(S3): PARTNERS IN CRIME! E2.

Read episode ONE

***

Episode 2 Title: Re-investigation.

***

Rebecca gave them the details about the address and name of the station.

“What is the name of the victim?” Tiwa asked. “And how did he die?”

“Clement Nzeribe. “ Rebecca answered her. "He was shot twice."

Genevieve lifted an eyebrow. “The name sounds familiar.”

“Yes, it should.” Adebiyi said and all eyes fell on him. “Clement is the son of Sammie Nzeribe.”

“I thought so. Sammie Nzeribe is contesting for a position at the house of assembly. He is an ADP member. His son was killed and the report I read on a blog confirmed his friend killed him out of jealousy.”

“That is it.” Rebecca said. “Why will my husband be jealous of his friend that depended on his dad and was never married or had children? I admit, the few times I met Clement; he was generous, jovial and open-minded. Brown met him four years ago in a bank and they became close friends. He introduced his friends to my husband too.”

 “Why didn’t I read or hear about it?” Tiwa asked.

“That is the period you travelled to Brazil.” Genevieve replied her.

She gave an acceptance nod and spoke to Rebecca. “What is Barrister Harold saying about the case?”

“He asked for the name of the judge that denied Brown bail. He said he would talk to the officer in charge of the investigation today to get the report on the case.”

“What time will he see Mr. Brown?”

“He didn’t give me time. He would have talked to him today, but he said he lost a friend.”

Genevieve looked at Tiwa before she gestured at Rebecca. “We will go to the station in the morning and if barrister Harold is not there, we will wait for him. I want you to go home and rest.”

“I can’t rest detective Genevieve.” Rebecca said. “I am going through a lot right now. My husband is in prison and my father is sick at the hospital. I don’t know what to do!”

“Go home, have a warm bath, eat and spend time with your children before going to bed. As long as he is innocent, my partner and I, with barrister Harold will make sure your husband comes back home to you. Be assured about that.”

Tiwa nodded. “We will do everything within our power to help barrister Harold win the case.”

Rebecca smiled. “You have no idea how both of you have made me feel. Thank you.” She hugged them and shook Gold’s hand. Rebecca left the office and stepped closer to her car when her phone rang. She grabbed it out from her bag, and picked the call.

“Three days?” she asked the caller. “Oh my God!”

She spoke for a minute. With the expression on her face after ending the call, she was not happy. She turned and rushed back into the building. Tiwa and Genevieve were coming out from Mr. Gold’s office. They showed concern when she approached them. She was talking fast and crying. Tiwa and Genevieve tried to calm her down.

“What is it?” Tiwa asked.

“I received the wrong information. I have been told the case is starting on Thursday.”

“That’s in three days’ time!” Genevieve said. “We have only three days?”

“I am so sorry, I didn’t know!”

“It’s okay, just calm down.”

“I didn’t lie. I thought it was a week from now. I am very sorry.”

“We believe you.” Genevieve said.

“I don’t know what I am going to do.” She said and cleaned her face. “Barrister Harold will not be happy. I hope he won’t change his mind. Are you still taking the case?”

“Of course we are!” Tiwa said. “I am sure barrister Harold loves challenges, he won’t back out. Call him.”

“I will and thank you very much.”

“You are welcome.”

Genevieve escorted her to her car and Tiwa spoke to Idara. She gave her the number of Peter and told her exactly what to say.

***

Quincy and Genevieve played with Freddie and fed him before their own food was ready.

Some minutes later, Freddie slept off and Quincy took him to his room. Genevieve served and she talked about meeting Peter while they were eating. Quincy could not stop laughing. He pictured his wife's face and how she must have acted the minute the lawyer opened his mouth to talk.

“I’m sure he is a good man,” he said to her. “Someone like that can win the case.”

“If you really want him to win, I need you to do something for me.”

“What is it?” He dropped the spoon on his plate.

“I spoke with Tiwa about it and she agreed with me. We want to talk to the victim’s father. We want to ask him some questions about his son.”

“How does it have to do with me?” Quincy asked puzzled.

“The victim is the son of Sammie Nzeribe.”

“Is it the politician that wants to be a rep at the national assembly?”

“Yes.”

“He is a busy man and I don’t know him personally."

