The Hole in The Wall - Season 1 - Episode 4

4 years ago

The Hole in The Wall - Season 1 - Episode 4

How? Who?…..Why?
My world stopped spinning for a second and I blinked as the name began to spin round my head.

“Olivia Obasi..”
Olivia had completed the name change months after our marriage. Now someone had used her name as an alias to commit murder.
I wasn’t even going to consider Olivia lodging, and blowing the Shadow’s brain by nightfall. She wasn’t a killer. She couldn’t even hurt a fly.

Andy was still looking at me and so was the detective…strangely. She must have put two and two together.
“Interesting” she said “And who else should stumble upon the murder weapon if not her dear husband”
“No ma…she wasn’t married…she wrote miss not Mrs-” the clerk began and was cut off with a lethal look she threw his way.
But something he had said earlier suddenly got me thinking.
“You said you told her boobs were bigger than the sun?”
He looked down “she did not find that funny”
“So were they?”
“Were they what?” He looked confused
“Bigger than the sun?”
“And where is all this nonsense heading to?” The detective interrupted crossly
“Its important” I held a hand up “where they?” I asked again.
He sighed in memory “They were one of the largest pair of water melons I ever seen”

A knowing look passed between Andy and I.
Detective Dagnet caught it and asked “what..what is it”

She was too annoying and I wasn’t about to reply her so Andy spoke up “Olivia Obasi…the real Olivia Obasi my sister in-law does not have ‘boobs bigger than the sun'” he quoted with his hands. “This is a setup”
She glanced at me “why would anyone want to set her up?”
I would have to be a psychic to have been able to answer her question so I just stared at her.
“We need to see the tape” I said finally.

°•°•°•°•°•
The hotel manager the one with the ‘trust issues’ wasn’t in his office when we got there.

The clerk tried the door although it was clear it was locked.
“Where can he be?” Dagnet asked
“I don’t know honestly….I hardly come up…my own is just to man the desk downstairs.”
“Did you notice him pass you heading outside?” Andy asked
“No…I’m not sure…but he could have followed the kitchen at the back”
“Give me his number” Andy asked.
“Aaagh….I left my phone downstairs”
“Oya go and get it…always be security conscious somebody can just steal it now”
Andy watched him leave then turned to me “what are you thinking?”
I shook my head. “I don’t even know…I’m not really surprised the shadow is dead…or to be frank I don’t really care, he definitely had a lot of enemies but-”
“And you were one” Dagnet chipped in
“But…why use Olivia’s name as an alias…to frame her or what…why?”
“Looks like the killer wanted to kill two birds with a stone” Andy said
“But why….what kind of message is the killer trying to get across” I had purposely not referred to the killer as ‘she’
The killer had to be a professional…the execution of every thing..from the wall drill to the actual execution it all had the finesse and mature touch of a pro.

Which was fitting, I guessed only an assassin could kill a shadow. But I had killed two…or three….if I included the crazy Tosin. Tonye had shot three that night and the widows had mauled one to death. Not to talk of the car that had tumbled off the 3rd mainland bridge. Three shadows plus the old woman who further investigation had revealed was indeed chief Amunike’s mother had been fished out the next day, or at least what the fish couldn’t finish. That brought the total dead shadows to ten. I knew for a fact that the only one we had managed to capture had been killed the night he arrived at the prison.

The last was now dead. Their leader.
I suddenly remembered the tattoo and bookmarked my brain to ask Andy about the deceased’s back and if it bore the four words that was their identification.

Dagnet’s phone gave two shot shrieks and interrupted my thoughts.
“What is it?” She snapped into the receiver. She frowned clearly not liking what she was hearing.

“Where is he…hold up don’t harm him…just hold him I’m coming” she hooked her phone back on her belt and I saw her gun for the first time. It was huge.
“What’s happening” Andy asked immediately
“Its one of the guests on the murder floor about three rooms before the crime scene, he wanted to get back into his room but the uniform didn’t let him and they had an err…disagreement” she headed for the stairs. The managers office was on the 5th and last floor of the hotel.

