52 A clear conscious

Shocked and embarrassed at this public disgrace; He ran over, covered her properly and asked "Ego what is wrong?"

"Ndu, someone has tampered with my Nwaza".

"Is that not what is in your hand?"

"No, it is not. Someone changed it".

Ego has succeeded in keeping the bird and her dealings with it a secret from the whole world. Up till this very moment, no one knew she has a bird. So Ndubisi was surprised to find the richest woman in the whole of Nekede crying over a bird.

"Can I ask why this bird is so important to you? He inquired.

"No! You can't. That is beside the point" she shouted.

"Nne it is alright; just calm down" he consoled her and afterward asked "How do you know this is not it?"

Without uttering a word, she simply handed over the bird to him. He carried it from her and was still wondering what to do with it when she said "If it is my Nwaza, it would have disappeared immediately you touched it".

"Oh I see, is that so?" He asked with unbelief evident in his voice and face.

Seeing the unbelief on his face brought her pain "Give it back to me. You of all people don't believe me".

"No! Nne it is not that; I'm just finding it hard to digest what you just said" he said pulling the bird away from her.

Further angered by his unbelief and doubt, she gave a long hiss and snatched the bird from him but failed in the process which gave the captured bird its freedom. Furious by the sudden loss of the fake bird she attacked him, throwing slaps from left and right while he forcefully grabbed her, gave her a very tight hug that disabled her swinging fist. Knowing she could no longer fight; she began weeping bitterly like a child with her head on his chest. Her source of livelihood and joy was gone. At this very moment, Ego remembered this particular Igbo adage "Aku n'efe efe" which means "Wealth flies". If you are rich today does not mean you will be rich forever. Just as easily the wealth flewand landed on your roof, it can also fly away in that manner and lands on your neighbor's roof. So use your wealth to help those around you when it is your turn because things can change at any given moment.

"Nne it is ok. Now I know the importance of this bird to you. We are going to get whoever did this to you. Please just stop crying" he said consoling her. All fell on deaf ears as she continued sobbing. Then all of a sudden she stopped, pulled away from him and called on Onumara ordering him to get Okemmiri - a popular and powerful chief priest of Amadioha.

As soon as Onumara left the compound she ordered everyone to gather before her where she addressed them, asking over and over again who entered the room and messed with her precious bird. Of course, no one agreed to have accessed the room. She even promised to forgive the person but that offer ends once Okemiri arrives; no one agreed. She had her eyes pinned on Oluchukwu while addressing them, but Oluchukwu herself could not puzzle out why she has been suspected.

One thing we have learned from American movies it that for a crime to happen, there must be motive, opportunity and means. Oluchukwu had the motive - she needs money, a lot of it. Means – no one not even Ndubisi had access to all the rooms. She knows the compound in and out. As for the opportunity, that presented itself when she declined going to Nnewi saying she was having stomach pain.

Another suspect was Obinwa. One night after visiting her bird and it provided her with a lot of cowries. She opened the door, looked out, make sure no one was around before stepping out and shut the door behind her. She had not gone far when someone out of nowhere called her. Shocked to the bone, the pause of cowries fell from her hands and landed on the bare ground. She turned to see Obinwa coming behind her. And he had apologized for surprising her saying he wanted to be certain it was her. Ego didn't respond for she was still recovering from the shock. Once he was out of her sight. She had picked up her money and had gone to her room. He was the only one that has seen her walking out of that hut with money. Likely he was the one that exchanged her bird.

Immediately she was through addressing them, she called Oluchukwu aside and pleaded with her to come forth with the truth. But Oluchukwu was still stead-forth that she had nothing to do with her Nwaza.

"And you are willing to swear before the god?" she asked concealing her sympathy.

"Yes! Clear conscious fear no accusation" she answered nodding her head.

"Alright, the Dibia will soon be here and everyone will have to prove their innocence by swearing. I will make sure that the felon pays dearly" Ego yelled as she stormed away in anger.