(S1) PARTNERS IN CRIME! E6.

To read the previous episode, click here 

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Episode 6 Title: The second and the fifth target scenarios.

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After she made the call, Morenike did not hesitate to leave what she was doing, abandoned her chores in the kitchen, ran to grab her car keys, and drove out. Genevieve picked up the paper which Modupe’s name was written on it as the fifth target. Tiwa took her handkerchief and used it to raise the knife on the bed.

She looked at it closely and said to Mr. Femi who sat down on the single sofa in the bedroom. “This is a brand new knife and I am sure it is the murder weapon planned to ise on your sister. If your wife denies being the owner, then we will ask for fingerprints. I’m sure yours will be found because you carried it. But why does your wife want to kill your sister?”

“I absolutely don’t know! When I saw the items, it occurred to me I told my wife about Modupe’s arrival here in the country.”

“And she didn’t say anything when you told her?”

He shook his head and cleared his throat. “No. She later said she wished her a safe trip. Maybe she still blames Modupe?”

“Blame her for what?”

“Before Modupe travelled, she found out I was having an affair and threatened to report to my wife, we quarreled over it, I warned her never to try such and she changed her mind not to reveal the affair.”

“What happened after then?” Genevieve asked curiously.

“After Modupe travelled,” he continued. “Angela caught me red handed. A year ago.”

“And how did she find out your sister knew about it?”

“Who I cheated on her with knew about it and let the cat out of the bag. Angela told me she would never forgive Modupe for hiding it from her. They were quite close.”

“You are the only one at home, when is she coming back?” Tiwa asked.

He glanced at his wristwatch. “One or two hours from now. She said she won’t stay long.”

“We will wait for her. Does she have a laptop we can go through?”

“Yes but she took it along with her this morning.”

“Ok.”

Tiwa and Genevieve looked at each other. They dropped the items down and called the medical examiner to come over and collect the them. She sent him the address. They went back to the living room and waited for Modupe. She arrived three minutes later.

Femi revealed everything to her.

She acted shocked. “You are the cause of everything!” Modupe spat out and pierced a finger at him. “I warned you to stop sleeping with Angela’s elder sister but you refused! She called me to tell me you were cheating and I lied you weren’t, I vouched for you!”

The partners opened their mouths in shock.

“I know I should have stopped sleeping with her, I am sorry.” He begged.

“Sorry? Your wife is blaming me for your mistake, your actions. She wants to kill me!”

“And these detectives will stop it from happening. I know Angela is angry because you dealt with Jude for cheating and you cover up for me for doing the same thing because I am was brother.”

“And she is right.” Modupe pointed at him. “I covered up because you are my brother.”

They heard the sound of a vehicle. Genevieve went outside to check, it was the forensic team. She led them in and took them to the bedroom. They packaged the items inside a transparent and left. They promised to get back to her later.

Modupe was pacing around the living room, fuming. She became fed up and turned to her brother. “Can’t we find Angela? Don’t you have any idea where she went to?”

You can read Unforgivable housewife episode 7
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“She didn’t tell me, she only said she won’t stay long and….” Femi paused and made a face. He quickly rose on his feet. “Oh my God! Last night she spoke about her sister, that she would see her today!”

“And you just remembered now?” Tiwa asked dazed.

“I was sleeping when she woke me up and told me. I totally forgot!”

“Call her now!!” Genevieve screamed. “Call your wife’s sister!”

He ran to his room and collected his phone. He dialed the number and raced back to the living room. “She is not picking.” He said after the first call.

“Take us to her house. Don’t call your wife, she might suspect something is fishy.”

“We will drive behind you.” Tiwa said. “What’s the address?”

He told her.

“I will drive my brother while he continues to call her.” Modupe stated.

They walked outside and Femi locked the door. They rushed into their cars and speed off. As Modupe drove, he continued to call his sister in law but she did not pick up the phone. He started to panic.

“This is your fault.” Modupe said to him. “Why did you allow her catch both of you?”

“It was a mistake.”

“A big mistake.” She said in an annoyed tone.

