WEDDING BLUES (EPISODE 8)

 

If you are visiting my blog for the first time, you have missed 7 episodes in total. But not to worry, you can read all of them from the links below before you continue reading this final episode.

EPISODE 1. EPISODE 2. EPISODE 3. EPISODE 4. EPISODE 5. EPISODE 6. EPISODE 7. Now, you can go ahead and read the FINAL episode. Enjoy!

JASMINE’S APARTMENT

“I said, Drop. That. Phone”

“Please, don’t kill me, please, I beg you…” Bisi drops the phone on the floor as she pleads, tears streaming down her face; she is shaking like a convulsing child

“Kick the phone towards me, and don’t try to do anything stupid like screaming or anything of sort. Or else, I will blow your head off. Now, the phone…” Bisi who is still shaking gently kicks the phone forward.

DETECTIVE SMITH’S CAR

Smith reverses the car into position before roaring on to Herbert Macaulay way, he shoots a look at Odion and growls “belt” Odion quietly fastens his seat belt. Smith brings out a class ‘A’ vehicle-mounted siren from the glove compartment, stretches his left hand out of the car window and places it on the roof of the car. The siren blast comes on as the car lurches forward, increasing pace.

“Where are we going Detective?” Odion asks calmly

“We are going to where Bisi is” he answers without taking his eyes off the road.

“And where is Bisi right now, Jasmine’s house?” he asks turning to Smith who has his eyes set on the road.

“See the bag at the back? Open it and bring out the tab, switch it on and click on the tracking app. We will know where she is” Odion brings out the tab and does as instructed.

“The signal seems static and it is coming from a house somewhere in Dolphin estate” he says turning to Smith as the red indicator continues to blink on a mapped area.

“That’s Jasmine’s house and that is where we are going” He swerves through the little traffic caused by the red light at Adekunle junction. The cars make way for him to pass as he turns left and start ascending the intersection leading to the 3^rd mainland bridge.

“So, who was on the line when you received the call?”

“I can’t say for sure. But Bisi called me and was about telling me something, when I heard someone ordered her to drop the phone. But the voice was a bit faint and I can’t be sure if it was a man’s or a woman’s voice”

“So, we need to move faster as to apprehend whoever this person is before she hurts Bisi, especially as the line has been dropped and probably the phone is with whoever threatened her to drop it” Odion reasons.

“Yes, we need to move faster, and the phone being with whoever is threatening her is a plus for us. It means we can listen in” Smith says as he hits the 3^rd Mainland bridge, the road is relatively free.

“Sorry detective, how do we listen in, if the line has been dropped?”

Smith, looks at the phone again, check his wristwatch before placing the phone on the car phone-mount sitting on the dashboard.

“The phone has an auto redial feature that will activate itself if the line cuts off before 60 seconds. Bisi didn’t stay up to 20 seconds on the line before it went off, and I reckon the assailant will probably collect the phone and put in his or her pocket. But in exactly 2 minutes, the phone will redial the last number without the caller even knowing. I didn’t tell Bisi about that feature because I figured this kind of a thing might happen”

*******

JASMINE’S APARTMENT

Jasmine tucks the phone in the back pocket of her jean trouser, she is holding a SIG Pro semi-automatic pistol and pointing it to Bisi who is still shaking and crying profusely.

Jasmine had left the apartment earlier; she was heading out while Bisi was still taking a short nap after breakfast. When Bisi woke up, she decided to watch some films to take her mind off her many troubles. She switches on the TV and the home theatre which had a flash drive plugged into it, clicked the media button on the remote control, selected films icon and saw more than enough films to watch. She likes action films and comedy thrillers, so she selected “Guns, Girls, and Gambling”, she had heard about the film before now and she decided to watch it. Halfway into the film, electricity went off, and she decided to take out the flash drive and watch it on Jasmine’s laptop which was unusually left on the dining table. She prayed the laptop would not have a password lock since Jasmine had never really left it around carelessly before now, but she was working on the laptop the night before and she seemed to have purposefully or accidentally gone to work without it. Fortunately, the laptop was without a password, she slotted in the flash drive and was about opening the movie with VLC player when a particular file on the desktop caught her eye, it was named “DIRT” she wondered what could be in it before clicking it open.

Bisi was shocked to see several videos of her and Tega having sex in different places, videos of Bola and Dayo having sex; and another video where Bola seems to be doing strip tease for someone who is surely a female judging by the background audio. She remembered the phone detective Smith gave to her and his instruction to only use it to call whenever there is an emergency. “This is an emergency, something is wrong here, or why would Jasmine who is her best friend and was her maid of honour have several sex videos of them, some of which had been leaked already” she thought to herself before placing a call to Detective Smith – before Jasmine walked back in with a gun.

“Now go into the bedroom and take a seat on the couch, did you hear me? Move now, before I do something stupid” Jasmine voice jolts her back to the present; she is still shaking terribly as she moves into the bedroom and towards the couch.

******

DETECTIVE SMITH’S CAR

Smith descends the bridge tuning to Obalende roundabout. He has stopped blaring the siren now and he curses under his breath as two tricycles popularly called ‘Keke Marwa’ try to make a U-turn in front of the old Nitel building at the roundabout. He finally makes a turn, the phone on the mount rings; he shoots a knowing glance at Odion before depressing the green button and then the speaker indicator on the screen.

“Why are you looking around? You know when you look for what is not lost so hard; you will find what you shouldn’t find so easily” the voice comes through the phone speaker so clear but not very crisp

“Odion, now I am sure that is a female voice, and the phone is probably with her, but who?”

“Bisi is with Jasmine, her best friend of many years, and now she is being threatened by a woman, my bet is, it has to be Jasmine” Odion says as he looks at the phone as if he could see the woman whose voice is coming through clearly but faintly. Bisi voice comes in next, but very faint amidst the ambience.

“Jasmine please, why are you doing this to me? You are my friend, don’t kill me please…”

“I never planned to kill you, but at the same time. I never thought I’d be so careless that you would see those videos…” Jasmine whose voice is the clearer one comes on the phone again.

