'I have to take the car back,' Eric said, getting up from the chair he had been sitting on for the past ten minutes. 'I don't want another police case. If the car rental people don't see me this morning, they might make a report.''Okay,' I said, looking over at Mr. Potter's lying on the settee. 'How will you pay the extra charges?'Eric shrugged. 'I will speak with Maria. That witch has money but not even the devil can convince her to lend it to me again.' He looked upward toward the staircase. 'And that one said he doesn't have money, but I know his lying. I will deal with him when we lay our hands on the ransom.''So, what will you do?' I asked again. 'I will think of something,' he said, heading for the door. 'Tell Tolu I am off.''Okay.' Eric paused. 'We will contact Mr. Potter's wife once I get back. There is no time for bullshit anymore. The earlier we get the money, the safer for us to leave this country.''Okay,' I said again and closed the door behind him. I went back to t
Mrs. Joan Potter replied Eric's email that evening. It read: Acknowledged. Take a picture of him and send to ensure you have him. How much? No police will be involved. Waiting for your reply. Mrs. J. Potter. I read the email three times before handing it over to Tolu.I turned to Eric. 'What did you write to her?'He smiled. 'That we have her husband and that she should not contact the police if she doesn't want him dead. I told her to prepare to send money via the mail. That was it. I am surprised she replied so quickly.''She is too business-like,' I said. 'There is no begging, no pleas to keep him alive. She is either glad to have him in our hands or she is a stoic.' 'She is not a good wife,' Tolu said. 'No wonder their marriage is falling apart.'Eric tapped Tolu on the back. 'That's their problem. I hope she is still good enough to pay for her husband's release; that's all that matters.' He turned around. 'Where is Mr. Potter?' 'He is in the bathroom,' I said. 'He just woke up
'How are you, Old Chap?' Mr. Potter said when he came out of the toilet.Eric glared at him. 'Don't call me that; I am not one of your slaves.' Mr. Potter laughed heartily and sat on the settee. He wore the same clothes, but his pink skin was as clean as any pink skin could be after a bath. His hair had fallen back to his skull, lying like tiny strings of spaghetti falling over the sides of a pot. His eyes still looked sleepy despite the many hours of sleep he had had. Eric stood in front of him with Tolu's phone in his hand. 'Sit still; I want to take a picture of you.''So, you have a reply?' Mr. Potter said. 'What did she say? Did she agree to pay the ransom?'Eric clicked the phone a couple of times.'Two more shots and we will be done,' he said and pressed the phone.The flash brightened the room. He did it again, straightened up and lifted the phone to his face, looking through the pictures. 'This will do,' he said. 'She should recognize you even with your hair sleeping on you
I found Tolu sitting on the edge of the bed in his room. He did not raise his head to look at me when I opened the door, but he was staring at the opposite wall. I surveyed the room; the bed sheet lay inside out and half of it covered the floor. The rest would have joined this part if not because Tolu sat on it. The Chelsea T-shirt he wore the other day hung on bed's frame.'We need to talk,' I said and sat beside him. 'Let's get Mr. Potter out of here before Eric comes back. He sees us as his enemies and it's clear he will stop at nothing until he gets that ransom.'I paused for a response; Tolu stared at the wall.'I have an idea,' I said after about thirty seconds.He turned and looked at me. 'Okay?''Let's go to the police,' I said. Tolu's mouth dropped opened. 'Listen,' I said quickly. 'We can tell them all that happened and hand Mr. Potter over. Our hands will be clean and we will be free and they will take over from there.'Tolu's eyes widened with every word that came out of
I dragged Mr. Potter backward and we staggered to the middle of the sitting room. Eric followed us into the house. Sweat dripped down my armpits and Mr. Potter's pink skin felt damped in my hands. 'Tolu, pull him up,' I shouted. 'He'll fall.'But Tolu eyes were on Dracula and Joseph, and he couldn't move. I staggered with Mr. Potter toward the closest chair. 'Blimey,' Mr. Potter said all of a sudden, and held the chair.'Sit!' I said, panting.'I'm alright,' he said, 'Let me go; I can sit by myself.''Nice...nice...house,' Dracula said, his eyes moving round the walls. He strutted around the room, walking like he owned the house. 'The...the…owner must be…must be…rich.'Nobody doubted or agreed with his statement. He walked on, stopping to look at frames and other memorabilia pasted on the wall. Eric and Joseph watched me with unfriendly eyes.'How did you get in?' Tolu asked at last. He stood close to the corridor leading to the kitchen.Joseph laughed. 'Oh, you will be surprised ho
We got to Ajah around 8 P.M. that night. Dracula asked Bayo to stop a few meters from Ajah market. ‘Buy...buy...fri...fried yam and...and...akara,’ Dracula said, handing a one-thousand-naira bill to the back. Joseph snatched it out of his hands. ‘Buy...buy...for...for all!’‘Okay, boss,’ Joseph said and got out of the jeep. He disappeared into the crowd and soon returned with a black polythene bag in his hand. The smell of bean cakes ran through the car the moment he came in. Bayo started the jeep and we moved on. Tolu missed the way to the building twice before he eventually found the road to the street. The building was the only house at the end of the street, but it was fenced and secured with a gate. Bayo stopped the jeep in front of the gate and Joseph the Brute jumped out, brandishing his pistol around as if another gang waited in the surrounding bush. Tolu came down and unlocked the gate and Bayo drove us through the gate. He parked in the middle of the compound.The headligh
