"I know you from somewhere." Nixon said, walking closer to me.
"That is highly unlikely." I replied quickly.
"No, I know you. Val, where have we seen this man before?"
"It's him." Val replied with glee, bringing his face closer to mine to make sure that it was really me.
"Him who?"
"Have you forgotten? I could never miss his face in spite of the semi darkness of that day." Val spoke. "This is the guy who snatched the deceased lady from us."
"Yes, I remember now, Val. You have the eyes of a hawk." Nixon spoke.
"And the ears of a fox." Val said, and they both laughed with triumph.
Madam Sunday, who had been looking in wonderment from one face to the other, finally spoke.
"What is going on here?" She asked. "So, you guys have met each other?"
"Yes, Mam. This is the guy who ruined our plans. This is the guy who ruined our plans at the very last moment. I wonder what he is doing here." Nixon spoke.
"He is our new accountant. He was employed by my husband just a while ago."
"Indeed. I think he is dangerous." Val said. "This cannot be a coincidence. He saw us the other night, snatched the lady from us, and the next thing, he showed up here, working for us. I think he is working for the police. I think he is an undercover agent."
"What have you got to say for yourself?" Mrs. Sunday asked me.
"Nothing, Mam. But what they are saying is the truth. I was the one who ruined their plans. I was the one who took the girl away from them. I was that person whom you had been talking about. But one thing is sure. I didn't come here for anyone. I didn't come here to cause trouble. I just came here to work." I explained.
"Liar." Nixon shouted and moved towards me with clenched fists, but he was stopped by Mrs. Sunday.
"Are you sure we are safe with you?" She asked me.
"Yes, Mam."
"How can we be certain of that?"
"Because I was also involved in the whole thing. If I report to the police, I would also be implicating my own self." I was desperate.
"That makes sense to me." Mrs. Sunday agreed. She was blinded by her growing liking for me, but Nixon and Val weren't convinced.
"Permission to speak, Mam." That was Nixon.
"Speak."
"I don't trust this guy. He might have struck a deal with the police to free himself and implicate us. Don't you see, Mam? It is too much of a coincidence for him to have found himself in this establishment just a few weeks after what happened, happened. He is dangerous. Let us get rid of him. I don't want any loose ends. I don't want to end up in jail, and I am sure you share the same sentiments." Nixon wanted me deleted at all costs.
Mrs. Sunday contemplated for a while, her eyes moving from one face to the other. Finally, it settled on Val's.
"What do you say to that, Val?" She asked.
"I agree with Nixon, Mam. Let us not take chances. Let us not take unnecessary risks. Let us get rid of him and wipe out all evidence." He spoke.
"So, what are we going to tell his boss, my husband."
"Anything; we can say he ran off. We can tell him anything."
Mrs. Sunday looked at me deep in the eyes. I was able to read that she didn't want any harm to come to me in spite of the fact that I might be dangerous to her. However, she was afraid of her boys, who wanted me to see the light at all costs. So, she decided to do what they wanted.
"Alright, take him to the guardroom and lock him up. Later this night, we will quietly and secretly get rid of him." She ordered.
"Yes, Mam." Nixon smiled wolfishly and pulled me away at gunpoint.
I was locked up in a room with no windows and no light. The only source of light was from the skylight. That meant that when night came, I would be in perpetual darkness. But did I even need to worry about nightfall? I had just a few hours to live. By nightfall, I would be gone forever. I wept at the thought of that.
I regretted and blamed myself for putting myself in that kind of situation. If I had just simply walked past the late girl that night, I would have still been a free man now. But I didn't. I took advantage of her because of my own bodily desires. Now look at me, locked up in a room in an obscure village, awaiting execution.
I couldn't tell how I managed to doze off, but by 4:00 PM, I was woken by the voice of a woman calling my name. I opened my eyes and realized that it was Mrs. Sunday. She was looking at me through the iron bars that served as the door of the guardroom.
"So, it has been you all this while? To think that I was seriously falling in love with you." She spoke.
"I am sorry, Mam."
"No need to be sorry. You are a handsome and educated man, Mr. Ben. You are the kind of man I have always wanted for myself. I married this old crow called Mr. Sunday only because of his money. I never loved him."
"Yet, you were guarding him so jealously." I sneered.
"Yes, because I didn't want anyone to share his money with me. I never intended for anyone to lose their lives because of him. The poor girl lost her life because of the mistake of my men. They applied too much of the substance that was going to knock her unconscious. So, I wasn't responsible for her passing. You weren't, too, in spite of your role in everything. So, I have a bargain for you. I want you to consider it carefully before responding because it just might be your only ticket out of here."
"Tell me, Mrs. Sunday. I would go to the devil himself if he would get me out of here." I replied.
"I want you to get out of here and escape. I am going to give you a huge amount of money. Once you get out of here, we can meet later and elope. I love you so much, Ben. I don't want to lose you."
"But just a few hours ago, you agreed with your boys to make me push daisies."
"No, I was just looking for a means to save your life. Please, have no fear. Everything will be fine."
Our plan would have worked out perfectly well, but what we didn't know was that Nixon had suspected that Mrs. Sunday was going to double-cross them. So, while she came to talk to me about our escape plan, he sneakily followed her and listened to everything. He then went back and reported to Val what he had heard, and they readjusted their plans.
That night, around 7:00 p.m., Nixon and Val appeared at my cell and told me that it was time to go. I looked around desperately for Mrs. Sunday, but couldn't find her. I couldn't understand what was happening.
"Where is Mrs. Sunday?" I asked.
"Your lover is not around?" They laughed.
"Lover? What are you talking about?"
"Yes, we heard about your plans to elope together. That beach!! She planned to double-cross us, but we have outsmarted her. We are going to deal with you." Nixon spoke.
"Please, don't do any harm to me. I beg of you. If you let me go, I promise you that I will never come back. You will never see me again." I begged.
"But that is exactly what we plan to do, Mr. Ben. We plan to let you go. We plan to let you go inside one big hole so that just like you have promised, we will never see you again." They laughed.
I was sneaked out of the compound, and we walked for about an hour before we came to a small stream close to a forest of Indian bamboo. I was asked to get on my knees, and I obeyed.
"Now, what have you got to say before we send you to the journey of no return?" Nixon asked.
"The condemned man drank whisky before his execution." I replied.
"What do you mean by that?" They were puzzled.
"Please, give me whisky to drink. I am a drunkard, and I need to go while in active service."
"Ohh! Hope you were drunk while ravaging that lady." They laughed. "How did it feel, Mr. Ben? Felt good, right? Now, we are giving you the opportunity to go meet her so that you can continue your love. Now, say your last prayers."
He raised his weapon and was going to fire when two clear shots rang out in quick successionsuccession disturbing the peace of the night halting for a moment, the cries of the cicadas.
Nixon and Val did a little confused dance of de@th. Then, their lifeless bodies dropped on the ground and stopped moving. I looked around me in fearful hopefulness. I wondered who might have planted them with the daisies. Then, I heard a voice emerging from the darkness.
"Get up and let's go, sweetheart. I am sorry for being late."
It was Mrs. Sunday.
TO BE CONTINUED…