(Season 1): DEEP. Episode 10

Make una no vex oooo!
To read the previous episode, click here

******

Adebiyi did all his best to console Tiwa. He asked her to tell him what she needed and he would provide it for her. Watching her in tears broke his heart. The woman he thought had a thick skin was actually fragile.

Tiwa told him she wanted to go home and be with her mother. He assured her she would leave the following day and he would be her side. Later in the day, Mr. Bankole called and informed them he was back at home. Tiwa spoke to her mum. She lied to her daughter that the cancer wasn’t severe and she was on drugs that would lessen the pain she felt.

“Coming home won’t solve anything. Do what you have to do and come home so we can plan and travel for my upcoming birthday.” 

Tiwa sniffed her nose and wiped her face. “Okay mom.”

“Any news about the pregnant woman?”

“No but I know someone that can give me information about her and when I do, you will be the first person I tell. I love you mom. “

“I love you too.”

******

The chef left for the market, Joyce and Samson arrived the same time. Joyce handed over the jotter to Tiwa, drank some juice, and left without waiting for Asante to return and prepare some food to eat. Adebiyi told Samson to find a way to get the phone numbers of the models. Samson needed two or three days to search for them. Tiwa gave him an assignment to get information about the woman presumed to be pregnant for her brother.

In the evening, after dinner, Tiwa saw Mr. Popoola, Donald and Mimi outside, sitting down and talking. She went over to meet Adebiyi in his office and questioned him if he knew what those three were discussing.

“Mimi no longer wants to work here again.”

“Why?”

“She is in a relationship with Donald and they don’t want to work in the same place.”

“Why are they not talking to you?”

“I have nothing to say to them. I have given them my blessings.”

“So why is Popoola with them right now?”

“You should know my friend is fond of Donald. Let me tell you a secret. Before Popoola lost his wife, she was pregnant and they were expecting a boy. His wife planned to name him after her father but cancer didn’t allow her.”

“And the name was Donald, right?”

“Exactly, that is why he is always defending him.”

“Now I understand.”

“Popoola told me you suspected Donald to be the heart-taker.”

“I was wrong but…. never mind. I have to rest.”

“No problem, Goodnight Tiwa.”

“Goodnight Mr. Gold.”

“I thought you would never address me by that name.”

Tiwa was walking away and said, “I changed my mind and I have no idea why.”

He grinned.

******

Two days later, Joyce called Tiwa and informed her she was able to get the phone numbers of the DJ and bodyguards. She sent them to her phone. Samson contacted the models through their social media and narrated why an agent requested their contacts. 

The next day, after breakfast, Tiwa and Adebiyi left the house without the driver who was ill and asked for a day leave. Asante requested to see his mother briefly, Popoola and Samson went out together. Donald followed Mimi to see her parents.

The two bodyguard’s alibis checked out. Biggie Mike travelled to see his family and Jim was seen in a club working as a bouncer during the period of the killings. They met with DJ Newton in his apartment, a tall and slim dude and he had no alibi. There were empty bottles of beer, a bottle of cough syrup codeine, tramadol and wraps of marijuana on his table in his small living room. He was looking very unkempt. He claimed that during the killing of the victims he was probably at home drinking himself to death.

“We don’t have evidence to take you into custody but we will continue to investigate you.” Tiwa told him.

“I didn’t kill anyone!” Newton screamed at her. “Do you think I have the time and energy to kill those girls? This country is frustrating me. I go to the model’s party at the end of the month, play music, eat good food and receive my payment and leave. I don’t have time for women.”

“But you have time for drugs.” Adebiyi said.

He glared at him. ”It is none of your business!”

“It is none of my business but I will tell you the truth. Drugs, alcohol might take the pain you feel for a short period but after that, the pain comes back to haunt you. The only way you can overcome the sadness is fight it and don’t ever give up. Your life might not be precious to you anymore but there should be someone out there, family, friends that cares a lot about you. Be strong for them and do not waste your life over cheap substances that can not only destroy your dreams but take away your breath.”