The sound of the jeep brought me out of the short sleep in the early hours of the morning. I sat up on the edge of the mattress, cold and confused, not knowing where I was. Mr. Potter slept beside me noiselessly like a bag of potato. I looked around and found Tolu standing by the window.I got up and walked to the window. 'What's going on?'He turned. 'I don't know,' he said, his eyes going back to the window. 'But they are up to something. Eric and Dracula came out of the jeep and went outside the compound. I think something is up.''What about Joseph?' I asked, rubbing my eyes. They stung as if pepper got into them. 'Did he go out with them?''He went out first but returned immediately. He held his gun and walked around looking agitated. Maybe someone is coming this way or something.''Nobody came into the gate since then?''No one. Eric and Dracula are still outside. I am sure Joseph is keeping an eye on—'The sound of a car came to the room and several seconds later we heard it st
'Who is Paul?' The inspector asked, with the black eyes still on me.'I am Paul,' I said. I didn't recognize my voice; it was low and frightened, and I felt shame for revealing my fear to him. The inspector stood in front of me. I smelled beer in his breath, and I wondered if it was from a hangover. He stared at me for a couple of seconds longer and I shifted my eyes to his middle again, seeing the pistol tied to the side of his hip.'So, you are Paul?' he asked, and licked his lips. 'I heard you are stubborn. But as a policeman it is my job to deal with hardened, stubborn criminals and believe me, after eighteen years in the force I know how to do that. It's what I do every day; I deal with criminals, and I love the job. In fact, I was born for this job.' He paused and I imagined it was to allow his words to have the proper effect on me.'You don't want to be stubborn or difficult with me or with my friends here,' he said, 'because you will regret it.'He stepped closer and his sta
“Someone is asking for you,” Mrs. James said, an hour after we came back from the restaurant. We came back for Esther to pack her things so we can go to the hotel. “She has two police officers with her,” Mrs. James added. “That must be Talatu,” I said. “What does she want?” Esther and she got up and walked out of the house. I ran after her, holding her hand. Mr. and Mrs. James came after us. I wondered where Dorathy was, because I knew would have taken over the fight. We found Talatu standing between the two policemen and behind them stood a police Jeep. They came prepared, I thought. They came to arrest me. But for what?” I looked at Talatu and saw that her eyes were bigger than they originally were. She was staring at Esther as if she had seen an alligator’s ghost. “What’s going on Talatu?” I asked. “Why are you here?” Talatu kept staring at Esther as if I had not spoken. I turned to the officers. “Sir, why are you here?” I asked. “She said you assaulted her,” the officer
There was no one in the living room. I heard voices outside, and I looked through the window. I cleaned my eyes, wondering if I was seeing right. Mom and Jasper were standing in front of the house. Esther and her father and mom also stood beside them.“What's mom doing here?” I asked.Then I saw the G-Wagon coming.“I thought I told Isaac to wait for my call before he would come?” I said.The car stopped in the parking space and then Isaac came out of the car and then a man came out from the passenger seat. He was carrying what looked like a bible in his handIsaac opened the back of the car and brought out a black suit. He hung it behind his back and walked toward the house with the man with the Bible following him.“What’s going on?” I asked.“You don’t know?” Dorathy asked.She stood behind me, also peering through the window.“Know what?”She looked at me and smiled. “Come outside and find out,” she said and walked out of the room.I wore my shoes and walked into the toilet. I cam
I walked back into the house and found Esther sitting on a large mattress, waiting for me. I noticed another mattress to my right, and I knew without a doubt that sleeping together wasn’t encouraged.“Where is everybody?” I asked, whispering.“They have gone to bed,” Esther said. “There food; what do you want to eat?”“It’s late. I will eat tomorrow.”“You are not hungry?”“I am; but if I eat now, I would have constipation,” I said. “I will just wait for breakfast.”She tapped the bed she was sitting on. “Come and sit,” she said.“Not come and lie down?”She smiled.“You know mom and dad won’t approve that. But soon everything would be fine.”“Is that right? Everything would be alright?”“Yeah” she said and smiled.I sat down beside her and held her hand. My heart was biting so fast I thought I might faint.“We have to talk,” she said. “That’s why I asked you to stay over. I don’t like the way things are going and I am afraid.”“You are safe now—”“I am not talking about that. I am ta