“I didn’t see any video, believe me. I didn’t”

“You didn’t see any videos, and you were just calling the detective to say hello right? Well, I believe you. But in my opinion, you are a loose end, and I have got to tie any loose end. Nobody must be able to pin me to Bola’s murder because I can’t afford to go to jail when I am very close to achieving my mission”

“Jasmine, so you are the one, you killed Bola… You killed my sister. Why…? Why…? Jasmine, why did you do that to me, to our friendship, to my family, to my marriage… why?” Bisi wails loudly now.

“Shhhhhhh, don’t scream. No one will hear you anyway because this room is sound-proofed. Now, I know you cared about your sister, but she despised you, and you should be thanking me for helping you kill her before she had the chance to kill you and take over Dayo after your death. But as it was, she was standing in my way. Because Dayo was mine, and will forever be mine” she says sounding menacingly even on the phone

“Ah! Jasmine, I met Dayo before you through another friend who is not even very close to me, and you and my sister have shown me nothing but support all the time we were dating till the time we were planning our marriage and even until the wedding day, at what point did Dayo become yours” Bisi sobs through her response.

“Oh! You think everything good has to be yours by right abi? Even back in school, you always had the best boo at any point in time, even while you were still sleeping around with any guy you fancied. You turned me to your P.A; I would lie for you, cover your tracks and what did I get? Nothing! I was the one left with no good guy, I am still. We came out of school, and you got a job and you got Dayo while still sleeping around with any man who could pay your fee. Why? But Dayo knew I loved him, he knew I was a better choice for him, but he would never even let me show him how much I could love him because he was all about you, all over you even when I didn’t even mind being his side chic. I was still scheming my way into his heart when that bitch of your sister whom I thought was committed to me started fucking him, she told me she was falling in love with Dayo and she was going to stop what both of us had going and have a proper thing with Dayo – ‘a proper thing’ that was how she said it to me that day…”she sniggers

“Committed to you? How? Bola was a lesbian? You are a lesbian?

“Oh! You are really shocked right? You are not smart afterall. Well, I swing both ways, but your sister? She swore to me guys irritated her and there was nothing sexy about their bodies, and I believed her. She lied to me, she had me fooled, she took my man, but she got paid – big time paid…”

“Jasmine please don’t kill me, you have killed my sister, but please spare my life, I won’t say a word… please” Bisi pleads

“Of course you won’t say a word. I will ensure that. I never planned to kill you though, I only wanted to implicate you and Tega since you guys can’t stop fucking each other anyway and Dayo couldn’t stop fucking Bola as well. Then complicate the whole murder case so Dayo will be left off the hook, and I will be there for him, consoling him while I take over subtly and everybody goes home happy and nobody feels cheated out of anything; but you saw those videos, and now you leave me with no choice. I can’t go to jail. I still have a chance with Dayo…”

*****

Smith pulls over on the sidewalk; he cuts off the call on the phone, removes his gun from the holster and motions Odion to follow him. They both enter the gate of a large compound which has 6 flats; Jasmine’s flat is the one at the back but upstairs, the curtains are drawn. Odion follows Smith who stealthily leads the way up the stairs, Smith quietly turns the knob leading to the living room; it opens. They step into the house; Smith looks around, and then motions Odion to follow him to the bedroom.

JASMINE’S BEDROOM

“Jasmine please don’t do this, you can have Dayo all to yourself. He wouldn’t even want to see me again, and I am not sure I want to see him also. Please, I promise to keep quiet and accept my fate, just don’t shoot me please”

Jasmine ignores her, brings out a subsonic silencer from her bag and proceeds to screw it into the handgun’s muzzle.

“Jasmine, please… don’t kill me, I beg you in the name of God, in the name of our friendship, in the name of anything and everything you believe in…” Bisi pleads again with tears

“Shut up and kneel down” Jasmine barks at her “Face down, you don’t want to look at me when I pull the trigger”

Bisi pulls herself together, she knows this is the end, she thinks she might as well face it without any fear; she refuses to kneel.

“I said kneel, are you deaf?” Jasmine barks again

“I will not kneel, if you want to shoot me, you can as well shoot me in the head while you look straight into my face. I will not apologize for who I was, who I am or what I did; not to you and not even to Dayo, because he betrayed me too. It is Only God that can judge me, and when I meet Him, I will tender any apology whatsoever that I have. So, madam cowboy, shoot me in the face already and let’s get this over with here and now.” Bisi stands with both her arms akimbo as she spit out the words in disdain.

*****

JASMINE’S LIVING ROOM

Detective Smith motions to Odion that it is time for them to break in to the bedroom; they had been listening to the muffled conversation between Jasmine and Bisi. Smith is not sure if the door was locked with a key or if it was bolted from behind, he doesn’t seem to want to find out. He figured in his head that it is best they break in suddenly as Jasmine might have enough time to shoot Bisi if there is any delay or tip-off at the door. He signals to Odion to join him as he prepares to lunge against the door at the count of three.

*****

JASMINE’S BEDROOM

Jasmine pauses in shock; she is still holding the silencer she is screwing into the gun’s muzzle. She can’t believe Bisi suddenly develops this level of boldness, she steps forward, drops the silencer on the floor, presses the gun muzzle against Bisi’s forehead. Bisi trembles as she feels the cold iron on her temple, but she is resolute. Jasmine’s index finger rests on the trigger, her palms firmly around the grip; her face, a mask of terror.

“I. Said. Kneel, you idiot”

It happens in a flash, Bisi lunges forwards towards Jasmine; they struggle. Odion and Smith lunge against the door as one, the door gives way. A single gunshot rings out; the two men stand stunned as the women go down in a heap.

******

HOSPITAL (3 DAYS AFTER)

Smith paces around for a while, he takes another look at the woman sedated and sleeping on the bed, the wound to her upper abdomen just beside her ribs has been cleaned and wrapped in sterile bandage. He picks his phone and dials.