Tiwa looked at him and smiled. She was proud of him.

Newton bowed down his head. He was ashamed to make eye contacts with both of them. “I am innocent. I can never bring out the heart of a woman. It’s disgusting to even think about it! Two of you can go inside my house and check. I have nothing to hide. All I ever want to do is play good music for people. Is that too much to ask? Is my dream too big to achieve?”

“No.” She answered him.

Adebiyi went beside him, removed his complimentary card from his pocket and handed it over to him. “When you clean up and want to start all over again, give me a call.”

He widened his eyes and managed to leave a smile on his lips. “Thank you sir.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” He said. “We have not been able to get the contact of the cook. Do you have it?”

“I don’t have Mr. C’s number. He doesn’t look like someone that could hurt those girls. He is very hard-working and friendly.”

“To the models?” Tiwa quickly asked.

“Yes. Is there anything wrong with that?”

“No.” 

“I noticed the girls like to chat with him because he was the one in charge of the food. They probably wanted him to serve them well.”

“I understand but why serve them alone. I heard he usually pay some guys to assist him to bring the food and they leave him alone to serve.”

“It’s true. That’s the way he wanted it. All I observed was that, he was hard working and good at his job.”

“Can you describe him?”

“He is black and not a tall person. We hardly talk to each other.”

“What about his real name. We know him by his nickname.”

“Me too.”

******

Tiwa and Adebiyi left and entered the car. She kept her phone inside the pigeonhole and looked away. He could see she was angry.

“Don’t worry, we will get him.” He told her.

“How?” She asked and stared at him with a disappointed expression. “The heart-taker is walking freely, I am sure he is presently finding his next victim. My mother is sick and I cannot do anything about it. My brother is nowhere to be found, I heard he is planning to travel for a big concert in America, Damon can’t be located and my life and yours is at risk. So tell me what you expect me to do. Sit back and believe everything is going to be all right? No! We are in a mess, and I involved you in it and I have to fix it alone!”

He placed his hand on her shoulder gently. She could feel some burning sensation down her belly. She wanted to tell him to take his hand off her but she would appear rude.

“You can’t do this alone. Damon is coming after me because he feels we are intimate.” He removed his hand. He didn’t feel comfortable touching her.

“So what are we going to do now?”

“We will go home, eat lunch and wait for tomorrow to come. Remember the models are coming to meet you to question them.”

“I can’t wait for tomorrow to come. I hope they have something to say that can help the investigation.”

“I hope so.”

“When we reach home,” she said. “It would be boring without the others.”

“We will find something to do to keep us busy.”

*******

Mr. Popoola and Samson left the media house they went to; Samson suggested they go see his sister. She had some information for them. The blogger told them what she found on the internet in year 2007. Samson called Adebiyi’s phone and he gave Tiwa to speak with him as he drove on a busy road.

“My sis found out that a beauty queen ended her five years relationship after her tenure ended. She was Miss. Tourism of Nigeria. There was a story about her that she broke her ex-boyfriend's heart and married a very rich man. Her name was Nkiru Adekola before she got married and relocated abroad.”

“Why bear a Yoruba and an Igbo name?”

“Her father is Yoruba and her mother is Igbo.”

“Then how come he goes after Hausa.”

“She married a Hausa man and now bears Nkiru Adekola Danjuma.”

Tiwa turned on the loudspeaker. “Wow! No wonder he is going after these tribes. Can your sister find a way to locate her abroad?”

“I don’t think there’s need for that. She has ordered her source to get her phone number. She is presently in Nigeria.”

“Oh my God! When did she come back into this country?”

“I think it’s over three months ago.”

Tiwa looked at Adebiyi stunned. “That should be the time he started killing those girls. He must have heard she came back. When you are able to reach her, let her know what is going on. I want her to call me immediately. There is no time to waste!”

