Man In Black

CHAPTER III

CHAPTER III

The woman stared straight ahead, unbllinking, hardly seeing. The events of the previous day had shaken her more than she thought.

The woman was no other than Matilda Ayegbeni, the housekeeper to Mrs Felicia Durojaiye.

Upon waking up from her faint, she was a little happy that it was all a dream, but a look at her surroundings and the faces of the LIPD medical team told her that the murder was no dream.

Then there was the position of the murdered woman. The blood-soaked sheets. The expression on her face. The wound on her head. All would stay imprinted on Matilda's mind for eternity.

Upon getting her bearings at the clinic, the woman had burst into tears, and only the invitation of her brother had pacified her a bit and kept her thus till this very moment. It was on this brother's chest that she laid her head, her eyes—red, puffy eyes—staring.

Not even the arrival of the detective and his assistant brought her out of her thoughts. Concern was plain on his face, even more plain on his assistant's.

Both took seats facing Matilda and her brother's. Much as the detective hated to add to this woman's pain, his job demanded it. He took the bull by the horns.

“Thanks for coming, Mr er...” he faltered.

“Dayo. I'm her elder brother.”

“We just want to ask her a few questions, and you can go home.”

“No problem, but please do not stress her.”

“We'll try.”

Matilda sat up. Detective Akano regarded her pitifully.

“I'm very sorry about what happened.”

She nodded.

“Was there anything unusual on that day?”

“My madam had been ill for two days and I brought everything she needed to her room. Her son travelled on the second day, the day she was...” She paused. The detective broke in quickly.

“Okay, did she give you any special instructions?”

“She told me, after I brought her lunch and she took the afternoon dose of her pills, that I need not bring her dinner, and that she would ring if she wanted anything. There's a bell connected from her room to the kitchen, living room, and my room.

"She rang in the middle of the night around after 3 o'clock.” She paused to remember. "Yes, it was some minutes past three, I remember checking the time. I made my way to her room and after knocking, she didn't respond. Even after I tried again and again, it was still the same thing.” Her voice was already shaking.

"It was when I opened the door that I saw that she...that she...” And she burst into a fresh round of tears.

Her brother tried to soothe her. Gradually, she calmed down. The detective knew that the interview was officially over.

“Thank you very much, Matilda. You may be going home now. I assume she will be staying with you?” he asked her brother.

“Yes, she will now,” he affirmed.

“Goodbye then, and once again, I am sorry.”

He and Efe stood up and left. Once outside, each was busy with their thoughts.

"Poor woman", Efe said reflectively. She really felt sorry for her.

"I pity her", he replied. "From her explanation, though, the woman still had time to ring the bell before she got there, but she was dead by that time."

"Apparently, yes."

"Well..." he trailed off.

They went into homicide unit once again. Cole was still busy with the computer. He looked up as they entered.

"The coroner has gotten the body, sir. Here is the report." He handed a file to the detective.

Detective Akano glanced through the report. The bullet had gone through the woman's forehead and bored a hole through her brain. Had it just grazed the brain, she would have gotten off with just mental complications. But the bullet went too far in, and it was over for her.

The bullet itself measured 7.61X51mm. It was a NATO type cartridge, fired from an M21 Sniper Weapon System, a semi-automatic sniper rifle with 20-round box magazine.

It was fired by a sniper with enough skill to ricochet it off the wall and keep it on a straight course.

"Okay, so it was a sniper", he said to himself.

This person had skills, high enough to outmatch any criminal he had ever dealt with, but he would try his best, and see what came of it.

********

IT WAS 7 P.M. IN THE evening. The two friends were at Segun's house, after their first day of shooting practice.

After the tour, Miss Okolo had handed them over to a trained millitary veteran, a field agent who was to be their field instructor. He had subjected them all to hours of gruelling training, using a 9mm shotgun for starters. He was a strict, no-nonsense man, and so no one dared complain.

When they went on lunch break, he instructed them to eat light, so as not to feel tired when they returned.

After the day ended they had gone back to the mainland on Chuks' bike. They were famished, so it was no wonder they ate like ravenous wolves.

Segun had whipped up toast bread and egg, to be washed down with a pack of Hollandia yoghurt.

Chuks belched loudly. "O-boy, the hungry still dey do me o. Abeg, you fit do fresh round?"

Segun smiled a little. "I thought I was the only one." He stood up and headed for the kitchen.

"This one you are shortening my ration like this, you will re-imburse me o", he said jokingly.

"Abeg, bone that one. Make I satisfy my brother here", he said patting his stomach. "Other things go follow."

"But the yoghurt is finished o", he called from the kitchen.

"No problem. Water fit still do the job."

Segun was out shortly, carrying the ‘fresh round’ on a tray. They ate quietly for some time, while watching a football match on the T.V. Chuks faced Segun suddenly.

"O-boy, wetin dey work you self? See as you just dey look that girl like say you wan swallow am. Shey you never see girl before?"

Segun's bread stopped midway to his mouth. Chuks' statement had made him suddenly relive that moment at the range. He turned sharply.

"Yes, Chuks, didn't you see her face? That girl was damn beautiful. And her hair, her shape, her...her voice..."

Belinda's voice replayed itself in his head. He would give anything to hear that voice again. That voice that left him stupefied. That voice...What was her name again? Mary? Suzanne? Linda? Or was it..."

"Chai, so my friend is lovesick", Chuks said, looking at Segun like someone who just lost his mind.

"What's that her name again?"

"Belinda na, abi no be..."

"Yes, Belinda!" he shouted like he had just won the jackpot. "Ah, what a name", he said dreamily.

"See, bros abeg leave that one jare", Chuks said, closing the topic. "Make we watch this ball first", he said focusing his attention on the T.V. He was not about to watch his best friend make a fool of himself for the second time in one day.

Segun, on the other hand, turned to watch the match with interest, at least for now. There would be plenty of time to think about Belinda tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow...

********

DETECTIVE AKANO WAS in Chief Rikau's office, being thoroughly lambasted. His dislike for the man increased. Why could he not go into the field and experience the thrill of chasing bad guys? No, but he preferred office work. For the meantime, he kept mum.

"I don't understand you, Tobi. Just one homicide happens, just one! But it has been a week now, and you have not been able to bring the culprit to justice. When I asked you how far you had gone, you said “you were going to get right into it with your team, sir”, he said, mimicking him in a derogatory manner. The detective wished he could capture him on video.

"I wonder if we pay you just to investigate. We pay you to get results!" he said, banging his fists on his table. He now spoke quietly.

"Look, LIPD has already made a name for itself, and i will not let you make caricature of it. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Sir, we have delved into this case and gotten most of the facts we can hope to get. This guy is not perfect—no criminal is—sir. We need him to make one slip, just one slip and..."

"What rubbish!" he shouted, cutting the detective short. "So you mean you want this guy to kill another helpless citizen before you do something? I can't believe this. To say the truth, Tobi, I have lost faith in you already. Please, just use the door", he said, motioning the detective out of his office. He went out.

The Chief mused. He could not believe a criminal could commit a crime right under the noses of the police and get away with it. He was not new to Tobi's detective prowess, anyway. He had seen he and his team crack many difficult cases, but this one was something else. He got up and proceeded out of his office. A cup of coffee would be ideal under this stress.