THE LAST SMILE
EPISODE 5
The confusion and tension on ground was so intense. The police had searched the entire compound for Fred but all their efforts were futile. They had broken into Fred’s ap@rtment which was pointed out by Lucy’s friend. They noticed the chaotic state of the ap@rtment, ma-king it obvious that the occu-p@n-t was in a hurry to leave. That alone was enough to mark Fred as a prime suspect in the disappearance of the victim. The police noted this with interest.
Bewaji Jones alre-ady resumed her whaling. Teju was trying ha-rd calm her even though she was feeling the extreme urge to scream. Never had she seen her dreams manifest with such short time interval. Deolu was just looking, lost in his own world and blaming himself for not protecting the woman he loves.
Kenneth was busy discussing with the policemen; his veins were so visible. The trauma was beginning to take its toll on him. The entire compound had been searched and no one seemed to be home. As they were about leaving, they saw a guy come into the compound. He was fairly tall, about 5.8, his gaze held curiosity. He looked like a Warri guy. He approached the handful of people skeptically.
“Hello… Hope there is no problem?” His gaze was somewhat confident.
The police officers shielded out everyone and approached Chika. “Excuse me sir, we are from Ajekoro Police station” he brou-ght out his ID card. “I have a warrant for the arrest of one Mr. Fred Ebuka”.
“Chineke” chika squeeled. “That guy dey craze ooo… we-tin hin do?”
Bewaji jumped there. “He kidnapped my daughter; that is what he did”.
“Ewooo…. That b******. I saw him this morning when he was rushing out of the house with some luggage. I asked him where he was going and he said he wants to quic-kly get to Ogun State”
Kenneth squee-zed his fist in a frightening manner and Bewaji started shouting on t©p of her voice. The animal responsible for her daughter’s disappearance is nowhere to be found. “Even if we have to search the whole of Nigeria, I would find my daughter and that scoundrel” Ken thun-dered.
One of the policemen looked at Chika who was still gapping in surprise of what was happening. “You would nee-d to follow us to the-”
“Ehnehn… oga police. No bring that one at all o. If I don know, I no go answer any question. we-tin concern me and Fred? I no even know hin surname. Abeg ooo… I never enter police station before and I no go enter today” before Chika could be st©pped, he rushed into his ap@rtment and locked the gate firmly.
Deolu took out his phone and dialed a number. “Hello Akin… Long time… I am not fine ooo… My girl friend is nowhere to be found… yes… I nee-d a favour”.
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Tinuke adjusted her micro go-wn, ma-king it fit properly to her perfect b©dy. She is a woman with perfect b©dy curves. Her fair skin is unrivalled; clear, sp©tless and… perfect. She blew her image a k!ss, turning and twirling in front of the mirror. The bright red go-wn sparkled in the evening light. Her dressing was to intimid@t£; but who exactly? An unconscious girl? Her wish was to see Raymond there. He had refused to pick her call. She had s£nt messages but none generated a reply. She did not even go near the house because she was not re-ady for another episode of embarras-sment.
She stepped out of the house, later than usual. Her extra-long heels made her look taller than her usual 5:4. Immediately she got out of her compound, she sighted some guys gapping at her, almost salivating. She smiled and flagged down a bike. “Hope Hospital”
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Raymond got into his car around 5pm in the evening. He wondered what he had been doing till that time of the day in the hospital. Thinking about it, he had spent most of the time with the girl. A wry smile was pasted on hisl-ips which he could not wipe away. He had been so engrossed in this strange girl over the last twenty-four hours that he hadn’t had time for himself. He drove into the estate, still having that smile on his face. It feels so good to care for someone.
He saw Bose entering the compound. She was holding a black polybag in one hand and her phone and keys in the other. He nee-ded a new gateman. Ever since robbers visited the house and killed his gateman, he refused to employ a new gateman. That day had been a terrible day. He had been inside with his siblings who were visiting when they suddenly heard a gunsh0t. He has two sisters and a brother.