“Shouldn’t we call for backup?” Genevieve asked Tiwa as Kelvin drove.

“We can do this.” Tiwa replied. “But you can call the examiner to send the paramedic team in case anything goes wrong. We are not sure why she is not picking her calls.”

She made the call and told him it was urgent.

When they reached the residence, Femi pointed at a car in front of a black gate. “That’s Angela car! Park behind her.”

“If you say so.” She was still angry with him. She did as she was told and both of them came out. Tiwa and Genevieve hopped out of their vehicle, and brought out their guns. They hurried to meet Femi and Modupe.

“This is my wife’s car.” Femi said to them and pointed at the jeep.

“Do you have a spare key to open it?”

“Yes,” he dipped his hand into his pocket and brought out a bunch of keys. “This is the key to our bedroom, we do keep….”

“Shut up Femi,” Modupe said. “You don’t need to explain anything.”

He scornfully glared at her.

“Two of you need to stay outside.” Tiwa said to them. She was not interested in getting involved with their family problem. “Check for her laptop in her car and if you find it, give it to my driver to keep for me.”

“What if Gina is in trouble?” Femi asked in a concerned voice.

Modupe gave him an awkward stare. “Instead of you to be worried about me, you are talking about your wife’s sister. Don’t you have a single shame?”

He was about to respond when Genevieve chipped in.

“This is not the time for arguments. Does she have a gateman?”

“No. The gate is not always locked except at night but the entrance door should be closed or shut with the key.”

“Okay. We will try to go in without making noise. If the door is locked, we will move around to check the windows and see if anything is happening inside.”

“What happens next?”

“Leave that to us.” Tiwa said and made eye contact with Genevieve. They strolled towards the gate, and pushed it slowly. Both of them entered with their guns held firmly in their hands.

“Check the door.” Tiwa whispered to Genevieve as she sauntered close to the window to peep through.

Genevieve checked the handle and muttered. “It’s locked.”

“Damn it!” She cursed under her breath and tried to peep through the transparent curtain. She could see two figures faintly. What she noticed was one was lying on the floor while the other was on her feet. Tiwa tiptoed to meet Genevieve and explained what she saw.

“It seems one of them will need medical help.” Genevieve said.

“I think so.” She looked at her wristwatch. It was 4pm. She thought for a while and said, “Time is no longer on our side.”

“What do you think we should?”

“We have to break down the door.”

She widened her eyes. “We don’t have a warrant!”

“But we have legs.” Tiwa said. “Come, we have to do this together.” They stood in front of the door and used their legs to hit it at the same time.

Angela who was staring at her sister as she fought for her life appeared stunned. She motioned to the door and asked.

“Who is that?”

“This is detective Genevieve and Agent Tiwa. Surrender now or face more consequences.”

She ran back to her sister and started hitting her on the stomach. “Die! I want you to die! I want you to die for trying to break my home.”

Blood began to gush out from Gina’s mouth. She held her stomach. The partners didn’t give up as they continued to hit the door. Femi heard the noise and went to check. Modupe followed. He joined them hit the door while his sister watched. As the three of them raised their legs again and hit it one more time, the door flung opened. They rush in and saw what was happening. Angela quickly turned to face them and raised a small bottle.

“Don’t come close to me or I will drink it.” She threatened.

Tiwa and Genevieve pointed their guns at her.

“Please don’t shoot!” Femi uttered and moved towards Gina. He held her as she shut her falling eyes.

“Is that not the same poison used on the first killer?” Tiwa asked Genevieve.

“Yes, I think so!”

She gazed at Angela. “Even if you drink it, there is still time to save you. We know about the poison. What we want you to do is give up, surrender so that we can take her to the hospital. She can be saved.”

“It is already late.” Angela said as tears flushed from her eyes. “I poisoned her drink in the morning and it started to affect her thirty minutes ago.”

“Drop the poison now!”

“Please Angela!” Femi pleaded.

She raised her hand, and surrendered. Tiwa reached the back pocket of her trousers and brought out handcuff. She slammed it across her wrist. ”You are under arrest for attempted murder!”

“Will she be able to make it?” Femi asked.

