??Love and betrayal ??
?? ???????
??Episode 31A??
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From U.S Bah ❤✌?
Effe sits up slowly in bed.
She had gotten in late the previous night.
After Chris left she had wanted so much
to go and search for him and explain the
situation to him, but as always her work
had been an urgent factor she could not
ignore.
She had surgeries scheduled at the Eden
Hospital, and she had finished quite late.
Afterwards she had gone looking for him
everywhere she thought he could be, but
she had not seen him. Since her phone
was still not with her, she had used the
hospital phones to call him, but his phone
had been off. She went to his house a first time, and
then went there again late in the night,
but his door had been shut, and his next-
door neighbour had informed her Chris
had not come back since he left in the
morning. Effe had come back home almost close
to midnight, and had gone to her room
dejectedly.
She had experienced the worst night of
her life.
Sleep had failed her, and she had tossed and writhed on the bed for a long time,
and had finally drifted into a troubled
sleep at dawn.
But now, as she sits on the bed, she is
almost calm.
She is no longer wondering why she is hurting so much.
She now knows without any shred of
doubt that she is completely head over
heels in love with the strange taxi driver
who had slammed into her life at a time
she felt the world was ending. She knows that no matter what it takes,
no matter how long it takes, she is going
to find him, and she is going to make him
know that there is no man, and there will
never be any man, apart from him.
Slowly she becomes aware that there are loud voices coming from the living-room,
and she can hear her mother’s voice at
its most shrill.
Effe’s jaw ti-ghtens almost perceptively.
She is convinced that her mother might
be the br@in behind Chris’ sudden appearance at Steve’s residence the
previous day.
She heads to the bathroom and freshens
up quickly, and then she sli-ps into a
jeans and a blouse and descends to the
living-room area, intent on having the truth from her mother.
She comes to an abrupt stop on the
staircase and surveys the living-room
area.
Her parents are there, and so is Eyram.
There are two other men with them. And they are wearing police uniforms.
One of them is standing near the door,
feet apart, hands linked behind his back.
His cap is pulled low over his forehead.
He is a hu-ge, tall, muscle-bound man.
The other is in the uniform of a Chief Inspector.
He is short and slight, and has bloodshot
eyes that seem to rove continuously.
He is sitting beside Ken Kedem and
speaking, urgently whilst Ken shakes his
head almost continually. For no apparent reason, Effe feels very
scared instantly.
For no apparent reason she is convinced
that the presence of the policemen in her
house that early in the morning has
something to do with Chris. Eyram stands up quickly when she sees
Effe and climbs the stairs to stand in
front of her sister.
Her eyes are both scared and worried as
she looks at Effe’s strained face.
EFFE
(in an unsteady voice)
What’s going on here, Rammy?
EYRAM
Oh, Ef! Something really terrible
happened! Daddy lost an awful amount
of money yesterday. One hundred thousand Ghana cedis to be precise. It’s
the cost of some goods he imported for a
certain Alhaji Bimbilla. He gave the
money to Mom to deposit into an account
yesterday, and Mom claims she forgot
about it on the couch.
EFFE
(puzzled)
It got missing in this house? That can’t
be possible. No one’s a thief here!
EYRAM
(in a trembling voice)
Mom called the police. She says Chris
was here yesterday, and she left him in
the living-room alone. She’s convinced
Chris stole… no, no, I didn’t mean that,
Ef. Mom is saying Chris took the money!
EFFE
(outraged)
Preposterous!!
She steps past her sister and descends
to the living-room.
The Chief Inspector stands up and faces
her, and Effe sees for the very first time that the man has no hair on his face.
He has no moustache, no beard, no
sideburns and, shocking of all, no
eyebrows or eye-lashes.
It gives his face a very disorienting and
bizarre look that is absolutely unsettling. Effe instantly dislikes him furiously.
She faces him, but before she can speak
her Mom stands up quickly.
MADAM IVY
Chief, this is my other daughter, Effe.
Sweetheart, meet Chief Inspector Cuger Danso, and Sergeant Ato McBaiden.
Effe gives her mother a very hurt look,
and shakes her head with
disappointment.