Fear crept into their hearts without any invitation. Without waiting for the robbers to enter, the ladies were alre-ady flat on their faces. Only male pride kept the two brothers from gittering. The robbers finally entered and Ray and his brother, William, had to do what their sisters had done effortlessly. When you are at the wrong end of a loaded gun, you cooperate. The robbers took all their money, phones, gold jewelries and wristwatches. Bose had been there with them, also sharing in the fright that had governed everyone.
The robbers left after all was taken and whailing began, although, in a very low tone. They were glad the robbers did not shoot at them. Raymond left the ap@rtment to go and monitor the locking of the gate himself when he saw his gateman lying on the floor, close to the gate. He raced there, hoping that he was still alive – his heart had st©pped beating. A tear dropped from his eye. Yusuf wasn’t just his employee but was also his friend. All his employees were his friends and, most of the time; they are the next set of people in his heart after his family. Yusuf was a very promising lad, who was very brilliant but not fortunate enough when it comes to finances.
When his siblings and Bose did not see him return, they crept outside with William leading the way. They saw him where he knelt, beside the cold b©dy and ran there. They mourned together and shared the sad moment together, just as they would have shared a happy time. Since then, he hadn’t been able to employ another gateman and he took to doing it himself until Bose volunteered to do it instead. Now that he is a man and alre-ady got used to seeing lifeless people, he was now considering employing a new gateman.
The death of his mother and father in a plane crash on the same day, made him rigid and almost emotionless. He and his brother, coupled with some extended family members had gone to the crash sp©t to identify the bodies of his parents. They had strictly held the girls back because of what they knew they were to expect.
That day had consistently haunted his dreams and even his waking eyes. He had walked amidst burnt dead bodies, having the nauseating sight sink in as he desperately searched for his parents. That incident is something he does not like to remember, and since he had just remembered it, he knew that his mood would be sour for the rest of the day. He opened the gate himself and drove in.
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Tinuke entered the hospital as graceful as possible. Her heels made cli-ck clack sounds on the floor with each step she took. She smiled lovingly at the nurse.
“plea-se, I am here to see a patient. She was brou-ght here yesterday by my fiance, Raymond” she said.
The nurse remembered Tinuke perfectly. She was the one who almost turned a lady deaf yesterday after she had been humiliated yesterday by her so-called fiancé. She wondered if they had settled their quarrel.
“Why do you want to see her?”
“I brou-ght some provisions for her. I un-derstand she is still unconscious” she said with a pitiful look. She had br@nched by the hospital to get some provisions.
“Yeah… plea-se follow me”
They got to the room and after leaving some instructions, Tinuke was left alone with the girl. She could not believe her eyes. Lying down, unconscious is the fairest person she had ever seen. She is not an Albion but is naturally fair. Fair, clear and sp©tless; all the things she had going for her, except she is not as pale as the girl laying on the be-d.
Anger welled up within her. How would Ray not spend more time with this girl if she is this beautiful? She took the pillow on the second be-d and held it ti-ght in her hands. Just then, the door opened.
“What are you doing madam?”
THE LAST SMILE
EPISODE 6
Nurse Rola stared openly at Tinuke with her mouth agape. She couldn’t begin to fathom the weight of what had almost happened in her abs£nce. She had noted something spooky in the way Tinuke made an appearance, especially with the scenario she created the previous day but she had thrashed her thoughts with the fact that lovers fight and reconcile.
Tinuke also stared wi-de-eyed at the nurse. Why was she staring at her like she was an abomination? If she didn’t take enough time to see to her dressing, she would have as-sumed that she was robe-d in rags with the way the nurse’s eyes bulged out to glare at her.
“I said: what are you doing madam?”
“Excuse me? I am visiting a patient. Is there anything remotely wrong with that? You let me in, remember?” Tinuke was beside herself with rage as she glared at the rude nurse.
The nurse c@m£ into the room fully and closed the door. “What are you doing with a pillow? You want to commit murder? I nee-d to call security” she took out her phone.
For the first time, Tinuke saw the pillow she clutched in her hands and dropped it like it was on fire. She blanched. “Security? Wait, no. I don’t even know how the pillow got to my hand”.
