
 “I have to confess Mr. Tom; that was quite a moving speech, still I would like to ask you
few questions. First, are you aware that Euthanasia is an illegal medical practice in the country?
“Yes, I am.”
“So you thought you could just break the law and do whatever you like?”
“No, I did not think so. She was going to die…and painfully.”
“Hmm, I see.” He nodded his head. “So you are God, who knows who is going to live
and who is going to die, huh?
“That‟s not it Barrister. She was already at the end stage of the disease and the medical
diagnosis said the same.”
“…but you could have saved her, after all you came up with the idea of exchange blood
transfusion and phototherapy that helped saved the life of the two that survived.”
“Not at the stage that she was. Her kidneys and liver were already shutting down.”
“And you would know that because?”
“I saw the results of the Abdominopelvic scan for the liver and the kidney, and the results
of the liver function tests that were carried out on her. I also saw the result of twenty four hour
urine profile and besides that, I kept her daily intake and output which were full of
discrepancies.”
Mr. Kaykay sighed, “Just out of curiosity, Tom, how were you able to have access to
these information since you were a patient just like her?”
“I just told this court that I ended up not having the disease, so I decided to stay behind to
offer my service to the others.”
“Hmm, very kind of you. It‟s just that some people might think you stayed behind to
carry out your hidden agenda, which was to kill Miss Cassie so that you could inherit her
property.”
Tom scoffed, “Maybe you need to find out about me, Counsel. I have no greater love for
anyone aside my patients. They are my family…they are my everything.”
“What a love! You must have loved them so much to want to kill them.”
“Well, you make fun of me all you want to, you were never there, and you have no single
idea whatsoever, what it feels like to watch a fellow human being die in such a horrible manner
when you could have done something to ease the death.”
“Perhaps you could tell me how it feels like, Mr. Tom?”
Tom scoffed again, “Have you ever seen this disease in action? Have you watched any of
the graphic images and videos of some of the victims of this disease especially the ones from
neighboring African countries? I bet you haven‟t. Why would you? You are only obsessed with
winning cases because you want to feel good about yourself. You try to pull other people down
just to feel good because you lack our own self esteem. You come in here and act like a hero
when you know that deep down you are just a scared little man.”
He couldn‟t take it any longer, he ground his teeth is exasperation and shouted…
“Objection my Lord. This is uncalled for, and I won‟t take this attack on my personality.
I am not the accused here, he is.”
“He is right, Mr. Tom. You are straying out of point and if you go ahead, I might have to
charge you with contempt” the Judge interfered.
“I am sorry, your Honor.”
The Judge groaned, he motioned to the prosecuting counsel to go ahead with his interview.
“When you were administering a lethal dose of benzodiazepine, I am just wondering,
didn‟t your conscience tell you anything at that moment? I mean you knew you were killing a
fellow human being, didn‟t you feel anything at all?”
Tom sighed heavily, “You are talking to me about morality here, aren‟t you? I‟d like to
ask you too Mr. KayKay, if you had the opportunity to put a bullet in your friend‟s head while he
is burning in a fire, would you do it or would you rather let him burn to death?”
“Well, I…I…I will not pull the trigger, he was going to die anyway, so why would I want
to shoot again?”
“Hmm, I see.”
The judge had hardly allowed Tom to finish his statement before he intruded.
“I would pull the trigger Mr. Tom, I can‟t watch my friend burn painfully to death. I can‟t
stand it. That is stupid.”
Tom chuckled lightly after the Judge‟s response. “So you have your answer, Barrister.” He said.
He nodded, “So, does that justify your action? That you would rather shoot your friend in
fire rather than save him?”
“Yes sir, it does. Especially if my friend requested for it and when I could do nothing to
save him.”
The Counsel smiled, he walked gently with his hands tucked in the pocket of his trouser
back to where his seat was and removed his suit and then loosened his tie before walking back to
where Tom was standing.
“You seemed to have forgotten that there is no mercy killing. Murder is murder, your
honor. Whether voluntarily or mistakenly. Otherwise, abortion wouldn‟t be a criminal offence.”
 “Trust me. It isn‟t. Not out rightly. Abortion is only a crime where it is illegally done. I
mean under aseptic condition and when it is done without the consent of both parties involved.
Abortion is legal where baby becomes a threat to the mother‟s life.” Tom cut in.
“So what exactly are we saying here, My Lord? That health professional can go about
determining who is to live and who is not to? That relatives of a patient can demand for
euthanasia whenever they feel they can‟t handle a patient‟s medical bills? That a relative of a
patient because of selfish interest can demand for euthanasia on behalf of his sick person? What
will you do, your honor, if a son demands for euthanasia for his father, just because he wants to
inherit his property? What if a patient, say a man on death row for extremism and terrorism, who
swallowed a poison or fatally injured himself and then gives advance directive not only because
he is tired of life but because he wants to take a secret with him that might save thousands and
thousands of life, would you honor it?”
“There are reason why laws are made, it is to guide people, and it is what makes us
different from the animals. Without laws we are nothing but savages. So again I ask, what
exactly are we saying here, My Lord? Is euthanasia right or wrong? Is euthanasia a murder or
not?”
The Judge took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. He adjusted his eye glasses properly,
and then he excused himself into his sturdy. The whole court stood up as he took his leave. Tom
sat back in his chair in the accused box awaiting his judgment.

***
The whole courtroom stood up when the Judge walked in. they were all anxiously
waiting for the judgment. He asked Mr. Tom to step forward before he passed his judgment.
Tom walked gently to the open space, his heart was racing so fast within his chest. He took a
deep breath and locked his hands behind his back.
“Son, I have heard about your sacrifice, I have heard about your dedication for service
and humanity. I have heard about your selflessness, but does that give you freedom to do
whatever you want? No. Does that make you above the law?” No. Does that mean, you shouldn‟t
know your limitation? Not all…You are a Nurse, and for what is worth, you are meant to save
life…even where euthanasia is permitted, it is the job of the Doctor and not a decision you
should make all by yourself. You didn‟t discuss your thought with the managing Doctor because
you knew they were going to discourage you…because something tells you it was wrong.”
He sighed, “Still, I recognized the fact that it was done in good faith, I felt your pain, the pain
that you felt for your colleague that was in distress but, does that make your action right?
“On the account of theft, I urge the police to intensify their investigation as there are not
yet enough evidences to support the release or the incarceration of the accused. His juvenile
record isn‟t enough to back this claim. I hereby order Mr. Tom to remain in detention without
bail till his charge is fully established. On the account of Murder, I mean the euthanasia, I would
present this unprecedented case before the legislators for review.”
The Judgment itself was unprecedented and not exactly what people had expected. The
case had become a trending topic in the media and the proceedings are being covered by various
media outlet. The Nigerian Association of Nurses and Midwives had been fully involved in the
case, they had begun to make move to employ another Lawyer after what happened in court that
day. Although they had no idea why Tom took that drastic decision by sacking the lawyer that
the hospital had provided, they didn‟t just want to go to bed leaving a fire on the roof. The
national Chairman had held several press conferences and countless peaceful protests since the
hearing had begun. Kate couldn‟t be more thankful to God that her friend was once again spared,
her hope was once again revived that he might just pull through.
Tom was handcuffed and led into the black van that brought him. The policemen were
guarding him as the pressmen were struggling to throng him and take a picture of him. He sat in
the back seat of the van with one of the policemen while one sat with the driver in the front seat.
Tom exhaled loudly, he was a little relieved and thankful, that at least he get to live
another day.
 CHAPTER FIVE

The Police had obtained a warrant from the Judge to search Tom‟s apartment as part of
the investigation. The 6-man team was led by Detective Roberts and was composed of three
other men including Inspector Kolawole Okanlawon who is the partner of Inspector Clara
Dehinde, and the two others were women. It was Kola and Clara that were responsible for Tom‟s
arrest. Tom live in a duplex, the building he grew up in. The house was built by his parents
before their demise and he had refused to sell it. Although he had been difficult for him to
maintain, he had tried his best to ensure its upkeep over the years. He lives there alone since he
had a fight with his childhood friend; Kelvin. Sometimes, Kate and her family used to come
around to stay with him and spend some weekends with him. He also often goes to their home
too.
The sitting room, together with the dinning, kitchen and the library are downstairs, and
there are four rooms with its conveniences and store upstairs. The team was divided into two
groups. Two people are to search downstairs while three are to search the rooms upstairs. Bob sat
on the chair in the sitting room while the team are to report their findings to him.
After a while, they all assembled back in the sitting room with none of them having
discovered anything. Bob was not impressed with the search so he ordered them to change their
positions. The ones upstairs were asked to search downstairs including the surrounding, car park
and the garden while the ones downstairs were asked to go upstairs for their own search. They
spent the next thirty minutes searching everywhere but nothing was found, so they decided to
take their leave in frustration…They were about entering into the van that brought them when
Bob went to where Tom‟s car was parked. He looked through the windscreen to see if he could
see anything. None of them had requested the key from Tom so there was no way they could
gain access into the car. Without even thinking twice, Bob hastened to the car park and found a
curved metal, then he smashed the driver side‟s windscreen with a single strike. The rest of the
team were amazed by this absurd action, they all gaped their mouth in utter dismay but none
could challenge him. Then, he opened the door to the car from the inside and sat in the driver‟s
chair. He literarily turned the car inside out during the search…and in the end, he found a cheque
book under the back seat. He flipped it open and then found out that one of it was already signed
by Tom and the recipient bears his name also. Bob smiled when he saw the cheque book. He
gave it to Kola and he was amazed too. They all entered the van and then it revved moments
later.

***
Bob could hardly wait for the car to stop moving before he jumped out when they
reached the police department. He walked hastily to the cell where Tom was held. He was
already bottled up with anger and couldn‟t wait to let it all out on Tom. Clara jumped off her seat
when she saw her boss through the glass door to her office. She ran as far as she could to catch
up with him in order pacify him so as to prevent him from hurting Tom as against the
Department‟s policy.
“You need to calm down, Sir. Please calm down…please” she pleaded and was also
trying to prevent Bob from entering into the cell at the same time. He panted persistently, his
heart was racing so fast within his chest and Clara could feel it as she placed her hands on his
chest in order to placate him. He looked down at her and then sighed loudly.
“I am calm, Clara. Can I go inside now?”
Clara sighed aloud too, „Yes Sir, you can…but we have to take him out for interrogation…and I
would want to be there too”
Clara opened the door and Tom was handcuffed and taken to another room for
interrogation. Bob walked into the room quietly, staring at Tom as he advanced towards
gradually. Tom had no idea what was going on, but he was very scared with Bob‟s intimidating
posture. He sat down quietly without ever taking his off him, and then threw the cheque book on
the table. Tom picked it off the table and checked it. He was very surprised to see his cheque
book with the Officer. He opened it and then found an already signed page bearing his own name
as the recipient. He looked at Bob, shocked, and the next thing is ask was,
“What is this?”
“What does it look like?”
“Erm…I mean it is my cheque book but how the hell did you get this?”
Bob grinned mischievously, “I got it where you kept it.”
“In my house?”
“No. In your car, where you hid it.”
“What? What are you talking about? I didn‟t hide my cheque book. I am used to keeping
it in my bag; the one I take to work.”
“Look, look. I am not concerned about where you keep your things, I am only concerned
about the amount you wrote on that cheque book…and if I recall, you told me and everybody in
court that you knew nothing about the money that Cassie sent to you, isn‟t it?”
 “Yes I didn‟t know, Sir. It is true.”
“So, why were you planning to withdraw fifteen million naira from your account into
another bank account? Now, there is no way on earth you have that kind of amount in your
account prior to the time Cassie‟s money was sent into yours. Am I right?”
Tom sighed, his gaze ran towards the door where Clara was standing in order to keep a check on
Bob but he quickly took his eyes off as soon as his gaze collides with hers.
“Don‟t look at her, she is not going to save you from going to jail.”
Tom sighed again the second time. “Look, I have no idea what you are talking about
here. This cheque book is mine…but I can assure you that I did not write nor sign this.”
He chuckled, got up his seat and then paced around the room for few seconds and then he began
to pull his chair away from the table.
“You know what, Tom? I have been trying to be nice to you as much as I could but
you…you are taking me for a fool.”
Tom was beginning to fidget and began to wonder what Bob was planning to do to him.
He was also looking at Clara with a section of his visual field praying that she would interfere
and save him from the impending mischief. When he had pulled the chair few meters away, he
also pushed the table aside.
“Now, I am going to ask you one more time. Who signed that cheque?”
“I told you that I didn‟t know anything about the cheque, I mean it. I am telling you the
truth, please don‟t hurt me.”
Bob began to advance towards him, and was asking, “Was that your cheque book?”
“Yes it was.” Tom replied
“Was that your signature?”
“Yes it was.”
“Was that your name on that cheque?”
“Yes it was.”
