"Okay, Mrs?"
"Mrs. Ajayi," Maryam answered the officer. He had taken her to his desk due to the gravity of her words. He wanted to question her better. He wrote down her name on a paper.
"Alright, I'm Officer James, you can start from the beginning." He gestured with his pen.
Maryam took in a deep breath, both her hands on her knees to keep them from shaking. She tried to weigh the situation. Is all of this worth it? What if Margret was right? What if Sylvester left her?
She slowly let the breath out through her mouth in a whistle. If she was right or wrong, it was already too late for her to turn back now.
"I got home last week Friday to discover that Sylvester wasn't around--"
"Is that the man you're talking about?" Officer James asked.
"Yes."
"And you said he's your boyfriend and the father of your child?"
"Yes."
Officer James gave a slight nod. He seemed to write down something on his paper with each response.
"Continue."
"So he wasn't around and when I asked my daughter she told me he left."
"Did she see him leave?"
"I don't know, but that's what she said."
"Hmmm." He said in deep thought.
"I believed her because that night, I had checked if my money and jewelry were still intact but they were all gone."
"So why come here if you think he left you?"
"His phone was still at home and I spoke to some of his close friends from the garage, they said if he wanted to leave, he would have seen them before leaving."
Officer James fell silent to analyze the situation before him. The woman's daughter says her man is missing but she doesn't believe it to be true. Tricky.
"What about your daughter?"
"She is in school right now. Do you want to talk to her?"
"Yes, we have to understand the whole of this before we act. But first, let's find out if your guy is truly missing. Do you have a phone with you?"
Maryam nodded and brought out the phone from her purse. Officer James collected it from her and studied it carefully. What if this Sylvester guy left his phone on purpose to avoid any traces of him, he thought.
"We will work on this and then reach out to the five callers on his list and chats, as well as any other lead on him we can find."
Maryam's face lit up in happiness.
"Thank you so much, sir." She said getting up on her feet.
Officer James smiled as he got up too.
"No need to thank me yet, I'm just doing my job. The main thing is to find your boyfriend."
"No," Maryam objected. "You chose to answer me despite all the people waiting over there, people that came before me. Thank you for that."
"Well, in that case, you're welcome."
"Is there anything else you need before I go?"
"Ah yes, your number. We have to reach you once we find something."
He gave her a pen and paper where she wrote it down.
"Alright then, have a nice day Mrs. Ajayi."
* * *
The Lagos TV Newsagency, like all other local news agencies, had only one branch which was located at the heart of the city's capital, Ikeja. For Efe, it was his big break after spending four years in the university and one extra year for his service to his country.
He was indeed grateful. Life hasn't been fair since his parents died. They were both traders who died from a pipeline explosion caused by a drunken driver. That was five years ago. He was seventeen and Grace was twelve and suddenly they were alone. All their family members' relatives abandoned them and Efe was left to struggle to see both he and his sister through school. It wasn't easy but he met some good people along the way, good friends who saw his potential and will to survive and did all they could to help him achieve that dream.
Now that dream was a reality. He was his own man standing on his own two feet. He no longer depended on anybody to survive. He could take care of his sister, his only family.
He wore a big smile on his face as he walked through the long passage of the building's top floor, the one that led to his boss's office.
'When the boss calls for you, it is a good sign.' He thought to himself. 'I'm finally getting noticed after all.'
He suspected he was being called to be one of the reporters for the governorship debate coming up in the evening but he kept the thought to himself. Just then, his phone rang.
Grace.
"Hey, kiddo." He said after picking up.
"Bros Efe, good morning."
"Good morning. This one you're calling by this time, aren't you going to school?" He asked.
"Sure, I'm on my way."
Efe frowned.
"Don't tell me Ketu high now allows students to bring their phones to school."
"Of course not! But we have our ways." He could picture her lips curled in a smirk at that moment.
"Hmmm, this generation is strong." He said sarcastically.
"It's your generation too oh," Grace replied. "You're not too older than me, stop talking like an old man."
"I do not!" He objected.
"Sure you do! You talk like an old man, act like an old man, you even dress like an old man sometimes... I might have to start calling you Grandpa Efe."
"You won't dare!"
"Not unless you stop I will."
"Fine, I don't know what you're talking about but I'll stop."
"Better... When Bros what about that girl you said you like. What's her name oh... Rose? Yes, Rose."
Rose is a colleague of Efe at the news agency. They both got in at the same time and seemed to be the two sharpest minds the agency had at the moment. He had only mentioned the name once to Grace when she pressured him about his love life.
Efe never really had time for relationships before, he saw them as a distraction from his main goal. But it grew worse after he finally landed his job. Just when he had thought he was finally where he wanted to be and could now be in a relationship, Efe started finding it difficult to flirt. It seemed like he had forgotten how to. It was even more painful when he found himself saying a few words around Rose. He couldn't express himself around her well unless they were talking about work. He soon learned to accept his fate with the notion that love will come. He only mentioned the name once! He was shocked Grace still remembered.
"What? How come you still remember? Never mind that, why are you just jumping from one conversation to another?... You miss me, don't you." He said as soon as it dawned on him.
Grace fell silent. He was right.
Due to the nature of his job, Efe barely had time for his sister. Also, Ikeja was way on the other side of town. He had wanted to leave Ketu and move into the city but Grace wanted to graduate with her friends. Because of that, he was only present during weekends but last week he was out covering a story. Was Grace calling to know if this weekend would be the same?
"I miss you too Gracie." He said after a while. "Tell you what, how about you and I head out to the cinema tomorrow?"
"Are you coming?"
"Yes, I will be home. So what do you say?"
"Okay."
"Great... I have to go now. My boss asked to see me. I'm so happy."
"That's nice, good luck bro."
"Thank you. My regards to your friends."
"Okay, bye!"
"Bye." He said finally before Grace hung up.
He sighed just as he put the phone back in his pocket. He looked up to the ceiling for a brief moment, the thought of his parents filled his mind. He imagined them watching all that happened from the sky. A tear dropped from his eye then he smiled.
"I hope I'm making you proud mom and dad."