The Picnic - Episode 16

 

Cynthia picked up a call, it was Mama Rukerwe. "Thank you you hear?" She shouted on top of her voice. It was already cracky.

"You get mind report Rukky" she added and Omo grabbed the phone. "Mama I just tell the police say I see phone for her room make them investigate how the phone take reach there"
"How convenient Cynthia, shut your lying mouth up"
"Omo?" She asked in surprise, "How would you explain the gun you implanted in her room"
"What gun?" Cynthia asked then it dawned on her what was packaged in the box. "Rukky had been arrested and accuse for the murder of Bolaji, all thanks to you! I hope you'll be conscientious enough to confess your crime" Omo sounded and Cynthia hung up. 
"Gun?" She muttered to herself in shock then snapped her fingers rhythmically and continuously . "Wetin I don carry hand do oh?" she asked herself, "How i for take know say na gun dey that thing" she stomped her feet on the floor in guilt.
"Oh God! I don do Rukky strong thing. Which kain bad market be this na?"

***Flashback***
Bolaji moved close to Kazeem who was trying to avoid him. "Come on Man" Bola whined, "I don't want to talk to you na, Shea is it by force?" Kazeem answered.
"Is it because of what happened between me and Muna" Bola asked referring to when Kazeem's caught him pants down with Muna giving him a blow job.
"Caroline is a friend"
"Not like you've not seen us in more complicated positions"
"It's not about that Bola, I thought you've stopped"
"There's only one person that can make me stop" Bola replied looking around to make sure no one was listening to him.
 "Again with that theory of yours" Kazeem rolled his eyes then glanced at Caroline who was talking to a maid. 
"Rukky is the only lady I truly love"
"Abeg leave that poor girl, don't even entangled her in your wahala

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/the-picnic

. You saw what you caused the little sister? Abeg in the name of Allah, or Jesus, just leave her"
"I love her"
"I know you do Bola but your life is so complicated. How is she going to manage your baggages and how about Muna? She won't stop coming after you"
"I need a fresh start mehn, I can only get it with Rukky" 

Rukky walked around the hall cautiously then sighted an elderly maid, "Good afternoon oh?" She greeted, "You help me see Bola"
"E be like say him dey pool" the maid answered.
 "Kate" Taye called out behind Rukky and the maid turned to her. "Madam when you come back?" She asked and Taye touched her head as though coming up with a headache. "Can you get me any strong pain relieve?" She begged.
"Are you okay?" Kate asked, "No, I'm tired. Something happened at my twins boarding house so I had to rush out to settle it"
 "Ehya" Kate answered then left.
While Rukky attempted leaving, Taye called her attention. "Do I know you or do you know me?" She asked and Rukky turned to her. "I don't think so" she lied. Of Course she knew her!
"Who are you?" She asked, "I just came to enjoy the party like everyone is"
 "Okay. Have a nice time" she chipped in and Rukky walked away then sighted Caroline coming towards her in tears. She wondered what could have made her cry. Rukky pressed her cap downwards to cover her face then walked by her. 
"Caroline" Taye called out, "What's up? Why are you crying?"

Just when Bola noticed his phone was missing, he borrowed a phone to call his number  and Rukky picked up. "Hello" she began then heard Bola's voice.
 "Where the hell are you?" She asked, "Thank God it's with you, I have my presentation on that phone" "Come get it from me, you're ruining my plans of not getting caught" 
"I'm sorry" He apologized, "Stop apologizing".
"I'm at the pool, can you come here?" He suggested. "I don't want anyone to see me but I'll come anyway so if I don't see you to give you your phone, I'll take it home then!" She yelled then hung up.  
Bola gave the phone back to a maid. "I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier on and thanks for borrowing me your phone. I promise to give you triple more than I used".

 Shortly after, a gun shot was fired in the air, "What the hell?" He asked looking around while people around the pool started running. "It's just a freaking gunshot and it's not close to this" before he could complete his sentence, he heard series of gunshots.

