******
Episode 10 Title: The Traitor In The Crime.
******
After I cried close to
a minute, Quincy tapped by back gently. He used his right hand to
clean my face, when I stared at him, he looked at me with a wholehearted
smile on his lips.
“You have to stop
grieving,” he said to me and closed the laptop. “We have to let go and move on
with our lives.”
“You should not have
closed it. I have not finished listening to everything he said.”
Quincy uplifted on his
feet, lifted the laptop, he spoke to me. “My father never told me to show you but I did. You don’t have to finish it.”
I rose up too. “Why?” I
asked. “I deserve to know what he said.”
“It will only break
your heart.”
“What do you mean by it
will only break my heart?”
“I do not have to
explain to you. I only need to take good care of you and keep you safe Genny.”
I became angry at his
words. “I am capable of keeping myself safe. Before you came into my life,
nothing bad happened to me. Why now? If you want to take care of someone,
Jasmine is there with open arms for that.”
“You are talking like a
kid!” he uttered in a furious tone. “Forget about Jasmine. I am happy to
disappoint you that I will never be with her. I will wait for you whether you
like it or not! Forget about taking care of yourself, the animal behind my
father’s death will not come after you immediately. It does not work like that!”
“Don’t act like I
believe you are truly his son!”
Quincy Harvey gazed at
me with a huge frown on his face. He dropped the laptop back on the stool.
“What do you want me to do, that will prove I am Freddie Arinze’s son?! Tell
me!!”
“I am not a child that
you can yell at. Show me something to prove, like pictures with you and him
together. Maybe you stole this video from his real son. I should
be scared of you. I don’t even know if you were sent to monitor me or convince me
not to secretly investigate Uncle Freddie murder!”
Quincy eyebrows rose.
He made an angry face. “If I was sent, do you think I will convince you not to
reopen the case or kill you right now? You are probably the only one who thinks
my father was murdered.”
“I don’t know what to
believe anymore! I need concrete evidence to prove I can trust you completely.”
“Show me a recent
picture of Uncle Freddie and you.”
“I showed you one before.”
“How will I know that
was you?” I asked. “That person with him was only a kid. How will I know he
grew up to be you?”
He shook his head and
turned his back at me.
“Where are you going
to?”
He did not turn his
back to answer me. “I am going to my room. I am coming!”
I sat down and waited
anxiously for him. He came back few minutes later with some documents on his
hand. He gave them to me. I opened them to glance and read them. It was his
birth certificate with the name written boldly on it : Quincy Chinedu
Arinze. I dropped them down as I noticed some pictures. I scanned
through the photos and I saw Quincy and Uncle Freddie. Different photographs
with them inside. One particular pic caught my eyes. The two of them were
holding two bottles of beer together, lovely smiles on their lips. They appeared
extremely happy. I noticed the environment was not in Nigeria but abroad. I
felt drained and harsh. I should never have accused him of what I was not sure
of. I only embarrassed him.
I put them down on the
sofa and peered at him. “I never…”
“Please leave my house.
I need some time alone.”
I opened my mouth out
of shock. Did I blame him for nothing? Yes I did. “I am…”
Quincy cut me short
again. “I don’t need your apology. I do not need you to find out what happened
to my father. I will do that myself, alone. That is what I will do to keep you
safe. I will never bother you again about relationship. You do not believe in
love, I will respect that and let you be and leave you to continue to believe
that love does not exist. I will not bother you or persuade you that I am in
love with Genevieve Cole. Please go home and rest. Your aunt should be waiting
for you, see you at work tomorrow.”
After I listened in
silence, my heart crushed into two. I was hurt to receive those words from the
only child of a man I loved dearly. Did I deserve what he said, yes. If only I
kept my mouth shut, Quincy would never have said those things to me. I sniffed my
nose, carried my bag and walked to the entrance door. I turned my back to look
at him and he was staring at me with his charming eyes. His muteness pierced my
bones and then it dawn on me that I might really like him. I might have turned
a blind eye about how he honorably felt for me. A wave of pain crushed my
feelings. I looked away and opened the door to leave.
On my way back home in
quietness, as I drove, my phone rang severally and I purposely refused to pick. If I mistakenly did, I know I will definitely cry audibly. When I arrived
home, my aunt opened the door. She greeted me with a grin and I responded
with a cold shoulder. I headed straight to my room, shut the door, climbed my
bed and tried to force myself to sleep.
I thought about my former boss, on a
fateful day, after work, I went to a supermarket with him. I took note of a little girl holding a beautiful teddy bear. Uncle Freddie noticed and asked why. I
told him, I never had the opportunity of having a toy or a teddy bear when I
was a little kid. He laughed at me and promised to get one for me. I told him
it was unnecessary but he insisted he was going to get me one at the right
time. A year passed and I received nothing from him. I thought he had forgotten
about it, but few weeks before he passed away, Uncle Freddie came to my house
and handed over a pink teddy bear. I laughed and laughed until cheerful tears
fell from my eyes. I hugged him and took it from him. I promised to keep it
safe and placed it on my bed. After he died, I threw it inside my wardrobe with
tears in my teary eyes. I did not want the teddy but Uncle Freddie back.
