THE WITNESSES PART 2

Ali is back again but this time, the odds are not in his favor. The murders start all over again and the riddles are even more difficult, what can poor Ali do?

PROLOGUE

 

It was six months after the whole incident, the golf stick murder saga was fast fading off as there were always trending crimes in the city of Jos. Ann had returned back to school, Ali had returned back to work, he missed Alhaji Hassan so much but work had to continue. The daily tidings newspaper and magazines experienced a major boom and rose to fastest selling newspaper in Jos. Ali became a state hero too, his popularity spread all over Jos as the man that had ended the reign of a menace to society.

 

 

Ali was working on a story so he stayed up late at the office, it was 8pm, when he heard his phone ring, he looked at the screen, it was private number, and he answered the call and heard a strange unfamiliar voice.

 

 

'I heard you are very smart, let us play a game of cat and mouse, you be the cat, I will be the mouse, if you find me you win, if you don't, let's just say the cost would be in lives'

 

And the line went dead.

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

Memoirs

Ali stared at the phone, he couldn't explain how he felt, this was exactly six months after the whole episode with the golf stick murders, he had fast forgotten about the incident, the adrenalin rush, the hurts, the fears and everything. He had put them all behind him and now he received this call.

If he hadn't shot Jason himself he would have concluded that this was Jason, he began to contemplate some weird thoughts, could it mean that Jason was back from the dead? How was that even possible?

There was a similarity between this caller and Jason, the caller Id was private as it always happened with Jason.

Ali was tempted to assume it was a prank call but he had learnt a great deal from the encounter with Jason, he wasn't going to take any chances this time around, he knew exactly what he had to do, and he dialed a number on his phone and patiently waited while it rang.

 

‘Hello, Ali my friend, you thought about me today, it’s being a really long while, how are you?

Detective Usuman enquired with so much enthusiasm but he was quick to note that Ali wasn’t as enthusiastic as he was from the way Ali sounded.

 

‘I am okay, detective Usuman, how have you been?

 

Detective Usuman paused for a while, he could sense it, this was no courtesy call, and he could feel the tension in Ali’s voice.

 

‘What troubles you my friend?’

 

Ali paused for a while, he wasn’t sure any longer if he wanted to confide in the detective, what if it turned out to be a prank after all, this was the city of Jos, everyone knew about Ali and the golf stick murder saga, it was on the papers for two full months, Ali immediately changed his mind, he didn’t want to look like a fool at the end in case it turned out to be a prank call

 

‘All is well my friend, I just called to check on you, it’s been a while’ as Ali spoke, Detective Usuman couldn’t help but sense that something was wrong, but he sure couldn’t force Ali to say anything to him, they talked for a little while about the recent happenings in Jos, crime, news, business and every other gist they could pick on before Ali ended the call.

One look at the wristwatch and Ali knew it was time to go home, he was the last person left in the office, somehow the call bothered him but he kept on assuring himself that it was a prank call, after all, Jason couldn’t have come back from the dead to haunt him, he grabbed his briefcase, packed his stuff and made for the door, in a few minutes he was driving back to his house, he loved the life he was living, His girlfriend Ann was going to be a graduate soon and he planned to marry her as soon as she graduated.

 

He had to admit it, the golf stuck murder saga had brought good fortune his way, he had become very famous and that meant more money for The Daily Tidings Newspaper and Magazine, he whistled softly as he drove to his house, he planned to move to a bigger apartment the next year, he really loved the city of Jos, it was a very beautiful city when there were no crimes but there were always crimes, he was still busy basking in his thoughts when he heard the bang from behind, it was loud and deafening, his car shook terribly but he was quick to step on the brakes just before he would have lost control.

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

 

Cat and Mouse

 

He knew what had happened before he even stepped out of the car, he knew someone had hit him from behind, he was enraged, his temper had risen to a dangerous level but he took to Ann’s advice, he sat patiently inside the car, as he counted one to ten in his head, Ann had taught him to always do that  whenever he felt so mad, as he made to open the door to step out and see for himself who had hit him and the damage that had been done to his car, a pretty face popped up by his car window, apology was written all over her face as she held her two palms together and mouthed the words ‘I am sorry’

 

Ali opened the door and stepped out of the car to meet her, she spoke before he could even say anything

 

‘I am so sorry, it was all my fault, I guess I was so busy with my thoughts that I lost control, please I am really sorry about this’

 

Ali for a split moment was lost in her world that he almost didn’t hear her, he just kept on staring at her, she was so beautiful, perfect picture of a model, she was dark in complexion and very slim too, he found himself comparing her with Ann, he would have continued staring, if the cars behind them didn’t start to honk loudly, it was only then he remembered he hadn’t parked the car properly and he was standing on the road, he held her hands and led her away from the main road, towards the part of his car that had been bashed, she continued to apologize, he nodded at her and told her ‘it was fine’ he observed the damage, it wasn’t so bad, he was sure a panel beater could fix that in no time, he looked at her own car, it had also suffered  little from the hit, but the damage to his own car was worse, she stared at him, he noticed she had lovely eyes too, ‘I am really sorry, what do I do to make up for this?’

 

Ali was almost tempted to ask her on a date as a makeup but he quickly composed himself

 

‘Don’t worry, it’s fine, I would get that fixed, but you have to be more careful next time, especially when you are driving at nights’ she smiled and nodded at him

 

‘Thank you, you are an angel’

 

Ali smiled, somehow her compliments made him feel good, she had a very lovely voice too, he shook hands with her and introduced himself.

 

‘I am Ali, from the daily tidings newspapers’ he expected her to have heard about him, when he mentioned daily tidings, but she didn’t seem to know anything about the daily tidings newspapers, she introduced herself as Becky, she was a model, Ali smiled, he had guessed right, he bade her farewell and went into his car, he waited for her to drive past him, before he drove on, he regretted the fact that he hadn’t asked for her contact but again, he let it go, she was a stranger, it was better their meeting ended that way.

 

It took Ali another ten minutes to get home, he got out of his car, examined the damage again and entered into the house, as he stepped on the verandah, he saw a newspaper peeping from underneath his door, halfway out in a way that he could easily notice it, he knew it was Peterson, Peterson always supplied him with newspapers that had hot news, he always scouted for hot news and tried to get into the scene, that was how he had discovered the golf stick murders in the first place, he opened the door, grabbed the paper and entered the house. When he opened the newspaper, he saw written in red ink, page 6, and the page 6 was circled too, this was strange, Peterson never did this, Ali assumed there was really hot gist on page 6 and that could be why Peterson had written and circled it on the first page, he turned quickly to page 6, and right there was a feature story written by a free-lance writer, the story was boldly captioned

 

‘CAT VERSUS MOUSE, THE BATTLE BEGINS’

 

the story was about two local conflicting sects in Jos that had declared war on themselves, they had disputes over territories and none was ready to give way for the other, the more Ali read, the more it didn’t seem relevant to him in anyway, he was beginning to wonder why Peterson would have written and circled page 6 on the front page when he heard a knock on his door, it sounded more like a soft tap than a knock, he stood up and listened, waiting to hear the knock again but he heard nothing, after waiting for about a minute, he walked towards the door and opened it, there was no one at the door, he was about to close the door on the assumption that it wasn’t a knock after all, when his eyes caught sight of something black on the floor just at the far end of his verandah, he moved closer and it was a black cat lying on his verandah, fear gripped him, his first instinct was to rush back into the house and close the door but his curiosity got the better part of him, he walked slowly towards the cat, he bent down to observe the cat, the cat was lifeless, it didn’t move, it was a small cat and it was obviously dead, there was a note tied around its neck, the note read

 

‘CAT VERSUS MOUSE, THE BATTLE BEGINS’

 

It was the same title of the story on the newspaper, and just then he remembered the last words of the anonymous caller that called him minutes ago at the office

 

‘Let’s play a game of Cat and Mouse, you be the cat and I will be the mouse’

 

The reality of the situation dawned on him, this was no prank after all, someone was out for him, but only one question plagued him, if Jason was dead, then who was after him?

 

 

 

CHAPTER THREE

 

The Rat Wants Some Cheese

 

Detective Usuman woke up to the loud ring of the phone, it was 9.00pm, He had probably dozed off and left the phone under his pillow, so immediately it rang, it jolted him quickly out of his sleep, he grabbed the phone and responded ‘hello?’

 

He listened carefully as his facial expression reflected the fact that he had just received distressing news, as he ended the call, his wife entered the room and stared at him, the loud ring of the phone had drawn her attention to the room too

 

‘What is it?’

 

He regarded her staring eyes and replied

 

‘Never mind, just go back to what you were doing, duty calls’

 

She continued to stare at him as he got off the bed, put on his trouser, his shirt and got his pistol and car keys from his bed side drawer, he observed the way she stared at him and spoke again probably to calm her nerves, he knew what she was thinking, she thought he was going to see another woman, indeed her instincts were right, it was his mistress that called but she sounded like she was in distress, he was actually going to confirm that she was ok, this was not a pleasure seeking visit but he certainly couldn’t tell her his destination, any man that wanted to live long knew better than to cheat and flaunt it in his wife’s face.

 

‘Go back to what you were doing, duty calls, put the kids to sleep, I would be back soon’

 

How incorrect he was, if only he knew what lay in wait for him that night, he would have known he couldn’t be back home anytime soon, in fact he would have known he wouldn’t be back home at all.

 

 

Ali dialed the number again, this was the third time he was dialing the number that night, and it was very unusual for Detective Usuman to ignore his call. The phone rang again and again and the call ended when there wasn’t any response.

 

Ali paced uncomfortably, he couldn’t find sleep, the dead cat that lay on his verandah troubled him greatly, he could sense danger, after he had seen the cat and read the note, he had contemplated for another one hour whether to confide in Detective Usuman or not, Detective Usuman had proven to be very resourceful and with his help, they were able to nail Jason, he had sat for almost an hour, trying to probably give a logical interpretation of the events that had happened that night, he tried so much to see it as a prank but deep down he knew this was no prank, he knew something was coming and somehow he felt this was related to Jason. First it was the call, then it was the newspaper and the circled story that brought Cat and Mouse to his focus, he was quite sure now that it wasn’t Peterson that had circled the newspaper and that realization made it all the more scary for him, it meant whoever it was that had called him, knew him very well and even had access to his house, and again, the thought of the knock and the presence of the dead cat with a note sent chills down his spine, he suddenly regretted the fact that he hadn’t called Detective Usuman earlier, He dialed the number again, this time it was switched off, he concluded that the detective had to be very busy, he probably couldn’t be bothered at that time, he went to bed with the hopes that Detective Usuman would call back as soon as he could.

 

Ali could barely sleep that night, he had terrible nightmares, at some points he could see Jason’s blood stained face laughing and calling out to him, and Ali was more than glad when it was eventually morning. Again he tried to contact detective Usuman, the phone was still switched off, he hurriedly prepared for work, and he made up his mind to pay a visit to detective Usuman at the station during his break period.

 

Somehow he was happy, that he heard nothing from the anonymous caller too, when he got out of his house, the dead cat was still lying on the verandah, he mustered up courage and took the body of the cat and disposed it off in a bush as he drove to work, different thoughts ran through his mind, he couldn’t even think, the only person he could confide in was detective Usuman, but he couldn’t get to him, he thought about telling Ann but he quickly changed his mind, he didn’t want to give her any cause for alarm, but he had to speak to her on the phone at least to be sure she was safe, they spoke for about four minutes as he drove to the office, he was glad she was safe,.

 

Ali could hardly concentrate in the office, his thoughts continued to roam around the dead cat and the note, but still he couldn’t figure out anything, it all seemed like a dead end, he caught himself expecting a call from the anonymous caller but there was nothing of such too, he was still working on a story rather halfheartedly when the receptionist came into the office and informed him that someone wanted to see him

 

He didn’t believe his eyes when she walked into the office, it was Becky, the least person he expected to see at that moment, she was all smiles and looking even more beautiful than she was the previous day

‘Good day, Ali, I was around the area and thought to visit and say thank you once again for yesterday’

 

Ali couldn’t believe how happy he was despite himself, Becky certainly stirred up something in him that he couldn’t understand

 

‘Wow, Becky, I must confess, it’s a pleasure having you here, please have your seat,’

 

He was about to ask her how she found him but he quickly recalled he had told her where he worked the night before, In a few minutes they were chatting like they had known each other for a long while, Becky confessed that after their chance meeting the other night, she observed that Ali had assumed that she should have known him during the introductions and that had made her do a quick check up on him and to her amazement she had discovered he was once the savior of Jos and a true hero. Ali laughed out loud when she said this, she seemed intrigued as Ali narrated the whole golf stick murder saga to her, and she was super company for Ali as she quickly made him forget all the troubles and threatening thoughts he had entertained minutes before.

