Episode 20
THE UNDERCOVER
My hand hovered over the phone, hesitatingly as it rang.
“Why is Judith calling me now?”. I asked myself.
Something within me, a nagging intuition, warned me against answering.
I swiftly pulled out the SIM card and slid it into my wallet, ensuring it was safely hidden. Next, I enabled airplane mode, severing all connections. The screen dimmed, and the phone went silent.
I leaned back, and scanned the taxi’s interior, searching for any potential surveillance devices, Madam Mary’s voice still echoing in my head👇
“They are everywhere”.
The taxi driver’s gaze met mine in the rearview mirror.
“’Everything okay, sir?”. He asked.
I forced a reassuring smile.
“Yeah, fine. Just… work stuff”. I said.
His expression remained skeptical, but he returned his focus to the road.
My thoughts returned to Judith’s cryptic call.
There is no way she hasn’t been monitoring me. Maybe she has lost track of me. I thought. This story belongs to Joy Ifunanya.
It was a close to one hour drive to Maryland. As I stepped out of the taxi and onto the familiar curb, a sense of unease settled in. Judith’s family house, once a warm haven, now seemed ominous. I started walking in, but the driver’s voice interrupted my steps.
“Oga, you never pay me oh”. He demanded, with his head stuck out of the window.
“Oh! it slipped my mind. I said, searching through my pocket.
…How much is the fare?”. I asked.
“Five thousand naira, but you can give me 4k”. He said.
The old man is a thief, but I wasn’t in the mood to banter words with strangers. I just counted out the cash and paid him. He collected the money and reversed his car.
As he sped away, I watched with disgust, the dust from his tires swirling in his wake. I let out a deep sigh and continued my journey.
The gate was open( as always). I pushed through. The familiar path to the flat stretched before me. The door was unusually shut. The father would have been sitting by the side, with his radio pinned across his ear. I knocked repeatedly, but silence greeted me….No response. I knocked again, my knuckles rapping against the wood. Still, nothing.
I decided to check out the neighbors’ insight. I made my way to a door,
slightly ajar, and rapped gently on the iron barrier.
“Come in, the door is open”. A feminine voice answered from within.
My heart cut. I sensed danger, but I went ahead anyway. To my surprise, when I pushed open the door, I discovered that it was actually a hall…like a reception.
A beautiful young lady was sitting over the desk. She stood up as soon as I stepped in.
“Sir, you’re welcome to Oakwood Lodge! How may I assist you?”. She greeted me with a warm smile.
My mind raced.
“Oakwodu gini?. What are you saying?”.
“Oakwood lounge, sir”. She repeated, somewhat amused.
“I’m lost here. Is this not supposed to be a public resident?”. I asked.
The lady shook her head.
“No, sir. This is a guest lodge. We rent rooms to travelers”. She explained.
“Are you talking about here or the entire building?”. I further queried.
“The entire building is a lodge”.
What? This was supposed to be Judith’s family home where her old parents lived with a little child whom Judith told me was her cousin’s daughter.
“Sir, is there a problem?”. The receptionist’s voice interrupted my thought.
“For how long has this been a lounge?”. I asked.
“Sir, this building has been used for this purpose even before I was born. I grew up to see it thus”. She replied.
Without saying any more words, I hurried out of the building.
As I emerged from the building, my gaze fell upon a worn-out sign at the gate that caught my attention👇
‘Oakwood Lounge’
It was emblazoned in capital letters.
I paused, furrowing my brow.
Had this sign always been there, or was it a recent addition? I wondered as I couldn’t recall noticing it before.
At that point, I’m convinced that Judith has been sent from the agency to bring me down.
“And only God knows how far she has gone”. I muttered.
Without thinking, I waved down the next available cab, hopped in and directed it back home.
The gate was open by the time I arrived home, I quietly walked in. And just as I had presumed, the house was silent as a graveyard. The kids have all gone to school. Judith and Stella would be probably…trapped somewhere, searching for me. But when I opened the entrance door, cries of babies filled the air.
I glanced around, taking in the scene. Celina was standing in the living room, her school bag slung over her shoulder. She was sitting on the center table and singing softly to the twins, who were crying in unison, their tiny faces red and tear-stained.
When she saw me, she stopped and stood up.
“Welco, welcome, sir”. She stammered out a greeting, trying to avoid eye contact.
‘Where’s their mother?’ I asked, a growing sense of unease in my chest.
She shrugged, her eyes welling up.
“I haven’t set my eyes on her since we had breakfast. I came downstairs to leave for school and found the babies alone on the couch, crying”. She explained.
Well, I wasn’t surprised. Judith has never been involved with the kids. One reason I have missed Madam Mary so dearly.
“Okay, okay”. I said, and hurried upstairs.
“Sir, should I leave them?. I’m running late for school!”.. Celina called out from downstairs.
I didn’t answer her. I didn’t even look back until I was in the master bedroom.
I flung open the door of the wardrobe, and began to throw out Judith’s clothes. I was searching for nothing in particular, but I thought I could find a clue to whatever at that moment.
Lying at the bottom of the wardrobe was a black wallet that I was sure I hadn’t seen in the house before. I picked it up, opened it, but to my disappointment, there was nothing inside it.
I was about to fling it aside when a slender card slipped from within its folds onto the floor.
I snatched it up, hoping against hope.I discovered it was an ID card. Judith’s face stared back at me. But then, my attention was captured by the name boldly written beside the photo.
‘’ Moses Francisca Chinyere”
Before I could process the information, the door swung open. Judith and Stella walked in, calm smiles on their faces.
“It’s alright, Sergeant Patrick, the game is up now”. Judith said, her voice dripping with amusement.
My mind reeled.
Sergeant Patrick?
