John laid on his bed with his phone in his hand as he listened to afro-pop music blasting loudly from the speakers of his earphone directly to his eardrum. He used this to pass time as he waited for Joanna, he also used it as a means to keep his mind from overthinking whatever happened at the party. He still couldn't make sense of what he saw. Raymond was dead, Grace was arrested for his murder and it seemed like Joanna and her friends knew more to it than they were letting anyone in on.
As usual, Joanna was going to sneak into his room from his window to prevent his parents from finding out. John had left it slightly open for Joana who got without any difficulty. More than anything, John hoped for some explanation as soon as she came in. He sprang to him immediately he noticed her presence.
"Hey Jo we need to talk--"
Joana jumped on him, taking him by surprise with a deep kiss on the lips which propelled them back to the bed. She moved on to send kisses to his neck as her hands slowly traced the frame of his broad shoulders down to his arms and while John's body liked every bit of what she was doing, his mind was fixated on something else.
"Joana, calm down let's talk."
Joan moved her lips to his left ear then teased it with a whisper.
"Yes, let's talk. Let our bodies do the talking."
She took her hands down the middle of his trousers and started rubbing the area lightly. John moaned softly with every stroke of the massage. He wanted to tell her to go faster. He wanted to grab her and kiss her deeply, but the horror of what he saw tonight came flashing back.
"No!" John yelled out firmly as he sat up, pushing Joana off him. "Jo, I'm sorry but we can't do this, not right now... Raymond was our former classmate and now he's dead. Even if you don't care about him, your best friend Grace has been arrested for his murder. How can you be thinking about making out right now?"
Joana immediately broke into tears.
"Oh my God, Jo I didn't mean to," John said feeling guilty for making her cry. He moved closer to hug her from her side.
"I'm so sorry," Joana mumbled in her cry. "It's just... I don't want to die!" She wailed.
Die? John gaped at Joana. What the hell was she talking about?
"What do you mean?" He asked.
Joana kept on crying.
"Come on Jo, talk to me." He begged but it was to no avail as she kept on wailing. John concluded that Joana needed someone to comfort her at the moment, not someone who would ask her a series of questions.
"It's going to be alright." He said consoling her.
Soon, Joana's cry reduced to silent whimpers. She wiped her face clean of the tears in her eyes and the mucus with a tissue that John handed to her. She was ready to talk.
"There's something I want you to know."
* * *
"I know where Sylvester's body is."
"What do you mean-- How do you know?"
"Just shut up and listen! You will find his body at the edge of the agbara forest near the river."
That was all the mystery caller told Officer James before the phone was hung up on him and now he was more confused than ever. First of all, it meant Maryam was right to report Sylvester missing. But how did whoever call him know about it or that He was looking for Sylvester at all? The call could make the difference for the whole case if he decides to go on to check it, but on the other hand, it could be a prank. Worse, it could be a trap. Officer James hopped into his car and decided to drive to the only place he knew he could get help.
He drove into a quiet street with a set of bungalows all over and parked in front of the one his friend and partner, Ade lived in. James picked up his phone to call him.
"Hello," Ade said beneath his sleeping voice.
"Mother-fucker, I'm outside your house. Come out now." He said finally and cut the call. He got out of the car and rested on it. With his arms folded and his right leg crossed over the other, he observed the quiet street as he waited for his friend.
"What do you want by this time of the night?" Said the man who opened the door to Officer James in a harsh whisper.
James smiled.
"Why are you looking jumpy on your day off?" He said. "Rukky didn't let you hit it tonight?" He added with a chuckle.
Ade laughed as he walked up to him.
"Shut the fuck up and go to the point, it's already late. What do you want? And this better is important."
"Yeah sure, I've got a lead on our missing man."
"What? But you told me this case just came in today when I called. It seems all too sudden."
James nodded.
"Yes, it seems too good to be true and that's why I need your help. I want to check it up but I need back up."
Ade sighed.
"Can't we keep this till tomorrow? I took this drug after dinner and it's making me drowsy." He said yawning.
"No, the person that called me said body and I think someone might be dead. We don't have time."
"I see... Let me get my gun and badge."
Ade went back inside and came out fully dressed and ready to leave.
"Alright, let's go."
The forest wasn't too far off from where Officer Ade lived, they got there in less than thirty minutes. After driving to a distance, they reached a point where the vehicle couldn't move further because of the trees.
"Okay, let's get down. We will walk from here." Officer James said. He tossed a flashlight to Ade and the two continued their walk.
The night sky was filled with blackness and the trees looked like they were stretched to the clouds. Everywhere was silent except for the rhythmic sounds of owls hooting and frogs croaking.
