It was almost 5 PM at the police station, and Officer James was engaged in a casual sports conversation with the clerk, who was sitting behind the desk.
"I'm telling you, Barcelona is going to win the league this season," Officer James said. "The way they are playing reminds me of the era of Ronaldinho and the others."
"Come on, James, stop deceiving yourself," the clerk replied without looking at him. "There's no way Barcelona are winning the league this season. I've already placed my bet on Real Madrid, and I'm sure they're going to win the league and even more trophies."
"Betting on Real Madrid is like throwing your money away," Officer James countered, shaking his head in pity. "Barcelona are too strong this year, and nothing can stop them."
The two officers continued their lighthearted sports debate in the station, until Officer James suddenly remembered something, and his expression changed to something serious.
"By the way," Officer James recalled. "What's the update on that girl I brought in earlier? You haven't given us an update, nor have we received any bank alerts regarding her case."
"Hm," the clerk replied, blinking his eyes. "You mean Shola? The one you brought in this afternoon, right?" He paused before continuing. "Well, we tried calling her parents—"
"And then what happened?" Officer James prompted, leaning forward slightly.
"It didn't go as planned, James," the clerk admitted.
"What do you mean it didn't go as planned?" Officer James asked, staring, confused.
"Well, that's because we called the number she gave us when she arrived," the clerk explained. "A woman answered the phone and claimed her name was Anderson. But when we informed her that Shola was in our custody, her manner changed, and she claimed we had called the wrong Mrs. Anderson."
"That's ridiculous!" Officer James exclaimed. "Did you ask her if she knew any Shola at all? These people shouldn't ruin my shift for me because I needed money to feed my family before signing out tonight."
"Of course I asked her if she knew Shola," the clerk replied. "But the woman kept insisting we had made a mistake and then hung up."
The two men stood in silence for a moment, before Officer James spoke up. "I think I'll go have a word with Shola myself. Something's not adding up."
Without waiting for a response from the clerk, Officer James grabbed a set of keys from his desk and made his way down the corridor to the holding cells.
Upon arriving there, he peered through the prison bars and saw Shola sitting sadly in the far corner of the cell. Her head was resting on her drawn-up knees, and she looked utterly dejected.
"Shola," Officer James called, but she didn't respond at first.
"Shola," he called again, and this time, Shola slowly raised her head to stare at the officer. Her eyes were red and puffy, and tears had been streaming down her face all day.
"Come, stand up and come here," Officer James instructed, gesturing with his hand. "We need to talk."
Shola hesitated a moment but eventually pushed herself up, dragging herself to the bars separating her and Officer James. She stood silently, staring straight into the officer's eyes.
Officer James cleared his throat and began speaking. "Shola," he asked gently, "we called the number you provided earlier, and the person who answered claimed they didn't know you. Can you explain why they would deny knowing you? I'm having trouble understanding the situation."
"I gave you the right number, Officer," Shola said sadly. "Maybe my mom is just angry with me for being here in jail, especially after what I did."
"Your family is angry with you?" Officer James replied. "That's not my concern. The main issue is that you caused a disturbance, triggering a false alarm that led to damages. How are you going to pay for them? You need someone to bail you out and cover the damages. Who is going to take care of that?"
"I have no one," Shola answered, looking down with tear -filled eyes. "Apart from my family, whose details I gave you, I have no one else."
"Your family is all you've got?," Officer James asked. "The same family that has refused to take your call. Don't you have any money in your bank savings account? You could use your phone to make a transfer for your bail."
"How much are we talking about?" Shola asked.
"Well, three hundred thousand naira would do," Officer James replied, looking away. "That money is meant for the government, and it will be used to cover the cost of the damages you've caused."
"What? Three hundred thousand naira?" Shola exclaimed, her mouth opened in surprise. "Where am I supposed to get that kind of money as a student?"
"I don't know," Officer James said. He was frustrated and disappointed that Shola had no money. So he stepped back, ready to walk away.