 

When she announced it was time for her to leave, Ali felt compelled to make her stay some more but she insisted she had an appointment to catch, Ali saw her off to the door, with promises of calling her, as they exchanged numbers.

 

Ali whistled softly to himself as he walked back into his office, he felt really good now, he suddenly seemed to forget about the anonymous caller and the cat, he began to work again when his phone rang, he looked at the screen and his face brightened, it was detective Usuman, he quickly grabbed the phone and answered

 

Hello!

 

The voice that responded was certainly not the voice of detective Usuman, it was meant to be a strange voice but it certainly wasn’t strange to Ali because he had heard that same voice the night before, he listened carefully, his heart beat increasing rapidly as the voice spoke

 

‘Hello, Cat! Your first task inhabits a wooden shelter, find it and get to work’ and the line went dead

 

Ali stared at the phone, he couldn’t believe it, and he confirmed again to be sure it was detective Usuman’s number.

 

If the anonymous caller called using detective Usuman’s line, it meant the caller already had Usuman, and if the caller already had Usuman, he Ali, could as well give up on the fight. He couldn’t explain how he felt at that moment, he was terrified and angry at the same time, he hit the table in anger, and it suddenly became clear to him, a wooden shelter, that had to be the cabinet attached to his table, he quickly opened it and much to his surprise there was a very obvious note lying there, he got it out and on it was boldly written the following words

 

The rat wants some cheese, and the rat would get some cheese, find the cheese before the rat gets it, if you fail, let’s just say, the cost would be in lives.

 

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR

 

Black Out

 

Ali’s heart beat quickened as he read the note, two questions were on his mind, How did the caller access detective Usuman’s phone and how did the note get into his office cabinet?

 

He thought about the people that worked with him, what if it was one of them but again the thought of the call coming through on detective Usuman’s phone number negated that possibility. Indeed one thing was sure, this was serious stuff, and the caller meant business.

 

Ali had to be certain, he couldn’t just draw conclusions by sitting at his desk. He grabbed his car keys and moved quickly out of the office, he knew his destination. He had to visit the police station, he had to know for real what had happened to detective Usuman, as he drove out of his office, he was in a very big hurry and so he didn’t notice the red Nissan salon car that was parked a few meters away from his own car, neither did he notice when the occupant of the car snapped three shots of him with a special zoom lensed camera.

 

Ann had just finished a class, she walked slowly to a pharmacy just outside the school gate, she had a disturbing headache, she always avoided the school health center, and she was among the few that believed that the school health center never administered the right drugs. She had become so used to going outside to get drugs that even for something as little as a headache, she would prefer to go out of the school compound. She still had a class for 2.00pm, her aim was to get the drug, return back to school and hang around till 2.00pm for the class.

 

She was moving slowly to the pharmacy to get the drug, when she observed a young boy walking rather slowly behind her, she turned at intervals and every time she turned, the boy would stop and act like he was staring at something else, she continued walking but she suddenly wasn’t comfortable anymore, so just before she got into the pharmacy, she stopped so the young boy would walk past her, she suspected he was a pick pocket and she clutched her bag rather very tightly, the young boy walked slowly towards her, when he got to her, he dropped something on the floor very close to her feet and continued walking slowly, Ann observed him as he walked slowly, her curiosity got the better part of her, she stooped and picked what the boy had dropped, it was a brown envelope, she opened it and saw three photographs inside it, they were all photographs of Ali, she couldn’t understand, she turned the photographs and all three photographs had the letter x written in red ink behind them, she looked forward, the young boy was walking rather too slow, like he expected her to accost him, she raised her voice “Hey, excuse me”

 

The boy ignored and continued to walk slowly, her curiosity got the better part of her, she began to move quickly towards him “hey, I said excuse me”

 

The boy ignored and continued walking in his slow pace, Ann increased her pace and just as she almost got to the boy, he broke into a race, this took her by surprise, she didn’t expect it, as the boy ran, she couldn’t help it, she ran after him too, the boy was very fast, in a few seconds, he was already far ahead of her, she continued to run after him, the boy ran into a rather secluded street, she ran after him, she sighted him just before he ran into an uncompleted building, she hesitated at first, but again her determination pushed her, she entered into the uncompleted building too, there was no boy, she assumed he had jumped off onto the next street, through the window, she peered through the window, there was no sign of any boy, as she made to turn around to probably have a look at some of the other rooms in the building, she felt an handkerchief drop over her face, it was held by very strong hands over her nose, she tried to struggle, but the hands were very firm and the substance she was inhaling from the handkerchief was rather very strong too, she slowly succumbed to the powerful substance and her fight left her in seconds as she blacked out completely.

 

None of the inhabitants of the lonely street took any notice when the young boy had run into the uncompleted building, neither did they notice when a young girl had run into the building after him, it was indeed a lonely street, where everyone chose to mind their business, they certainly didn’t also notice when a red Nissan salon car pulled out from behind the uncompleted building and drove away.

 

Even if anyone had seen the car, no one would have suspected the car had an unusual content in its boot, the inhabitants of the street would have probably being oblivious of all the happenings of that day if one of the area boys hadn’t gone there to smoke and had raised an alarm on beholding the fresh corpse of a young boy inside one of the rooms, the boy had been killed with a baton, it was a series of hit to the head.

 

The police had come to take the body of the young boy away some hours later, to them it was another case of unexplainable murder probably one of the usual cult clashes. Nobody cared to consider the fact that the boy appeared rather too young to be a cultist, neither did anyone try to dig deeper into possible cause of death, it was a lot easier and comfortable to assume he was a cultist and it was just another case of a cultist meeting his untimely and well deserved end.

 

 

 

CHAPTER FIVE

 

The Rat Has the Cheese

 

Ali had chosen to close rather early, he had a very troubling day, his visit to the police station had complicated things for him all the more, Detective Usuman was officially missing, according to Detective Usuman’s colleagues, his wife had already been to the office that morning to make an official complaint that she couldn’t find her husband, but there were rules in the police force that applied even to a detective, A person couldn’t be declared missing until after 24hours.

 

Ali was irritated by the way, detective Usuman’s colleagues treated the case with triviality, they were of the opinion that detective Usuman was having a good time and he probably just wanted to be away from the troubles of family for a while, he remembered the words of one of them

 

“Abeg make una leave oga Usuman, make e enjoy e self o, nor be person like oga Usuman wan lost jorh, oga Ali, go rest for house, oga Usuman go come out when he ready to come out”

 

Ali had felt really mad because he alone knew detective Usuman was in serious trouble, if he wasn’t dead already but he couldn’t bring himself to tell them anything, he had to get his bearings and be on top of the situation before he could probably tell anyone about the unknown caller. The only person he could speak to was detective Usuman and now there was no detective Usuman.

 

He had returned to the office and tried really hard to crack the riddle, he had read everything he could on rats and cheese but nothing seemed to make any sense to him, he decided to take a break and go home and probably involve Ann because he had no other option.

 

He checked his wristwatch, it was a few minutes past 4pm, he wanted to wait till 6pm before he called Ann because he didn’t want to disrupt any of her classes. He still had about two hours to kill, He couldn’t set his thoughts right, he knew he either had to share with someone or find a way to relax, he was sure if he relaxed, he would be able to get a clue to the riddle, just then Becky came to mind, just thoughts about her made him feel better, he dialed her number and she responded on first ring

 

“Hello, Handsome, How are you doing today?”

 

The word “handsome” caught him off guard, he caught himself smiling sheepishly, he couldn’t even respond immediately

 

“Hello! Are you there?” She spoke again to break the silence

 

“Yes, I am, hi, hope your day is going well” he stuttered a little as he replied

 

“Yes it is, but I have a feeling, it would be better if you were here” she spoke rather seductively, she knew she had an effect on Ali, from the first day she had met him, she knew he couldn’t control himself with her and she was going to use it to her full advantage.

 

The conversation lasted another twenty minutes, they always had something to talk about, somehow she noticed Ali was in a mood, and she suggested they hung out for a few minutes, just so Ali could liven up, Ali jumped at the offer with open arms, that was exactly what he wanted, he needed a form of relaxation so that he could be in the right frame of mind to tackle the riddle, they agreed on a venue and agreed to meet up by 5.00pm before she ended the call.

 

She smiled to herself as she beheld her beautiful face in the mirror, she laughed and spoke to herself, “all men are the same, they can never resist a beautiful woman” she laughed softly again, took off her clothes, grabbed her towel and went into the bathroom.

 

Ali packed his stuff in a hurry, he was so eager to meet up with Becky, for a split moment, he even forgot about Ann, somehow he just felt so excited about Becky, he couldn’t tell what it was, he knew he still loved Ann so much, he knew his feelings hadn’t changed towards Ann but there was something about Becky, he couldn’t tell what it was but he intended finding out.

 

Ali got home at about 6:15pm, he enjoyed his outing with Becky, she was one of the most intelligent girls he had ever met, according to her story, her parents were based overseas, she had lived with her grandparents in Benin city for a larger part of her life, she had studied business administration in the university of Benin, she had served in Jos and chose to stay back in Jos when her service year ended. She had afterwards gone into modelling and she was doing well for herself.

 

When she had asked him about his mood, he had given excuse with work, he couldn’t afford to tell her about the strange caller and the riddle, at least not on a first date. They had a great time together and again when she announced she had to leave, Ali had almost insisted she stayed until he remembered he had a riddle to solve and more importantly, he had to speak to Ann.

 

Ali suddenly remembered that he hadn’t mentioned it to Becky that he had a girlfriend and he recalled that she hadn’t asked either, he felt a little guilty but again he let it go on the grounds that Becky was only going to be a friend with no strings attached, after all, he was going to tell Ann about Becky.

 

Ali got his phone and dialed Ann’s number, it was 6:20pm now, he was quite sure, she was done with all her classes for the day, he put the phone to his ears and waited patiently as it rang

 

“Hello, Ali”

 

Ali almost threw the phone away, he looked at the number that he had dialed and satisfied himself that he had dialed Ann’s number, his hands shook terribly as he returned the phone to his ears and listened to the scary voice of the unknown caller

 

“Hello Ali, the rat has the cheese”

 

And the line went dead.

 

 

 

CHAPTER SIX

 

Dark Web

 

Ali couldn’t take this, suddenly it became clear to him just how much he loved Ann, indeed the saying “you don’t value what you have until you lose it” suddenly became real to him, so many thoughts ran through his mind, he couldn’t even bear to think that Ann was dead, one thing was certain, if the caller had hurt Ann, he was quite sure, he would hunt the caller down by any means possible and kill the caller.

 

He dialed the number again, this time it didn’t connect, he tried two more times and got the same result, he was almost running mad, he couldn’t think, he just continued to swear and curse, his heart thumped at an alarming rate, he sat down, stood up immediately again, he began to pace, it was worse for him because he was all alone this time around, there was no Ann, there was no Alhaji Hassan, there was no detective Usuman, it was Ali and Ali alone, he couldn’t even attempt to solve the riddle anymore, his whole mind was a blank, he fell on his knees and began to pray, he didn’t know who he prayed to, he wasn’t a religious person but he prayed all the same, Ann was all he had, he couldn’t bear to have anything happen to her, it would kill him.

