:::DEMONS ON CHURCH STREET:::
>>>EPISODE 4<<<
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It had been two weeks and he
had hit rock bottom. He had
thought the first six months of
his job as Director of the CIB
was rock bottom, but two
weeks after hitting a dead end
with his case, he had a new
understanding of rock bottom.
Everybody was out to get him. It
was exhausting. The people
were more relaxed, but they still
wanted answers. The
government was silent, that was
even more threatening. The
Chief of Police had skillfully
evaded any press attention and
was letting him take all the
blame for the lack of movement
in the case. It was his case so
maybe he did deserve the blame
but he had taken it for as long
as he could and he had reached
his limit. He was allowed a two
week break every year and it
was the right time to take it.
He was in the office of the
Kwara State Chief of Police, he
was the one who could free him
from the torture of his job, even
if it would be temporal.
“Ademola, how are you? Have
you lost weight or what?” Chief
Adeyanju said as he rolled into
his office.
“I believe I have sir.” Adam
replied standing to his feet and
saluting.
“That is good. Nobody wants a
fat cop.” He said and laughed
hard, his pot belly showing
exactly why nobody likes a fat
cop. “Sit down. You’ve never
come to my office without me
having to force you”
“Well, I would not put it like that.
I believe you are a busy man, I
usually don’t want to disturb
you sir.” He was rarely busy,
almost all his work had been
delegated.
“I hear you Ademola. So why are
you disturbing me today then?”
“Well sir, I need you to approve
my two-week vacation sir.”
“Vacation? You’re traveling
somewhere?”
“Well, not really sir. I just need a
break.” Adam replied him,
feigning a smile.
“Detective, you need a break? A
break from what? You’ve done
almost nothing since you
became the Director at CIB, now
you need a break when you
eventually have something to
do.”
“I have something to do? You
think so? I have hit a dead end
with this case and you know it.”
“No Ademola, I don’t know it.
Why did you let the manager of
the hotel go? He was a good
suspect.”
“He didn’t do it. We were either
going to charge him or let him
go. There wasn’t enough
evidence to charge him. He had
an alibi, remember?” He knew
he was probably being rude to
his boss but he was getting
irritated by all the pressure on
him.
“Somebody deleted those
records. Are you saying the
person can’t be found?”
“Sir, we have tried our best.
Maybe the person involved in
this is one of your politician
friends, people with too much
power to be touched.”
“That is your excuse now?
Ademola, I thought it was a bad
idea to make you director of CIB
and I told the governor but he
insisted you be made the
director. He made me swear I
will support you and I have
supported you, despite all your
flaws. I will not take this though,
ride out the storm, you might be
lucky and this is a one time
thing, people will forget soon
enough.”
Adam kept quiet and stared out
of the window. The chief was
right, he was giving up on the
case too soon. He was not going
to drink away the rest of his life.
He had to do this one thing
right, if it was all he would do.
And then there was the note.
.The bastard had taunted him.
“Sir, I am sorry. You’re right, I
have no right to give up on this
case. I’ll look for new angles, I’ll
have my top detectives work on
it till we get a lead.” Adam said
and stood.
“You go do that Ademola. You
should also remember that the
governor will finish his term one
day and no other governor will
leave a drunk as Director of the
CIB.”
“Alright sir. I’ll take my leave
now sir.”
“You were talking about
politicians right? Well, you’ll get
a chance to quiz the topmost
politician in the state today. The
governor asked to see you in
the government house by 12
pm.”
“You said what sir? When were
you going to tell me this sir? Did
he tell you what it was about?”
He had not spoken to the
governor in years.
“No he didn’t. You will find out
in…” he looked at his watch.”…
one hour and fifteen minutes, if
you hurry. Tell him I said ‘hello’”
“This is not working Ese”
Ese looked at her boss and it
took all the mental strength she
had not to jump across the table
and slap the woman. She was a
round woman. But her
rotundness never stopped her
from stomping into everybody’s
offices and yanking their heads
off. Everyone called her the
grinch. Ese was having her head
ripped off and she did not like it.
True, she had hit a brick wall
with the case she was supposed
to investigate, but even the
police did not have a new lead.
It was worse that she had to sit
through the lecture with her
partner watching. He had run
the crime desk alone for years
and he had told her in clear
terms he was not happy she
was employed. He was even
more angry when she was
given the prostitute’s murder
case.
“I told you from the beginning
that this is a bad idea.” He said
with a huge grin.
“Keep quiet Richard.” The only
consolation she had was the
grinch disliked Richard as much
as she did.
