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
Tolu knocked on the door leading to the living room around noon. 'Help!' he called out. 'Joseph! Please help!'We heard footsteps coming toward the door. I looked at Mr. Potter's legs sticking out of the toilet door with the rest of his body hidden behind the toilet door. I looked through the window; the long grasses swayed to the left and to the right as the wind wished, but no soul walked about in the compound. My heart ran wild, beating fast and loud, and my palms felt clammy and shook slightly.'Hey?' Joseph barked from behind the door. 'What's going on in there?' 'It's Mr. Potter,' Tolu said. 'He has collapsed in the toilet; he is dying.''What?' Joseph said. 'Are you sure? Where is Paul?''Paul is with him in the toilet,' Tolu shouted. 'I think he is dying.''Paul!' Joseph called out. 'Paul!''Come quickly, please,' I said. 'He is dying.'I looked at the gate once more before I tiptoed to the toilet's door. I skipped over Mr. Potter's chest and entered the toilet and squatted
'Leave the road,' I shouted and jumped into the grass again, dragging Mr. Potter along. Tolu scrambled after us and we ran through the grass blindly, moving away from the road. The grasses' sharp edges cut my arms and my face, and the ground got softer by the minute. 'We can't escape,' Tolu said behind us. 'They know we hadn't gone far.' I stopped and turned. Mr. Potter, walked like a wound-up toy, and he bumped into me and stopped; his eyes roamed over me with no recognition or understanding. 'Shh,' I whispered. 'Let's check which direction they are heading.' We heard no sound at first—except the sound of the wind dancing with the grasses—but the sound of the jeep soon overshadowed it. Then I heard the voices a little later, faint at first, but they grew louder and nearer. 'We have to go slowly,' I whispered. 'Running will give our position away.' 'Are we running to London?' Mr. Potter asked. 'Do you know the way to London?' I turned to Tolu. 'Get us out of here; this is yo
'Leave the road,' I shouted and jumped into the grass again, dragging Mr. Potter along. Tolu scrambled after us and we ran through the grass blindly, moving away from the road. The grasses' sharp edges cut my arms and my face, and the ground got softer by the minute. 'We can't escape,' Tolu said behind us. 'They know we hadn't gone far.' I stopped and turned. Mr. Potter, walked like a wound-up toy, and he bumped into me and stopped; his eyes roamed over me with no understanding. 'Shh,' I whispered. 'Let's check which direction they are heading.' We heard no sound at first—except the sound of the wind dancing with the grasses—but the sound of the jeep soon overshadowed it. Then I heard the voices a little later, faint at first, but they grew louder and nearer. 'We have to go slowly,' I whispered. 'Running will give our position away.' 'Are we running to London?' Mr. Potter asked. 'Do you know the way to London?' I turned to Tolu. 'Get us out of here; this is your town for God
I sank rapidly until my legs hit the bottom of the river. The current pulled me away and the thought of drowning crushed everything else out of my mind and caused me to beat the water frantically. My hands spread around grabbing at the water and catching nothing. My lungs screamed in pain and my muscles felt as if two horses were pulling them apart. My head broke out of the water at last, and I took an automatic deep breath, easing the pain in my chest. I rubbed the water off my face and saw Tolu and Mr. Potter standing on the bank, their clothes dripping water. 'Run,' Tolu cried. 'Run.' I turned. Joseph and Bayo had reached the other side of the river. Joseph stopped and raised his hand. I waddled faster, my heart beating rapidly. 'Don't shot them, you baboon,' Eric's voiced cried somewhere far and disappeared in the cry of the gun shot. I heard the slugs zipped pass in the water. I came out of the river and into the grasses, just about the time I heard two loud splashes from th
“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