All In A Circle Episode 72

A very popular game as a child was the hide and seek game. Its a game where some set of people, mostly kids go into hiding and another set of kids searching for them. It was a very interesting game and kids looked forward to non-school days when the game would be played. But on most occassions, the game end up in fight as a result of a kid who has been searching under the scorching sun for the past one hour, he would definitely want to feel the pleasure of hiding too, but his peers will disagree, because no one wants to be the searcher.

A typical hide and seek game was going on in Sandra Oselu’s apartment, where every attempt made by Sandra to force a word out of Kelvin’s mouth ended up making Kelvin leaving the room.

“Sincerly speaking, I don’t know what my offence is.” Sandra said as she strolled into the living room for the upteenth time. Even though, this time she had prepared herself that any attempt made by Kelvin to leave the living room, she would block him.

“Kelvin, I am talking to you.” She said sitting down beside him and taking his hand in hers.

“I know.” he replied without taking his eyes off the tv screen.

“Why are you avoiding me?” She asked. He didn’t know what to say, but all thanks to his phone which beeped that moment thereby saving him from answering any silly question.

“Hello, Hak.” He said on picking up. He knew there was no way he could leave the living room without raising Sandra’s suspicion and he wouldn’t want to postpone the call. It had to be an important message. He gave Sandra a can-you-please-excuse-me look, but Sandra stood her ground defiantly.

“Hak, how do you expect me to make such journey at this time of the day with the issue at hand?” He asked with a slightly raised voice. He listened for a minute, glancing at Sandra occassionally, to know if she was eavedropping his conversation with Hakym.

“You know you can talk to Maleek, let him understand and reason along with me. I can’t drive down to the cor… to that place now. Maybe later in the day I could come.” He said. He listen for a few seconds.

“You better do. I’ll prepare myself and drive down there by 9pm today.” He said and hung up.

“Who was that?” She asked.

“A colleague at work.” He replied.

“What does he want? I thought you said you are on leave, how come they wanted you to report to work today? And why can’t you go now that you choosed to go by 9pm?” She asked.

He didn’t know which one to answer first, but he felt answering them in the manner which the questions had come would be the best idea.

“Well, I am an indispensable staff of the company, such that, a day without me is like they go bankrupt and fold up. I was granted the two weeks leave reluctantly. Well, my reason for going by 9pm is simple, I plan chatting with the GM over a cup of wine later in the day that’s all. He needed my adivice on some things.” He explained. Sandra looked unconvinced but, there was nothing she could do.

“Your boss should be the Maleek that you mentioned. What kind of relationship do you have with him that you call him by his first name? What type of organisation do you work in?” She asked. Hey! Woman, your questions are getting too much. He wished he had said that but thank God he didn’t.

“He is my boss and not my father or my God. And moreso, we have the same educational qualification, his years of experience and the length of his stay at the organisation took him to the office he currently occupies.” He explained.

She still looked unconvinced, but she still couldn’t say it out for the fear of Kelvin flaring up that moment, and the last thing she wants to see is an angry Kelvin.

“Can we please talk about another thing?” He asked.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” She asked. Slapping her wouldn’t have been a bad idea that moment, because one thing he hated most was a woman who nagged a lot. Once your questions are not being answered, can’t you think of another thing to say?

—

Clement gently drove the car into Rachel’s paternal uncle’s compound where her aggrieved parents were still staying. He approached the door and knocked with a gentle tap.

“Come in the door is open.” He heard a familiar voice say. He turned the door knob and eased himself into the living room where about six to seven peering eyes were looking at him.

“Ah! Clement, its you? Come right in.” Rachel’s father said. He gently walked into the living room proper and greeted everyone present before he took a seat. He wasn’t expecting a gathering such as this, but all the same they were part of his reason for visiting. He only came to talk to his mother-in-law and his sister-in-law, but right now, he is in a discussion with almost every member of the family.