“This is not fair ma’am. I have
been here only a few months
and I’m being transferred
because I’m having a little
challenge with the first case I’m
working?”
“You’ve got nothing for two
weeks, that’s more than a little
in my books.” Richard said, the
grin becoming wider.
“I said you should shut up,
Richard.” The grinch fired
Richard a stern look. “Ese, he’s
right though. You haven’t gotten
anything in two weeks, it might
not be your fault. People don’t
like change, Richard already
knows the people of the state,
Maybe he should continue as
our crime’s desk reporter.”
“What are you saying? I never
said he should quit his job but
you cannot remove me from this
unit. You know my reputation at
NTA…”
“I know your reputation at NTA,
and that is why we employed
you. Maybe you are better suited
with the politics unit.”
“If i wanted to stay with
politicians, i would have
remained with NTA.” She
realised she was raising her
voice but she did not mind,they
were toying with her.
“Ese, you are not hearing me,
this isnt discussion. Richard
takes over the crimes desk fully
now. Report to the politics unit
tommorow.”
Ese picked her bag and stormed
out of the room, she would
remain in the crimes unit if it
meant she had to kill somebody
to get a story.
The government house was
once second home to him, but
not anymore. Adam looked at
the familiar lay out of the
building as he moved towards
the waiting room. He had been
an aide to the governor and
could have considered him a
friend but he was smart enough
to know better. They had a
great relationship until the first
lady was shot. There was
nothing he could have done
about it, he had told himself a
thousand times but he could not
let go of the incident. Neither
could the governor. He had been
sent out of the country for a
course in criminology and he
had come back to head the CIB.
He had been surprised when
the police chief told him the
governor wanted to see him
and was even more surprised
when he got a direct call from
the governor ten minutes later
asking him to come to the
government house.
The room where he was told to
wait was one of the several
rooms where the governor
attended to his visitors,
depending on how important
they were. If the room where he
was meeting the governor was
anything to go by, then he was
not very important.
“Adam!” A voice called from
behind him. He jumped up, it
was the governor.
“Sir, I didn’t…”
“Come here my friend, it’s been
a long time.” The governor
moved towards him and gave
him a firm handshake.
“Yes sir, it’s been a while sir.”
“Sit down please. Well, how
have…” he stopped as his
daughter came in. “You
remember Kate?”
“Hello Uncle Adam.” She said,
curtsying. He remembered her,
she had not changed much. She
looked exactly like her mother.
“Hello Kate.” He replied, avoiding
making eye contact.
“You want something dear?”
The governor said to Kate. She
moved towards him and
whispered into his ears. Adam
looked away. The late first lady
had made sure that every room
in the house had a picture of
their family of three. She stood
out from the pictures, she was
beautiful and elegant, the kind
of wife any husband would be
proud of.
“I miss her a lot, you know.” The
governor said, cutting into his
thoughts.
“What?”
“My wife, I saw you looking at
her.”
“Yes sir.” It was an awkward
conversation, one he did not
want to have.
“I don’t hold her death against
you, I hope you know?”
“Thank you for that sir.” Adam
shifted in his chair, he was
getting more uneasy.
“How’s your new job? You like
it?”
“Well sir, I am grateful for the
opportunity you gave me sir.”
He was glad for the change of
subject but talking about his job
was not his favourite topic.
“You’re grateful, I see. So I take
it you don’t really like the job”
“Sir, I have a good job, a job
most will kill for and like I said
earlier sir, I am very grateful for
it.”
“How’s the case you’re working
coming?”
“We are trying to pursue some
new leads sir.” There was no
way he was going to admit to
the governor he was not sure of
what he was doing.
“Alright, let me tell you why I
asked you to come.” Adam sat
up in his chair. “I have asked
around and I know for a fact
you don’t like this job. I realize
you are grateful for it, I don’t
doubt that, but it looks like the
only reason you are still on the
job is because of me. Is this true
Adam?”
“Well sir, I am grateful…”
“I know you are grateful Adam.
Alright, this is my offer, you can
resign from the job, I won’t hold
it against you.”
“Sir, I couldn’t possibly…” He
was surprised at the governor’s
offer, there’s no way he would
resign like this even if he
wanted to.
“Just to assure you I mean what
I just said, you pick any job you
want in the state police and
you’ll have it. I realize you might
not be suited to this detective
work and I put you there
without your say, so, here is
your out.”
Adam looked away from the
governor. He was not totally
against quitting the job but not
this way. He was already a
disappointment to the governor,
there was no way he was going
to do it again.
