Episode 1
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Adam caught the look on his wife’s face again
and looked away. She was trying to make
him feel bad and it was working. He walked
away from her and towards the wine. He was
at the party for a reason; he could not leave,
not yet. It was a party with a lot of political
bigwigs and they did not seem to mind that
their host – Senator Adeshina was nowhere
to be found. But then, none of them had a
pregnant wife to worry about, he did.
He picked two glasses and walked back to
Ese. He stopped in front of her and smiled.
He had married a beautiful woman, not even
the eight months old foetus pushing her
belly out of proportion could disguise that.
“You look beautiful tonight Ese.” He said as
he set the glasses on the table in front of her.
“I don’t feel beautiful. I feel like a house on
legs.” She said with a grunt. “And this house
wants to go home.”
“We can’t leave yet Ese, we’ve not even seen
the Senator.”
“It’s not our fault he is late to his own party,
I’m tired Honey, I need to go home.”
Adam looked at his watch, it was past nine;
she was right it was late.
“Babe, let’s wait for another fifteen minutes,
if the senator isn’t here, we will leave, okay?”
“You’re not leaving, are you?” A voice said
from behind them.
Adam turned around, it was the Senator.
Finally, they could pay their respects and
leave.
“The Mrs was getting a little tired, that’s all.”
Adam said.
“It’s not me sir, it’s the baby.” Ese said.
“I’m sorry Adam, I apologise specially to you
Ese. I was held up by a call from the
Hungarian ambassador who for some
reason I can’t fathom has become a dear
friend.”
“We totally understand sir. We just wanted a
chance to say a big thank you for your help
sir.” Adam said.
“My help?”
“Our transfer to Abuja.” Ese said.
“You think I did you a favour by bringing you
to Abuja? I hope you still think so in six
months.” The senator said and laughed.
“I’m sure there are other people you need to
say hello to.” Adam said, he could tell his
wife was barely keeping the fake smile on
her face.
“Oh sure, most of them I should introduce
you to, Senator Halima especially. She’s been
eager to meet you.”
He knew who Senator Halima Abubakar was.
She was the youngest member of the senate,
she was barely thirty five. It was obvious she
was only in the Senate because of who her
parents were. He wondered why she wanted
to meet him.
“She is a big fan of the Church Street Killer
case, she should be here already; she’s never
late for
parties.” The senator said. He dug his hand
into his pocket and brought out his phone.
Adam nodded and smiled, he hoped the
senator would just go; he was almost as
eager to leave as his wife was now.
“Excuse me please,” The senator said. “I
need to take this call.”
Adam watched him leave. He whispered to
Ese. “This is our chance.”
He helped Ese to her feet and they walked
across the room. There were a lot of
important people in the room, people who
could make his stay in Abuja easier, people
he had hoped the senator would introduce
him to. He had learnt his lesson, he would
not bring a heavily pregnant woman to a
party next time.
“Adam?” He heard the voice call behind him
and he stopped, it was the Senator. No!
He could hear Ese grumble. “Just tell him I’m
not feeling well.” She said.
“I’m sorry sir, Ese isn’t…”
“Adam, you need to come with me.”
Adam shook his head. “Sir, I…”
“There’s been a murder.”
“What?” He gasped. “Where? When?”
“Just now, a few minutes from here.”
“That’s awful. I hope it has nothing to do with
your party or your guests.” Ese said.
“Who was killed?” Adam asked.
“Senator Halima.”
“Oh my God.” Ese whispered.
“She was found in her car, not very far from
here. You need to go with me now.” The
senator said and walked towards the exit.
Adam looked at Ese, he could see the dread
in her eyes. They had come to Abuja because
they wanted to get away from the whole
church street killer case. They had not even
spent a whole month in Abuja.
“Babe, this is probably a case for some other
agency. I’m just finding my feet, they won’t
throw this at me, it’s too important. But I
have to go and secure the scene before I
hand it to whoever will take it over.”
“What am I supposed to do then Adam?”
