My trust is for sale

The face of the past

Joe Hamilton had been having sleepless night due to scenario nightmares for the past four months. His fat cheeks had meandered into a flat hide. The bright agile eyes now looked sulky and hollow.

His travails started when the auditors came to the Area Office of the PPMC. They discovered a big hole in the Sales  Department. It was the inexplicable disappearance of over two hundred naira which was supposed to have been paid by the Niger Republic government for one hundred and fifty trucks of oil.

The shocked Area Manager immediately sent for Joe who the Head of Sales. Joe in return had been very shocked and immediately called the Heads of Bursary and Account Departments. The calls finally ended with the secretary . She claimed to have confirmed the p*****t and sent signal to the account department. The Account Department also confirmed the p*****t.

It took no time to discover that the account was switched. As expected, the y traced the account the money was paid into and found it empty. They saw the picture of the person who withdrew the money and it was strange. A face they had never seen. Further investigation showed that the account was opened just for the heist with lots of fake information.

A lot of workers got into trouble for this. The law said it was an inside work. Who knew about the special account number? How did they switch it? The workers, from the secretary, to those involved in Account Department were in for it.

A lot of arrests were made. It was by luck they got out on bail.

Joe sat looking at the picture of a fat dark man with small rattlesnake eyes and recognized him to the Inspector General of Police. He was in a deep hole.

“You may go in.” A female police officer said to him.

“Thank you ma’am.”

He walked into SP Theo’s office. He saw the balding officer sitting behind his desk.

“Good morning Sir.” Joe greeted. Theo raised his face and set his askance eyes on Joe.

“Good morning Mr Hamilton. Please sit down.”

Joe sat uncomfortably on the chair opposite him.

“Coffee?”

Joe did not object even though he did not need it. Theo poured two cups of coffee and placed one in front of Joe.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Don’t mention. I personally sympathize with you.” Theo began, sipped his coffee and it was only then Joe remembered his and force a sip down his throat.

“We made some discoveries. Strange discoveries.” Theo went on. “Your case is more complicated than it looks. A day before the p*****t was made, your office was invaded by buglers. I am talking about the girls that shot at military men. My men talked to your secretary. She said she noticed that the computer was tampered with but since she did not find anything missing or strange, she did not think much about it. We suspect the girls that were there that night. We feel that was what they went to do.

The Homicide Squad also discovered the body of a man recognized to be one Jibril, an agent of the Niger. The man at the center of the transaction. This is a national disgrace. A foreigner was killed on our land when he came on a national assignment. He was killed after being kidnapped. His self-acclaimed assistant continued the transaction after him. The Niger Authority never acknowledged any assistant assigned to him. The suspect is a girl. What is amazing is that he himself had introduced her as his assistant. There are a few possible scenarios. Maybe he was being blackmailed  or he was planning to sabotage his country and he was double-crossed. We are not sure now but we are digging into it.” Theo sipped from his coffee again. This time, Joe could not take a sip. He felt as if he would need the gents any moment from then.

“An independent marketer was murdered before all of these happened. Madam Remmy…Please take your coffee. It may get cold.”

Joe was freezing already. He had anticipated a good news. That the culprits were discovered but it seemed their plights were taking a new turn.

“Thank you sir.” He replied without touching the cup.

“We later discovered that she was into shady deals. Pipe line heist, women trafficking and blackmail. She was murdered by one David who was murdered by one Engineer Hassan who had hired him and Enginner Hassan himself was killed by an unknown killer.”

Joe felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He was just hearing the word murder frequently and it seemed it was connected to his case.

The result from our investigation lead us to a man named H3. We got a suspect and began to watch him. We realized that we were on a wild goose chase. The man suspected to be H-3 has been bedridden for months, and out of his senses for three months. This of course made us realize that the evidence we saw at Hassan’s house were just planted.

Hassan was involved but not H3. It is complicated. Hassan himself must have been working for someone who killed him. We want to find out the mastermind behind the saga…..”

Unknown Zina and her friends, there was something coming up. How soon would they find out?

Zina carefully placed a plate of noodles and fried eggs on a stool. She sat by the edge of the bed and watched his face. She touched him slightly and he opened his eyes.

“Did you fall into sleep again?” She asked softly.

“Sleep is a thief, they say. It stole me.” Devon said with a smile. “But you recovered me.”

“You need to eat and take your medication.”

“Don’t act like you did not hear me. You recovered me.”

“Can’t someone save a naughty boy and have peace?”

“You did save me indeed.” He confessed. Two nights ago, after he fell down the cliff, she had cried but she felt s sudden synergy, and wiped off her tears. Her gutsy personality went into play and she jumped after him immediately.

The estuary had taken him to the bay. He was too weak to swim and he could feel himself drowning. It was at that moment she found him, held and spent the next one hour getting him out of the river. She had raised him up, supported him with her body and moved him, as he dragged his legs to his car. The car was seriously damaged. She put him on her bike. He was conscious and said he was not to be taken to hospital. She took him to his house.

He had complaint of a headache, and body pains but he did not sustain any serious injury. She had nursed him, under his auspices as a medical doctor. Zina hardly slept that night. She could not tell why she was doing that. She would just looking at him, reacting to the slightest move of whimper he makes. At a point, she crossed the line and lay close to him, and held him tightly.

She was shaken by the thought of losing him. This was crazy! This was the same man she after with the intent of killing him. All she needed to do was to have let him die and thank the accident for helping her.