“But the major director of the NIB knows him very well. I have seen them together on TV.”

“So you want me to help you talk to my boss and ask if the senator can see you?"

"Yes dear."

"When?”

“If it’s possible, I will like tomorrow.”

Quincy heaved a sigh. “You know I am ready to do anything for you. I will call him in the morning, but I can’t promise if it’s going to be tomorrow. Remember, he is a busy man and he lost his son.”

“No problem.” With a smile on Genevieve’s lips, she rose, placed his head on her chest, and kissed him on the head. “Thanks love.”

***

“For real?” Adebiyi asked surprised. He and Tiwa had returned from an eatery, bathed and decided to watch a movie in the living room. 

She told him about Peter. He added. "No wonder you sounded stunned when Mrs. Brown mentioned his name.”

“I and Genevieve couldn’t believe it.”

“I think he sounds like a nice guy. I would love to meet him.”

“No way, he will corrupt you.”

“I am already corrupt with you.”

She gave him a look and he laughed and held her.

“You know what I mean.” He kissed her lips deeply.

Tiwa smiled at him. “You think it’s a good idea we took the case?”

“Of course,” Adebiyi said. “I would have investigated it if you and detective Genevieve had refused. Before you came into my office, she told me her story. Brown would have died for her.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He loved her so much and stood by her in her darkest moments. She was married to a heartless man before she met him. Five years ago, the man fell terribly sick and died in prison. He was buried like a church rat.”

Tiwa heaved a slow sigh. “I wonder why some men treat their wives like a piece of rag. This life is too short to heap evil on someone’s head not to talk of a woman you call, your missing rib and the mother of your unborn kids.” She smiled at him. “I am happy where I am. Kiss me baby.”

“With pleasure.” Adebiyi said delightfully.

***

At 7:12am, Tiwa was already waiting for Genevieve in front of her house. Quincy hugged her and vowed to call her after he had spoken to his boss. She carried Freddie and stroked him before she bid them goodbye.

They arrived at the unpainted two-story building of the station twenty minutes later. Some of the windows were half-broken. The prison had murderers, serial rapists, psychopaths and even innocent people. The partners spoke to the man in charge and they asked to talk to Brown Smith for as long as they want. A male prison warden led them into a plain room with three chairs and a big wooden table. He left and came back with Brown Smith and left. 

Despite staying in an untidy place, his skin never changed. The only thing that altered on his face was the beards. He had begged for a shaving stick from the wardens and no one cared to say yes to his request. Even with the beards, he looked handsome. In his green jumpsuit and handcuffs slammed across his wrists, he smiled at Tiwa and Genevieve. They smiled back. The three of them sat down.

“My wife came to see me in the evening before she went home.” Brown said. “She assured me you would come. I am happy you are reinvestigating the case.”

“I am very sorry.” Tiwa said.

“Don’t be. I caused it. I should have stayed back at my house that day. Rebecca travelled with the kids."

“She told us.”

“I didn’t kill my friend. I can never commit murder. If I wanted to, I should have done it a long time ago. I feel so sorry for my wife. If I had known…”

The door flung opened. Brown, Genevieve and Tiwa looked at the entrance and saw Peter Harold holding a leather briefcase. The partners faces changed and they looked back at Brown. 

“Good morning ladies and gentleman.” Peter walked over to Brown and extended his hand. “I am Peter Harold, your attorney and I am going to get you out of this fucking awful place!”

Brown speedily rose on his feet and took his hand. He didn’t care about the words that would spill out from his mouth. Rebecca already told him, the lawyer spoke in a strange way. “I am very happy you are here. I am pleased to meet you.”

A warden brought a chair and gave them their privacy by shutting the door. The men sat down.

“Pleased to meet you too,” Peter said and looked at the detectives. They turned their faces away and he smiled. “I think I should get a fucking thank you for helping you on the case.”

They frowned at him.

“Thank you.” Genevieve said.

“Is that all?” Tiwa asked. “We didn’t come herr for that.”

“I know.”  Peter said. “Thank you too for capturing my friend’s killer. I’m grateful.” He gazed at Brown. “I will go straight to the fucking point. I am your lawyer and I have every right to talk the way I do, but I will show you some respect. I want you to tell me the truth if you killed your friend. If you did, I will still do everything in my fucking power to get you out of this fucking prison. You can tell me when the detectives have left here.