***Now****

Duro placed his foot on his desk in thought, he intended to spend the night at the police station in order to think some things through. He wondered how uncomfortable Rukky must feel spending the night in cell.
There was no information that revealed who may have wanted him dead. He only found apologies text messages to Rukky. He resumed listening to Bola's recordings. Vivian walked in then he dropped the phone. 
"What are you doing here?" He asked, "I'm here to see how you're doing"
"I'm fine"
"No you're not!" Vivian snapped, "Excuse me but no man in his right senses would be fine when a lady he loves is charged with a criminal offense. Sir, you're not fine"
"It was a fresh relationship"
"You had the ball in your court, you could have"
"Have what? Let it slide? No" he shook his head. "I don't work that way. I got my reputation from being honest and transparent"
"My elder brother is a police man too, the lady he got married to committed murder once, out of self-defense"
"This is different, I promised to get to the bottom of this and I will" "Someone definitely set her up! If you're not too angry you'll notice it"
"I noticed but who could have?" 
"Cynthia, that should be your first point of investigation. We'll torture the damn truth out of her. She definitely knows more than she's spilling and I suspect Taye Macaulay.  Cynthia is only a maid and she knows so much, how much more the manager of the pool house. Don't just close this case on this poor lady" 
"Why are you so supportive of her? You don't even know her"
"She makes you happy, I've seen you lately."
"Get Cynthia and Taye to come for questioning tomorrow"
"Definitely" Vivian replied with a smile.

"Hello Cynthia" Victor picked up a call, he was just outside the police station after closing for the day. "Where are you? It's noisy I can barely hear you" "I'm at Green light" Cynthia answered in a bar amidst the blaring of loud music. 
"The bar?" He asked and she rolled her eyes. "Where else? Come on baby, I need a partner to have fun with"
"Why do you sound drunk?" He asked and she laughed. "Are you in? Yes or no?" She asked and he agreed to meet her there"

****Flashback****
"Can you believe he tried to threaten me?" Andra the maid who knocked on the broom shack said folding a cloth into a basket. 
"What did you do" "I wanted to go in there and see for myself the b*tch he was cheating on Miss Caroline with"
"Did you see her?"
"I did. I came back later although i did not  see her face sha. The babe carry face like thief with face cap"
"Wetin you con do?" Cynthia asked, "I  tell Miss Caro now, I tell her say I see her man with another babe. After all she's paying me for it" "Like how much na?" She asked and Andra showed her the credit alert on her Nokia 3310 phone.  "Jesus!" Cynthia shouted. 
"For wetin na? How come she pays you that much?" Cynthia asked and she laughed. "All these rich people na, them no know wetin to use money do. First thing first, I'm getting a new phone"
"I jealous you o" Cynthia chipped in enviously and Andra laughed once again.
"But this Bola get mind o, you no go believe say na so so do and do him dey do people. I still catch am they fuck that hausa girl, Muna"
"Na wa o" Cynthia folded her hands. "Miss Caroline is a very generous person, when you scratch her back, she scratches yours"
 "Abeg con help me continue my job make I do my other job"
"Promise to pay me and  I'll help" Cynthia proposed and Andra smiled leaving the room. 

****Fifteen minutes later****
After Rukky hung up, Bola gave the phone back to Andra. "I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier on and thanks for borrowing me your phone. I promise to give you triple more than I used" 
"Sir it's okay" she answered then walked away making a call. "Madam where are you oh? They're planning on meeting at the pool" "I'm close to the pool already" Caroline answered then a gunshot was fired in the air.
"What the hell?" Bola asked looking around while people around the pool started dispersing. 
"It's just a freaking gunshot and it's not close to this" before he could complete his sentence, he heard series of gunshots"
"Jeez" he bent down looking up wondering where it may have come from.

