The next morning, Osi was full of mixed feelings as he watched his team drive off.
The deacon seemed indifferent to him staying and Osi suspected he must have called the Reverend with the news already. Good thing he had thought ahead.
The Reverend hadn't objected when Osi had called him last night, he had listened patiently and said "hmmm...whatever you feel in your heart you should do, do but remember you have a youth church to run"
Now Osi stared into the distance after the bus as the dust
from the tires settled.
He would miss his friends. He was already missing Greg's gentle but solid personality, Ovie's playful but direct attitude and Bukky's caring nature.
And even Samuel, he would miss the driver's presence. And strange but he just might miss the deacon's sarcastic and vile nature.
But now it was time for work, operation expose the devil was underway and he was to tackle the Paul chapter.
Amara knew he would pass by sooner or later...preferably sooner. The European was frequently seen in the market square mingling with people.
So even though she wasn't with any money, she moved around. It was a market day and the market was crowded as usual. She was tempted to buy some foodstuffs and considered running home to get money but she decided not to risk it.
"Amara...check out this anteater....my traps caught it this very morning...let me cut it open for you and you prepare pepper soup for Dé"
Benedict the butcher called out from his stall as she passed by.
She smiled and walked towards it. The bushmeat in question was unquestionably big.
"I would have but I didn't come with any money"
"You know what, its not everything that you sell..let's call it a gift"
"Wow..thank you Benedict...it would be a pleasant surprise for Dé Nwachukwu when he gets back...I'm already thinking of the spices I'd get"
The butcher smiled as he sharpened his knives. "No problem, so how are you?"
"I'm fine...I'll be right back please" she dashed away from his hall causing him to frown.
She had seen the pale white skin that could only belong to Steve and she dashed after the European.
"Stevenson...." He stopped and turned when he heard his name and she smiled.
"Steve...how are you doing. I hardly see you around nowadays"
He seemed surprised but pleased. She never went out of her way to talk to him like this before.
"I'm fine..I saw you yesterday at the Virgil...anyway how's your father?"
"He's fine...but Steve I need your help" she pouted her lips
slightly.
"My help? Walk with me" he took her hand, enveloping it in his 'king Kong' like hand "I'd be glad to help you in anyway that I can"
"Oh...thank you...the thing is I'd like you to coach me just for today and tomorrow there's this competition I entered in the next village and I'd like to win"
"Oh....a writing competition?"
"Yes..essay writing"
"No problem dear...just take it that you've won already" he surprised her by bringing her hand to his face and brushing his lips against her knuckles.
"So how do we do it...you come to my place later today...."
She winced "Actually this is where I really really need your kind heart...you see my father would never agree and I won't be able to sneak out either...I would deeply appreciate it if you could come over instead"
He thought about it for only a second. "Hmm...no problems..the honour is mine. So what time would be convenient for you?"
Amara smiled. This was easier than she had thought.
Following the directions Amara had given him, Osi located Paul's house easily.
He met an elderly woman outside peeling groundnut in a basket.
He greeted her and told her he was here to see Paul who he presumed was her son.
His luck was in because it seemed the young man had been preparing to go out. When he came outside he was already dressed and Osi couldn't help wondering why he was always wearing the leather jacket even under the scorching sun. He also noticed it was far from a second hand piece.
"What's this about?" The man frowned as he shook his hand reluctantly.
Osi decided to play it tough and hard. "This is about yesterday...during the Virgil..." He didn't need to say any more because the man pulled him away from his mother whose ears no doubt received audio signals like a satellite dish.
"What about yesterday" Paul asked when they were a safe distance away.
"Oh...so you still need to ask?"
The man sighed. "I knew somebody must have seen me..."
Osi couldn't believe his ears...It sounded like a confession.
"Oh..so you admit you killed Okudili?"
"What! I did no such thing...I arrived the Virgil almost at the end and heard some kind of noise...I investigated it and stumbled upon the body...I tried to check for his pulse but I found out he literally didn't have one"
Osi narrowed his eyes at the young man. That would explain the blood stain but he didn't know if he should believe him. He got mixed feelings..not really believing him yet not really doubting the story."
His phone rang out just in time. The fake call he had set 8 minutes ago had come in.
"Excuse me..." He picked the call and listened to the recorded
message. Thinking how unfortunate it would be if he should get a real call just now.
"Hello...listen to me...I'll be in port Harcourt soon enough...can you hear me....I said..hello?..hello?..." The 20 second recording had finished and he held his phone up muttering "this network is too bad...." He shielded the phone with his hand as if blocking the sun but the truth was he wanted to get the young man's face perfectly in his camera.
Paul was looking sideways, frowning and watching his mother.