“Yes ma.”

“Do you know her ex-boyfriend’s name?”

“No, the only thing we know about him is that he dropped out of medical school because of the heartbreak.”

“He must have blamed her for not fulfilling his dreams. Thanks Samson and my regards to your sister and Popoola.”

“You’re welcome. He will soon be on his way home.” Samson said and ended the call.

“What will the heart-taker gain from killing these innocent girls?” Adebiyi asked. “Why is he targeting those girls that had nothing to with his past?”

“Maybe they remind him of his former lover. On the other hand, I believe that if he eventually kills all his targets, he would surely go after the former beauty queen. That must be his plan. The return of her triggered him to start killing.” 

He shook his head sorrowfully. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed. When we are able to meet the former beauty queen, we will know the name and the face of the heart-taker.”

When Adebiyi and Tiwa arrived home, they got out of the vehicle and went into the living room to sit down. Adebiyi went to his bar and filled two glasses with whiskey.

“Do you want to get me drunk before you give me my lunch?” Tiwa joked and took it from him.

He laughed and sat down beside her. “No.” He replied and sipped. He heaved out a sigh and glanced at her. She was beautiful. “I have something to say. I know you are passing through a lot. I am very sorry about your mom. You shouldn’t have been kept in the dark and Damon had no right to tell you about her sickness. I knew your mother was ill but your father didn’t want…”

“You knew about my mother’s health and you could not say a word to me? I am highly disappointed!” She dropped the tumbler.

“But I didn’t know it was cancer.”

“That is not an excuse!!”

“Are you shouting at me?”

Tiwa rose up and started to walk away. He placed his glass on a table and followed her behind. He was trying to stop her but she walked fast and entered her room. He pushed his way through as she was about to lock the door.

“What do you want?!” She asked.

“To talk!”

She peered into his eyes angrily. “Leave my room!”

He looked around and glanced back at her face. “Your room? This is my house for crying out loud!”

“Oh yeah? I will leave the moment we catch the heart-taker!”

“You just want to quarrel with me for no reason. I didn’t want to disrespect your father that was why I never said a word about it. I am ready to give your mother any amount of money so that she can be flown abroad for the right treatments.”

“My father is capable of paying her bills. We don’t need your so called money and we are not poor! Don’t rub your riches on our faces!”

“I am only trying to help. Is that a crime now?”

“It is a crime when the source of someone’s money is illegal.”

Adebiyi did a double look at her. “What are you insinuating?” Tiwa rotated away from him but he turned her back to face him. “What are you trying to say, that my money is not clean?”

“Think whatever you like Ade, I want to be alone!”

“Wait, you think I might be a drug dealer or be involved in shady deals? Is that what you think of me?”

“I remember when I used those words after you labeled me a bad woman.”

“I thought we have forgotten about that. I apologized and we settled our differences. We are friends, right?”

“We will settle our differences after I find out how you became a wealthy man overnight.”

He began to shake his head. “I can’t believe I have been living with a woman that does not trust me. The money I acquired oversees is legal. I don’t brag about how I got the money but I am a lucky son of a bitch! You should have come to me and ask and I would willingly tell you. If I had something to hide, I would have agreed for you to stay in my hotel. I did not because I am guilty of no crimes!”

“You are my friend and I…..” She paused and looked into his eyes. “I want to give you my hundred percent trust but I have to know how you….”

“You are still the same woman I thought you were when I first met you.” Adebiyi said in an angered tone.

“What?”

“If you saw me as your friend, you would have confronted me about it.”

“But that’s what I am doing now!”