“I didn’t kill Clement.” Brown said. “I am not a murderer.”

“Okay. I need you to tell me everything that happened before that day.” He took out a jotter and grabbed a pen.

“It was on a Friday. I think on the 16^th. I went to work, and in the evening while I was still at my place of work, my late friend, Clement, called me. He said his other friends will come over at his house the next day afternoon and I should come too. I agreed, because I would have been alone on Saturday.”

He wrote as Brown talked. Genevieve and Tiwa listened.

“Did anyone approach you or call you that sounded odd?” Peter inquired.

He thought. “No. There was nothing unusual.”

“What about the other friends? Didn’t anyone call you?”

“One of them did, twice.”

“Didn’t you think it was odd? Clement already called you.”

“I don’t think so. He called to remind me to hang out with them on Saturday.”

“Has he ever called like that when Clement invited all of you to his house?”

Brown made a surprised face. “No. I think I find it odd now because he has never called to remind me of that. I always attend even if I stay for a short time. I am older than Clement, but he was very good to people around him.”

“What is the name of the friend that called you?"

“Solomon.”

“How many of you were in Clement’s house that day?”

“Myself, Clement, Solomon, Alabi, Chucks and Josiah.”

“Rebecca said one of your friends brought a lawyer to you.” Tiwa quickly said. “Who was that?”

“That will be Chucks and he never came here to see me again. Alabi and Josiah came to see me twice and stopped.”

“What about Solomon?”

“I don’t know because he is nowhere to be found.”

“Who served the drinks?”

“Clement wanted to, but Chucks and Alabi volunteered. Clement was okay with it.”

 “So what happened afterwards?”

“We drank. Later, I called Rebecca to tell her where I was. I joined Clement to play football on his PS4. Josiah watched us play. Alabi and Chucks talked about politics and women. Solomon kept quiet and started receiving calls. He went into the kitchen to receive the calls. We drank more and after some time, Clement said he was tired and felt sleepy. I called him lazy, I always did because he did not have a job, but depended on his father. He tried to get up, but he fell. I helped him up and took him to rest on a long settee. I won’t lie, I felt tired too, but not like Clement. It didn’t take long before I closed my eyes and woke up and found a gun in my hand. There was blood all over Clement. I was alone with him. I panicked. I threw the gun on the floor and ran outside. I never knew the police had surrounded the house. One of the officer said, they received an anonymous tip that someone was shot in Clement’s house and I was arrested as the killer.”

“’Fucking fuck!” Peter uttered and pointed at him. “You were fucking setup! Even if you wanted to kill Clement, you could not have done it so fucking stupid!”

Brown kept quiet and Genevieve and Tiwa gave him a look.

“Clement and you were obviously drugged.” Tiwa said. “Was an autopsy carried out on Clement’s body?”

Brown replied. “Yes. The officer in charge told me a sedative was found in his system. My blood was taken too, but no one told me anything about my result.”

“Our examiner could carry out another autopsy on Clement's body.”

“Clement has been buried.”

They were shocked.

“So soon?” Genevieve asked.

“He was buried after the autopsy. He is a Muslim.”

“An Igbo person a fucking Muslim?” Peter asked in a dazed tone.

Brown was forced to laugh. “Yes. He is the only one that is a Muslim in his family.”

“I see. I will speak to the judge in charge of your case to grant you bail and give us more time to reinvestigate before we appear in court. I will see what I can do to get the name of the hospital that did the autopsy."

“Okay.”

“That will be all for now.” He kept his jotter and pen in his briefcase. He rose. “Don’t worry, we will win the case for you.”

“Thank you.”

“We will talk to Chucks, Josiah and Alabi.” Tiwa said.

“Their phone numbers are in my phone. Rebecca will give you.”

“No problem.”

“Please, can both of you do me a favor?”

“What is it?” Genevieve asked.

“Can you persuade my wife not to come here and check on me?”

“Why?” Both asked surprised.

“Rebecca is always crying and I hate to see her like that. I feel helpless because I can’t do anything to help. She should focus on her father’s health and we will see in court instead.”

“We will try and persuade her.” Tiwa said.

“Thanks.”