“Sir, I appreciate this offer but I
will have to decline sir. I am
grateful for the job I have and I
will do my best sir. I am sorry I
gave you reason to doubt me
again sir.”
“I’m sure you can be excellent at
the job if you if you put your
mind to it. And you need to ease
up on the booze, you didn’t
drink when you worked with
me, don’t make it a habit now.”
He was shocked the governor
knew about his drinking. He felt
even more ashamed.
“I want you to do only one thing
Adam, make sure this kind of
killing doesn’t happen again in
this state.”
It was a simple enough
instruction. As long has he had
any say in it, the city would
never experience such murders
anymore.
He placed the knife beside
Diana’s blonde offering and
walked away. She lay
unconscious and unaware of
the beauty around her. Diana
loved him and he loved her. He
had experienced her love in a
special way and after two
weeks of torture in his sleep, he
was going to experience it
again. She had loved his
sacrifice but it had been a
random prostitute, this time He
was going to satisfy her with an
even better sacrifice.
The blondeness of the girl was a
pleasant surprise. Diana loved
blondes and was a blonde
herself. The girl’s hair was fake
of course, there were no
Nigerian blondes. Diana would
not mind though, she was a
fake blonde herself.
You dare call Diana fake?
He picked up a knife from close
by and slashed his thigh. He
screamed as blood flowed from
the cut. Diana was a goddess,
she was anything but fake.
He looked up at the picture
frame on the wall. Diana smiled
down at him urging him on. He
stripped off his robe and stood
naked in front of the mirror
standing below the picture
frame. His body was perfect. He
ran his hand across the cut on
his thigh, he felt the pain
sharply, it was the perfect drug.
The bottle of cyanide stood
where he had left it from the
last time but he would not need
it. Diana was going to have a
living sacrifice.
To be continued…
>>>EPISODE (5a)<<<
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Rhoda was having a great week.
Life was good without her
parents staring at her, watching
her every move. She knew her
friends were probably not the
best friends one could have but
they had freedom, something
she had always longed for. She
had nagged and sulked until her
parents had agreed to let her
stay with the Bamigboyes for a
week. All she had to do was
attend prayer meeting every
morning.
And she did, religiously.
She had gone late a couple of
times and had caught the look
of disapproval on her mother’s
face. She was not going to blow
any other chance of leaving her
boring home just because she
was late to the prayer meeting.
That morning she was going to
get there before anybody, even
her parents.
The gentle breeze was cold and
for some reason the sun was
sleeping in that morning. She
stuck her hands into the
pockets of her pullover and
walked faster. The old church
was situated in a quiet corner of
the street and people rarely
passed in front of it except they
were going into the church. She
walked past the church bus
which was parked in the street.
The early morning semi-
darkness made it look newer.
She always got an eerie walking
into the church alone, especially
at night. It was built in between
trees or trees were built around
it. It was not fenced and had no
gate but two lines of trees
formed a driveway into the
church. She turned into the
driveway and stopped. A cold
chill went down her spine. She
turned and looked behind her,
there was nothing. She pulled
her pullover closer and
continued moving. She felt
moisture on her palms and
realized her fingers were balled
into fists. She stopped and
removed her hands from her
pockets and held them against
her cheeks, they felt cold. She
wiped them on her jeans and
looked around again, still
nothing. It was weird and silly
that the trees could still play
tricks on her mind after all the
years she had spent walking
past them.
She put her hands back in her
pockets and started moving
again, this time determined that
she would not stop whatever
happened. Her heart beat faster
as she approached the church
but she was not going to stop.
Whatever or whoever was
behind the trees would have to
come out. She began to walk
even faster as she got closer to
the church.
Then she saw it.
She stopped. Her mouth
dropped open as she stumbled
forward. She wanted to stop
moving but it was as though
she had lost control of her body.
She lurched closer to the church.
She got to the stairs and
stopped.
Right on the stairs of her
parents’ beloved church was an
eviscerated naked dead body.
She felt lightness in her head
and fell into darkness.
The door burst open and Tola
jumped. It was Adam.
“Has the body been moved?” He
asked glaring at her.
“No, it hasn’t. Will you calm
down!” he was pacing and
flaring his nostrils, it was
annoying.
“You know I never wanted this
case, if they knew they would
disregard protocol so badly,
they should have let me be. “
“Ademola, it was the chief of
police, he has every right to be
on the crime scene.”
“Tola, that is my crime scene,
why is somebody on my crime
scene when I’m not there?” He
had a point. “Now, instead of
letting me do my job, he’s
asking to see me. Where is he?”