***Now***
Charlotte knocked on the door it was just a minute past seven. Toke's mom walked into the sitting room to see Toke laying on the chair with a bottle half-filled with wine in her hand. "You've been drinking since yesterday!" She complained trying to drag the bottle away. 
"Leave me alone!" Toke yelled. "I want to wallow in my sadness and the last thing I need right now is your nagging. The music is so loud" she complained pointing to the t.v.  There was no music playing.
Mrs Olarenwaju heard the door bell ring, accompanied by a knock. She walked up to see her granddaughter who hugged her tightly. "Morning Grandma" she said and Toke immediately rose up on hearing her voice. "What did I teach you?" She asked and Charlotte laughed. "Eka'aro ma" she greeted and Mrs Olarenwaju chuckled closing the door behind her. Charlotte sighted her mom staring at her then she walked up to her looking at the drink.
"You're drunk" she rolled her eyes. "Who brought you here?" Toke asked, "Dad's chaffeur" "Why do you have to drink?" Charlotte asked, "I'll be losing my daughter, I have every right to drink"
 "You don't have any right to drink mom and you know why? Because you have a daughter!" Charlotte snapped. "At least if you've got no shame, have that simple priority that you have me"
"I won't let you talk to me that way. I'm your mom, I'm the adult"
"Them start acting like one!" She yelled, "You're going to sit down there while I talk some sense into you" Charlotte ordered and Toke sat crying. "I love you Mom, whether you're crazy or not, whether you're a drug addict or not, I love you and I always will"
"I love you too"
"Mom if you do you'll fight for me"
"The court"
"Screw the court mom"
"Language!" Mrs Olarenwaju warned, "I love Dad and I know he loves you too and I love you two together. I still want you two together" 
"I don't want him to suffer, you're a kid Charlotte, you won't understand these things. The drugs, I keep on falling back into it"
"Then fight it! Dad said you can go into rehab"
"It doesn't work"
"Make it work for me, for us. Please?" She asked as tears trickled down her cheeks. "I don't want another mom, hell! I don't want Faith replacing you. I know what she's trying to do especially when her hands are over daddy" Charlotte shudders in disgust.
 "I don't want another mom that's why I want you back"
"Seriously?" Toke asked then hugged her then covered her mouth vomiting on the center rug.

Victor woke up with a sharp pain on his back. Beside him was Cynthia who was still sleeping naked with a bed sheet over her. He held his phone close checking the time. It was part seven already, "Shit! I'll be late" he muttered then walked into his bathroom, turned his back to the mirror
then saw nail marks over it. Almost as though he had fought with a tiger the previous night. He quickly took his bathe then walked back in with a towel wrapped across his waist.
Cynthia was already awake pressing her phone.

Read " Dysfunctional " by the same author ( Essien Eno )

. "I was actually hoping to wake up with you by my side"
 "Sorry but I'm late for work" he replied and Cynthia signalled for him to draw near and he did. Then she gave him a deep kiss on the lip. "Good morning and how was your night?" She asked and Victor chuckled. "It was the best I've had in a long while" he replied and Cynthia smiled. 
"Me too and I'm sorry about the way it happened"
"Are you ready to tell me what happened?"
"No" she replied then stood up. "Let me go have my bath" she added then pointed to a door. "That's the bathroom" he answered and she walked in naked and Victor giggled. 
Her phone beeped. "Cynthia" he called out but the shower was on already. He held the phone and a WhatsApp message popped up. "I dey travel go Dubai tomorrow before yawa go gas" The message read, the phone was locked. 
Another message notification popped in, "You nko? You no go run? Madam Caroline don pay you Shea? Na until police catch you naim you go hear" 
This instilled curiosity in Victor, the few hours he was with her yesterday, he already knew her phone lock pattern. He unlocked the phone, careful enough not to click on her WhatsApp messages. Then he scrolled through her text messages then came across a bank alert of  two hundred and fifty thousand naira wired into it and the sender was no other than Caroline Badmus.