“So, tell me Tom, whose money was it?” he screamed at him.
“I don‟t know!” he also screamed back.
“Liar!”
Bob advanced towards him and grabbed him by the neck, he dragged him together with the chair
he was sitting on against the wall, and pressed hard against his windpipe and then pushed him
against the back rest of the chair. Tom could hardly breathe with Bob‟s hand against his
windpipe. “Did you write the cheque or not?”
 “I did not.” Tom struggled to reply.
Bob squeezed his neck much harder, and held his fist like he was going to punch him in the face
and then screamed again at him, “Did you write it?”
Tom was no longer audible, he was suffocating, so Bob had to release his grasp gently.
Tom coughed out several times after Bob had let go of him. He panted reverberantly with his
mouth widely opened. After a while, when he had found his breath, he looked at Bob and said,
“Why would I write my own check to withdraw from my own account to another bank
account of mine when I could have just walked into the bank and made a transfer?”
“You tell me. Maybe you weren‟t that smart as you were thought to be.”
Bob went to pick his chair from where he had pushed it when his phone rang, so he went out to
answer the call. Tom sighed relief after Bob had left. A drop of tears fell off his eyes, then he
looked towards the door where Clara was standing and watching him with stain of pity on her
face…
 CHAPTER SIX

Inspector Clara Dehinde was seated in the office talking to his son on the phone when
Kolawole knocked gently on her door. The duo had been partners for just two months now. Kola
had more years than she does in service but Clara was superior due to a higher educational
qualification she had. Clara is a single parent to a five year old boy, the son she had when she
was in the university. Her marriage to her husband; Tobi was broken just about the first birthday
of their son on the ground of unrepentant infidelity on the part of the husband. She had tried to
forgive her husband times without number but a leopard would never change its skin. Tobi was
never ready to change his ways, so she had to seek for divorce when she could no longer cope.
Clara is the daughter to late Dennis Dehinde; a detective who died in service. Clara‟s father died
when she was twelve years old and was raised by her mother. She also passed away three years
ago.
Tom had requested for her attention from one of the warden officers that was in charge of
him and reluctantly accepted his request. She went to visit him in the cell and told the officer to
give them some space. Clara sat down on a chair opposite to him. Tom sighed when he saw her.
He appreciated her for honoring his request.
“So, are you ready to confess now?” she demanded
“Look, I don‟t know anything about the money” Tom replied.
Clara got annoyed and stood up to leave, “I am not ready for this”
“Please wait…just hear me out.” Tom pleaded
She sighed and then she reluctantly sat back down. Tom sighed too and then he continued.
“Look, I am telling you the truth, I know nothing about the money. Clearly, I was step
up”
Clara had hardly allowed him to finish before she came down on him, “Why would anybody
want to set you up? Who would set you up?”
 “I don‟t know.”
Clara grinned and then rested her back against the chair, “You are Nurse, Tom…you are a
goddamn Nurse. You don‟t deal with money, you deal with lives, you handle medications, you
work in a hospital and from what I heard, that is the only life you‟ve got. You have no social
group, you are not canvassing for any post or appointment, so I really do not know where you
got this idea of being framed or were you framed when you were administering that dose of
medication to your colleague? I don‟t get you, Tom.”
Tom sighed, “I know it sound stupid, but I believe everything is all connected.”
“Of course it is connected. We already established that you planned to kill Cassie so that
you could steal her money.‟
Tom became frustrated and then he exhaled, “That is not what I was trying to say.”
Clara scoffed, she couldn‟t believe Tom‟s sudden paranoia. Her argument was that, she
see no reason why Tom would be set up by anybody especially not with all the evidences
pointing towards his direction. She looked at him and then shook her head in frustration.
“Please just believe me Ma‟am, I am not lying.”
“Look, I want to believe you, Tom but I can‟t. I am a Cop, I deal with facts, evidences,
what I can see, not feel.” She exhaled loudly, “If I am to go by what every accused person says,
believe me, nobody is guilty. So unless you want to tell me what I don‟t know, then this
conversation is over.”
Tom was now more frustrated than he was initially, he knew if he had to convince Clara
to assist him, then he‟s got to throw her a bone. Although not that he didn‟t have a hunch
himself, he just didn‟t have an idea how to put it to Clara. He was only trying to woo her to his
side, so he didn‟t want to say something that will put her off.
He sighed, “Do you really want me to say what I feel?” Clara nodded in affirmation, so he went
ahead. “I think the police has something to do with it.”
Clara hardly allowed him to finish his statement when she busted out in laughter. Tom
was not surprised, he had expected it. She looked at his face to see if he meant what he had just
said or was merely joking. She quirked when she realized that it wasn‟t a joke. She leaned back
against the chair again and folded her arms across her chest. She did not want to out rightly put
off Tom‟s conspiracy theory, and at the same time she didn‟t want to accept the words of an
accused person. She knew herself that there were corruption in the police force, something she
had been trying to fight in her little way but she was never going to believe it had gotten to such
extent.
“So, why would you say that?” she finally asked.
Tom cleared his throat, trying as much as possible to mind his words, “Well, one. The way this
whole thing had been moving, seemed really fast. I mean, it‟s like all the evidences were planted,
like someone knew exactly where they were going to be, what‟s going to come up next. It was
very calculative and preemptive.
Clara smiled, “Well, that is police work. I know people don‟t believe much in what we
do but the truth is, we work. Despite the way that we were being treated by the Government and
you people, despite the lack of resources and the right technology, we still do police work…So,
what is your second reason”
“Ok. Why won‟t they reveal where they got the result of the autopsy from, even after the
hospital had claimed that they never released it to them?”
Clara scoffed, “So by „they‟, you meant Bob, my boss, right?” Tom nodded in reply. “You are
out of your mind, Tom.”
“Look, the reason why I said that was that, right from the very start, he was so desperate
on prosecuting me and sending me to jail. He almost took it personal like he and I had certain
unfinished business before.” Tom had to quickly give reasons to support his claim in order to
extricate himself when he noticed that Clara countenance had changed.
She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, “well, that is who he is. He‟s obsessed with
winning, and so am I.”
Clara saw no reason to continue the conversation again, all the points Tom had raised
were useless and his claims were baseless, so she stood up to leave. Tom had to plead with her to
at least help look the more into the evidences to see if she can identify any discrepancies and
then he added, “I know there is a reason why you wanted to be a police officer after your father
passed so I am begging you, just give me a benefit of doubt.”
Clara was taken aback by how he got hold of that information about her and he told her
that he had asked a friend of his look her up on the internet earlier. She sighed, “Well, you know
nothing about me.”
“I don‟t?” Tom returned.
She sighed again, she couldn‟t have been more frustrated by Tom‟s persistence and just before
she turned her back to leave, she pointed the index finger of her right hand to him and said, “if I
discovered that you have been playing me, I will make sure you spend the rest of your life in jail,
and that, is a promise.”
Tom was rather scared than he was relieved, with Clara‟s threat, he tried to swallow a
bolus of saliva and nodded his head repeatedly before whispering, “Thank you.”
 CHAPTER SEVEN

Clara sat down in her office after the day‟s work, she had decided to stay behind to go
through Tom‟s file, having called her house maid that he would be coming home late. She
already obtained permission from her head of department and the Officer in charge of the
records, so that she might have unrestricted access to Tom‟s file. She had decided to give Tom a
benefit of doubt according to his plea and her plan was to start with the evidences that were
gathered by the police and to see if she would find any discrepancies. Her intention was not to
prove Tom‟s innocence but rather, to prove to him that the police were right and that they had
done a good job by nailing him.
Clara share the same office with Kola, the office has a see through glass door, two
cabinets, two chairs and two tables each for her and her partner and a three-sitter cushion chair.
The office is ventilated with an air conditioner. She gently removed her shoes that she had been
wearing all day and put her legs on her table. Tom‟s file had his picture on the back cover and
for no obvious reason, she smiled when she saw the picture before going ahead to open the file.
Amidst the file, she saw the result of Cassie‟s autopsy, her diary and Tom‟s cheque book. She
flipped through the autopsy result and noted the name of the pathologist that carried out the test.
Then she went ahead to scan through Cassie‟s life‟s diary, paying attention to her handwritings,
punctuation and mannerisms. She opened to the controversial page where Cassie wrote that she
had informed Tom about her money and had even named him a major beneficiary to it. She paid
close attention to the handwriting, comparing it with the ones in the previous pages. She could
not find any difference in the handwriting but she did find something interesting. She discovered
that, that particular page was attached into the diary with a glue. The original page was trimmed
away from the base and then a new page was attached unto it. Clara made an attempt to detach it
but she had to stop when she realized that if she pulled too much, the complete page would be
separated from the diary. She had made promises to her superior not to tamper with the evidence.
However, she took note of her findings but had to keep it to herself. She felt that her discovery
wasn‟t strong enough to be an evidence to a conspiracy.
 She took a deep breath, and then closed Tom‟s file. She stared at the wall clock in her
office while she thought of what she could do. It was in the middle of this that her phone rang.
She got up her seat when she realized that it was her babysitter that was calling. She quickly
picked her shoes from the floor and rushed out of her office to the car park, and then drove off
moments later. She had totally forgotten that the time had gone that much. Her babysitter had
just called her to inform her that she was leaving for her own house. She had been helping her
with her child since her work couldn‟t give her enough time to spend with her son. When Clara
got home she realized that her son had gone to bed and had to apologize profusely to the baby
sitter and compensate her for the overtime.
After the baby sitter had left, Clara gently went to her son‟s room and found him to be
fast asleep. She brushed his hair gently and then gave him a light kiss on his right cheek, and
whispered, “I am so sorry.” She sighed and laid gently at the foot of his bed when thought
dropped into her mind, “Is this really worth it?”
***
Clara went to the hospital, to the department of Morbid Anatomy where the Autopsy was
carried out on Cassie to ask for the Doctor who had performed the procedure. After series of
investigation, the Doctor denied that they had nothing to do with how the police got hold of the
autopsy result, and in an attempt to reassure her, he went into the archive and brought a copy of
the result to Clara. She took it and then compared it with the one she had with her, it was exactly
the same thing. She marveled and then asked the Doctor, “How did you the police get a scanned
copy of this result?”
“Well, I don‟t know, but…shouldn‟t I be asking you that?” the Doctor returned.
Clara just grinned, “Never mind, Doctor. Thanks for your cooperation.”
The Doctor really did not understand what was going on, he just shrugged after Clara had left.
She also made moves to find out those who were on duty and in charge of the records from the
time the autopsy was carried out until that day but she found out that it would be virtually
impossible to be able to interview them since they were always rotating through shifting.
Clara went to meet Tom the second day, he was so excited to see her, and his visage
could tell it. Clara on the other hand, was not moved by his expressions. She was not even sure
whether she is on the right path, she is yet to accept in her mind that Tom was truly innocent. She
sat down quietly while Tom watched her with expectation. She motioned to him to sit down too,
Tom reluctantly sat down.
“So, what did you get?” he asked.
Clara sighed, but ignored Tom‟s question. “Look Tom” she began. “I don‟t care what you told
Bob, I want to ask you some questions and I would appreciate your complete honesty. If you
want me to help, you‟ve got to help me too.
Tom nodded and then Clara continued. “Who exactly is Cassie to you?”
 “You mean, you want to know if I had a romantic relationship with her.”
“Yes, I want to know.”
Tom sighed, he got up gently from his seat and walked towards the door, he leaned on the door
while Clara turned her head towards him. “If there is anything detective, I haven‟t been so
fortunate in that department, so I gave up on relationships, at least for now. So, back to your
question Ma‟am, I am not involved with Cassie in any way. We were just colleagues at work and
nothing else.”
Clara took a deep breath, “Alright, I believe you. So what the hell did you think made Cassie
name you as a beneficiary to her money?”
“I don‟t know, I really do not know.”
“Stop saying that Tom, just stop. It is embarrassing. No one dashes anybody a million
naira, let alone one hundred and fifty million naira.”
“…but it‟s the truth. It is.”
Clara inhaled and then exhaled again. She was really getting discouraged but because of her
personality and the fact that she is fascinated with tough cases, she persisted. She asked Tom to
come back to her his seat because she wanted to be looking into his eyes during the conversation
so she would be able to ascertain if he was telling the truth from his facial expressions.
“Now, you said Cassie never told you about the money even though she wrote in her
diary that she did, so I have to ask you, did you merit it?”
“Merit what?”
“The money Tom, the money…and don‟t tell me you don‟t know” she quickly added.
Tom sighed again, “Well, I was the only one with her at the end stage of her life…maybe that
was the reason.”
“Wait, wait, hold on a little, Tom.” She cautioned. “You said that you were the only one
with her during her last days?” Tom nodded in reply. “And why is that?” she demanded. Tom
was confused at her question, he told her that he does not understand what she meant.
“Ok, what I meant is, why didn‟t any of her relatives show up when she was about to
die?”