“Hello, Bisi. You are good I guess” he pauses

“Don’t worry, like I told you, the bullet went through and through leaving just an exit wound. So she’ll live to answer for her crimes. Just take a good rest and I will come with Odion to check on you later…”

“Naaaah! don’t thank me, It’s nothing; I am just doing my job. You need to rest, you have gone through so much since your wedding, and as I speak, Odion is with Dayo to see how both of you can move past this without further incident whether as one or as individuals. So, when we come around to see you, I hope there will be plenty of good things to talk about. Take care of you… Bye!”

He drops the calls, looks at Jasmine again on the bed, shakes his head and exhales.

“Hmmmmmmm. If this is not the weird kind of wedding blues, someone tell me what it is”

THE END.

PS: Thank you for staying with “WEDDING BLUES” for the past 8 weeks. Another fiction series is coming up from next Tuesday; this one is from one of my very young and talented friend, Temitope Johnson follow her on twitter @aunty_temi. She is a budding writer but she is good, and I hope you will enjoy her piece for the next 5 weeks. The series is titled “LUST.LOST.LOVE” Though each episode will have a different title, the story follows a central theme. See you next week, CIAO!

WEDDING BLUES (EPISODE 7)

 

Are you coming here for the first time? Read all the previous episodes below:

EPISODE 1 EPISODE 2 EPISODE 3 EPISODE 4 EPISODE 5 EPISODE 6

(HOSPITAL) SAME DAY

Bisi turns her face away from Detective Smith who is sitting calmly beside her bed; Odion stands at the corner of the room leaning against the wall, holding a writing pad and a pen with which he had been using to take notes earlier when Bisi was giving her statement to detective Smith since they got into the hospital room. Bisi’s turns her face back, her eyes look swollen, she had been crying apparently, but Smith is not satisfied yet, at least the look on his face says so.

“Bisi, I am truly trying to help you here, but it seems you are not interested in helping yourself. One day fling does not explain the content of the video you just showed me which you claimed was sent to you by someone you don’t know. So, what are we missing here? What are you not saying? I want to hear it, only if you are ready to help yourself” Smith crosses his legs as he finishes talking, he flips his jotter close and put the pen he had been writing with, back in his bag

“Detective, I am telling you the truth, I got a little tipsy on my bridal shower’s night, Tega came in to the karaoke bar un-invited, he called me outside and I thought he wanted to just congratulate me or give me a gift or something. Afterall, he is my husband best friend, so I went into his car and I got carried away. Detective, that’s the truth I swear, it was just that one time, few days to my wedding, just that one time. Help me please” she sobs in between her words.

“I don’t believe you Bisi, unless you are telling me someone accidentally planted a spy CCTV camera with Infrared and Night Vision features in Tega’s car, hoping you would get drunk at your bridal showers, Tega would drop by, and have sex with you in the car…” Smith pauses, no answer from Bisi who just keeps sobbing. He turns to Odion.

“Odion, what do you think, is she telling the truth?”

Odion clears his throat as he steps away from the wall where he had been leaning since after they watched the video on Bisi’s phone. He moves towards Smith; Bisi trails him with her teary eyes as if trying to plead with him to defend her.

“Detective, you know I have kept to myself since you told me earlier to let you handle your job the way you know how to; I am just a lawyer and my job is a bit different from yours. But now that you’ve asked me to weigh in, I am not sure you would want to hear what I have to say”

“Odion, quit the grandstanding and help me out here; my heart says either Bisi or Tega is responsible for Bola’s murder, my head says neither of them is. I need another opinion before I proceed”

“Detective please, your heart is right, I can’t kill my own sister, what would I gain by killing her even if I knew she was sleeping with my husband? Please, believe me. Odion, please tell him” she pleads

Odion sighs, closes his writing pad drops it on a nearby table, stands straight, and dips his two hands in his trousers’ pockets

“Detective, I have represented a number of clients with murder cases hanging on their necks. Some clients were guilty, while some were not; final judgement from the court is another thing entirely though. But in my experience and with my gut-feeling, Bisi and Tega are not guilty of Bola’s murder, and we might not even be very close to identifying the killer, because the killer seems to let us find whatever he wants us to find, at the exact time he wants us to find it…”

“How do you mean?” Smith interjects

“I mean the killer is and has always been one step ahead of all of us even before this murder took place” he pauses, alternates his glance between Bisi and Smith, both of whom have their eyes fixated on him.

“Go on, tell me.” Smith urges him on

“First, I believe we can all agree that Bola’s death was premeditated, it didn’t just happen on Bisi and Dayo’s wedding day by accident. Apparently Dayo didn’t kill Bola, but someone did. Someone who knew she was going to be with Dayo on that day, someone who knew they had been having sex long before that day. Someone who also had the pre-knowledge of Tega and Bisi’s secret affair” he turns to Bisi “By the way, I don’t believe you were drunk that night and had sex with Tega by accident, it was just one of those nights of your regular sexcapades”

“I am sorry…” she mumbles

“Don’t be silly Bisi; you are not sorry. You are only sober because it turns out this way; you are loose woman but not a killer”

“Odion, how did you come to all these conclusions?” Smith asks

“Ok detective, let’s backtrack a bit to the day of the murder” Smith nods and urges him on

“Bola turns up at the hotel with a car that we have not been able to trace the owner till date. The car had a high resolution camera installed in the dashboard, which we only discovered after the first video of Bola and Dayo was sent to you 4 days after the wedding and Bola’s murder. So, who sent the video?”

He paces around a bit then continues “After Dayo was arrested, I acquired the surveillance video from the hotel which had everything that implicated Tega except the recording of the actual killing. Why? Because Bola chose to park right at the only blind spot in the whole of that car park; maybe that was purely coincidental, but Bisi suddenly received a video of her sex romp with Tega while Tega was still with us at the police station. The question is, why wasn’t that video sent to you just like the first one? Why was the video sent just when we were about nailing Tega for the murder?”

