BLOOD AND MONEY

BLOOD AND MONEY EPISODE ONE

My name is Owen. I grew up in a very rich family where my father was a renowned businessman and a millionaire. My mother was a nurse in one of the famous hospitals. I had a good life growing up as an only child and I never lacked anything even though my parents were very strict when it came to my social life. At primary level they vetted all my friends and told me who to keep and who to loose because they believed they knew better.

I passed my O levels to and went to a university where I graduated with second class honours and my parents were happy because I was going to be the doctor they have always wanted me to be even though personally I wanted to be a journalist.

My father convinced me that the field was full since almost everyone wanted to be a journalist and be seen on TV presenting news. I knew with my good looks and good sense of humor women would come hitting on me and go crazy on social media. Okay that's not why I wanted to be a journalist but we all know when you are a star, everyone wants to be associated with you for some reason but for women its money and good sex...

My father's business grew and as a result he started several other branches and then he started having issues with his business partner. His business partner was also a guy I knew. He was from our home back in the country side and they called each other brothers. His name was Willis. Willis was a family friend that was welcomed into our home and most of the time he would come over and they would discuss business in my father's study room. A business he thought I would inherit after he retired but he thought it was not yet time so he kept me off the deals he made with Willis and had me go for attachments to practise medicine even though he knew I didn't want anything to do with that. My father was the type of a guy who never went back on his word and if he said "Blink" I would do it without thinking twice. He was harsh and he is pretty much the reason I finished school without getting into stuff boys did in the university because he once told me he would not go through hell paying my fees then I end up being a shame to the family. I was among the first boys to join university in my village and you know how village people or rather the society looks at you after that... Like a small god showering you with all sorts of praises while the village witches try to bring you down and make you useless yo the society but that's life..

University was the toughest place to be. Girls, rich dudes who always had plans, alcohol, weed, cocaine, heroine and all these class of drugs that were termed illegal. I never abused drugs as long as my father was still alive. I remember two occasions when he got me arrested for squandering money meant for my school fees then disappeared from school to live with my way older than me girlfriend who housed me for the entire time and gave me everything I needed. I loved that woman and yes I know it sounds stupid but the company I was keeping in high school got me wasted for a while. We discussed women and s*x in our free times and guys would speak how they would date older cashed women in exchange for money and s*x. My class was a class of crooks. We were in forth year but we were masculine and well built that when out there, no one could tell we were highschool students.

The devil has a way of getting people in trouble especially if you make a deal with him to keep the s**t quiet. One of those days I was not in school, my "girlfriend " sent me to deliver some frames to her client and gave me one of her cars to cruise in it. I was excited so I took her car, took the clients number and the client asked if we could meet up in a restaurant to drop her frames there and I was like "yeah sure"..

I happily got out of the car and gave the client a call and she asked me to go inside the restaurant as she was having another meeting. I got in and walked towards her table and before I could approach her I came face to face with my father who was also in the same restaurant.. Let's just say all the frames were broken and I nursed a broken leg for another one term and as a result I repeated the same class. My "girlfriend" got so mad that I lost the keys to her car as I escaped the beating and she never wanted anything to do with me again after learning I was in high school and not in college as I had lied to her for close to six months....

Willis and my father started having differences that resulted after my father opened the third business and when Willis heard of it, he claimed my father had stollen money from their business and used it to start other businesses without his consent and that night we heard both of them shouting as I kept mum company while she prepared dinner.

Me: what's going on with those two?

Mum: Willis thinks your father stole from the company to start a new business.

Me: did he?

She gave me some look that made me take back my question.

Mum: your father is not a thief. Those businesses he started with money from his own pocket. Money that he invested over the years.

Me: but then why would Willis think that?

I asked quite persistent to know the truth..

Mum: because in real sense, no one really wants to see the other person progressing and leaving them behind, they end up finding whatever reason to bring you down.

I never understood why my father teamed up with Willis in the first place but they were more like brothers than village friends so whatever was going on between them, maybe they were going to work it out.

Willis was very upset. He stormed out and told my father he would see how far my father would go with those businesses and he left without having dinner with us like he usually did.