As he started to leave, Shola suddenly remembered the serum Helen's ghost had given her earlier. She quickly called out to Officer James and urged him to wait.
The officer paused and glanced back at her, watching as Shola rushed to the corner of her cell, where she had hidden the serum container. Shola grabbed it and hurried back to the bars, stretching out her hand through the prison bars toward Officer James.
"What's this?" Officer James asked, staring at the container with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
"This... this is the serum," Shola started to explain. "This is the reason I triggered the alarm at the hospital. It's an experimental serum created by Doctor Collins. He's been using it on patients and turning them into test subjects. Some have even died because of his actions. If you could track him with this, you will get more money from him,"
"An experimental serum?" Officer James asked as he took the container from Shola. "Come on, you're wasting my time with this container," he replied in annoyance.
Before Shola could respond, Officer James opened the container and poured the entire serum onto the cell floor, with the liquid foaming as it hit the concrete floor.
"No!" Shola cried out, watching in horror as the officer emptied the serum out. "Why did you do that?" She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. "That was the only evidence I had!"
After Officer James finished emptying the serum from its container, he carelessly tossed it aside and turned to look at Shola.
"What's all this nonsense you're trying to pull with me, Shola?" he asked. "You triggered an alarm and wasted resources, and now you're giving me wild stories about Doctor Collins. I told you before, didn't I, that I am only interested in your bail."
"This is not a wild story!" Shola responded, still sobbing on the floor.
"Then have you ever seen Doctor Collins inject anyone with this so-called serum?" Officer James questioned. "Do you have proof? Do you really think a man like Doctor Collins, a well-respected health practitioner, would do something like this? Isn't it normal for doctors to develop drugs? They can experiment, test, and use the product when they're ready by following proper procedures to get approval. Nothing you've said proves Doctor Collins is doing anything wrong."
"He is!" Shola insisted. "The patients he injected with these serums aren't just sick, they are dying!"
"And where is the evidence you have to back this claim?" Officer James snapped. "Oh, right. Was it the serum I just emptied on the floor?" He turned to face her. "Listen carefully, Shola, the serum is gone. Even if it were evidence enough, what I just saw was just some liquid in a bottle. You expect me to take this to my superior and say, 'Hey, Shola said this,' and they'll just accept your story? Especially when it concerns someone like Doctor Collins? My focus is on cases that pay, not theories like this."
Officer James continued ranting, "What I need from you is a name, Shola. The name of someone who can pay your bail. Because if you don't have that, you're going to stay in this prison for a very long time, and I'm done talking with you."
With that, Officer James began to walk away in annoyance. Shola cried on the floor of her cell, feeling overwhelmed and defeated.
Suddenly, she heard someone call her name, and she turned around slowly to see Helen's ghost appearing beside her on the prison wall.
"What happened, Shola?" Helen asked.
Shola couldn't respond. Instead, she turned her head toward the empty serum container and the spot where Officer James had poured out the liquid. Helen followed her gaze and noticed the empty plastic container lying in the corner of the cell, along with a trail of liquid on the ground.
"Did one of the officers do this?" Helen's ghost asked.
"Yes, he destroyed the evidence. Everything we were working for," Shola said, as she began to cry again. "All they care about is money; they say it's all that matters to them."
"Did you ask them how much they are demanding?" Helen's ghost inquired.
"They mentioned something about three hundred thousand naira," Shola replied, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "My parents won't even answer my calls. Where am I supposed to get that kind of huge amount of money?"
Helen's ghost squatted down close to Shola and said, "Don't cry anymore. I'll get the money. I promise you that."
"You will?" Shola asked, staring at the ghost
"Yes," Helen said firmly. "I promise to get you out of this place before eight o'clock. You have my word."
Without another word, Helen's ghost disappeared from the prison wall. Her only priority was to get her biological daughter out of prison, as Doctor Collins was beyond the person they could nail to justice.
To be continued…..
DEATH CAN WAIT - EPISODE 18
Where will Helen's ghost get money from?
@Berry Tyra