The Voice - Episode 3

 

Cole turned his head sideways to look at the person whose voice he heard. It was Agent bola, his assistant at work. He stared at her with a surprised look on his face.

“What are you doing here?”, he found himself asking and tried to get up but the pains that surge through him sent him back on the soft bed.

“Don’t hurt yourself detective” Agent bola said, her eyes imploring.

Cole groaned in pains, squeezing his face like someone who found it hard to defecate. He scrutinized his surroundings and then realization hit him . He was in a hospital and not his house as he had thought.

“How’re you feeling?”, she asked touching his forehead while Cole yelped in pains as his head was stitched due to the crummy falling.
The reverberation of the explosion made him land facedown hitting the ground with his head.

“Ouch! that hurts”, Cole said still wincing in pains.

“Yeah sorry for that, the doctor would soon be here to give you some pain killers” Agent bola said.
Just then, the door creaked open and a doctor walked in, accompanied with a nurse who carried a small tray in her hands, containing different types of syringes.

“welcome doctor” Agent bola said while the doctor only nodded his head in reply.

“Detective, we’ve not gotten any useful lead yet, no traces, no video footage. the bomber got his/
her tracks covered” Agent bola said and paused when Cole’s facial expression changed to a sad one and the effect of the news made him sit uprightly.

“I wish you quick recovery so we can nab the perpetrator” she said, sighed and adjusted her curly blonde hair

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

. She walked out of the room with her high heels shoe clumping, attracting stares to herself from the trio in the room.
Detective Cole fell back on the bed immediately she was out of sight. He exhaled deeply as he was worried and panicked-stricken. His fears were not finding the bomber to apprehend him. He had no idea, if the bomber was a he or she, but one thing he was sure of is that, he would dig in deep to fetch the culprit.

“Detective Cole” The doctor called out for the umpteenth time obviously bringing him back from his reverie of thoughts as he jolted back to reality.
He sighed heavily and looked up at the doctor with an apologetic look.

“You dont have to jeopardize yourself thinking, remember you are still a patient and you need to rest so you could recover fast”

“No thanks doc, am very much okay sir” Cole said now sitting uprightly removing the syringe
on his wrist which was connected to a water bag. The doctor’s eyes popped open when he saw him removing the drip and putting them on the bed, he quickly rushed to him and held him back.

“You can’t go like this detective, you are .. ”

“No, I have to go, please discharge me now” Cole said in a command tone.

“No, you can’t .. ” the doctor objected.

“Your wounds are still fresh and you ..” the word hanged in his mouth as Cole cast him a deadly glare which he immediately adhere to.

“You .. you are free, you can go” the doctor stuttered.
Cole rose up and walked past the doctor to the door. He turned the door knob and paused, looking back at the doctor and mumbled the word  ‘thanks’.

With that, he left the room and off to the CIB building.

••••••••••••

"Do you know the hospital Cole was taken to?” Nora asked Emily as they both hopped into a Camry car.

“Not really but it should be the general hospital”
Emily replied and ignited the car engine as she drove off.
Minutes later, they arrived at the hospital and pulled into the carport.
They walked in, and both went to the
receptionist.

“Hi Deborah" Emily greeted with a wave of hand. The receptionist stopped what she was doing and looked up at her surprised wondering how she knew her name.

“Good afternoon ma’am” she greeted with curtsey bowing her head a little.

“Yeah, is detective Cole brought in here?” Nora impatiently asked.
The receptionist quickly navigated through the record book of the admitted patients with her pen checking names. She abruptly stopped and looked back at Nora.
“yes he was admitted here ma’am” she said and looked back at the book to be sure.

“But ….” they were gone already, she saw them afar walking along the hallway on the lookout for the emergency unit. She immediately ran after them

“Excuse me ma’am” she started, gaining their attention.

“He is discharged already”

“discharged?” both Emily and Nora asked surprised.

Yes, I saw him walk out not too long”

“Why would he be discharged so soon?” Emily asked.

That, I can’t tell”

“Alright, thanks Deborah" Emily said and they made to leave but Deborah stopped them.

“Sorry ma’am, am just wondering how you got to know my name, do you know me before?”

“No I don’t, your name tag is …..” Emily couldn’t finish her statement as she was dragged by Nora who couldn’t wait anylonger. The duo walked out of the hospital and off to the parking lot.

••••••••••

Akinola, the director general of the CIB was seated on a swivel chair and piles of documents graced the desk at his front with two laptops. His office was exquisitely furnished with different paintings and sculptures. Large frames of the president was hung up above his head and beside it was the picture of the Governor of Cross River’s state. He had the picture of himself, dressed in the CIB uniform hung up on the wall adjacent to the other pictures. All the pictures were arranged accordingly but a picture stood outstandingly elegant, the designs were different from the rest, though it was performed professionally by the same sculptor. The image was his late wife, she was grinning in the picture displaying her sparkling white teeth.
Akinola took a file; it was the case file of a notorious serial killer who was just apprehended. The whole of the CIB did a great job on the case and they were credited for it, it was their best and arduous case they ever solved but yet another serial killer emerged which was more ruthless and inexorable. the serial killer had caused more than enough havoc to the state. The insidious effect was a deterrent to the CIB due to the loss of lives, but Akinola was always
dauntless and as a valiant, he would encourage the team to be courageous and should always believe in the impossible. And they must show infinite loyalty to their job which would always lead to success.

Ryan flipped through the pages of the file, though it was a closed case but he had other things to do with the case. He was looking for similarities between the newly infamous serial killer and the convicted one.

Read " The Taste Of Revenge " by the same author ( Tz Jay )

. He smiled satisfactorily having found What he was looking for. He pushed the file aside and drew his personal
laptop to himself. He pressed the startup button and the system
came on but it was passworded. He punched in his password and was about to press the enter key when he saw Cole approaching his office, he quickly cleared it and closed the system.

Cole pushed the door open and stepped into the
office, he bolted the door behind him and walked
towards him, he saluted him immI immediately he got to his front.
Akino couldn’t reciprocate the gesture but rather showed his bewilderment on seeing him.

“Cole, why are you here?” he said and stood up.

“You should be in the hospital”

“No sir, I ought to be here, besides, am okay now.”

“No you’re not, you are bleeding” Akinola said pointing at his forehead. Cole touched his bandaged head and blood trickled down his face. He looked at his worried boss and shook his head.

“I’ll be fine”

“But you….” Akinola was saying but was interrupted by a loud noise emitting from his phone which was on the table.
Cole’s phone also rang out loud at the same moment. He brought it out out from his pocket and saw the word ‘PLAY’ boldly inscribed on the phone’s screen.
He looked up and met his boss gaze, both wondering how it got there.
Cole and Akinola communicated with their eyes.
Akinola nodded his head in affirmation to go ahead as they both tapped PLAY.

•••••••••
@ the same time

•••••••••

Emily and Nora were sitting down on a couch in Cole’s house. Emily sat opposite to Nora. Both were fatigued due to their fruitless search for Cole, they had went to different places but couldn’t find him, an idea suddenly struck Nora’s head and she quickly stood up in excitement to the bewilderment of Emily.
Emily was about to ask why she was excited but their phone rang out loud at the same time and both went for it. Emily was the first to get hers from her bag, she looked at the supposed caller but was surprised when she saw PLAY on the screen, she looked up to meet Nora’s gaze fixed on her. With fear and trepidation, they both tapped PLAY.