“Well, I don‟t have an answer to that question…but you do know she is from a
polygamous family, right?”
“Yes I do. What about the boyfriend? Didn‟t he show up too?”
“No, he didn‟t.”
“Oh, that is interesting. Do you know him, the boyfriend?”
 “Yes I do. I have seen him once or twice.”
Clara got up her seat and paced the room for few seconds before stopping abruptly and then
faced Tom again, she asked, “Are you sure he didn‟t show up at all?”
“Yes I am. I was with her in the same isolation ward, remember? But what is going on?”
Clara grinned, she told Tom not to bother and promised she would be getting back to him later
on. Tom was taken back to the cell after the interview with Clara.
***
Clara was returning to her station at the Criminal Investigation Department in her car
when her phone rang, it was her partner Kola on the other end of the line. He alerted that her
superior, Detective Roberts had already asked about her and had left a message for her in the
office whenever she returns. Clara was apprehensive after she had dropped the call wondering
why Bob would ask her to see him in his office as a matter of urgency even after her partner had
told him that she went on break. She had a feeling that it certainly must be related to the case she
was following up but then she had to prepare herself for what comes next.
Kola was already waiting for her at the car park to give a brief gist of what had happened
when she was out of the office. She turned off the engine of the car and Kola sat beside in the car
at the park. “Look, Oga was very annoyed when he didn‟t meet you at the office” he said.
“Didn‟t you tell him that I was out for break?” she demanded.
“Of course I did but he didn‟t believe me. He was very angry that you went behind him to
take permission to follow up the case.”
Clara exhaled loudly, she knew she was wrong to have gone behind her direct boss but she didn‟t
have a choice. She felt if she had gone through him, he would have discouraged her from
pursuing the case, because to Bob, he had already closed up the case, he felt he had the right man
and he had submitted his reports to the Head of Department. She took up the courage and then
went to see Bob in his office.
Bob was busy on his computer system when she knocked gently on the door, he asked
her to come in, so Clara stepped in through the door. Bob closed up his laptop soon as he sighted
her, she had hardly allowed her to sit when she stunned her with; “where are you coming from?”
Clara had no choice but to tell her the truth. Bob was highly infuriated, not that he wasn‟t aware
that Clara was making a move without his knowledge but he felt so slighted that she had the
effrontery to say it to his face. She quickly apologized when she saw Bob‟s reaction.
“I am sorry Sir but that is what I meant. I just felt we needed to be sure that we had the
right man.”
“Of course we did, we had the right man. What more exactly do you need?”
Clara kept quiet for few seconds, she had a nudge to say how she really felt but at the same time
wanted to be careful. Her instinct told her to keep to quiet but her emotions overwhelmed her.
She kept her head down while she stared at the foot of the table before her and said, “But you
never told me how got the result of the autopsy, Sir.”
Bob scoffed, he shook his head repeatedly and said, “That is not you talking. That‟s him.
He is getting into your head and you are too stupid to let him.”
“I am not letting him do anything, Sir…but you should have told me.”
“I don‟t have to tell you anything Clara. I have got to protect my source.” He returned.
Then he adjusted his tie and leaned back into the chair he was seated rocking from side to side on
chair. He stared into her eyes and asked, “Do you have problem with way I do my things?”
She took deep breath and in a lowered tone, she whispered, “Maybe”.
Bob nodded a couple times and grinned. “You know, I was once like you, so eager and
forward but I didn‟t have a Godfather to back me like you do, so if you want to rob shoulder with
me and keep going behind my back, I can assure you of one thing, I‟ll be very happy to see go
down, and with a bump.”
“Is that a threat, Sir?” Clara demanded.
“No, it‟s a fact.”
Clara looked into his eyes, and she was now more terrified that she was at the beginning. Is she
really over her head this time around? Is she taking it too far? Everybody knows Bob to be very
obsessive with his cases, he attends to every case like it was going to be his last and certainly
does not allow anything to come in between him and his cases. Will she be able to crack this
seemingly confusing case before her? What if she is wrong? What if Tom had been playing her?
What if he was actually involved in this theft from the very first time? She sat down quietly
before Bob and totally short of words. She is as equally obsessed as Bob and she was not
considering letting go, but for how long can she hold on to this? For how long can she keep
fighting her direct boss? There is only one thing she could do right now, she need to seek out her
Godfather; Mr. John Falekulo, a veteran in the Police Force and a friend to her late father. Mr.
John used to be a sniper trained in the Nigerian Mobile Police but now a Deputy Superintendent
of Police by ranks. She was so lost in thoughts that she had forgotten herself in Bob‟s office until
he told her to, “knock yourself out.”
***
She was already waiting for John at his office around noon. His secretary told her that he
had gone for break so she had to wait till he comes back. John had no previous knowledge that
she was coming so he was surprised when he sighted her already seated at the reception. With a
beaming smile, he blurted out, “Hey, hot-shot.” Clara got up her seat and gave him a warm
embrace. John was quick to note the expression on her face and he was not impressed, but he
reserved his comment until after he had led her into his office.
“What is going on child, you are looking terrible.”
Clara managed to force a weak smile which couldn‟t convince him so much. “What exactly is
your problem?” She took a deep breath and asked a stunning question from John. “Do you
believe that there is corruption in the Police force?”
He sighed, “Well, to be fair, there is corruption in virtually everywhere in the country…So why
do you ask, exactly?”
“There is this case I am working on.”
John did not even allow her to complete her statement before he interrupted her, “you mean the
one with the Nurse guy?”
“Oh, you knew.”
“Of course I knew, I know many things. I am a veteran in this game and I have many
sources” he smiled. “So what is the problem?”
“I felt like Bob was hiding something. I mean the whole thing was kind of…fast”
“You mean like it was cooked.”
“Exactly.” She agreed. “Look, I just want to make sure that we know what we are
actually doing. I mean this guy claimed that he knew nothing about the money.”
“Even when the evidence said he did? It doesn‟t add up.”
“What evidence Uncle John? A signed cheque and a diary? Come on, anybody could
have signed that cheque by merely imitating his signature and same with the diary.”
“But how did it get into his car?”
“Well, it could have been planted for all we know.”
“But by who?”
“Well, that‟s the part that got me confused. That‟s the part where I think there is foul
play.”
“Hmm” John nodded. “The part where you think the police comes in, huh?”
Clara nodded her in agreement. John sighed aloud, he put his left leg on the right and bit on the
nail of his little finger of his left hand gently. He looked at Clara and then sighed aloud again.
“You really do trust this guy, don‟t you?”
“Well, maybe. He looks innocent and sincere.”
“Oh, come on, Clara, you can can‟t judge the book by its cover. I mean this was the same
person who administered a lethal injection that killed his colleague.”
“I know, but he claimed he did it in good faith.”
“And you believe that?”
 “Look, Uncle that is not mine to decide. The case is still before the senate and until then
will we know where we are really going.”
John shook his head in pity, and Clara was forced to ask him why. He replied, “I never thought
that I would see this again.”
“See what?”
“Look, your father was just as obsessed as you were with fighting corrupt practices in the
Police Force, and that is probably what got him killed. So, I am begging you Clara, don‟t make
your father‟s mistake. If this boy is truly innocent, I am sure things will work out just fine. Going
after your superior will be your greatest mistake and undoing. Okay?”
Clara inhaled and then exhaled loudly again, John looked at her expecting her response. She
looked back at him and was forced to chuckle by his persistent gaze. “Okay, I heard you uncle.
Thank you.” Bob took off his eyes and smiled too.
There was a brief moment of quietness in John‟s office until Clara‟s phone rang. She
screamed when she was the caller‟s ID. It was her son‟s class teacher who was calling her on the
phone. They were going to commence their vacation that day and all the parents had earlier been
informed to come and pick their wards by noon since the school was going to close earlier.
Unfortunately, it had escaped her mind and it was already few minutes before 2pm at the time.
She quickly picked the call and without even allowing the person on the other end of the line to
say anything, she blurted out, “I am so sorry, I‟ll be there soon”
She got up her seat and stormed out of John‟s office waving her hand as she left. John got
up immediately and went after her. He called out to her and almost impatiently, she turned
around and walked towards him. John placed his hand on her shoulder and advised, “Don‟t make
this job your life. It‟s not worth it.”
She thanked him very much and then headed for the car park, and drove off few moments
later.
 CHAPTER EIGHT

Greg was having a meat pie in his office while also working on his laptop when Clara
approached him. He was a little upset that she did not even knock on the door before bumping in
but had to calm down after she had shown him her identity card. They both exchanged
pleasantries before asking her to have a seat. Greg had had no meeting with her ever since the
case began, he had only met with Bob. Although he was always present at the court every time
there is a proceeding until recently when he seemed not to be happy with the outcome so far
simply because the supposed killer of his fiancée was still alive and well and facing no sentence
at present. Also, because the money that should have been withdrawn from Tom‟s account into
his after Tom was arrested, had been confiscated as against what he had expected, and as a result
he had developed a bitter resentment against the whole issue and had stopped going to the court
altogether.
He pushed the laptop aside after he had taken his seat too and asked Clara why she had
come, but before she replied, he beckoned to her to hold on so that he could reply the message he
received on his twitter. The phone was locked, so he had to draw his preregistered pattern to
unlock it. Clara paid close attention to how he drew the pattern and took note of it but he was not
aware that she was watching him. After he was done, he apologized for putting her on hold and
Clara only grinned in return.
“So, what can I do for you, Detective?”
Clara sighed, “Well, I need to ask you certain questions.” She had hardly said that when Greg
interrupted her, “I need to ask you certain questions too, Detective.” Clara scoffed, she stretched
her palms towards him to go ahead before she proceed with hers.
“Why is Tom still walking around, even after killing my fiancée?”
Clara was taken aback by his question, but she is already used to dealing with difficult people.
She grinned, and the corner of her mouth revealed a bubble of saliva. “Well, that is not a simple
question to answer, Mr. Greg. Euthanasia is an unprecedented case in our country, and
considering the circumstance that your fiancée was at the time,
“What circumstance?” he interrupted again
“What I meant was that, the fact that she was infected with a deadly hemorrhagic viral
disease, the Judge needed to present the case at the senate, which at the moment is still under
review.”
“And the money?”
“What about it?” she returned.
Greg scoffed, “Shouldn‟t I be given the money? I mean, since I am the person in the right
position to have it?”
“Ah…well, that is the decision of the court, but you do know that it was your fiancée that
removed your name as the major beneficiary and named Tom?”
Greg swallowed a bolus of saliva and ignored the question. Clara probed further, “Did
you ever wonder why she did that?”
“Well, it‟s her money.” He replied nonchalantly.
“Hmm” she nodded. “That doesn‟t make any sense.”
“What doesn‟t make sense?”
“I mean you two were planning to get married in three months before she died…and then
she had that huge amount of money and but decided to send the money to someone else,
someone she does not have anything to do with. Who does that?”
Greg sighed, he kept his head low and then whispered, “Maybe she was trying to get back
to me.”
“What do you mean by that?” she asked. Greg was shocked, he had never expected her to
hear his whisper. He pretended like he was ignorant of what Clara was asking, but she did not
bother to ask him again, she just grinned. She put her hand into the inner pocket of her suit and
brought out a pen. Then she flipped open, a small handbook in which she writes some of her
interviews.
“I guess you are through with your question, so permit me to ask mine.”
Greg sat into his chair with his hands folded across his chest as Clara began her interview.
“I heard that you never visited your fiancée throughout her period of isolation, is that
true?”
Greg sighed and then nodded in agreement. So Clara continued, “And why is that?”
 “Why is that? He scoffed. “I was planning to settle down with her when I got to know
that she was going to die. I couldn‟t just withstand it to see her like that, I can‟t stand it. She was
my world…my everything. Do you want me to sit down and watch as my world come crashing
down? Hell no, I am not that brave.”
Clara nodded, she grumbled in satisfaction and was beginning to be annoyed at the same
time. It seemed she was beginning to get a green light into the whole issue. “So tell me what is
brave Greg; running away when the person you claimed to love the most needed you the most?
What kind of man are you for God‟s sake? You ran away from Cassie in her last days when she
needed you around, claiming that you couldn‟t withstand it, and now you want her to give you
her money?”
Greg kept quiet and watching how Clara was beginning to take the issue too personal, so
she went ahead, “If I were the one, I would have done the same thing, I would have rewarded the
man that stood by me when I was dying. She was even too nice to consider giving that ten
percent.”
Clara panted, she knew she had gone a little overboard, so she quickly apologized. Greg
took a deep breath and exhaled, “Have you ever lost somebody in a tragic way like that?” he
asked. “I doubt it” he added.
Clara chuckled, and smacked her foot on the ground gently, “Well, I lost my mother to
cervical cancer three years ago, and I was by her side every single day till she passed away.” She
looked into his eyes and asked, “Is that tragic enough for you, Mr. Greg?”