She had not left him since then, except when she went to get him drugs or provisions.

“Thank you for saving my life.” He said. “It is complicated yet simple. You are a darling.”

She did not know how to react. The thought of her initial intention to kill him still her felt guilty.

“I don’t know why I did it. You are annoying.”

She tried to get up but he held her hand and pulled her back. She felt the strength in his grip and realized he was much better.

“All the same, thank you but I will ask for more.” He said.

“What more do you want from me?”

“I want you in my life.”

“You can’t have me in your life.” She said. “I am not good for you.”

“I am not good for you either. So, you are bad, I am bad. You are negative, I am also negative. Negative-negative equals plus. Bad-bad equals good. Now we are good for each other.”

She grinned and shook her head.

“Still a clown. You don’t seems to get it. How can you bring yourself to trust me after everything?”

“Why won’t I trust you? If you wanted me dead, I should have been long dead. You did not need to kill me. All you would have done was to let me die on my own. I don’t what is going on but I just feel that thing for you that I can’t explain. But I know it is cozy, warm and soft. I tried to despise you, but I only succeeded in loving you more….”

“Did you just say love?”

“Well, I feel it is love. I have never felt love for a woman before. Don’t get me wrong, not the kind of love I feel for my mother or sisters. I mean that love for a girl”

“Even when you have so many girls?”

“That proves it that I was not in love. I have always been scared about falling in love. I hated commitment of the heart. Maybe I was a coward, scared of a heartbreak, so pusillanimous, but I succeeded in keeping myself out  of love until I saw you. The very first time I saw you, I saw something different about you. The first feeling was fear. I was scared because  I knew I met someone I could not resist falling for. It hurt my ego at first. But you made it cooler that you were unfriendly. 

I was glad you did not give me a nod because I knew I would be completely trapped in your world. I did all I did for you because I loved you. I was more scared after that because all I wanted then was to be there for you, irrespective of what will happen to me. I just feel it is you and see how fate brought us together. But I am tired of running.

I want to take the risk. I was to know what it feels like to fall in love. I am just making up excuses to keep you with me because I find the world so sunny and it seems you are my only shade. I feel for me you are made. Zina, I lost my mother and feel so lonely it hurts like been slashed with a blade.

You make my life transform from a dry land to one full of grasses that are jade.

Yes, I love you.”

She was quiet. He had never seen her look so cool. She was almost crying.

“I don’t know what to say, Devon.” She said. “It was like you spoke for me. I have never fallen in love. But it was not fear like yours, but I could not just bring myself to fall in love. I tried but did not. But you kind of broke that spell. I am a very obstinate person and I fought so hard to suppress my personal feelings. I made a success of it until I saw you dying.

That was the point I knew I was not strong enough to resist you. I did not know what it was but I just knew I was attracted to you. But I still feel it is going to be difficult for us to be together.”

He placed his hands on hers.

“Why? You just said the best thing I have heard. You have feelings for me. Why can’t we be together?”

“I don’t know. I can’t point it out but I feel it.”

He smiled.

“I love you.”

“I- I love you too.” It was the first time she would ever say this to a man.

He felt like drawing her closer, plant a kiss on her, feel her soft body but for the first time, he realized that that was not what he wished for. He wanted this lady for a more serious thing. He wanted her as his wife.

What!

Devon thinking of marrying a girl? He pondered.

“I want to marry you.” He dropped the nickel.

She gave him a sharp glance.

“Will you give me the chance? Will you like to spend the rest of your life with me?”

She hesitated, aware that she was having a faster heartbeat, mushy feelings and shyness.

She nodded but said no word before a slight smile lit up her pretty face.

“Now you must eat and take your drugs.” She said, trying to change the topic.

“Ouuuuch!” He squeezed his face.

“What?”

“I am sick. I can’t eat all by myself. I must be fed. Ohhhh, I am sick.”

She chuckled.

“You will die of hunger. “ She said amid laughter. “You just proposed and     I am not yet your wife.”

“But you fed me yesterday.”

“That was a necessity . You were a half vegetable then.”

“You see? I am a lettuce.”

“I don’t care if you tomatoes and garden cress. Get up and eat Mr. Devon.”

They spent the day together and the bond was precipitating so strongly. At night, she said she was leaving. She could not spend the night with him since he was now okay. She left him and went home. She was feeling love, and vista of peace opened up for her.

He was bliss. He was a blessing. She finally found love and the word marriage began to resonate with her.

She kept thinking of him until she fell asleep. She was now dreaming. She saw she and Devon getting married, and a grand dinner was organized. There were lots of friends, family members and important dignitaries there. There were camera men and media men. It was joy and fun in air. Then a van pulled up outside. She saw Dora, Hacks and a lot of armed police men. On top of the van were three dead bodies tied: The bodies of Madam Remmy, David and Hassan. The cops were coming for her. She was sitting close to her husband. She got up and began to run, the police men started firing their guns. Devon got up and ran after her. She shot him, bullets riddled his body and he dropped dead. She turned and saw him. She screamed and as she came back to him, Hacks glared at her and shot her thrice.

She woke up abruptly and was surprised that she had not screamed. She was breathing hard, and in reality, fear filled her up. She lay back  but was still very restless. She had never felt such a fear.

. She could not stop tears from escaping from her eyes. It downed on her that her past was beginning to hunt her.