“Let’s hope so.” Genevieve said and moved closer to them. She squatted on her knees and checked her pulse. “She is still alive but don’t know if she can survive before she reach the hospital.”

“Why would you want to kill me for your husband’s infidelity?” Modupe asked Angela as Tiwa was whisking her away.

Angela stopped walking and glared at her. “Did your brother tell you that after you left my sister gave birth to a son?”

Her left eyebrow uplifted. “No.”

“My sister lied she got pregnant to her married lover I have never met. The child is in a boarding school and recently I got to know he is the biological child of my husband.”

Modupe, Tiwa and Genevieve looked over at Femi who was weeping.

Modupe threw her eyes back to Angela. “And how does that affect me?”

She shook her head. “You can never change. You don’t feel sorry!”

“Sorry for what? Was I the one that forced him to start sleeping with your sister?”

“When I confided in you about Femi, you lied. If you had told me the truth, Gina would never have gotten pregnant.”

“And if I had told you the truth, you would have done something awful to my brother!”

“There is nothing wrong in that. Didn’t you do it to Jude?”

“This is not about Jude!”

“Modupe,” Gina said gently. “You will reap what you sow you bloody witch!”

“How dare….” She raised her hand but Genevieve rose on her feet and held her hand.

“You should be happy we have found who wants to kill you.”

“Even if you found me,” Angela said. “Her life is still at risk.”

“What does that mean?”

“The contractor will surely hear of my arrest and finish the job for me.”

Modupe jaw dropped and fear flowed inside her body. She was scared. Tiwa took Angela away to her vehicle and she saw the paramedic team coming out from their minivan. Two male nurses brought out a stretcher, Genevieve came out and led them to Gina.

Femi and Modupe followed the investigators to the police station. Gina was driven to the hospital. When they arrived there, they reported the case to the inspector. He followed Genevieve and Tiwa to the interrogation room to question Gina.

“We are in possession of your laptop and we will surely find some answers there,” Genevieve said. “But first, tell us what you know about the contractor.”

“I don’t know anything about him.”

“Did he contact you through your email?”

“Yes. I saw his mail, I clicked on it and read it. It was an opportunity to get back to a traitor.”

“In the list, Modupe was supposed to die by a knife. How were you going to carry out the act?”

“I owe no one any explanation. You already caught me.”

“But your sister in law’s life is still at risk.” Tiwa said. “We have to know what the contractor would do.”

“He will surely kill her with a knife but I don’t know how he will do it now.”

“Your sister’s name is not on the list, how come the contractor gave you a poison to kill her.”

“I wasn’t supposed to kill her. When I read about the first victim in the newspaper, I became interested in the type of poison. I sent him a mail and he replied and told me where to get the poison. We used to chat too.”

“Do you still have the mail in your system?”

“Yes. I have not deleted it. I never knew I will be caught today.”

“We will not charge you yet until we know the condition of your sister.”

Angela’s face fell. If her sister died, she would end up in prison or given a ruthless sentence. She began to feel sorry for herself. She felt her husband was the one she should have poisoned. She made a great mistake.

Genevieve’s phone rang. “It’s the examiner.”

“Okay.” Tiwa said.

She answered. “Hello doc” She paused and listened. “Oh, really?.... Okay. Thank you.” 

She sighed and cut the call. “She didn’t make it.”

Gina shut her eyes. Her anger had taken over her actions. She burst out crying. Genevieve went to meet Femi and reported the bad news. He fell on the floor and cried. Modupe loved her brother despite everything; she wrapped her arms around his body and consoled him.

“Was he able to get the fingerprints from the paper and knife?”

“Yes. They were two different fingerprints on them. He would come here and check Gina’s own to see if it’s a match.”

“There’s no need for that. It will definitely be a match.”

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(Genevieve)

After we finalized everything with the inspector, I called Quincy to tell him he should meet me at home. I was down because someone that was not on the list died. What are we missing? Why can’t we catch the contractor? I could tell Agent Tiwa was upset with the look on her face. She had to take Gina’s laptop with her and see if anything could be done to get the contractor.

