SCUM 5
Paul ran up the narrow path, the music blaring through his ear pods drowning out the silence of the forest. The run was supposed to clear his head, make it easier to take the step that would throw his wedding day into chaos. And yet, his mind was still in a haze. He stopped now, up the hill he’d plied the past two days. The decision was already made. All that was left was to do what had to be done.
Paul buried his face in his hands. He’d already waited too long. The alternative was going into their marriage keeping secrets, and he wasn’t prepared to do that. He pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts. He thought about the people his actions would affect, what the fallout would be. For a minute, his thumb hovered over his fiancée’s name. No, he couldn’t do this over the phone, no matter how hard facing Faith would be. But he could call Divine first, give him a heads up at the very least. He pulled up his brother’s number.
A sudden movement in the corner of his eye made Paul turn. He scanned his surroundings. Nothing. Paul dialled the number and waited. No dial tone. Poor network. He tried again.
You’re stalling, Paul.
Yes, he was. He shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath. It was time to get this over with.
“Good morning.”
Paul swung around. A man was standing among the bushes, smiling at him. Like Paul, he looked out of place in sneakers, shorts, and a cap. But there was something disconcerting about how he stood still, arms at his side, that made Paul take a step back.
“Hello.” Paul turned down the music. “Can I help you?”
The man jerked his head at Paul’s hand. “Your phone.”
“What?”
“Hand it over.” His steely gaze didn’t falter, leaving no doubt in Paul’s mind as to the gravity of the situation. He was getting robbed.
Paul kicked himself. He should have known better than to believe this route was safe. There was nothing like ‘safe small town’ anymore. He looked him over, contemplating his options. The man was his size. Perhaps he could take him if it came down to it. That’s when he saw it: the long blade protruding out of a clenched fist. Paul gritted his teeth. He had his whole life on his phone, but it wasn’t worth risking his life.
“Okay.” He held up his hand. “Here.”
The man reached out with his left calmly. As Paul waited for him to turn and run, he took note of his features. With a good description, this guy could be in custody before the day’s end.
But the man did not turn or run. What was he waiting for? Paul looked from the knife to the steely gaze trained on him.
“Are we good, man?”
A sneer crossed the man’s lips.
“No, Paul,” he stepped forward. “I’m afraid not.”
***
Divine Titriku trudged down the road to the Palace hotel. His thoughts were occupied by the day’s events. By his brother’s killer. What did they know? What progress had they made? He’d thought of calling Faith, but he knew the last thing she needed was pressure from him or his family. Ace would be the best person to talk to, but his friend’s behaviour this morning was one he wouldn’t soon forget.
His phone rang as he reached the hotel’s entrance. He shook his head. Think of the devil.
“Hello.”
“Hey, bro,” Ace answered tentatively.
Divine waved at the security man. “What’s up?”
“Just checking up to see how things are going. Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Yeah, I went out for a bit. I needed to clear my head.”
Ace coughed. “How about your parents? Are they doing okay?”
“Not so much. My mum… I had to get sleeping pills for her.”
“Wow.” Ace sighed. “I just wanted to say I’m really sorry about how everything went down today. You’re family. So was Paul. If I could do it all over again, I’d do things differently.”
“It’s all good. How about Faith? How is she?”
“You know her.” Ace laughed. “A dog with a bone. We might have to tie her down at some point.”
Divine smiled. “Have they made some progress?”
“I don’t know. Last I heard, they were following up on a lead.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No, I don’t think so. Best to leave it to the experts.”
Divine stopped at the reception. Maurice was sitting on a sofa and got up as he approached.
“Yeah. I just feel useless knowing Paul’s gone, and there’s nothing I can do.” He sighed. “Well, it is what it is.”
“Anyway, my mum sent Maurice to deliver your supper. He should be there any minute.”
“Yeah, he’s here.”
“Okay then. I um… I have to go back to Accra tonight. Work called, unfortunately.”
“Twice in one week? I don’t envy you.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Alright then. Talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
Maurice smiled. “Good evening, Braa Divine.”
“Hey. I was told you brought food.”
“Yes, I left it with your father.”
“Oh?” Divine crossed his arms. “I thought you were waiting for me.”
“Yes, I was hoping we could talk.”
“About what?”
Maurice leaned forward, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial tone.
“Paul’s death.”