“No! That’s not what you’re doing. You are asking me now because you know how I feel about…” He hesitated and sighed heavily. “When I entered into America, I searched for an office job but could not find any. I was opportune to meet a bodyguard of a business industrialist. He suggested I joined him to guard his boss, a wealthy woman in her late eighties. She was a widow and never had children but dogs and cats. She paid her workers at the right time and treated us as if we were her younger ones. She never looked down on me because I was an African man. On a particular day, I overheard her household employees and the bodyguard planning to eliminate our employer and run away with her money and jewelries worth millions of dollars. I had to report it to her and she gave me the authority to find a better way to join them in their plans. I did and when the day came for the murder, detectives surrounded us. I still had to pretend that I was a part of it and not a spy so that no one would come back and hurt me. We were arrested and I was freed after a month and went back to work. My boss passed away a year later, she surprised everyone when she willed half of her assets to me. Twenty percent to her pets and the thirty went to charity! I wanted to stay back and live my life there but I still felt like a stranger. I had to come back, Tiwa. There’s no place like home.”

“Oh!”

“I have the documents, everything about what I acquired legally from her! I can give them to you.”

She was short of words. “I am so sorry for judging you…. I just wanted to be sure… I…. I am sorry.”

He did not utter a single word; instead, he turned his back to leave. She ran to stand in front of him.

“It's not that I see you as a bad person, I know you are a good man. I misjudged you about the source of your wealth.”

“So all along, you saw me as a thief, right!”

“What!! Don’t you dare start?!”

“You are the one that started this and you are going to end it yourself!”

“But how?”

He took her by surprise by kissing her lips passionately! She gripped him hard and stopped him. Their lusting eyes met and paused together. Tiwa could not control the powerful emotion she felt for the man standing in her presence. She took his whole lips and they kissed recklessly as if it was a war in a battleground. He cuddled her body so tight nobody could separate them! Her lips tasted like strawberry, his scent from his body consumed her nostrils. He dug every angle of his lips into her soft mouth and wet tongue!

He was irresistible. She wanted more from him!

Adebiyi and Tiwa was no longer patient that they had to tear each other’s outfits off their bodies. He went down to her neck, chest and back to her lips to kiss them deeply. He was breathing fast; she was hungry for his rod. She touched him below and felt him hard!

“Take me to your room.” She told him as they kissed and removed their clothes.

“I want you here. I have never brought any woman into this bedroom.” She was different from the other women he has slept with in his room. He had sex with them. He was going to make love to Tiwa.

They were already naked. He carried her. Her arms around his neck, her legs wrapped his firmed waist. His hands grabbed her soft buttocks and he dropped her down carefully on the bed. He looked into her face, he loved what he saw and beamed. She smiled back at him before she licked his chin and turned him so she could stay on top of him. She wanted to be in charge!

Tiwa came down to his chest, licked and sucked his nipples. Adebiyi groaned. He caressed her long hair and rubbed her back as she went down below to taste him. Within the blink of an eye, they were caressing each other, making loud sounds. He tossed her over but she held him firmly and tried to be on top of him again. He refused. Both of them rolled on the bed and fell on the floor, which they hardly noticed. Two of them were kissing ever part of their bodies. Nothing bothered them at that moment. If given an opportunity, they would eat one another. They began to laugh and went back to kissing. 

He came on top of her succulent body and apologetically rammed into her wetness. Tiwa moaned and continued as he went inside of her slowly. He buried his lips on her left breast and fondled the right one smoothly. He was making sweet love to the woman that has captured his heart. 

He wanted only her in his life.

Tiwa hoped he would never abandon her. Tears gushed out from her eyes. She desired only him. She knew he was the right man for her. He looked at her and saw the tears.

“I will never hurt you. I will protect you.” He whispered and kissed her lips. He tasted the salty water dripping down her chin. 

Adebiyi began to go faster and faster until he came into her. They were on the floor exhausted. He brought her close to him, clinched his arms around her body and patted her.

“I love you Tiwa.” Adebiyi said. “I have never felt like this before. I love you.”

She was astonished and her lips were sealed.

He stared at her. “I will wait when you are ready to tell me how you feel about me. I will not rush you.”

“It’s not….”