“I can’t say, maybe the person just wanted to blackmail Bisi and Tega this time around, maybe something else. But at the same time, if the intention of the video was to blackmail Bisi or Tega, there would have been a message or some demand alongside the video, the person would have at least made contact” Smith replies

“You are right detective. The killer wanted us to find all those clues at the time we found them. When you arrested Dayo and Bisi for the murder, you got a video incriminating only Dayo establishing a motive for him to kill his wife’s sister, thereby exonerating the wife in a way. And since as a lawyer, I would normally want to look for evidence that will prove my client’s innocence; the surveillance video from the hotel came up and implicated Tega. As we were about to crack the case further, the sextape of Bisi and Tega surfaced throwing us right back to the beginning, presenting a motive for both Tega and Bisi to kill Bola and frame Dayo for it. The killer knows that once that happens, Tega will find a lawyer who in turn will start looking for facts and evidence to prove Tega’s innocence, and I bet you there will be; and then we will go round and round like that until we are all tired or something.”

Detective Smith sighs, gets up from his seat and stretches his hand to Odion for a handshake. Odion smiles and takes his hand shaking it warmly.

“You see, I had that theory in my head as well, but it is not just coming together. Thank you for opening my mind again”

“It’s alright sir, we all just want justice to be done” Odion replies calmly. Smith turn to Bisi

“Ok Bisi, I know you are well enough to go home, but since it is now apparent that the killer is somewhere out there, I wouldn’t want you to just go to your house and stay alone just yet because I have a feeling this killer might want to do other things through you or to you. Do you have any friends you can stay with for a while?”

“Yes, I can stay with Jasmine; we have been friends since school”

“Oh, that should be one of your friends we interviewed at the church right? Smith asks

“Yes, my maid of honour”

“Alright, we go to the station from here, where I will try and cross-reference your statements with Tega’s, maybe we can find anything that will help us catch this killer. Then I will give you a phone; it’s an encrypted phone, also auto tracking-enabled, with my number on speed dial, all you need to do is just press 1 and send. The phone can’t call any other line, but always make sure you have it on you all the time. But never use it to call me except it is an emergency, if you need to reach me for any other thing, call my official line, ok?”

“Ok sir, thank you sir.” She wipes off her tears with the back of her palm

*******

(DETECTIVE OFFICE) 2 WEEKS AFTER

Odion is sitting across Smith’s desk; both men look worried. It’s been two weeks and they have not made any progress. Smith clicks his rollerball pen continuously as he stares blankly at his writing pad which lays open on his table. He soon brings up his head

“Odion, it’s been 2 full weeks, what are we not getting right?”

“Detective, I still can’t understand. You have interviewed every known person Dayo and Bisi had direct contact with from 2 weeks before their wedding till Bola’s body was found locked in Dayo’s car booth”

“All the clues and leads seem to terminate in a dead-end, what am I not seeing? If this killer’s intention is to make me look stupid and throw me off balance, he is surely succeeding.” Smith gets up and starts to pace around; Odion follows his every step with his gaze

“He is succeeding? How do you know the killer is not a ‘she’?” Odion asks without removing his gaze from him. Smith stops dead in his tracks, turns to Odion.

“How do you know the killer is a ‘she’?” he asks him

“How do you know the killer is not a ‘she’?” Odion asks in reply.

Both men stares at each other, not sure of what to say or do next. They are both not sure of their theories, of why the murderer has to be a particular sex.

“Odion…” Smith phone rings cutting him short, he looks around, the ringtone is not the usual one from his official line. He opens his drawer in haste. Bisi is on the line from the encrypted phone, he picks in haste.

“Bisi…”

“Detective, come… please… come…”

“Calm down, what is the problem?

“Drop. That. Phone Now…” another voice seems to bark in the distance as the phone goes off. Smith looks at Odion

“Tell me that’s a man’s voice” he asks almost hysterical

“The phone was not in my ear sir” Odion replies looking confused.

“Odion, come with me, I think the killer is with Bisi.”

“What… wait, what do you mean the killer is with Bisi?”

“Just come with me, I will explain in the car” he says as he picks his suit, and straps his gun. both men rush out.

WEDDING BLUES (EPISODE 6)

If you are reading this story for the first time, you have missed a whole lot. But I am a very nice guy, Lol. So read Episode 1. Episode 2. Episode 3. Episode 4. Episode 5. Good! You can now continue with today’s episode. Enjoy

SCID YABA (DETECTIVE’S OFFICE) SAME DAY

Detective Smith gets up from his chair and walks towards the door, Tega who is now without cuffs and sitting directly opposite Smith’s empty chair turns his head and trails him with his eyes as he makes to open the door, but he doesn’t; instead he starts pacing back and forth in the spacious office. A television sits on a glass stand in a corner with a VCR player and a DVD player placed on top of it. A small Canon ZR20 recording camera lying on a couch beside the TV is connected to the television with AV cables but the power is switched off. Odion is sitting on the same couch beside the TV where the camera is. He sits facing the only window in the office that has its blinds pulled up for enough ventilation to complement the ceiling-fan that is creaking slowly as if being rotated by an invisible hand. His chin rests on his cupped right palm, the folded arm supported by his thigh; while the other arm rests loosely on his other thigh; his gaze fixated on Tega.

“Tega” detective Smith stops pacing and faces him, “I asked them to take the cuffs off you because I needed to hear from you first before I decide the next step of action” he pauses for a reaction from Tega, but he simply sighs and shakes his head before throwing it backward – and exhales.

“I might not be 100% sure yet, that you killed Bola. But I’m sure that you have something to do with her death; the extent of that ‘something’ is what I am yet to prove. And to save all of us the time and stress that comes with investigation and staying behind bars till investigation is concluded, just tell me what you know about Bola’s death; give me a confession, and we will know what to do about it” he moves to his side of the table, leaning forward and looking directly looking into Tega’s eyes.

“Detective, I’ve told you, I know nothing about Bola’s death. I didn’t kill her; neither do I know who did. And in all honesty, I don’t have a clue about why you arrested me for questioning, while you probably have the killer in custody”

“By ‘probably have the killer in custody’, you meant Dayo right?” Odion asks sitting up and using both his index fingers to demonstrate parentheses as he mentions the word ‘killer’

“The police arrested him, claiming they have some incriminating video. What do you expect me to say?” Tega turns to Odion as he replies.

