SCUM 6
“What’s on your mind?” Ace asked.
Paul turned. “What?”
“You’ve been spacing out since we set off. You’re not nervous, are you?”
They had a civil relationship and had barely spent any time alone, but Paul had never been shy around him.
“No, I’m …well…” he averted his gaze.
“Spit it out. “
Paul sighed. “It’s just, I found out something about someone…”
“What?”
“Good morning,” a farmer held up his machete in greeting as he passed them by.
Paul waited till he passed, then pushed himself up. “Let’s go.”
“What about…”
“It’s nothing.” He stretched out a hand to Ace. “It can wait.”
Ace didn’t want to push. He held the hand and Paul pulled him up.
“Are you sure?”
Paul nodded.
Fine. Ace walked past him, brushing off the grass on his running shorts. His head was pounding with the onset of a headache. He’d have to settle for walking back home instead of running.
“I know about Dubai.”
Ace stopped. What did he just say? He turn to his soon-to-be brother-in-law hoping he’d somehow heard wrong. Paul’s accusing gaze did nothing to support that.
“I know it was you, Ace”
Ace considered his next words. He knew? What did he know? How much? When did he know?
“Paul,” he paused, “I don’t know what you think you know, but trust me, you’re mistaken.”
Paul looked back to the path behind them, then back at him. Without another word, he held out his phone. Ace took a look at the screen. At the picture on the screen.
Well, shit.
“That’s Elise, the girl who went missing. And that’s you.”
“Who took this picture?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“I think it does,” Ace raised his voice. “This person sent this to you, to try to turn you against me.”
“Ace, that’s not what this is about. If you did something to this girl…”
“What’s that supposed to mean? What do you think I did to her? You’re not even going to give me a chance to explain myself?”
Paul’s Adam’s apple bopped up and down. “Alright. I’m listening.”
Ace sighed, loud enough to convey regret and suggest a hesitance to confess. Enough for his brother-in-law to believe that he was coming clean, saying everything there was to know.
“Elise was friends with one of the students I gave private lessons to. I liked her. She was smart and hardworking. And you’ve seen her pictures. She looks a lot older than her age. From day one, she came on to me. I tried to resist her, but she was persistent. Anyway, I was in Dubai on a business trip. She was visiting her father at the time. She saw my pictures online and called, said she was in town. I should have said no. I know. But I’m only a man.”
He shook his head. “We went out for dinner and after that I ended it. She didn’t take it very well. I offered to drive her home, but she stormed off. When I heard she was missing, I felt awful.”
“Why didn’t you tell Faith any of this?”
“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I was embarrassed. Besides, I didn’t want to put her in a difficult position. She’s friends with my wife, you know?”
Paul’s posture relaxed. He believed him. Good.
“Who took this picture, Paul?”
“Um…a colleague. They caught you on camera, by accident.”
“I see.” He nodded. “Is there… any chance you could get them to delete it?”
Paul hesitated. “I don’t…”
“It’s just, if Faith ever saw this, she’d get the wrong idea. You know how she is.” A thought occurred to him.
“You haven’t told her, have you?”
“No.”
“Good.” He took a step closer. “I think we should keep this between us men.”
Paul shook his head. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
Ace clenched a fist. “I made a mistake, Paul. We all do at some point. Believe me, you’ll know what it’s like after the ceremony. But I ended it that night. When I heard she was missing, believe me, I’ve been beating myself up for months. If only I’d taken her home, she would still be alive.”
Paul furrowed his brow. “Are you…you’re saying she’s dead?”
Ace shut his eyes.
Shit.
“I meant that she…she could be dead. I’ve heard Faith talk. I mean, it’s a possibility.”
Ace knew he was stuttering. The damage was done. He caught the doubt in Paul’s eyes mingle with a subtle scattering of fear.
Paul took a step back. “Alright. I’ll delete the pictures.”
Ace felt a sinking in the pit of his stomach. Paul was lying. He considered briefly, the possibility of ending this here, right now. A hand around his neck. It’d take minutes. But everyone would know it was him. He could do better. He’d proven that with Elise. He hadn’t gone to that hotel planning a murder, but she had pushed him too far with her threats to expose their affair, giving him no choice. Besides, he had to think of his sister. She loved Paul. That was worth taking a moment to reconsider.
“Three days,” he said.
“What?”
“You’re going to tell Faith anyway. I’m asking you to give me three days. I’ll go home, put my house in order. And then I’ll tell her.”
Paul looked away.
“Let me talk to my children. Please.”
“You’ll tell her before the wedding.”
“You have my word.”
Paul nodded. “Alright. Three days.”
