The Hole in The Wall - Season 1 - Episode 9

4 years ago

The Hole in The Wall - Season 1 - Episode 9

°•°•°•

The maid who had found the body was still shaken although she had calmed down a bit. Now she seemed to have lost her voice as a result of all the screaming, it was faint and hoarse. Her name was Evelyn and she had been working in the hotel for close to 3 years.
She went through her routine again step by step, from when she had pushed her cart with fresh towels and sheets on the 2nd floor.
She complained of one guest who shouted at her rudely and ordered her to come back later and I knew it had to be the man Dagnet had been questioning minutes ago.

She described how the hole in the wall had caught her attention. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she remembered the blood and offensive smell. Recounting the detail was obviously tough on her and I signaled Andy to cut the questions.

We interrogated two more guests both elderly men in early fifties. They hadn’t been around when all the shouting had begun that morning as they were having breakfast in a nearby canteen. They lodged in the morning before and were waiting for someone else to join them so they could continue their journey to Osun state for a distant cousin’s burial.

We had just rounded up the interview when Dagnet strolled in with an astonished look.
“You finished all the interrogations?!”
I didn’t know if she sounded happy or angry. But then again she had spent 30 minutes interrogating one guest and her slow method was what made me leave. Now under the same time frame we had questioned 4 other people.

“Hope you recorded it sha” she said taking our silence as an affirmation.
I pointed to the ceiling were a CCTV camera had its red light on. “Unless this is just for display you should have the interviews on tape”
She looked at me in the fowl manner I had become accustomed to.
“,How about your detecting….any luck?” Andy asked her.
“Nothing substantial, Terry called me from the hotel. He combed the room the killer lodged in but he didn’t get anything. No fingerprints but she must have used the bathroom because the two towels were on the floor and quite damp”
“She must have worn gloves throughout then” I suggested
“Yes, its very possible and the clerk said he didn’t see her again meaning she stayed in her room till she carried out the murder”
“And immediately she killed him she left the hotel”

I explained what the young couple said about the encounter in the corridor.
“The clerk is currently downstairs with a sketch artist he was the only one she spent some time with but the useless man couldn’t look at her face but her chest!” She looked at me “men! Tufiakwa” and snapped her fingers.

“This sketch artist, is he any good?” Andy asked a little too quickly.
“Yes very good, one of the best, the couple might be able to also add some features, I’ll send for them” she brought out her phone and dialled a number “constable lead the young couple to Tina’s desk you’d see Sama sketching with somebody, tell them to also describe the woman they saw this morning” she ended the call and looked at us
“Did any of the people you interrogated seem suspicious?”

“Of course they’ll feel suspicious they’re all suspects” Andy said.

I suddenly remembered something and I asked “Terry found a strand of hair earlier remember? He said it was likely to be feminine”

“Yes feminine but its probably a wig or weavon or attachment” at my questioning glance she added “Terry called me, he examined the hair and there is no root, no DNA..he’s going to study it better in the lab but don’t get your hopes up”
We both nodded. “Please keep us informed on the investigation” I said
She nodded “likewise”
“Surely…surely”

°•°•
Bami
Bami was worried. There were so many thoughts in his head but they all had the same conclusion. And one theory in particular scared him.

He left the lab instructing the medical examiner to perform an autopsy..

He drove round undecided. He was supposed to head to the agency and fill some paperwork but the latest developments had him worried and undecided. Finally he trafficated and got on the bridge. He had made up his mind just before he trafficated and the bridge didn’t lead to the headquarters.

After navigating through traffic and potholes for 1 hour 45 minutes, Bami got out of his car and observed the building. He hadn’t come here in years and nothing had changed although the paint had began peeling here and there and it almost looked like one of those roadside buildings that had been abandoned because it was marked for demolition.

But it was far from abandoned. Bami knew this. He strode through the door aware that his plates had been run the moment he switched off the engine.

Inside, this was the part Bami loved. It was always a shock for first timers. There was nothing but a big wall. The minute one entered the building you were staring at a wall, nothing else. The words: Mark and Mack legal advisers was written in uppercase with an arrow after the last word.

He turned right like the arrow pointed and there was a staircase hidden in the corner. It was also behind a small gate that was locked. Behind the gate, sitting on the steps was an unsmiling face. He looked at Bami with expressionless eyes “we’re closed”
Bami checked out the man hunched on the stairs. He hadn’t seen him before but he was no doubt an agent. He decided to go with the code.

“I have annulment papers I have to sign for my divorce hearing.”
“We’re closed” the man repeated.
“Look” Bami took a step closer but stopped when the man straightened alert. “This is very very important I need to see Mark Zipiter.” He added the unknown last name so the man would know he wasn’t just anyone. Then lowered his voice “This is a north grade situation” that was a code and meant the situation was very urgent and important.
The man looked at Bami with unblinking eyes “we’re closed”

Bami was sure that was the only phrase he was going to get. This man was like a recording. Bami was sure the man in fact knew who he was which would mean he had been blacklisted and no one wanted to see him. The agency still regarded him as a defector after all.
But he had questions he needed to ask. Once he had followed orders blindly and he had haunting memories and situations that needed clarity. Especially events from two years ago.
He sighed in frustration and stormed out of the building.

°•°•°•°•°•