Helen's ghost, now searching for the money to bail Shola out of prison, disappeared and reappeared outside Mr. Daniel's compound. The house was very quiet, and she paused for a moment to look around at the familiar surroundings.
Helen had often visited Daniel's house; it was like her second home when she was alive. Memories of her time there flooded her mind, and she vividly recalled how she would knock on the door, with Daniel warmly opening it to embrace her in a tight hug.
Her ghost moved closer to the door, passing effortlessly through the wooden barrier without the need to knock or open it. Helen could never have imagined that a day would come when she would visit Daniel, and her presence would go completely unnoticed.
As Helen entered the sitting room, she found Daniel comfortably seated on the sofa. His left leg was crossed over his right, and a live football match played on the screen of his plasma TV. However, Daniel's attention was elsewhere; he was engrossed in his phone, scrolling through its contents with serious focus. Occasionally, his lips would move slightly, as if he were reading and reacting to something on his Facebook timeline.
Helen's ghost stood unnoticed near Daniel as he tapped on his phone. She waited patiently for the perfect moment to approach and accomplish the task that had brought her to visit.
After what felt like an eternity, Daniel began yawning from hunger. The thought of getting a snack crossed his mind, so he set his phone down on the sofa and headed into the kitchen to grab something for himself.
This was the opportunity Helen's ghost had been waiting for. She stared intently at Daniel until he left the room for the kitchen, leaving his phone behind.
Now that she had her chance, Helen knew she needed to act quickly, as her ghostly ability to interact with physical objects was limited. Most importantly, she did not want Daniel to return and witness a phone floating in the air, held by an invisible ghostly hand.
She swiftly reached out to Daniel's phone, and her semi-transparent hand solidified around it. Helen needed to move fast; otherwise, the phone would become heavier until her energy became exhausted, causing her to lose the ability to hold it.
With time running out, she quickly unlocked the phone by typing in the password she had known her entire life. She swiped over to Daniel's banking app and unlocked it, revealing a balance of millions in their joint account.
Without hesitation, she input the amount she wanted to send, selected the recipient, and verified the details before initiating the transaction. Daniel's four-digit PIN was easy for Helen to recall, because of how open they had been with each other when she was alive.
As soon as Helen completed the transaction, the phone grew heavier, slipping from her ghostly grasp and falling onto the tiled floor of the living room. She attempted to pick it up, but her energy had burned out, and she was no longer able to lift the phone.
Seconds later, Mr. Daniel returned to the living room, holding a packet of chips. Just as he was about to sit down, his eyes caught sight of his phone on the floor.
"How did it fall?" he wondered aloud, picking up the device and noticing the broken screen. He hadn't paid much attention to how the phone had dropped until he unlocked it, and he was shocked to see a notification for a one-million-naira debit alert that left him frozen in place.
"What?" he muttered. "What the hell is this?" Mr. Daniel exclaimed, standing up with his mouth wide open. He looked around the room, realizing he was alone. Money had been transferred out of the joint account he shared with Helen, and he was baffled because he hadn't initiated the transaction.
Mr. Daniel began to pace his living room, going over the transaction and recipient details in his mind when his phone suddenly rang. He blinked and stared at the caller ID, and It was his friend, Mr. Gbenga.
"Hello, Daniel," Mr. Gbenga said as soon as the call connected. "I hope you're seeing what Southampton is doing to your club."
"This is not the time for football analysis, Gbenga," Mr. Daniel replied. "I was just about to call you because something urgent has come up."
"What's the issue?" Mr. Gbenga asked. "Don't tell me it's about Helen's ghost again."
"It's about Helen," Mr. Daniel said. "You won't believe what just happened to me."
"Come on, Daniel," Mr. Gbenga said. "It's been eighteen years already, and you still won't move on? You were there when Helen and her family were buried after that terrible accident. You saw it with your own eyes. It amazes me when you talk about something impossible."
"How about the child?" Mr. Daniel countered. "At least she wasn't buried or confirmed dead. Her birthday would have been tomorrow if she were alive. Besides, I could feel that Helen was here just a moment ago."