I took Esther to her house at about quarter pass midnight. Esther had spoken to all the members of the family after I called and told them we were on the way. They were ecstatic and they kept asking if Esther was really with us.The road was rough, but I was driving a G-Wagon. I sped like I was coming out of hell, and since the traffic was light at that time of the right, I tested the car to see what made it thick.“I have to leave,” I said. “I have my driver in the car. I will drop him and head home.”Mr. James extended his hand and held my shoulder. “I can’t tell you how much we are grateful to you. I can’t thank you enough. Thank you for bringing our daughter back.”Mrs. James held my other hand. “We are grateful,” she and squeezed my hand. “You can come to our house anytime you want.”“Does that mean he can marry Esther?” Dorothy asked.“We will see what happened,” Mr. James said. “It’s no longer in my hands though.” He looked at Esther. “She has the final decision. We would just
“Let me go back,” Isaac said. “I will find the key and return immediately.”“No; I have to come with you. You can’t go there alone. What if they wake up and you find three of them? what are you going to do?”He brough out the gun. “I have this; I will make sure none of them lives to tell what happened to them if they attack me.”“All the same,” I said. “I will still go with you. We have to do this together.” I turned to Esther. “Please, wait in the car. We will come back soon.”“I want to come with you,” Esther said. “I don’t want them to come and meet me alone. I want to come with you.”“You are safer here,” I said. “Lock yourself in the car and then you will be safe. We will come back now. I promise you we will be back soon.”She looked at me doubtfully.“I promise,” I said again. “Just wait in the car. No one would be able to get to you.”“Okay,” she said, and she walked back to the car. She looked lean and tired. She sat in the car and closed the door.“Let’s go,” I said to Isaac
I heard the footsteps at the door and knew that they were backs.Time to face the music, I thought. Maybe I should offer him more money. But I knew within my heart that Dangin will just collect the money and still kill me. I decided against the idea. But the thought of dying and leaving my money behind was one thought that I didn’t like at all.The footstep stops, as if waiting for the other man to come along.“What are you waiting for?” Dangin asked, his voice loud and angry.I heard the steps coming in our direction.“What are you guys waiting for?” Dangin asked. “Let’s finish what we are doing and get out of this place.”The door creaked opened, slowly.“Hurry up,” Dangin said and pointed the torchlight on my face.One of the men came into the room and tiptoed toward Dangin who was backing the door and facing me.I took in a deep breath and then I saw Dangin eyes widened. He reached for the pistol by his side, but Isaac was already upon him.I heard a punch, a hard punch, and I hea
They dragged me with my hands and legs bound into a dark room, and they quickly closed the door behind us. Then they searched me and removed the packet of dollars I had kept in my pocket as soon as I had come into the dark corridor. “I found the money, boss,” one of the men who dragged into the room said. I heard footsteps coming toward us. “It is complete?” Dangin asked. “I don’t know,” the person said. “It better be,” Dangin said. “Or I will kill him.” “Relax,” I said. “It’s complete. Everything you asked for its in there.” “Relax?” Dangin asked. “Who are you to tell a police officer to relax? Who do you think you are?” “See,” I said. “You have gotten your money. Just let me and Esther go. I don’t want any trouble. You asked for money and I have given it to you; what else do you want?” Dangin laughed. “So, you thought I was going to let you go after giving me the money? Was that what you were thinking? I am sorry, that’s not possible. Remember you cut off one of my toes, and
We waited for two more hours and by that time evening had come. No other call came and I was beginning to wonder if I had heard the instruction right. Isaac dropped from the car and bought some sausages and bottles of Coke for us and that was the food we eat for that day.At about six in the evening, another call came.“Take the route to Government College,” Dangin said. “Go to the gate and wait for further instructions. Remember, no police or she dies.”“I don’t know where the college is,” I said.“There is a man coming toward your car with a white shirt. Come down from the car and ask him.”I looked to the front but there was no one with a white shirt coming. I turned around, looking at my back.A man with a white shirt was coming toward the car. I came down from the car and waited for him.Isaac opened to the door,“Just stay inside,” I said. “There are watching us. I don’t know where they are, but they are watching.”Isaac closed the door and I waited for the man to reach the car.
This was my chance to make things go my way. I was sure Esther’s parents were disappointed with the way Kennedy reacted to the rescuing effort I was putting in place to bring back Esther. He could he love her and not go to rescue her; I know that’s what would be on their minds.So, if I am able to rescue her without any incident, and without them knowing she was kidnapped because of me, then I will be the hero and they may give me their blessings to marry their daughter.The thing about life, I thought, is that people are ready to forgive your evil if you turn out to be do more than they expected. And I will do more than expected. I will not only rescue their daughter; I will marry her.I got the dollars that evening and then I came back to the house with Isaac by my side. I looked around but Kennedy was not there.I asked Dorothy where he was and she told me that he was going back to the UK.“Coward,” she added. “And he said he loved my sister.”I chuckled. “He never thought he would