“Of course if I pay for a room I’d like to be able to enter anytime I want” Andy muttered and was about to follow her but I held him back.
He looked at me surprised.
“I have a feeling time is of the essence…we need to see that clip” I said.
“But the manager…” His voice trailed off as he understood my intent.

He brought out his wallet and without a word gave me his debit MasterCard.
I faced the door and tried to jimmy the lock and when it seemed like it wasn’t working, my shoulder did the rest.
I stumbled into the room with Andy behind me and shut the door. It didn’t shut because the lock had been damaged so I signalled Andy and he dragged the chair that was facing the window. I could tell the view was magnificent from the window and must have been the manager’s favourite spot.

The chair held the door in place and I hoped from far one would think it was locked. Honestly I didn’t really care.
I could see the office also served as living quarters for the man. The wall had been removed and two rooms had been converted to his office and room.

In the office I saw the screens. They were about ten screens, ten monitor screens. I studied the setup and . guessed they were all connected to a CPU under the table. The cables were a nightmare.

Andy came to stand by my side. We watched the screens with the only sound coming from the frequent beeping of the CPU.
I could see the car park, on two screens from different angles, the entrance of the hotel on another and I had hoped to catch my car from this angle but I didnt even see the tail light. I must have confused the spot.

I saw the reception desk immediately. The camera directly above the entrance pointed at the desk and another one above the desk offered a clear view of the entrance.
“These are the two cameras we need to focus on first…” I pointed at the two screens then glanced at the screen showing the car park again. “Then we’d check if we could luckily see her arrive in a car”

“Splendid…what time did the clerk say she lodged in”

I glanced at the screen. The clerk was at the table again and can you believe it, he was sleeping!

“Is this fool not supposed to be getting his phone?” Andy asked and I shrugged.
I located the keyboard under the cables and searched for a mouse.
“I think he said she checked in by two in the afternoon…so we’d concentrate anytime from noon” I didn’t see any mouse and tapped the keyboard watching the screens to notice which of them was the main source. Nothing.
I tried a common shortcut combination, to flip through the open windows or at least bring up the status bar (alt tab) still nothing. No flicker on any of the screens.
“Are you sure the keyboard is connected?” Andy asked

I pressed caps lock but there was no blinking light. When I traced the plug I knew why. It wasn’t connected to the CPU.
“These equipments are stone age…I wonder who is their security head” Andy said in disgust.

“Apparently we’re in his office” I replied but warning shots were going off in my head
I was preparing to wade through the mangled cables for an adequate port to insert the keyboard. At least it was USB.
Thankfully my partner beat me to it.
“Hey Oba check this out” Andy had traced the end of a VG cable and he held it up. It also wasn’t connected to the Cpu. “It seems nothing is connected to the CPU, the cables just lead under the table but apart from the power cable and…” his voice trailed off as he buried his head further into the ungodly tangle.
I was confused and so was Andy. “That’s strange. If its not connected to the CPU then were is the feed coming from?”
His head emerged and there were cobwebs in his hair. “As in this man is just confused, if the plan was to go wireless why gather this ancient…”

“Remember what the clerk said, its like something happened so he had to transfer the surveillance here maybe he changed somethings”

“And left those cameras that look like telescope downstairs?” Andy asked “And left all these rubbish….this man should have left this kind of work for professionals. Plus our 40% discount he didn’t even reach out”
I had sniffed the scent so many times in the last two years that I knew it at a whiff and I caught it now. “Something smells fishy bro”
Andy wrinkled his nose and ran his tongue over his teeth. “I had sardines with my toast this morning”

“No…I smell a rat” but then I caught the mischievous glint in his eyes and I smiled.
We heard a voice from outside.
“I’m around let me call you back”
“That must be the manager” Andy said
I looked at the screen. The clerk was still asleep, his feet on the desk. The manager hadn’t passed by meaning he must have been somewhere in the hotel. To be fair the hotel must have been deserted. There wasn’t even a single soul in the lobby that is apart from the sleeping clerk. Even the patrolling cops I had met on my way in must have climbed up to attend to whatever ruckus Dagnet had been called for.
“Well he’s the only one who can show us the clips..” I said leaning on the table and folding my hands.
Andy smiled. “I’m gonna enjoy this”

°•°•°•