Episode 21
THE UNDERCOVER 🎭
I watched in horror as the two women walked majestically into the room. Their long robe sweeping the floor behind them, and their high heeled boots echoed with a crisp click-clack rhythm that commanded attention.
“Judith, you?..”. I muttered.
“Hun, hun. Not Judith this time. I am Francisca Moses. And right here is my partner..”
She turned to look at Stella who was by then struggling to bring out something from her b****t pocket.
“Sarah Harrison. From the State CID”. Stella said, flashing an id card on my face.
“What? You guys? You are not sisters?”. I muttered.
“Not in any way related”. Stella replied, clearing her throat.
Judith smiled.
“The answer to all the questions running through your mind right now is yes. Our first meeting at that restaurant was never an accident. I’d been monitoring your movements for days before getting the opportunity to approach you. Yes, your little step brother works for me too. Though I never intended to involve him, the boy is overly curious and as smart as his big brother, if not smarter because he discovered our operations in his second week in this house. So he left me no choice but to use him. And then there’s your big-mouthed housekeeper. Yes, she’s in our custody where people who do not mind their business are rehabilitated. The other man is there too”. She continued.
By the other man, I knew she was referring to the banker.
I was transfixed at a spot as I watched her speak. It was like witnessing a transformation…like I was looking at a different person. Instead of the carefree woman I’d grown accustomed to, this particular Judith was. Her words carried a gravity I’d never heard before.
I felt a mix of emotions: shock, admiration and a hint of embarrassment. How had I missed this? Judith had been hiding in plain sight, and I’d never suspected a thing before now.
“You see, I must commend your skills, Patrick. You’re a very wonderful man. Very intelligent, a loving father, though a bád husband. A smart police officer, smart enough to deceive the entire police community for years. She said.
…You’re tough, but do you know one thing I like about you?”. She continued. And with a mischievous smile across her face, she started moving towards me. When she was standing close enough she began to rub me gently on the chest, and lowered her voice.
…. You’re very good in bêd. I almost fell in love with you, but….”.
I pushed her hand away and stepped back.
She took a deep breath and continued.
..And most importantly, you’re good at keeping secrets, Patrick. I must confess, you’re a very difficult man. Which married man sleeps with their phone buried under the pillow?”. She continued.
The two began to laugh. After the laughter subsided, Judith put hand inside her pocket.
“But I’m sorry, my dear sergeant. Your time is up. You have no more secrets to keep because we have everything needed to prove to the world that you’re not just a mμrder acc0mplice, but a gr€€dy bl@ckmailer as well”. She lifted up her hand for me to take a look.
My heart paused for a second when I saw the SIM pack which contained my secret Sim card and the memory card where all the information about the widow was stored.
I have always been careful with that Sim card. I have a special box where I put it. I didn’t get a lock for the box because I thought that was only going to arouse curiosity. And there wouldn’t have been any if only Judith was a normal housewife as she claimed to be.
“You really gave us a tough time, Sarge. Almost two years in your house trying to investigate a single crime”. Stella added quickly, interrupting my thoughts.
I turned to look at her.
This one too? Someone I presume to love nothing more than food.
“That’s incredible, but here we are”. Judith said, still holding the pack like a trophy.
Staring at the SIM in her hand, I was suddenly overcome with a desperate desire to snatch it from her hand, destroy the incriminating evidence and render their efforts fruitless.
With one swift movement, I reached out to
her, but before I could achieve anything, pain exploded in my lower back. I felt myself folding, my legs buckling beneath me. Before I knew it, I hit the floor hard, the wind knocked out of me. My vision blurred for a moment, and I struggled to catch my breath.
As I looked up, I saw Stella, standing over me, her eyes cold and unforgiving…she had b00t k¡cked me
How did she react so fast considering her body weight?
“Don’t you dare try anything stμpid” She growled.
I tried to speak, but my voice caught in my throat. My mind raced with panic and desperation.
Despite the pain, I struggled and stood up. I can’t let myself be intimidated by a weãker gender. Patrick is not a coward.
But as soon as I was on my feet, the two women closed in on me, their eyes flashing with a mix of anger and determination.
“What do you want to do now, Patrick?”. Judith growled, her hand gripping my wrist like a vice.
I attempted to take the pack from the other hand, but Stella countered with a swift move, pinning my other arm behind my back.
“You’re going down, Patrick. So behave yourself”. She hissed, her breath hot against my ear.
I struggled, but they were too strong, too well-trained. They’d clearly done this before. This story belongs to Joy Ifunanya
Why did I underestimate them?
When they left me, I had no more strength in me. I fell backward on the heap of clothes.
I tried to move, but a sharp jolt of pain shot through all my joints.
Judith approached, her eyes fixed on the SIM card still clutched in her hand. I knew I’d lost.
“This cannot be happening to me”. I muttered under my breath as I imagined myself standing in court while being sentenced to lïfe impris0nment. Drops of hot tears escaped my eyes.
I glanced around, searching for an escape route, but it was too late.
A huge man in a black suit walked in through the open door. He was followed by three armed men, also dressed in black. The huge man shook hands with Judith and Stella, then turned to the armed men and instructed them to take care of me.
The men roughly snatched my badge and within minutes, I was handcuffed.
“You’re under arrest for aiding and abetting and identity fraud as well as blackm@iling”. The huge man said.
As they lifted me from the heaps, I felt a surge of desperation. The men’s grip was unyielding, their faces expressionless.
“Now, move”. They commanded.
I knew I couldn’t defend myself any longer…I had been beaten. So I started moving away towards the exit, but on passing by Judith, I paused to glance at her, searching for any sign of remorse in her eyes. But her smile, once warm and inviting, now seemed calculating, devoid of empathy. The realization that I had been sl€€ping with a stranger (an enemy), hit me like a ton of bricks.
“What about our kids?”. I asked, almost in a whisper.
She frowned.
“You want to start bl@ckmailing me with kids? Seriously, Patrick?. She asked.
She then grabbed me on the my upper arms and pressing them hard, she looked into my eyes and said👇.
..Read my lips, Patrick. I DON’T FREAKING CARE ABOUT YOUR K¡DS”.
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