There was a brief silence between the two friends before Mr. Gbenga asked, "How did you know Helen was there?"
"Do you remember the joint account I told you about?" Mr. Daniel asked.
"Yes, I remember," Mr. Gbenga replied. "What about the joint account?"
"We opened that account together for business until we get married," Mr. Daniel explained. "The details we used for the account were unique."
"Unique in what way?" Mr. Gbenga asked, curious.
"Unique in the sense that the details were known only to us. It was the date when we first met, long before we started dating. No one else knew the specifics. Nobody."
"And where is all this leading?" Mr. Gbenga pressed.
"I... I just received a debit alert," Mr. Daniel stated. "Money was transferred out of that joint account."
"To whom was the money transferred?" Mr. Gbenga asked.
"To someone named Shola Anderson," Mr. Daniel replied.
The call fell into silence for a moment. Then, unexpectedly, Mr. Gbenga burst out laughing.
"What's happening?" Mr. Daniel asked, confused. "Why are you laughing when I'm serious?"
"Because you're a comedian, my friend," Mr. Gbenga said, still chuckling. "A ghost initiated a bank transfer? Really? Come on now! Are you even listening to yourself?"
"I'm being serious right now," Mr. Daniel insisted.
"No, seriously, you're not," Mr. Gbenga continued, his laughter subsiding slightly. "You need to quit this medical line and pursue a career in comedy. You'd win awards, I'm sure."
"So this is what you're going to say about something strange that's baffling me?" Mr. Daniel asked, almost getting annoyed.
"No, Daniel," Mr. Gbenga said. "I have a lot to say. The person taking your money is obviously not Helen. You need to go to your bank and investigate who this Shola Anderson is. She is tampering with your account and stealing your money."
_________
(AT THE POLICE STATION)
It was almost 7:25 PM at the police station. Officer James adjusted his uniform cap as he checked the time on his wristwatch. His shift was nearly over, and his thoughts were already on leaving. However, he felt disappointed that no progress had been made with Shola, so he decided to check on her one last time in her cell.
"Shola," Officer James called out upon arriving at her cell. "I came to let you know that your case is closed for today. No one will attend to you until I resume my next shift next week. You will remain here in this cell until then."
Shola quickly stood up and turned to face Helen's ghost. Helennodded in approval, assuring Shola that the money had been transferred to her account. With that confirmation, Shola knew she could now bail herself out.
She turned to Officer James and said, "I will make the transfer now. Kindly give me my phone."
"What did you just say?" Officer James asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I said I'll make the transfer now," Shola repeated.
"So you were pretending before, huh?" Officer James said, folding his arms across his chest. "I knew it. I knew you had the money all along. You were just playing smart. By the time I leave you in this place to rot, you'll learn. You think you can outsmart us?"
He turned to leave but then returned to meet the clerk. After a minute had passed, Officer James came back holding Shola's phone. He handed it to her, and Shola began making the transaction. Once she received confirmation of a successful transaction, Officer James's phone buzzed in his pocket. He took out the device and scrolled through his messages for the alert.
"So you finally sent it, Shola," he said as he began unlocking the prison door. "Just thank your lucky stars I haven't gone off for my shift yet; otherwise, you would have rotted here."
He unlocked the cell and took Shola back to the counter, where she signed some paperwork. Afterward, she was finally released at around 7:45 PM.
—---
Once outside the police station, Shola turned to Helen's ghost and said, "Thank you for being with me throughout this ordeal. You promised to free me before 8 PM, and you kept your promise."
"There's no need to be grateful, Shola," Helen's ghost replied. "I did what was necessary because I felt guilty for getting you into this situation. Besides, I thought tomorrow might be your birthday, and I never wanted it to be spent behind bars."
"Ah, no," Shola said. "My birthday was in May, before all the chaos in my life started. I have already celebrated it. But thank you, Helen; I appreciate your consideration."
TO BE CONTINUED….
DEATH CAN WAIT - EPISODE 19
@Berry Tyra