“So, when do you plan to have Rachel buried?” Rachel’s uncle, the owner of the house asked.

“Actually sir, I would have loved if we did it immediately, but with the recent happenings around me, I think we should just take things slow, so I can pay my last respect to my wife with a clear and unburdened heart.” He explained as tears escaped his eyes. And as if waiting for him to make the first move, his mother-in-law bursted into tears too same with Rachel’s aunty, the wife of the man whose house they were in.

“Will you two stop crying or I send you out of here. Can your cries bring back the dead? Why can’t you accept faith and thank God for everything. Or are you trying to tell us that Rachel’s death pained you…” Rachel’s uncle, the tough man was saying as his voice trailed off too. He was crying too. After a few minutes of consoling one another, the meeting continued.

“If that’s what you want then its okay by us, afterall she is your wife.” Rachel’s uncle replied.

“Thank you sir.” He said. They chatted about other things, which all connects with Rachel and every mention of her made everyone shed tears.

“So, mama, since you said you have a valid international passport. I am presently working on your visa and it should be ready in few days.” Clement said to his mother-in-law.

“Visa? For what?” The woman asked.

“Well, since Amanda is in America, I think she needed to grow up with at least one genuine member of her family, either paternal or maternal. But most importantly, the maternal side. She is living with strangers right now, none of them is related to her, and the way and manner which they would groom her will be different from the way her family member would.” He explained.

“I really appreciate your efforts. But one thing is that, I can’t travel out of the country right now, daddy’s failing health is something I need to monitor.” She replied.

“Well mummy, I understand, but I can move you and dad over there.”

“You can talk to your mother, she would be willing to help. Afterall, the girl belonged to the two families and if one side of the family is present, then I think everything is sorted already.” She explained.

“Well, I planned talking to my mum too, but I just felt you deserved to know about my plans first.”

“Sorry for interfering o. I think Amanda should be allowed to live in the states until she stops sucking b.re.ast, and is able to walk on her own. Then you can bring her back to Nigeria, since that is when she would start learning and undertanding things.” Rachel’s aunty explained.

Everyone bought the idea and lauded her for her brilliance. Clement excused Chidinma from the gathering and led her out of the house where they extensively discussed the issue at hand, the relationship it had with Rachel’s death. Chidinma tried as much as possible to give helpful information and was glad when Clement said at the end of the chat that her contribution has really been helpful.

A few minutes later, he was heading back to the station, head high and furious. He needed to get to his father or his brother as soon as possible.

*******

Mike walked into the cell where Jay was being held and switched on the light. “What else do you want with me?” Jay asked angrily. Mike ignored him as he went to the extreme of the room and drew out a chair which he took to the center where Jay was seated.

“How do you do?” Mike asked as he settled on the chair and put his left leg on his right lap and his arms folded on his chest.

“I am good. What brings you here?” Jay asked. He wanted to laugh because from the way Jay answered his question, it seemed he had concluded that the cell was his house or office. Because the question, “what brings you here?” can only be asked in a setting where you are the host. But since he was the only one occupying the cell, Mike concluded that he was truely the host.

“I have a team of policemen go in search of Danger-kelv but it seemed he wasn’t at home. Clement also had another group look into each of the rooms in the house with their binoculars, but there were no sign of Kelvin.” Mike explained.

“And who told you he is here with me or that I know where he is?” Jay asked raising his voice.

“No one told me anything. But since you guys were once colleagues and friends, I think you should know some of the places he might be.”

“Its like you are mad or out of your mind. I have been here for how many weeks now?” He waited for no answer before he continued. “Even if you are blind, didn’t you hear when one of your colleagues read a short note addressed to me by Becky? She said Danger-kelv tried to kill me.” Jay said angrily. Mike was infuriated by his outburst which prompted him to raise his shirt and show him his pistol in the holster.

“You can’t shoot me, you people need me in your investigations, simple!” He said emphatically.