 

He was still mid-way into his forced prayer when the phone rang, he grabbed the phone but was disappointed when he saw it was Becky on the phone, he ended the call, he suddenly wasn’t enthusiastic to speak with Becky anymore. She called again, he ended the call, the phone rang again, this time he was really mad, he was going to answer the call and speak rather rudely to Becky when he discovered that the caller ID was private, he answered the call and immediately began to hurl threats at the caller

 

‘If anything happens to Ann, I would find you and kill you, I would…’ and the line went dead. It suddenly dawned on him that he was at the mercy of the caller, if the caller chose not to call again, he could as well say goodbye to Ann forever if she was still alive, he regretted raising his voice, he prayed silently in his heart that the caller would call again, and just then the phone rang again, it was the same private caller ID, he answered the call and listened, he had never been so humble in all his life, at this point, he was sure he could do anything the caller wanted, he listened carefully as the caller spoke.

 

‘I want to make a movie, you would be my star, let’s just say Ann is safe for now, your outcome would determine if she gets out of this movie alive or if she ends up as collateral damage’

 

The caller paused for a while as if to confirm that Ali was listening, before the voice continued

 

‘Now listen and listen carefully, the break of dawn heralds an uncertain mission, but late sleepers might catch the moon setting, if it ever sets’ and with that the line went dead.

 

Ali couldn’t possibly explain how he felt at that moment, he couldn’t think straight, Ann was involved but one thing gave him comfort, the caller mentioned that Ann was safe, he knew he had no way to confirm that but he just had to take the words of the caller. He began to pace again as he replayed the last words of the caller in his head

 

‘The break of dawn heralds an uncertain mission, but late sleepers might catch the moon setting if it ever sets’

 

He understood the first part quite alright, it simply meant whatever the caller required of him would be clearer in the morning and he would probably have to go about it in the morning but he still didn’t understand the part about late sleepers catching the moon setting, if it ever sets.

 

He continued to rack his brain, this was quite easy when he had his team, but now he was alone, it began to dawn on him that maybe he wasn’t so smart after all, maybe it was just pure stroke of luck that had made him defeat Jason. He found it hard to co-ordinate his thoughts, he couldn’t stop thinking about Ann, he tried hard to imagine how she was at the moment, he continued to pace for minutes, yet he had no clue.

 

His phone rang again, he spied the screen, it was Becky, he ended the call again, he wasn’t really In a mood to speak with Becky but as he ended the call, he suddenly remembered the conversation they had that evening, Becky had mentioned something about a bar in her area that worked 24hours, they were never closed, not even on holidays, she had shared with him when they had discussed just how much some business men in Jos worked very long hours all for money.

 

The conversations suddenly began to replay in his head, she had mentioned something about the name of the bar being Rising Moon Bar, the name had stuck to his head because he had wondered why any bar would be named Rising Moon, the name had sounded funny then but he had completely forgotten the conversation after speaking with the unknown caller.

 

The call from Becky had jolted his memory, it suddenly became clear to him, Rising Moon was the moon that never sets and if the caller spoke something about late sleepers catching the moon setting, it meant something was definitely going to happen at the Rising Moon Bar that night and if he understood the concept of late sleepers, it meant it was going to go down around midnight.

 

Ali’s face brightened but more out of fright than excitement, he had cracked a part of the riddle, something was definitely going to happen at the Rising Moon Bar that night, he didn’t even know the address of the Bar, he quickly dialed Becky’s number, now he needed her and now he was glad God had brought her into his life.

 

She answered the call at first ring, she was obviously waiting for his call, she began speaking immediately, expressing her anger on the unreturned calls, Ali knew better than to fight with her at that moment, he asked for a meeting as a way to make it up to her, she was rather surprised, they had only met some minutes ago, why did he want to meet again, she was all the more surprised when he asked to meet at the Rising Moon Bar and asked her for directions, though it struck her as odd, she obliged him, gave him the directions and agreed to meet him by 8pm at the bar.

 

When Becky ended the call, she smiled to herself, it seemed to her that her plans were going quite smoothly, it seemed Ali was willingly falling into her hands, she smiled to herself.

With the way things were going, she knew she would get Ali. She knew exactly what she had to do.

 

She smiled as she combed her hair by the mirror and whispered softly to herself

 

“When I am done with him, he wouldn’t even be alive to tell the story”

 

 

 

CHAPTER SEVEN

 

The Late Sleepers

Becky was one of those ladies who believed in making a man wait for her, so even though she was all set for Ali before 8pm, she decided to allow him wait for another thirty minutes. She eventually got to the bar at about 8.35pm.

Ali had been at the bar for about one hour already, he arrived the bar at 7.30pm, he wanted to be able to check the bar out for himself before Becky showed up, The bar was a rather big bar, it had a very big central compound where the major events went down, there was also a big stage at a central location in the bar. Ali was quick to observe that there was a passageway that led to some other smaller rooms and he could easily guess what went down in those rooms. He wasn’t alien to the operations of a brothel that used a bar as a front for immoral and illicit activities. He himself sat at a vantage position in the bar where he could easily see the major happenings. The bar was half full, there were all classes of people but Ali could tell that over half of the people at the bar that night were criminals.

’Why don’t you allow me fulfil some of your fantasies this night?’

Ali’s had his thoughts interrupted by the skinny dark girl that showed up in front of him, he regarded her for a minute, she was everything but beautiful, the sight of her coupled with what she was suggesting to him disgusted him, he was about to tell her off, when he heard the voice from behind him.

‘Hey b***h, run along, this one is taken’

He looked behind him and saw Becky, for a spilt second, he wondered how she had appeared behind him, as he turned to face the hooker again.  She gave Becky a dissatisfied look and walked away swaying her hips so hard, that it almost made Ali laugh out loud. Becky smiled at Ali and sat opposite him.

‘I can see you already had company, maybe I should just run along”

Ali smiled and responded

‘Even if I was going to get down with a hooker, at least she should have some flesh’

Becky and Ali laughed at the joke and then Ali stared into her eyes again, that was when he observed how beautiful she looked that night, somehow he observed he was hot for her, despite himself. He was slowly losing control of his emotions even though he was currently at a difficult end with Ann being in danger.

‘Why don’t we go to my house for a bit? The party doesn’t get started here till 11pm’

Becky said the words in whispers and there was something really seductive about the way she whispered it, Ali knew he was fast losing control, he knew if he didn’t put his emotions in check, he could probably be in more trouble than he already was in.

He was about to refuse the offer, when she stood up and grabbed his arm

‘Come on, let’s go to my house, it’s a few blocks away from here, we would return here when the party kicks in, trust me, it’s boring out here, till 11pm. Let’s just say you are in luck today because the late sleepers show up today by 11.30pm, they haven’t been here in a while, let’s just say today is your lucky day’

The words hit Ali strongly, as she tried to get him up, he resisted for a bit and responded

‘Hold it there for a bit, what do you mean by late sleepers?’

She observed Ali for some seconds like he had asked her a very weird question

‘You mean you haven’t heard about the late sleepers? Come on Ali, it seems you are not quite in on Jos entertainment news, the late sleepers are a band, they are four brothers and they tag themselves that because they pride in themselves that no one ever goes to bed when they are on stage, they would be visiting the bar tonight and trust me, from 11pm, this bar would be so full and so lit that you wouldn’t believe it’s the same bar you have been in’

Ali continued to stare at her as she spoke, the words of the caller continued to slam his head

‘Late sleepers might catch the moon setting’

It suddenly became clear to him, The caller was going to strike the late sleepers, this was the riddle, he had to get to them before the rat did, if he didn’t then they were dead meat and he would lose Ann, he remembered the rat’s words as he had come to associate rat with the caller ‘If you fail, let’s just say the cost would be in lives’

He was still in thoughts, when Becky pulled him up, he observed she possessed an unusual strength as she pulled him up with very little effort.

‘Okay let’s go to my house, I would get you back here, that’s if you would like to return here though’ she smiled at him in a seductive manner, Ali knew just what she meant, he tried to argue but she was already walking out of the bar, he had no option but to follow sheepishly behind her

Meanwhile as Ali and Becky walked out of the bar that night, they were oblivious of everything including the man that sat in a rather dark portion of the bar, he wore a face cap and dark shades, he had seen Ali come in, he had watched him all the while, now he observed Becky leading Ali out of the bar, He smiled and took one more sip from his drink, he had a mission at the bar that night. He was going to make sure the late sleepers slept and never woke up again.

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

Karma

 

True to her words, Ali observed for himself that Becky’s house wasn’t far from the bar, he was impressed by her standards and great taste too, it was a very beautiful house, she lived alone, and it was a two bedroom flat. Her sitting room was beautifully decorated with art works and flowers, Ali could tell that Becky was quite wealthy, he was still wondering if modelling could afford one all of such luxury when she pushed him to the chair

’Please do have a seat, do you intend staring all day?’

He fell on the chair heavily and again he was quick to observe that Becky possessed an unusual strength for a lady.

He smiled at her and commented,

‘You have got a very beautiful house here’

She smiled and winked at him

‘I have got many other beautiful things and most of these beautiful things, I am quite willing to offer’

She smiled again and turned round to leave the sitting room to the room, she walked rather too seductively, Ali continued to stare at her as she swayed her hips seductively and vanished out of the sitting room.

Ali sat up immediately, he was at war with his conscience, and he knew exactly what it was that Becky wanted or so he thought. He knew he couldn’t resist Becky, he knew if he stayed even one minute longer, he would fall for Becky and probably make the kind of mistake that would haunt him for the rest of his life, yet a part of him, maybe the adventurous part kept asking him to enjoy the adventure.

He kept fighting with his thoughts, a part of him strongly wanted to leave at that point, maybe it was the part that really loved Ann so much and that cared about Ann’s present predicament meanwhile a second part of him kept making him understand that a few minutes pleasure with Becky wouldn’t hurt anyone, that part of him kept suggesting pleasurable thoughts to him, Ali stood up as he couldn’t be comfortable anymore, he continued to weigh his thoughts, he knew he had to make a decision within the minute, he continued to pace, the part of him that suggested giving into his lustful desires was slowly overpowering his sense of reasoning

 

Becky stood in front of the full length mirror as she observed her beautiful body, she was undressed down to her undergarments, she admired her curves and beautiful body, she was a true model, her body was her most outstanding feature and she knew it and of course she always used it to her advantage.

Her body had always brought her anything and everything she had ever wanted. She had discovered her seductive abilities and the powers of her amazing body in her late teens and afterwards she had used it to its full advantage. She smiled when she thought about Ali. From the very first day she had met him, she knew getting him into her den was always going to be easy. Now she had her chance and she was going to take it. The fragrance of her cologne was overpowering, she was going to give Ali pleasure and she was going to strike him at the moment of his greatest pleasure.

She smiled again to herself and opened the drawer, the picture lay there in the drawer, immediately she saw the picture, her countenance dropped, her smile was gone, it was suddenly replaced with hate and murderous anger, the more she stared at the picture, the more her anger was kindled, suddenly all her lusty thoughts were gone, she wasn’t going through with that anymore, she was simply going for the kill.

She opened the second drawer, the pistol laid there, it was already fitted with a silencer and she had dreamt about this day for months. She had thought about it again and again and again.

She grabbed the pistol, she was still in her undergarments, she loved the thought of pulling the trigger as Ali stared at her half nude body, she termed that a pleasurable way to die. She walked into the sitting room, pistol drawn, hands on trigger, all she needed was one shot to the head, she was a professional, and she entered into the sitting room speaking softly. She was going to take Ali by surprise.

‘Karma, that’s what they call it, let’s just say karma found you today’

The words rolled out of her mouth slowly before her eyes got accustomed to the fact that the sitting room was empty, she blinked twice to adjust her eyes to the light in the sitting room, Ali was gone, no one was there, she called his name twice, there was no response, she moved quickly to the main entrance door, it wasn’t locked, she opened it and Ali’s shoes were gone too, she screamed loudly in anger and hurt. Ali was gone for real, she couldn’t understand why he had left, and he didn’t even inform her he was leaving. She felt really mad as thoughts began to rush into her head on possible reasons why Ali might have left in such a hurry. She continued searching for reasons but in all she wasn’t even close to Ali’s reason for leaving, If only she had been in Ali’s head then she would have known that Ali just like Joseph in the bible had decided to flee temptation rather than fight it.

 

CHAPTER NINE

Bang Bang Bang

 

Ali returned to the bar at exactly 10.45pm, he couldn’t believe that he had practically run out of Becky’s house, the choice between good and evil had become so difficult for him but somehow his love for Ann continued to jam his frequency. He knew if he had stayed even a minute more, he would have fallen for the temptation and more importantly maybe he would have lost focus on the job he had to carry out that night.