He couldn‟t find his tongues for some time, he was totally out of his response. He
stuttered when he saw Clara‟s relentless stare. He had to answer the door when he heard a knock
on his door. He asked the fellow to come. It was one of his colleagues, he put the head in after
the door was slightly opened and told Greg that the Director wants to see him immediately, and
so it turned out that he didn‟t have to answer Clara‟s question anymore. He excused himself and
told her that he would be returning back soon.
Clara sat in the office staring at a yearly calendar of the company and waiting for Greg to
return from his Director‟s office. Greg works at a bottling company as a computer analyst and
financial auditor. She was about getting up her seat to have a closer look at the picture when she
noticed that Greg had forgotten to take his mobile Android phone with him. She picked the
phone off the table and drew the same pattern that Greg had drawn to unlock his phone earlier.
Without wasting much time, she went straight into his messages and then into the phone Gallery,
and while scanning through, she noticed numerous picture of a particular lady on his phone and
for no obvious reason, she decided to send the picture of the lady to her own phone, and then
deleted the share history afterwards. She packed her bag and then left immediately. She could
have stayed behind and act like she had done nothing when Greg returns, but she decided to
leave so that she might make him become suspicious. She had a feeling that Greg‟s hands were
not clean, so she decided to set a trap for him.
 Greg returned back to his office few minutes afterwards, only to discover that Clara had
already left. He was even more disturbed when he saw his phone lying on the table. He quickly
picked it up and unlocked it, he scanned through his phone for brief moments but couldn‟t tell
what the Detective had seen. He exhaled loudly, his face turned pale almost immediately, he
loosened his tie and the uppermost buttons of shirt and exhaled loudly again. Then, he went
ahead to dial a particular number on his phone, and the person on the other end of the line picked
almost immediately. He had hardly allowed him to say “Hello” when he came down on him.
“What the hell is going on, Kelvin? You people promised me that I was going to get that
money back, but I didn‟t. Now, I know that you people are planning something bigger, and
whatever it is, I want in.”
“You want in?” Kelvin replied.
“Yes you heard me, I want in or else, I am going to sing and I am going to sing very
loudly.”
“Alright, alright, calm down. I‟ll tell Him”
“You better, and call me back”
Clara had to put a call through to her partner; Kola after she left Greg‟s office in her car. It was
raining so heavily with an accompanied thunderous claps. The rain streams were drumming
loudly on the hood of her car and car wiper swooshing back and forth to enhance her a good
vision. She had to inform Kola that she was going to send a particular picture to him and would
need him to send to send the picture to the National Population Commission to see if they can
match the picture with their data base. Kola was quick to point her attention to the fact that not
only would the procedure be a long shot, but that it would require them to seek an official
permission from their department, which seem impossible since they were following the case on
their own as against the department standing. Out of frustration, Clara decided to stop at a
grocery store to get some victuals before heading back to the station.
Clara pulled over at the grocery store where she had intended to get certain provision, and
she had to rush inside because of the heavy rain, in order to get her hair wet. She went straight to
the section where she would purchase the things she wanted, but while doing that, she saw a lady
who was paying her bills at the cashier and she was attracted to her. Neglecting her primary goal,
she moved closer to her to get a clearer picture of who she really was, but before she could get to
where she was, she had already packed her stuff and took her leave. Clara ran after her
immediately, and caught up with her before could go out through the exit door. “Excuse me” she
said. The lady turned around to face, and that was when she really got her true picture. She was
the same lady whose picture she saw on Greg‟s phone.
Clara had to feign herself in order to get information from her. “I am so sorry to disturb
you, but you seem very familiar. The lady was surprised to hear what she had just said because to
her, Clara didn‟t seem familiar at all.
 “Oh, I think I remember now.” Clara continued. “From Greg…I saw your pictures on
Greg‟s instagram profile.”
Still confused and totally ignorant, the Lady had to ask who she is. “I am Cecilia” Clara
responded. “I am a friend to Greg. We went to high school together.” She extended her arms
towards her and then shook her hand. The lady introduced herself to be Toyin.
“But, Greg never told me anything about you.” Toyin pointed out.
„Oh, maybe that‟s because it‟s been a long time since we saw each other…and by the
way, did you and Greg just started dating because I used to know him and Cassie?”
Toyin smiled, “Well, I guess it‟s really been a long time since you two saw each other. Greg and
I have been together for almost two years now, and about Cassie, that was a long time ago. They
broke up before we began dating.”
“Hmm” she nodded. “What can I say then? All the best to the two of you.”
Toyin giggled, and then the two shook hands. Toyin jumped inside the rain afterwards while
Clara turned back to get the stuff she had wanted to obtain earlier.
***
Clara was back at the office few minutes later sipping a hot coffee while Kola sparked up
a discussion about the picture she had wanted to send to him earlier on. The rain had been very
heavy that day and had been responsible for a heavy traffic gridlock, which took her three hours
for a fifteen minutes‟ drive. She sat down on the cushion chair in the office while Kola was on
his own chair on the other side of the office.
“Well, luckily for me, I ran into the girl at the grocery store. She is Greg‟s new
girlfriend” Clara said.
“Oh, interesting. So, he has moved on.” Kola noted.
Clara chuckled, “I don‟t think he ever stopped.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Look, Toyin told me that she had been in relationship with Greg for over two years, and
if memory serves me correct, Cassie died just nine months ago and that was two months before
her wedding.”
“Ha, I see. That means, he was planning to get married to Cassie while he had the other
girl as a Side chick” Kola said with a sarcastic smile.
“Yeah well, except that she doesn‟t know that she was a Side chick.”
“Hmm, bad guy” Kola nodded in admiration, while Clara was watching him in
annoyance.
“|…and what is this „Side chick‟ thing, anyway?”
Kola looked at Clara, a smile arose from a corner of her mouth and then spread across her face in
no second, while he rocked from side to side on his chair. “Well, what can I say? Some ladies
don‟t mind being a Side chick. I mean, there are more women compared to men.”
“Hmm, so you do have a Side chick.”
“Ha, ha…I am not about to have that discussion with you right now.” He got up
immediately from his seat to leave the office.
“Does your wife know about it?” Clara queried jokingly.
“Oh, shut up Clara.” Kola responded with a smile and then excused himself from the
office.
***
Greg was pacing his office ceaselessly expecting a call back from Kelvin. He had become
so uneasy since Clara‟s visit and couldn‟t in any way concentrate on his work for the day. He
had told Kelvin to contact the people he works for and now he impatiently awaits his response.
His thought was that if he could get enough money, he might have change his location and settle
somewhere else away from all these troubles. Kelvin, on the other hand had put a call through to
the person he refers to as „Him‟ but he couldn‟t get any convincing words from him. All he told
him was that he was going to take care of it. Having understood what that means, he wasted no
time to inform Greg to get out of time.
Totally confused and scared at the same time, he asked, “What the hell are you talking
about?”
“I am so sorry but it doesn‟t look like you were going to get anything. If you love
yourself, get the hell out of town right now.”
Greg panted without letting go, his heart was pounding so loud within his chest, “Look, I
can‟t just leave town. My life is here.”
“If you don‟t leave town, you are going to die, man. He is sending a Hit man after you.”
Kelvin warned.
Greg dropped the phone immediately, he quickly packed up his computer and other stuffs
and then stormed out of the office. While walking down to his house to get some other things he
would need, he thought of what to do to salvage the imminent danger he is in and that was when
a thought struck him, he quickly dialed the police‟ number and required that he wanted to speak
with Clara. The line was routed to her and Greg explained in brief what really happened and how
he was involved in the mess they got Tom in.
“Look, Tom knew nothing about the money. The cheque book, the diary and the autopsy
result were all set up. I was angry that Cassie disappointed me by replacing my name with
Tom‟s, even though I was never faithful to her. So when they came to me to help set him, I
voluntarily accepted to do it. Tom is innocent and that‟s all I can tell you right.”
 “Who do you mean by „they‟?”
“I don‟t know. All I know is that, they are planning something bigger and now they are
after me.”
“Who is after you?” Clara questioned, but by then, the line had already gone dead. Greg
had already cut the line out of fear. Clara had never been more frustrated with this case until
now. She held the phone against her cheek thinking.
Kola, who was with her in the room but could not hear her conversation with Greg was
equally anxious to get the feedback. “What did he say? What is going on, Clara? Is he okay?”
Clara could not answer any of his questions, she just kept quiet while still holding the phone
against her cheek. At a point, she took the phone off her cheek and dialed the number that Greg
called her with. He was reluctant to pick the call at first but was forced to do so after repeated
calls. Clara had hardly waited for him to pick to call when she said, “Please don‟t cut me off.”
“What do you want? I already told you what I can” he charged.
“I know you already did, but I want to help you, Greg.”
“No, you can‟t.”
“Of course, I can. If „they‟ are after you like you said, then let me help you.”
“How?”
“I can place you in protective custody, Greg. Just tell me where you are right now, then I
will come and pick you up.”
Greg sighed aloud, “Ok. I will wait for at the city mall, Ikeja, and if you are not there in
thirty minutes, then I am gone.”
Clara dropped the call immediately and stormed out of the office together with Kola.
***
The two arrived at the city mall twenty five minutes later, the road had been unusually
free. Kola pulled over at the car park and they both alighted. They were concerned with the
mammoth crowd that was unusually gathered at the entrance of the mall as they moved closer.
They approached the security guard at the entrance who was trying to control the crowd, and the
man led them in after they had showed him their ID cards. Clara was so shocked when he found
Greg lying dead on the floor in a pool of blood. An eye witness gave an account that he saw him
fell from the third floor. Greg had gone to the third floor to have a glimpse at the advert of the
new movies in cinema while he awaits Clara. He was standing against the rail so that he might be
able to identify Clara whenever she enters when he was pushed over and he fell down headlong
and died immediately shattering some of his bones in the process.
Clara ordered her officers to check around to see if they would be able to find anything or
anyone suspicious but all their efforts proved abortive. Even the security cameras offered no help
as there were no cameras on the corridor where Greg was attacked. Clara stood by his dead body
frustrated and terrified at the same time. She had never thought this case was going to be this
difficult. She put on a pair of latex gloves to search Greg‟s corpse before the arrival of the
coroner, and was able to find his badly damaged Android phone.
Clara and Kola had to make way for the forensics to work at the scene of the accident but
before they go back to the office, Clara suggested that they branched at the Computer Village in
Ikeja to repair the phone if peradventure they might be able to get anything that will be helpful
from it. They spent few minutes at the Engineer‟s workshop before they decided to take their
leave after he had helped them with the screen and change the phone‟s casing.
They decided to continue their investigation the next day by visiting Greg‟s girlfriend;
Toyin in her own house. They had got the address to Toyin‟s apartment from one of Greg‟s
colleagues. She was at home with two of her closest friends who had come to sympathize with
her on the death of her boyfriend when Clara and Kola knocked on the door and she came down
to answer it. She nearly lost it when she sighted Clara. “You? Cecilia or whatever you called
yourself.” Apparently, she had not forgotten the name Clara told her nor her face. She charged
towards her and then grabbed her shirt screaming, “You killed him! You killed him!” Kola
quickly came to the rescue, dragging her back inside from the door entrance. Her friends were
surprised to see the drama was taking place, none of them had any idea what was really
happening.
“You showed up and Greg died the same day. Who are you?”
Kola preceded Clara before she could say anything, “Her name is Clara not Cecilia, she is a
Detective…and she didn‟t kill your boyfriend” he added.
Toyin sighed heavily, looked at Clara with an unfathomable indignation. “So what do
you people want?”
“We need to talk to you about your boyfriend” Clara said. Toyin took them to her room
to have a discussion with them.
Clara inhaled and then exhaled loudly again, “look, I am sorry for what happened with
your boyfriend, but I didn‟t kill him, he killed himself.
Confused and surprised at the same time, she asked what Clara meant. She explained to
her that Greg was involved in a deal that went bad which led to his death. She also took time to
explain to her that Greg had earlier intended to get married to Cassie before she died even though
he had told her that he had broken up with her. Toyin could not believe her, as she doubted
vehemently but Clara doused her denial when she showed her a copy of the invitation card.
Toyin stared at the invitation card until a drop of tears fell of her eyes. She quickly wiped her
tears with the back of her hand. Clara and Kola looked at each other‟s face and sighed. “But I
have to ask you Toyin” Clara intruded. “Did you notice anything secretive about Greg lately?
Any new friend?”
Toyin stuttered for a moment before finding her tongue, “Well, I didn‟t notice any new
thing, except some guy named Kelvin. He told me that he was a business partner, so I did not
bother to query further.” She sighed, “See, I don‟t always poke into Greg‟s affair because I
trusted him…I apparently, I was a fool.”
