Episode 13
THE UNDERCOVER
As Samuel stood up to leave, my instincts screamed at me to grab him by the collar and thr0ttle him until he confessed. Hiis words dripped with dμplicity.
I was so sure someone had run in through the entrance door a couple of minutes ago. And there is no other way for the person to pass or not through the living room. So it was obvious my little guy has been deceiving me. But then I knew it would be useless fighting him. It would only generate suspicion.
I watched him climb the stairs until he disappeared out of sight.
Who could be using my brother against me. I wondered because at that very moment, I was convinced that someone was using him. Someone must be responsible for his always coming out to read every night.
What’s going on in this house? Every time I think I’m close to unmasking the truth about the mysterious woman, something always comes up. Why do I always get sidetracked just when I’m about to uncover her secrets?.
Speaking of the hindrance. I quickly retrieved my phone from my pocket to check who it was that had called at that unreasonable hour. The number was unsaved. I sat down on the cushion arms, dialed it, and a woman picked up.
“Please, who is this?” I asked..
“Femi, this is me, Omolola. The lady you dropped at…”. She began.
“Do you know you’re an idi0t?” I interrupted
“Ah! Emi….”. She was about to say more, probably to curse me, but I didn’t let her finish. I hung up and threw the phone angrily on the chair.
I can’t believe I missed a target because of the mistake of one cheap stμpid pr0stitute who. Now see what her carelessness has cost me.
“But I shouldn’t have taken my phone along or I should have just put it on silent mode”. I was blaming myself all night long.
When I got back to the room the next morning, because I slept in the living room, Judith was already awake. She was lying on the bed pressing her phone.
“Good morning”. She muttered.
I hummed for a response, dropped my phone on the bed and got into the bathroom.
She was still in the same posture when I came out some minutes later.
Through the dressing mirror, I noticed she was just staring at me as I applied the oil on my body.
“Why have you not been taking your car to work recently?”. She finally broke the silence.
“Nothing”. I replied, not turning to look at her.
“What do you mean nothing?”. She asked.
“How does it bother you whether or not I go out with my car?”. I asked.
There was another round of silence.
“Patrick, what am I to you?”. She started again.
By now I was already putting on my clothes. I didn’t reply to her until she repeated the question.
“I don’t have strength for this, please”. I said.
“You don’t have strength for what?. If I am your wife, why are you not being opened to me?. Why are you keeping secrets from me?”. She asked.
At the mention of ‘secrets’, I stopped to take a look at her.
“Judith, did you say ‘’Secret?. What secret am I keeping from you?”. I asked.
“Patrick, I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about. You’re keeping a lot of secrets from me”. She said. .
“What secret is that?.” I asked. My heart was p******g at that moment.
“A lot of it. I don’t know your account balance, I don’t know your atm pin, I don’t even know your phone pattern. I don’t know anything about you”. She complained.
“Is that all?”. I asked.
“I don’t understand”. She said.
I sighed and continued with what I was doing. She stood up, dusted the bed and started heading out. When she got to the door, she turned to look at me again.
“Patrickk, you have to change your ways”. She said and left..
S¡lly girl!.
During breakfast, I still caught Madam Mary staring at me. And as usual, she looked away everytime our eyes met.
After I was done eating, I picked my back and was about to leave, when I overheard madam Mary talking to Samuel👇
“Samuel, are you not going to collect money from your brother before he leaves?”.
My heart stopped beating for a second. All the women seemed to be staring at me suspiciously.
“Collect money?. For, for, for what?”. I stammered.
“For transport to school. Their school bus broke down yesterday”. Mary explained.
I heaved a sigh.
“In that case, he would have to follow me. I’m leaving already”. I said.
“Why would he follow you when you’re not even going out with your car?” Judith chuckled.
“I will take a drop”. I said.
She shook her head.
“Patrick, why are you so, so, so…. Why are you such a miser?. Ordinary 5 hundred naira. And it is not like you don’t have the money”.
Before she completed her sentence, I was already heading out of the house with Samuel running behind me.
I waved down a taxi, after negotiating the price, Samuel and I got into the backseat, but before the vehicle could move, Madam Mary appeared out of the blues and got into the front seat.
“What are you doing here, Madam?”. I asked.
“Sir, I’m going to the market”. She replied, beckoning on the driver to start moving.
“Which market?”. I asked.
“The one that is close to Samuel’s school”. She replied.
As we spoke, the motor was already speeding away.
Taking Samuel to school before heading to the office had been a deliberate move, which I thought would buy me precious time to talk to him. But Madam Mary’s unexpected presence had thrown a wrench into my plans.
When we got to the school gate, Samuel thanked me and got down. But madam Mary remained unmoved.
“Are you not coming down too?. We are reversing from here ”. I asked.
She opened the car door, stepped down, but instead of crossing over the road, she walked over to the other side of the car, opened the back door and sat down beside me.
“Ah ah. What are you doing?. What is wrong with you this morning?”. I was getting angry.
“There is something I want to tell you, sir”. She said, almost in a whisper.
“And what’s that?”. I asked.
“Oga, you people dey waste my time for here”. The cab driver began to complain.
“Please, say whatever you want to say and let me leave here”. I said to Mary.
She began to tell me how I have been good to her, how she cannot forget the help I rendered her in a hurry. And how she cannot let any harm befall me.
“Oga, you’re a good man. Men like you..”.
“Mary!”. I interrupted her.
“Yes sir”.
“Can you just go straight to the point?. I’m running out of patience”. I said.
The cab driver sighed.
“Oga, you go add me money”.
“Okay. The thing is that I, I.She began, but stopped abruptly.
I noticed her gaze was glued to a particular direction. It seems she was seeing something…. maybe a ghost.
I glanced around but I couldn’t see anything.
“What are you saying?. Say it and stop acting weird”. I said.
“Sir, you have to be careful. They are following you everywhere you go. They are watching you”. She said, still not turning her gaze.
“Watching me?. Who is watching me? And for what?.” I asked.
But she didn’t answer. She opened the door and ran into the crowd.
I looked around, but there was no suspicious movement.
“Move!”. I commanded the cab man. The engine was kicked to life. This story belongs to Joy Ifunanya.
At work that day, I couldn’t stop thinking about Madam Mary’s words to me.
What does she mean by ‘They?’
Could that be another tactic to gain my trust or.. Could it be that she knew something?. I wondered.
Around evening, when I was rounding up from work. I got a call from Judith.
“Patrick, there is a problem at home”. She announced. I could also hear anxious voices from the background.
I began to panic
“What is it?” I asked.
“Madam Mary. She is missing”.