Tiwa and Genevieve walked behind Peter. A warden came and took Brown away. Genevieve received a call from Quincy. His boss was able to convince him to see them. They were to meet him in his home. 

She thanked him and he sent her the address. Genevieve told Peter about it on their way to his car.

“That’s a fucking bad idea, don’t. Talk to Chucks, Josiah and Alabi.”

She didn’t say a word.

“Please, can you caution your vulgar tongue when you talk to us?” Tiwa asked him in a polite way. “We are not comfortable.”

“I fucking talk the way I fucking like! I’m not in a court room, neither am I talking to a fucking judge! The only way you can be comfortable with me, it’s if we become friends.”

“I don’t want to be your friend.”

He stared over at Genevieve.

She folded her arms. “Me neither. I’m not interested.”

He scoffed by make a sound with his lips. “Fucking lies. Don’t worry, we will be friends and if there were no wedding rings on your fingers, I would probably consider marrying both of you. After all, polygamy is legal in this fucking country.”

He touched the handle of his car, and looked at their faces. He saw disgust.

Peter laughed hard. “Come on! I’m fucking joking! If you know me better, you won’t take me serious whenever I am not talking about a case. I'm sorry if i disrespected both of you. Honestly, it was a fucking joke! I have a fucking type." He opened his door, got in and threw his briefcase on the other seat. He switched on the ignition and gazed directly at them.

“By the way, if you want to reach me, call me directly. Do not allow the woman that called me yesterday to call again, she has an ugly voice. An ugly fucking voice!” He grinned and zoomed off before they could open their mouths to lambast him. If only he knew what they had in mind, he would shut the fuck up.

“Fucking asshole.” Tiwa spoke softly.

Genevieve heard her clearly and glanced at her. “He is also a fucking prick! Let’s get the hell out of this place.”

***

It took Peter Harold twenty minutes to reach the chambers of Judge Abigail Osunde.  The secretary, an elderly woman with grey hair made an excuse to leave. She went into an office, returned and sat on her chair.

“You can go in now.” She said to Peter. “She is ready to see you.”

He had forgotten her name. He looked over at the slate positioned on her desk. He smiled at her. “Thank you Mrs. Okoh. You look very good today.”

She blushed and patted her hair gently. “Thank you barrister.”

He walked into the elaborate office that had countless files neatly arranged on a large shelve. It wasn’t the first time here. His new opponent, barrister Chidi Eze and a young female dressed in a skirt suit sat opposite the judge. 

The judge, fifty-five years old, was a fat and very tall woman. She was wearing her robe and the look in her eyes was stern. It was always difficult to see a smile on her lips. Rumor has it that she controlled her husband and her three children were scared of her. Ever since she became a magistrate, no one was bold enough to offer her a bribe.

Peter greeted her, and she gave him a nod. He rested his briefcase on an empty chair, and chose to remain on his feet. He gazed at the barrister and they exchanged pleasantries. None of them had a cheerful expression on their faces except the other young woman. Chidi introduced her as barrister Benita Ewere. She happened to be a younger colleague that would work with him on the case. Peter acknowledged her before he stared directly at Judge Abigail Osunde. Benita did not take her eyes off him.

“You don’t have an appointment with me today,” Osunde said. “But when I heard you were going to be the new attorney of the accused, there was no way I could say no to see you. I had to agree when my personal assistant notified me of your importune request to see me with the prosecuting attorney.”

Peter said, “Thank you, your honor.”

“Don’t thank me yet!” She relaxed her elbows on the handles of the chair and her hands on her laps. “I don’t want to say, I am not pleased to see you again, barrister Harold. I know your client has gotten himself a damn good lawyer, but I will not tolerate any form of drama or commotion from you in my courtroom.”

“I will not…”

“Let me finish!”

Chidi chuckled faintly.

She glared at him wickedly. “Did I say anything funny barrister?”

“No, your honor.”

“Then wipe out that smirk off your face and hear me out! What I’m about to say is also directed to you too!”

He cleared his throat and apologized. This time, Peter smiled. The smile faded when the judge looked at him.

