Susan ekerete - Season 1 - Episode 13

Episode 5 years ago

Susan ekerete - Season 1 - Episode 13

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Susan thought about pulling her feet back inside her car, cranking the ignition and then zooming off before the men from the jeep got to her. With a sinking feeling, she knew she would never make it; the men were already too close to her. The tone of the man who had asked her for her identity had been a bit rough, and a second look at his unfriendly face fuelled her fear.One of the other men seemed to sense what was going through her mind. He raised one hand reassuringly, approaching her with slowed steps.“Please madam, don’t be alarmed. We justneed to be sure of who you are…”“Well, who are you, first off?” Susan retorted, her hands still tight on her steering wheel. “I can’t just start telling a couple of strangers who I am, without seeing some identification.”The man nodded and gestured at the other men to halt. Then he walked over to Susan, digging through his pockets for what she assumed was some form of identification. As he neared her Corolla, Susan craned her head around to see if there were any potential witnesses; the street was empty but she saw a few fluttering curtains.

A few neighbours were watching, but she knew they wouldn’t intervene if anything happened.The man t----t a laminated card towards her and she hesitantly accepted it with a shaky hand.

She took her time examining the card before returning it.“So, why are the police asking me who I am like this?” she asked bravely.The man smiled. “Sorry if we scared you, madam. I can understand why you would be worried; criminals are getting bolder every day and broad daylight attacks and abductions are not uncommon. I’m Samson Ikedife as you already know frommy ID card. These other gentlemen are also in the police force. Now you know who we are, could you return the favour?”Susan paused, surprised. The Nigerian police weren’t known to be as friendly as this Samson seemed to be.

Hi swarm smile lit up a dark, friendly-looking face, eyes glinting intelligently behind the pair of glasses he had on. She looked over at the other man who had first spoken. He still had a scowl twisting his face. Yeah, now that one looks like a Nigerian policeman, she thought wryly. None of the men were in the usual police uniform and she wondered exactly what type of team this was.“Yes, I’m Susan Ekerette.” She said grudgingly, emerging from her car with her handbag gripped tight. The policeman stretched a palm forward and she took it after a brief hesitation. “How may I help you?”He looked around. Susan noticed his gaze fall on a few of the rustling curtains behind which her neighbours watched.“Maybe we should go inside your house?” he suggested. When she frowned, he gestured at the grim-faced policeman andadded, “Just me and one of my colleagueswill come in. the rest will remain outside here and keep your neighbours entertained.”She nodded after a moment, and carefully locked her car and led them to her house. As she opened her door, the friendly policeman asked, “Are you alone, Miss Ekerette? Or is someone else in the house?”A horrible thought struck her. Usually the police asked that question when they wanted to deliver bad news. Her mind quickly ran through all her loved ones and rested on Cherish. She almost gasped out loud. Had something happened to her daughter?“I’m alone.” She responded, her head swirling with worry. Just to be safe, she quickly added, “But I have a friend who is here a lot…”“Mr Michael Davies. Yes we know.” The grim policeman said as they stepped into the house. His eyes travelled over every inch of the living room interior, gauging and assessing. Susan felt almost stripped at the thought of her private space being so thoroughly examined, but more importantly she was astonished he knew of Michael. What exactly was going on?“How do you..?”“Know of Mr Michael Davies?” the friendly one completed her sentence, and then smiled hesitantly. “May I call you Susan, madam? You can call me Samson.” He gestured at a chair.Susan knew the invitation to sit was more a command than a suggestion so she sank into the chair and nodded, again surprised at the man’s friendliness. Both men also settled on the couch opposite her.“Well, Susan, while we were waiting for you to return form work, we chatted with some of your neighbours. That’s how we know about Mr Michael Davies.

Pretty regular here, we gather. Is he your boyfriend?”Susan barely heard what he was saying. Although she was trying to ignore her fear,it had been building up in her like steam ina boiling kettle. She finally allowed it to escape from her mouth.“I know what’s going on here, Sir…. Samson. You don’t need to distract me with all this inane banter. What happened to my daughter?”