EFFE
How could you, Mom? How could you? Chris is not a thief! He didn’t take that
money! Why are you doing this, anyway?
Why do you hate him so much?
The Chief Inspector holds up his hands,
and smiles slyly, but it does not reach his
eyes.
CUGER
Woah, Missy, relax. No one is calling Mr.
Bawa, or whatever his name is, a thief!
That is the work of a Judge. We’re just
here to investigate a robbery, and catch
the culprit if we can!
Effe turns to the man with furious eyes.
EFFE
(harshly)
And what exactly do you mean by
whatever his name is?
CUGER
(smiling slyly again as if he is greatly
enjoying himself)
I was in the process of explaining that to
your father when you came down. Would
you mind sitting down for a while, Missy?
Let’s all try and be calm as we try to solve this crime.
Effe walks to where her father is sitting
dejectedly. She looks earnestly at him.
EFFE
Please, Daddy, Chris didn’t steal that
money. I know that for a fact. I love him very much Dad! I want to spend the rest
of my life with him! He is a good person.
He is not a thief.
MADAM IVY
(angrily)
Don’t be stupid, Effe! That man is a criminal! He has put you un-der his spell,
hasn’t he?
EFFE
(looking at her coldly)
Mama, you and I will talk but not now!
Dad, Chris didn’t take that money!!
Ken Kedem’s eyes move from Effe to his
wife to the policeman, and he shakes his
head as if dazed.
KEN KEDEM
I was also quite furious at first when your
Mom said Chris could’ve taken the money, dear, but then the Chief
Inspector began saying all those horrible
things, and I got so confused!
EFFE
What? What did he say?
CUGER
(in a condescending voice)
Please, Ma’am, just take a seat and-
EFFE
(interrupting angrily)
I don’t nee-d to take a seat to listen to
you, do I? Besides, there’s nothing you can say to convince me Chris took that
money!
CUGER
(shaking his head un-derstandably)
I’m not surprised, Ma’am, that you feel
that way. Actually these have been the exact first sentiments of many women
who have fallen victims to that boy who
calls himself Chris Bawa, Clement Boat,
Charlie Boateng, Charm Biko, Claudius
Bawuah, Charles Baisie … always with
the CB initials. Everywhere he goes, all over Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, he
breaks women’s hearts because, excuse
my language, he is very good in bed and
can be very R0m-ntic. He uses that to
trap unsuspecting rich women!
The words shatter Effe so much that she begins to tremble. The Chief Inspector’s
words go straight to her heart, cutting her
up terribly, so terribly that tears spring to
her eyes, and she finds it ha-rd to breathe.
For a moment she is so dazed that she
totters on her feet, and her father reaches out to steady her, but she slowly
lowers herself into the seat beside him.
EFFE
(in a grave whisper)
What? What did you say?
The Chief Inspector sits down, and looks at Effe with fake emotion that does not
reach his eyes.
CUGER
The man you know as Chris Bawa is a
fake, a vicious criminal wanted all over
Africa by Interpol. The file on him is as hu-ge as a car. He preys on lonely
unsuspecting rich women. He doesn’t
care whether they’re married or not. It is
said that he is very good in bed and he
uses that to his advantage. He makes
women fall in love with him quickly. He wins their trust in no time. He introduces
himself as an orphan, or a cancer patient
with just a little time to live on earth, or a
man whose wife cheated on him and took
all his possessions! He has a lot of fake
stories that make women feel sorry for him. And then he takes their money and
vanishes into thin air! But he always uses
names that have CB initials. He is always
as-sisted by his girlfriend of many years
called Janet.
Effe shakes her head as if to ward off the terrible words from the policeman.
She can’t believe it!
She can’t accept it!
Lord, no, not Chris!
But she remembers him telling her about
his sad life at the orphanage, how he had fled from one Sweet Ama Baby, the evil
woman who had introduced him to child
prostitution!
She remembers how he told her the
orphanage had burnt down at one time,
and his friend Janet had perished! Chris Bawa!
Can it be true? Could he have played her
so smoothly, so completely and made her
fall so ha-rd in love with him?
Effe’s mind goes to his pained
expression when he had seen her with Steve. She was sure he had been
genuinely devastated! Can he feign
feelings like that?