We sat down to have dinner and dad explained to us what was really going on. He told us the first business he started with Willis was not doing well as there was huge amount of money missing after Willis got the finance manager to sign off cheques with huge amount of money that he couldn't even explain what he had done with and that's why dad thought of starting other businesses just in case the first one didn't work.

Me: what does he storming out like that mean, i heard what i want to believe are threats..

No one responded to that and after that, dad got up and left the table without eating and so did mum..i was left at the table alone and trust me, I didn't enjoy the meal despite mum taking her time on it..

After graduating I was on for attachment but after that I couldn't get a hospital to employ me. Most of the private hospitals that wanted me were offering peanuts and I was a guy who had grown in money and the money I was being offered was not even close to my expenditure so I helped around with dads businesses which he paid me well for as I continued looking for a good hospital to practise my medicine.

Dad never heard from Willis in for while and when he asked the people who knew him, they told dad he had gone back to the village to take care of a few things. At the same time, dad was planning to also go back home and start a foundation for our new home. Willis was the one to help dad find the Mason's and now he had disappeared on him. Dad had to find other guys from the village to work for him as it was tradition for a man to own a home in his ancestral land.

While in the village, dad went to Willis' home but the reception he got there wasn't friendly at all. Willi's mother called him names and called him a conman based on the things Willis had told her. My dad got furious and stormed into that house looking for Willis but he was no where to be found.

Dad: Agrippina, I have no problem with your son. Willis is more than a friend to me, he is like my brother and if there is a problem him and I will sort it out. You are like my mother and there is no need to call me names.

Agrippina: I am not your mother. You are a devil. You have been stealing from my son to buy expensive car and build expensive homes when I will die in this kind of a house, not me. We will see how far you will go with that.

Dad: what do you mean with that Agrippina? Your son told me the same thing when he stormed out of my house.

Agrippina: Get out of my compound and never come back here.

My father left and went back to our home. He never got to see Willis despite his car being parked in his mother's compound. My father Gerald organized with the Mason to start the building foundation and a few days later he decided to come back to the city. He called mum and told him he was on his way back as he needed to meet up with some investors the following day.

On his way back, that evening dad's car was blocked by a group of guys that emerged from the bushes with machetes and stones. The broke the windscreen as the shock made dad drive into a tree and after that the guys opened the door to his Jeep, got him out and started beating him up and slashing him with the machetes to death. My father was murdered and everyone else disappeared leaving him there.

I was in my room on phone with my girlfriend Della when I heard my mother scream so loudly that I dropped the phone and jumped out of bed then ran to the kitchen where my mother was. She was rolling down crying saying all sort of things I couldn't understand by then. I panicked and stood back then picked her phone from the floor and when i listened in, people were screaming and wailing from the other end so I hanged up.

Me: mum what is it?

I asked getting down to her still not understanding why she would scream like that. Was it some sort of bad news?..

Mum: Gerald why do you leave me like this Gerald why. Where do I start from?

Me: mum!

She sat up pulling off her wig from her hair and raising her arms up and down.

Mum: Gerald.... Gerald... Eeeeeih!

She looked at me, as i waited for her communication trying not to jump into conclusions

Mum: your father is dead!

Those words sounded in my head like a church bell. Very loud and clear. My father was dead, how?......

I helped my mother up and sat her in a chair. I had never had an experience in comforting someone who had lost a loved one and there I was not even sure of how to react or how I was really feeling about my dad's death. I was confused, nit sure whether to cry or be a man and comfort my mum because from the look of things, she was going to loose her mind. Condolences messages started streaming in as family and friends planned to come over...

I went back to my room, got my phone called Della and told her what was going on and half an hour later, she came to my place. Della and my mum got along just fine as she was the girl I intended to marry. She was there with mum comforting her as I watched them speechless for sometime. I didn't know how fo process everything that had happened..

Mum and I made calls to see how we could get my fathers body to Nairobi and take it to a good funeral home as we went about planing for his burial. The villagers had already rushed him to a nearby mortuary so mum and I made plans of going there.

We were all seated in the living room with Della holding on to my mum who had cried and sat there quietly staring at the ceiling with tears running down her cheeks.

Della: what really happened?

