Novels by A.L.E.

Another week, another mysterious occurrence. This time, involving a girl named Esther Edwards. She was found lying unconscious on the bathroom floor in the girls hostel. Fortunately, she was alive and breathing. When rushed to the sick bay, the nurses discovered an injury on her left forearm. It seemed like a cut from a sharp object; probably a knife. The school authorities were pressured to take her to an actual hospital after she laid unconscious for days. After the 5th day, the decision was finally taken. Esther was transferred to the hospital.Wednesday, the following week.Bayo sat in his class listening to the lectures for the morning. The truth was, Bayo didn't hear a single word the teacher said. His body might have been in the classroom, but his mind and thoughts were elsewhere. He was too busy thinking about the past few weeks.After Daniel's weird incident, Esther was next. Bayo frowned at the thought. He didn't know if anyone else could see it, but he sensed a pattern. B

The news about Daniel Ayibatari spread across the school like wild fire. He went from the kid that no one knew, to the student that everyone talked about. The story about why he was found unconscious differed from mouth to mouth, the most outrageous being that he belonged to some secret cult, that the injury on his arm was probably a sign of initiation. Nevertheless, he was penalized for being outside after lights out. Esther Edwards was one of the first people who heard about the incident. At first, she was scared. She thought her dear Bayo was the one who was caught. Then she found out it wasn't him but someone else. She was still clueless on who it was, until she saw Daniel scrubbing one of the toilets belonging to the staff. So that's the guy, Esther thought. She remembered that he was the impatient guy who accompanied Bayo that night. Serves him right, she concluded. Esther didn't have time to think about Daniel's predicament, she already had hers to w

Emerald Secondary School was described as the best of it's kind in Lagos State, and was known as one of the best in the Nigeria. Well known scholars had graduated from there, which consequently boosted the school's reputation over the years. E.S.S. was also notorious for scooping trophies from competitions all over the state and across the country due to the intellectual capacity it's students boasted. It was the complete private school: spacious classrooms that could occupy more than a hundred students at once, fully equipped laboratories and student workshops, sporting equipments and playing fields for different kinds of sports, well furbished hostels for boys and another for the girls, with well qualified teachers from all over the country and beyond. It was the kind of school that the politicians, top government officials and successfully wealthy businessmen took their children to. Friends of the students who attended the school were prone to be envious, many parents were rea

Daniel woke up hours before his alarm rang. At first he laid awake, looking at the ceiling in confusion. Then he remembered. He wasn't at home in his room; the different ceiling pattern reminded him of that. Plus, his room didn't have two bunk beds with four people in them. Furthermore, his room wasn't this small and crampy. Nope, this was definitely not his room. It was, however, his dormitory at his new boarding school. He continued to stare at the ceiling. It reminded him of the ceiling patterns in his room back home. It reminded him of how much he missed it. He always thought about his neighbourhood, his friends, even if he didn't have a lot, and most especially, his room. It was his sanctuary, his escape from the outside world. It was as neat as he wanted, whenever it wasn't, his Mom was suddenly on his neck. "I don't understand why a 16 year olds room looks like a 6 year olds play ground," she'd say on such rare occasions. She'd also go ahead and scold him for living l

"I always knew that woman was bad news. The creep kept giving me bad energy." "Me too. But talking to John at that moment in time seemed futile. He was always so madly in love with her." "I don't think I want to remind you where that got him." "Sadly. It's a shame." "Indeed." Margaret Walters' house was the place for the occasion again. This time, with less strangers and more family. The Walters of all ages gathered in the living room, eating cranberry cupcakes and drinking orange juice from mugs on saucers. The entire family in one spot was as rare as the perfect alignment of all the planets in the solar system. Of course, none of them were kids anymore; everyone had a life of their own. Bills to pay, some had extra mouths to feed. But moments like these were ones to cherish. Even when the reason for such a gathering wasn't exactly merry. Fortunately, this one had a celebratory tune to it. So no one could afford to miss it. "Mmm . . . " M

