Click to read EGGSHELL here
Click to read EGGSHELL 2 here
Click to read EGGSHELL 3 here
Click to read EGGSHELL 4 here
***************************************************************************************
Le Relax Hotel & Restaurant
Greater Victoria, Seychelles
His heart skipped a million times as he watched the doorknob turn slowly. There was nothing he could do. He couldn’t shout for whoever it was not to come in – it was a little to late for that. Moreover, his left leg was halfway through his trousers, so it was a lost cause trying to run to the door to shut it before whoever it was could gain access.
Like watching a movie in slow motion, he saw the door inch open. The sweat broke through his pores and his eyes clouded over. He was dead. As dead as dead can be; and he was going to jail first before that happened. He would rot in jail on this island first and then he would die.
As the door inched open and Katherine’s head poked round it, he was not sure what he felt – surprise, fear or relief. His heart which had momentarily skidded to a halt began to thud again.
“Hey babe, didn’t know you would have gotten up. I came back to get my…,” her eyes took in the girl on the bed and his own half-dressed state. “You are going out already?” She moved into the room and then saw the passport and the packed bag. Her eyes screwed together in worry as she once again glanced at the girl on the bed, “I thought you were not scheduled to leave until ….”
Wemimo did not trust himself to speak coherently. He began to shake badly and didn’t know if she could see that. He was afraid, very afraid of what will happen to him now that someone else had witnessed the body. He stood there staring at her, while hoping with all his heart that she does not come any farther into the room.
But, that was exactly what she did. She made a beeline for the dresser before changing her mind and moving towards the bed, “she was really up to it last night,” she pointed at the girl. Then she stopped suddenly, her eyes widened in alarm. “Wem, what is going on….”
He didn’t let her finish it before taking three quick steps towards her and clamping his hands over her mouth. “Please Kate, I am in trouble. Please, do not scream and do not raise any alarm.” He moved her slowly towards the bed, “I want to remove my hand. Please, I am trusting you to not scream. Just nod if you understand me.”
She nodded slowly and he removed his hand from her mouth.
“What happened?” He was relieved she wasn’t angry that he had roughened her up. She was moving towards the girl now, “is she alright Wem?”
“She is dead.”
Her hand stopped midway on its way to touching the girl’s arms. “What?!”
“She is dead, Kate.” He was relieved he was able to admit that to someone else at last. It was like he could suddenly think clearly again. “I don’t know how this happened. Heck, I cannot even remember her or her name. I woke up and found her on the bed dead. She was just lying there not breathing. I am in trouble, Kate.”
“We need to call the police.”
“No!”
Wemimo cautioned himself not to shout. He wouldn’t want to attract any more attention. “You cannot call the police. I would go to jail. I don’t want to go to jail.”
“But….”
“No!. No police okay? I can’t get the police involved. I need to get out of here now. I need you to help me.”
“No!” She was edging away from him. “No Wemimo. I won’t take a fall for you again. One time is one too many. We have to call the police.”
His fluttering emotions crystallized into one strong, wild act of desperation when he saw the look on her face.
Fear gripped his heart and squeezed very hard. He saw the indecision in her eyes. She was weighing up whether to scream for help or run for the door. He was sure of it. She had the scared look of a cornered cat…or rat.
Wemimo moved towards her with lightning speed, he must try to calm her down before she did anything rash. He saw her eyes open in fear at his sudden lunge and her mouth opened before he could get to her.
Then she started to scream.
***
Dogo heard the scream. It was his cue to move and in five quick steps he was outside his room and at the door to room 431, gently pushing it open and moving into the room.
The noise died instantly.
“What is all the commotion about?”
Dogo grinned inwardly as he saw the two shocked faces before him. Katerina is a class act. He could have laughed in her face as he stared at the utterly dumbfounded face, but that would have spoiled the script. “Are you guys having an argument? I am really sorry to intrude, but I heard noises…” he let his eyes trail to the bed. “…Who…what…what is that?”
His pointed finger was like a thousand accusatory spikes aimed at his target. He got him in his cross-hairs now and he can never escape.
Not now…it is he either passes his tempering or else….
Dogo shut the door and moved into the room, turning the key as he did so.
***
Lagos, Nigeria
Biodun Kuedsoh knew what she wanted from her life. She also knew how to cut off things that didn’t add up and discard them. She wouldn’t get to run the biggest information and data processing firm in sub-Saharan Africa by being a wimp.
Her dream to own and run one of the biggest blue chip firms in Africa is beginning to unravel very fast. She however needed a bit of fillip to get herself where she wanted to be.
Growing through the years and trained in one of the most vicious corporate environments, she had developed the strong spine and ruthless mercilessness of a boardroom tactician. That was what working with one of the world’s biggest web hosting firms did to a young lady full of ambition. It was while at ExoGerm InfoTech International that her fortunes changed, she met one of the brightest young men ever to come out of her home country. They fell in love and in time, his nature as a dreamer and her own drive for start-up ventures led both of them into countless stimulating discussions about how they could revolutionize the economic and political landscape of their country.
He went back to the country shortly after winning that award for the revolutionary seedling. The same seedling that led to their break up. At the time, she argued that he was venturing too far into the realms of genetic engineering. That he was toying with nature and that one way or the other he was going to tip the balance of natural equilibrium and things will become cataclysmic. On his part, he had argued that his PODs were the best thing that would happen to the field of genetic engineering. A seed that could withstand most forms of insect attacks would be the African farmer’s dream. He expounded on the usefulness of the seed and how the frontiers upon which it was conceived could be extended as an agent for administering birth control measures, and in turn, keeping in check the soaring population figures.
She had been horrified at his ideas for his scientific discovery. He was talking like a fanatic and she told him that. He wouldn’t hear about it, the argument had dragged too far and too long and things had been said in heated anger.
Horrific things were said and they had split.
She had delved into her work and risen very fast after that. It was like she was an onrushing train, willing to crush everything in its path. It was like she had a point to prove to the world and to him. In a few months, she had risen very fast along the company’s hierarchical structure, crushing all opposition in her path to being the VP to ExoGerm InfoTech International. She was also very good at what she did best, crunching figures and making dead-point speculations that made everyone on the company’s board happy. She was the board’s darling, getting them results that far outstripped their annual projections. Her expertise in the African, Middle-East and Central Asian markets were duly acknowledged.
It was hinted she was in with a shout for the regional president’s post in the new organizational shake up. But, her dreams where bigger than that. She needed more – She always needed more.
Biodun rose from her desk. Her plans are all ready to go. She had done her research well and she was convinced she had an idea that would catapult her into realizing her long-term goals. However, she knew she couldn’t just walk back into the country and get to where she wanted to be as quickly as she wished to be, if she didn’t go looking for some help.
She was boxed into a corner. She was now the wimp. She had no way to fight him off, not now. She needed him more than anything else. He had the contacts she needed to jump-start her venture.
But, how to approach him and ask for his help. After what had been said the last time they saw each other. She knew all he had done since he came back, and how he had helped the country and risen in the corridors of power. She needed him to hold her hands and lead her through those corridors too. She had something the country wants, but would they see the value of it?
She walked back to her desk and sat down. The sun was out and the sight was beautiful. She wondered to herself if he would even agree to see her. It had only being a while, and in that time they have both made giant strides.
Would he agree to help her?
She picked up her phone, ” Please, get me an appointment with Alhaji Abu Shelama.”
She let the receiver down gently. Now, all she can do is wait….
===================== TO BE CONTINUED =======================