"Sorry for the interruption...I'm trying to call him back" Osi applpgized and the man looked at him just as he had hoped. He clicked the side button freezing Paul's face in the picture but the shutter made a snapping sound. Oh! He had totally forgotten about the sound and failed to consider it.
"Did you just snap me?" Paul asked suspiciously. He sounded like he couldn't believe it.
"Snap you? What for? What do I need your pic- oh...you heard that sound... That's my incoming message alert" even as he spoke with the phone at his side he clicked the button once more repeating the shutter sound.
"You see....this network self...because you don't have credit they would send you a million messages!" He thought that was a sharp retreat.
Paul seemed to believe it anyway, "please are we done here...I need to rush of to somewhere"
"No we are not..." He returned the phone to his pocket. "We're not done...there's no one to back up your claims and besides the person who saw you put it differently"
"What...so it wasn't Amara that told you?"
"Amara?...no someone saw you mister man and he put it a little differently"
"That's a lie...I only bent over the body for some seconds"
"Be that as it may, the fact remains you're a chief suspect...the only suspect and even if you're innocent the fact still remains that you messed with a crime scene"
"Crime scene?" The young man scoffed "so what are you going to do about it you're not a police man"
"Amara you just don't get tired do you? I never knew you were a LovePeddler..but it seems you don't get tired of attention"
Amara couldn't understand what her friend was saying. Oluchi had stormed into the compound breathing fire.
"What..what do you mean..how can you call me a LovePeddler Oluchi?"
"From Paul...you played with his emotions, turned him upside down to something else and then to the tall pastor but now to Steve...Steve too? Even when you know I like him...I can't believe you!"
Amara was confused "I don't....I don't still understand you..."
"Oh please...spare me I was in the market today..if anybody had told me I won't have believed but I saw it with my own eyes"
"Oh....I only asked him to teach me something"
"Amara you were flirting at him, smiling and just....." Her friend threw her hands up "you surprised me...you disappointed me!"
"Believe me the flirting was unintentional, or to be truthful it was intentional although intended for another reason altogether.
But her friend couldn't wouldn't understand.
So now Amara sat under the mango tree in her father's favourite spot and replayed the encounter. She expected her friend to come around, they had come too far for this kind of issue to last.
She was surprised when Osi walked into the compound. The gate must have been left open when Oluchi had stormed out. She hoped her sister hadn't sneaked out. Their father had since lifted the curfew being convinced the killer had been buried and the gods would not 'vomit' the body.
But Amara was sure the killer was still on the lose and had placed a personal restraining order forbidding her sister to move about alone.
"Osi...did you see my sister on the way?"
"No she's outside the gate with some of her friends"
She gave a sigh of relief "I'm sorry...good morning or good afternoon"
He checked his watch "its just noon now...how are you?"
"I'm fine...and you? I heard the crusaders had gone back"
"Yes...this morning"
She nodded "did you see Paul? Did it work..?"
"Yes I left him not long ago.." Osi brought out his phone
"yep...I got his picture...just look at that frown"
She checked it and giggled it was Paul alright....in one of his sour moods. Anyone who sees it can tell.
"What did he say about the blood stain?"
"That he stumbled on the body in the dark..I accused him outright but he denied vehemently"
"Do you believe him?"
"That's the strange thing...I'm not really sure..that young man also has something up his sleeve"
"So when are you going to the neighbouring village?"
"I was thinking maybe later today or early tomorrow but that depends on your success with the European"
"Well...he agreed to come over whenever it would be convenient for me...those were his words I believe"
"Convenient for you....but he's the one doing you the favour now..."
Amara just shrugged.
"In any case...I'd need you to hold him for about an hour this evening while I snoop through his things"
"Again?" She sounded scared
"Yes I have to check for the letter and uncover whatever it is he's hiding"
"If he catches you this time he might kill you out of rage"
"That's why I need you to make sure he doesn't come home
early"
"No problem..I'd try and delay him for as long as possible. But I think we should work with the timeframe of an hour"
"I agree..that's more than enough"
"So what about Paul, when do you intend to do some digging?"
"By tomorrow...today is for the European, tomorrow is for Paul"
"Be careful Osi.. I have a feeling we're playing a dangerous game"
"You're right Amara" he took her hand "but this is no game...its life and death"
The village was already ripe with the news that the crusaders had left for their Town but the tall pastor had remained. It seemed he had fallen in love with Amaife.
One thing the devil knew was that the people could be very welcoming, the same way they could be very hostile. Still he planned to have Amara THIS week. There was no two ways about it, before weekend he planned to be remembering and reliving the sweet experience of drilling the innocent beauty. And there was no way the pastor could stop him.
To be continued...
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