“If you know you want to win this case, ask questions regarding your client in my courtroom. You are fond of throwing superfluous jibes at your opponents and that could lead to confusion and disagreements.” She gazed into Chidi’s eyes. “I am different from the judges you have worked with. I am going to give you a word of advice. I hope you don’t have cockroaches in your cupboard. I am aware both of you have never battled in court before. If you have anything at all, anything you are hiding, hide it far from barrister Harold and stay away from him! I am not advising you, I am warning you!”

“But your honor,” Peter said.

“What is it?” The tone of her voice was harsh.

“This is a slur on my charismatic personality.”

“Did you say charismatic? Oh please! You think I have forgotten what you did to barrister Ojukwu?”

Peter’s face changed drastically. How could she? Old fucking baboon! Reminder of the name, Kenneth Ojukwu was a fucking nightmare. If he had the power, he would have turned back the hands of time, backed out of the case he did a long time ago and not meddle into his personal life.

“I may not have been the judge involved in that case, but news travel far among us. Let me shift that aside, what exactly do you want?”

He shrugged and swallowed. “First of all, I want my client, Brown Smith released on bail. The murder charge against him is barbaric.”

“Excuse me?”

Chidi acted surprised and wanted to speak, the judge raised her hand to shut him up.

Judge Osunde looked at Peter. “I denied him bail. The former lawyer did not give me a purpose to grant him a release. Why will I do that now? It is obvious the murder charges against the defendant are likely to be true except you make me think otherwise in court. There is evidence pointing him to be the real killer.”

“The accused is innocent for such an abhorrent act. He has no criminal record. I am stating that the killing of Clement Nzeribe is a plot to tarnish the image of Brown Smith. He was framed for murder.”

“Prove that in court and not in my chambers.” She said. “Granting him bail now is already late. The defendant will remain in custody and that is period! Is that all?”

“Three days is not enough for me to find new evidence to prove the innocence of my client.” He didn’t want to reveal the identity of the new detectives in front of barrister Chidi. He did not trust him.

“I thought you already had new evidence on your client. You asked for bail!”

“I was appointed the case just yesterday. I spoke to my client today and he narrated everything that happened on that day. He didn’t kill his friend.”

“Then prove it! The jury and I will be ready to listen to you when the hearing starts on Thursday.”

“I am asking for more time to gather enough evidence to free an innocent man.”

“As the prosecutor on this case,” barrister Chidi said. “I have every right to object to that. It is going to be a waste of time.”

“I agree.” Judge Osunde said.

“Your honor,” Peter said. “I know you to be unbiased. You won’t like it if an innocent man goes to jail for an awful crime a criminal did. The actual killer is walking freely.” He adjusted his tie, unzipped his briefcase, retrieved two photocopies of the report on the case, and handed over them to the Judge and Chidi.

“What is this?” She took her reading glasses from the desk and wore it.

Barrister Chidi and Benita glanced through.

“I met the officer investigating the case and that is the report he has.” Peter replied. “As you can see, there is nothing that can help me solve the case. I believe the officer is untrustworthy to work with. I have to find evidence all by myself.”

“How?” She took off her glasses and threw it gently on her counter. She gave him back the document.

“I am working on that, your honor.”

She sighed heavily and stared at Chidi. “Do you have anything to say?”

“Yes. If he is not ready to reveal the source on how he will have new evidence, I believe he is stalling. Three days is more than enough.”

Peter didn’t say anything, but his eyes were focused on the Judge.

She spoke to him. “You were right, I am not biased, but I will not be taken for granted. I am adding seventeen two hours. See you on Monday!”

“I’m grateful, your honor.” Without showing any sign of excitement on his face, he stretched his hand to her and she shook it.

Barrister Chidi and Benita rose on their feet and shook the judge’s hand too before stepping out. Peter followed them behind and exchanged glances with Benita.

 “Barrister Harold.” The judge called his surname.

He turned back. “Yes, your honor.”

“Remember you’re not a celebrity, but an attorney. There will be no showoff in my courtroom. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, I do.”

Peter was not pleased, he was noticeably angry with her. He could not bring himself to forgive her for bringing up the past. He had done everything he could to bury the unfortunate incident regarding another lawyer. How dare her? If she truly controlled the man in her life, she would not dare do it to him. He respected her, not for the reason that she was a judge, but only because she was far older.

