(S3): PARTNERS IN CRIME! E3.

Episode TWO

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Episode 3 Title: Unexpected.

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The office was quiet. Her eyes gloomy, mixed thoughts wrapped inside her head and the sweet memories from her flashback brought unexpected tears from her eyes. She tasted the tears as she licked her lips. She wiped her wet face. What was she going to do if barrister Harold did not win? How would she cope and be without the man she loved very much, her soul mate and the father of her children. 

Knocking on the door at first was of no use. The secretary had to open the door and walk towards the desk to face her boss. Rebecca acted startled and briskly lifted herself up.

She sounded nervous. “Is there a problem?”

“No! Not at all!” 

She touched her chest and inhaled a sigh of relief. “I thought something had happened.”

“No ma.”

“Thank God.” Rebecca sat down. “What do you want?”

“I came to inform you that I am through with the files. Do you need them now?”

“No.” she said in a calmed tone. “You can go. I will call you when I need you.”

“Ok ma.” The young lady strolled to the door and turned to give her employer a smile. “Everything will be fine.”

“Thank you, Marie.”

She walked out the door and met Rebecca’s friend coming towards her. They exchanged pleasantries, before the guest knocked at the door and entered into the office. Rebecca wore a smile at the sight of her longtime friend and supportive stepmother. The women hugged and sat down.

“I hope you are not angry, Dabota.” Rebecca said. “I planned to come over at the hospital later in the evening; I hope my dad is alright?”

She sat opposite her. “He is getting better and you don’t need to apologize, Rebecca. You don’t have to come to the hospital every day. I am there to take care of him and if there is anything that needs your attention, I will call you personally. Stop stressing yourself.”

“He is my father and I have to take care of him.”

“And you have a husband in prison that needs you more than ever. I am your father’s wife and I will take good care of you. I am not complaining. I am here to advise you to stop thinking. It will affect your health and Brown won’t like it.”

“I think I have all the time to see my father, I will no longer visit Brown in prison. I will only see him in court."

“Why?” Dabota asked surprised.

Rebecca told her Tiwa and Genevieve came over to collect the phone numbers of his friends and they advised her to stay far from the jail cell.

Dabota rose up. The appearance on Rebecca’s face showed apprehension. She moved to stand at the back of her and gave her shoulders some gentle touch. “I think it’s a good idea. He hates seeing you in pain and I know how you feel about Brown."

“No one knows!” Rebecca covered her face with her hands as she burst out into a suppressing cry. She could hardly control herself from falling apart. Her heart shattered. Without seeing Brown for days was going to a nightmare.

Dabota turned the chair to face her. She forcefully took away the hands from her face.

Rebecca looked up. “I am so scared!” Tears flowed like raindrops. “I should have been around when it happened.”

She looked into her eyes. “Don’t blame yourself!”

“I have to. If I didn’t travel to South Africa with the children, Brown would have stayed with me at home.”

“And you think he wouldn’t have gone there to spend thirty minutes or more with them. What if you were around and persuaded him to see Clement briefly, do you think what is happening to him won’t occur? Nothing bad will come out of the court case. Brown is going to be a free man and no one will take him from you.”

“Are you sure?” She asked as she cried.

Dabota wiped the tears away and raised her up. “Do you think I wouldn’t ask for the name of the best defense lawyer in this country? I asked before I got the contact of barrister Harold. He will win the case no matter what. Brown won’t be in that pothole for long.”

“Thank you.” Rebecca said and hugged her. “Thank you for being a friend and a good mother to me.”

She laughed hard. “You can say that again.”

“How is my baby brother?”

“He is doing fine, and thanks for asking. I know you haven’t eaten, let me take you for lunch.”

Rebecca looked down. “I am not hungry.”

Dabota quickly took her hand and whisked her to the door. “You can’t say no to me!” She uttered in a playful tone.

***

Tiwa and Genevieve reached the destination of the first name on the list of Brown’s friends. Chucks Odinaka expected them in his electronic shop. His three male and two female workers attended to customers. The place was busy with consumers. 