Aunty Bimbo banged my
door, begged me to open but I snubbed her. I told her I wanted to be alone, she
respected my request and bid me goodnight. I stood on my feet and left to open
my wardrobe to search for the teddy bear.
I saw it after I search where I stored my shoes. I grabbed it and dusted the dirt on it before I went back to my bed. I held it tight and remembered the happiness my former boss brought to my life. Whether Quincy Harvey likes it or not, I will avenge his death! Nothing on earth was going to stop me, not even his son.
I saw it after I search where I stored my shoes. I grabbed it and dusted the dirt on it before I went back to my bed. I held it tight and remembered the happiness my former boss brought to my life. Whether Quincy Harvey likes it or not, I will avenge his death! Nothing on earth was going to stop me, not even his son.
******
The next morning, I
woke up with a sad face. I got up from my bed, removed my clothes and
went to have my bath. I got dressed in a fitted black suit, wore my shoes and
carried my brown leather bag. I went to the living room and saw my aunt seated
on one of the dining chairs with her hand on her jaw. I knew she was thinking
about how I acted last night. I walked to her and sat close to her side.
“I am sorry for the way
I acted yesterday,” I said to her. “Please forgive me.”
“I have already forgiven
you,” she said and removed her hand from her jaw. “What really happened to you?
This is not you,” she said with a worried expression on her face.
“There’s no need for
that.”
“I have never seen you
like that before. Please, tell me my daughter.”
I sighed and balanced
my eyes on her. “I am not happy.”
“Why?” she asked in a
concerned voice. “Tell me everything.”
I could not open up
that Uncle Freddie was killed. I lied that Quincy rejected me because I felt he
lied about his identity. He was able to prove he was truly his son. He walked
me out of his house and he said he won’t bother me again about a relationship.
“Is that why you were
sad?”
“You won’t understand.”
“For you to behave the
way you did,” she said. “Do you love him?”
“I don’t know.”
“The only advice I will
give you is to let him be. Be happy whenever you are around him. If he is truly
yours, he will never let you go.”
“How do I know if I have
fallen in love with him?”
“You will know. Give
yourself time.” She wrapped her arms around me and kissed my forehead.
******
I arrived at the office
and went straight to my office. My colleagues and I greeted each other. Detective Jasmine rose up from her chair and walked up to me
.
“I want to apologize
about my behavior to you. I am sorry.”
Jasmine and I quarrel,
argue and settle. I knew she liked Quincy but it was not my fault he wasn’t interested
in her.
“It’s okay.” I said. “Apology
accepted.”
“You should also apologize
for calling me a bitch.”
I laughed and said I was
sorry. We hugged each other. We chatted for some time. I was in a cheerful mood
as my friends surrounded me. Detective Akin and Leroy left us later to
investigate a case. I noticed Oscar was staring at me and I knew he would come and ask me why I have refused to give him a reply concerning his wish for me to
be his woman. I purposely stood and left the office and I met Quincy coming
towards my direction. My heart skipped!
“I was coming to meet
you.”
I took a deep breath
and asked, “Do you want me to do anything for you?”
“I want you to follow
me somewhere,” he said with a stern tone. “Doctor Ibinabo is already on her way
to the crime scene.”
“Why is she going
there?”
“We might be able to
get the catch the killer there.”
“What does that mean?”
“Follow me,” he said.
******
On the way to the
scene, we said nothing to each other. As the both of us got down from the
vehicle, I stopped him from entering the house by holding his hand.
He looked at me. “Anything
the problem?”
“I want to say sorry
about what I said.”
“If it’s about
yesterday, forget about it. I have forgotten about it.”
“Just like that?”
“Please Genny, let us
focus on this new case and worked like professionals.”
I choose not to say
anything further but concentrate on the new case. We walked into the building
together.
A six-year-old child
got strangled to death in her sleep. The suspects in the house were the father,
mother and female housemaid. The mom of the child said she woke up and when she tried to wake up her daughter, she did not. She alerted her husband who came
to check his child and found out there was no pulse.
Doctor Ibinabo said the
victim was strangled between 4am to 6am.
“What about you?” I asked
the maid. “Where were you between that time?”
“I was sleeping by that
time.”
The couple said they
were in their room sleeping too and they were innocent.
Quincy asked the doctor.
“Is there evidence that we can use to catch the killer?”
“The finger prints of the killer were on the neck of the victim.”
“What is the way
forward?” I asked her.
“I will go back to the hospital
and run some test but I need something from the both of you?”
“What is it?” my
partner and I asked at the same time. We stared at each other and back at the
medical examiner.
“I need something from
them that I can use to run the test with the finger print.”
“Something like hair or
blood?” I asked.
“Yes.” She replied.
Quincy spoke. “That
will be difficult because we don’t have evidence to prove one of them did it.”
I thought of a way out
and smiled at them. What if I know a way out?”
They stared at me.