I met Quincy at home. He was feeding Freddie. The look on my baby’s face light up my mood. He was adorable and he giggled when he saw me. I took the food from Quincy and fed him myself.

“Mummy missed you.” I said to him.

Quincy stared at me and smiled. “I will prepare dinner.”

“Okay love.” I said and smiled back.

After feeding Freddie, he had his bath and started to fall asleep. My son must have understood my disposition, I’m sure he didn’t want to disturb me. I lay him on the bed and went to join Quincy. He came to hold me and then I had no idea tears was already flooding down my face.

“It’s okay.”

I looked at him. “We lost someone today.”

“I know with the look on your face. It’s hurts and it’s not your fault.”

“If we had gotten there on time, she might have survived.”

“Don’t say that.”

He wiped my face with his hands and smiled at me. “It is not you or detective Tiwa’s fault.”

I narrated what happened. 

“Akin is unable to hack into his email but he hasn’t given up. He will continue to try.” Quincy told me.

“I understand but there is no time. I wish we could capture the contractor before he does something stupid. The second target has few days to live.”

“He won’t die.”

I sighed and thought of Modupe’s brother. What he did was hurtful and if I was in his wife’s shoes, would I do something like that? No way. Quincy motioned to check what he was cooking.

I was tempted. I had to ask. “Have you ever cheated on me?”

He swerved his direction at me and gazed into my eyes. “Cheat on you?” He asked stunned, he came closer and held my hand. “No, never. I don’t have eyes for another woman Genny, you are still the woman I fell in love with and you have never changed before my eyes.”

“I am sorry for asking.”

“No, it’s your right. Come here.” He pushed me into his arms and held me tight. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

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(Tiwa)

Adebiyi did not need any explanation to tell I was furious. I met him outside with Dotun. He was already on his way leaving. We greeted each other and I hugged Ade before I entered into the house. I dropped the laptop on sofa in the living room and went to shower.

I came down and saw Ade making a phone call. He cut the call when he saw me.

“I have been in contact with a guru when it comes to hacking. Who is the owner of this laptop?”

I gave him the details.

He smiled. “And that is why I made the call. He will come tomorrow and collect it. If the mails are still inside, then he can trace the location of where the contractor sent those messages.”

“Really?”

“Yes but we will give him time. If you and detective Genevieve can capture the contractor on time, those targets don't get to die at the detailed dates and if it’s possible you can get the last name on the list, you will find the person and investigate who might want him or her dead. The last person who is the contractor's specific target would lead you to the him.”

He was correct. “I don’t know what I will do without you.”

“Everything.” I laughed and he motioned very close to me. “I am glad I was able to make you laugh.”

“You did but it’s painful that a woman lost her life today.”

“Don't ever put the blame on yourself.”

“Has Dotun been able to locate his mother’s family?”

“No but he has found an address in his mother’s village. He came to tell me he was travelling.”

“What about the job. I could talk to my father to offer him a position in his agency.”

“I don’t think he is interested in such. Anyways, he said he has found one.”

“Here in Abuja?”

“Yes and he would resume after he sees his people.”

“Oh, I understand.”

“Now that I have made you quite cheerful, can I receive a well-done kiss?”

“What did you do?”

“I answered your questions.” He said playfully.

“You ‘never stop to amaze me.”

"You too and that’s why we belong together.”

I pushed my lips into his mouth and we kissed. His lips remained soft and irresistible to let go.

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The following day, Tiwa and Genevieve visited Mr. Henderson Amusa’s residence. He was the third victim to die by a gun in two weeks. He believed his blood brothers were against him because of a property worth millions he received from their late father. He told them that they should interrogate them. He gave them their contact details and they left.

They met the socialite’s youngest daughter in her school hostel. She was dressed in a lovely blouse, rugged blue jeans and yellow sneakers. There was a gold necklace with a fish pendant across her neck. She appeared stunned to hear her father’s friend was a suspect.

“That’s not possible.” Tolu said to them. “Tijani… sorry uncle Tijani can’t hurt my father. They were childhood friends.”

“Are you aware about what happened to his sister many years ago?” Tiwa asked.

