No tags yet.
Dele Obi cursed as he stepped out of his patrol car into the hot Kwara sun. It seemed like the kind of day a body would be found somewhere unexpected and that exactly was what had happened. He had received calls from both the security division and the student affairs unit of the university of Ilorin campus. A student had stumbled upon a body at some time around seven in the morning. His assistant had gathered as many details as she could over the phone. His first instruction was that the crime scene be cordoned off by the campus security till he arrived, and nothing was to be touched as far as fifty-feet in all directions from the body. He had grown up on one too many American cop movies and he always imagined himself in that capacity. His peers often made fun of him for that and it had also earned him a nickname from subordinates. They often referred to him as James Bond. He was also a damned good policeman, even with his eccentricities he often delivered whoever the law was after. He had been serving in the Nigerian police force for fifteen years. In those fifteen years the days he hadn’t come in to work could be counted easily off his two hands. He was very committed to the job, he truly loved his job, and that was a rare thing to see in the force.
A girl had been found dead in the bushes and of course, students were hanging around trying to see what was going on. The noise level was high. He ignored all this as he walked through the crowd, in a passage his men had created for him. Some of the students threw questions at him but he ignored them until someone called him by name. He turned to look, but he saw no one. As he emerged from the crowd, he saw Tunde; the medical examiner bent over what he assumed to be the corpse. The area was a little bushy but he could see a leg from where he stood. His eyes payed attention to every detail they could find as he walked up to the body. Campus murders were usually centered around a handful of scenarios but what he saw as he reached the body narrowed it down to only one of them. The girl lay on the floor, with her feet and hands bound together with fishing line. The fishing line had already cut into her flesh and the rest of it that wasn’t was stained with mud and traces of blood, there had been a downpour in the middle of the night. Her name was Cynthia Oyelade as identified by some of the students. She was a third year student of mass communication and she lived off the campus. She lay naked from her waist up, her top had been cut up and her bra lay about four feet from her head. She had cuts and bruises all over her arms and face with a few on her chest. All of the details paled in comparison to the killer’s signature which was boldly carved into her belly. The symbol was very well known, most especially on a university campus. It was the Lambda symbol, which signified wavelength in physics. What bothered him was how it was tied to the murder. What exactly was the killers message? As he leant in to get a better look at the symbol, the medical examiner notified him of the cause of death which was clearly loss of blood from the wound in her stomach. Something about this case made him uneasy, this wasn’t just another murder he thought. The scene was photographed and thoroughly scoured for evidence. His job here was done, he had no information to share with the public, and he had requested to meet the first witness at the student affairs unit because he couldn’t risk important information falling into the hands of students.
*
It was a few minutes past mid-day and the time for Muslim prayers was approaching. Due to the city of Ilorin being an unofficial Islamic state, the department was going to be almost empty in an hour. This was Rose’s favorite time to read. This was the only time in the week he had the fewest of distractions. Today he had brought along a crime novel, he hadn’t started reading the novel but he was convinced it would be worth the read, most especially after reading the plot earlier that day. The events of the previous night in the bushes remained on his mind. The body had been discovered and the police had been called earlier in the morning, he had been troubled with the thought of whether the person in the bushes had seen his face or not, and if the person did…what would he do with the information? He didn’t even understand what on earth he was doing at work on that day of all days. He could have just called in sick he thought.
Who was the girl on the floor? How had she gotten there? What was the symbol on her chest? Who had done that to her? The thought had kept his appetite away ever since, the little he had forced down his throat in the morning had threatened to return, but he had managed to keep it down. It was time for prayers and the department emptied gradually and he reclined on his make shift poolside chair. As he opened the book, the familiar smell of an old book stung his nose.
Lost in thought as he stared into the book in his hand, the sudden chatter of people in the hallway jarred Rose back to reality, he was still on the first page. Prayer time was over and the department gradually filled with students and lecturers. He also recognized this as the time Holuki often sent him to get his afternoon meal, so up he got and away to his office. On getting to Holuki’s office, he found it to be empty which was a little unexpected at this time of day. Holuki, given to impatience always returned in a rush from prayers anxious for his meal. On occasion he’d even give his order before prayers so his meal will be waiting on his return. Rose also noticed that his desk was a tad too neat, no loose sheets hanging around, all books were arranged and his bin was empty. The office was just as he usually left it every evening, but Rose had seen him drive-in in the morning. Well, what better luck than to go back to his book.
Holuki’s absence didn’t go unnoticed, reactions ranged from an increased level of noise among students and lecturers blowing off steam cliquing in different offices. Some of the lecturers also called it earlier than they would naturally have dared had Holuki been in the building. Rose couldn’t complain about this development. It meant him having alone time earlier than he would have anticipated.