***
Oteng cast a side glance at Faith, his grip firm on the wheel. They’d been following behind the police car transporting David jones for all of fifteen minutes. Faith had stayed silent through the ride. He knew what she was thinking. If Jones was telling the truth, then the evidence pointed the finger at her mother being responsible for her fiancé’s murder. And Faith had said whatever scared Paul that Thursday night had to do with her mother. So that was another nail in the coffin. But in spite of all that, Oteng knew some part of her wanted to believe her mother was innocent, even if she didn’t say it out loud. As her friend, he hoped that part of her was right. So he wasn’t going to bring Mrs. Ahenful in until he’d considered every possible angle. And he was going to have to get Faith to back out of the investigation at some point. Which was why he wasn’t going to tell her about Inspector Kumi’s text.
“She could be innocent,” he said.
Faith stared ahead. “Could be.”
“I saw her at the church this morning when Paul didn’t show. Either her distress was genuine, or she’s a great actress.”
“Why would she call Jones?”
A moment later, she chuckled.
“What?”
“After the traditional, she said someone stole her phone. We blamed it on the cousins who came to the house. Ace gave her an old one to stop her from strip searching everyone.”
“So, she calls Jones, and then claims someone stole her phone just to hide that? Seems unnecessarily extreme.”
“It’s a good cover. This way, even if her phone is connected to Jones or anyone else, she can claim it wasn’t her.”
Oteng fought the urge to nod.
“What if she did lose her phone?”
“A hell of a coincidence, don’t you think? When she brought up Jones on Thursday, Paul was uneasy. I’m sure of it.”
“There were, what, four of you there that night? Paul could have been reacting to any one of you.”
“We’ve been over this. Divine had no motive to murder his brother, neither did Ace, and he wasn’t even here.”
“And your mother? Why would she want Paul dead?”
“I don’t know. But she tried to convince me not to pursue this investigation this morning. You don’t think that’s suspicious?”
“I think you’re too close to this, and maybe it’s time you listened to me and took a step back.”
The car ahead took a turn at the roundabout and entered the compound of the police station.
“I need to talk to her.”
Oteng chuckled. “You’re not interrogating your mother, Faith. If there’s a chance she killed Paul, there’s no way I’m having the two of you in a room.”
He eased in behind the car, parking underneath the overarching branches of an orange tree.
“Why? You don’t think I can be objective?”
He opened his door and stepped out. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”
While the officers escorted David Jones into the building, a thin, small man in black approached them. Faith glanced at her phone, knitting her brow
Oteng stepped forward. “What is it?”
She looked up. “Um…Dubai girl’s parents called. I guess they’ve been informed we’re no longer pursuing the case.”
He nodded. “Go ahead. We’ll wait.”
“Thanks.”
The man reached Oteng as Faith stepped away.
“My friend,” he beamed.
“Inspector Kumi,” Oteng proffered a hand. “That’s my colleague. She’ll join us shortly.”
“Good.” His gaze followed her movement. “So, we can talk freely then.”
“Absolutely.” Oteng nodded. “You said you had news?”
***
Divine folded his arms for the umpteenth time, listening to his brother’s best friend, wishing he could shut him up. The clock on his bedside drawer indicated it had been fifteen minutes since they came up here, and yet, it looked like Maurice was just warming up.
“I apologized to her,” he whined, “but it seems she’s still mad about it. I’ve called her multiple times, but no answer.”
“I see.” Divine rubbed his face. “Just give her some time. I’m sure she’ll come around. She has a lot on her plate right now.”
“Well, that’s the thing. I think I have information that could help find the person who killed Paul.”
Divine sat up at that. “What do you mean?”
“You know I drove here with Paul on Wednesday. Well, on the way, he was looking at some pictures on my PC. It looked like he recognized something or someone. Whatever it was, it got him worried. I didn’t give it much thought before, but I told my girlfriend about it after my chat with Faith, and she thought it could be relevant.”
“I don’t understand.” Divine got off the bed. “What’s the connection between this… picture and Paul getting killed?”
“Well, Paul said Faith was working on a case about a girl who went missing in Dubai. Our pictures were taken on a Dubai trip. My girlfriend thinks it’s too much of a coincidence to ignore. I know it sounds far-fetched, but what if she’s right?”
Divine paced the room, his mind reeling.
“Did Paul show the photo to you?”
“No, I was driving at the time. But I have the pictures. That’s why I called Faith. She’ll probably know what to look for.”
“And… have you told anyone about this?”
“No. Just you. And my girlfriend.”
“Good.” He stopped at the door. “Show me the pictures.”
Maurice frowned. “You don’t think we should get Faith to look at them?”
“I’ll talk to Faith.” He locked the door. “Show me.”
***
“You got them?”