It was obvious, the rat was going to strike at that bar that night and the late sleepers were going to be the target, his job was to make sure the late sleepers were kept away from the rat and he was determined to do his job because Ann’s life depended on the success of his job that night.

He quickly cleared thoughts of Becky from his head even though mental images of her body kept popping in his head at intervals, he knew how to handle Becky, he was going to call her the next day and apologize, he knew he could think up an excuse and he knew he was going to make it up to her one way or another.

He sat at a vantage position at the bar and waited, true to Becky’s words, the bar was already crowded with all kinds of people, and it was quite difficult to even get a seat at a vantage position at the bar that night.

The man with the face cap and the shades saw Ali when he came back into the bar, he had a bottle of beer in his right hand. He knew what he had to do that night and he knew exactly how he was going to get it done. 

Ali had sat for close to an hour, he had looked at his wristwatch continuously at different intervals, it was already past the time that the late sleepers were meant to come up on stage, yet they hadn’t showed up, he could feel the tension in the crowd, everyone was anticipating.

Ali felt something was wrong, somehow he knew he had to be on the move, maybe the rat was already on the move , Ali stood up immediately, he needed to get some information, he walked straight to one of the bar attendants, a rather fat one, she appeared rather knowledgeable and Ali assumed she could give him some information,

‘Hello, Pretty’

She turned and smiled at Ali, then her facial expression changed, she suddenly became defensive and Ali could understand her thought pattern, she didn’t know this guy, so she wondered why he was trying to be sweet to her.

Ali smiled and introduced himself, he needed to break the ice, and he knew how to get to people. That was part of his job, after all he was a journalist

‘Okay, my name is Ali, I work with the daily tidings newspapers and I have taken great interest in this bar, I would be doing a story on it soon, and I was considering featuring you on our pages too, you seem a rather dedicated and committed staff of this bar’

She smiled very broadly now, Ali knew he could get whatever he wanted from her now, she had lowered her guards and she was open to him.

Ali didn’t waste time on frivolities, he broached around a few questions about the bar even though he had to practically shout at some points for her to hear him. He pushed on steadily and gained her confidence, then he enquired about the late sleepers, that was when he discovered that the late sleepers were already at the bar, they were lodging in a special guest room that the bar provided them and they were meant to go up on stage anytime from then.

The bar attendant would have concluded Ali was mad, with the way he practically ran away from her as she mentioned the room where they were lodged.

Ali burst into the passageway, he hoped he wasn’t too late already, he knew he had slipped, he was truly becoming rusty. What was he thinking? He should have known the late sleepers would definitely be at the bar before the time they were meant to be on stage. He had been carried away with thoughts about Becky. As he ran towards the room, he hoped he wasn’t too late.

 

The late sleepers couldn’t understand why the man in the room had a gun pointing at them, all he kept saying was

‘Am sorry, I have to do this’

The man kept looking at his wristwatch at intervals as if he was expecting someone, the late sleepers had their hands in the air as he commanded, they were all standing together at a corner of the room as he had told them to.

Just then they heard the footsteps, the man suddenly nodded strangely as if he had been waiting to hear that, just then he pressed the trigger, it was loud and deafening, four quick shots and four bodies dropped on the ground. He was a professional, he had made them stand in a way that would be easy for him to register head shots. Just then the door burst open, Ali was just in time to see the fourth body drop to the floor lifelessly, as he made to move forward, he felt something hit his head from behind and next he saw was total blackness, which was the last thing he saw before his body hit the floor totally unconscious of his environment.

 

CHAPTER TEN

Hello Ann

 

Ann tried hard to have a clearer picture of her environment, she knew she certainly had to have been under the influence of a very powerful drug. The last thing she could remember was running after a young boy into an uncompleted building and the feel of strong hands with a handkerchief over her face. She knew whatever it was that she had inhaled had to be very strong, because she had continuously slipped in and out of consciousness from the time she inhaled the substance,

She opened her eyes again and struggled to keep it open this time, the effects of whatever she had inhaled was slowly beginning to wear off. She tried to have a look at her immediate environment, it was faintly lit by a single red bulb and it was a rather small room. She was bound to a chair, both hands and feet. There was a chair directly opposite her like it was meant to be an interview session with her. The room was so hot, she could feel the sweat dripping from every pore in her skin, and she observed she was still in the same clothes that she worn when she ran after the young boy.

She couldn’t understand any of what she saw, there was nothing else in the room other than the chair on which she sat, the chair opposite her and the single light bulb dropping down by the means of a cord from the ceiling at the middle of the room. She kept on wondering why she had been held hostage and who had decided to hold her hostage. She was still lost in her thoughts when the door opened. It opened rather slowly and her heartbeat increased steadily as she didn’t know what to expect.

Just then a man entered the room, he appeared rather muscular and heavily built, He wore a black and very long kaftan that got to his feet, and he also wore a hood over his face with small holes on it for his eyes and nostrils.  Ann shuddered in fear as he moved slowly towards her. She had a strong urge to shout but she knew better than to shout, she understood that the moment she began shouting, the next decision would be to gag her and she certainly didn’t want to be gagged.

The man stood in front of her for a few minutes, regarded her for a while as if he intended finding something in her eyes, then he sat on the chair opposite her. He continued to stare at her through his hood.

It was 200am, he had been waiting for over an hour for the drug to wear out, it was obvious he had given her an overdose. He had returned from his second mission over an hour before then and he had watched Ann through the secret hole on the door at different intervals until a few minutes before when she had opened her eyes and kept it open.

Ann continued to stare at the hood covered face, she scanned the man quickly with her eyes, probably with the thoughts of observing anything that might be worth remembering if she ever got out alive, but it seemed to her that the man sitting in front of her had done a thorough job. The long sleeved kaftan covered his whole body, he wore black gloves on his hand, and the hood that he wore over his head, reached down to his neck. She tried to look down but the man had that covered as well, he wore long black socks too, it was obvious, he didn’t want to be recognized.

As she continued to stare at him his voice broke through her thoughts

‘Hello Ann’

She was quick to observe that he was masking his voice too, all her observations were beginning to create certain thoughts in her head but she couldn’t accept it just then she needed to be sure before arriving at deductions.

The man continued to speak as she stared at his hood covered face

‘Ann, I understand you have been kept here a while against your own will but you must understand that everyone is a prisoner, the only difference is that some are willing prisoners and some are kept against their will”

He paused for effect, he observed her face, and he could tell she was listening, then he continued

‘Let’s just say, your boyfriend or fiancé or whatever you chose to call him has to make a choice between you and the task that lies ahead, let’s just say at a point he would have to make a decision between saving you and saving the world and that’s where you are going to be needed Ann, you would have to convince him to choose you rather than the world. If you can, you win but if you can’t let’s just say ‘the cost would be in lives’  

Ann continued to stare at the hooded face she was making strong efforts to hold onto something about the masked man, she had a strong will to escape, her survival instincts had kicked in, she was quite sure she would escape and she needed to have something that could help her track the masked man if she ever had to.

The masked man observed she wasn’t concentrating hard, he knew she was smart, he knew exactly what she was thinking, a part of him felt sorry for her because he knew she wasn’t getting out of this alive, the plan was a master plan, it had no happy ending because at the end of it all, Ali, Ann and probably anyone that tried to get in the way of the plan would be dead. That was the master plan and it had been perfectly scripted, every single detail had been thought out and the plans had worked out seamlessly so far.

 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Alibi

 

Ali sat in his bedroom, his head hurt terribly, it was more than three hours after the unfortunate incident at the rising moon bar, he couldn’t be calm, he had sat there for hours anticipating the rat’s phone call, he knew he had failed, he also knew that Ann’s life was in serious danger, it was obvious, he couldn’t save the late sleepers and he clearly recalled the rat’s warning that if he failed, the cost would be in lives.

Now he was really scared for Ann, and it was all the more scary as he heard nothing from the rat. His thoughts took him back to the room at the rising moon bar and how he had escaped a few hours before.

He recalled how he had slipped into unconsciousness when he felt a bang on his head from behind him, he had opened his eyes a few minutes later to observe that he was lying on the floor but he felt something in his right hand, his head hurt so badly, he realized he had hit his head on a piece of furniture that lay carelessly in the room, that should have happened when he had fallen face down after the hit and he was quite sure that was why he had slipped out of consciousness quickly.

He struggled to sit up and that was when he recalled exactly what had happened, he saw the dead bodies on the floor and a quick look at his hand registered the pistol in his hand. It immediately became clear to him, he was going to be framed for the murders, he had watched too much of action movies to not understand a set up when he saw one, he did his calculations, he knew the pistol would definitely bear his finger prints, the murderer had to have worn gloves, as he sat there contemplating, he heard footsteps approaching the room, the footsteps were accompanied with voices, it had to be the police, he knew he had to get out at that moment.

He moved quickly and slipped into the bathroom, he still had the gun with him, his head hurt so badly but he knew his life depended on that move. There was a rather small window just above the toilet seat, he observed there were no protector bars on it, he knew just how the police worked, they were going to barge into the room, he had to wait for the perfect time so that the sound of his breaking down the window would synchronize with the police kicking in the door.

 

Bang!

That was it, he got the timing perfectly, by the time the police eventually got into the bathroom after spending a few minutes in the room where the dead men lay, Ali was long gone. All the police observed were shattered window panes, their efforts to find the murderer proved abortive, the murderer was long gone as well.

 

Ali’s thought returned to his room, he had applied some first aid and put bandage over his head, the last few hours had been so fast for him, he sat on a chair and continued to replay the events in his head. He continued to wonder why the rat wanted to set him up, he certainly couldn’t understand the new twist. There was sure more to this than he could see, this was one of those times where he really needed a partner, he was slowly losing it, he couldn’t even think straight anymore, he was still in thoughts when he drifted off to sleep.

 

It was the loud tap on his door that woke him up, he opened his eyes, his eyes flashed to the wall clock, it was 7.30am already, and he had fallen asleep on the arm chair. The knock persisted and was louder this time. He forced himself up and moved slowly to the door, he hesitated and the knock sounded again, this time much louder, he opened the door and there stood Becky smiling at him.

‘Rise and Shine, pretty boy’

She smiled as she spoke the words, she pushed his bare chest softly and walked past him into the room as Ali stood at the door very confused.

‘I would advise you shut the door, the police would be here anytime soon, obviously someone fingered you as a suspect at the bar yester night’

The words took Ali by surprise, he heeded her advice and shut the door as he walked into his sitting room. Becky had already sat and crossed her right legs over her left, Ali was quick to see her beautiful thighs but he took his eyes off her thighs as quickly as he had looked.

‘How do you mean the police would be here anytime soon?’

He asked Becky as he stared into her eyes expecting answers

‘Apparently, they think you are the murderer, during their investigations and interrogations, one of the bar attendants mentioned your name and insisted that you enquired about the late sleepers and she also confirmed that you acted rather suspicious after you got information on where they were lodged’

Ali’s heart began to pound heavily, he thought he had escaped but it began to seem to him that his nightmare only began

He was about to say something to Becky when he heard the sound of a car outside his compound, Becky winked at him

‘I guess your guests just arrived, go ahead and speak to them’

Ali suddenly had goose bumps all over, it suddenly dawned on him that he had become involved in a murder case for the first time in his life.

He put on his professional face, ran into his room to grab a shirt and wore it as he anticipated the knock on his door, he opened the door at first knock but just before he opened the door he was quick to notice that Becky exited the sitting room.

‘Good morning, Mr. Ali, please can we come in?’

There were two detectives standing at his door, they didn’t look familiar to him, the one that spoke wore a grin and flashed his Id as he spoke, His name was Detective Hafiz. Ali allowed them into the house and shut the door

‘Good morning Sirs, please how can I help you?’

Detective Hafiz smiled and responded

‘Maybe you can begin by telling us, where you were yesterday, between the hours of 11.30pm and 1.00am?