“Err… Odion, would you let me handle this by myself? If and when I need you to make any contribution as Dayo’s lawyer, I will tell you so” Smith cautions Odion, who simply recoils back to his former sitting position.

“Now do you believe Dayo killed Bola, or in your opinion, we should be looking somewhere else?” Smith turns to Tega again as he asks.

“Detective, you arrested Dayo, you claimed you have evidence and a motive, you even showed the video to his wife; who then am I to have a different opinion or theory on who did kill Bola or who didn’t, when I am not a policeman or an investigator?”

“Well, I agree with you. I have evidence and I have established a motive why Dayo would kill Bola, would you say you have a motive of your own for killing Bola?”

Tega sighs, sits up straight and thinks for a few seconds. “Detective, do I need to have a lawyer present?”

“Oh! By all means if you want to go that way, please do. I just think I need to have a gentleman’s talk with you first before we start talking bail and bail rejection due to the fact that we have damning evidence against you” Smith replies calmly as he sits on his swivel chair rocking it back and forth.

“What evidence?” Tega asks sharply

“Same one that connected you to Bola’s murder” Smith answers flatly

“There can’t be any, or maybe someone is just lying against me” Tega looks confused but he says with some confidence.

“Ok, I would have loved to say I believe you, but…” he turns to Odion who has stayed quiet for a while “Odion, could you please play tape again?”

Tega’s face is a mask of shock as he watches the tape with his mouth agape. The tape does not directly link him to the murder but is enough to make anyone to look towards his side. He had hired a guy to watch Dayo and his ‘mystery’ mistress he was talking about 4 days to his wedding. The guy came back same day with the picture of the woman, Tega was shocked as the woman in the picture turned out to be Bola. He felt bad for Bisi but he saw an opportunity for himself in a way. He would gather enough video and pictorial evidence and send them anonymously to Bisi while they are at the wedding reception, this would break her and cause a kind of unprecedented confusion and maybe mark the end of that wedding and marriage. And naturally; he would be there for Bisi, and he can then start planning how to scheme a total takeover. If he was lucky, Bisi would not tell the whole world about the evidence as not to shame her sister in public, but afterwards he can manipulate her to use the videos and pictures to blackmail Dayo into paying her off in exchange for destroying the tapes and pictures.

******

His man was sitting in a car at the car park of the hotel where Dayo met Bola on his wedding day; he took pictures of the car Bola driving, dressed in a cheerleader costume. And then he recorded the parts where Dayo walked out of the hotel back door, to the car, and then got in. He also recorded the continuous shaking and rhythmic movement of the car afterwards indicating people in there were either having sex or doing something close to sex.

*******

But the video he is now seeing seems to have come from a CCTV camera and only shows Bola driving in and his man doing all the snapping of pictures and recording of videos before driving out soon after, there is no part showing Bola’s car afterwards. The video ends and detective Smith speaks first

“You might be wondering how we knew that man was working for you; and why the video was on your man and not on Bisi” Smith asks with a wry grin on his face. He pauses… no one says anything.

“Odion here obtained this video from the hotel. Luckily for us, your man, who by the way is now in custody, does not know so much about video surveillance, or maybe he didn’t think the hotel will have functioning CCTV cameras, maybe he would have chosen a less conspicuous spot. We also discovered that you called your guy at exactly 9:46am on that same day, my contact at the phone company got me the transcript of your call, this is what you said…” he pulls out a paper from beneath a file on his table to read. “Dude, how far? Everything is set for the reception? Don’t mess up abeg!” and he replied you “Boss, everything is set, it will happen just before the reception just like you want it” Smith pauses again to read Tega’s reaction, his forehead is suddenly a pool of sweat and his breath, a little quicker.

“I swear, I didn’t kill Bola, I swear to Almighty God. Please, believe me, please…” he turns to Odion who sits still without any expression on his face, and back to detective Smith who has a wry smile plastered across his face.

“Well, now that I have your attention, you need to know that sadly, we don’t have any video recording how or exactly when Bola was murdered, and neither does the hotel have it. Because, maybe by accident or intentionally; Bola drove in to that hotel and parked her car at a particular point that turns to be a blind spot for the roving CCTV cameras. All the cameras couldn’t pick anything from that angle and your man drove out few minutes after Dayo joined Bola in the car and probably while they were still having sex. So, we know your man didn’t kill her, but who did? We tried to trace the owner of that blue Toyota Sienna, the car was not registered to anyone, and it seemed the car did not even exist until that day. We are not sure of anything yet though. But, is there a second man hired by you? Was there someone hiding inside Bola’s car all along or even in the car park? Is there a chance that we can unravel this murder case today? Well, maybe your video can help us; your man said he turned everything over to you at the church while the photographs were still being taken right after the wedding. So, Mr. Tega Onoja, save me some time and provide this video in your possession, and maybe, just maybe you can save yourself some jail time if we find something helpful.” Detective Smith concludes with a stern look on his face.

“Errrr…” Tega makes to say something but instead a droplet of tear streams down his face, he wipes it off and is about to make another attempt at talking when his phone rings.

“Detective, could you please tell him to pick the call and put the phone on speakers please?” Odion asks Smith politely. Smith nods towards Tega and mouths “Speaker, be normal”. Tega pulls out his phone from his pocket, picks the call and places it on the table. Bisi’s voice comes alive hysterically.

“Tega, Tega, are you there? Are you still at the police station?” Smith indicates with his head for Tega to say he is not.

“Yes, Bisi I’m here. And No, I am no longer at the police station, the police made a mistake. We have sorted it out. I was going to call you. How are you?” he says calmly

“I don’t know, there is a problem, a big one”

“Errrr…” Tega looks from Odion to Smith, they both nod persuading him to ask what the problem is.

“What problem?”