“Yes.” Inspector Kumi’s smile broadened. “They’re on the way to the station right now. ”
He shook his head. “It’s a group I’ve had on my radar for a while. It’s just unfortunate they escalated to murder before I could make an arrest.”
“I’d like to interrogate them as soon as they get here.”
“No need. My men got them to talk.”
Oteng raised an eyebrow. “And?”
“They were hired. Well, they claim they never met this person. The transactions were handled over the phone. We have the number. I checked the ID, and this is the name that came up.”
Inspector Kumi held up his phone, and Oteng took a look at the screen. The two exchanged glances.
“I’d like to be the one to do this,” Oteng said.
Inspector Kumi nodded. “I think it would be best.”
“I’ll need you to keep an eye on my colleague while I’m gone. Keep her here.”
“I have to leave by six, but I’ll talk to my men.”
“Thanks.”
Inspector Kumi cleared his throat. “Are you going to tell her?”
He turned to watch Faith, who was heading towards them now.
“Not quite yet.”
***
Mrs. Ahenful was waiting when he got to her house. Seated behind one of the many tables by her garden, she barely turned when he called out her name. Oteng took a seat across from her.
“You know why I’m here,” he said.
“Yes,” she nodded, pursing her lips. The woman held her head up in apparent defiance. “It was me.”
Oteng listened as she launched into a confession that corroborated much of what he knew so far. According to Inspector Kumi, the men could not confirm if she was the one they had spoken to. They had negotiated the death of another man over the phone with a muffled voice. A 5k down payment and a promise of five more had been enough to close the deal. That money had come from her phone. Evidence of her guilt, maybe. But there was evidence, and then there was the visibly shaken, red-eyed, fifty-nine-year-old mother of two before his eyes, trying to pass herself off as the mastermind of a calculated murder plot.
“That’s it,” she said now. “Let’s go.”
Oteng looked down at her hands clasped on the table. They were shaking.
“Right.”
He rubbed his neck. The woman was lying. That much was evident. He’d seen her this morning when Paul failed to show up. Before Ace arrived, she could barely keep it together. If she’d been acting all day, why confess now and suddenly fall apart? No, she was not who she claimed to be. There was no doubt in his mind now. And if he was right, why would she do this?
“Why?”
She blinked. “What?”
“Why kill him?”
“I told you. I didn’t want him to marry my daughter. I tried to warn her that he wasn’t any good. But she wouldn’t listen to me. He was going to destroy her life. I know what that’s like, and I couldn’t let it happen. She’s my child. I had to protect her. That’s what a mother does.”
Oteng sat up. Of course. There was only one reason a woman like her would do anything this drastic. Why she would put her own neck in the hangman’s noose. And in this instance, one person for whom that reason would be plausible. It was clear as day, and Oteng could kick himself for missing it.
***
“Hello.”
The message lit up his phone.
The man with blood on his hands checked the name of the sender, then rechecked the number.
Paul Titriku.
He had been waiting all day to establish contact. But not here. Not on this phone. How did they know?
“Who is this?” He asked, cautious.
The response was swift.
“You know who this is.”
The man swore.
***
“Mrs. Ahenful, you lost your phone on Thursday.” It wasn’t a question.
“No, that was a lie.”
Oteng tapped a finger on the table, eager yet, hesitant to ascertain the truth staring him in the face.
“I think someone did steal your phone, Mrs. Ahenful. This someone used it to frame you for murder. I think you know who this someone is, that the minute you spoke to David Jones, you knew what had happened and you decided to play along. Just like you’re doing now. The question is, why? Why take the fall for a murder you didn’t commit? Why put your life on the line? Who would you do that for?”
He held her gaze. She knew he knew the jig was up.
“Where is he?”
***
“What do you want?”
“My balance.”
Rage charged through his body.
“You fucked up. There is no balance.”
“In person. One hour. Or I sing your name from the rooftops. I get my balance. You get the phone.”
The man clenched his fist, weighing options. Cons, Pros. Risking his neck. Tying loose ends.
He exhaled. “Tell me where.”
The where was sent, and he started the ignition. Perfect.
“On my way.”
He was pulling into the street when the last one came through.
“See you soon, Ace.”
©2021 AMA POMAA
Photo by Houcine Ncib on Unnsplash
A happy new year to you! I hope the year started on a good note and you’re poised to take on the world. One of my resolutions is to finish this story, write a screenplay, and publish a novel! So, yes, I have that to look forward to. My God help us all. Thanks for reading and see you next week.
P.S Did you get it right? Did you know it was Ace all along?