“The driver will take you home. I promise I
won’t be late.”
“If you won’t be late, I could wait up.”
“No sweetheart, don’t wait up. Get some rest;
I have stressed you enough today.” He kissed
her forehead. “I love you, you remember
that, right?”
She smiled and punched him lightly on the
chest. “Don’t try to be sweet. I’m waiting up
for you so don’t be late.”
“Okay ma’am. Now, let’s get you and my baby
home.”
He loved her, he really did but he could not
wait to be at the crime scene. A crime scene!
He stifled the smile spreading over his face;
he was back in the game!
***
The car slowed to a stop and Adam stepped
out. There were a few people gathered
around a black Mercedes, he assumed it was
Senator Halima’s car. Surprisingly none of
them looked disturbed by the murder, they
looked amused instead. The senator had not
told him anything about the murder; he said
he had to see for himself.
The men standing around the car stepped
away from it as he approached. He needed
them very far away, the last thing he needed
was interference from overzealous but
ignorant politicians. There were two
uniformed policemen standing behind the
car, away from the intimidating bigwigs.
When they saw him, they approached.
“Officers,” He started before they could greet
him. “The first thing I want from you is to
disperse everybody who isn’t law
enforcement. Go on and do that now,
please.”
The policemen walked away reluctantly to
perform their daunting task.
Now was the moment of truth. He put his
hand on the door handle and paused.
Memories of chasing after the church street
killer rushed through his mind. Did he want
to get back into that world? He shook his
head; he would make that decision later. He
pulled the door handle and held his breath.
He saw the body and took a staggered step
back. Senator Halima – her naked body laid
on its back on the backseat. Her left leg
rested on the front seat where her clothes
were laid and her head laid on the door
opposite him. Her pale eyes stared at him
and her mouth was curved in what looked
like a smile. She looked very much alive
except she was not breathing. There were no
obvious bullet wounds or knife cuts. It would
take an autopsy to determine what killed
her. Had she died in the middle of sex or had
the killer arranged her body that way to send
a message? Was this the church street killer
all over again? What was a senator doing
having sex in her car, and totally naked? It
was difficult to see much without getting
deeper into the car. He looked behind,
thepolicemen had succeeded in clearing the
curious crowd and only Senator Adeshina
was left standing around.
He closed the door and walked closer to the
policemen.
“Who found the body?” Adam asked.
“We did sir,” One of the policemen – Tijani
according to his name tag, said. “Or actually I
did.”
“We were patrolling when we saw the car,”
The second policeman said. “It was parked
by the road, so we decided to see if it was
empty. I waited in our car, he went up to
check the parked car.”
“Did you touch the body? Did you move it at
all?” Adam asked.
“No sir, we didn’t.”
“How did you find out about this, Senator?”
Adam asked.
“Chief Korede called me, said he saw the…
said he saw her on his way to my house.”
“Some of the guests at his party were driving
past, maybe one of them recognized her car
or something but they stopped and then saw
everything.” Tijani added.
Adam nodded and asked. “Is there an
ambulance on the way?
“Yes sir.”
He looked back at the car; the killer might
have left something behind.
“We need to take pictures of the car and the
body before we move it, and I want the car
searched for anything the killer might have
left behind. A used condom, a sock,
footprint, anything.”
“I told you Adam.” Senator Adeshina said.
“Abuja is not as quiet as you think. This case
is going to be bigger than the church street
killer case.”
“Yes, it will be. It’s a good thing I won’t be the
one chasing down this pyscho.”
“Really? Why? You have experience with this
kind of thing.”
“I have a pregnant wife who wants me by her
side all the time, I’ll help when I can but I
think I’ll pass on this one.”
Adam had considered his options. He could
walk away from the case and make his wife
happy or he could satisfy his curiousity and
go after the killer. He wanted this case but it
was not what he promised Ese. He would
hand the case over, but first he had to make
sure that he got everything he could from the
scene.