***
That evening, Ace told his family he had to go back to Accra on urgent business. To Paul, it looked like a step to fulfil the promise he had made. For Ace however, that was to make sure he would be beyond suspicion in case he had to put his plan into action. He would also need a decoy. As if led by fate, his mother brought up Faith’s ex in passing. Given his history, David Jones fit the murder suspect bill perfectly. All that was left was to get him to come down for the wedding. That’s where his mother came in. It made sense she’d invite Faith’s ex, whom she adored, to the wedding. And so he’d swiped her phone while she run around giving orders during the ceremony. Then he’d placed a call to a man he knew would do anything for the right amount. He would return the phone, stash it somewhere in her room once he got back into town. If the police eventually connected her to everything, it’d be near impossible to prove her innocence. Of course, he’d get her the best lawyers. It was what a good son would do.
He was going to wait as long as he possibly could. The men were not to make a move until they heard back from him. He had until Saturday morning to decide. Either he got a flight out of the country and forever remained a fugitive of the law, or Paul paid the price for him to remain a free man.
***
Before dawn that Saturday, Ace made his decision. He wouldn’t run. He had a family and a life he didn’t want to leave. And since it was Paul who had a problem with it, he was the one who had to leave. Too bad, too sad. He’d placed the call on his way to the airport, and an hour later, the phone rang.
Paul was dead.
***
Saturday
Ace was feeling fairly confident in his plan until his mother called him into her room.
“I need you to listen to me and do exactly as I say. Do you understand?” she asked.
“Maa, what’s going on?”
“You’re leaving for Accra, right now.”
“What? Why?”
She turned away, her hands at her waist.
“Faith is going to put this together.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do.” She sighed. “I know what you did.”
She shook her head, her shoulders crumbling. “My God. This morning, you were so sure Paul wasn’t coming. And when I met David Jones, he thanked me for inviting him. And then, your wife called.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She was afraid you had something to do with it. And I see she was right”.
Ace shook his head. “Why would she even think that?”
“Because she’s always known what you are. And she’s kept your secret all this while.”
“What secret?”
“Those girls, Kwabena. She knows about all those young girls, your sick indulgence. She knew you were with that girl who went missing. She was terrified you had done something to her, but I convinced her she was wrong. And now your sister’s husband has been murdered in this place.”
“That’s…” Ace shook his head. “I wasn’t even here when he died.”
“No, but you were here on Thursday when my phone was stolen. The same phone that somehow sent a message to David Jones. You know the minute your sister speaks with him, she’ll know what happened. She’ll know you killed Paul. How do you think she’s going to react to that?”
She grabbed him by the shoulders. “You have to leave.”
“Okay.” Ace nodded. There was no time to process what his wife knew and what his mother was doing. His world was imploding. It was time to go.
***
Faith glanced at her watch again. Divine had called her earlier, telling her about his find. She could hardly sit still. He had pictures, he said, that could tell her who killed Paul. A part of her thought to call Oteng, but she brushed it off. Whatever Inspector Kumi found in their interrogation had convinced him of her mother’s guilt. For Faith, Divine’s call minutes ago had changed that. It was too much of a coincidence to not be more. Maurice was in Dubai the same night Elise went missing. If there was a picture of her with a man, that had to be their guy. And Paul being murdered three days after seeing said pictures…there had to be a connection.
A message came through on her phone. It was Ace. He was leaving for Accra on urgent business.
Again?
Faith dialled his number. Her brother leaving town hours after her traditional marriage had been a bitter enough pill to swallow. But abandoning her in the middle of all this?
“Mind if I keep you company?”
Faith turned to the young officer, one of those manning the station for the night. Ace did not answer.
She smiled at him. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to run off after Oteng.”
The chubby young man raised an eyebrow. “So, you know.”
“That you’re supposed to babysit me? Yes.”
“I’m sorry. For that, and for your loss.”
Faith leaned against a wall. “Sorry enough to let me have a word with the people who killed my husband?”
He smiled. “My orders are to keep you as far away from them as possible. But I can tell you anything you want to know.”
“What did you find?”
He folded his arms. Faith listened as he talked about the interrogations, the confessions and the loot they had gathered from their hideout: Guns, money, and phones. Paul’s phone.
A salon car veered into the compound and made a sharp stop in front of them. Divine was out almost instantly.
“Would you excuse us?”
“Yes, madam.”
She walked up to him, taking in the aura of apprehension and mild excitement that wasn’t characteristic of her brother-in-law.
“I came as soon as I could. Maurice just told me.”
“Okay. Let me see.”
Divine handed his phone to her, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.
“I tried sending it to your phone but it didn’t go through.”
“That’s okay.”
She stared at the image.
“That’s the picture of the girl that went missing. Elise, right?”