Ali was about to speak up when he heard the voice from behind him

‘He was with me in this house and I can assure you we had the nicest time  ever, I bet you two have never had that kind of pleasure in all your lives’

Ali turned swiftly as did the two detectives and it was Becky, she had just entered into the sitting room from one of the rooms, she walked slowly and seductively towards them, she should have been nude except for the towel that hung over her chest and rested just above her knees, ample portion of her thighs and cleavage were left wickedly uncovered.  Ali could sense that the detectives lost their power of reasoning as they continued staring and couldn’t respond for the first few seconds, their eyes couldn’t drift off this breathtaking beauty that stood before them.

 

CHAPTER TWELVE

Dinning With the Devil

 

The detectives didn’t see this coming. Detective Hafiz appeared to be the spokesman, he turned his eyes to Ali and again back to Becky, and it was evident in his eyes that he didn’t believe Becky, but Becky’s raw beauty was fast making him lose control. He managed to speak

‘So how do you intend to prove that when an eye witness, precisely one of the bar attendants testifies that Ali was seen at the bar within the hour that a crime was committed and the testimony points to the fact that he enquired about the victims just minutes before they were murdered

Becky smiled as she walked closer to the detective, she intentionally allowed her body brush against his as she went behind Ali and hugged him from behind

‘Let’s just say it would have to be our word against hers and by the way, who believes the words of a common bar attendant, you should understand that bar attendants shouldn’t be trusted’

Ali marveled at the way Becky handled the situation, he was sure he would have been in very big trouble if Becky hadn’t showed up

The second detective, Detective Umar spoke this time

‘We would have to search this place’

Ali’s heart froze at the mention of a search. The murder weapon was lying carelessly inside one of the drawers in his bedroom, he knew the detectives wouldn’t even have to search for long before they found it and if they found it, it was over for him, he had no explanations whatsoever even Becky wouldn’t be able to deliver him then, he was still busy with his thoughts when Becky came to his rescue again

‘I do believe that you require a search warrant to carry out a search in this premise’

Detective Hafiz looked up at her, he had hate in his eyes now and when he spoke the anger was evident

‘Listen to me woman, this is a murder case, I can carry out any search anywhere and anytime, you can’t obstruct us from doing our jobs’

Becky smiled broadly and had the detectives staring at her for a few seconds before she responded

‘Maybe you can try that with people who don’t know their rights in this country but certainly not with a journalist and a barrister, I can assure you, you might lose your badges for that’

Ali slowly freed himself from her hug so he could stand at a position where he could see her face, the mention of barrister took him by surprise, he couldn’t tell what she was playing at but it sure had an effect on the detectives. Ali could observe two confused men that were stuck with making a decision between going ahead to search the place without a warrant with the risk of losing their jobs if they found nothing or leaving the place in shame with intentions of coming back.

They obviously picked the second option when detective Hafiz responded

‘You think you are smart right, we would leave now but I assure you, we will be back and trust me you won’t be so smart then’

The detective looked intently at Becky as he spoke, Becky looked into his eyes too, she wasn’t scared of him, she knew she could take him out as easily as a lizard would take a butterfly, she paid little attention to what he had to say, he was of very little relevance to her, her mission was Ali and she wanted him for herself, she wasn’t going to allow any other person take Ali out, certainly not the police.

 

The detectives turned to leave, indeed Ali felt victorious, he could see disappointment written on their faces, he knew they would be back, he knew they would return back with the bar attendant that had fingered him, he knew his problem only began and for a split second he found himself wishing the bar attendant would just disappear into thin air or even drop dead. He had to catch himself from delving into deep wicked thoughts.

The detectives walked out of the house, got into their car and drove off. Ali knew their next point of call, he knew they would be visiting the bar attendant, he knew but he could do nothing about it, all he had to do was wait and prepare for what was ahead.

He got back into his sitting room, Becky wasn’t there, he turned to lock the door and just as he turned around again, he saw Becky standing in front of him, for a few seconds he lost his voice, because the Becky he saw at that moment was a Becky he had never imagined even in his wildest imaginations. She had purposely dropped the towel now and she left nothing to his imaginations. He knew he had fallen for her even before she walked towards him and put her arms over his shoulder, he certainly couldn’t resist the temptation, even before they hit the bedroom and hit his bed he knew he was going to cheat on Ann, it was inevitable, He didn’t even try to fight it, maybe he had always wanted it to happen all along, the last thoughts he had in his head before he finally succumbed to the temptation was that ‘men will always be men’

 

Just as Ali had predicted, the two detectives hit the rising moon bar immediately they left Ali’s house, they knew what they had to do, The bar attendant only had to point Ali out as the man that had spoken to her and that was all they needed to arrest him. Detective Hafiz already had terrible plans for Ali, he hated journalists, he only needed an excuse to arrest Ali and the bar attendant was going to help him with that, his own principle was that a suspect was guilty until proven innocent.

 

Talks with the manager at the bar and other workers at the bar didn’t yield any results for the detectives, No one had seen Angela that morning for that was her name. She had failed to report for duty and her phone line had been unreachable all morning. The detectives obtained her house address from a friend of hers and headed for her house.

 

The visit to her house wasn’t productive either, she lived alone in a one room apartment, in a building that contained eight single rooms,  one of her neighbors confirmed she had gone out to work that morning. The detectives did the best they could, they made several enquiries, made several calls but all efforts to reach Angela proved abortive, she had suddenly disappeared into thin air, it was quite probable that God had answered Ali’s prayers after all.

 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

He Who Fights and Run

Becky lay on Ali’s chest as he stroked her hair softly, they were under the covers lying on the bed and inside his bedroom. He remained calm despite the fact that he knew the gravity of what he had done. He had never cheated on Ann, he couldn’t explain how it happened, it had happened so fast, he tilted his head a little to observe Becky’s face but her eyes were shut as she breathed heavily, he assumed she was asleep. If he could read her mind, he would have known that she was simply waiting for the perfect moment to strike him.

His mind drifted back to the reality of the situation he found himself, detective Usuman had gone missing, his girlfriend had been taken by the rat, he had failed the last test, he couldn’t save the late sleepers and that was very bad for Ann. It was worse now as he hadn’t received any call from the rat over the last hours. He contemplated talking to Becky about it, he had bonded with her sexually, he could as well confide in her, maybe she could help him, he was about to tap her and get her to open her eyes when she stood up on her own accord, smiled at him and excused herself.

He watched her sway her hips as she walked away from him and out of the room, he assumed she probably wanted to get a drink from the fridge or something, she had only her lingerie on, though he felt guilty for what had happened between them yet he found himself desiring her. Becky had such an overpowering effect on him.

 

He was busy contemplating whether to confide in Becky or not when she re appeared, she stood at the door, she had her right hand behind her, she had a smile on her face, Ali returned the smile but his smile quickly disappeared when her right hand appeared from behind her and right in it was a pistol. Ali could have assumed it was a joke, but he saw her eyes, he knew the eyes of murder, in that split second, he knew Becky was going to kill him.

The surprise on his face was unmistakable, he couldn’t understand why Becky wanted to kill him, He opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted him

‘Shut up, you don’t even have to say anything, allow me do the talking’ she smiled as she observed Ali was willing to obey her, indeed everyone respected the gun.

She was still in her lingerie, she could imagine how beautiful and deadly she appeared at the same time, she loved the feeling, all the times she had thought about killing Ali, she had actually pictured it happening this way in her head. The only beautiful twist to it now was that she was going to kill Ali in his own house, she had never dreamt about it in that way before, she loved the thought of it, and she even loved the way the story would go. She knew the detectives would eventually discover the body of the bar attendant, she knew they would also discover the pistol that had released the bullets that killed the late sleepers in Ali’s house as well as the evidence she had planted in Ali’s bedroom pinning the murder of the bar attendant to him.

She already imagined how the society would tag Ali’s murder as good riddance to bad rubbish, they would simply conclude that God had decided to punish the murderous journalist. She felt so much joy deep within, she had been disappointed when Ali had escaped the last time but now she understood that it was a blessing in disguise, indeed she couldn’t have wished for better, she was ecstatic about the way it was all going to end.

 

‘Ali, let’s just call this day, judgement day, let’s just say he who fights and run, lives to fight another day’

 

Ali continued to stare at her, he was as confused as he was scared, he was quite sure he had never had an encounter with Becky so he really couldn’t understand what she meant by fighting and running away.

She was about to speak when they heard the knock on the door, She paused for a while as if she considered pulling the trigger on Ali and pulling the trigger on the intruder afterwards.

 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Saved By the Bell

That one second pause was all Ali needed, in Becky’s moment of playing around with the gun and having so much fun she had moved too close to Ali. She had even relaxed her finger on the trigger, Ali had been watching her closely. She should have known better than to take her eyes off her target for even a second at such close range. She was a professional, she should have known the dangers of letting down her guards. Ali seized the moment, a swift kick had the gun flying out of her hands but not before it released a bullet. The sound was deafening, the bullet had narrowly missed Ali’s head but it grazed his shoulder all the same. Ali dived at her but she was his match, she side stepped and caught his head under her arms as she tried to strangle him, Ali hit her thrice with his elbow on her ribs before she loosened the grip and they both fell on the floor.

Ali heard the loud bang, he knew whoever was at the door had broken into the sitting room, obviously, whoever it was had heard the sound of the gun shot.

 

Ali tried to pick himself up but a fast round house kick from Becky sent him down again, she was bouncing on her toes like a professional kick boxer and for a split moment Ali felt she looked sexy as she took a fighting stance. Becky had also heard the sound of the door, as Ali went down, she dived for the pistol, and she was ready when the first person burst into the room, it was detective Umar, he didn’t see it coming, and two bullets from Becky’s pistol sent him sprawling on the floor.

Detective Hafiz entered the room rolling over, Becky didn’t anticipate that, before she positioned herself to shoot, he was already at a vantage position, they both released their shots at the same time. Detective Hafiz was rather lucky, he caught the bullet in his stomach but the same couldn’t be said about Becky, Ali could see the bright red spot as it formed on her chest, there was shock on her face, she probably hadn’t predicted this kind of ending to her story, Ali continued to stare at her as she sunk to the floor and fell face downwards. Ali was sure she had fallen never to rise again.

Detective Hafiz held his stomach as he groaned in pain, he was fast losing blood. Ali was at a loss as to what to do, he couldn’t believe his eyes as he stared at Becky’s body, she laid still and he concluded she was dead. He couldn’t believe Becky had tried to kill him and he was more confused now as Becky was dead and still he didn’t have a clue of who she was and why she wanted to kill him.

Ali turned to Detective Hafiz, He was sitting up now, he held his stomach with his left hand and pointed his pistol at Ali with his right hand, he was waving the pistol at Ali, he was very unstable and his hands shook as he spoke.

‘Don’t even think about moving’

Ali remained rooted to the spot, as Detective Hafiz struggled to a standing position, he managed to get his phone from his pocket and called for backup as he motioned for Ali to sit on the bed while he still had the pistol pointed at him.

 

Ali sat on the bed, Detective Hafiz was sitting on a chair opposite him, and he still had his pistol on Ali. He was fast losing blood. Ali could observe him struggling to stay awake, it was only a matter of minutes before his eyes closed and he fell off the chair, Ali knew he had passed out, as he moved quickly to probably try to help him, his phone rang, one quick look and it was private number,

 

The Rat was calling

 

Ali grabbed the phone, his hands shook as he brought it quickly to his right ear

‘Hello’

There was silence from the other end, Ali spoke again

‘Hello’

Ali was about to continue speaking, when the familiar voice of the rat responded

‘Congratulations Ali, you have just passed your first test’

Ali couldn’t understand but the rat continued speaking

‘The break of dawn heralds an uncertain mission, but late sleepers might catch the moon setting, if it ever sets”

Ali remained silent, he was about to say something when the rat interrupted

‘Let’s just say you were the moon meant to set alongside the late sleepers but you were clever enough to rise as at when you did and that singular action might have just saved a life. So congratulations Ali, you passed the first test, you have just bought Ann’s life but I wonder for how much longer you are willing to keep her alive’

Ali remained silent, he didn’t know how to respond, and he couldn’t believe that the test was simply about his ability to escape a frame up. It was strange that the late sleepers had to die simply because the rat wanted to test his ability to escape, he was still battling with his thoughts when the rat dropped the next riddle

‘The African never needs the assistance of the Flying Dutchman but the contents of the scroll is all that matters. The scroll only guides her faithful disciples’

The rat paused for a moment before it continued

‘In 24 hours you would have to make a choice, solve the riddle and you might have saved a life’ and with that the line went dead.