He started towards the car when a car pulled
up close beside the crime scene. He
motioned one of the policemen to deal with
whoever it was. The occupant of the car
stepped out, it was a woman. He paused.
“Uncle Adam.” The woman called out.
It was Kate. He had not seen her since he
came to Abuja.
“Kate, it’s good to see you. What are you
doing here?”
“I called her.” Senator Adeshina said. “I
needed her to get me some things from the
house.”
“Sir, you don’t have to stay. You won’t be
doing much here.” Adam said.
“Don’t worry Dad, I’ll stay and help him.” Kate
said.
“No Kate. Thanks but this is a crime scene, I
can’t have you here too.”
“You can go Dad.” Kate said and started to
push Senator Adeshina towards his car. “I’ll
wait around and call you if anything comes
up.”
Adam returned to the Mercedes. There were
several things he needed to find answers to.
How did the car arrive there? Was the
murder committed here or was the car
driven here with the senator dead already?
Was another car on the scene? He should
check for tyre tracks. He needed light.
“Do you need a flashlight?” Kate asked.
He looked behind, at her. “Yeah, I was just
thinking that.”
“You see, I can help you.”
She went to her car and returned with an
industrial flashlight. He collected it and
looked around the car. There were no extra
tyre tracks so it was safe to assume the killer
came to the scene in the same car. But how
did the killer leave?
“What do you think happened here?” Kate
asked.
“I don’t know. I have to look inside that car
again.”
He looked at the policemen, who were
keeping a safe distance from the car. He
needed a lot of things. He motioned them
over.
“Who would handle something like this
normally?” Adam asked.
“Er..I don’t know but we have called the office
and they said we should wait, they will
send somebody.” Tijani said.
“We don’t have too much time. I don’t want
that body getting stiff here.”
Adam put his hand on the car’s door handle,
steadied him and opened it. The body was
exactly the way it was earlier. He shone the
light around the car – there was nothing. He
looked through the clothes laid on the front
seat, they were all the victim’s. The scent on
the victim’s clothes filled the car. The killer
had done a good job of leaving none of
himself behind.
“How do you think she died?” Kate’s voice
came from behind him and he jumped.
“Kate, you shouldn’t be here.”
“Was she cut?”
“No, there are no cuts.” Adam said. “Nothing
looks out of place here.”
“Maybe she wasn’t murdered.” Kate said.
“Maybe it was an accident. Maybe she died
during sex and her lover ran because he was
afraid.”
Adam opened his mouth to respond then he
saw a car speeding towards them. The car
swerved and stopped just a few metres from
the crime scene. The occupant of the car
came out and started running towards him.
Adam hurried of the car and signaled the
cops to stop the man.
“Let me go!” The man shouted and
strugggled to break free from the cops. “You
stupid imbecile, that is my wife there.”
Adam looked at the man and back at the car.
Senator Halima was not married. Whoever
this crazy guy was, it was probably a good
idea to keep him away from the body.
“I’m sorry sir but what’s your name?” Adam
asked.
“My name is Hameed and Halima is my wife.”
“Senator Halima was not married.” Adam
said.
“I want to see her! Let me go. Do you know
who I am?”
Adam shook his head. Everybody in Abuja
believed they were somebody or knew
somebody. It was not the first time he had
heard somebody asking that question. This
Hameed guy however was a nutcase. The
only way to keep him out was to arrest him.
Adam signalled to the cops and they dragged
him to their car.
Kate moved closer to him.
“I know that guy.” She said.
“Yeah? Should I be afraid?” Adam asked with
a smile.
“He is the son of a general. He is… well, he
was engaged to Senator Halima. Their
fathers are very close friends.”
“This is another reason why I won’t be on
this case; too much political interest.”
“Really? You won’t take the case? I was
hoping to work with you.”
“You didn’t learn from the last serial killer
you came close to, right? Well, I did.” He
looked at his watch and gasped. “It’s almost
eleven. Ese will kill me!”
“I’m sure Ese will be eager to get on this case
too.”
