©
Richard recapped what he knew about the case so far in his
head.
Senator Anthony Medina was a former senator in the House of
Assembly, rich beyond comprehension he was more popular for his lavish parties
and extremely luxurious lifestyle. He owned several businesses including an Oil
and Gas servicing company and there were rumors that he was behind most of the
appointments in the NNPC and NIMASA, Figure heads placed strategically in
several Ministries and State Government Cabinets to ensure his Government
Contracts never stopped flowing. He was without a doubt one of the most
influential men in the country.
Two days ago rumors had started circulating that the Senator
had been kidnapped, according to what he had gathered ,the Senator had not been
seen 48 hours after he hosted one of his lavish parties at a popular boat club
in Ikoyi, it was not unusual for the senator to travel without informing his
household so they had not been alarmed when he did not show up after the party
for two days, but his Wife had called the IG of police when he had missed a
meeting with some foreign officials who had come to inspect an engineering
project ,
“The Senator would
never miss out on a work meeting without informing his team “she had reportedly
stated. It was not until the early hours of today that the Senator’s corpse had
been found, his decomposing body had been discovered by one of his workers at
one of his guest houses in Apapa. The cleaner had brought home a prostitute and
thinking no one was around had snuck her into his masters room only to discover
him lying naked dead in his bed.
The first thought that came to his mind when he had briefly
perused the information provided was that the senator probably died of a heart
attack, but his colleague seemed to be hinting at something more and there was
something about the way he said it that pricked Richard’s curiosity.
‘so what’s the deal with her anyway” Richard muttered,
Gbenga erupted in laughter , he laughed so hard he started coughing this made
Richard extremely upset,
“so I am comical now
abi” Richard retorted angrily, his colleague ignored him and continued laughing
, hitting the table with his large hands as peels of groundnut scattered all over his table, Richard’s face
turned red with anger , he got up angrily he had more pressing matters to take
care of.
‘Oya come …come…come” Gbenga beckoned, “I thought you were
doing your American boy I don’t believe in superstition story, when you asked
the question shock hol me small na” “sit down
...sit down let me give you the breakdown of that witch” Richard
recoiled in revulsion at the term of a strange woman being labelled a witch,
but he had to tolerate the crazy man’s excesses if he wanted the juice on this
story.
“I hear she came from a very poor home" Gbenga began, " her father was a
palm wine tapper in Asaba and her mum
used to sell hot drink”
“Argh Argh Gbenga this gossip goes right back to her
freaking childhood” Gbenga’s round cheeks swelled in anger
“Richard no
interrupt me o” “eh eh her parents were poor in Asaba but people are not even
sure they are her real parents, her mother was barren for several years and suddenly
one day traveled to her hometown and came back four months later with a baby””
how woman go carry pregnancy for five months and no one go know” Gbenga queried
but Richard had leant his lesson he stayed quiet.
“So as she grew up with the couple, they say
her father’s business suddenly picked up, he started doing so well that they
relocated to Lagos, they moved to Ajegunle”
Gbenga peeped at the side of his
eye to see if Richard was following or had tuned out due to his skepticism, but
Richard’s blank stare gave him nothing so he continued.
“They said her father had to literally lock her in the house
when she became a teenager, if she walked on the streets commotion would occur,
boys, men, married or single would be chasing after her , she caused problem at
school, at church wherever she went men became confused “
Richard raised an
eyebrow , this story was sounding more like the popular tales by moonlight , no
one was that attractive to cause commotion wherever they went , but he held his
tongue and let Gbenga ramble on, he seemed to be enjoying this story tale
fantasy he was spilling to him.oblivious of the disbelief of his listener Gbenga continued
“The women on her street hated her, they knew that their husbands lusted after
her and they could not match her in looks, she had no female friends because
they all seemed to be jealous of her and no male friends because they could not
be trusted around her. Her mum capitalized on this admiration for her daughter
and opened a beer parlor, it turned to a mad house .Men would close early from
work and head straight to the beer parlor just to try and converse with her,
but because her father was very strict she was hardly there and when she came
he made sure she stayed indoors writing receipts, that was where she met her
first husband.
At eighteen a young man who had moved out of the neighborhood
came to visit his former neighborhood, he caught one glimpse of her and was
hooked, after several months of pleading and spending on her father , he was
finally allowed to marry her. She got married to the first of (them) at the age
of 18.”
“Them?” Richard repeated he could not keep quiet anymore
“what do you mean by them? ”
Gbenga smiled knowingly, “she collects husbands, Senator
Medina is her fifth husband” he replied softly
“What!” Richard exclaimed,
“Fifth husband, what are they
underwear? “ so where are they, these husbands ?“
“Where are they ?“Gbenga repeated sarcastically mimicking Richards American accent, he got up and dusted groundnut chaff off his trouser ,he began to adjust his shirt buttons, preparing to walk away from his desk .
“Gbenga?”
“yes Richard”
“What happened to the other four husbands, where are they now?”
Richard pressed on.
“her ex-husbands are dead, all of them, they all died
peacefully in their sleep" Gbenga paused to allow that sink in a bit before he continued in an emotionless tone.
" Some died on their marriage bed, right next to her
,all with the same circumstances, sudden heart collapse with no previous health condition or
warning . The senator is actually the second husband that died far away from her ,
also in mysterious circumstances.”
“That woman na confirmed witch o, nothing that anyone wants
to tell me “ Gbenga continued ,
“She will probably be looking for husband no
six and you..." Gbenga paused looking him over,
" Though you don’t have a penny to your name, but with this your oyibo accent and
pointed nose , you can become a good candidate if you are not careful.”
Richard remained deep in thought, even as Gbenga cleared his
desk to head out of the office, he kept on re accessing all the information he
had just heard , it seemed incredulous he began to make the conclusion that
Gbenga made everything up just to distract him from the case.
“Gbenga “ he suddenly said “I don’t believe you jor, where
are the files how come you know so much”
“Files ke?” “You are looking for files Ole ni yi my friend
there are no files , you want to know how come I know so much.”
Gbenga stood
facing him squarely, he started tapping his feet uncontrollable as if he was
trying to control tears, there was something unreadable in his features, it was
as if some long buried emotion was trying to bubble beneath the dark sad eyes.
“Her first husband Adewale Olamilekan was my friend, he
helped me get my first job at the insurance company, I drafted his life
insurance policy and I was the one that handed over the one million naira Insurance money to her.
That woman is a serpent, a beautiful conniving serpent and I bet with my life
that somehow she killed all those men one by one.”
“Go and beg them to give this case to someone else , your
head cannot carry it, if you still insist on taking the case ….well you
remember the story of medusa”
‘c’mon Gbenga” Richard scolded,
“Don’t Gbenga me I am not even joking,i saw a man turn stiff over night like fish because of this woman, if you must take this
case you have to be careful, do not let her hold your gaze.”
Richard was stunned, in the Two years since he had come back
from the States he heard a lot of stuff being on this job, but this one was crazy, he
did not know how to react to this story and he knew by remembering the look on Gbenga’s
face that for once in a long time the man was dead serious.
He was still reflecting on the information he just heard ten
minutes later when his mobile phone alarm beeped, he had four more hours to
prepare for the meeting with Lady Grace Medina and he suddenly felt something
tighten in his tummy, he suddenly dreaded this meeting.
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