Tarasha - Season 5 - Episode 85

4 years ago

Tarasha - Season 5 - Episode 85

Martin heaved a sigh of relief. He stretched his hand to draw his mother closer to him.
Dave stared at their faces, he had them where he wanted now, but he knew deep inside his mind that the chances of getting out Dr Ekwueme without him being hurt were very slim.

‘Apart from being former colleagues, do you know if your Dad has other businesses with Dr Francis?’ Dave continued with his questions.

Martin Ekwueme looked at his mother’s face. She released herself from his embrace and sat up. ‘I don’t think so. They weren’t even that close.’
‘Okay, the news reported that Dr Ekwueme and the lady asked about the house Agent that sold the house to Dr Francis. The agent’s name was Lewis George, do you know anyone by that name?’
‘Lewis George? No,’ Miss Adaeze answered in a frank tone.
‘Okay,’ Dave took a brief pause to write some few words on his device notepad. He looked up and stared at the woman’s face silently for some seconds. ‘Ma, I would have to ask some sensitive questions now and I’ll appreciate if you do answer every one without trying to hide any details.’
Miss Adaeze stared at him blankly. She didn’t know what kind of questions he was going to ask and didn’t know whether to agree that she would answer all without hiding anything.

Dave took her silence as consent and continued after a thirty seconds pause.
‘Is there anything Dr Ekwueme has done in secret?’ Dave asked in a calm voice, mentioning his words carefully and one after the other. ‘I mean is there a crime he’s committed in a secret with someone powerful which you think they may come after him for?’

Miss Adaeze heaved a heavy sigh. The tension in her heart increased and tears began to form in her eyes.

Martin knew at a glance at her that there was something secret his mother was hiding. He always knew there was a secret but he never thought it could be a crime. His wildest guess about the secret behind his parent’s divorce had been that his mum caught his dad as a serious serial cheat but it was obvious that he was wrong, it had to do with something probably more serious.

The woman suddenly began to sob, surprising Dave and her son.
‘Mum,’ Martin called softly and drew her close to himself.
Dave remained quiet and unruffled. He balanced himself well on the seat and placed a narrow look at the woman.
She managed to wipe off the tears in her eyes with a napkin she took out of her purse. She sniffed in gently before she began to talk, ‘I have sworn that I would not tell anybody about this and that my children would never hear it from me.’

Dave repositioned himself. Martin slowly disengaged himself from the embrace and balanced on his seat.

‘But you have to tell me now, if you don’t want us to lose him,’ Dave said, flashing a glance at Martin’s face.
The woman sniffed in again. Martin leaned towards her and drew her closer to himself again. He then turned to look at Dave’s face, ‘I’ll excuse you, and I don’t really need to hear what she has to say.’

LAGOS
NEW GENERAL HOPITAL, GBAGADA
Agent James was seated on the plastic chair beside the bed where his father la!d in the hospital ward. His legs were crossed and he had his phone in his hands which he was using to surf the internet. A nurse was standing beside his father, changing the drip bag hung on the top of a stand.
James waited for the nurse to finish and walk out of the ward before he moved his chair close to his father.
‘Dad,’ he called softly.

The man turned his face from the wall to his son.

‘Dad, have you heard about Chief Rikau?’
‘No,’ the man shook his head. He wondered what James heard, he knew that Chief Rikau was supposed to be in a plane in the air at the moment, far away from Nigeria.
‘I just read on the news now that the Inspector General was attacked on the way earlier today and was kidnapped by some unknown assailants.’
The Vice President could not hide the shock on his face. He felt like he was going to pass out that moment but somehow, he still managed to stay alive.

‘Where…did you…read that?’ he stammered in a weak voice.
‘On the youngicee website,’ James replied.
‘Ah!’ the man heaved a heavy sigh.
‘Agent Tim is working directly on the case and I believe we would get results as soon as possible, I just hope that this kidnap isn’t by Samantha Osman again.’
‘James, I have something to tell you,’ the Vice President said resignedly. He knew there was no need hiding who he was from his son anymore even if the boy hated him for it. He had no one else to listen to him or by his side, Rex was gone; already taken by Samantha Osman, the Inspector General was now gone too.