Ali still had the phone in his hands when he heard the sirens outside his house, he knew the police had come, he didn’t even make any attempt to move, he was still sitting on the bed, holding the phone when the policemen burst into his room, they were battle ready, He didn’t even try to resist arrest when they came for him, he knew there was nothing he could say at the moment, he knew he couldn’t even help himself, too many thoughts weighed him down, Ann, Becky, the rat, the riddle, he had lost all the fight he had left in him.

He obeyed meekly as they led him into their car, he was under arrest, and he didn’t need them to make him understand that. He knew he needed more than a miracle to get out of this one. As he was led to the police van, he saw some paramedics running into the room with a stretcher, apparently, detective Hafiz still had chances at survival. As a policeman forced Ali into the car, he turned his head to have a last look at the crime scene and for a split second he couldn’t believe his eyes, he saw Detective Usuman alight from one of the police cars, he suddenly had an inner peace, he watched detective Usuman walk towards him slowly, he wore a smile as detective Usuman came closer to him, detective Usuman didn’t return the smile, rather he looked away and walked past him like he didn’t recognize him as he walked into Ali’s house, to the scene of the crime.

Ali continued to stare at detective Usuman as two policemen got into the backseat with him and the police car drove away.

 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Adrenalin

 

Ali’s ride to the police station was long and silent, he could tell they were moving him to the area command as they had to go through the highway. He couldn’t put his thoughts together, his mind was almost a blur as different thoughts flew in and out. Nothing seemed to make any sense, and he couldn’t get the riddle off his head

‘The African never needs the assistance of the Flying Dutchman but the contents of the scroll is all that matters. The scroll only guides her faithful disciples’

He thought about it over and over again but he couldn’t understand the riddle. He still couldn’t get thoughts of detective Usuman off his head. He needed answers, where he had been all the while and why he acted that way towards him. A part of him felt relieved that detective Usuman was back yet a part of him felt uneasy. The detective Usuman he had seen some minutes ago looked so different from the detective Usuman he had always known.

Ali knew how this was going to end, he knew the policemen would find the murder weapon in his apartment, he also knew what the policemen could do to him and more importantly he knew that once he was in police net, he would lose contact with the rat, and he couldn’t afford to allow that happen, as Ann’s life now depended on his ability to crack the next riddle and possibly solve it before it was too late. He wasn’t handcuffed, that was an advantage for him. Obviously these policemen were trying to play cool with him considering the fact that he was a journalist or so he thought. There were two policemen at the front seat, one was a driver, and the other was observing him at intervals from the rear view mirror. Ali knew what he wanted to do was risky, but he also remembered one of his father’s favorite quotes, ‘no risk, no reward’ he waited until they got to a rather secluded part of the road,, he knew what he had to do, he sized the policemen that sat beside him, they were quite bigger than him in size, They paid little attention to him, just then he began to laugh loudly, they all turned to look at him including the driver and that was his chance, they didn’t see his next move coming, he moved quickly and turned the steering wheel hard to the right, the car veered off the high way and skidded unto the bush part, it ran into a tree and  crashed into the tree with a very loud bang.

 

Meanwhile back at Ali’s house, the policemen had ransacked the house and found evidences linking him to the death of the late sleepers as well as an unidentified person. They had found in his bedroom drawer the pistol that had released the bullets that sent the late sleepers to permanent sleep, and behind the mirror in his bathroom they had found a knife, it was wrapped in a red cloth, and it was still covered in blood, though the blood appeared dry.

Detective Hafiz and Detective Umar had returned to Ali’s house with a search warrant as they couldn’t find Angela the bartender and they were quite sure the lady that was with Ali as at the time of their first visit was definitely lying. They had returned with intent to arrest Ali even if they couldn’t find an evidence against him but they never anticipated what lay in wait for them.

Detective Hafiz was still unconscious and to the surprise of the paramedics, Becky despite the severe hit was still breathing, she wasn’t dead as Ali had thought but detective Umar was stone cold, he was dead. No one knew what had happened there, but it was safe to assume that Becky was a victim, probably Ali had kidnapped her with intent to murder her and detective Umar and detective Hafiz had showed up at the right time, to save the day.

Detective Hafiz and Becky were moved quickly to the hospital as the other policemen continued to dust the house for more evidences.

Detective Usuman observed the scene of the crime, he took some notes, he had ensured he took a shot of Becky too before she was carried away, he couldn’t place her character, he knew nothing about her and he wondered why she had to be at the scene of the crime. He got out his phone and took some more photo shots and as he was about to leave the scene, he received the message, Ali had just escaped, it was a distress call from one of the policemen, his voice was hazy but detective Usuman could guess what had happened. The other policemen got the alert and most of them were moving hurriedly to get their cars but detective Usuman left the scene quietly, he was deep in thoughts and his thoughts were really troubling thoughts, he didn’t anticipate this twist, he knew what he had to do, he had played his role perfectly until now, he couldn’t allow Ali spoil it now, he knew where he had to be.

Detective Usuman exited the compound and got into a red salon car, he drove slowly away from the scene of the crime, no one knew where he was headed, he alone knew where he was headed, Ali had created a twist he never anticipated and he was going to put the situation back under control, which was his job. He frowned as he drove quickly to the hide out.

 

Ali had managed to escape the scene of the accident with little physical injury, he anticipated the crash so he was ready for it when it happened, he prepared himself for it and suffered least from it, he was already out of the car and running down the road when he heard one of the policemen raising the alarm and calling for back up. Ali ran with all his might, he had the advantage of surprise and before the other two policemen that weren’t badly hurt could begin the chase after him, he had given them considerable gap.

He knew the route quite well, he had gone hunting with his uncle frequently as a kid and he knew just where he planned to stake his hide out, in a few minutes, he couldn’t find the policemen that were on his trail anymore, he was quite sure they had lost their way, he hid for a couple of minutes and when he was quite sure the coast was clear, he headed slowly to the hide out, he knew no one was there, he needed an alone time to crack the riddle and save the love of his life. He had so many questions in his head that needed answers, he found the hideout, it appeared rather dusty, no one had been there in years, he searched for the key and found it, He knew he would be safe there at least till he was ready to face the police again.

 

Ann heaved a sigh of relief, she had been able to break the bonds that held her hands, she had struggled with it for hours and miraculously it had come off, maybe her will to survive was far greater than the will to give up, now all she had to do was untie the bonds that bound her feet to the chair, it was certainly going to be easier now that her hands were free, she got down to work, she was making headway but just as she was about to free her legs completely, she heard the sound outside the door, she knew he had come, she quickly sat up and assumed her original position like she was still tied down so he wouldn’t suspect she had meddled with the bonds.

He opened the door and entered the room, she looked up at him, he still had the mask on, he walked slowly towards her, and he had a phone in his hands. He spoke softly as he walked towards her

‘Now the time has come for your dearest Ali to make a choice, I hope and pray for your sake that he chooses you’

 

 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The Content of the Scroll Is All That Matters

 

Ali had settled in the wood house, it was essentially a one room wooden house, his uncle, a civil engineer had made the house in the woods years ago, and he had built in basic amenities like electricity and a well that supplied water into the house through a complex network of pipes. Ali and his uncle had visited the place very often while he was younger and his uncle had told him that he could visit the place anytime he wanted

Ali remembered how he had laughed then as he never thought he would have to visit that place again in his life time but there he was.

There was a wooden bed with a foam, the wood house was basically built to probably help one through the night in case one got stuck but somehow Ali envisaged he was going to spend a long time in the wood house. He knew the police were on the lookout for him for murder, if only he had access to the media, he would have known it was double murders as the police had found the body of Angela the bar tender inside an empty well close to his house, her throat had been slit and the knife that was found in Ali’s apartment was the same knife as forensic experts revealed that the blood on the knife was Angela’s blood.

Ali was still trying to replay the riddle in his head when his phone rang, he was lucky he didn’t lose it in the crash, he saw the screen, it was private number, he knew it was the rat.

As he raised the phone to his ears, he heard the familiar voice of the rat

‘Hello, Ali. Congratulations, you are famous’

Ali couldn’t hold it any longer

‘Can I speak to Ann?’

‘Oops, someone is in love’ the rat responded mockingly and continued

‘Listen to me Ali, how much do you love Ann?’

Ali responded immediately

‘I will do anything for her, please don’t hurt her’

Ali could hear an applause over the phone, he could tell that the rat was having fun, then his heart skipped as he began to hear the voice of Ann screaming on the background, his heart began to beat heavily, he began to scream into the mouth piece of the phone

‘Please don’t hurt her, please don’t hurt her’ just then he was interrupted when the voice of the rat came up again

‘Now listen to me Ali, the clue to your riddle is a dimension of man, unravel your riddle in an hour and you might just save a life’ with that the phone went dead

Ali continued to scream ‘please don’t hurt her before he realized that the caller had ended the call’

Ali began to pace, the rat’s word kept recurring in his head

‘The clue to your riddle is a dimension of man’

That was quite easy, he knew some dimensions of man to be the physical, the emotional, the spiritual, just then, it hit him, it had to be the spiritual, it was obvious the riddle had a connection with the spiritual and again it was obvious the rat wanted him to unravel the riddle rather quickly, if not why would he decide to help him out with a clue. The rat had never done that before.

Now he knew it had to be something about the spiritual, he played the original riddle again in his head

‘The African never needs the assistance of the Flying Dutchman but the contents of the scroll is all that matters. The scroll only guides her faithful disciples’

He continued to repeat the last few lines of the riddle to himself

‘The scroll only guides her faithful disciples’

He would have repeated it over ten times before he got it. The rat was pointing him to the bible, if it was spiritual and there was a mention of the scroll guiding her faithful disciples, it had to be a religious book and the only thing that could come to his head at that moment was the Bible, he didn’t for a second imagine it could be the Quran even though he was originally a Muslim by birth.

The riddle was beginning to make some sense. He repeated the first few lines of the riddle to himself, the African never needs the assistance of the Flying Dutchman. He wasn’t a good Christian either but his days in children bible class wasn’t in vain, He knew the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. The Ethiopian eunuch was certainly the African in this riddle and Philip had to be the Flying Dutchman because he recalled his Sunday school teacher telling him about Philip being taken away by a wind or something of that sort after he had ministered to the Ethiopian Eunuch.

Ali smiled despite himself, he felt good that he was unravelling the riddle, he definitely had got his ‘A’ game back on, and only one part of the riddle was left unraveled now.

‘The contents of the scroll is all that matters’

He knew what he had to do, he got out his phone and searched for the story of the Ethiopian eunuch, He was thankful to google at that moment as he stared at the chapter and verse of the Bible that he had to study. Acts 8 vs 26.

Ali opened his bible app and hurriedly studied that part of the scripture, he was down to verse 32 when it struck him. He read verse 32 over and over again, it suddenly became clear what the rat wanted from him, now he understood why the rat had Ann. He knew what he had to do, it was a difficult decision but it was obvious the rat had planned it from the very start. He loved Ann too much, he was willing to lay down his life for her. He certainly had no choice in this one anymore, the rat had taken away his power of choice by kidnapping Ann. He thought about his decision over and over again, He knew he had to do it, one of them had to go for the other to stay, and he was willing to pay the price for Ann.

 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Twisted

 

Meanwhile as the masked man left the room, Ann quickly returned to untying the bonds that bound her legs to the chair, she knew she had to hurry, she didn’t know what it was but she certainly knew Ali was being threatened to do something to save her life.

She didn’t know what it was but even the thought of it scared her, she knew nothing good could come out of her abductor. Her resolve to survive was even higher now, she certainly knew her abductor wasn’t ever going to let her go, somehow she knew this movie that played before her eyes had no happy ending either for her or Ali, so she was willing to take her chances.