He came out of the office and saw barrister Chidi walking away and punching his phone to make a call. He tried to move closer and listen to his conversation, but Chidi and the lady marched out from entrance and entered into their car. Peter turned on the remote of his car, strolled towards it and entered. He made a call to Tiwa.

“Hello.” She said. There were alone in the gigantic and flamboyant living room of the politician.

“Where are you?”

“The house of the victim’s father.”

“Are you fucking kidding me! I told you not to go. I still don’t think it’s a fucking good idea. He is going to be fucking pissed when you reveal your fucking intentions to make the alleged suspect of his son’s alleged murderer a fucking free man!”

“Relax, if he doesn’t want to tell us anything about his son, no problem. We are only trying to help.”

“He won’t see it that way. You need to question my client’s fucking friends.”

“We will.” Tiwa said.

“They are definitely hiding something about the murder.”

“We know.”

“Do not tell me you fucking will or you fucking know, just do the right thing.”

“We know.”

“Argghh!” Peter grumbled and hit his steering wheel. “I am also calling to tell you that I don’t like my fucking opponent. I think he is fucking devious.”

“Why would you say that?”

“He made a fucking call immediately we came out from the fucking chamber. It could mean something and mean nothing, but I don’t want to fucking risk the chance of getting to know if he is fucking involved with whoever is responsible for framing my fucking client. He has a pretty colleague working with him. I think she fucking likes me. I will find a way to get close to her.”

“It is disreputable to form such relationship. Stay away from her, we will handle the case together and win without involving her. Don’t spoil this.”

“Detective Tiwa,” he said. “I am not saying I want to marry her. She’s not even my fucking type.”

“I don’t fucking care who your fucking type is! Christ!” She uttered after noticing she used his favorite word. “You’re a bad influence!”

Peter laughed. “I’m fucking glad I am. I told you, we are going to be friends.”

“We are not friends. Was Mr. Smith granted bail?”

“Fucking no,” he replied. “I was able to persuade her to give me more days to search for new evidence. The fucked up Judge added 72 hours.”

“I’m supposed to feel better, but I am not.” Genevieve said to Tiwa while she was still on the phone. “I thought Mrs. Smith said he was good.”

“Tell your partner in cime I can hear her clearly!” He said in a playful tone. “I am fucking good! No, damn it, I am fucking awesome!”

Tiwa laughed and turned on the loudspeaker. Genevieve shook her head with a smile on her lips. Despite his annoying attitude, he made them laugh. Someone like him had an effect on people. He could brighten the face of a sad person.

The tone of his voice changed into a serious one. “Gather everything you can before on Monday. We will sit and analyze the new information you and detective Genevieve find. I will send you an address of where to meet me on Sunday evening for us to talk.”

“No problem.”

“If I have anything to tell you before then, I will fucking call you and her.”

“Same with us. Take care.”

“Cheers.” He ended the call, gazed at the window of the Judge’s chambers. Peter frowned and drove away.

Tiwa and Genevieve had to wait patiently for another ten minutes before a housekeeper told them to follow her to the politician's other living room. They did and met him reading a newspaper. He was dressed in a white kaftan. They greeted him, he put the paper beside him and extended his right hand for a handshake. Both moved closer, shook his hands and sat down.

With an expressionless face, he spoke. “One of you was able to have an appointment with me.”

“That is me, sir.” Genevieve said.

“Your husband persuaded his boss to allow me see the two of you. I understand it has to do with my son that was murdered by his blood thirsty friend.”

“That is true, sir. We will like to know more about your son. My partner and I will be reinvestigating the case. We believe the man behind bars is not responsible for the death of your son.”

The look in his eyes turned toxic, but he stayed calmed. “Brown Smith was my son’s friend and the gun used to kill Clement was seen in his hand. His prints were on the gun. Tell me, what else do you need to know he committed the crime?”

“He was framed.”

He bowed down his head and smiled. The moment he raised his head and peered at them, he glowered and speedily uplifted. “A man killed my son and you have the audacity, the effrontery to spit on my face! I will not tolerate it. I will not be insulted! I lost a child and his murderer will never go scot-free! Get out of my house and if you don’t listen to my instruction, I have every right to shoot your legs! Don't test me!”

Tiwa and Genevieve were indubitably embarrassed. They simply stood up and disgracefully walked out of his sight.

***

To be continued…Saturday