"How do we know if we're going the right way?" Ade murmured as they got deeper into the forest.
James chuckled.
"Don't tell me you're scared."
"Of course not! I'm just saying... I can't be missing my sleep for nothing, I'll kill and bury you here."
They both cracked up in laughter.
"I know you're scared, don't you worry. The other side close to the river is just up ahead."
"If you say so."
On getting to the other side, they began their search for the body.
"We don't stay more than 10 feet apart from each other," James said to his partner. "Stay sharp and look for anything suspicious."
Ade nodded in response. As they searched around, James wondered if he had made the right call. It was close to midnight and he felt a nervous agitation down his spine. Anything could happen at that moment including getting shot and worse of all, he brought his partner who was off duty along. Is it worth it? James asked himself and the answer came back to him immediately.
No.
"Guy," James said. He was about to call it off when Ade spoke.
"I found something."
James ran over to Ade and joined him in staring over a heap of leaves.
"God! What is that stench?" James said using the back of his hands to block his nose.
"Something dead for sure," Ade said. "Do the honors?"
James bent down slightly to take a couple of leaves off and leaped back up at the sight of two cold dead eyes staring back at him.
"Jesus Christ!" He exclaimed.
"This guy must have died for about a week now," Ade said but then raised his head as he heads something in the woods.
"But I'm surprised the body hasn't been eating by a wild--" Was all James could say before his partner shushed him.
"Shhh," Ade said with a finger on his lips. "Someone is watching us."
James fell silent, giving Ade room to listen closely. Tracing his eye to each sound, Ade soon found a figure hiding between two trees.
"There!" He said pointing his flashlight in the direction and started running. James, who was slow in reacting to everything, sloppily followed after Ade.
"Police! Hold it right there!" Ade yelled.
The figure appeared to be in all-black attire with a black hoodie and began running immediately he heard Ade's voice. James who was lagging soon ran out of breath. He stopped and placed his hands on his knees to gasp for air. In that split moment, he raised his head back up and could see neither Ade nor the figure they were chasing.
Suddenly, the noise of a gunshot tore through the forest. James' heart sank. Ade. Somehow, strength kicked in him and he ran towards the sound. Fortunately, he found Ade standing with a gun in his hand and the person he chased down on his knees with his hands up. Ade sensed James near and spoke.
"It's just a small boy."
James felt a deep sense of relief for the three of them.
"Why the fuck would you bring out your gun to stop a child?"
"The little fucker was fast, I fired up to slow him down."
James watched the boy with pity. He was trembling. A teenager, just like Grace.
"Please, just let me go. I don't know anything." The boy said.
"Who sent you?" He asked the boy.
"I don't know, I just met a girl who said she would pay me three thousand to watch you."
"What's her name? What's she like? Give us something." Ade barked.
"I didn't ask for her name."
Ade sighed in frustration.
"He doesn't know anything," James said after a while. "The girl who paid him wanted to make sure we found the body."
Ade gave him a suspicious look.
"So are you saying we--"
"Go," James said to the boy and immediately the boy got to his feet and ran away. They watched him run out of sight before Ade spoke.
"I hope you know what you're doing."
James forced a smile.
"To be honest, I don't know."
"So what do we do now?"
* * *
"Come on, I told you guys not to play the scene until I got back." Margret jumped onto the couch in between her mum and June whose eyes were glued to the TV.
"You snooze, you lose." Her mother said and laughed out with June.
"It's not my fault na," Margret said. "We've been drinking juice since, what goes in must come out."
"Well you can always watch it another time," June said tossing popcorn in her mouth. "It's your house anyway."
"Tell her, oh, sometimes she acts like a child." Her mum said to mock her.
"No jhor," Margret said leaning forward to the table in front of her for the remote. "I must rewind it oh."
"No!" Maryam said trying to get the remote away from her daughter but stopped as soon as she heard her phone ring. She eyed the phone then turned back to her daughter. "You're lucky."
"Yeah mum, go pick your call," Margret said with a smirk on her face. Just as her mother got up and walked to the socket where her phone was plugged in. Margret dropped the remote and rested back on the chair.
"Hey, you okay?" She asked June.
"Yes," June replied with a smile. "Thank you for this."
"Anytime... We will be okay. Tomorrow will be fine. We will get to the station and Efe will sort it all out." Margret reassured. June nodded back and they continued the movie.
Maryam picked up the phone to see an unknown number calling. Something told her it was Officer James. She hoped it was him.
"Hello?"
"Good evening, this is Officer James. Am I speaking with Mrs. Ajayi?"
"Yes." She replied. "Good evening sir."
"Madam, I would need you to be at the station as early as possible. We found a body and we need you to help us Identify it."