I hadn't really shared with Della everything that had been going on and I didn't really know how to brief her in between and in my mother condition.

Me: its a long story and now is not the time.

Della was understanding so she dropped the subject and stayed with mum as I tried making calls to a few of my fathers clients and I called Willis as well pretending I had no idea of what had been going on between him and my dad.

Willis picked my call probably because he had no idea who was calling him so when he heard it was me, he pretended to be very concerned. I told him the news about my father's death then there was a bit of an awkward silence..

Willis: how did that even happen?

Me: I don't know but I intend to fly home as soon as possible. Can you come with me, I have no idea how to go about these things. You are the only person I can trust with this information, you are the closest person to my dad that I knew.

Willis: don't worry son. I will come with you and I will personally take care of your Fathers funeral expenses and everything. Just let me know when to meet you.

Me: where are you uncle Willis?

Willis: I'm not in Nairobi, I travelled for work related stuff but I will catch up with you.

Willis was lying and it was good he didn't know I knew about their differences with my dad. I wanted to use Willis to get to the bottom of everything so I wanted him close. The wise said "keep your friends close but your enemies even closer." If Willis had a hand in my fathers death he was going to face his death through my hands and it would be twice as painful..

I reported the car details to the police and asked the police to help find my fathers phone. My father was smart. He always used his phone to record weird conversations and take photos of stuff that bothered him so maybe his phone could have a recording of what really happened between him and Willis in that study room. I couldn't trace it and maybe the villagers had hidden or stolen it so after the conversion with the police they needed money to help fasten the process and because I was in need, I parted with the cash. Don't be lied to about justice, you want things done, money is the only language people understand regardless of who they really are....

I didn't have uncles or aunties as my father was an only child. My grand parents died when I was still a teenager. My grandmother got bitten by a rattle snake as she had gone to fetch firewood while my grand father fell very I'll and died. There was nothing to look forward too in the country side but my father wanted to build his home and leave a legacy. He didn't want to be forgotten like his father did and he also wanted to do something for the people in his community. My father was not a politician but he had drilled bore holes in the rural school to avoid children carrying water to school for the teachers so that they would use that time to study.

I didn't have anyone to call to help plan my father's funeral and that was the disadvantage of being an only child.

Mum: I want to come with you to the country side.

Me: mum!

Mum: don't stop me Owen, that's my husband they killed and I have every right to see his remains.

Mum seemed a little composed so we had a chat and Della prepared dinner then we ate and I saw her off.

Me: I'm sorry we couldn't have that conversation with the way mum was feeling.

Della: I totally understand. You want to talk about it.

I stopped on the pavement beside the road and faced her.

Me: my father was murdered. He got attacked by men with machetes and they killed him.

I told her trying to be as composed as possible.

Della: I'm so sorry about all that.

Me: I need to travel and know what really brought about that. You will take care of yourself for me will you?

She nodded then came close and hugged me.

Della: it will be okay. I'm always here for you baby and should you need me for anything, I will be a phone call away.

I nodded the kissed her and watched her get into a bus and I left the moment it took off.

I went back home and mum was back to her crying.

Mum: of all the people they had to kill it had to be my husband. Owen do you know what your father has done for those villagers?

I didn't respond to that. Mum was obviously upset and if this is what grief looked like then I was going to be in for it.

We packed overnight then Mum and I left for the village the following day. I drove my range rover the the place I never thought I would go back to. Initially we were go fly there but the weather was not conducive. Had my grandmother been a live, she would have been proud of me but what was left of that home after my father was gone? It was just me, mum and a bunch of people who didn't give a damn about us.

We got home and our first stop was at the mortuary where my father had been taken. We spoke to the mortuary attendant as we wanted to shift my fathers body to Nairobi and as the paper work continued, we requested to see his body and these guys had a way of scaring crap out of people. The guy pulled something like a drawer only that it had my dad in it and they let him drop like that body that he was. So unprofessional and when mum saw how bad dad had been cut she let a loud scream then fainted inside the mortuary and only then I realized how bad it was. My father was really dead. The mighty man, the untouchable lion of our house, the perfect dad and husband, the renowned business man was really gone. He was ice cold dead and this was the man whose death I was going to bring to justice...