Must Read: Paradox Of Abel - Season 1 - Episode 46

7 years ago

Must Read: Paradox Of Abel - Season 1 - Episode 46

This surprised Daniel, but the detective seemed unperturbed. “You mean you had a son before David?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he now?”

Hannah spread her hands, “I don’t know. He has vanished with no more trace than any ship that has sailed into but not out of the Bermuda Triangle.”
“You should tell me more than that Hannah. We are talking about your son here.”
“It’s a long story. Telling it would open up old wounds.”
“I’m sorry but you’ll have to tell it; the old wounds may solve the murders.”

She shrugged and began, “Abel was born in 1977, he should be 36 years old by April sixteen. When he was fifteen, he left home to somewhere unknown; he heard from ever since.”
“Why did he leave home?” not asked immediately.
Hannah shook her head, “Why are you asking this, detective?”
“Because I have to know, Hannah. I have to know if that corpse we found was really your son. If what you told me is right, then the corpse we found is about the same age as your Abel. I have to be sure of the corpse’s identity. Everything is connected with your husband death, trust me. So, I will ask again, why did Abel leave home?”
Tears came flowing sown the woman’s cheeks, she did not attempt to wipe them off, and when she spoke, her voice was heavy, “Can you plese tell the third party here to excuse us?”
“Why should I do that?” Lot asked.
“I’m going nowhere!” protested Daniel, “we are investigating this case together, the detective and – I.”
Hannah said, “What I’m going to tell you should be handled in the strictest confidence. If it leaks out, my family may be shattered. I don’t want Daniel hearing about this because of the relationship he has with my granddaughter. But if you, Detective Lot, can give me your word that he’d try to keep his mouth shut, then I’ll tell you.”

Lot cast Daniel Famous a quick glance before speaking, “I give you my word, Hannah.”
The old lady sighed as though she was tired. Then she spoke, ‘Twenty-one years ago, a stranger broke into our home.”
“A burglar?”
“No, the man took nothing. He kept talking about Nemesis.”
“He broke into your house to lecture you about Nemesis? Go straight to the point, Hannah.”
“The man was like a devil – as ugly as a mud fence. I’ve never seen anyone uglier in my life. At first, I thought he was wearing a mask, but he wasn’t. The face scared the daylight out me. I was more afraid of him than the gun he was holding.”
“What did he come to your home for?”
“He came to do us evil. He seemed to have known my husband, because he was talking to him directly’ trying to remind him of something that had happened eight years prior. He kept uttering the word ‘Nemesis”. Everything he was saying carried no meaning with me – his words were no different than those of a madman. He continued speaking, even shouting – he seemed not to care if anyone was listening to him or not. Every word came like thunder and he was waving the pistol in his hand maniacally.”
“Where did that happen? Here in this compound?”
“No, it wasn’t here. We were living in Jos at the time.”
“Continue, I beg of you.”
“No one could speak among us. Even my husband was visibly scared, but his face did not register any knowledge of ever knowing the man.”

“What about your children? Were they with you then?”
“Only Ruth and Abel were with us – David was boarding in a secondary school. Ruth was home for the semester break; she was seventeen years old at the time and was in her first year at Rivers State University. Abel had just concluded his senior secondary school final examination, so he was at home seeking admission.”
“What about your other children?” Lot consulted, “Gabriel and Esther.”
“Gabriel was only four years old at the time and he was asleep in the inner room, and Esther was not yet born.” She was nibbling at her lower lip now.
“Okay, the picture is getting clearer. What happened later on?”
Tears cascaded down her cheeks again, and her lips shook as she narrated, “After the stranger had finished depleting his expletives, he ordered us all into the living room where he extracted a rope from his bag which he gave to Abel to tie my husband and me down to our chairs. He tried to remind Jamal about how he’d done the same thing but his words were senseless.
“After he’d made our son tie us up, he told both Abel and Ruth to undr*ss themselves nak*d.”
“What!” Bellowed Daniel.
“He threatened to shoot them dead in front of us if he was not obeyed. To convince us that he wasn’t joking, he unclipped his pistol and showed us the bullets in the magazine. None of us doubted his insanity. My husband and I began imploring them to obey the madman. His gun was pointed at my children as he made a countdown from ten. He was going to shoot one of them dead if, after the countdown, they weren’t undressed. By the time he counted to one, the kids were stark Unclad – both in the altogether; ashamed and embarrassed; they were weeping so sadly. Then the devil ordered them to do the most horrifying act – he told them to perform a S#xual intercourse with each other, right there in our presence. It was evil!”
“You’re saying that the man who broke into your home ordered your children to sleep with each other?” Lot said.