Night time in Chesterfield Springs was probably the most quiet in the entire country. You could hear the humming of your neighbour's refrigerator from across the street. Or the snoring of your landlord from the upper floor of the apartment building. It was so quiet that you could simply go deaf from the deafening silence. Regardless, it was just the way Joshua wanted it to be. The park was deserted, of course. No one brings kids or walks dogs close to midnight. The strong gust of wind blowing around moved the rusted parts of the metallic rides and swing sets, creating an eerie melody that was sure enough to spook anyone. Joshua was sure the inhabitants at the other end of the town could hear the swing sets and see-saw squeaking loudly. Left to him, the park would've been the last place he would've picked. But, he didn't have much of a choice. It wasn't New York that had multiple deserted buildings littered all over the place. Where he could have picked one and planned t

Shawn Zachary was much different than Eleanor had described him. Her description came from many years back when they were still in high school, though, so the fluctuations were permitted to exist. His once reddish-brown hair had a lot of grey in them too, and had already started thinning out. His thick, black eyebrows moved above his sharp, intelligent eyes, which seemed to scan everything that crossed his view. His lips were nearly covered by the bushy moustache that stretched across his upper lip to the side of his mouth. His chubby cheeks multiplied in size whenever he smiled, which was every time. On his hands were rings of immense quality and expense. With his brown Armani suit piece and designer shoes, he looked way too elaborate for the Cyclone Bar. But that was where he insisted they meet. And Joshua had no choice but to agree. Joshua felt completely underdressed sitting next to him at the counter. He had a simple plain blue shirt tucked into light brown trousers.

Joshua fiddled with the keys for a moment, then slid the appropriate one into the keyhole. After hearing a familiar lock sound, he twisted the knob and opened the door. The apartment was completely different from what he remembered walking into two months ago, although this was the first time he'd seen it in the light of day. The floors had been waxed, walls had been repainted. The furniture had been completely removed, leaving the center of the apartment totally bare. The wall in front of the space that was occupied by a couch had an empty metal suspender, where the TV is supposed to hang from. The kitchen had empty racks, clean cabinets, a shiny sink, and a cleared out fridge. It was an understatement to say that the room had been completely abandoned. Joshua didn't find it at all surprising that he'd find the apartment empty and uninhabited. It might've sounded harsh, but no one would hurriedly occupy a space where a dead man was found. Especially conside

"Funny how you came back here looking for something you won't get, detective." Joshua stood on the steps of the front porch, as quiet as a mouse. Yet, as if practising magic, Mrs. Margaret Walters was able to detect his presence. He squinted up at the sun, which heat was capable of turning the tar on the road to muddles. Joshua wasn't wearing his normal outfit of a leather jacket over a white shirt and a slacked tie. He chose to go entirely casual; a grey Under Armour T-shirt with black jeans and white Adidas sneakers. Part of the reason being the hell of a weather they were having, literally. The other reason was because he didn't go as a detective, but as plain ol' Joshua Mulligan. An ordinary inhabitant of Chesterfield Springs. "Well, aren't you going to come in?" She asked. "Or do you prefer to bake out there like freshly marinated meat?" With that, she rose from the white bench on her porch and grabbed her cane. She was indoors in a flash. With Joshua at

"Welcome to Cyclone Bar. What can we offer you this lovely evening?" "Uhm—" Joshua's gaze shifted to Tracy. She, on the other hand, stared right back at him in ignorance. Realizing the game Tracy was playing, Joshua turned back to the waiter with confidence. "A bottle of ginger ale for the lady, and some punch for me." "Coming right up, sir." Joshua nodded at the waiter as he walked away, with approval written all over his face. "Smartly dressed and neat looking," he observed. "Nice." "The place is not bad either." Tracy added. "The population here seems modest, but optimum. You wouldn't want too many people in here with the limited number of tables. The drinks aren't too expensive, else these people would prefer buying from the convenience store. And the music is quite soothing to the ears, I must say. Quality stuff." Joshua stared at Tracy in disbelief, before breaking into a wide grin. "What are you? Some business analyst?" He c