He quickly placed his finger on her lips. “You must be hungry.” He carried her and gently put her on the bed. “I’m coming.” He said and wore his boxers.

She giggled underneath the white covers. She was happy to be around him. He came back few minutes later with a tray of food for both of them. 

They ate together and after they finished eating, 

Tiwa spoke. “I wonder how the chef managed not to tell them his real name. He has to be the killer.”

He gazed at her dazed. “Are we really going to talk about the case now?”

“Do you want a second round?”

Adebiyi laughed hard and shook his head. “”Okay. Let’s be serious. As long as no one knows his real name, he must have something to hide. Mr. Monday ran away because he was scared the heart-taker would hurt his family. Let’s wait for Samson and Popoola.”

“I think I should call one of them.” Tiwa searched for her phone and remembered she forgot it inside the car. She wore some clothes, pecked Adebiyi and told him she would be back in a jiffy.”

“My phones are in the living room,” he said. “Help me bring them.”

She smiled at him. “I will.”

Tiwa took his car keys from the table and went outside. She walked towards the car, opened it and brought out her phone. She locked the door and paused. She said to herself. 

“If the ex-boyfriend of the former beauty queen wasn’t able to become a medical doctor, he must have found a job one way or the other to survive and be able to carry out his plan. If Donald is likely to know something that means the heart-taker is close by but… but there is no one left for me to sus….” She hesitated and opened her eyes. “The chef!”

She turned her back and saw Asante. Her heart collapsed. “When did you return?”

Asante didn’t answer. He speedily raised his hand and pierced her neck with an injection.

******

Adebiyi became worried after he had not seen Tiwa for some minutes. He shouted her name and no reply. He strolled outside and heard the sound of the gate opened wide and saw Popoola driving inside. Adebiyi looked around and could not find her. He thought he had no reason to panic and felt she was playing a prank on him. Popoola came out from his vehicle and walked towards him.

“What’s going on?”

Adebiyi rubbed his forehead nervously. “I can’t find Tiwa.”

He gazed at him surprised and surveyed the compound. “What do you mean you can’t find….” He halted and pointed on the floor. “Is that not your car key and Tiwa’s phone on the floor?”

Adebiyi rushed towards the items and grabbed them. “Oh my God!” he started to tremble. “He has gotten her!  It could be Damon!”

“Remember Damon is coming after you first.”

“Oh my God!! It’s has to be the heart-taker!! We have to do something!!”

Popoola was scared and anxious. He stopped Adebiyi from running outside to search for Tiwa. “We have to go inside first and think of what next to do! We don’t know who is watching us.”

“I am supposed to protect her! I shouldn’t have agreed to let her walk out of my sight!”

He managed to drag Adebiyi inside. “We have to think of how he walked into this compound and take her just like that.”

“Before she left, she suspected the chef of the agent was the serial killer. Is it possible he knew her or … I don’t even know what to think anymore!”

“The only way we have to know the truth is hear from Mrs. Nkiru Danjuma.”

“I can’t wait! I have to find Tiwa! How I wish we know his real name. How can you employ a cook without finding out his real name? The chef is the killer! We have to start looking for every chef in this state! The only chef we know….” He stared into Popoola’s eyes. “Where is Asante?”

“I don’t think he is back.”

Adebiyi ran as fast as he could. Popoola joined him in the race. When he reached the room, he unlocked the door of Asante. There were no belongings. It was empty. “I am finished!”

Popoola was flabbergasted. “Don’t tell me we have been living with a serial killer?”

“Asante has taken Tiwa!” Adebiyi said and smashed his fist on the wall. Blood jogged out.

******

Her throat ached and she could feel the right side of her head swollen. Tiwa opened her eyes and tried to stretch out her legs but it was impossible. She felt as if she was deposited into a small hole. Tiwa knew where she was dark, and small. She sensed she was inside the boat of a moving car. She had no idea how she got inside. Darkness cloaked her senses when a sharp needle pricked her skin.