Hannah broke down and wept like a baby. Lot waited a moment, watching the crying woman before he asked the dreaded question, “Did they?”
He could see the effect of the question as the woman shuddered. It appeared as though she was briefly attacked by epilepsy. She did not give reply to the question.
Lot asked again, “Did they?”
The woman’s words came very loud and sharp, “How could they not?” she screamed, “The man was going to kill them. I watched the horror with my own eyes. Jamal shut his eyes to avoid seeing the horrible act, but I watched it – I watched my children sleep with each other! Do you know how horrible that is? Do you know the curse that comes with such act? Do you know the plague that may afflict such family? No, you don’t, and you can never imagine it because it wasn’t you who had to witness such abomination! You don’t know the gravity of such evil!”

This astounding news did not seem to affect detective Lot in the least. He did not move or even blink. His wonderfully shrewd eyes remained fixed on the widow. He waited silently, he listened to her as she jabbered until she gained control of herself. The woman was near-hysteric. When Hannah had cooled off, he asked, “What happened after that?”
“After the intercourse,” Hannah said exhaustedly, “The monster left us, saying that what happened was enough punishment. He came, destroyed our lives and left – just like that. If I saw the man, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. But of course I’m blind, I may never see him. I pray my children do that justice.”
‘Are your other children aware of this truth?”
“No, they’re not. And I’m begging you both to keep it that way.”
“Was that why Abel left home?”
“After that terrible night, my husband and I decided that it would be good if both children never saw each other for a long time. The next day, we took Abel out of Jos to Benin-City where we rented an apartment for him. But Abel took the unfortunate act worse than us all. After just two weeks, he packed his belongings out of the apartment we rented for him and disappeared. It was as if he never existed. All efforts to find him proved futile – he never showed up, not for once. After five, ten years, we forgot about him. Believing that he’d somehow met with an unfortunate accident and died. We never mentioned his name in the house. Both Gabriel and Esther did not know that they had another older brother, and David believed Abel was dead.”

“Hannah, do you think that the second corpse we found was really your lost son – Abel?”
The lady thought over the question critically, “He could really be. If he really was Abel, it’d break my heart gravely. It would be too much for me to lose a husband and a son within just a week. There were only three of us who really knew about Abel; if it wasn’t my son, then either Ruth or my husband had been playing a dangerous game. You must investigate the case carefully, detective. It may go deeper than meets the eye.”
‘If you hadn’t lost your sight, would you have recognized your son now if you saw him?”
“Which mother wouldn’t recognize her own child?”
“The corpse we found was heavily bearded. The beards could have changed his original facial outlook.”
“Detective, I would recognize my child if I saw him – beard or no beard.”
‘Okay, what about your daughter, Ruth? Would she have recognized him?”
“I don’t know about that, but it’s been over twenty years since the tragic event, the image of her brother might have dulled in her mind. And again, the name might spur some unpleasant remembrance. Honestly, I don’t know if she’ll recognize him or not.”
“I guess we all have to depend on your daughter about the true identity of Abel.”
“There another way you can know if that corpse you found was truly Abel.”
“How?”
“The corpse isn’t buried yet, is it?”
“No, he’s still in the morgue.”
“Good. If the corpse was really my son, it would have a long scar at the back of its left thigh.”
“Are you sure? How is that so?”
“Abel has had the scar since he was six when he fell off a mango tree.”
“Are you sure he still had the scar?”
“Of course, I’m sure. The scar was still there when he was sleeping with his sister.”
“That will go a long way. Thanks a lot, Hannah. I’ll call the morgue and ask them to confirm what you just said.”
“Okay.”
“Was it you or your husband who christened your son Abel?”
“My husband.”
“Why did he name him that?”
She shrugged, “I don’t know. He only said he heard the name in a hospital somewhere and decided he was going to name his son Abel if he had one.”
“Before you leave, I’ll like to ask you one final question. Do you know the name of the man who attacked your family?”
“How can I forget the name of the man who came to destroy my family? He spoke his own name when he heard us call our son Abel. He said it was God’s will that he was there with us.”
“What’s his name?”
“He called himself Cain – Cain Martins.”