“Are you alone” Bisi asks. Odion and Smith both give Tega a stern warning look as if to tell him to play along. He complies.

“Yea, yea, I’m alone” he speaks convincingly enough

“Someone saw us, someone has our video; they just sent it to me” she says, her intermittent sobs cutting through her words.

“Calm down, who saw us where? What video”

“At my bridal shower, inside the Tundra, when we were having sex, please come, please…” she blurts out

“Whaaaaaat!” Odion and Smith both exclaim before they realize Bisi is still on the phone.

“Tega, whose voice is that? Tega!”

“Errrr… No, I’m coming right away…” Tega replies but Smith presses the red button; he quickly adjusts himself after the surprise, and turns to Tega

“So this is it, you were having sex with your best friend’s fiancée, you fell in love with her; and then you discovered that your best friend was sleeping with his fiancée’s sister. And you plotted to use two stones to kill one bird by killing Bola, then release evidence to Bisi, so that Dayo will be in jail for Bola’s murder, while you run off with Bisi at the end of the day. Very smart, very very smart – you deserve to be applauded” he claps for him thrice with contempt written all over his face as he gets up from his chair.

“I swear I didn’t kill Bola, I don’t know anything about her death. I will tell you everything you need to know about this case, I will tell you everything I know, but you need to believe me, I didn’t kill anyone. Someone else is behind this, please.”

“Officer” Smith calls out to one of the policemen, he comes in. “Process this man, and lock him in cell 2 until I get back” he turns to Odion.

“Odion, let’s get to that hospital and see Bisi, this case is getting a lot more interesting”

 

 Watch Out For Next Episode… Next Week

WEDDING BLUES (EPISODE 5)

Good morning my fans and friends. how is your week going. And if you are a first timer here, don’t worry, you can read all the previous episodes from the links. Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Thank you.

Here is the much awaited Episode 5. 

Dayo stares at Odion, looking confused; he is not sure whether to tell Odion the whole truth about his sexcapades with Bola or not. But he figures there is no point in hiding anything anymore, “If the police could lay their hands on a sextape between him and Bola, that means anybody could have seen it and it is probably in the open, so there won’t be any reason to hide anything for his lawyer” he reasons.

“Odion, I will tell you the whole truth, but first how is Bisi? Have you seen her? Has she seen this purported video by any means?”

“Your wife is fine, I was with her in the hospital the very first day, and she is placed under a 24-hour watch by the police, because the plan was to charge her as an accomplice in this murder case as soon as she is well enough. I however advised her to feign weakness and pains for a few more days at least to give me enough time to sort everything out and seek for bail…”

“Hmm, that’s a good one at least, but how are we sure she has not seen this video the police claimed to have” Dayo asks looking pensive

“Dude, as bad as Bisi seeing the video may sound, the situation thrown up by the sudden appearance of the same video is what you should worry about now. If Bisi sees the video, or if she has seen it, she is probably mad at you; she probably would not want to see you again, and remember that her sister just died, and she is still mourning. So, I’ll suggest that you take her out of your mind for now, you have probably lost her and lost the marriage; all of which can be remedied with time. But I need to find a way to get you out of here and point the evidence the police now have, to someplace else apart from you”

“Odion, what do you want me to do?” his forehead is a wrinkled furrow as he asks.

“Dayo, just tell me the truth, I believe you didn’t kill Bola, and if that is the case, it means we have to find the person who did, so just tell me what I need to know”

“Wow” Dayo sighs and scrubs a hand over his face as he moves back to sit on one of the chairs

“I started dating… No, having sex secretly with Bola 3 months ago…” he pauses to see Odion’s reaction. There is none, he simply nods and urges him to go on.

“I was having some issues with Bisi, issues that had a lot to do with our sex lives, and my ego was getting badly bruised overtime. I complained a few times, and then she suggested we stop having sex totally for purity sake or something like that. Then Bola and I got close, we got talking about things, and one thing led to the other, we started having sex. The last one was supposed to be on my wedding day, I never knew she planned that to happen in the car”

“Is that all?” Odion asks calmly

“That’s all, there is no reason now to hide anything else from you; I just need you to get me out of this mess I have found myself”

“You said you were having sex with her secretly right?”

“Yes, we kept it secret all through” Dayo answers with all seriousness

“Somebody must have known about it, someone must have known something about you two together. I want you to think, have you mentioned to anyone, anyone at all?”

Dayo pauses for a while, he remembers he mentioned to Tega few days to his wedding about a woman he was having sex but he can’t remember mentioning Bola’s name.

“No, no, it can’t be” he thinks to himself

“You say what?” Odion bends towards him as he catches Dayo thinking aloud

“No, nothing, just something I remembered, and it doesn’t add up”

“No, don’t call it nothing, tell me, and let me decide if it adds up or not” Odion chides him

“Ok, I told Tega about it 4 days to my wedding, but I left him guessing, I didn’t tell him who the woman was, I was sure of that”

“Hmmmm. At least there is something we can throw up to make this investigation very interesting. We only need to prove that Tega knew you were having sex with your fiancée’s sister, then your fiancée’s sister wound up in your car booth dead on your wedding day. Tega is your best friend, he is very close to you, and we will simply throw that in and see where that takes us”

“Odion, are you saying Tega might be the one that killed Bola just to frame me?” Dayo asks with much seriousness

“I am not saying anything; I am just doing my job. If we can challenge the police on the evidence they claim to have against you; and we introduce doubt and complexity into an already complicated equation, we can get the court to grant you bail and adjourn”

“Ok, do whatever you can, but I can swear on my life that Tega cannot have anything to do with Bola’s death”

“Alright, we shall find out” Odion says with a tone of finality

ODION’S OFFICE (SAME DAY)

Odion picks his phone, he has a plan and he must set it in motion, he is very sure Dayo did not kill Bola, but he is confused about the whole case. Who really murdered Bola? Could it be that Bisi found out and killed her sister? “Naaaah! No normal human being will do that and still smile through her wedding, same day like nothing happened” he answers himself in his thoughts. Could it be Tega? What would be his motive? What does he stand to gain if Bola is dead and if Dayo is in jail for it? Then it hits him… “I don’t have to prove anything immediately; I simply need to dig out motives why Bisi or Tega would kill Bola” he picks his phone and punches in a number…

“Hello detective Smith, I was around the station this morning, but you were not around”

Smith: “Yeah, I went out briefly, they told me you came to see your client”

Odion: “That’s true. I have been meaning to ask you, how did you obtain the sex-tape that you are going to be tendering as evidence against my client in court?”