Kola and Clara thanked her for her cooperation and left thereafter. Toyin sat down in her
room still couldn‟t believe Greg had betrayed her, she stood up and went to the rest room where
she splashed water on her from the tap attached to a basin. She came out thereafter, chose one of
the best of her gowns and came out elegant to meet her friends. They couldn‟t believe their eyes
either when they saw how beautiful she looked. Was this same person that was shabbily dressed
and lost in self-pity earlier? Her actions were more of a shock to them than it was a surprise. She
looked at them with a broad smile written across her face, she does not have to tell them before
they could feel the aura of happiness and freedom around her. She said to them, “Let‟s go out
girls.” Her friends looked at each other and without uttering a word, they picked up their bags
and followed her.

CHAPTER NINE

“So what exactly happened between you and Kelvin?” Clara demanded.
Highly embarrassed and too naïve to talk about it, Tom grinned, „Well, it‟s nothing
special.” It…it is just stupid.”
“I don‟t care Tom, I want to hear it.” She was adamant. She believed that Kelvin‟s
involvement with the case must certainly has something to do with whatever had happened
between them before. Tom took a deep and sighed breath when he realized that Clara wasn‟t
going to give up until he spilled the beans. He looked at her countenance that was full of
expectations and then sighed again.
“Kelvin and I were best friends, we grew up together. We went to the same elementary
school, the same high school and then the same university together. He lived with me in my
parent‟s apartment after we graduated from the university for years. We were like brothers and
he was always there to have my back. I couldn‟t have asked for a better brother than he was to
me, he didn‟t even allow me to feel like I did not any relative around. He was always there for
me, always.” He inhaled and exhaled loudly. He fixed his gaze on the bottle of water on the table
in the room where Clara was interviewing him. She always does that anytime she goes to see
him. She tried as much as possible to provide an environment that can facilitate discussion and
where Tom would feel free to express himself. There was a time he took Tom for a walk so that
they could talk, even though it was against the prison rules, she knew how to make things happen
when she wanted to. Her influence both among the Police officers and the Correctional officers
is immense. Also, her training beyond the shores of the country had helped equipped her in the
area of her relationship with her suspects and had helped brighten her knowledge of fundamental
human rights. Since she came into service, she had been clamoring for better treatment of
prisoners and suspects as opposed to the traditional and rudimentary way things were being
operated that she met on ground. Despite this, she was always careful not to be out played by a
suspect nor be carried away by emotions and sympathies. She used to take at least two to five
well-trained officers with her anytime she wanted to take a suspect out for questioning depending
on the case she is working on.
Clara looked at how he was staring at the bottle of water, she picked it up and poured out
some into a glass cup and then offered him to drink. Tom chuckled, he took the glass of water
and gulped it down. “So what happened between you and Kelvin, Tom” she prompted further.
Tom emitted a very shallow grin, “I messed it up. I messed up our friendship.”
“How?” Clara demanded
“He met me and his girlfriend in a compromising position.”
Clara sniggered, “Apparently men are the same” she thought to herself. She had been a victim of
such, he knew what she went through with her ex-husband before she decided to call it quit. “But
how could be cheating on themselves with the same girl out of the numerous girl that are on the
face of the planet. That is the highest level of betrayal.” She concluded. Then again she thought,
“Some women are desperate. How could she? Sleeping with the two friends in the same house?
Ew! That is just disgusting. She thought. She was so lost in thoughts that she was unaware that
her countenance was in sync with what was going on in her mind. Tom looked at her weird
expressions and was embarrassed. She kept staring at Clara till she was back from the fairy land
her mind had drifted to.
“So you were messing with your best friend‟s girl friend?”
Tom was shocked with her accusation, and his visage could tell the same. “What? No” I wasn‟t
messing with her.”
“So what were you doing with her?”
He sighed and shrugged with his palms faced up and his hands flexed at the elbow, “That was
why I said it is stupid…”
“Look, Kelvin had already broke up with the girl and had moved on with his life. In fact,
he was already moving out with another girl. She came to my house to check on him but was not
around, I told her to call him but she told me that he wasn‟t picking her call. I tried to reach
Kelvin but he told her he wasn‟t coming home soon. I told the girl but she insisted on staying”
“Hmm, so you decided to keep her company since your friend wasn‟t around”
Without knowing what Clara was getting at, he ignorantly blurted out, “Yes I did”
She nodded her head repeatedly, “Apparently, you did that well.”
It wasn‟t until Clara uttered this statement that Tom knew she was teasing him. “No.
“That is not what I meant, Clara” He returned.
This was the first time Tom was going to address Clara by her first time, obviously, he
was carried away by the good rapport that is now established between the two of them. Although
Clara liked it but she out rightly instructed Tom never to address him again by her first name.
She felt that Tom was beginning to become too familiar with her and that was going to affect her
work. She wanted to keep her relationship with Tom as official as possible. He apologized for
overstepping his bounds and then promised never to repeat such again.
“What I was trying to say was that, this girl openly confessed to me that she had always
liked me and was only restricted because Kelvin was my friend. She told me I was the one she
always liked before Kelvin came to her, and that she only accepted Kelvin‟s proposal initially
just to get closer to me maybe I might begin to notice her interest in me but when I didn‟t, she
decided to move on with Kelvin which he eventually did turn out the way she had expected,
since she never loved him from the start…I was carried away with this, and she was about
kissing me when Kelvin came in through the door. He got annoyed and hit me. I couldn‟t fight
him back because I knew I was guilty and that was how a once rosy friendship turned sour all
because of me. I tried all my best to reach out to him after he had packed out of my house and
secure his own accommodation but he never picked my calls. So, I decided to let go and move
on.”
Clara took a deep breath and then exhaled loudly. She knew that she had misread the
situation, she knew that she had misjudged him, but intentionally, she never bothered to
apologize. She thought it would make her look weak and unprofessional.
“…but do you think Kelvin could be doing this because of some personal vendetta? I
mean what does he stand to gain?” Tom asked out of frustration.
“Hardly…but then we cannot rule that out. I would pay him a visit and find out the
truth.”
Tom sighed, “Well, there is a problem.”
“What is that?”
“I don‟t know where he lives or where he works at the moment.”
Clara sighed too, she thought of what she to do, then she looked down at Kelvin‟s picture she
had on Greg‟s phone. It was the same picture that she had shown Tom earlier before he began
narrating the incidence that occurred between him and Kelvin. It was the picture that she had
recovered from Greg‟s mobile phone after she got it repaired, the same phone she retrieved from
Greg‟s dead body. Luckily for her, Greg had not changed the pattern to unlock the phone, he
never really had the time to do that. He was more concerned with escaping. Clara discovered the
messages he had exchanged with Kelvin on his „Whatsapp‟ instant messenger where she was
able to download Kelvin profile picture. From the picture, Clara was able to discover that the
building is owned by „EazyLife pensions‟, an insurance company on the Island. Although it was
difficult for her to tell if Kelvin actually works there or that he had only taken a „selfie‟ there.
Still, she decided to check it out. Kelvin was dressed in grey suit, a pink shirt and a lilac tie.
She asked that Tom be taken back to the cell, while she left to pay Kelvin a visit.
***
Clara was dressed in a very casual and a little provocative red dress revealing a chunk of
her cleavages as she approached the Lady at the desk in the reception. Her make ups were
perfectly in order. She had spent the earlier few minutes in her car trying to make herself up
contrary to what is used to look when going to work. She learnt the art of makeup when she
graduated from high school before proceeding to the police academy, but because of the demand
of her work, she had no time to spend hours in the front of mirror in the name of trying to look
good. With or without make up, she‟s got this natural beauty and simplicity that you can‟t deny;
the first thing that get you attracted to her, before you begin to discover that she is as masculine
as she is beautiful at almost everything. She is a true definition of a strong woman, and she has
got this Sarah Connor and Diana Prince personality.
The lady at the desk could not resist her charms either as she was all smile when Clara
approached her, but she was little disappointed at her when after Clara had told her that she had
come to see Kelvin. Everyone at his work place knew about Kelvin‟s frivolities with women, and
she couldn‟t stop thinking that this aura of gorgeousness before her is just another victim.
“Walk straight down and then turn to your left” she said while attempting to describe
Kelvin‟s office for her.
Clara appreciated her and follow after her description. She came into the office a large
office full of ten to twelve other staffs, and went to the supposed cubicle that belonged to Kelvin
but unfortunately, he was not on the seat. Clara looked around very briefly for any clue but
Kelvin‟s table seemed to be neatly arranged and neat, and to be avoid being wrongly accused,
she approached a young man and another lady whose cubicles were not far from Kelvin‟s and
inquired from them of his whereabouts. The lady had hardly allowed her to finish her statement
when she asked, “Who are you?”
Clara gave a brisk smile at such a fierce question and responded, “I am Lizzy…Kelvin
and I met at the club yesterday.”
“Hmm I see. He is not around today, he called in sick early this morning.”
“Ouch.” Clara replied. She faked an attempt to turn away but she quickly returned to the
lady. “Please can I have the address to his house?”
“What for?” the lady fired back
Clara had to force a seductive smile this time around, and concentrating more on the young man
when she realized that her charms was not working on the mean lady before her. “Well, we
exchanged numbers yesterday and I promise I was going to check on him at his work place, but
since he is not here, maybe I can pay him a surprise visit at home. I am sure he would like it.
Wouldn‟t you?”
It seemed she got it right this time, the young man could not resist her as she worked him
over with her eyes and smile. He quickly brought out a pen from the inner pocket of his suit and
tore a page from his diary and wrote Kelvin‟s address on it. She handed it over and she thanked
him profusely before turning away. The lady looked at him after Clara had left with indignation
until he was forced to ask, “What?”
“How could you give Kelvin‟s address to a stranger?”
“Come on, are you jealous?” he asked in reply.
“Of who, her? Psst”
“Yes, of her. She is hot.”
“Whatever.” She shrugged
***
Clara was driving down in her car to the address she was given when her phone rang. She
rattled her bag to pick up the disturbing phone. She never bothered to check who the caller was
before putting it against her ear. It was Uncle John on the other end of the line. He asked her
where she was and she told him that she is following up a trail. He warned to watch her back that
he got an information from a reliable source that they were targeting her on the Tom‟s case.
“What happened?” she demanded but John could not explain any further, seemed he was making
the call discreetly but he vehemently warned her to be very careful and watchful and then he cut
off the line almost immediately. Clara took a deep breath and then exhaled loudly after she had
dropped the call. She could not understand what is really going on. Her mind flashed to how she
was involved in this case in the first place. She only want to make sure that Tom was not
innocently penalized but now the way the case is going, it seemed it is beyond what she had
expected, not even now that a threat is made towards her life. There are so many questions in
mind that was yet to find an answer to like; why was Cassie‟s account hacked and the money
transferred to Tom? What do they really want from Tom? Who could have killed Greg? How is
Kelvin connected to all of these? Could he have been the mastermind of this whole case? What
does he stand to gain by framing Tom up? Is Tom really innocent? What exactly is he not telling
her? Has he gotten himself into any trouble that now backfires? Clara kept pondering on these
question in her mind as he drove down to Kelvin‟s address. She had decided to go in alone so as
not to raise any suspicion. After about thirty minutes of drive, she finally got to the given street.
Kelvin lived in a densely populated area with bad road. Clara couldn‟t drive down, so she had to
park her car and decided to go on foot on an untarred muddy road that led to Kelvin‟s house,
which was sticking to her shoes because of the heavy downpour earlier that day. There was a
small local market along the road which the residents of the area patronizes. Some of them had to
park their cars by the road sides before they go into the market, which was partly responsible for
the congestion along the road. When she finally got to his house, he approached Kelvin‟s door,
with her gun tucked into her waist but tried to conceal it with her jacket. Her thought? She did
not want to take any chances, if truly Kelvin is as dangerous as she had thought, then she
wouldn‟t give up without putting up a fight.
She knocked gently against the door, but there was no response. Then she knocked a little
bit harder but no reply. She knocked much harder but still, all to no avail. After spending few
more minutes at the door fruitlessly, she went round the house to see if she would find anybody,
but she couldn‟t. She even tried to peep inside through the window but could not gain an access
either, so she returned to the front door. She stood at the door frustrated, then a thought came
into her mind. She removed her hair pin, looked around to ensure nobody was looking and then
picked the lock to the door with the hair pin. She rubbed her feet against the foot mat at the front
of the door before pushing the door opened, and stepped in quietly, holding the pistol tucked her
right hand firmly. Kelvin‟s apartment was literally turned upside down. She found his laptop on
a desk at dinning which had been already damaged, looked like it was intentionally smashed with
a sledge hammer. She picked the pieces off the table, but it didn‟t look like anything can be
salvaged from it. She proceeded to the room where she found pieces of papers scattered all over
the room and his bed and bed sheets thrown out of order. Clara put on a pair of latex gloves, and
rattled the pieces of paper on the floor, checking every print on each paper. She found a business
belonging to „Terrain Pharmaceuticals‟, she flipped it between her fingers back and forth before
throwing it on the floor. She stood up and stood akimbo, perplexed and troubled. She took and
deep breath and then exhaled loudly again. After spending few more minutes checking around in
futility, she decided to take her leave.