Her brown eyes were lit up, lips painted blood red. Her head was turned slightly over her shoulder, almost staring into the camera. It was her alright.
“And that’s the guy. His hand is over her shoulder, but you don’t see his face.
Faith nodded absentmindedly, zooming into the picture.
“What? You recognize him?”
There was nothing peculiar about the hand. But the watch, however… She’d held it in her hands a year ago. Boxed it up herself. A birthday gift to her big brother. Custom made. Brown leather straps, a rainbow bezel, and at its heart, an Ace of spades.
“You know who he is?”
She looked up at him, her throat parched, her lips suddenly dry. She looked down at the image again, harder, she wasn’t seeing right. But there were no doubts to be found. How was she supposed to tell him what this picture was saying? That his best friend, her brother killed his?
She took a step back, laying the phone on the car’s bonnet.
“I’m…I need a minute.”
***
Faith stumbled blindly into the station, her arms wrapped around her shoulders. Ace? She shook her head. No. There had to be an explanation for this. But what? It didn’t make any sense. She held her head in her hands, her mind working overtime to provide answers. The events of the past few hours flashed through her eyes. Ace leaving town, Ace finding her in the chapel, everything he’d said about Paul, the interrogation, the investigation. Paul had seen the photo while looking through the pictures from Maurice and asked Ace about it. That had to be it. She stopped. The men had been waiting for Paul. They knew he’d come there on his run. They knew his route, the route Ace had showed him. And the tweet Paul had supposedly sent, saying their wedding was a mistake. It was him. It was all him.
Faith pulled out her phone. No, she couldn’t call him. He’d deny it. He probably already suspected someone was on to him. That’s why he had sent the message. And he hadn’t picked up her call. Ace was leaving town.
He was running.
She paced the room, forcing her mind to think the way she would if this wasn’t her brother. There was a man on the run who had killed a teenager and an innocent man. She needed to get him to come to her. What would make him come back?
“Madam, are you alright?” the officer asked.
Faith turned to him, her mind reeling. Of course. Ace didn’t know they had his men in custody. She could use them. But he’d need a reason good enough to risk getting captured. The threat of being exposed.
She pushed her hair back. “My husband’s phone, where is it?”
“It’s in Inspector Kumi’s office.”
“I need it.”
“The office is locked.”
Faith pressed clenched fists to her forehead.
“But he left a key in case your colleague needed to get in.”
She stepped closer. “Where is it?”
“Madam, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Faith nodded. “Stephen, I understand you don’t want to get into trouble. All I need is ten minutes with the phone. Just ten minutes. Will you give me that?”
Stephen stared at the ground. Faith waited.
Finally, he sighed. “Okay. But you can’t take it outside.”
She smiled. “I won’t need to.”
***
Divine was waiting when she came outside.
“Faith, tell me what’s going on,” he said.
She pulled her T-shirt over the back of her jeans.
“Car keys, please?”
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll tell you in the car.”
“You know?”
Faith turned to him. “I know.”
She waited for the barrage of questions she expected Divine to launch at her.
But he set his jaw and nodded. “Alright. Let’s go.”
***
Oteng arrived at the station, on the phone with Inspector Kumi.
“Do you have any idea where he is?” The Inspector asked.
“None. I need your help to find him.”
“I don’t have the manpower for a manhunt. At least not this night.”
“I know. I’ll be working some angles on my end for now.”
“Alright. I’ll see what I can do.”
He stopped at the entrance, greeting the officer. “My colleague, where is she?”
“She’s not here,” he said.
“What do you mean? Where is she?”
“She left a few minutes ago. Someone picked her up.”
Oteng shook his head, pulling out his phone. “You were supposed to keep her here.”
He dialled Faith’s number. No answer.
“She left you a message,” the officer said.
Oteng looked up. He was holding out a piece of paper.
He read the text once, his heart sinking. “No, no, no.”
Mrs. Ahenful’s confession had been thorough. Her son hadn’t just murdered her son-in-law. He was also the sicko they’d been hunting down for the past six months. He was supposed to be on the run, not meeting up with his sister who had no idea who he was or what he was capable of.
Oteng sprinted for his car.
***
“Are you sure he’s coming?”
Faith nodded. Standing here at the place where it had all begun that morning, she couldn’t help thinking about Paul, alive, running, fighting for his life. She closed her eyes. He’d tried to call her. To tell her, perhaps. But would it have made a difference? He had already been sentenced to death by the time he got here. Sentenced by the one whose arms had held her when she fell apart. The one on whose shoulder she had leaned when the weight of the world came crumbling down.
“Maybe we should call someone.” Divine cut through her thoughts. “I mean, this guy could be armed.”
Faith caressed the handgun concealed in the back of her shirt. The one she’d swiped from the office.
