The suspect

'Evelyn is nowhere around ' Henry said as he

walked back into the house with his search

party.

'Did you check the whole compound?' the voice

at the other end asked.

'Yes, I searched with the maids and the

security men' Henry answered, motioning back

towards the room.

'Okay, let me check what we have from the

cameras' Sylvester said before hanging up.

Henry was about to enter into his room when

he looked at the door to Tarasha's room and

noticed that the position had changed from

how it was left. He closed back the door and

proceeded towards the room. He touched the

knob, it was tight this time, it was locked. Had

someone else gone in? Henry knocked.

The door was opened in few seconds and

Henry was surprised to meet Tarasha still

clothed in her night gown. His mouth was left

agape.

'Good morning' she greeted first, leaving the

door opened for him. She returned to the

bed.

'Where have you been?' Henry walked in

without responding to her greeting. 'We've

been searching for you everywhere'

'I've been in this room' Tarasha replied him,

unperturbed.

'But I was here some minutes ago, I searc…'

'Yes, you searched everywhere in the room

and also the restroom and you called my

name several times without getting a

response' Tarasha interrupted.

'Were you really in the room?' Henry's eyes

widened.

'Why were you searching for me?' Tarasha

asked, trying to change the topic.

A maid appeared at the entrance off the

room, peeping through the opened door. She

seemed surprise to see Tarasha.

'Come' Henry motioned her in. 'Did you know

she was in?'

'I told you I saw her earlier today and that she

should be in her room'

'But I searched around and couldn't find her'

Henry retorted. He turned to Tarasha, 'were

you really in the room?'

'Yes' Tarasha answered bluntly. 'I was in the

restroom, meditating'

'Meditating?' Henry repeated, still finding it

hard to believe.

'Yes, that's why I couldn't answer you, you don't

speak to anyone in the process'

'Meditating? The Hindu way?'

'Kind of' Tarasha smiled.

'That's strange' Henry frowned. 'I thought you

were not religious at all'

'Ermm…' Tarasha stammered. 'But I do believe

in meditation, it helps to calm the soul'

'Mr Henry' someone called from outside,

diverting their attention. 'The police officers

are here to pick you'

'You have to dress up and prepare, we are

going for medical check-up' Henry said to

Tarasha as he left the room. The door was

closed.

'Thanks for your help' Tarasha smiled at the

maid.

'No problem' the maid smiled back.

'Here's your phone' Tarasha said handing her a

cellphone.

'Alright, so when are you going to see me?' The

maid demanded for her payment as she took

back her phone.

'Humm…' Tarasha stood up and dipped her

hand into her pocket, like someone who was

searching for money. Suddenly she grabbed

the maid by the neck and injected a fluid into

the maid's arm. The maid fell down

unconscious immediately. Tarasha dragged the

body into the restroom and laid her on the

floor, she brought out some money and stuck

it into the maid's pocket before leaving the

restroom. The maid had been injected with

benryl and would forget everything that

happened in the last two hours by the time

she woke up.

**12pm

Henry continued to steal glances at Tarasha as

they headed for the police station to take don

their statement. The officer who drove the car

drove slowly thereby prolonging the journey

and the moment of silence between Henry

and Tarasha.

Henry's phone disrupted their peace. 'Hello'

Henry answered the incoming call.

'I couldn't find anything on the tapes' Sylvester

said with a note of tiredness after being asked

several times by Henry to check and cross

check again.

'Don't bother, I didn't check well, she was in

the restroom' Henry said, stealing a glance at

Tarasha, their eyes met.

'So why were you now disturbing me to cross

check several times?' Sylvester asked angrily.

'Erm…' Henry stammered. He couldn't give an

answer as he did not want Evelyn to get the

impression that he was doubting her.

Tarasha gave a short smile which later turned

into a frown. She understood his trick but was

not bothered. It was just a day left for her to

complete her mission and she would

disappear from him and from Abuja. She'll kill

him immediately if he happens to resurface

anytime or tries to cause trouble for her.

'Oh!' Henry exclaimed as Sylvester reminded

him of the job he was supposed to give a

report for by the next day. 'Thanks for helping

me start the job. I'll report to the office once

we leave the police station'

The drive to Division A lasted for fifteen

minutes more. Evelyn and Henry were

ushered into the station immediately. After

taking down a written statement, they were

ushered into another office for interrogation.

