The first ray of light met Kamara in a cold, sterile interrogation room. The fluorescent lights above buzz faintly, casting a harsh glare on his tired face. His skin was pale and drained of energy, his eyes shielded beneath the dark lenses in measures to prevent his dark eye bags from being seen. That should stand as a lesson to him to never deprive his body of rest.
He had been left alone in the room for minutes, but his posture stayed relaxed, almost defiant. His eyes remain fixed on the one-way mirror in front of him, aware of the eyes watching from the other side.
"He hasn't made a move," a stout young man said with the tip of the brown paper cup in his hand, he looked at Kamara as the hot brow water digested in his stomach. A taste of sweetness with a slight bitterness lingered on his tongue as he took a deep stare at the man beside him.
"I'm going in" Samuel, a stern figure with a moderate look said before heading inside the room. His feet guided him across the other side of the square metal table.
"We meet again" Samuels's voice came out cold, and methodical, causing Kamara to glance at him. Both men in firm grasp on their seats set a second of silence, recollection to their past feu. Kamara has been taken for interrogation in a similar setting to the one he was in fifteen years ago, for the crime of murder but with aid from a high authority he was acquainted and partially due to the lack of evidence.
"Did you hire someone to mess with your wife's car brakes?" a firm tone came from Samuel, his eyes attentively looking at Ksmara in search of reaction but he hardly flinched. He knew better than to underestimate him, fifteen years ago he had fled his crimes and punishment but this time he wasn't going to let go of the opportunity at hand.
"I didn't" Kamara responded
"Why didn't you report the event of the car brakes to the police while the investigation was on?" with information like that Samuel and his team would have cracked the case three months ago and perhaps found the culprit.
He stayed silent on it because he had his hands in it, Samuel thought it through as he let loose the file in front of him.
He went through great deals to get his hands on the case specifically cause it was related to his old nemeses who got away from punishment. Three months ago he was taken out of the investigation of the accident case by his superiors but now, he was back to finish what he started.
"You intentionally held back this information because you sent that man to temper with your wife's car" his voice came out high and stiff as he pulled out a photo of the man from the video at the scene.
Kamara remained silent, his expression unreadable. He understood the game, give nothing away, reveal no weakness. His mind was a fortress, every detail of the past events locked away in a place that even he dated not enter.
Samuel leaned in, trying to break through his defenses. "I know you did it, I have a witness. Just admit it already, you paid that man to sabotage your wife's car all to kill her"
" If you have proof I wouldn't be here I would be in handcuff and behind bars" Kamara unbrotherly said and he was right. Had the detective gotten any solid evidence he would have wasted no time in throwing his body behind bars. He had to wait fifteen years for it, fifteen years to give justice to his sister who he believed Kamara murdered that night.
"Right," Samuel smirked, " That's why you paid the driver, we have his confession" he stated causing Kamara to finally shift his gaze from the mirror to him, his eyes narrowed. He said nothing, but the look he gave was one of quiet defiance. It was clear to him that he was bluffing, there wasn't a such as the driver's confession as he had handled that.
The driver was interrogated but he stated clearly that his pay from Mr Kamara was an aid to his sick family in the province, he didn't leave because he was ordered to nor did Mr Kamara threaten him. From his words, there was not much to do.
The tension in the room thickened, but he didn't care. He'd been through hell before, and he would go through it again if he had to. He was prepared to endure whatever came next because he knew that in the end, he'd find a way out. He always does.
"If you are done, I will take my leave I have matters to attend to," Kamara said, he stood, swiped the sides of his suit, and walked out leaving behind an annoyed detective.
He still couldn't forget the bitter memory, a call was sent to his phone from his sister, begging to save her. In haste, he rushed his car against the busy lines of the city, after an hour's drive from the station he was at the location sent by his sister.
His breath came in short gasps as he scrambled over slippery roads and jagged edges. His heart pounds not just from the exertion but from a deep, gnawing dread that grips him like a vice. The heavy drops of rain on his body were nothing compared to his desperation to find his little sister, repeatedly his voice scolded the name of his sister as he searched through the scavenger area.
"Emma" he shouted, just in a faded moment his eyes raised to the screams only to see his sister falling from the half-done five-story building. His hands desperately wideout in the air, hard he tried to catch her body but was met with the hard merciful ground.
There she lay on the uneven ground, her body crumpled and motionless, Emma. Her hair, once vibrant and full of life, was spread out around her like a dark halo against the cold, unforgiving earth. Her face was pale, almost unclouded as if she was merely asleep, but the unnatural angle of her limbs and the blood seeping from the wound on her temple told a different story.
Samuels's legs buckled beneath him as he collapsed beside her, hands trembling as they reached out but hesitated to touch. The reality of the scene sinks in, and a cold, numbing wave crashes over him, drowning his whole existence to dust. He couldn't speak, couldn't even cry out, only a strangled gasp escaped his throat.