“We don’t need to
collect anything from them.”
“What do you want to
do?” Quincy asked.
I told him to let me
talk to the couple and their house help. I went to them, the woman was crying,
the man face looked strong and the maid's face sad.
“I still cannot believe
why a heartless soul could kill an innocent child. She was just a little girl. My
partner and I need something from the three of you that can help catch the
killer."
“What do you need?” The
victim’s father queried.
“If the three of you
insist you are innocent, step towards doctor Ibinabo and allow her take a cut
from your hair to use and run some test.”
“For what?” the mother
asked defensively.
“If you really want to
know who killed your daughter, I don’t think you will say no if you are
innocent.”
“I am innocent!” she
uttered.
“What is stopping you
to show that you are innocent?”
She cleaned her face
and walked towards the doctor. “You can cut all my hair, I did not kill my
child!”
Her husband moved
towards them. “Take mine, I am not guilty.”
The five of us looked
at the maid. She fell on her knees and began to cry. “Please forgive me! I am
sorry!!”
The victim’s parents gazed
at her in shock.
“You killed my child?”
the victim mother asked her in a startled tone.
“It was the work of the
devil.”
She put her hands on
her head. “I am finished oooo!! What did I do to you? I have never maltreated
you!!! You are a traitor!”
“Your husband raped
me!!!"
“What?!” she exclaimed.
“You said what?!”
The husband also fell
on his knees and began to beg his wife for forgiveness.
"How could you cheat on me?!" she asked her husband. "You are a betrayer!"
"Forgive me!!"
"How could you cheat on me?!" she asked her husband. "You are a betrayer!"
"Forgive me!!"
“His child was
innocent.” I said to the maid. “You should never have killed their child.”
“I got pregnant and
when I told him, he took me to a hospital for an abortion. It affected my womb
and I can never have a child again.”
“You are under arrest
for murder!” Quincy said to her in an angry tone.
******
After we arrested the
murderer, I went to meet a detective at the office fighting against rape. I told
him if he could look into the rape case. I had to do it because I was a victim
of rape too. The man who raped his housemaid can’t walk free. He is a rapist
and should be convicted.
I went to have lunch at
an eatery and when I came back to the office, Quincy had gone. I bid my coworkers
goodbye and drove to the destination of my director’s abode.
He was surprised to see
me at his house when he opened for me. He was shirtless.
“What do you want?” he
asked.
“Can I come in?”
He agreed and I entered.
“I want to know what
you were hiding.” I said to him.
“Hiding?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You did not allow me
to finish watching the video.”
“That’s because you won’t
like what you will hear.”
“I don’t care! I want
to know the truth!!”
“If that is what you
want, fine! One of them is a traitor. There is a mole among the three
of them, I do not have a clue who the person is.”
I stared at him with a
confused expression on my face. “Explain because I do not know what you
are talking about.”
“Leroy, Oscar and Jasmine.”
“What about them?” I asked.
“One of them informed
the person behind my father’s death information that my father was in his house
that day he died.”
“You must be joking!”
“I am saying the truth!
I will give the disc to you and allow you to hear what my father said. One of
his homicide detectives betrayed him. He knew you can never be the one! I am working
to find out the person and when I do, I will revenge!!”
“You are talking about
my friends!”
“One of them is a foe! One of them knew he was going home that day.”
"Your father and I were supposed to have dinner at a restaurant that day but he went home claiming he had a headache."
"Did you contact any of them that night?" he asked. "Did you tell them you were no longer having dinner with him again?"
I recalled. "Yes I told them. I called the three of them that night to have dinner with me but they declined. They had reasons why they could not have dinner with me that day."
"Well, one of them conspired to murder my father!"
I had nothing to say because
I was dumbfounded! I felt my heartbeat pound faster. Truly, it broke my heart. Who could be the betrayer?
Leroy? Impossible! Oscar? Never! Jasmine? No way!
******
Who do you think is the traitor? Leroy, Oscar or Jasmine??
******
This is the end of
Season 1. Season 2, episode 1 will commence on Thursday by 6pm!
I hardly comment but I have to say this, You know how to twist a story. i am short of words to find out there is a traitor among Oscar, jasmine and Leroy. Who do i suspect? i dont really know. Quincy should forgive Genevieve. she was only trying to find out the truth.
ReplyDeleteWhy nah? a traitor? This na really serious matter. i suspect Jasmine, don't know why sef. maybe because she might be jealous of Genevieve relationship with uncle Freddie
ReplyDeleteI suspect Leroy...
ReplyDeleteI suspect Oscar
ReplyDeleteWhaaaaat,Thursday.....faroooh
ReplyDeleteWell done C.J, I see you have settled my doubts as to Quincy's true identity. I had my reservations about him. So now this quiz, hmmmm! Who do I suspect? Oscar it is. Why? Because he's got the hots for Genny and he felt her relationship with Uncle Freddie was beyond what it was.
ReplyDeleteI suspect the jelous bitch called jasmine
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Another twist in the story. I suspect Oscar
ReplyDelete