‘Is there a problem Dad?’ James asked, noticing the look on his father’s face.
‘There has always been a problem,’ Elvis Richards replied with a sigh. ‘I know you may hate me for what I’m about to tell you, but it’s time I do.’

‘I’m listening Dad,’ James readjusted himself to a good listening position.
‘I am guilty of everything Samantha Osman accused me of in those documents she sent to you,’ the Vice President stated. ‘I did them long ago, it started when I was still young and I had to survive.’

The Vice President’s confession came as a shock to Dave, even though he always doubted the man’s innocence. He stood up from his seat and walked to a window which was just by the side, only a meter away from where he sat. He rested his arm against the top frame of the window and rested his head on the arm.

‘I did them long ago,’ the Vice President continued. ‘I was hungry for success, I was hungry to come out of poverty and live a good life. I wanted to have a say in the society and a name for myself, I wanted to keep riches for my family and myself. I have never regretted these things until today, I never thought that I would regret them.’ The man stopped to sneeze and then continued immediately. ‘I have tried to fight nemesis but it doesn’t look like I’m going to be successful with it.’
‘But, Dad why?’ Why? James said in teary eyes as he turned back. He dropped into his seat and placed his forehead on the bed beside his Dad’s hand where the hypodermic needle was inserted. ‘Why did you do so much evil to the nation? So many people died as a result of those actions and many are still suffering from the aftermath.’
The Vice President wasn’t teary at all, neither did his voice show regret, only his words did. ‘I was a young man, I didn’t start out evil. My only undoing was that I was desperate to make success and I followed anybody who suggested that they were ready to help.’

James raised up his head and looked at his father’s face. ‘What about the recent accusations she made against you, did you kidnap Stephanie George and Madam Henrietta?’
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘But she released some proofs that you had a case with late Stephanie George’s father.’

‘Yes, that’s true. And the pictures of me with Madam Henrietta at the airdrome were also very real but I didn’t send men to kidnap them and I don’t know their whereabouts.’ Chief Elvis said.
There was silence for a minute. James did not know whether to believe that his father was innocent about Stephanie’s disappearance or not, but he also didn’t see any reason his father should hide the truth from him again after confessing that he did the other crimes Samantha Osman accused him of.
‘But Dad, what led you into all these even as a police officer?’ James asked thoughtfully.
The man let out a deep breath, he closed his eyes and swallowed gently. Then he opened them again and stared blankly at the ceiling. ‘I wasn’t always like that, even as a young police officer, there was a time I was dedicated to serving the country with all my might.’
‘Then, what happened?’ James asked impatiently.

‘The bosses I had in the police force made me believe that there was no way one would rise to the top without being dirty, they showed me several examples of people who talked and thought like me and how they ended badly, but I didn’t see and wasn’t showed those who ended well. I wanted success and I desperately wanted it, so I had to be obedient and follow the cunning ways of those who led me. As I grew, I became more useful in their hands and several politicians got to know me. Then, I met Chief.’ He paused to take a breath in. He tried to adjust the pillow under his head, James got up quickly and helped him with it. ‘Chief was a nice man, a very nice man. He was ready and willing to help me rise far above where I thought I could get to, and he also had special interest in me and in my personal affairs. I remember when I had issues with my wife, your mother, he intervened and introduced me to someone who could provide the solution. His life was glowing and is still glowing, so I followed and served him with all loyalty because I wished to be like him. And he helped me greatly, because unlike others who worked with him, I was intelligent and always had solutions to every issue that came up. So he’s behind my success till date, there’s really nothing I can say I achieved without his support.’
James listened to his father keenly, his eyes fixed on the man’s face. ‘Sir, who is this Chief you are referring to? I know so many Chiefs with you,’ James interrupted, wondering who the chief was and hoping that it wasn’t Chief Rikau.
Chief Elvis was about to answer when the door flung open and a doctor walked in with the nurse who had been there previously. The doctor had the patient’s file in his hands and a stethoscope hung around his neck.