The interrogator, an officer in his early thirties

walked into the room carrying a tablet device

in his hands.

'Hi, I'm officer Ken ' He introduced himself,

shaking the hands of the duo. 'You're Henry

and Evelyn, right?' The two nodded in

agreement. 'I want you guys to tell us all you

know so that we can nab those criminals' Ken

continued, checking through his device for the

list of questions he already compiled. 'How

were you taken?' He began.

Henry started first. He explained how the

kidnappers had dressed like policemen and

come to arrest him with a fake Identity card,

he also explained how they made him lead

them to Evelyn. After him, Tarasha also gave

her own account of the abduction.

Several other questions were asked after that

and henry and Tarasha took turns to reply

each question, most times individually.

'Who were those that you say helped you?' Ken

asked one of his final questions.

'The kidnappers let us go' Tarasha said,

surprising Henry.

'They released you and gave you the car to

leave with?'

'Yes, I believe that they were ordered by the

person who sent them. They released us after

a big man entered and spoke in Hausa

language to them'

'Hmm…' Ken sighed as he took down notes.

Henry was staring at Tarasha in surprise. She

had told him that passersby helped them and

not that they were freed by the kidnappers

themselves.

'The man was somewhat like a boss to them'

Tarasha quickly added. 'He entered into the

compound violently so I first thought that they

were just passersby who heard our screams

outside. It was later I realised that they were

of the group'

Henry became calmer after Tarasha's

explanation but she still had some

explanations to do to him. Why didn't she tell

him the whole story?

Ken gave a signal to one of the junior officers

standing beside him. The junior officer

nodded and left through the back exit. He

returned in two minutes time with Mallam

Jefa.

'Was this man a part of the kidnappers?'

'No' Henry answered. He stared at Tarasha's

face for confirmation.

'No, he isn't' Tarasha confirmed, staring at the

man who she remembered was trailing behind

them as they escaped.

'Okay, you can process his release' Officer Ken

said to the junior officer.

'Please, I have something to say' Jefa shouted

as the junior officer tried to take him away.

All eyes focused on Jefa. 'Bring him back' Ken

said. Mallam Jefa was returned back to his

position. 'Yes, what do you want to say?'

Tears formed in Jefa's eyes as he opened his

mouth to begin. He let out a deep breath.

…

CLICK HERE to read all episodes and chapters

+++++++

'So what's the Boss's instruction now?' Benny

asked joining Cole and Aisha in the living

room.

'You are to act as a backup for her in the

banquet, you step in case anything unexpected

comes up. We'll all be communicating through

our devices, your Bluetooth piece should not

leave your ear'

'Okay. How do I get to attend the banquet?'

Benny asked, taking his seat. 'I believe there'll

be a ban of entry of uninvited guests'

'Tarasha would work out your invitation card,

so you won't encounter any problem entering

into the hall' Cole answered his questions

before proceeding with the rest of the

instruction to Aisha. 'Your job is to monitor

the switch off the streets cameras when if we

give the order. There'll be a tracker on the

Lamborghini, you have to keep monitoring our

location both with the cameras and the

tracker. If you notice any strange movement

or someone following us through the

streaming, you have to let us know

immediately'

'Boss is almost doing this job individually'

Benny commented.

Aisha hissed playfully. 'So don't you like it like

this? You want us to be so involved like we

were in the last job? Her methods are so

daring and dangerous'

'Yes, so dangerous but I do think I love them'

Cole said thoughtfully.

'Yes, I'm beginning to love her methods too.

Its making us gain more experience' Benny

added.

'Too dangerous' Aisha insisted with a playful

frown on her face.

'Lazy girl, just make sure you do your job well

tomorrow' Cole teased as she walked away

from the living room. He turned to Benny

with a serious face, looking like he just

remembered something important. 'Benny,

there's something I've not told you. The

banquet is taking place at Jubril Lawal's

mansion and there may be serious security

protocols there. One very important thing the

Boss wants you to do is to smuggle in the guns

she might be making use of. You have to find a

way to pass through the security stands

without the machines detecting you have guns

with you'

'Wow! How am I supposed to do that?' Benny

widened his eyes. 'That would only happen if

I'm able to get to the control base of the

security doors and deactivate the detecting of

metals'

'If that's the only option, then you have to do

it'

'Huh?' Benny stared at him in surprise. 'Do you

know how many security guys would be

present at Jubril Lawal's doorpost? Am I

supposed to fight all of them?'