The car wasn’t moving anymore. He had parked his vehicle somewhere, she thought. She was prepared to fight him the moment he opened the boot. Tiwa was wrong. Asante used a wood to smash her on the face immediately he unlocked the booth. She fainted.

 

The day was already getting dark. A squashing headache woke Tiwa up. She could feel blood draining down her face. She squeezed her eyes as the pain continued to pound inside her head. She had to open her eyes to know where she was. She opened them and found herself alone on a hospital bed and Asante had tied her hands and legs tightly against the handles with ropes. She was unable to move. Her legs were weak. The place looked like an abandoned health facility and it was dirty.

God, please don’t let him rape me. She prayed. 

She was terrified and began to cry. Was she going to die? How will her mother take the news of her death? She thought of Adebiyi, what he must have been passing through the moment he noticed she had been kidnapped by the heart-taker. It would only take the grace for him to find out his chef was the serial murderer. No wonder Donald wanted Mimi to leave the house. Did he find out that he murdered those models and Asante threatened him? All those times, Donald was staring at her, he must have been thinking on how to tell her to leave too. No wonder she saw fear in his eyes sometimes.

Her heart jumped when she heard the sound of the door opened. She saw Asante with some hospital equipment's on a silver tray and he was wearing a lab coat.

“What do you want to do?” She asked in a petrified tone. Her heart was beating fast.

“To teach you a lesson.”

“Please don’t kill me.” She begged him.

“It will give me pleasure when I cut out your heart.”

“Oh my God! Please, don’t! I am on my knees! Don’t kill me!”

Asante began to laugh mischievously. “I love it when you beg. I need to see some tears Tiwa. Those models cried like a baby. When I have finished with you, one of the models will be next. You are lucky that you are not a model, I would have raped you!”

Tiwa closed her eyes. She was definitely going to die and would never see the love of her life again. She got angry with herself for not telling him how she felt. She loved him. If she had known, she would have professed her undying love for him. 

Her eyes suddenly turned furious. She wasn’t going to back down easily. Even if he was going to remove her heart, take her life, she still had little time to tell Asante he was nothing but a weakling.

She looked at him. “Just because a woman left you, you became a monster. Instead of you to work harder, be a better man and prove to Nkiru that she made a mistake for leaving you for another man; you did nothing and chose to kill innocent people. I am happy she left you. She made the best decision!”

“Shut up!” He slapped her hard on the face. One of his finger nails slashed the right side of her lower lip.

Tiwa spat on him. “I will never beg you because at the end of the day, you would eventually kill me, so, fuck you!”

His eyes exploded into fury. A brutal expression compressed his face. “You must beg me!”

“Never!” 

“I read about you in the newspaper. You are very stubborn. I know what to do.” 

He searched for a thick rope on the floor and used it to wipe her. She could feel the pain raking into her body. Tears wanted to fall but she fought back to bear the pain.

“Beg me!” he said and flogged her.

“Fuck you!”

“I said beg!”

“Asshole!”

He dropped the rope on the floor and took a small knife from the tray.

She was frightened and quickly shut her eyes. He began to cut her little by little on her arms. She shivered in pain. 

“Beg me Tiwa.”

She opened her eyes and uttered. “Go fuck yourself!”

Asante threw the knife on the floor and walked out furiously. He was frustrated. The tears she was fighting hard not to come out from her eyes flooded down. She thought of Adebiyi once again.

“Forgive me for not telling you how I feel. I love you Adebiyi.”

She inhaled and thought of a way out. She knew if she refused to plead for her life, he wouldn’t kill her but for how long would she endure such tremendous pain.  It won’t be for long but she would never beg tonight. Tiwa knew it was going to be a night of endless torture.

******

End of season one.

The first episode of season two will commence on Monday.

***** 

Please I am currently making few changes on my blog. I don't want to disappoint you guys that is why I will be posting the next episode on Monday. Thanks! Make una pray for Tiwa... Lol