“Yes, my father told me about it. Ti…sorry uncle Tijani told me too.”

“You keep making mistake calling his name with respect, are you sexually involved with your father’s friend?”

“No.”

“Is he married?”

“He’s a divorcee.”

“Please,” Genevieve said. “You need to tell us the truth. This man might be using you. You have to tell us the truth, you might be saving your father.”

She sighed loudly. “Yes I am dating Tijani and he has been good to me. Please don’t tell my father.”

“We won’t unless you help us.” Tiwa said.

“How?”

“Does he have access to the internet at home?”

“Yes, he browses with his laptop.”

“Can you gain access to it? Check the contents.”

She stared confused. “Yes but he is usually there when I use it and besides, he has a password.”

“And you don’t know it?”

“I don’t and I have no idea what is it.”

“Is it possible to bring his laptop when he is not around or better still use your name as the password?”

“I have tried it before, it didn’t work.”

“Hold, let me make a call to your father.” Genevieve said and placed a call to Ayodele. “Hello sir.… Please can you remember the name of your friend’s sister?” he told her and she ended the call. She spoke to her partner and Tolu. “Use the name Labake next time. Can you do that for us?”

“Yes. If it means saving my father, I will but I am sure he is innocent. I will go to his house today and when he is away from his laptop, I will check it out."

"If he’s mail is not opened, you can still use the name as the password. When you are able to open it, check his spam and sent mails.”

“I will.”

“Is there any where we can buy a flash drive in case you see anything odd in his laptop?”

“I have a new one in my car.” Tolu said and looked at her wristwatch. “I will go to his place immediately. He should be home by now.”

“Please be careful.” The partners said at the same time. Three of them rose on their feet. Their phone numbers were given to her.

“Call us if you need our help.” Tiwa said.

“Why don’t we follow her and wait outside in the car?” Genevieve suggested.

“That’s a brilliant idea.”

As they drove behind Tolu, Modupe called Tiwa to ask if they have caught the contractor.

“No. It’s not going to be easy but we will catch him.”

“But when?” She asked impatiently.

“Soon. I will call you when you are needed.” She ended the call and shook her head. 

When they finally reached the place, they waited outside and watched Tolu entered into the building. Tolu knocked and Tijani opened the door.

“Welcome dear.” he smiled and pecked her left cheek. “I wasn’t expecting you today.”

“I wanted to surprise you.” She said and entered. He shut the door. “What are you doing?”

“I’m just going through my mails in the bedroom.”

“Can I use your laptop to browse, I didn’t come with mine.”

“Of course,” he said and grinned. “Wait for me in the room. Let me warm the food for us to eat.”

“Okay.” Tolu pecked him again and went to the bedroom. She peeped at the corridor before she closed the door and hurried to his laptop on his reading the table. She turned it on and it requested for password. She punched the letters L.A.B.A.K.E and she was gained access. She opened her mouth. She brought out her flashed from her pocket and inserted it. He was already checking his mails. She clicked on his SENT MAIL. Her eyes widened when she found out he has sent mails to a particular email contractorkill@yahoo.com

 

She read one of them, which revealed how her father was going to be drowned, and Tijani planned to use her as a plot to get her dad into a swimming pool. She felt betrayed and hurt. He was using her and he was not in love her.

She quickly clicked on the mails, copied them and pasted them into her flash. She removed her left sneaker. She put her flash drive inside, and wore it back. She grabbed her phone and called Tiwa’s number. 

“What’s going on?” Tiwa inquired the moment she answered the call. She put it on loudspeaker.

“I can’t believe this.” Tolu whispered in a shaky voice. She was very scared. “He is the one. I know how my father will drown, I am afraid to be alone with him.”

Genevieve quickly spoke. “Just hold your phone and pretend like nothing happened, we are coming and don’t end the call!”

The door suddenly opened.

“Who are you talking to on the phone?” Tijani asked angrily. He was holding a sharp knife.

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To be continued….

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Please, I will be occupied on Friday and I might not be able to write. If I can’t post the next episode on Saturday, it will be on Sunday evening. Thanks!