Chucks was a man of average heightdrinksa thick body. He shook their hands and took them inside his office. He offered them drinks, but they declined with a scorn on their faces. They weren’t there to play. Tiwa decided that Genevieve should question him.

“I am aware you are the one that brought the first lawyer to Brown…”

“He has a second lawyer now?” Chucks asked surprised.

“Yes.”

“You didn’t know because you never went back to check on Mr. Brown.” Tiwa chipped. “He considered you a friend.”

He gazed at her angrily. “I stayed away because he killed my friend.”

“Did you know he killed your friend before or after you introduced him to that quack lawyer?” Genevieve asked.

“It was after and that is why I never went back. Point of correction, that lawyer is not a quack. He knows his job and he did the right thing.”

“The right thing?” she asked. “To allow an innocent man rot in jail is the right thing?”

“Who told you Brown is innocent, he killed my friend!”

“How are you sure he killed your friend when he was surrounded by you and your other friends?”

He shrugged and folded his arms. “I don’t know! We left the house.”

“Tell me what happened after Clement and Mr. Brown slept off.”

“One of my friends, Solomon received a call and left. Few minutes later, it got boring. Myself, Alabi and Josiah had to leave. There was nothing reasonable to do in the house anymore. We went to a bar, went to my place before we heard the arrest of Brown. If we had known Brown came with a gun, we wouldn’t have left like that.”

“You are certain Brown came with a gun?”

“Yes. He shot Clement!”

“But you didn’t see him pull the trigger.” Genevieve said.

“I do not need to see him pull the trigger. The police caught him red handed.”

“Have you been in contact with Solomon after the death of Clement?”

“No. I don’t know where he is.”

“My partner and I have been trying to reach him on the phone, but it’s not going through. The day Clement died, Solomon went off radar, don’t you think he is running away from something or someone?”

“How would I know?” Chucks asked.

“He is your friend. Don’t you know how to reach him? If he is not in his house, or place of work, can’t you check elsewhere?”

“I don’t know where is his.” He said in an unconcerned voice.

“Is it not possible he killed Clement and framed Brown for the murder?”

“That is not possible. He left before us.”

“And you left few minutes later. It is possible Solomon came back, noticed they were still sleeping and shot Clement, and put the gun in Mr. Brown’s hand. You would have known about it because he was drugged by you and Alabi!”

Chucks speedily stood on his feet and barked. “I think you should leave now! It seems you are here to blame me for a crime I didn’t commit!”

“No one is blaming you for the death of Clement.” Tiwa said and rose. “We want you to say the truth and set your innocent friend free!”

Genevieve got up.

“He is not my friend, he is a murderer!” Chucks spat out. “I will testify in court and pray he stays in prison. He is guilty. I will say no more, leave now!”

“We will leave, but the truth will definitely come out.”

“Leave.”

Without uttering a single word, the detectives came out from the office and walked to the entrance. By the time they approached the entrance, Tiwa turned back and yelled at Chucks.

“I hope you are not involved in the murder case!” 

He scornfully watched them stroll away to their car. Eyes fell on him.

Genevieve and Tiwa ate lunch at an eatery before meeting Alabi Yomi in his office at a bank. He was the manager there. He mentioned he left Clement’s house with Chucks and Josiah.

“Mr. Brown mentioned you visited him twice and stopped coming, why?” Tiwa questioned him.

“I stopped when I got to know he actually killed my friend.” He answered sharply.

“But Chucks saw him once. At first, did you think Brown was incapable of shooting Clement?”

“I think so.”

“You think so?”

“Detectives,” he said and rested his hands on the table. “I don’t know why you are still asking questions about Brown. He killed a man and he will surely pay dearly for it. Can you leave me alone now? I have some work to do.”

“Was there any misunderstanding between Mr. Brown and the victim?”

“I don’t know.”

“No or yes.”