EFFE
No, no, no, no!! That can’t be true! That
can’t be true!! You’re lying!
CUGER
(shaking his head sadly)
Unfortunately, it is all true. I didn’t mean
to hurt you like this, Ma’am, but whatever
that boy has said to you, they are all
vicious lies. I can get you the addresses and phone numbers of the numerous
women he has used and ruined here in
Ghana. Sometimes some of his
escapades have ended tragically. So far,
seven women have committed suicide
because of his nefarious activities. Two in South Africa, two in Nigeria, one in
Ghana, one in Togo, one in-
Effe clamps her hands to her ears.
EFFE
Shut up, shut up, shut up, please shut up!
Madam Ivy’s hands curl into angry fists as she kneels beside Effe.
MADAM IVY
I knew he was filth the moment I set eyes
on him! He’s going to pay for this, dear,
believe me!
KEN KEDEM
My God! That boy is a demon!
Eyram sits beside her sister. She can’t
bear the agony on Effe’s face.
Effe avoids her mother’s hands and
instead she goes into Eyram’s arms.
As her crushed soul explodes out in agonized tears, Eyram holds her and her
hatred for the boy called Chris Bawa
grows into mountains.
CUGER
Your mother reported the theft of the one
hundred thousand Ghana cedis, but when she mentioned Chris Bawa the
case was transferred to me, since her
description matched some of his
descriptions on his Interpol profile. He’s a
master of disguise, but fortunately we
had a tip-off, and some of my men are working on it as I speak. We’ll have him
soon, I promise you.
Eyram looks at the Chief Inspector with
distaste.
EYRAM
That’s okay for now, Sir. My sister is hurting, and we’ll sure give you any help
we can, but for now, could we please get
some privacy?
CUGER
(shaking his head sadly)
I un-derstand what your sister is going throu-gh, Ma’am, but we nee-d a
statement from her, especially when
things are fresh in her mind. Any
information she can give us would help
greatly in arresting this infidel!
Effe sits up and glares angrily at the man with tears streaming down her face.
EFFE
Please, kindly leave, would you? I’m not
giving you any information now. I don’t
have anything to say.
MADAM IVY
Come on, dear! That b—–d nee-ds to be
arrested! He’ll only find other victims to
destroy! That fool! I should have killed
him when I laid eyes on ……
EFFE
Mama!
EYRAM
Mama!
KEN KEDEM
Ease off, dear! The poor girl is hurting
already!
Madam Ivy sets her jaw angrily, but just then the Chief Inspector’s phone rings,
and he puts it to his ear, listens, walks
away from them and speaks softly.
When he comes back his face is grim.
CUGER
Good news. Looks like someone’s cu-p is full. My men traced Chris and his
girlfriend to a secret location at Ablorh-
Adjei. I told them to hold off until I get
there. We’re going to arrest him now.
Effe gets to her feet and quickly wipes
her tears from her face.
EFFE
I’m coming with you.
The Chief Inspector shakes his head.
CUGER
I don’t think that’s advisable, Ma’am.
Let’s get him and take him to the station, then you can come around.
EFFE
No. I want to see him, now. I want to see
you arrest him. I want to talk to him
before you arrest him. I want to be sure.
KEN KEDEM
My dear, I think the Inspector is right. If
this man is who they say he is, he can be
dangerous. He is a thief. He stole my
money, and he could do worse things.
EFFE
I’m going to see him, Daddy!
The Chief Inspector shrugs.
CUGER
Okay, Ma’am. You can come with us, but
remember to do as I tell you.
They all leave the house.
Effe rides in the back of the posh police Nissan pick-up with Eyram and her
mother.
In the front are Sergeant McBaiden, who
is driving, and Chief Inspector Cuger.
Chief Cuger constantly speaks into his
walkie-talkie as they drive, issuing out instructions.
Effe is silent as her heart bleeds. She is
in de-ep agony, and she feels that if it
turns out that all the terrible things the
Chief had said are true, she will certainly
die.
EFFE
(in an agonized whisper)
Oh, Chris! Oh, Chris!
To be continued…
There’s an episode B