'Eh!' Cole hushed him. 'Stop whining already. I

believe the Boss has her own plans. Her

instruction was that I should tell you to begin

to think of a way to do it'

Benny shook his head in disbelief. Cole

continued talking, 'she also said you have to

come in first without any gun and find her

during the party, she'll give you more

instructions'

'Can't she take in the guns herself?' Benny

asked.

'She won't be free to move in and out of the

party. Remember she's a special guest and

would have a lot of business people to meet

and friends to make' Cole answered.

Benny sighed. 'Don't get all worked up Ben,

she only wants to get you prepared. I'm sure

she'll be able to get the job done without guns'

'Then why is she asking for guns then?'

'Because she doesn't want to take chances' Cole

slammed at him. He was getting irritated by

Benny's sissy behaviour.

'Why the hell is she even passing information

through you to me?' Benny shouted back.

'Her phone is lost and she has only my

number offhand' Cole replied, purposely to

taunt Benny.

Benny hissed. He got up from the sofa and

began to walk away slowly, shaking his head.

Her ways were too dangerous truly. How does

she expect him to take in guns past machines

that were designed to detect them?

+++++++

'What do you have to say?' Inspector Ken

repeated to Jefa.

'She..sh..sh..' Jefa stammered and paused

again, facing Tarasha.

'She did what?' Ken snapped impatiently.

'She was the one who drove out the car

yesterday, I saw her' Jefa finally said,

rushingly.

'Is that all?' Ken asked.

Jefa nodded. 'Please take him back and return

his belongings to him, let him go' Ken

dismissed the junior officer.

'That man sells food and drinks just at the

front of the building you were kept in' Ken

said to Tarasha and Evelyn just as Jefa and the

junior officer left.

'Oh! I see…' Henry muttered.

'So, who do you suspect?' Ken directed his

question toward Henry.

'Ermm… I do have suspects from two sides.

First, from Samantha Osman' Henry began.

Tarasha glanced at his face.

'Which Samantha Osman?' Ken asked.

'Same unpopular one, who carried out two

notable assassinations recently'

'Okay, go ahead' Ken relaxed back on his chair

to listen.

'I've been working on locating her recently,

that's why I was brought to Abuja' Henry

continued. 'She might have gotten signals of

my job and decided to come for me'

'She killed the officers and the special US

agent that tried to locate her the other time.

Why did she now free you after capturing you

first?'

'I believe it's because she found out that I'm

no longer working on locating her'

'You're no longer working on that?'

'Yes, it's complicated, we had to quit it. We're

working on blocking her from manipulating

the CCTV systems for now'

'Hmmm…' Ken leaned forward. 'Who is the

other suspect?'

'Dare Jubril Lawal' Henry looked into Evelyn's

eyes as he mentioned

'Huh? Why is he a suspect?'

Henry stared at Evelyn, as if to askfor

confirmation whether to go on or not. The

look in her eyes discouraged him. 'He

threatened me recently' henry gave an

indirect reason. 'He thinks I'm dating Evelyn

here'

'Hmm? She isn't your girlfriend?' Ken asked in

surprise. 'The report we got was that you were

kidnapped alongside with your girlfriend' He

turned to Evelyn.

'I'm not his girlfriend' Evelyn spoke,

mentioning her words slowly, one after the

other. 'We're friends who just met recently'

she glanced at Henry. Henry nodded in

confirmation.

'Unbeleivable!' Ken exclaimed. Correcting his

previous notes on his tablet device. After

sometime, he looked up again. 'Do you have

proof that could link him to the kidnap? Any

proof?'

'No' Henry shook his head sadly.

'Then we just have to investigate properly first

before accosting him. Stepping on the toes of

someone like Jubril Lawal is like stepping on

the government toes itself'

'I understand' Henry shook head slowly.