Her face burst into a joyful smile despite the situation she found herself as she successfully broke the bonds that held her feet, now she was free, she stood up quickly and made for the door but it was locked from outside, she tried to force it open but it was really secured. Now she was at a loss as to what to do, she continued to heave at the door knob and just then she heard approaching footsteps. Obviously, the noise had attracted the masked man, she should have known he wouldn’t be afar off, which was her mistake.

Now she was confused, she knew he knew she was free and she knew he was going to come into the room prepared for her, so returning back to the chair and acting like she was still in bonds was out of the question.

Her options were limited but she took the most daring of them all.

The mask man walked slowly towards the door, he heard the noise as he sat in the passage way waiting for the right time to call Ali again and possibly give him the answer to the riddle if he still hadn’t cracked it. There was little time left now, everything had to be perfect. Once Ali did what was expected of him, all he had to do was pull the trigger on Ann. A single shot to the head would be enough. So far the plans seemed to be going well but he certainly didn’t expect this unexpected development. He saw the door knob move from where he sat, he could hear the sounds that were produced from behind the door, he didn’t need a confirmation. He knew Ann was free.

He approached the door slowly, He knew Ann on a personal level, He knew the kind of fighter that she was, He wasn’t willing to take any chances, he didn’t mind pulling the trigger on Ann at that moment, he would rather do that than allow her jeopardize the plans. He drew out his pistol, He got to the door and produced the keys.

He paused for a few seconds, He knew Ann was behind the door and waiting to jump on him, He didn’t want to take any chances, he pointed the pistol at the door and fired two shots. He heard the scream and heard the sound as her body hit the floor on the other side of the door. Somehow he felt sorry, he didn’t plan to kill Ann at least not at that time but she had complicated things for herself.

He opened the door slowly and just like he anticipated, her body was lying on the floor, He edged into the room slowly, her eyes were closed, the room was poorly lit so he couldn’t really tell where the bullet had hit her, he bent down slowly to feel her pulse, he replaced the pistol in its holster, as he bent down and put two fingers beside her neck, he suddenly watched her eyes open, the action was rather too fast for him, he didn’t see it coming, Ann’s mouth went straight for his ears as she sunk her teeth deep into it, he screamed in terror and rose quickly as he made for his pistol. Ann was faster, she was up before him, her knee found his balls and he crumbled in pain as he grabbed his balls with both hands. Ann had no time to waste, she ran out of the room with speed as he tried to rise, she was almost out of the passage way when she heard the shot, it whizzed past her left ear, she rounded the passage, there was an open door, she ran out and found herself in an unfenced compound surrounded by bushes, she continued to run without looking back, she heard him from behind her though she was sure he was quite far away from her, He cursed in pain, ordering her to stop and firing blindly at intervals.

Ann continued to run in a zigzag manner, she belonged to the school of thought that believed that one couldn’t make a perfect shot at you especially with a pistol when you ran in a zigzag manner.  As she ran she couldn’t take her mind off the last few minutes, she couldn’t believe her luck, she would have been dead if she hadn’t made that last minute decision.

When she heard the footsteps approaching the door, she had braced herself for a direct attack, she had stood directly in front of the door with an aim to attack the masked man immediately the door opened, it was only when she heard the keys turning on the lock that she had thought about standing at a vantage position behind the door so she could at least use the door as a weapon by pushing hard at the intruder, she had barely sidestepped from her position when the bullets came through the door, she had screamed and fallen on the floor more out of fear than anything, it was only when she hit the ground and he opened the door that she saw her opportunity and pretended she was hit.

She really couldn’t believe her luck, it was certain that she wasn’t meant to die that day. She would have run for over ten minutes when she suddenly hit a high way, she practically ran into the road and was almost hit by a salon car. The side of the car hit her as she fell on the side of the road, the driver parked his car and moved quickly towards her, he helped her to a sitting position she couldn’t say much, she was still trying to catch her breath, but the man could understand that someone was chasing her, he looked towards the direction that she pointed at, he suspected it was a case of ritual kidnap, he carried her quickly into his car, he started his car, just then he observed he had dropped his wallet, probably it had dropped when he was trying to pick her up, he got out of the car, the engine was still running, he saw the wallet laying on the floor at the same spot where he had picked her up and he went back for it.

Ann continued to look at him from the rear view mirror, He stooped to pick up the wallet, she wished he could move faster and just then she heard the shot, it was a head shot, delivered perfectly, she watched the man fall in slow motion. She didn’t need a sorcerer to tell her, she knew he was dead even before he hit the floor. Just then the masked man appeared from the bush, he still had the pistol in his hands, and he was running towards Ann.

Ann knew her life was in her hands now, She moved quickly and sat on the driver’s seat of the car, the engine was still running, she locked the driver’s side door as two bullets hit the wind shield breaking it, she didn’t bother to look back, she stepped on the clutch and put the gear lever on reverse, she hit the accelerator and moved with speed.

The masked man didn’t anticipate the sudden move, he wasn’t so fast but he moved all the same, the car hit him and threw him off the road, he staggered and tried to stand up. He was hit but not very severely. Ann wasn’t willing to take chances. Now the masked man was in front of her, he tried to stagger to a standing position, he still had the pistol in his hands, as he raised it, Ann pushed the gear lever forward and stepped even harder on the accelerator, she didn’t care about anything anymore. As he fired a shot, the car hit him, the speed was crushing. His body flew into midair and hit the ground with a mighty thud.

Ann could tell he was dead, she ran out of the car and ran to his body, he was still breathing but she knew he was only a few seconds away from death, there was blood all over his shirt, she ripped off the mask and couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the face behind the mask.

She whispered his name in shock

He was dying now, he muttered in pain ‘I am sorry Ann. She was going to kill my only son. I did what I had to do’

He coughed painfully and those were his last words

Ann couldn’t make any sense out of it, who was ‘she’ that he mentioned? What was he even talking about? She laid there holding him as the tears dropped from her eyes, she couldn’t believe it, and she didn’t even know what to think. She had just killed Detective Usuman.

 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Amber Rose

 

Ali understood what he had to do, the message was clear, the rat wanted him to give himself up to the police without a fight and be executed for what he didn’t do. Somehow the rat wanted him to play Jesus.

In the bible verse he had read, The Ethiopian eunuch had explained how Jesus had given up himself willingly to be crucified for a sin he didn’t commit with the hope of saving mankind. Now the rat wanted him to give himself up for the murder of the early risers with the hope of saving Ann’s life.

It was late already, his phone battery had died too, he had no way of getting to the rat now, he knew he had to turn himself in first thing the next morning, he knew the rat would be waiting for him and he knew the consequences if he didn’t. He couldn’t sleep that night, he practically paced all through the night. If only he still had his phone on, he would have called detective Usuman, he still couldn’t understand why detective Usuman had acted that way when he saw him, he was quite sure detective Usuman had plans for him. He changed his mind, he wasn’t going straight to the police the next day, he was going to go to detective Usuman and hopefully they would work something out before he turned himself in.

It was 7am at Keidi Hospital, the hospital wasn’t so busy that morning, there were a few people moving around, mostly cleaners and matrons though. This was the same hospital that Detective Hafiz and Becky had been brought to the previous day. Becky was responding rather quickly to treatment, while Detective Hafiz remained in a state of unconsciousness. They were kept in different private wards and were under surveillance by a team of policemen as Becky’s character was still undetermined at that point and there had to be a sort of protection for her and the detective pending when Ali was recaptured by the police. Those were the orders from the area command. There were two policemen assigned to each ward.

The receptionist at the front desk of Keidi Hospital smiled broadly as the lady standing in front of her introduced herself as Amber Rose. Amber Rose was a very popular journalist and free-lance writer for many major magazines and Newspaper Company in Jos and though a large number of people knew her name, only a few really knew what she looked like. The receptionist was rather overjoyed to meet with Amber Rose face to face. She happened to be one of those that didn’t know what Amber Rose looked like physically, so she certainly couldn’t tell that the person that stood before her having Amber Rose’s Id card was certainly not Amber Rose, if she had known that, then she would have certainly taken a better look at the Id card and maybe would have been able to tell that the picture on the ID looked slightly different from the person that was standing in front of her. And maybe she would have raised an alarm and just maybe they would have discovered that the real Amber Rose was lying in the boot of her own car, mouth gagged and hands tied behind her back seeking for help that wasn’t forthcoming.

Amber Rose needed to speak with the resident doctor of the hospital, one quick call and she was on the way up to Doctor Jude’s office. Doctor Jude was another man who didn’t know what Amber Rose looked like, He welcomed her into his office and despite the fact that it was against company’s procedure he agreed to allow her have a three minutes quick session with one of the policemen guarding Becky’s ward. One wouldn’t blame the doctor though, Amber Rose’s charm was quite irresistible and he had probably thought to himself that no one had to know, she only sought some internal information so she would have a lead story before other journalists came up to speed on the murderous Journalist saga.

The ward where Becky was kept was classified and only Doctor Jude, aside some members of the police force had clearance to access the ward. Doctor Jude led her down the hall way, to the secured room. Amber Rose was quick to observe the door at the end of the hall way, she knew it led outside the hospital, which was going to be her get away route. Doctor Jude stopped at a door and knocked. A cop opened the door and that was the last thing he did in his life, a bright red hole appeared on his forehead as he dropped to the ground, the gun made no sound, it was silenced, the doctor turned quickly, but a noiseless bullet to the stomach at very close range brought him down. There was another cop in the room, he knew the sound of a gun even though it was silenced, he moved quickly but Amber Rose was faster. She was a trained assassin, the bullet caught him before he even raised his gun and he went down too.

Amber Rose had no time to waste, she pulled the body of the doctor and the policeman into the room, and she went straight for Becky. Becky’s eyes were opened already. She smiled when she saw her rescuer, she mouthed the words softy ‘I knew you would come for me’

In a few minutes, Amber Rose had removed all the medical equipment that held Becky to the bed, she helped Becky to a standing position, Becky could walk and she supported Becky as they made their way out of the hospital. They were going to take the back route, they were almost at the door when she heard the voice behind her

‘Hey Hold it right there’

She turned swiftly and saw another cop, he was probably one of the cops guarding Detective Hafiz’s ward, He immediately guessed there was trouble as he saw Becky, he raised his pistol but Amber Rose was faster, he went down fast but not before releasing a shot. The shot was loud and deafening. Amber Rose knew she had to leave at that moment, she wasn’t ready to contend with a team of policemen, she turned and as they made to cross the door way, she heard the gun shots from behind her, She turned quickly and two bullets got the shooter down, It was another cop, he was down but he had already done an irreversible damage.

Becky was hit in two places and she was dead, Amber Rose starred at Becky’s lifeless body in shock, she couldn’t believe her eyes, she felt the tears coming, she couldn’t bear to leave Becky’s lifeless body behind and just then she heard the alarm, she knew if she wanted to get out safely, she had to go at that moment and she certainly couldn’t escape carrying Becky’s corpse. She ran out through the back door, she knew her way. By the time the police backup got to the hospital, she was long gone.

 

 

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Jacqueline

 

Ali was back in the lively part of the city, he got into a shopping mall to get a charger for his phone, he needed to call Detective Usuman at that moment, time was fast running out, he was trying to have a conversation with the young lady at the desk when he heard a voice from behind him ‘put your hands where I can see them and turn around slowly’

He turned around slowly and saw a cop pointing a gun at him, ‘Put your hands up’ the cop barked even louder. He looked up at the cop, the cop was visibly shaking, and obviously he had received reports that Ali was a vicious murderer. Ali was in no mood to resist arrest and at the same time, he didn’t want to be murdered by a scared cop in the name of accidental discharge. He ignored every instinct to play superman at that point. After all that was what the rat wanted, he raised his hands above his head as The policeman instructed, two other cops rushed into the mall, they had their pistols drawn too, they rushed him and forced him on the ground as they forced his hands behind his back and handcuffed him.

In a few minutes, they were driving down the road, this was the second time in the space of two days that he was being arrested.

The policemen that sat in the car with him appeared rather overjoyed, they felt satisfied, they had arrested a menace to society, it was as they drove away that he understood that the cop that had arrested him had tailed him for over thirty minutes, he had first stumbled on the cop earlier that morning and somehow the cop had acted like he didn’t recognize him, he never knew the cop had tailed him from that point and subsequently requested back up.