“Explain that to the police when they arrive” the nurse hissed. She alre-ady had her phone against her ear.
“What? No…” Tinuke tried to pas-s but the nurse blocked the exit. She had no choice but to push the nurse out of the way, causing nurse Rola’s phone to sl!pout of her grasp, shattering on the floor.
Tinuke fled, with her heels ma-king crazy noise on the tiled floor. The nurse took her time, gathering her precious Samsung S4 phone, giving Tinuke enough time to make an escape. The nurse didn’t even seem keen on pursuing her. When she got to the end of the hall, she paused for some seconds to regain her composure, then she walked fast but calmly in order not to rouse any suspicion. She hoped to God that the nurse would not emerge from behind. She hurried to the reception to sign out in the hospital’s register with a strained smile. She almost raced out of the building, looking behind her constantly to be sure she was not being followed. She st©pped the first bike she sighted and jumped on it.
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Nurse Rola went to the doctor’s office feeling very agitated and frightened and angry. The demented lady had succeeded in shattering the screen of her phone. She could only imagine what she would do if she sighted her now. She would make sure Tinuke pays for what she did.
When she was given permission, she entered Doctor Tunde’s office with rage written all over her. At the same time, she didn’t know what would happen when the doctor finds out that she let a murderer get away unscathed.
“What may I do for you nurse Rola?” She had been standing there for some minutes without speaking and Doctor Tunde bec@m£ f0rç£d to interrupt her thoughts.
“Sir, something just happened some minutes ago.” Doctor Tunde gave her his attention. “Someone c@m£ to visit the patient in ward 7; the one brou-ght in by Mr Raymond. Her name is Miss Tinuke. She said she brou-ght some provisions for the patient and I let her in”.
The doctor was sort of surprised because he remembered the reception Tinuke gave him days ago when he went there at the middle of the night. Knowing that more info was still coming, he waited.
“After dropping the provisions, she said she nee-ded some privacy with the patient, so I excused her. When I got back, I saw her with a pillow clutched in her hands in a fierce manner, suggesting that she wanted to suffocate the patient”.
“What?” He exclaimed, jumping out of his seat immediately.
“But sir…” She was not allowed to finish her statement when the doctor shoved her out of the way, causing her phone to sl!pfrom her hand again but luckily, it fell on the leather chair. She took it and ran in pursuit of the doctor.
Doctor Tunde got to ward 7 and checked everything he nee-ded to check to be sure that Tinuke hadn’t done anything stupid. Relieved, he faced the nurse who was alre-ady behind him. “Where is she?” He growled.
“Sir, I am sorry, as I was calling the security, she pushed me away and ran. I have evidence sir, when she pushed me, my phone fell and the screen cracked. See sir” she raised the phone for doctor Tunde to see.
“I see” he said glaring. Instead of saying anything, he left the room. The nurse pursued him.
“I am sorry sir”
“I am not angry at you Rola, you would get your phone replaced, don’t worry.” She sighed. Doctor Tunde opened the door of his office and called the security with his intercom.
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Fred sat in his ap@rtment in Abuja, still feeling that unhindered fear. When his father had died and left him with this ap@rtment, being the only property he owned, he had doubted if he would ever step into the house, not to mention, reside there. He had arrived in Abuja, instead of the Ogun state he had told his friend Chika. He knew that it was easy to be tracked down if he had told Chika the truth. That the police would be searching the wrong place should have at least put his mind at rest, but no. he felt even more agitated, shaking and j£rking at every sound. If he was ever told that he would murder a human being in his life, he would not have believed it, but here he was, running away like a common criminal.
He stood up and paced the sitting room in slow strides. As much as he tried to block out the day everything crumbled, he was not able to shut it out. He held his head as everything c@m£ pla-ying back, ma-king him feel crazy. He had murdered the love of his life with his own hands; how unthinkable. He heard something and froze. It sounded like a knock, or was he imagining things? He stood on that sp©t until he heard the knock again, louder this time. He heart raced. Nob©dy knew he was in Abuja. He had told no one. Who could be at the door?
