Mrs. Balogun raised an alarm immediately she saw that Mrs. Obed slumping to the tiled floor of the hospital reception
The nurses came over and took her away. Mrs. Balogun was bent on going with them but they insisted on her staying.
She stayed back with Bolu at the reception with a grief stricken look on their faces.
She didn't know how else to pray or what to pray about. She was confused and couldn't fully comprehend the fact of Fola's death.
'Fola died while saving her son. Is she to question God then or praise him? Will she ever be comfortable with the Obeds anymore? This was their only fruit, hope and joy. How can she repay them back for their loss? Fola ought not to die', she mused.
"Is this how people die? One minute, people are vibrant and full of life and the next minute they are gone. Oh Lord! Grant this family the best, restore the lost joy, restore their happiness and give them the best", she prayed silently.
Bolu was by her side too with her own thoughts. She couldn't believe her friend was dead but the reality was beginning to dawn on her.
She wished she was dreaming. She wished her friend would come back just for her. She was supposed to make things right between.
Despite running over to Mrs. Balogun's home with the intention of apologizing but now it was late.
"Where is Femi?", Mrs. Balogun asked Bolu thus jerking her out of her reverie.
"He went to the police station to retrieve the money they recovered from the kidnapped location", she uttered calmly.
"This is almost 10p.m. Tell him to go home instead of coming back here", she told Bolu.
"Ok."
"And call Fola's father to inform him."
"Alright", she said, moving away to do as instructed.
Few minutes later, she came back screaming at the top of her voice.
"Mummy, daddy....", she said.
"What happened?", Mrs. Balogun questioned.
"I can't hear his voice any longer", she said pointing at her phone.
"Who?"
Bolu responded: "Fola's father. I think something happened to him."
"Are you sure?", Mrs. Balogun inquired from her.
"Yes."
"Who do we call now to go to his place and check up on him. Have you called Femi?"
"No, I haven't", Bolu answered.
"Call him", Mrs. Balogun instructed.
******
"Tell me. Who sent you?", Officer Ladi asked T-boy.
"I said no one", T-boy answered, defiantly.
"You better cooperate with us or else we will take this case to court", the police threatened.
"I don't care."
"You will care by the time I am through with you..", Ladi was saying.
"I said no one. Do you want to put words in my mouth?", T-boy questioned in anger.
"No", Ladi smilled. "I am just trying to push the words out of your mouth."
"I have said all I know", he told Ladi looking away.
"You and I know it's a blatant lie."
"It's not", T-boy insisted.
"If you say so. What's your real name again?", Ladi asked him.
"Tunde", he answered.
"Tunde, your girlfriend is in the hospital battling with her life. I can go to the hospital now and give her a silent death without anyone knowing", Ladi said with an evil smile.
"You dare not. Keep Rachel out of this. She is innocent", he uttered with a frown.
"Innocent indeed! Whether innocent or not, she will be charged for conspiracy so it's better I make the death faster", Ladi said laughing.
"Don't touch her please", he begged.
"If only you will do what I want."
"What do you want?", he asked, feigning ignorance.
"Who sent you?", Ladi asked him again.
T-boy was silent for a while before saying: "It was Mr...... I mean his name is....."
"Officer Ladi, the money we retrieve from the kidnapped site is lost", another officer announced coming inside the investigation room.
"What?" Ladi yelled rising up. "How come?"
"We can't find the officer that was assigned to go retrieve the money from the building. The officer and the money are missing."
******
Femi was on his way home after visiting the police station in Maraba Jos.
"The world is becoming something else. How can a police officer denounce his position in the Nigerian Force because of 5 million which is not his sweat", Femi thought.
His hands were tied now and he couldn't do anything other than wait for the police officers in Maraba to do something quick about it.
He was about to swivel the car to the area downtown when his phone rang. It was Bolu.
"Bolu, I am on my way home because it's late already. I intend to come as early as possible tomorrow with a change of clothes for you guys", he explained in one breath.
"Femi, you need to go to Fola's house now", she said to him with a tone of urgency.
"What is happening there?", he asked.
"I need you to go check up on her father. I have a feeling something isn't right."
"What happened to him?"
"I informed him of his daughter's death over the phone", she explained.
"What death?", he almost shouted.
"Fola is dead", she announced.