“Never underestimate the powers that surge to your body when you have a gun in hand prompting you to use it on anything or anybody. You were once in the system, you know what I mean, don’t you?” If there was one thing he had learnt over the years, it was the tactics to get the truth out of criminals. The first thing to put in place was to register your strictness in his mind, by appearing like a no nonsense man. Then the second thing is to remain calm, and the next thing to do is to make the criminal remain calm, talk to him like you were friends, talk to him like you understood the reson why he committed the act, discuss important topics inter-relating with him or the crime he committed.

“Is there anywhere we can see Kelvin at this crucial time? Does he have an apartment of his own somewhere in town? Or a friend with whom he can stay with. Let me ask you, does he have a girlfriend? I need answers please.” Mike asked.

“What’s your problem with where Kelvin could be at this time? I guess you want to arrest him, if you really meant business, I think you should keep tabs on him, no one will tell you where he is, as a matter of fact, I can’t tell you where he is because I don’t know.” Jay replied.

“I need clues. We can’t keep tabs on someone whom we don’t know his current location. What if he is outside the country, are you saying we should keep tabs on him here? We don’t have a working interpool.” Mike explained.

“Well, I think you have overstayed your welcome. I want you to leave.” Jay said. Mike knew that on a normal day, he wouldn’t have spent up to two minutes with any criminal to get any information out of them, but at this crucial hour where the world is anticipating their victory, they have to thread carefully.

“Fine. I’ll just leave.” Mike said and stood up. Just as he reached the door, he heard Jay spoke.

“Hey!” He turned to face him. “He has a girlfriend, Sandra Oselu. Also, there is a man who works at Kamboil petroleum, his name is Kenny, he is the manager. It is possible he knows where Kelvin is.” Jay said.

“Thanks.” Mike replied and walked out after switching off the light and securing the lock. —

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*****

“Where are you?” Sylvester asked Becky on the screen. Becky gave a short laugh before she spoke.

“You want to know where I am right?” sylvester nodded in the affirmative, his eyes fixed on the screen while Ngozi busied herself with admiring the living room and stylishly taking note of some strange things, names, pictures and letters, she was dropping them in a bag.

“What business do you have with me? Why are you here in the first place? Why do you want to know where I am?” Becky asked.

“To start with, we were directed here by Jay, am sure you know him. He claimed we could get more information about Kelvin from you which is why we are here.” Sylvester explained.

“Hey! Young lady, drop everything you’ve taken.” Becky said referring to Ngozi who defiantly ignored her. Ngozi kept on picking things and writing inside her notepad, much to Becky’s anger, but there was nothing she could do. No one had ever attacked someone through the screen.

“So, would you be willing you tell us something that could help us, so that Jay can be released.” Becky’s face lit up the moment she heard the word ‘release.’

“Are you sure?” Sylvester nodded in affirmation.

“Jay would be released without…?”

“Yes, he’ll be released without trial, provided you give us informations that could help us get Kelvin.” Becky thought for a while, this could be a ploy just to make her talk. Even though she was willing to help them in any way she could, she still had some reservations which is exactly why they won’t be getting out of there alive.

“Go upstairs, there is a room at the end of the lobby, go in there. The access code is 42-KF-BECK. The moment you enter, there is a shelf directly opposite the door, the access code is 43-KF-BECK, there is a box inside, white color, it belonged to Kelvin. If the box is with you, Kelvin will answer your call. He kept it with me thinking it was safe, but I have been using it against him, which was why he told me about his plans to eliminate Jay.” Becky explained and Sylvester quickly scribbled down the codes and the directives.

“So, what’s in the box?” He asked.

“Hey! Don’t rush me, I am still coming to that. But why don’t you go in there and fetch the box, I have something I want to discuss with your partner here. Then we can talk about the content of the box later.” She replied. Sylvester thought for a while, it seemed mouth watering, and easy. He didn’t expect them to come into a house with high technology and get things so easily. But with the situation of things, he couldn’t afford to waste even a minute pondering over issues such as thing.