Clara was walking back to where she had parked her car after a frustrating search at
Kelvin‟s house. She was just at the market when she heard a gunshot, so she quickly hid herself
behind one of the cars that were parked by the road. Market people began to run helter-skelter
while some were screaming for help at the top of their voice. After there was a little bit of
calmness, Clara came out from she had hidden herself, and surprisingly, her gaze met with that
of Uncle John. He had hardly allowed her to say anything when he asked, “Are you Okay,
Clara?” She nodded her head in assent, still a little shaken up. She held her jaw in utter dismay
when she saw a man lying dead on the floor with a gun in his hand. Uncle John walked towards
the corpse and kicked the gun away from his hand.
“He was a hitter sent after you.” He explained. Clara still couldn‟t say anything, she was
scared as hell. John held his rifle over his shoulder. He had shot the man from an uncompleted
two story-building few meters across the street.
“Well, I told you to watch your back, did I not?” He put his hand on Clara‟s right
shoulder and she grinned. “Look, I promised your father that I was going look after you. Now,
how am I supposed to do that when you keep walking into troubles?” Clara couldn‟t help herself
anymore, her lips gave way for her teeth as she emitted a very broad smile.
 “Thank you Uncle” she said. John asked her whether she was able to get anything from
the search but she told him it was an exercise in futility.

CHAPTER TEN

Few days before the court, Clara sat in her office, in a slouching position and with her
legs on the table, frustrated and discouraged. She had made no progress concerning the case,
having tried all that she could within her powers and even beyond, against all odds, and in spite
of the discouragements she had encountered ever since she had taken up this case. Now it just
seemed she is giving up to the pressures. No one would blame her if she is ready to give up this
time around. Just because of this case, she had lost her sleep, she no longer have enough time to
spend with her son, and she had not been able to eat well lately, had only been feeding on junks.
Her superiors and colleagues had tried to persuade her to give up the case but she had turned a
deaf ear. The only person who seemed to be on her side was her partner, Kola who was doing
this simply because he had to and not because he wanted to. She had requested for an official
permission, (which is the last step she had decided to take before letting go) to search Greg‟s
apartment if she might be able to find anything meaningful there, even though she wasn‟t
expecting anything of such.
 Clara was in this same position when Kola brought in the warrant. She got up her seat
immediately and they both set out for Greg‟s house. Clara couldn‟t but express her frustrations at
the case, on their way she was particularly frustrated at how complicated the case had become,
leaving to trail for them to follow up. Kola couldn‟t say much but to encourage her, stressing that
she needs to do whatever her guts tell her and that he was ready to give her whatever support she
needs. She smiled cheerfully as he appreciated Kola‟s trust in her and his support. “You are the
best partner, I could ever wish for” she said in appreciation.
They arrived at Greg‟s house few minutes later, and for no obvious reason, Clara asked
Kola to pull over outside the compound, while they approached the gate on foot. Greg‟s house
has a big compound decorated with beautiful ornamental plants, along the walk that led to the
front door and around the house. The house is bounded with a low fence and a front gate which
is always open during the day, without a security guard. The building itself comprises of three
separate two-bedroom flat. One of Greg‟s neighbors and owner of the house were an old couple
who spend their weekdays at work in Ibadan and only return on weekends. She brought out the
key from her pocket to unlock the door, but discovered that the lock had already been broken.
She signaled to Kola to stay sharp, who also brought out his gun. She opened the door gently,
and peeped through the slit to look around, then pushed the door opened with the tip of his shoe.
Clara frowned at him, but he shrugged with a smile instead. They stepped into Greg‟s house
gently, both holding their guns pointed at virtually everything that makes a sound. They searched
every room in the house including the conveniences but found no one. They both returned to the
sitting room when she noticed that the breeze was a little too much to be blowing from just the
front door. She entered into the room that was directly linked with the sitting room, and found
that the burglary had removed from the window. She whispered to Kola who rushed in almost
immediately, she showed him what she had found and Kola too was amazed by what he saw.
Clara looked through the window and inhaled the fresh air, then she saw a broken twig
from the plant very close to the window. She pushed the burglary away entirely from the window
and jumped out through the window to examine the twig. She discovered that the twig had just
been broken. “This is too strong to be broken by mere breeze” she thought to herself. She looked
around and then towards the fence and saw someone jumped over to the other side. She went
after the fellow almost immediately, calling on Kola as she ran. She flipped over the fence to
Kola‟s amazement, while he was still trying to pass through the gate. Clara ran after the fellow
on foot, while Kola decided to take the car instead in order to be able to mobilize the others.
“Attention all units, Detective Clara is pursuing a hostile on foot along Cardoso road, Mushin.
He is dressed in black hood, blue jeans and white snickers. Be alert and armed to the teeth as
hostile may be dangerous. I repeat, be alert.”
Clara went after the suspect while he kept dispelling people out of his way, and Kola also
followed in the car. He ran into the market, colliding and pushing people and farm produce
away, while Clara also followed hard after him. He ran into a building, and up the stairs, jumped
out of the window, and back on the street. Clara followed him relentlessly, running as fast as she
could. She climbed down the water pipes behind the house instead of jumping down through the
window, and found the gun that was dropped by the suspect, she picked it up and picked up the
race. She ran after the man until he entered into a Catholic church. Clara stepped into the church,
holding her gun pointed out, she panted reverberantly but quietly, while trying to around to
locate the Suspect. She picked her phone and tried to call Kola to find out his whereabouts, but
there was no network on her phone. Kola himself had lost her during the chase.
She tiptoed along the central isle towards the altar, looking between the pew, right and
left but couldn‟t find anyone. She climbed the altar and stretched her neck to look behind the
pulpit, but she caught a shadow of the suspect on the floor of the altar instead. She looked up
towards the upper gallery and saw movements, without thinking twice, she shot sporadically at
him. The hostile took to his heels and Clara followed suit, but took the other stairs to cut him off.
Having sensed what she planned to do, he decided to jump down from the upper gallery, but
Clara shot him in the leg just before he leaped. So he missed his steps and fell down headlong on
the chair and then down on the floor. He struggled to get up and ran but Clara was already at his
heels. He groaned in pain and stood on his feet, while Clara held him at gun point. She ordered
him to pull of his hood, he obeyed but Clara was shocked when he saw his face.
“Uncle John?” she exclaimed. “What are you…? So it was you. You are behind this?”
John grinned, and groaned. “No, I am not. I was just an employee?”
“Oh my God” she panted. “Why?”
“Why?” John looked lost, and wondered what she meant.
“I mean, why did you do it? Why did you set Tom up?”
He sniggered, “What? Do you think I would jeopardize my career for a measly one hundred and
fifty million Naira? No, I didn‟t set him up, that was Greg.
Clara scoffed and then exhaled loudly, “Did you kill him?”
“Well, he was a jealous prick and was becoming too greedy, and erm…a liability, so I
had to”
Clara couldn‟t believe her ears, if someone had relayed what she had just heard from John,
whom she look up to as a father and a veteran in the job to her, she would have refuted it
vehemently. She looked at him in utter disbelief, and panted. Suddenly, she became lightheaded
and sweating profusely. “Oh my God, you tried to kill me too” she deciphered.
“Well, I did try to warn you, didn‟t I? But you wouldn‟t listen. You were just as stubborn
as your father. Same reason why he got killed” John said in defense.
Clara was the target at the market when she went to inspect Kelvin‟s house. The man that
was shot was just a victim who got in the way when John was trying to eliminate her with a
sniper shot from the uncompleted building across the street. The man was trying to get out of his
car when he got into the kill zone. John had put the gun in his hand after he had shot him just
before Clara came out of her hiding thus setting him up as the assailant.
“So, you killed my father too!”
John sighed, he closed his eyes lightly in shame, and said, “He was going to name me. He had
this long list of corrupted Officers according to him and was going to hand it over to the
Inspector General of Police. What was I supposed to do?”
Clara couldn‟t believe her ears, she felt betrayed and hurt beyond measures. Her eyes
welled up at that instance, she looked at brought down the hand that had been holding gun at
John for the last few minutes. She felt so weak and helpless, she looked at John in big
disappointment, and with teary eyes she said, “He was your partner.”\
“He left me no choice.” John returned.
“He was your friend” she shouted on top of her voice
“I regret killing him, if that is any consolation for you.”
Clara was hurt the more as result of John‟s unremorseful action, she grinned her teeth in
annoyance, and then pointed the gun at him again, “Get down on your knee.” John stood still, he
thought she was probably joking. So Clara shouted at him again, “I said, Get down on your
knee…and out your hands behind your head.” She ordered.
John got down on his knees and did as he was ordered, “So, what are you going to do?”
he asked.
“I am putting you behind the bars where you belong.”
He had hardly allowed her to conclude her statement when he busted into a hysterical laugh. “I
thought you were going to do something worse. You want to bet? I‟ll be out in two weeks” he
said confidently.
Having realized the possibility of his claim, Clara looked at him in the eye, and then
pulled back the safety and press lightly on the trigger. John watched her intimately, “What are
you doing? You can‟t kill me.”
“Really? And why is that?” she asked.
“What would you say I did? Besides, you have to account for every bullet at the
department.”
Clara grinned, “Well, news flash, asshole. This isn‟t my gun. It was the gun you dropped.”
John held his mouth in shock, he had never realized that he had dropped his gun while he was
trying to escape. “Please Clara, don‟t kill me…I was like a father to you” he pleaded earnestly
“I had a father, his name was Dennis Dehinde, and you killed him.”
John sighed, “So, you want to kill me in the church?”
“God would understand. You deserve to die…Goodbye, Uncle John.” So, Clara shot him
twice in the chest, he fell down and yielded up the ghost.
 Clara inhaled, and then exhaled loudly. She sobbed silently and tears ran freely down her
cheek. Then, she wiped her tears with the arm of her shirt when she was relieved. She turned
around to take her leave, only to be met with the waiting gaze of Bob. She was scared to hell
when she saw him, Bob looked down at John who was lying dead on the floor. Clara must have
thought that Bob was going to arrest her for murder of a superior officer, she extended her hands
towards him to be cuffed but Bob held them and whispered to her, “We heard everything.” He
moved aside to reveal Kola who was also standing right behind him. He gently took the gun from
her and handed it over to Kola, who brought out a handkerchief and wiped away all traces of
finger prints, before proceeding to where John laid on the floor and imprinted his fingers on the
gun instead, making it look like a suicide rather than a homicide. Bob held Clara hand gently and
the latter buried her head into his chest, sobbing. “I am so sorry for doubting you, Sir” she
apologized. Bob robbed her gently on the back as she sobbed on.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“I still don‟t understand why John would be involved in something like this.”
“What do you mean? Kola questioned.
“I mean, it doesn‟t make any sense.”
“What doesn‟t make sense, Clara? Obviously, he did it for the money.”
She sighed, “Even when he knew that the court was going to fix Tom‟s account and confiscate
the money?”
“Well, maybe he did not know that.”
She scoffed, “That is not possible, Kola. John is a veteran in this job”
Kola sighed too, “So, what are you thinking?”
Frustrated, she sighed again, “Look, I am not thinking anything, it‟s just that this whole thing
doesn‟t make any sense…I can understand Greg‟s involvement but John‟s? I just don‟t get
it…and where the hell is this Kelvin guy? How was he involved?”
Kola looked at her with pity, he had no idea what to say but he could understand her
frustration. Clara looked back at him and sniggered. “You know, John said to me, „Do you think
I would jeopardize my career for a measly one hundred and fifty million Naira?‟ whatever that
means!”
Clara had been more frustrated in the last couple of days than she was at the beginning of
the case especially since she found out about John‟s involvement in the case. She had been able
to get herself together after finding out of John‟s betrayal, thanks to the distraction at work. One
would have thought that she would bring her struggles on the case to a screeching halt but she
did not, she wouldn‟t just let go. While others felt they had got to the root of the matter, she felt
they had only just scratched the surface and she needed more answers. John‟s involvement and
confession were presented as evidence in the court which had prompted the court to grant Tom
bail but on a condition that he would not leave town and would present himself every week at the
police station while he awaits, the decision of the Senate on his involvement in carrying out
euthanasia on Cassie.
“So, where is Tom now?” Clara inquired.
“Well, he‟s being released as we speak.”
“Alone?”
Kola looked stunned, he looked at Clara wondering what she was expecting in the first place.
“Should Tom have been escorted down to his house?” he thought, and just when the thought
crossed his mind, Clara said exactly the same thing as if she was reading his mind.
“What do you mean? You want Tom to be escorted home?”
“Yes, that is what I meant, Kola…Provide a four man escort in two vehicles.”