"What?"
******
Boss, I was unable to get there before the police did", Jaguar explained.
"Then why are you here?", the boss asked calmly.
"Boss, why am I here?", he asked back with confusion.
"Yes, I asked you to get them no matter what and you know I don't take no for an answer. Go after them."
"Boss the thing is, they've been splitted. Rachel is in the hospital, Fola and Iremide in another hospital and T-boy is in the police station over there. I just came back for further instructions on what to do and how to go about it", he explained to him.
The boss chuckled lightly and said: "How to go about it? That is your job to do. Make sure you kill T-boy, he is a loud mouth and it won't be long before he spills the beans."
"Ok boss, what about Rachel?", Jaquar asked.
"Let her be for now. I need to confirm who the father of her baby really is before doing anything to her. Since she is in the hospital, you need to devise a way for her to escape as soon as possible. Bring her to me when you do that."
"Alright boss. What about Fola and Iremide?"
"Let them be. Make sure you kill T-boy tomorrow. It's either you do that or you lose your life."
"It's a done deal boss."
******
Femi got to the house of Fola and rushed out of the car. He entered through the front door which was unlock and ventured into the sitting room. The place was dark and he quickly put on the torch light of his phone.
Laying on the floor of the sitting room was Mr. Obed's cold body.
"No! Daddy", he called but there was no response.
Mr. Obed's body was cold as Femi carried him up like a baby. He went towards the door and looked back.
Then he went out and dropped Mr. Obed at the back of the driver's seat.
He entered the car and zoomed off at a high speed to the nearby hospital.
******
It was 5a.m and T-boy was asked to come out of the cell to do some cleanings.
He tried claiming he was still a suspect and he ought not to be doing such jobs yet but the police officers on duty were bent on frustrating his life.
He gave up trying as he limped to the compound and swept the floor and the surrounding till it was sparkling clean. By the time he was done, he was exhausted.
He thought of escaping but quickly waved away the thought.
"There will be grave consequences attached to my escape. I will eventually be caught because I can no longer travel out of the country and Rachel will be executed", he thought out loud.
He stretched his body while yawning and dropped the broom. He was about to go back inside when he was shot from nowhere.
The bullet pierced his heart and he dropped dead immediately.
The gunshot attracted the attention of two of the police officers near him and they rushed to his side.
T-boy was lying face down in a pool of his own blood.
********************
The nurses were able to revive Mrs. Obed but they couldn't stop her tears throughout the night.
Around 6a.m the next morning, the doctor arrived and entered Mrs. Obed's ward having been informed of the trouble she gave the nurses overnight.
"Good morning Mrs.", he greeted.
"Good morning doctor", she replied softly more like a whisper.
She was gradually losing her voice due to the tears and cries from the previous day
"Are you Mrs. Obed?", the doctor asked.
"Yes I am", she replied with the same tone.
"Aren't you the mother of the lady that had a spinal injury?", he asked.
She replied: "No doctor. I am Fola's mother."
"Yes, that's what I mean. Why are you crying?"
"Why won't I cry doctor? Fola is my only fruit. Without her, my life will never be the same again. She is the reason why I am still living. She is the reason why I am still in her father's house. Tell me doctor, why won't I cry?", she lamented pathetically.
"Mrs. Obed, the tears will do you no good. You need to be strong for your daughter."
"She is dead, what good will being strong do for me?", she muttered.
"Dead? Who told you Fola is dead?", he asked her and this got her attention.
She stood upright and looked him in the eyes.
"Doctor, you mean my daughter, Folake isn't dead?", she requested.
"Of course not. She only developed a slight spinal injury and she was in a coma throughout yesterday. She is a strong woman and I am sure she will come around soon."
"Thank you God. Thank you Lord! Thank you for keeping my daughter safe."
"Who told you she is dead?", the doctor asked her.
"Iremide's mother", she answered. "How is Iremide too?"
"He is fine. He will have to use crutches for a while till the leg heals properly", the doctor explained.
"Thank you doctor for saving my daughter's life."
"All thanks be to God ma'am. Your daughter will be hungry when she wakes up. So get up and get her something to eat. You also need to eat something. Your daughter won't be happy to see you like this."
"Alright doctor. Thank you."
"Bye", the doctor said.