Smith: “Well, we got lucky; someone mailed it to us anonymously. I guess someone who is interested in seeing that the deceased gets justice.”

Odion: “So, you are not sure where the video originated from or who made it?”

Smith: “We are sure of the people in the video, professionals and experts have confirmed it to be authentic, and the defendant’s motive is not far-fetched. So, in my opinion, this case will not take long to conclude.”

Odion: “What if I tell you someone else might be responsible and I can find some leading evidence to back that up?”

Smith: “Then I will ask you to bring it on”

Odion: “Ok, thank you so much. I appreciate.” He drops the call and makes another one.

*********

HOSPITAL (3 DAYS AFTER)

Bisi is awake; her pale facial skin illuminated by a single light, her head thrown back, as she lies still and stares into space. She turns her face briefly towards the door as Tega walks in.

“Hey bae, how are you” he says with a sober effort but there is no response from Bisi, he moves closer.

“Bae, I’m so sorry, I am sorry for your loss. If I told you I know how you feel right now, I am lying; but just take heart and be strong for me, for us.”

“For us? Tega, are you mad? My sister died just a week ago; I was going to be charged as an accomplice in her murder up till two days ago when the detective told me they found a sex-tape of her and Dayo. And now, I’m being investigated  as the major suspect in my own sister’s murder because they believe if I knew about their affair beforehand, that could be a motive for me to kill Bola” tears well up her eyes as she sobs softly.

“I am sorry Bisi; I shouldn’t have said that, I was stupid. Besides, I didn’t know detective Smith has spoken to you about the video, he’s been interviewing me as well, and I can assure you no one knows about us. And I am also sure you couldn’t have killed your sister even if you knew she was sleeping with Dayo before your wedding. You are not the devil here, you are an angel and I love you.”

“Tega, will you please stop? Stop telling me you love me, this whole thing is complicated now. You and I, Dayo and Bola, now there is a sex-tape, how are we sure someone out there is not in possession of our own sex video?”

“I assure you no one would have anything on us, we were not careless you know… we were smart about it, and…” the door flies open cutting into Tega’s response, 2 stern-looking policemen walk in with detective Smith

“Mr. Tega Onoja, you are under arrest for complicity to murder Bola Ogunji…”

“What do you mean detective? I am no…” Tega makes to say with shock written all over his face

“I’ll advise you not to say anything until you have your lawyer present; in your own interest” detective Smith turns to the two police officers “cuff him and take him down to the car”.

Oh. My. G…! Bisi sighs as she faints – again on the bed.

P.S: Now, the question is, who really killed Bola? Tega or Dayo? Episode 6 might just answer that. Stay Tuned

WEDDING BLUES (EPISODE 4)

If you are just reading for the first time, you have missed 3 good episodes. So, I suggest you read Episode 1, Episode 2, and Episode 3 before you continue with this week’s Episode… Now that you are up to date. Enjoy episode 4. Thank you

(EN-ROUTE RECEPTION)

 “Control, come in for Jaguar team… Control, come in for Jaguar team”

One of the policemen says into the walkie-talkie as Dayo is handcuffed and being led towards the parked Police van. The cacophony produced by honking of cars in the city traffic at midday mixed with the sounds of “Chae! This is a wicked world” to “Chae! Chae! There is God ohh. And He is seeing everything we are doing” to curses and abuses on the ‘supposed’ newlyweds coming from the onlookers is fast turning into a chaotic scene. The Police quickly cordon off one lane of the road and try to hide Bola’s body as much as possible from the public glare. The ensuing traffic is already stretching all the way back to Falomo roundabout and spilling into Awolowo road, and on the Falomo Bridge itself. Dayo is confused and sad at the same time, he cannot understand anything. As he approaches the police van, he takes a glance at his bride still lying by the side of the car apparently still in coma or maybe dead, he can’t say. But the image of Bola lying awkwardly in the booth of his car still wearing the cheerleader costume she wore this morning when they both had sex is the only thing replaying in his mind. His heart palpitates wildly as he goes over the whole sex scenario again. He prays silently that Bola is not dead, maybe she is injured, in a coma, or something, but definitely should not be dead or else, he is in big trouble.

“Jaguar team this is control, if you can read me Jaguar team, come in for control” The voice at the other end creaks through the walkie-talkie and cuts into Dayo’s thoughts.

“Control! Jaguar team reading you Lima Alpha Charlie, your signal is 5 over 5. Jaguar team has a papa, area red-red. Over” the policeman that arrested Dayo replies on the walkie-talkie

“Jaguar team, go ahead with the papa. Over”

“Control, Jaguar team needs an ambulance. We have just apprehended a mike murder suspect alongside a whiskey suspect who is now unconscious. Jaguar team discovered a dead whiskey in the booth of their car. Over”

“Jaguar team, ambulance en-route. E.T.A is 5 mikes, I repeat, 5 mikes. Confirm your location is still Alfred Rewane Kingsway Road. Over”

“Double affirmative. Over”

“Jaguar team, scorpion team is 1 mike away from you, 1 mike away from you. Hand over the mike suspect to them for onward transmission to Sierra India Charlie Delta Yaba. And then, you take the dead whiskey and the unconscious whiskey suspect to the government hospital Indian mike mike the ambulance arrives. Confirm you copy. Over”

“Control, copied. Over”

“Alright. Caller from Jaguar team, Confirm your Indian delta? Over”

“Control, Sergeant Major Oscar Lima Uniform on the Romeo. Over” the policeman identifies himself