“He is in…” The chief walked in,
cutting her off.
“Ademola, where have you
been?” He looked annoyed, she
could not understand why he
would be.
“Where have I been? Not my
crime scene! Shouldn’t I have
been called immediately that
body was found?” Adams was
not helping the already charged
room.
“You want me to call you when
a dead body is found? I’m not
your assistant, you know that
right?”
“Yeah, you are not, you are the
new P.R.O. You would take any
chance to get your face on TV,
won’t you?”
Tola stood up and slid towards
Adam, she gently tugged at his
sleeves, he had to stop. It could
only end badly.
“Detective, you realize I’m your
boss right? You know what,
forget whatever the governor
said, you are on your own.”
“I can do good by myself, thank
you.”
“Disrespectful twat.” The chief
mumbled and stormed out of
the room.
“Can you imagine what that
old…” Adam started but the
chief came back in.
“I want a daily report on my
table by six pm.” He announced
and left.
“A daily…never mind, Dosumu,
let’s go. We have a crime scene
waiting for us.” Adam said and
walked out of the room.
Tola sighed and picked her
jacket. She had always known
Adam and the chief were an
accident waiting to happen, she
was hoping she would not be
there to witness the accident,
but she had just witnessed the
beginning. She hated Adam
when he was angry.
Adam drove in silence as they
approached the crime scene. He
knew he should not take out his
frustrations with the chief out
on Tola, but he could not help it.
She understood him and
probably would not take it
personal. He had woken up that
morning with his conversation
with the governor still ringing
on his mind. He had been
devastated to find out that he
knew about his drinking. He
was ashamed and that had set
the tone for his morning.
The call from Tola had made his
morning worse. Another girl
had been killed and worse still
the press already knew about it
and were already on the scene.
He had put on the TV while he
hurriedly dressed up and was
shocked to see the Chief holding
a press conference at the scene.
He was making promises he
would not lift a finger to fulfill.
Now he was more determined
than ever to find the sicko killing
these girls. If it was the same
person.
He pulled the car into the
driveway of the church and
stopped, he switched off the car
engine and got out of the car.
Tola got out from the other side
and walked away towards the
church without waiting for him.
Adam hurried after her, she was
the only good and stable thing
in his life.
“Dosumu, why are you angry?
You know it was that old fart
that got to me.” She just walked
on without replying. “Tola, I am
sorry.”
She did not reply. The crime
scene was still buzzing with
reporters and spectators. The
policemen on the scene had
secured the stairs and the entire
church but that was as far as
they could get. A few journalists
noticed his arrival and started
towards him.
“Adam!”
He looked behind to see Ese
running towards him. It was a
surprise she was not on the
scene yet.
“Adam, please wait.” He stopped
and turned towards her. “Adam,
I need your help.”
“You do? I thought you said you
can handle this on your own
and I see I’m back to Adam. I’m
sorry, can’t wait to chat, I need
to get on this crime scene now.”
He said and walked away from
her.
“Adam, you don’t understand,
my career is on the line here.”
She said, catching up with him.
“It is? Too bad, but it’s not your
career I’m concerned about
right now. A girl is dead!
Another one!”
“I just need…” She started.
“I’ll tell you what you need”
Adam said cutting her off. “You
need to get out of my face Ese.
Attend the press briefings like
the other reporters.”
He walked off and joined Tola
who was waiting for him.
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“That was harsh.” She said as
they waved away reporters.
“I’m not having a good
morning, it wasn’t personal.
Let’s check this scene and be
out of here.”
He lifted the yellow tape and
they walked towards the body.
It had been covered with a
blanket. Two uniformed
policemen standing close to the
body saw them coming and
walked towards them.
“Hello officers.” Adam said
stretching his hands to shake
them.
“Hello sir. I’m Sergeant Dada, this
is Sergeant Phillip, my partner.’
Sergeant Dada was a thick man
with a bushy mustache. His
partner was slimmer but his
mustache was just as thick.
“This is Detective Dosumu. Were
you the first people on the
scene?”
“No sir.” Phillip replied. “The
body was found by a teenage
girl. She’s inside the church with
her parents and the pastor of
the church.”
“Alright, we’ll talk to her later.
Open the cover, let’s see the
body.”
Adam held his breath as the
blanket was removed. He was
shocked by what he saw. The
body was open like the previous
victim but it had not been
cleaned, it was gruesome. The
torso was cut open, but the cut
was not as clean and straight as
the other victim. He would let
the coroner decide but he was
sure the girl had not been dead
for long. And like the other
victim she was not killed at the
church.
To be continued…
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