I thought about Talatu all the way to Crispan Hotel. I remembered what she did to me, how she humiliated me, and the more I thought about it the more I wanted to punish her for it. I also thought about how Dr. Agaba had called me. I thought about what he had said and how he had said it, as if I was a dog he was speaking to me. The more I thought about that day, the more my heart bled. But now the tables have turned, and she wants me to open my arms and take her. “That’s never going to happen,” I said out loud. “She would have to find another person, not me.”But I knew what I said wasn’t coming from the bottom of my heart. I knew how I felt. I knew she still had a hold on my heart. But, just at that moment, the thought of Sarah came into my mind and my heart hardened.“They killed her,” I said. “They must pay for that. They must pay.”I droved the car into the luxurious compound of the Crispan Hotel and parked. I walked into the reception and asked for my room. I got the key and wa
I got another room for Isaac to sleep in. By six in the morning he was at my door, knocking.I woke up with bleary eyes and came to the door.“Who is it?” I asked.“Your bodyguard, boss,” Isaac said in his drawled voice. “I am reporting for duty.”“What?”“I am reporting for duty, boss.”I opened the door knowing that I had to sit him down and establish how this was going to work.“How was your night, boss?” he asked, as soon as he came into the hall.“Common, Isaac,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “You are not going to be calling me ‘boss’ all the time, are you? We know each other since we were what, in secondary school?”“You are right, boss,” he said. “Shal was the person who introduced us, boss. It was just that I was stupid not finish school.”“I want you to call me…call me—”“I will call you, 'boss', sir,” he said. “This is work; when I am not working, I can call you by your name, boss. But I want to be working all day and all night. Two hundred and fifty thousand naira is not a child
Mom came to see me at the hotel.I opened the door, and she walked in with a quarrel.“How did you get money to stay here, Paul? And how did you get money to give me one million naira? See, I haven’t touch it; if it is illegal money, I don’t want it. You can keep it, because I don’t want it.”“It’s not illegal money,” I said and glared at Jasper.Why did you bring her here? I asked him with my eyes.He shrugged.“Paul, tell me the truth,” she said. “I want nothing but the truth. Are you sure you did not steal this money from someone? I don’t want my child to be a chief or a scammer."I shook my head.“Mom, I did not steal it. A man from England gave me the money. I met him here in Nigeria and when he got back to his country, he sent money to me. It wasn’t any scam.”Mom looked at me with eyes that told me she didn’t believe me. “Does it have anything to do with your finger getting cut off? Were you involved with some rival gang or something?” she asked.“Mom! I am telling you there w
Talatu's call work me up by two thirty-three in the morning. I ignored the phone at the first call but had to pick it on the second call."Tala, what's going on?" I asked, my voice thick with sleep."Something horrible has happened," she said in the midst of a cry. "Armed robbers attacked Agaba and he is badly wounded. He is in the hospital.""Where was he attacked?" I asked, thinking he must have been on his way back from a beer parlor."In the house," she said. "He came into the gate without knowing they were already there. They took him inside and beat him up.""Where was the security man?" I asked."I don't know. But he was the one who saw the door to Agaba house opened and alerted the neighbors. Then they rushed him to the hospital. His arm is broken."I was delighted to hear this news. He killed my wife-to-be; let him also feels how it is to be wounded, whether in the arm or in the heart."Where are you now?" I asked."I am in the hospital with him," she said. "I have to stay he
I went to the hospital to see Dr. Agaba against Talatu’s wish. I couldn’t stand the pressure of not seeing him in that vulnerable condition. I am sure his smart mouth would be shut now, and his pride would be tuck under his buttocks.I reached the hospital at about nine in the morning. Isaac had wanted to follow me before he travels, but I insisted that he travels and stay out of sight for a while. He wasn’t happy, but I assured him that his payment was going to be in place, whether he was with me or not.I reached the Male Ward and a nurse asked if I were a relative after I asked about Dr. Agaba. I considered the fact that we dated the same girl with Dr. Agaba and said that I was.I walked into the room and saw Dr. Agaba sleeping. No one else was in the room. Talatu has probably gone to freshen up or to the pharmacy.I stared at him for a long time, seeing his arm bandaged with a sling around it. His face was swollen, and I saw a cut above his left eyebrow.“Jesus!” I said, muttering
I met Talatu coming back at the car park. She walked toward me with a bag in each hand.“I thought I told you not to come?” she said, her face showing her anger. “I specifically said you should not come. Now he will think you have something to do with it.”“I came to greet him and to see how he is doing,” I said. “I hope you know he is my tenant. I have to watch out for my tenants, too. Don’t you think so?”“Why are you here? Really?”“Before that, how is your dad doing?”“I haven’t seen him today. Mom had even called. I had to tell her that I would see Agaba before seeing them.”“Do you have anything I can take to them?”She hesitated.“The hospital is on my way,” I said. “I will give it to them and then you can come later. It’s no problem.”“I need to see how dad is doing,” she said.“I will tell them that you are coming. And as soon as you are done here, you can go see him.”“I guess you are right,” she said, and handed me one of the bags.It felt heavy.“What do you have here? Roc
Jasper called me. “Sorry about all that happened?”“What?” I asked.“About her asking for the car and about being so forward. That’s the way she is. She is just a forward person.”“Right!” I said.“It’s my fault. I should have told you about her before you met.”“Okay. So how long have you known her?”“Just about a week ago,” he said. “We just clicked, and then we became friends.”A week ago, was about the time I gave him the Toyota. That figures!“I will bring the car as soon as possible,” he said. “She went to tell her sister we are going out.”“Okay,” I said. “But be careful with all these gold diggers.”There was a silence.“She is not a gold digger,” Jasper said. “She is not like that. She is just an outgoing person who doesn’t know her how to control her relationship with others. But she is not a gold digger.”“Okay,” I said. “If you say so. I don’t have any problem with that.”Another silence followed and I was sure, he was thinking of the reply to give me because he didn’t not
The next day, the phone rang by seven in the morning and cut short the dream I was having. Esther was in the dream and I was happy. I picked the call with reluctance and answered.“Hello,” I said.“Isaac, here boss. Good morning.”“Good morning,” I said, making a mental note to tell him not to call me before nine in the morning again.“We found him, boss,” he said. “We found Assistant Superintendent Dangin. He is no longer an inspector.”I sat up in bed, my heart beating fast, and wondering how he was able to get to Lagos so fast.Maybe he took a night bus, I thought.“How did you find him so soon?” I asked.“I paid a policeman three hundred thousand to find him,” Isaac said. “And he did, boss. I also know where he stays. He has a house in Ajah.”“What? That’s close to Eric’s house.”“Whose is Eric, boss?”“Never mind,” I said. “So, you have the location of his house?”“Yes, boss. But I have not gone to see it yet.”“Okay. Go and see it and then rent a car and pick me up at the airpo