*
The scent of a cheap brew of coffee filled the air and the dim lighting offered by a weakened led lamp cast an aura over the room. It helped him to meditate just before heading out to hunt. He held a black book in his hand, one that looked very much like a bible and it held just as much importance to him and the mission. It was a record book, of sins, purge locations and names of the sinners. He was about to fill in his latest purge when a thought came across his mind. He had successfully carried out his duties for the past year before the incident the previous night. The thought sent a chill down his spine, what did this mean? What were the implications? He brightened the lamp as best as he could and filled in her sin and purge location. He got up and headed to the bathroom to take a shower before heading out for the night. How he managed to work both at night and during the day was a mystery sometimes. He took a shower as hot as any human skin can possibly endure before scalding. He dressed in a loose pair of jeans and an old t-shirt with the words punisher on them. If only the people who saw him had any clue what he was about, he thought to himself. He packed his tools in an old leather bag that looked like it had been well used before he had taken it from his father years ago, he had at some time wondered how the bag had made its way to his father’s hands.
*
Leave it to Adetoyin to interrupt my evening plans. She called about an hour earlier while I was asleep to invite me to study with her in one of the classes on campus. I knew all too well the bars them university girls be dropping these days…it had become tiring the endless shot shooting thing. Grudgingly I agreed to meet her up at the faculty of law to study. I left my hostel about thirty minutes later without any books. It was supposed to be a message to her that I got her message loud and clear. Walking down the clinic road I heard a faint moan and turned in its direction instantly but I saw nothing of interest, just some couple spending some time doing the needful to satisfy their “true love” delusions. Getting to the faculty I climbed up the stairs to the first floor to meet up with Toyin. When I walked into the class she was in I realized that she too hadn’t brought along any books, she sat in the company of four other girls, three out of them quite pretty except the last who looked like the reason not to cross dogs with humans. Then I realized what it was, that was the part where she showed me off to her friends, her new ‘catch’ and I smart as I am only had to play shy and adorable. She made introductions and we all chatted for about ten minutes before Toyin and I left. We walked along the stadium road like we were heading out of school. At some point between park and the stadium we had started holding hands. I usually would have avoided this kind of physical contact with a girl I had only just met the previous day, but for some reason I could not break contact. We conversed mostly about school, family and future plans before delving into relationship matters. Conversation eventually faded out until there were only the nightly sounds, at this point we were standing in the middle of the road and facing each other. She looked up and like a well-rehearsed script I leant in and kissed her full on the lips. The kiss lasted a few seconds before she broke it off, I half expected her to rant about the kiss being too soon but I figured she was attracted to me as much as I was to her and it would go down well. She just stared me straight in the eyes for a few seconds before I broke it off. Her lips parted softly in a gasp as cold air wafted by, I pulled her in for a hug and we remained that way for a few minutes before continuing our walk, this time with my hands in my pocket. In all this we both hadn’t spoken, both letting the tension build, hoping one of us will have enough courage to break the silence. I tried to speak but my voice failed, I wondered where my confidence went. I cleared my throat trying to cough up courage but it was nowhere to be found. She took in a breath and said words I didn’t anticipate; “I know your type” she said. That immediately got my attention, I thought to myself, another cliché? I replied asking, “what type is that?”. She smiled, and I swear it was beautiful, then she said “handsome, fun-loving, mysterious Yoruba demon”. This cracked me up, and I thanked her for the compliments. I was about to return the favor when she blurted, “don’t lie Bosun, no need to”. I paused and thought about what she had just said and figured she’d had her fill of guys that played her. I looked her in the eye and said “I find you attractive, and interesting” she smiled and stared at her feet and I found myself holding her hands again. We spent the rest of our time together chatting and making jokes. We shared a lot of childhood stories and I enjoyed every bit of it.
*
Rose reclined on the roots of a tree as the smoke filled his lungs, nothing more natural than blowing trees in the bushes. Taking risks had always given him a distinct feeling of euphoria so tonight it was both that and the grain he was smoking; the popularly called arizona brought his paranoia to life. His mind travelled to the events of the other night and he suddenly had a feeling of being watched. He had been strolling down the path behind management sciences that day when he heard sounds in the bush. He walked in on a girl tied up lying on the floor, trying to scream through the gag in her mouth. He had taken some time to take in the scene. He knelt over the girl putting a finger over his lips signaling silence but she only protested louder. In his confusion, still kneeling over her he heard a movement in the bushes. He looked in the direction of the sound and realized in that moment he had made a mistake. Facing in that direction the moonlight from a break in the clouds shone on his face and he knew he had been spotted. Quick on his feet he ran for cover but he knew it was too late. He had lived every moment since in fear of being accosted for a crime he had only stumbled upon.