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The sweet smell emanating from the kitchen was enough to renew Raymond’s hunger. Bose’s cookings were always divine, both in aroma and in taste. Even though he was in his room, the aroma dragged him to his feet. He opened the door and went down stairs. Bose was apparently very occu-pied with whatever she was doing not to have noticed his approach. He dropped his suit jacket on the couch and made for the kitchen, unable to resist the aroma.
What he saw took him by surprise: Bose was standing by the cooker, with her ear-piece jammed in her ears, dancing. She wore an army-green nicker that was halfway down her th!gh and a red tank t©p which clung to her b©dy firmly. He had never seen her dress so… boldly, ever since she c@m£ into the house. He swallowed ha-rd , the food forgotten as he stared at the person he had come to take as a friend and a sister.
Bose bec@m£ aware that she was not alone and she turned slowly. She was not surprised to find Raymond there, since they were the only two people in the house. For some seconds, they just stared at each other until Bose looked away in a shy demonstration. Ray just kept on staring at her, trying to think about something that was nagging at his head.
She re-moved the ear-piece slowly. “I… erm…” she coughed slightly. “The food is almost done” she said, ba-rely above a whisper. Instantly, Ray remembered the reason he c@m£ down.
“Oh… OK” he turned back and retreated.
Bose exhaled de-eply. She must be out of her mind to as-sume anything. She rushed back to the cooker to monitor the soup on fire.
Wheat and egusi soup landed on the table some minutes later. The soup was adorned with all sorts of fishes and meats. Since eating with ray on the same table has become a regular phenomenon, she also served her food and went up to call him.
She stood at the entrance of the room for some time, trying to calm her nerves but, unable to gather much courage to enter, she just knocked and talked to him throu-gh the door.
“Sir, your food is served”. After receiving a calm reply, she hurried downstairs. Instead of sitting close to Ray’s seat, she sat down far away from his seat on the table for her own sake. She watched his approach to the dinning in calm steady strides. Her pulse quic-kened as he sat down without even glancing her way.
Ray did not waste any second before he dug into his meal. The aroma had kept him salivating and imagining all along, what it would taste like.
After the first mussel, he nodded his head appreciatively. “Hmmmm…. This is good. Very good” he murmured and Bose smiled her thanks. She was happy that he had finally broken the silence by saying something. After ray had eaten sufficient amount of food, he looked up, noticing for the first time that Bose was seating at the far end of the table.
“Why are you seated there? He looked surprised. “come here” he patted the space beside him.
She moved her food to the chair beside him and sat, still with her head low to her food. “I have the distinct feeling that you are not telling me something”. Ray said, putting a cu-p of water against hisl-ips.
Bose swallowed ha-rd . She finally managed to raise her head to look Ray in the eye. “Madam… Your fiancée was here yesterday” she blurted. She had deliberately decided not to tell ray anything about her encounter with Tinuke, and when he had arrived and asked if anyone c@m£ in his abs£nce, she had answered in the negative.
Ray nodded knowingly. “And?”
“she wasn’t happy at all when I blocked her out, in fact, she was so angry that she almost went crazy with rage” Bose said, remembering that episode with a smile.
Ray blinked. “Well, as long as she did not carry out any of her displa-ys on you, there is no problem” he swallowed another mussel of wheat but when he got no response, he looked up from the food to gaze at Bose. “Did she hit you?”
Bose blanched and rejoiced internally that he was concerned about her. “No… No. I mean, she tried to but I didn’t let her. Then she started saying all sort of things like getting me fired and so on”.
Raymond relaxed. “Well she didn’t employ you, did she?” he washed his hands and stood up, gathering the plates. Bose tried to help him but he succeeded in packing them, telling her to pack hers. After dropping the plates, he invited her outside. Sitting at the veranda, he had a clear picture of what was on his mind. He had suspected it for some time now but looking at Bose, he knew it was way beyond a vague thought.
“I want to ask you a question Bose, plea-se answer me truthfully” he looked de-eply into her eyes, trying to make her feel at ease when all he was doing was the exact opposite.
“Are you in love with me?”
Bose blanched
WATCH OUT FOR EPISODE 7