My head began to work. I pondered over the clues long and hard. Poison
is a woman's weapon. Cowardly for a man. And for some reasons, I think
Mercy could have done this. A man would rather send assassins to
eliminate their target or device other means that are more physical in
approach and be done with it.
Although a number of this weren't
connecting yet, I now see a motive. A rather strong motive. Unemployment
in this country is a tale that even rural rats in far away Australia
hear about. And the rate of this unemployment must be frightening for
these graduates who schooled abroad and must return home after their
academic stay there. Everyone would like to return home and hit the
ground running. So it seems logical that some people might be making a
few quids off these set of job seekers. And in the black market,
everything sells as commodities. Maybe a few thousand dollars? Quite
some money if you ask me.
But again, while Efe spoke he mentioned
something like "...much like a story you've heard before." I could feel
there was more than just the money. Mr Sanya. An odd fish in the
kettle.
He once dated a lady in the office. It was his case that
began the policy of no dating among colleagues in the firm. But what has
that got to do with anything?
I recalled Isa. Suddenly bought
himself a new okada. And the clothes he wore looked new too. Signs of
money. Everything new at the same time. Sudden money. It occurred to me
that he probably got paid for his role by his 'contractor'. Can his
account tell anything sinister? How possible is it that the detectives
get a print of his account details? Hmmm...
Connecting the dots
was pulsating. The permutations and combinations of events juxtaposed
with intentions and motives seemed like something I needed to ruminate
over with someone. I should have to see the officers in charge.
I
went to Ada's that evening but didn't mention my encounter with the
masked text sender. We had some fun that evening and I was glad Ada was
back to her real self. But of course, the shock of the incident has no
totally left her. We played and kissed. After a while, I asked her to
tell me about Mr Sanya and the lady he was dating. She did. And at the
end of it, I saw another motive. Vengeance.
The lady had been sacked. And Mr Sanya had taken it very personal and blamed Ada for being on the MD's side.
Yet,
in my view and although I can not be a judge in my own case, I thought
the circumstances aren't exactly the same. They both connived and
defrauded the company.
And for a moment I wondered why the MD kept a
man with a bitter blood against him around him. Well, I guess same
reasons as he preferred Ada stayed and I left. One of reasons being the
company's investments on the senior staff. Trainings, conferences,
seminars, professional bodies affiliations, many of which the company
was responsible for. Gaining and retaining knowledge.
And so, Ada
has become guilty of same crime and although he was ironically part of
the disciplinary committee, he watched as I and Ada were being given
options. Unlike his case where they had no options. And perhaps, this
infuriated him more.
Vengeance and money is a bloody motive to kill
for. Well, except I heard his side of the story, that vengeance part is
what I really do not grasp.
I called Detective James that night when I got home and...
The
next morning I left the office to see him. He was excited to see me for
some reason. Then I got to know, Isa was co-operating. He has presently
been released.
We settled down to ruminate over what I had gathered. He listened to me first and agreed to some suggestions.
He
arranged to have a copy of Isa's statement of account. First, to
ascertain if he had received any suspicious money recently, how much and
who paid it in.
By afternoon, he called. Isa had received one
hundred and fifty thousand naira the same day Ada had been poisoned. He
had paid it in by himself around 3:30pm. Well, at least that money could
explain the sudden acquisition of a bike and clothes.
This prompted
my next question: Was such an amount paid for just covering a camera
lens? I think not. Isa may be more into this than he is making it look.
The
detective thought it was time the next moved was made. I was in the
office when he arrived with two of his colleagues. They had come to
'invite' Mr Sanya over for a chat.
This sent shock across the
office. Mr Sanya looked as far away from all these as possible. His name
never came up anywhere close to the entire story. Nobody would think
him a suspect.
Yet underground fingers pointed to clever sly man who
plots but executes by proxy. A mastermind. Playing his foot soldiers
like pawns on a chess board.
At the station, Isa had been lured
back on the promise of having his statement torn. This was to accomplish
a purpose: let two of them see that they are being interrogated at the
same time in two different rooms. Each of them being promised reduced
punishment or no punishment at all if he tells what he knew about the
other person's involvement.
Mr Sanya was calm and looked a very
calculated man. He wasn't a man that much much but looked a man with
enough venom to poison obstacles to his plans.
At the end of the day, both were released.
The next day was the deciding day when precise arrests will be made and suspects charged with specific crimes.
But that same night, I my phone rang, I checked to see the caller. Detective James
"Good evening sir" I greeted him
"Stag something has happened. Isa is dead.
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