He walked to the extreme end of the living room where Ngozi was getting herself busy, and whispered something in her ear. She dipped her hand inside her bag and gave him a communication device and place in on his ear. She took one for herself too and connected them with her phone.

“Goodluck.” She said, and off he left. But he did what was expected of him as he sent a quick message and a recording of his conversation to Clement, so he can know the situation of things. ———-

“Young lady.” Becky beckoned on Ngozi to move closer to the screen. “Why don’t you drop all you have taken from this living room?” Becky asked.

“And what if I don’t?” Becky asked defiantly.

“Well, I am only concerned about your comfortabilty on your way out. Because, you won’t be going out easily like you came in. You’ll do some running and you know with that heavy bag, it will be somehow impossible.” Becky explained. Ngozi hissed and sat down on the table. “You are a detective, your partner is an FBI agent, also a detective. Can’t you guys use the brains God gave you? With all you’ve gotten so far, are you saying you haven’t detected anything that is worth you questioning me?” Becky asked smiling. Ngozi still ignored her question and just then, she heard Sylvester’s voice,

“I have gotten the box.” He whispered. She smiled.

“He has gotten the box. I know.” Becky said. Ngozi was surprised that she knew Sylvester had gotten the box, how she knew, she didn’t know. She saw Becky carry a big rectangular box and dropped in on the table before her.

“What’s that?” Ngozi asked.

“Just watch me.” She replied and opened it. Ngozi could see a form of wired network, on a board inside the box. Becky pressed a red button and immediately, an intercom which stood on the shelf beneathe the screen rang and a stop watch started reading from exactly thirty seconds.

“A bomb!” Ngozi exclaimed.

“Sly, there is a bomb down here. Get out of there as fast as possible, we have thirty seconds.” She screamed.

*****

Mike drove into Kamboil petroleum and gas station and drove towards the only attendant who was less busy.

“Good morning.” He greeted as he switched off the ignition.

“Morning. How many litres?” The lady replied. Her face looked a lot more familiar and Kelvin could remember the last time he was at the gas station. They were after Jay who would later confess to them that Kelvin was the one who blew up the car which confused the police and they escaped unnoticed.

“Well, I am not here to buy fuel. I am here to see a man named Kenny, the manager.” Mike replied.

“Did you call him before coming here?” The lady asked.

“No I didn’t and why should I?” He asked.

“Its just that Kenny has been transferred to our outlet in Ibadan. We have a new manager here.” She explained. He wasn’t expecting this latest news, but he was at least glad that Kenny was not the main target of the police, they only needed to use him to get Kelvin if possible.

“Well, it is not really Kenny I came to see, I actually wanted to find out about a man. Kelvin, he is Kenny’s friend, he drives a wine coloured Nissan Murano and a white Chrysler300. Do you by any chance have met him before?” The lady thought for a while, the description perfectly fits her crush. The handsome man who used to frequent the station, Kenny’s friend. She could remember the first time he gave her money, he drove the Murano, and the second time, he came in the Chrysler. She didn’t know his name because she felt it was unimportant for now. A part of her told her, he was interested in her, but she didn’t want to be too jumpy.

“What are you?” She asked.

“I am a cop. This Kelvin of a man is somehow connected to the Khal corp. We need to know where he is and Kenny is our only option.” The lady realised that it would be dangerous for her if she claimed to have seen the man before, or tell them anything that could help in their investigation.

“But sir, your description really fits a man that used to come here sometimes ago, but he no longer visits. If you could present a picture of him, that would help.” She explained. Just then a black Range rover drove and came to a halt behind Mike’s car.

“Hey man! Get your car off my way.” Hakym said.

“One second please.” Mike entered his car and moved forward a bit.

“How many litres sir? She asked.

“Full tank.” Hakym replied as he counted wads of naira note and handed it to her. He drove away a few minutes later. Mike came out of his car and handed a small photograph of Kelvin to the lady.