“I can’t remember if there was a misunderstanding between Brown and Clement.”

“Have you been in contacted with Solomon?”

“No. We can’t find him.”

“Don’t you think there is more to it? What if he ran away because he came back to the house, killed the victim and framed Mr. Brown for the murder?”

“Solomon could not have killed Clement. They were friends.”

“Brown was his friend and there was no dispute between them.”

“Like I said earlier, I don’t know about that. Maybe when I get to court and testify, I will remember.”

Tiwa shook her head and peered into his eyes. “If you have a hand in framing Mr. Brown, you will not go scot free.”

Alabi rose and the partners did too.

“It’s seems we are done here.” He said to them. “You can leave now. I have important people to see now.”

“Fine, we will leave!” Genevieve said. “But don’t forget, we will get to the bottom of it. If you and your friends are hiding something, we will know and put you on the stand to defend yourself. Ask about us, we will unveil whatever you are keeping from us."

He said nothing, but the look in his eyes revealed he was extremely furious. Tiwa and Genevieve walked out of his office without shutting the door.

He muttered under his breath. “Bitches.”

Josiah opened the door, welcomed Tiwa and Genevieve into his lovely and neat living room. He was drinking a bottle of Andre and watching a movie. He took the remote, paused the TV and three of them sat down.

“I am not going to waste your time,” Josiah spoke. “I know my friends must have told you what you need to know. I wonder why you still want to see me. I left the house with my friends and that is what happened. In the evening, Chucks called me that Brown had been arrested for the death of Clement.”

Genevieve and Tiwa looked at each other confused.

“Chucks told me, you, Alabi heard about Mr. Brown’s arrest in his home.” Genevieve said. “How come Chucks called you?”

He gazed into their eyes without blinking and stayed quiet for a while.

“Are you thinking of the lie to say, Mr. Josiah?”

“Maybe you didn’t hear him clearly. He must have forgotten I didn’t follow him home.”

Someone knocked on the door; Josiah rose and unlocked the door with the key. A young lady wearing a skimpy dress sauntered in with shopping bags. She gave them to Josiah to keep. He went inside, returned to the living room and saw her giving Tiwa and Genevieve an awkward stare; he had to introduce them to her to avoid unnecessary questions. The lady went outside and returned with two small boxes. She closed the door and moved to the dining table to drop them.

Josiah did not sit down. He decided to stand in front of the partners. “As you can see, my girlfriend is here. I think you should leave because I have nothing to say to you anymore.”

“But you have something to say in court.” Tiwa said.

“Oh yes I do. You can leave now.”

Genevieve and Tiwa uplifted. They heard a woman bark Josiah’s name from outside and barged into the living room. The girlfriend forgot to shut it with the key. She rained curses at him for calling off their wedding and dumping her for a younger woman. Tiwa and Genevieve simply offered them their privacy, marched outside, but waited inside their car.

Few minutes later, they watched Josiah pushed the woman away and warned her never to come near him again or he would arrest her. He went in. The woman burst into tears. Tiwa and Genevieve came out of the vehicle and gestured to her side. They tried to console her, but she told them she needed to be alone. Tiwa gave the woman her complimentary card in case she was ready to talk to them.

***

Peter waited inside in his car in front of a big building. He ate chicken burger and drank from a plastic bottle of Pepsi. Before he came there, he went back to see Brown and requested for Solomon’s phone number, home address and place of work. He checked through his Facebook account and printed out some photos.

He finished his burger, threw out the empty plastic through his window, and dusted his hands. The passenger’s door opened, a woman quite younger than him entered. The appearance of her light skin was pale. She was looking untidy, the color of her jacket and jeans had faded. Her blond wig had worn out and she smelled of cigarette. When she flashed a grin at him, Peter wasn’t pleased at the sight of her teeth.

“Hey.” She said. “What’s up!”

“How many times will I tell you not to look like this whenever I want to see you?”

“You are not in the courtroom, Peter. I am not under your roof, I can do whatever I like.” She had a beautiful voice.