He didn’t care though, the rat wanted him to give his life for Ann, and he had to play by the rules until he saw a light. He was very hopeful that detective Usuman would show up, that was the only hope he had now.

The policemen drove him straight to the area command and right there another drama was unfolding. The area command was teaming with cops, Ali knew something had definitely gone wrong, the cops that brought him in, handed him to another cop who transferred him directly to an empty room and locked him in. it was more like they weren’t sure what to with him.

Ali would have been in the room for over three hours before he heard the door open from outside and a plain clothes detective entered the room and behind him was the last person Ali expected to see.

Ali didn’t know when he shouted more out of joy than of surprise

‘Ann’

Ann rushed towards him and hugged him as she began to sob softly

He held on to her very strongly like his whole life depended on the hug at that moment.

‘Okay, Mr. Ali I could say you are in luck today as your girlfriend here just provided some rather shocking evidences that are pointing to the fact that you might not be responsible for the murders after all and detective Hafiz after regaining consciousness back at the hospital has also provided some rather strange testimonies too’

It was the detective that spoke, Ali couldn’t understand, he turned towards the detective and responded

‘But how do you mean?’

The detective regarded him for a moment and responded

‘I guess you both should come to my office, we do have a lot to catch up on and you Ali you have a lot to tell us also’

After about an hour in the detective’s office, after Ali, Ann and The detective himself had shared their own parts of the puzzle, everything began to add up, the story began to make more sense.

The rat was actually the initiator of the whole scheme, somehow it seemed she needed someone to be her executioner, she certainly didn’t like to be on the field, so she enlisted detective Usuman by kidnapping him and threatening to murder his son, if he didn’t follow through with her plans. Investigations and theories further revealed that detective Usuman was the one that actually carried out Ann’s kidnap and the murders that followed. Becky on the other hand was a strange character that they still couldn’t place in the scheme but it was quite obvious that she was important to the rat because the rat had tried to save her and consequently lost her in the process leaving in her trail two dead policemen and three others including the doctor seriously injured. The motive was still unclear but from Ali’s narration it was obvious that the rat and Becky had a personal vendetta against Ali and somehow Ali felt strongly that it had something to do with Jason.

The unanswered question that continued to play in Ali’s head was why she didn’t just go ahead to kill him because she certainly would have succeeded if she wanted to, why did she have to go through all the stress of setting him up?

Ann had an answer to that, she was certain, the rat wanted to use Ali as an example and probably destroy all the reputation he had built. It would of course have been an irony if the glorified journalist and savior of Jos had suddenly become the murderous journalist sentenced to death by the same people that he had once saved.

Ali had a weird thought, the whole experience kept bringing the man Jesus to his head, what was the rat trying to do, was she actually trying to create her own version of the story of Jesus?

The detective permitted Ali to leave but insisted Ali remained within reach as he hadn’t been entirely cleared since investigations were still going on, he also didn’t fail to mention that they still had reasons to be concerned for their safety and as such, they were going to lodge them in an undisclosed hotel for the night and then would deploy some security guards to their house the next day for security reasons pending when the rat was apprehended.

It was a few minutes past 10pm when Ali and Ann rode on a private car and stopped in front of Peak hotels. They got out of the cab and entered the hotel as they entered the hotel, Jacqueline for that was the name of the rat got out of the red salon car, it was the same car that she had made detective Usuman use for all the operations he undertook for her. She cursed softly under her breath, she wasn’t interested in creating a story anymore, she was going to murder the couple and she was going to make a lesson out of them. She had to make them feel the hurt that she felt when Becky was taken from her. Becky was her prodigy, her very own disciple. She had trained Becky personally at the institute. Jason was her mentor, she always looked up to him, Jason’s death came as a shock but it was more of an insult to her that a mere journalist murdered her mentor. She had taken it personally, she had sworn to make another bible story out of Ali.

That was her style, she grew up as a witness of Jehovah as a kid, which was when she developed interests in bible stories. The institute had found her and trained her when her parents were murdered by a rival institute. She had since avenged her parents, she smiled when she remembered the bible story she had reenacted then, she had done with them Sodom and Gomorrah. After then she had killed many others but never without a good bible story to follow. She had planned the same with Ali, she was even going to honor him with the story of the Man Jesus and yet he had been so foolish and his foolishness had caused her to lose her beloved Becky.

Becky was thoroughly addicted to Jason, she practically worshipped him like a God, She had asked Becky to allow her take care of Ali, but Becky was stubborn and hot headed, She had allowed Becky to have her way after all, Becky had even made her a bet that she would get to Ali before her, It hurt her so much that Becky was gone.

Jacqueline got into the hotel and watched the couple climb up the stairs, she went to the receptionist, she asked for a room and as she gave her fake details to the receptionist, she spied the hotel register and noted the room that Ali and Ann had taken.

She paid for her room and walked up the stairs, they were on the same floor, and she opened the door to her room and settled in. She was going to strike at midnight, she smiled when she remembered the part of the bible that mentioned something about the man Jesus coming like a thief in the night, somehow she just couldn’t get biblical stuff off her head. She was a witness to the core as a kid, she still believed she was a witness, after all she recreated bible stories in her own special way

She laid down as she reveled in her plans for that night. She was going to send a message and this one was going to be very loud.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY

Grand Finale

 

‘Ali, I think there is someone in this room’

Ali woke up as Ann tapped him softly, the room was dark, Ann whispered softly to him again

‘I think there is someone in this room with us’

Ali found that impossible to believe, he reached quickly for the light switch that was close to the bed post and switched it on, the room became bright and as they adjusted their eyes to the intensity of the light, their eyes could also pick up the image of a beautiful lady sitting on the table just beside the bed where they lay.

Ann’s first reaction was to shout but she caught herself midway when the lady held her left index finger to her lips and her right hand produced a pistol.

Ali was quick to note that the pistol didn’t have a silencer on, somehow he knew this wasn’t meant to be a quiet murder, it seemed the stranger wanted to pass a message to everyone in the hotel that night.

In the few minutes of silence, he mentally took down details. She had on a black jeans, a black t shirt and a pair of black sneakers, she had a hood over her head. She was dark in complexion and beautiful, she wasn’t so young though but she was very beautiful. She could pass for a model and somehow she reminded Ali of Becky.

Ali was still trying to process the image he saw when she interrupted his thoughts

‘Two little black birds hugging on the sheets, along came another and turned the sheets red with their blood’

She rose from the table and moved a little closer to the couple

‘Call me Jacqueline, Let’s just say ‘I am the judgement of God upon you’ she turned to Ali ‘you are quite familiar with that part of the bible that says something about the wicked never going unpunished right?’

Ali ignored her, he was deep in thoughts, and he knew the end had come for him but he didn’t want to go down like a handicap, he wasn’t going to allow this Jacqueline or whatever she called herself take him out without a fight.

Jacqueline turned towards Ann

‘Hi sweetheart, I am sorry to have got you involved in all these in the first place, it was meant to be a super story, come on, the savior of the city becomes the terror of the city, the headlines would have been really catchy, and more importantly for me it would have been a truly wonderful replication of the story of the man Jesus who died to save others for the people he loved. All your man needed to do was die for you for a sin he never committed and we would have all lived happily ever after, although I am not quite sure if you would have lived though’

She laughed softly and continued ‘allow me introduce myself some more, my name is Jacqueline and I am a friend of Jason, Jason sends his greetings, anyway you would be meeting him soon’ she suddenly tweaked her voice and spoke

'I heard you are very smart, let us play a game of cat and mouse, you be the cat, I will be the mouse, if you find me you win, if you don't, let's just say the cost would be in lives'

 

Ali and Ann stared at her as her voice quickly changed from the feminine voice to a deep masculine voice, the same voice Ali had become used to over the phone. She smiled as she watched the expression on their faces, she was certainly having fun.

‘Let’s just say Jason was my mentor and in the academy if your mentor suddenly drops dead, you are duty bound to avenge your mentor, so I could say Jason was nothing personal, I was only upholding the creed but you made it personal when Kimani turned up dead’

Ali spoke softly, ‘you mean Becky’

Jacqueline nodded softly, ‘yea, I guess she was Becky to you’

Ali continued ‘but Becky wasn’t my fault’

Jacqueline smiled, ‘indeed, let me tell you about Kimani, Kimani was Jason’s girl, she wanted you as badly as I did, she couldn’t wait for my movie to play out, she was always hot headed, I let her have her way, I didn’t care who got to you first, all that mattered was for you to turn up dead. You refused to turn up dead, your stubbornness cost me Kimani and I guess now you understand why you do not deserve to be a part of this world. She pointed the trigger at Ann, maybe I should take her away from you just the way you took Kimani away from me, she smiled and caressed the trigger softly, she was still enjoying her show when Ali dived for the switch and turned it off.

Jacqueline pressed the trigger, Ali was hit but the room went dark, the sound of the pistol was very loud, Jacqueline knew she had limited time before the police showed up.

Jacqueline moved quickly but Ann moved quickly too. As Jacqueline hit the light switch again, the room was lit, but Ann had vanished. Ali was groaning in pain, the bullet had caught him on his right arm, he was fast losing blood, Jacqueline smiled, and she raised the pistol to his head. She wasn’t taking any chances, just before she pressed the trigger, she observed Ali smiling, and she paused for a while as she wondered what was amusing

‘You think death is funny right?’

Ali smiled and spoke painfully ‘No, I just observed that just like Jason, you lose again’

she suddenly heard the footstep from behind her, she turned just in time to see Ann running towards her from the bathroom but that was also a distraction, in that split moment of distraction, she didn’t see when the cop rolled out from under the bed with his pistol facing her, as she attempted to pull the trigger on Ann, she caught sight of the cop but it was too late, she didn’t hear the sound of the gun, it was a head shot, the surprise was glued to her face as she sunk down to the ground, kneel first before her body crumbled alongside. She was dead before she hit the ground.

Ann rushed towards Ali as the cop made calls for back up and emergency rescue team. Ali was fast losing blood, he had been severely hit, and Ann was all over him. She didn’t have tears in her eyes. She was strong like that. She kept repeating in his ears, don’t you dare leave me, don’t you dare leave me.

As Ann hugged Ali closely all he could think about was the last few minutes at the police area command when Ann had convinced him into allowing the police force sneak an agent into their hotel room, he had stood against it under the strong assumption that the rat wouldn’t be so careless to stage another attack that same day but Ann had stubbornly prevailed and that stubbornness had saved their lives. He stared into her eyes as she continued to whisper words he couldn’t decipher, His shoulder and right arm hurt badly, he was losing blood quickly, he felt the life slowly draining out of him as he closed his eyes.

It was a few minutes later, when other members of the special anti-crime unit showed up alongside the medical team. Ali was quickly rushed into the ambulance, Ann stubbornly refused to let him be, she got into the ambulance with him and sat beside him all through the ride to the hospital. She continued repeating the same words ‘don’t you dare leave me, don’t you dare leave me’

 

 

 

 

EPILOGUE

 

It was three months after the whole Jaqueline and Becky episode, Ali was back to work. But this time, he knew better than to publish the story, Jacqueline had taught him a bitter lesson, It took over two months for him to heal completely, his right arm still ached a little but he was back to work.

Jacqueline’s story didn’t receive as much publicity as Jason’s story, even the police knew better than to publicize this one, they understood that not all news deserved publicity especially for Ali’s sake.

Ali was working late at the office that night, when his phone rang, he looked at the screen and discovered that the caller ID was private.

Sudden fear gripped him, his mind immediately went back to Jason and Jacqueline, he wasn’t ready to go through that saga again, and his hand was trembling when he answered the call

‘Hello, Ali, I want to play a game’

Ali smiled when he heard the voice, though it sounded masculine, he knew who it was, he responded

‘Hello, Ann, You be the rat and let me be the cat’

Ann laughed over the phone

‘I thought to scare you a little, just thought to check on you’

The conversation continued for a little while and when Ali ended the call, the smile on his face lingered for a few seconds, he opened one of the drawers in the filing cabinet and got out the little golden rectangular case, he opened the case, and the gold ring was lying there. He smiled and closed the case again.

He was going to propose to Ann that night.

 

The End

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

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