He knelt there, staring down at her, his mind refusing to accept what his eyes were telling him. Had he arrived early then he would have saved his sister, he should have come early. His mind guilted within as he let his eyes soak his cheeks.
"I'm sorry, am sorry" he repeatedly said as he reached out and touched her cheek, cold and lifeless under his fingertips. The dam inside him broke, and a low, anguished wail escaped his lips, echoing through the thundering cloud that lashed around him.
After a hard grief, he lends his hands beneath her body and lifts her weight in his arms. With stumbling legs, he walked to his car.
"Sir, are you alright?" the stout young man questioned snapping him from his bitter memories. In a short wail, he nodded staring at the empty door.
"What's next?" the young man furthered curiously, the case was once again to an end. The evidence they had was not enough to implicate Kamara and their only lead was the man in the video but his face wasn't clear to detect who he was.
"Have the video sent to the IT department, I want a clean image of that man" Smauel ordered leading his way out of the room. The only lead at hand was that video, once the face of the man was cleared, he would fish out the truth from him.
***
"How did it go?" Beth asked, her body neatly sat on the chair while her hands stayed on her lap. Her mind has been juggling with hearing the news of Kamara being invited by the police, and she worried for his reputation and the company's. On his return, she was first in his office to enquire of what was transparent.
"I met Samuel"
Beth's hands raised the moment he said the name, her body felt a sudden cold sprint through her veins. " Samuel, what's he doing there?" she anxiously queried. The last she crossed paths was fifteen years ago when she was set on the bars in a court to give a statement.
That year Kamara was accused of the crime of murder, after an investigation it was found that Kamara was the last to have met with Emma that night and they were fighting. Emma and Kamara were in a relationship, one that many of their friends envied. Being teenagers with aspirations and dreams, they set a meet at a bar cause it was the end of their senior school year and it was probably the last for many of them to each other again.
A popular song was on, so Emma urged Ksmara to join her on the floor which he did reluctantly. With his arms on her waist, he gently moved his feet to the beat of the song while feeling the warmth of his lover's hands. Close, he took the fragrance of vanilla, which was Emma's signature smell.
Beth at the other end watched as the man she adores washed his affection on another, her fingers tightened grasp on the beer bottle as she stared at his lips laid on hers. A tight pain injected in her heart, one that left her choking on the beer.
"Hello everyone" a colleague stood calling the attention of all. "As this marks the end of our secondary year, I should come clean" the male colleague continued casing Emma's hands to drop off Kamara's shoulders.
"You all should know, mostly you Kay" he directed his gaze at Kamara " You should know that your girlfriend is keeping a big secret from you" he informed with a teasing smirk.
"Don't please" Emma pleaded "Please, just stop it"
"Why should I, let your boyfriend know about it? Tell your boyfriend that you've slept with me" Before he knew it a hand swinger through the air and landed on his jaw, sharp pain tensed on his face. He turned to find Emma glaring at him.
"How dare you?" the colleague scolded reaching for her but was blocked by Kamara who grappled his hand. "I slept with your girlfriend, you can have her now, am done with her" his words came out mockery.
The event soon turned into a hectic fight between them in which others had to intervene. In the end, Kamara walked away being Emma, she tried to explain it was a mistake and that she was drunk but he was too broken to hear her words.
"I'll have him transferred to another city" Beth offered, she couldn't have him bringing the past especially when they were in another crisis. It was just a call away and he would be transferred as she did before. With her aid, Kamara was evicted from the charges alleged against him, her father made the paths as he was the mayor of the city.
"Don't do anything" Her fingers froze on the phone screen, she was a second away from calling her father.
"Why would you stop me?" she asked in baffling, she was doing it for his good. Having Samuel on his neck would only cause him more trouble, especially since he believed Kamara was responsible for her sister's death.
"I'll handle it myself" he assured but mostly because he didn't want to draw attention. Having him transfer would only agitate him on his beliefs and seek more hate.
Or perhaps he stopped Beth because he too needed answers to the incident of fifteen years ago.
"And what about your wife?" her eyes tailed at his sealed lips, he couldn't possibly be charmed by that enchantress. She scoffed as she thought through, what was wrong with him?, the woman was on for his destruction and he still had delimans on what to do with her.
Leave it to her she would have him divorce her in the instant.
***
"What about the man in the video?" Kenitta's voice echoed in the room while stalking in her with the phone being held at her ear.
To think that the devil was going to be caught only to have him walk free from t gf the cops' grasp. The driver bailed on Them at the last minute, he couldn't risk the safety of his family.
"The police will find him" David assured
"I don't want to wait on the police, I want him found soon. Hire someone if must, only he can testify against that devil" she bitterly spat, every day with Kamara she feared what he
Might do to her. She could leave and stay on her own but what of Lisa? She can't have him alone with the child, there is a chance of him harming her.
The only way for her was to have him behind bars and she would become Lisa's legal guardian and leave for the States.
***
"Sir the image has been clear and his identity have been found" the young man informed Samuel.