“For real?” Kola asked in disbelief.
She gave Kola a repulsive look and the latter sighed and said, “Okay, I‟ll ensure that.”
Kola assigned four mobile officers to escort Tom back to his house. Tom was riding with
an officer in the back seat, while the other officer sat with the driver in the front seat. The vehicle
is being followed with a police van that had two officers riding in it; a driver and his partner who
is seated beside him.
Tom could not understand the reason for this much guard, he sat down quietly beside the
police officer looking through the windshield at virtually everything his eyes can catch as they
drive along. Deep down inside, he had a certain relief and joy, the type he can‟t explain,
especially now that his image had been redeemed, now that his honor is kept, now that the truth
had been revealed and now, he can only wish for one thing and one thing alone, that the senate
decide in his favor.
 ***
After driving for certain kilometers, their vehicles was stuck in a heavy gridlock which
was not moving for several minutes despite the police sirens blaring so loud, until they were
forced to kill the sound while they realized that it wasn‟t working. After a while, the driver of the
car where Tom was sitting saw that the vehicles before him were moving, so he switched on the
engine and moved forward too but before the van behind could move. A trailer from the other
lane overtook him and occupied the space between the car and the van, thus creating a gap
between the car in which Tom was riding in and the accompanied police Van and blocking the
view of one car from the other. The driver got angry and blasted his horn loudly and repeatedly
but all to no avail, so he had to give up and hoping the traffic gets better.
They remained stuck in this gridlock when the police seated beside the driver of the car in
which Tom was saw a man dressed in a black jacket knocked against the tinted windshield. He
looked towards but couldn‟t saw his face. So, he motioned to the driver to wind down the
windshield, and that was when he discovered that the man was masked, but before he could do
anything, the man stuck a knife into his neck and, and his blood splashed against the windshield.
The driver, who is also a police officer was shocked, and just before he could react, the man shot
him in the head with a silenced pistol, and immediately shot the officer that was seated beside
Tom in the neck too. His blood splashed unto Tom‟s face. He couldn‟t scream, he was too
shocked to make any noise, he just opened his mouth wide in total shock. The man pointed the
gun at him and told him to get out. Tom put his hands up and unlock the door to step out into the
grip of another man who was waiting beside the car. He ushered Tom quietly with a gun pushed
against his back into an already waiting van around the corner. Having realized their mission had
been completed, the driver of the trailer also got down and took to his heels.
The police in the van behind the trailer sat back totally ignorant of what had taken place.
It wasn‟t until they saw other cars moving that they became worried. The driver horned
repeatedly at the trailer before him but there was no response nor movement. The vehicles
behind them had already started to complain, so the police seated beside the driver was forced to
get down and check out what was wrong. He was surprised when he saw that no one was in the
driver‟s seat, then he moved closer to the car his colleagues were driving, no amount of words
could describe how terrified he was when he saw that all his colleagues had died and that Tom
was nowhere to be found. He felt Tom was responsible for the massacre, so he took his phone
and called the office, telling then that Tom had escaped and killed the officers. People had
already gathered around the scene in no time at all, but they had to give way when they saw more
police vehicles arrived at the scene. Clara got down to the scene, burning with anger. She also
assumed that the information the police gave was true and that Tom had played and used her.
She peeped into the car and examined the way the attack was carried out and the direction of the
blood splash, and then the trailer that was used as distraction, she concluded that the attack was
carried out from the outside and not by Tom.
Infuriated, she demanded from the police officers how the incidence had taken place on
an express road without their knowledge. “We were just…” one of the police officers were trying
to explain but Clara did not allow him to complete his statement before she snapped at him,
“You were just what? Bunch of incompetent nincompoop” she said outrageously.
She walked up to the officers who were there before her and asked if there were eye
witnesses but they told her none. “Arrgh…it so difficult to be Cop in this country! No eye
witnesses, no street cameras, no nothing! Damn! She shouted in frustration.
Kola approached her, and asked in frustration too, “What the hell is going on, Clara?”
“Phew, I don‟t know, man” she sighed. “But whatever this is, it is bigger than we
thought…this is an organized crime.”
“So what do we do?”
“We do what we always do, we search and look, Kola. We search and look.”
***
Tom was covered with a hood and dragged into an abandoned warehouse. They took him
into of the rooms, where they sat him down and tied him to the chair before leaving him alone
and shut the door against him. Tom sat down there with a million and one thoughts feeding into
his mind. He had hardly gotten over one of the greatest shocks of his life. Seeing three people
killed in such a horrible manner, even the incidence he witnessed during the Dodan Viral
outbreak wasn‟t as tragic and unpleasant as this. He breathed quietly under the hood and was
imagining where he was and what these people want with him. He didn‟t have to think too far
when he heard the creaking noise of the metal door, he raised his head and looked towards the
door like he was going to see whoever is at the door. The fellow walked gently towards where
Tom sat shivering on his chair, and he could hear every step he took as he approaches him, it like
the sound were magnified in his ears. The fellow pulled away the hood, and Tom struggled to get
his eyes adjusted to the sudden change in the brightness of the illumination. When he had finally
achieved that, he was shocked by the image of the individual he saw. It was Kelvin, his
childhood friend. “Kelvin?” he exclaimed.
Kelvin grinned, and took a chair and then sat down adjacent to him and crossed his legs.
He looked deep into Tom‟s eyes for some seconds while he also stared back into his and the duo
remained in an unusual and awkward silence until Tom finally broke the silence.
“What is going on, Fred?”
Kelvin scoffed, |”So is that what you were going to say?”
Tom looked confused, he wondered what he meant by the statement. Kelvin responded
by saying, “So, you weren‟t going to apologize?
“Apologize for what?”
“For messing with my girl.”
Tom scoffed, “Which of your girls?”
“Ha-ha” Kelvin laughed. “You think this is a joke?”
Tom sighed in return when he noticed Kelvin‟s frowned countenance, “Look, how many times I
gotta tell you that I never messed with Ijeoma?”
Kelvin became annoyed, he got up his seat and advanced towards him on his seat. He grind his
teeth, pointing his index finger towards him and shouting at the top of his voice, “I know what I
saw, Tom. I know what I saw.”
Tom sniggered, “look, I don‟t have time for this. I want to know why you brought me
here. What the hell is going on, Kelvin?”
He sighed, and quietly went back to his chair. He looked into Tom‟s eyes and smirked.
Then, he narrated how it all went down to Tom. He began:
“Well, you know, they always say opportunities come once in a life time. I was in an
ICAN annual event in Port Harcourt few months ago where I met Greg, who happened to come
from Lagos like I did. We lodged in the same hotel, and we got talking. He told me about some
guy who snatched his girl away and robbed him of a hundred million naira royalty. So when I
asked for the guy‟s picture? Guess what? It was you. I told him about what you did to me too,
apparently you have a knack for snatching other people‟s girls.”
He stood up quietly from his seat, tucked his hands into his pockets and leaned against
the wall, just adjacent to Tom, and then he continued, “Meanwhile, before I met Greg, I had been
approached by a company who claimed they doing some freaking research work and they needed
you.”
“What for?” Tom intruded.
“I don‟t know, but who cares? They told me all I had to do is present you and I‟ll be paid
handsomely. So, guess what I did, I wooed Greg into the deal. Although, he was reluctant at first
but DSP John, who was already working with them before I began, got him convinced somehow
that he was going to make sure the court restore the hundred and fifty million naira back to him.
He was obviously angry and wanted to punish you. So, we made a deal, that at the end of the
day, everybody gets what he wants. It‟s a win-win situation.
“So, how did that work out for him?” Tom cut in
Kelvin rolled his eyes, “Apparently, Greg got too greedy, and I tried to warn him
but…unfortunately, it was already too late.”
Tom kept quiet for few seconds, he was short of what to say. He inhaled and then exhaled
loudly, he still couldn‟t understand why the company as Kelvin claimed, would pay huge amount
of money for his kidnap and why they would go through all what had happened in order to
achieve that. When Kelvin got no response from Tom, he continued,
“I wouldn‟t have done this to you bro, but you forced my hands, man. You betrayed my
trust. I mean, you just don‟t do that to a brother.”
 “Why don‟t you stop deceiving yourself? Ijeoma was never your girl.”
“How do you mean?” Fred returned.
Tom scoffed, “You want to know why she wanted me? Well, it was because she never loved you
from the start. She only agreed to go out with you so that she could get closer to me.”
Fred was beginning to be offended by Tom‟s statement and one could tell from his
expression, “That is not true” he said with a lowered voice.
“Oh, it isn‟t? Did you ever wonder why she decided to stick around even when she knew
that you were cheating on her? That night when she came to my place to see you, she decided to
stay behind not because she wanted to wait for you but because she enjoyed my company better
that she does with you.”
“Shut up, Tom” Kelvin panted.
“You are like a sepulcher, man. You are dirty inside but looks beautiful on the outside.
You are selfish, hysterical and so full of shit and that is exactly why you jump from one girl to
the other because you can‟t find contentment in any of them.”
“Shut up, Tom.” Kelvin warned again but Tom ignored him and continued. His aim was
to really provoke him.
“You have had as many girls as you want, yet you were hurt that I had something to do
with Ijeoma. Do you know why? It‟s because you just couldn‟t get another girl who was as dumb
as she was with you. She was the dumbest girl you could ever wish for, because it is only dumb
girls like her who can put up with your sorry ass.”
Kelvin couldn‟t take it any longer, he just screamed at the top of his voice, “I said shut
up” and hit him with his fist that he fell down with the chair. Tom was laughing maliciously
where he was on the door and this got Kelvin more annoyed, he held by the neck and was about
hitting him again when he heard a voice at the entrance that said, “That is enough, Kelvin.” So
he deterred. The man ordered him to leave the room. He stared at Tom on the floor, and panted
breathlessly, and then reluctantly left the room. The man, who was elegantly dressed in black
suits, white shirt and a black tie signaled to the armed men who were with him to pick Tom off
the floor. They did as he ordered. Tom made attempt to clean his bleeding nose with his
shoulder, but he was not able to achieve that properly. One of the men cleaned his nostrils with a
white handkerchief at the man in black suit‟s order. After he was done, he ordered the men to
leave the room, so they left, and he was left alone with Tom. He drew the chair closer and sat
down directly opposite to him.
He leaned back into the chair and crossed his legs, then cleared his throat. The man introduced
himself as Doctor Timothy Adeojo, a pharmacist and the CEO of Terrain Pharmaceuticals.
“Ha, the same pharmaceutical company that claimed to have the cure to the Dodan
hemorrhagic viral disease. So how is the cure coming now?” Tom inquired
 “Well, we had some setbacks but, we did manage to attract international audience”
Doctor Adeojo replied.
Terrain Pharmaceuticals had earlier announced to the world that they had found the cure to the
Dodan Virus after the outbreak in the country. Although, many refuted this claim since the same
company had been sued to court by a human right activist who accused of them of illegal
research work but the court had discarded the case because of the company‟s influence and
money power.
“Well, as you may know…” Dr. Adeojo continued. “…the virus had gone more virulent
since after the outbreak in the country and it is now festering in East and Central Africa thus, it is
vastly becoming worrisome for the United Nations and the World Health Organization. As a
result, they are willing to sponsor and support any research work that is aimed at ending this
menace and epidemics, and we, at Terrain Pharmaceuticals are willing, just like our hallmark to
provide a reliable structure for a healthy living. If we are able to successfully find a cure to this
disease and we give it a name, we well be able to sell a vial of this breakthrough drug for the
international body of health at a cost price worth billions of dollars, and I mean billions of dollars
As much as Dr. Adeojo had beautifully concluded his narrations, Tom was not impressed
at all, he was more particular about why he was kidnapped and framed for theft that he was
concerned about what the CEO had just narrated. He asked him what the kidnap had to do with
him anyway. He had hardly finished asking this question when an elderly man with grey hair and
overgrown grey beard, dressed in a glistering white lab coat, and white theatre shoe stepped into
the room. The Doctor introduced the man as Professor Jerry Majekodunmi, the head of his
research team. The man saluted Tom, but Tom ignored him.
“You see, Professor Mejekodunmi have always believed that you are the answer to all of
our wasted months of research works and that was why we went through all these pains to get
you here.”
Tom took a deep breath and exhaled loudly again, he had no single idea what was really
going on and what the man meant. He asked, “What exactly are you talking about?”
“Don‟t trouble your pretty little head.” Intruded the professor. “That is exactly what I
intend to find out”
“What do you intend to find out?” Tom asked in anticipation.
“The reason why you remain untouched during the viral outbreak despite your undue and
unprotected exposure.”
“What? How does that affect anything?”