“That won’t be a problem.”
She’d told herself she just needed him to come back into town so she could have him arrested. That she had to see him face to face, catch him in the act, hear him confess. Before he had a chance to make up stories. That was why she had come here. Not because of the rage spreading through her veins or the blinding pain coursing through her heart.
The sound of an approaching vehicle reached them.
“He’s here.” Divine sat up straight.
Her phone was ringing. It looked like Oteng got her message.
“Hello.”
“Faith. Is Ace with you?”
The car came into view now. Ace, The throbbing in her head stopped, her heartbeat slowing to a steady rhythm.
“Yes.”
“Okay. Listen to me. Your brother killed Paul. I need you to keep him there for as long as you can. I’m on my way to you. Alright?”
The car came to a stop.
“Faith, did you hear me?”
The door opened and Ace stepped out. Faith cut the line, turned on her headlights and stepped out of the car. Her brother took a step back, then looked around in the surrounding darkness. Seemingly satisfied, he laughed uneasily.
“Faith? What are you doing here?”
She’d hoped the sight of him would change something, reignite the connection they shared, that it’d somehow break through the parts of her that had frozen over minutes ago. But there was nothing.
“What do you think?”
Divine opened his door now.
“Ace?” He called out.
Ace’s hand moved to the bulge in his pocket, relaxing when his friend came into view.
Divine came to stand beside Faith.
“What’s going on?”
“I…I’m not sure.” Ace stared at her.
“You should tell him.”
“Tell me what?”
He held her gaze. “I don’t know.”
“I saw the photo, Ace. I know about Elise, and I know you killed Paul.”
The resolve in his face flickered.
“What?” Divine held up a shaky hand, the crack in his voice tugging at Faith’s heart. “It was you?”
“Wait, hold on. I need to explain to you what happened.”
“Jesus.”
“Divine. Just listen to me.”
“This morning…everything you said…everything you did….and it was you?”
“I don’t want any trouble alright.” He took a step back. “Faith, I’m sorry. You have to know that I didn’t want to do this. Elise was a mistake.”
“And Paul?”
He blinked, turned to Divine, then Faith.
“He gave me no choice.”
“You bastard!” Divine charged forward.
Ace reached into his pocket.
***
Ace had arrived expecting the man he’d hired. All he had to do was make nice with the guy, give him the rest of his money and get back the phone. Then he’d go in for a hug, lodging a knife into the man’s gut. Seeing his sister there, he knew he’d been played. He was in some kind of trap and he had to get himself out. The minute Divine charged at him, he reached into his pocket for the knife. It would be enough to stop him in his tracks so he could get into his car. He caught a movement in the corner of his eye. Faith was reaching behind her back.
Before he could make a sound, she aimed a gun at him and pulled the trigger.
The knife fell from Ace’s hand and he dropped to the ground. He clutched at his chest where a tightening had begun, forcing air into his lungs, hoping for relief. It was futile. The sound of voices and footsteps reached him. He called out for help soundlessly, writhing in the dirt, clinging desperately to life. As his life flashed before his eyes, sound faded into the distance, ushering in a deafening silence.
And then, darkness.
***
The family of the groom checked out of their hotel when the sun came up. Faith was waiting in the lobby. They packed the luggage into the family’s pickup truck silently. Paul’s parents carried the weight of the loss they had suffered. The knowledge of the person who had inflicted that loss only seemed to worsen their pain. Divine hadn’t recovered from the shock either. And so they tiptoed around each other, avoiding the elephant in the room.
“Are you sure you still want to leave for Accra with them?” Oteng asked while they waited.
Faith nodded.
“Do you think they’ll ever forgive me?”
“You killed your brother to save their son’s life. They’ll come around.”
She turned to him, hesitating for a moment. “I don’t think that’s why I did it.”
Oteng met her gaze, saying everything he hadn’t said when he arrived on the scene. “I know.”
Faith sipped water from a bottle, forcing it down her throat. “So, what does that make me?”
“Human.”
She scoffed. “Right.”
“He was vermin, Faith. He killed Paul, he was going to kill again. You did what you had to do.”
“He’d still be alive if he’d never met me, you know?”
“Paul?”
She nodded.
“That’s not true.”
“You don’t know that.”
Oteng smiled. “True. Neither do you.”
Divine signaled to Faith they were ready to leave. They said their goodbyes and she joined him in the backseat, starting off on day one of a long road ahead. A road she had not expected or prepared for. To let go of the future they’d planned together, to accept that this chapter was forever closed. To live. And she would. But for now, today, she was still the bride in the chapel, waiting with mounting indignation, questioning the loyalty of her groom in her oblivion.
I’m sorry.
Faith whispered, over and over again.
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