“Sergeant Major Oscar Lima Uniform, confirm? Over”

“Double affirmative control. Over”

“Tango Yankee Jaguar. Over and Out”

The radio stops creaking. Dayo is now sitting at the back of the police van sandwiched between two other police officers, he cannot decipher most of the things he just heard on the radio between the officer and the person at the other end; but he knows he is in a lot of mess. He could hear them mentioning ambulance and hospital, if Bola is pronounced dead, he is sure autopsy will be carried out on her if what he usually watches on crime channels about murder investigation is anything to go by, then a DNA test would be carried out when they discover his semen in her, and his body fluid all over her except if… “Except if she has been with another person after that morning sex” he thinks within himself “Common. No woman could be that loose, she was with you few minutes before you changed your cloth and drove out to church in your car. And your car did not leave the car park of the hotel until you drove it out yourself, and then parked it under the watchful eyes of the church’s security men. So how would she have gone somewhere else, remain in the same costume and come back dead inside your booth? Think, common. Think…” A voice inside his head seems to answer him. He is perplexed and jittery; he is a murder suspect and probably a murderer now even without actually killing anyone.

“Can you let me call my lawyer please?” Dayo asks courteously.

“You can’t call anyone right now, I will suggest you do so once you get to the station” the police officer to his right replies him courtly. This is his first encounter with the Nigerian police; prior to this time, he perceives them as rude and unprofessional, and in this situation, if his perception about them was anything to go by; he would have been beaten and assaulted pretty well by now. But to his surprise, they have been calm, apart from their initial reactions that greeted the discovery of Bola’s body in his car booth.

“Please, what about my wife? Is there anybody attending to her?” he asks again turning to the same officer who answered him earlier.

“You mean your accomplice sir?”

“You have to believe me officer, she’s my wife. We are just coming back from our own wedding at the Catholic Church of the Assumption, Falomo. You can go there now and ask anybody in the church, even the officiating ministers will still be there with our family members. We are just driving ahead to the reception venue, please, we didn’t kill anyone. We can’t kill Bola. She is my wife’s sister. Please.” He pleads with the officers, turning from one to the other with teary eyes. No response from both of them.

“Sir, your transport is here, and I’m sure you will be able to call your lawyer once you get to SCID Panti. But for now, I will advise you not to say anything until your lawyer is present. I don’t know if I believe you or not, but you have a very bad case here. And as for your supposed bride, she will be properly attended to, I’m sure she is just feigning shock in the first place. But one of our well trained officers is giving her first aid treatment right now until the ambulance arrives, and I can categorically tell you there is no injury suffered from her fall; if that will make you feel better” the officer who spoke on the radio earlier and is now standing beside the van tells him as he opens the door and motions Dayo to come and join another police van that has just arrived.

*****

(4 DAYS AFTER THE WEDDING) SCID PANTI

Odion paces back and forth. Dayo is sitting on one of the two plastic white chairs facing each other in the small room wearing a tee-shirt, a jean trouser and a pair of leather slippers. A small mattress is on the bare floor, and his hands are no longer cuffed. He is sweating profusely and seems perplexed. Standing up, he wipes his brow of the immense amount of sweat that had accumulated there; he moves closer to Odion.

“Odion please stop pacing, I beg you. You have done this before; you have handled criminal cases before, and I know you can help me, I didn’t kill anyone and you know it”

Odion stops pacing, turns to him and let his gaze rests on him for a while. The cramped room is tense as both men stare at each other without saying a word. Odion bites his lower lip, shakes his head, and continues pacing.

“Odion, please don’t do this to me, you are scaring me already. You know I didn’t kill anyone, and I have just been held here for the past four days even without any concrete proof. Come on, Odion say something to me please” he pleads with him again.

Odion pauses again, and takes another look at him before he replies him.

“Dayo, I am just wondering why you lied to me when you know for sure the police would eventually find out the truth. Why am I your lawyer if you can’t tell me the truth? Why would you make me look like a fool in front of these people? I told you the first day how much I tried to secure your bail, but the police refused because they concluded this is a clear murder case, since the body was found in the booth of your car. I also told you how I had to negotiate with them to keep you in this holding room so that those boys in the open cell will not kill you before you even get a date in court; and so I can adequately prepare my brief at least to convince the court to grant you bail. But you still lied to me” Odion says with anguish in his voice.

“But I didn’t lie to you; I didn’t kill Bola, why would I kill my wife’s sister?”

“There you go again. Bola is your wife’s sister and you told me she came to your room the morning of your wedding to seduce you; then you eventually had sex with her against your wish, after which you told her to go, and she left after apologizing for the act. Right?”

“Yes, that was what happened. I didn’t know what came over me, I was inside her before I realized it, then I stopped, told her to go, and that was it”

“So, if that was what happened, how come there is a video recording of both of you having steamy and consensual sex in the passenger seat of a parked blue Toyota Sienna car at the car park, 10 minutes to the time you left for church? Hun, how come?”

Dayo’s eyes widen at Odion words, his mouth opens and closes again, but no words … he is in shock and disbelief. “A video of Bola and I? Who made it? Is someone intentionally trying to frame him for Bola’s death? Did Bola commit suicide but planned to frame him for it before the act? Was that her exit plan all along?” he asks himself as he stares at Dayo, still no words…

“Oh well, I see you have nothing to say to that. Bad news is you are being charged with first degree murder because they are sure Bola’s death is premeditated. They believe you killed your wife’s sister because she possibly threatened to expose you on your wedding day”

“Ahhhhh! My God! That was not what happened. I swear to you Odion, that was not it” Dayo says with tears streaming down his cheeks

“Hearing starts in three weeks; I suggest you start telling me nothing but the whole truth”

Odion says calmly.

 

Index:

Police Radio Language

Mike – Male, Minute (in this case)

Whiskey – Woman

E.T.A – Estimated time of arrival

Papa – Problem

Romeo – Radio

Lima Alpha Charlie – Loud And Clear

Indian Delta – I.D (Identification)

Indian Mike Mike – Immediately