“He used to come here but its been a while that he showed up last.” She said.

“Like how long?” He asked.

“Maybe two weeks ago. Some few days before Kenny’s transfer.” She replied.

“And any possibilty of him showing up in the coming days?” Mike asked.

“None that I can think of, but Kenny left an instruction that the parcel he kept for him was in a certain locked safe in the office.” She replied. Mike thought for a while, the best thing to do is to blow up the safe and get whatever parcel it is that is inside, but on a second thought, he realised how that single act could bring their progresses to a halt and their plans into jeopardy.

“Lets see what happens in the coming days, if the parcel is really important, he’ll come for it and please don’t hesitate to give me a call immediately he shows up.” Mike said as he handed a sheet of paper where his number were legibly scribbled to her.

“Okay sir.” She said.

“Thanks for your time.” He hopped behind the wheel and pulled out of the gas station.

The lady immediately gave Kenny a call requesting for Kelvin’s number. One good turn they say deserves another. Kelvin has at a point in time aided her financially, now is the payback time. She needs to notify him of the looming danger.

———

Hakym after driving out of the gas station remained in his Range rover spot by the roadside opposit the gas station. With the help of his binoculars, he could see Mike talking with the attendant, what was being discussed he had no idea of, and he needed to find out.

Immediately Mike swung his car unto the road, he drove into the gas station, much to the surprise of the attendant.

*****

Chief Obi Patrick was standing in the living room beside the television and his CSO was seated on one of the few available couches.

“Are you saying Clement came to the house?” He asked.

“Yes sir. He came, claiming he wanted to see you, but we refused him. Not dettered by that, he still insisted on entering the house even without you inside.” The Cheif Security officer explained.

“Don’t you think that boy is overstepping his boundaries? He has already gotten enough warnings about his chosen profession. We killed his wife, but it seemed he wasn’t affected by this, he just returned to work a lot more stronger. What do you think we can do?” Chief said.

“Sir, I am not in the best position to pass a judgement on Clement, but I think as your son, you know how to punish him, and it’ll be good if you do just that.” Chief Obi thought for a while, how will it sound, if he ordered the death of his son? What would be his gain if he should kill his own son? Maybe killing his two weeks old baby will do, but the girl is in America, there is no reliable man to do the job. Kelvin is now a wanted man, while the other members of the khal corp can’t attempt travelling out of the country, they are not legal members, moreso, according to their informations, they had no jobs they were doing, they are not members of any legal organisation, and that makes it a point of duty for the immigration service to detain them, so that they’ll be screaned before being granted the neccessary flying documents. To avoid them getting to America and turning into something else. Maybe Amanda is not destined to die afterall, but Clement definitely won’t survive this.

Just then his phone beeped. He checked the caller and realised that it was on his associates with who they were sponsoring Khal corp.

“Hello prof.” Chief Obi patrick said.

“Hello pat, where are you?” He asked.

“I am in my house, where nobody can see me. What’s the matter?”

“The president will be confessing any moment from now. The police are acting on mere rumours that they heard the news. I am at the airport already, my flight would be announced in a minute.” The prof explained.

“But where are you running to? You can be in your house and no one would show upto arrest you or anything.?” The professor couldn’t mutter a word. He didn’t know wether to comment Chief Patrick or scold him. He needed to play by the rules, being an academician, who graduated up to the phd level in English. He had no idea of politics or how it is being played and he’d really want to know why

“Goodluck to you.” Chief Patrick said, and immediately he heard a voice from the other end differnt from the professor’s voice was enough to maked her cry. “you are under arrest prof” The voice from the other end said. Immediately Chief Obi Patrick hung up, removed his sim card, immediately threw it accross the room until it landed on a fireplace.

“Professor has been arrested.” He announce to his chief security officer who flinched on his seat.

“So, what do we do?” The CSO asked.

“Well, I think we first of all needed to get at Clement before anything.” –

To be continued