“I didn’t come here for you. I will not say anything about you right now. I don’t have time to waste; I need your help.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you to find someone for me.”

“Does this person have a name?”

“Solomon Okosun.” He grabbed a file from the backseat.  “His details are inside including his pictures.”

“When last was he seen?” She took the file from him and glanced through.

“At a friend’s place,” Peter replied. “A murder occured there. The address is there too.”

“I will ask around and get back to you.” She said to him. “The only way I won’t be able to trace him is if he has travelled out of this country.”

“I hope he hasn’t, I need to find him.”

“You have a new case?”

“Yes.” He looked away, shoved his hand inside his jacket, and brought out a swollen small envelope. She attempted to take it, but he shifted it away from her. “I am giving you this money to work and not to smoke.”

She threw her eyes on the file.

“Look at me!” Peter yelled at her.

She did not.

“Whiskey!” he called her nickname.

She faced him. “What?”

“Do not use this money I am about to give you to smoke. You can use it to eat and take care of yourself. You look awful."

“Okay.”

“I know I am deceiving myself because you will surely smoke, the only thing I can do is warn you.”

“I said okay!” She grabbed it from him and opened the door.

Whiskey ambled to his side and spoke to him. “I will call you whenever I have an update.”

“No problem. Try and eat…”

She didn’t allow him finish his statement by walking away. All Peter did was shook his head sadly and drove his car far from her.

***

“Hey, Mr. Popoola!” Tiwa said the moment she entered into Adebiyi’s office. Genevieve had gone to her office. She hugged him and pecked her husband on his forehead. She was not in the mood to talk about the case. She chatted and joked with them.

“You haven’t done anything to win Miss Effiong.” Tiwa said to Popoola. “She is hardworking and nice.”

“I know, but I feel she won’t say yes to me and besides I am relocating.”

“You are?” She looked at Adebiyi and he nodded.

“Yes, I am travelling with my sons. They want me to follow them back. Miss Effiong loves her job and sacrificing it for an older man won’t work. We have to be honest about it.”

“I am so sorry,” she said. “I really don’t know what to say.”

“Just wish me good luck.”

“I wish you all the best. You have been there for us and we appreciate it.”

Popoola smiled. “I will like to take both of you to dinner. Interested?”

“Definitely,” Adebiyi Gold said. “We are in.”

Tiwa grinned sheepishly.

***

In the evening, Genevieve got home and was surprised not to see Quincy. She met Akin with Freddie. Akin told her Quincy would return home late because he was very busy. She had wondered why he wasn’t picking her calls. Akin stayed a little and left.

Genevieve fed Freddie, played with him and called Quincy, but he didn’t respond. When she could not wait longer, she called Akin to find out if everything was fine. He told her all was well and her husband was on his way home. She felt relaxed and ate.

Thirty minutes later, she heard the horn of his car, and she carried Freddie to his room. He was fast asleep. Quincy walked in with an expression Genevieve has never seen before. She opened her arms and what she received was a cold hug.

“What is it?” Genevieve asked. “I have been calling you.”

“I was busy.” He dumped his briefcase on the sofa, sat closer to it and pulled off his shoes and socks.

She assumed he was tired.

“Should I serve you now?” Genevieve asked and started walking to the kitchen.

“I am not eating.”

She halted and walked back to his side. “You are not eating?”

Quincy glared into her eyes. “That is exactly what I said. Do you want me to repeat myself?”

“What is the meaning of this? Why are you using this tone on me? What have I done?”

He briskly stood on his bare feet. “Why didn’t you call me after you spoke to Sammie Nzeribe?”

“Oh! I totally forgot. I am sorry. He wasn't happy with us.”

“You totally forgot? If I was in your shoes I would have called you to prepare for the worst to happen!”

She appeared puzzled. “What are you talking about?”

“Sammie Nzeribe took my job from me!" Quincy yelled. "I have been sacked! Do you hear me, I have been sacked!”

***

To be continued…