The Professor was no longer interested in Tom‟s questioning, he ordered two of the armed men
that were standing outside the room to bring Tom up into his laboratory where he carries out his
research work. The men assisted Tom off his chair and led him to the Lab. The laboratory is a
big room, looks more like an operating room except that it is very much bigger. It has a theatre
table and stool, an overhead operating light, two light and electronic microscopes, wash hand
basin, a hand dryer machine, an oxygen cylinder and anesthetic machine. Tom looked around the
room paying attention to every instrument inside the room. The room also has a desktop
computer and a blood mixer, with several test tubes lying on the table and in the rack. Tom
looked and saw dead bodies kept frozen behind glass doors. He couldn‟t keep his amazement to
himself, he asked the professor what he was doing with dead bodies and he answered, “They
were the people that died from the Dodan viral infection”
“So, you are experimenting on them?” he queried.
The Professor chuckled, “No, I am studying them”
Tom took notice how their parts were lying apart, and he blurted out, “Studying? What the hell
happens to the sanctity of human body?”
The professor busted into a hysteric laughter, “Sanc…? What sanctity does the body have
after one is dead?”
So, he signaled to the men that held Tom to put him on the theatre table and tie him up.
Tom struggled hard but to no avail. The Professor told to relax that he only want to a sample of
his blood. He took about 10millilitres of his blood in a test tube and added another chemical he
called a catalyst he developed into the blood and then added the virus he had cultured from one
of the infected people, and put it into a machine, he named blood mixer. He allowed the solutions
to react together for fifteen minutes before he brought it out and studied some sample he took
from the solution under the microscope. He was impressed by the result he got, his pupils were
widely dilated and couldn‟t hold back the smile that forced itself out of his mouth. “Amazing” he
whispered. Doctor Adeojo could no longer wait to be invited, he walked towards the Doctor and
asked him to let him take a look. He also was impressed by the experiment. The professor looked
at Tom where he anxiously laid on the table and said, “You are adorable, son.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked
“You blood totally neutralized the virus. You are the answer to the world‟s problem.” He
said with a smile.
“So, what more do you need, Professor?” Dr. Adeojo asked.
Still staring at the specimen under the microscope, he responded, “I need more blood, spinal
fluid, bone marrow and brain tissue.”
Tom couldn‟t believe his ears where he was tied up on the table, he began to shake
vigorously on the theatre table. He knew what that means for him. His face welled up at the
instance, tears ran down towards his ears. Kelvin who was standing by too could not believe his
ears neither. He faced Doctor Adeojo, “What the hell is he talking about? Spinal fluid, brain
tissue? You said you only needed a pint of blood from him. What is going on?”
The Professor grinned and shrugged, “Well, whatever we can get from his blood will
never be enough to cure the disease, we need his core antigens.”
 Kelvin became lightheaded, apparently, he had been deceived. He never thought they had
a bigger plot, all he was told was that he needed to deliver Tom and they would just take a pint of
blood and he would be paid. “This was not the deal” he shouted as he moved towards Dr.
Adeojo. When he saw that Kelvin was becoming aggressive, he ordered his men to force him
out. “You will get your money” he said.
Kelvin struggled to free himself, he looked at Tom on the table, tears shone in his eyes,
and said, “I am so sorry Tom, I am.”
The men led him to the car, but while the men were dragging Kelvin to the car, Doctor
Adeojo signaled to them to take care of him.
Tom laid on the table, with a million and one evil thoughts crossing his mind. There was
no hope of rescue and he can‟t believe that this was going to be his end. Tears ran freely down
his cheeks. The Professor looked at him on the table and whispered, „Think of it this way, you
will helping to save lives and to change the face of Medical practice forever. With this drug, we
will be able to treat all forms of viral hemorrhagic fever; Ebola, Lassa, Dodan and so on. You
should be proud, you should feel honored.”
Tom scoffed, “You are out of your mind”

CHAPTER TWELVE

They were driving Kelvin in a car to take him to where they were going to take care of
him. He was seated in the back of the car. Having sense their evil plan, he gently loosened his
belt and when they got to a freeway, he strapped the belt around the driver‟s neck and pulled him
against the chair. The man struggled to free himself, losing the control of the car in the process,
the other man grabbed the steering in order to stabilize the car but it was already late, the car
swerved off the road and ran into the bush until it was brought to halt by a big tree. The man who
was seated beside the driver who had removed his seat belt while he was struggling with the
steering was thrown out of the car through the front windshield because of the abrupt stoppage of
the car, and he died instantly. The driver also hit the steering with his head and his face was
covered with blood. Kelvin struggled to extricate himself where he was stuck at the back of the
car and took to his heels immediately he got out.
After few minutes of struggling in the bush, he eventually made it to the road, and luckily
for him, he found an old couple driving in their van. Kelvin motioned to them to stop, the man
was forced to stop when he saw that he was bleeding. Kelvin gave a history that he had an
accident and that his friend had died. The couple offered to take him to the hospital but he
refused. He asked if they had any phone on them but the couple told him “No”.
They dropped him off when they got to town, where he was able to make a call at a call
center to the police station. He told them that he had an information about Tom‟s whereabouts,
only if they made a deal with him that he would not be going to jail. Clara reluctantly agreed and
instructed him to stay where he was so that he could lead them to where Tom was held since he
claimed they would not be able to get the description except he takes them there. Meanwhile, the
driver of the car where Kelvin had escaped, had regained consciousness and had made a call to
the base telling of Kelvin‟s escape. The Head of the security team relayed the message to Doctor
Adeojo and he told the rest of the team to pack their loads while they move to the secondary
location.
Few minutes later, Clara and the police team arrived at the location only to discover that
they had moved. She ordered the team to search everywhere and few miles perimeter but they
found nothing except some of the equipment that they couldn‟t carry and they had been severely
damaged. After they had searched everywhere in futility, they decided to take their leave. She
ordered that they take Kelvin into custody and take him to the Police station for further
interrogation. When they had gone, Clara decided to stay behind. She went back into the
warehouse, and was paying attention to virtually everything in the Laboratory especially. She
found the same card that she had found in Kevin‟s house belonging to Terrain Pharmaceuticals.
She sighed, and went to the theatre table, she saw the cords with which Tom was tied to the table
and inspected it properly. While inspecting the table, she noticed a particular drawing on the
table, like it had been scratched by a sharp object, and some letters written “KJA”. The drawing
she saw looks like a tube, so she concluded that it must be a tunnel, but she does not know what
KJA means. She went out to her car to make a call to Kola and inquired from him what KJA
could means. She was about steeping into her car when she went back again to check her plate
number, where she saw the word KJA, so she knew it meant Ikeja.
There used to be an old tunnel which was rumored to be constructed during the regime of
General Ibrahim Babangida, so she called Kola to find out where it was. “I need you to find out
where this tunnel is and get back to me ASAP, and also, get a chopper to my location right now.”
***
Clara joined the helicopter and the pilot in order to beat the traffic in search of the old
tunnel. Kola had told her that the entrance to the tunnel is inside a NNPC petrol station. Having
unable to find a place to land, Clara told the pilot to hover over the petrol station while she
climbs down through the rope. She entered into the petrol station, flashed her ID cards at the
attendants. She demanded that she needed to see the Manager of the petrol station. Without
wasting much time, she instructed him to empty one of the underground tanks, and then asked
for men who could help her break through the tanks, the Manager of the Fuel station and the
attendants could not believe their eyes when they saw the huge tunnel. Clara instructed that they
seal it up and nobody should be allowed in except the police who carries badge
 Clara followed the tunnel, until she got out and found a muddy path. She followed the
path and found an abandoned big shopping complex. Clara hid herself behind an oil tank when
she saw some armed men scattered around the complex. She picked her phone to ask from Kola
how far out they were, and he told her that they were stuck in traffic, but Kola was quick to warn
not to go in alone. Clara panted where she hid, and kept checking her wrist watch. When she
couldn‟t wait any longer she decided to go in alone. Her thought was that maybe she would be
able to save Tom if she made a hurry. She removed the white shirt she was wearing, leaving her
bra and then brought out her uniform from her back bag. She put on her uniform and then strap
on her bullet proof vest. She put two pistol guns in her waist band and held the third one. She
oput on the silencer so as not to attract much attention and suspicion. She then put off her mobile
phone.
She ducked and ran so as to avoid the hostile that was parading the corridor of the first
floor. Clara quietly climbed the stairs located outside, and tiptoed towards the man, he grabbed
the knife he had in his loins and stuck it his neck. Blood gushed out and the man died instantly
and quietly. She grabbed the man‟s walky-talky, and put it around her neck. She was there, when
she saw another hostile standing on the floor above her, she leaned against the rail, and shot the
man in the neck, the man fell off headlong. She climbed up, only to be met by another hostile at
the stairs, the man wanted to cut with a machete but she dodged it and threw the man down the
stairs, he hit his head against the wall and died. Having taken care of the guards outside, she
made her way into the main building. She also killed the two guards at the entrance of the main
building. She peeped into the building but she couldn‟t find Tom except some of the hostiles.
She stormed the building gun blazing while the hostiles also responded. After series of shooting,
dodging, hand to hand combating, she managed to subdue her enemies. She panted after she had
got up from where she was hiding. She turned around only to the smoke of the shotgun held at
her, the leader of the security team shot her in the chest. She fell down unresponsive, the man
stared at her on the floor and kicked her but she could not move. Presumed to be dead, he left her
and went to the lab where the Professor was working, he informed him that he had taken care of
it but they couldn‟t waste any time longer since the rest of the police might be arriving any time
soon. He suggested that they move Tom away from that location as well to a safer place. He was
untying Tom when they heard a gun fire, they looked around but couldn‟t find anybody nor
where the gunshot had come from. The head of the security managed to untie Tom only to notice
that he was bleeding from his belly. He panted quietly, and looked back when he saw Clara
holding a pistol. She had shot him through the back when he was untying Tom. The bullet proof
vest that she was wearing had saved her life. When The Professor saw that the man was dead, he
grabbed Tom and put a knife against his neck, pressing it against his windpipe. Tom had been
sedated so he was very drowsy, and the professor forced him to keep up.
“Stop, or I‟ll kill him” he threatened.
Clara sighed, “Look, whatever it is you are doing, it is over.”
He scoffed, “You have no idea what you are doing. You have no idea what you have done…I
was going to save millions of lives”
 “At the expense of an innocent life?”
“Science is all about sacrifice, you fool…I have been searching all my entire life to put
an end to human‟s misery, I was going to change the face of medical practice, I was going to
carve my name in history as one of the greatest who ever lived.”
Clara shook her head in pity, “You are psychotic.”
He grinned, and sweating profusely, “That is what the small minds always say about great
minds.”
Clara advanced towards him but he threatened again, “Stop or I will kill him, I promise.”
So Clara stopped moving but still pointed her gun at him. “Drop your gun, or I will kill him” he
warned.
“That is not happening, you freak” she replied.
The professor got annoyed when he noticed Clara‟s determination, he grind his teeth and said,
“Fine.” He held the knife firmly to cut Tom‟s throat but Clara shot Tom below his left collar
bone, the bullet passed clean through and was stuck into the Professor‟s heart. He fell down
quietly and gave up the ghost, and Tom also fell down to the floor. Clara ran towards the
professor on the floor and saw that he had died, he went to where Tom laid, to pick him off the
floor, and that was she heard the sirens of the other police officers. Tom managed to sit up and
sighed.
“Are you Okay?” Clara asked.
Tom panted, “You shot me. You shot me below my clavicle, you could have killed me if you had
hit my Subclavian artery”
Clara smiled, „I could have, but I didn‟t…and you are welcome.”
Tom smiled, he looked at Clara with keen interest until she was forced to ask what
happened. He replied, “You look super-hot in uniform”
She chuckled, “You have just been shot, and you are not seeing properly” Tom also chuckled in
reply. “Now let‟s get you to the hospital” she said.
One of the officers assisted Tom off the floor to take him to the ambulance. He looked
back and said to Clara, “Thank you for everything” but she only smiled in response.
Kola went to where Clara was standing, “I thought I told you not to go in alone.”
She smiled, “Yes you did, but I wouldn‟t have been able to save him if I had waited.”
Kola put his arms around her neck, “I am so glad I have you as my partner…your father would
be so proud of you.”
 She smiled lightly and then took a deep breath and exhaled again. She felt relieved that at
the end the truth had been revealed. Doctor Adeojo was arrested while he was trying to flee the
country. The government ordered for the closure of his Pharmaceutical Company across Nigeria.
***
Meanwhile, after series of deliberations and debating, it was finally concluded that Tom
had carried out a malpractice and not euthanasia as the initial charges had suggested. As a result,
he was referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria for appropriate discipline. The
council which was made of five man panel including the Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery
Council of Nigeria reached a conclusion that Tom be suspended from any form of practice for a
period of 6months and his license withdrawn.
“I want to say that we are very proud of you” said the Registrar.”…and we hope that after
your suspension you‟ll come back stronger, giving your best for the profession.”
Tom smiled lightly, “Of course. Where else would I be?”