“Ese is heavily pregnant. The only thing she is
eager to do is give birth.” Adam looked at his
watch again. “I don’t think I want to do
anything here again. Where are the police?”
In the distance, sirens began to blare, they
got close very quickly.
“Well, looks like there is the calvary. I’ll hand
this over to whoever leads them here and
you can drop me where I can get a cab
home.”
Kate nodded and they both stood, waiting for
the approaching police cars. A few seconds
later, three police cars, all of them with
sirens blowing parked beside them. Two
men came out of the car in the middle. The
occupants of the other two cars remained
seated.
“That’s not the IG or the C.O.P. right?” Kate
leaned in and whispered to Adam. “Why
does he have escorts?”
Adam shrugged.
The two men got to them and Adam
stretched his hand.
“Hello, my name is Adam Ademola, Director,
CIB. This is Kate Adeshina…”
“His personal assistant.” Kate added. Adam
shot her a look but she ignored him.
“CIB huh? I hope you have not tampered with
anything here. This is my case now.” One of
the men said.
Adam and Kate looked at each other.
“Excuse me, who are you?” Adam asked.
“I’m Nnamdi Uba. This is Chuks Ezenwa, my
personal assistant. Will you tell me what
happened here please?” Nnamdi said and
walked off.
Adam stood where he was. Nnamdi looked
back and saw Adam did not move and he
came back.
“Do we have a problem here?” Nnamdi
asked.
“Do we?” Adam said.
“What do you mean?”
“You hope I did not tamper with anything?
You want me to give you a report on what
happened here?”
“Yes, and that is a problem because…?”
“Nnamdi, I don’t know who you are but if you
need anything from me, I will be in my office
by 9 am tomorrow. If you can’t wait, I
suggest you conduct your own investigation.”
Adam tapped Kate and they walked away.
Adam was not sure he had done the right
thing. He had no idea who the Nnamdi guy
was and he hoped he would not have to go
and apologise to him later.
“I just googled the guy.” Kate said. “He’s not
that important. Just an errand boy for the IG.
That’s the problem with Abuja, everybody
wants to take advantage of you.”
“Is that the idiot who will take this case?
There’s no way the killer will get caught.”
“Yes Uncle. They need someone who is not
deep into Abuja politics, someone who will
be objective.They need you.”
Adam looked behind, Nnamdi was on the
phone, probably calling his bosses to report
the disrespectful new boy. He kind of wanted
the case now. He needed to show Nnamdi
and people like him he did not have to know
everybody in Abuja to do well at his job.
They got to Kate’s car and entered.
“Please consider taking this case. You are
probably the only one who can find this
killer.”
“Maybe but if this jerk is the IG’s lap dog like
you said…”
“I said errand boy, not lap dog.”
“Same thing. If he is the IG’s lap dog, then
he’ll find a way to get the case.”
“We’ll see then.”
Kate started her car and shifted te gear into
drive. Adam looked through the window and
saw Nnamdi running towards them.
“Hold on Kate, the lap dog is coming .”
Nnamdi arrived. “Got any more instructions
to bark at me Mister Nnamdi?”
“It’s detective Nnamdi, not Mister. And I was
just on the phone with the IG.”
“Of course you were.” Adam said with a
sneer.
“I apologise for my earlier… Anyway, he said
to tell you that with the high status of this
murder and your experience, you will lead
the investigation.”
“Really?” Adam could not hide the grin that
spread over his face.
“You will of course coordinate with other law
enforcement agencies but you have the lead
on the case.”
“Okay detective Nnamdi, thank you for the
information.” Adam said and turned to Kate.
“We can go now.”
“Oh wait, there’s one more thing.” Nnamdi
said. “You report to me throughout the case.
You have the lead but you cannot do
anything except I approve it.”
Adam looked at him with his mouth open.
Report to him?
“Where is that smirk now?” Nnamdi said.
“Welcome to Abuja Detective Adam
Ademola.”
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Tbc
