Four

    Detective Rod examined the hallway. This was the place where the party took place. Of course, the forensics team had began their job. Searching for the exact place she was kidnapped as to pull up more evidence. Behind him were some dogs that sniffed the area as they moved to the scent of a woman. Earlier, Moses had given them the perfume she occasionally uses so it wasn't hard for the dog to pick up the scents. The dogs stopped at one corner and began to bark. They've found the scent. Almost immediately, the forensics team were seen there as they brought out their various equipments.

"Any lead?" Detective Rod asked as he watched them spray some dust on the ground.

" Em I think little" one of them replied. At this, he sighed. He hated slow progress. He walked out of the building as he began to search for evidence on his own. He looked at his watch.  Four - forty-five am. Day was fast approaching and he had to be fast. He noticed one small bungalow not to far from the huge hall. He walked briskly towards the house and knocked on the door. An old woman, probably in her late eighties opened the door. She wore a long black gown and was supported by a wooden walking stick.

"Greetings ma'am, can I come in" he greeted respectfully.

"Of course my son." she replied her voice sounding a bit croaked. He entered the sitting room and sat on the chair provided for him. The old woman, came out with a tray containing a bottle of malt and two meat pies.

"No thank you ma'am, I'm not hungry" Detective Rod replied. He was really affected by her generosity.

Just then her husband came into view. They shook hands and exchanged greetings as if they've met each other some where before. After the exchange of pleasantries, he stated the reason he came here in the first place.

"I'm Detective Roderick Robert, I work for the SSS, and I'm investigating a case on the kidnapping of Winnie Maurice, wife to Moses Maurice." he stated elegantly.

" Okay, so how may we help you with the investigation" the old man asked.

Detective Rod smiled and brought out his tablet. Previous evidences showed that Moses called his wife around 1am  before the tragic event occurred.

"Okay was any of you awake around that 1am period? " he asked.

" I'm a deep sleeper, you can ask my wife, she practically does some night vigil with her chickens.

"Which chickens?" Detective Rod asked.

" No, I'm into small scale poultry business" she replied.

" So were you awake. " he asked turning his attention to her. At this, her eyeballs moved from place to place as if she was remembering something.

" I wouldn't practically say I woke up exactly at 1am, but I do set alarm for myself to check up on my chicks" she replied.

" What is the time range for the alarm." Detective Rod asked.

" It's every two hours starting from midnight" she replied

" Okay, go on"

" So when I woke up, I went towards backyard to check up on my chickens. Upon reaching there, I discovered that a black Jeep was already packed there. Two men were carrying a long sac as they put it in the booth of the car." Detective Rod adjusted his sitting position as to fully digest the facts presented to him.

"What is the name of the car that was parked?" he asked.

" Em I don't know. My husband is a car dealer and he knows much about cars."

"Can you describe the car?" her husband asked .

" From the sounds it made, I knew it was manual. And it had a humpback at the back, because it's booth was too large" she replied.

" Sounds like you're good observer " Detective Rod said.

"Yes, I was too close to the car, liked they were right in front of me"

" Did they notice you" he asked.

" I think no" she replied.

" What car is it likely to be?" he asked turning his attention to the old man.

He was still in the imaginative world but was jolted back to reality by Detective Rod's question.

"Humpback at the back....., black and it's a jeep. Hmm"

" Too hard for you to fathom" Detective Rod asked

"No, the car is likely to be none other but a Toyota Condor" At this, he typed on his tablet, Toyota Condor.

"I would love to see the spot where you saw them" he said. The old woman got up as she led the way towards the backyard of their house. The familiar scent of domestic fowls and their quacking sounds reigned over the area as she showed Detective Rod the semi-muddy area. He bent down and saw the tyre marks on the ground. Another jackpot. He followed it's trail and it led him to the express way which faded as he went farther. He took a picture of the tyre marks and tagged it as his private evidence.

"Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate." he said as he shook the couple. They waved him goodbye as he went towards the other end of the street.

"Hello" he said as he called the leader of the forensics team.

"Yeah, any news"

"Not much, but I have leads"

" What are they?"

" Along Trans-Ekulu express road, near the Dynamic Church, the kidnappers went that way. And I need your men to track them."