Episode 8
THE UNDERCOVER
“Look here, I want you to follow that girl. Check what she is doing inside there”. I said to the driver immediately I discovered it was a hospital Celina had entered.
“Who? Me?. I no go nowhere ohh!”. He said.
“Why?”. I asked.
“Why I go follow person weh I no know em cr¡me?”. He argued.
“Have you forgotten that I am a police officer?”. I asked.
“I know you be police, but if you say make I follow that girl, wetin come be my share for inside?”. He asked..
“Money? Wait. What’s this country turning into?. Can’t you youths nowadays do something for humanity?. Must everything be about money?”. I was raising my voice now
“Oga police, that one na English you dey speak. Na humanity I go take feed my family?”.
“Mr man, now behave like a good citizen, and go after that girl”. I commanded, but he didn’t move.
“It’s fine if you’re not going. I will do it myself”. I said. But I never meant it. I knew that would be the most f00lish thing to do…I only wanted to see his reaction. Yet, he didn’t move an inch.
….Well, since you have sold your soul to the dev¡l, what do you want? I mean, how much do you want me to give you?”. I asked.
“Eheh!. Now you’re talking. He said. He then turned to look at me.
… Give me a 100k and see me do a neat job”. He said.
“What? You’re a cr¡minal, right?”. I was alarmed.
“When you people pull me over last week, I paid more than that. Wetin be my offense?, Simply because I slept off in traffic”. He said.
“What?. Which sane human being would sleep…well that’s not my problem right now. It wasn’t I who pulled you over. I shouldn’t get punished for what I knew nothing about”. I argued.
“Dem no be your colleagues? You no be policeman?”. He countered.
When I saw that the argument wasn’t heading anywhere, I resorted to begging. At last, he collected the only cash on me, about twenty thousand naira. He turned off the engine and went inside the building.
“Stμpid man!”. I fumed.
I waited for another fifteen minutes before he finally came out. By then, I was already getting really impatient when I saw him coming out.
“What kept you so long?”. I asked when he was within earshot.
He didn’t reply until he got into the car and sat down.
“What happened?. Did you see her?”. I asked.
“Oga, that girl na your girlfriend abi wife?”. He shook his head in disbelief.
“What did she do?”. I asked.
“Women! Hmmm”. He shook his head again.
“My friend, stop this n0nsense and go straight to the point”. I yelled at him.
“Okay. When I go in, I no see her. I waka round the building until I come see some women sitting down for one corner. When I asked about her, they say dem no see am….Na when I don waka tire and was coming out that one of the women corner me for one side and asked me to find her something before she go tell me where the girl enter”.
“So what happened? Did you give her anything?”.
“She for no tell me nah. I find am small change”. He continued.
“So what happened after that?”. I asked.
“Oga, that girl go comot belle oh”. He finally said.
“You mean ab0rtion?”.
He nodded.
“Are you sure?”. I asked, looking at him suspiciously.
Again, he nodded.
I leaned back in the car tiredly. I can’t believe I have ended up following someone who was busy doing her own thing.
“Please, take me out of here”. I said to the man.
“What? You no wan go stop am?”.
“Stop wetin?. Please, take me out of here”. I said.
He quickly made a U-turn and slowly drove out of the street.
“Oga, this story belongs to Joy Ifunanya na mumu dey trust woman because the bible even talk am say make we dey fear woman…”. The driver went on and on until I got pissed.
“My friend, can you just shut up and drive?” I screamed at him, but he only kept quiet for a few minutes before continuing, prompting me to put on my ear pods and simply watch his mouth move.
“My broke down”. That was the excuse I gave for my lateness to work that morning.
That night, I was home early enough to have dinner with the family. I was quick to notice that Celina was absent again.
“Where is Celina?”. I asked no one in particular.
“She is in her room”. Samuel answered.
“Why is she not eating?”. I asked.
“Somebody needs to check up on that girl. She has been behaving strangely lately”. Madam Mary said. As instructed by her mistress, the old woman is always stationed beside the dining table during meals. On several occasions, Judith and I have fought over this issue, but I have given up on trying to make her stop.
“Celina is not a kid. You guys shook just let her be”. Judith said.
“She said she is sick”. Samuel said.
At this stage, I was convinced that the crâzy driver was telling the truth after all. Celina really has undergone an ab0rtion. And if that’s the case, it means that the real $py was the one watching her through the gate that night. And that must be the same person who almost followed me out the other night…the same woman in a nose mask. And it means that she is here in this dining room right now. I thought as I stared at the women one after the other.
“That person is dancing the dance of the spirit” I muttered under my breath.
“What did you say?” Judith’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“What?”. I asked.
“You said something”. She said.
“I was only thinking out loud”. I said
“The food is overspiced, right?. Madam Mary, what did I tell you about this food?. There is too much pepper and too much seasoning and too much…”. She began to complain.
“Judith, the food is okay. There is nothing wrong with it”. I said.
“When you haven’t even tasted it?”. Stella said.
I turned to look at her sharply.
Has she been watching me? How does she know that I haven’t eaten?. Could she be the $py?. She has a good paying job yet she never considers renting her own apartment. What does she even do with all her money?. I found myself wondering.
“Why are you not eating if you say the food doesn’t taste bad?”. Again, Judith interrupted my thoughts.
I stared at my food for a second. I have no appetite, I also do not want anyone to suspect anything, so I picked up the spoon and began to eat. Judith was right about the food after all.
For days, I was taking a taxi to work. I believed that by doing so, whoever that is stalking me would have tough times tracking me.
I also avoided midnight meetings for the time being since I had already appointed a PA, but one night, while Judith was sleeping, I decided to quickly review my phone activities; I swapped the SIM card with the secret one, and as expected, messages started pouring in, just as Judith began rolling around on the bed.
I quickly lay back down. She rolled over and placed her head on my bare chest and began to stroke my n¡pple with one hand. I closed my eyes and waited patiently for her to sleep. But then, the phone in my hand began to ring immediately. I lifted it up to check. It was an unsaved contact, but I knew the widow’s number by just looking at it. I knew that not taking the call before my wife might arouse suspicion so I picked it up.
“Please, sir, we need to see”. Her voice came from the other end.
“Why?”. I asked.
“There is something very important we need to discuss”. She said.
“Where?”. I asked. My responses were simple, not only because of Judith, but also because I didn’t trust the woman enough to indulge in a phone conversation with her.
“Same location we met the last time”. She said.
“When?”. I asked.
“Tomorrow at 2am”. She replied.
“It’s okay”. I said, and hung up.
“Who was that?”. Judith asked.
“Office”. I said.
She didn’t say anything anymore.
The next morning, I woke up to drizzle, but I was determined to keep my appointment. I got down from bed quietly, put on my raincoat, grabbed the booth, and slipped out of the room.
I was happy that Samuel wasn’t in the living room as usual. I quietly opened the entrance door and closed it again quietly.
I secured the gate with a padlock from the outside to prevent anyone from leaving, and then I stepped into the rain. The street was dark and lonely, but there was nothing to worry about…I was armed.
The location was a fifteen-minute walk away. Upon arrival, I didn’t see her car, so I sought shade, powered on my phone, and gave her a call.
“Where are you?”. I asked quietly as soon as she responded.
“I’m there”. She said.
“I can’t find you”.
At that moment, a car light flashed some distance away. I hung up and approached the car, then opened the door to get inside.
“Did you come with anyone?”. The woman asked, sounding scared.
“No. Why would I do that?”. I said.
“There was a figure beside you when I flashed the light”. She said…
“A figure?”.
“Yes. And I think it’s a woman”. She said,
