Zara - S01 E08 (Story Episode)

4 years ago

Zara - S01 E08 (Story Episode)

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 8

The meeting went better than Iyke expected.

It was agreed that the option he proposed be
pursued.

All that remained was to tidy up the
mechanics before proceeding within the next
12 hours.

Hope filled the air as they dispersed.
…
Sorrow and fear filled her heart as she lay on
the floor of the car. In addition to the sorrow,
she felt shocked and almost numb at the
confirmation of her worst fears.
The car had stopped again after leaving the
first place they had gone to. As the man
driving the car alighted, his phone rang,
rather loudly, most likely due to the quiet of
the night.

The darkness of the night stopped her from
seeing his face but the distinct nasal sound
couldn’t be mistaken.

Ten seconds was all she needed in addition to
the fact that he had identified himself by his
nickname. Dede.

Tears ran down her cheeks.
No. No. No. It’s not possible. There has to be a
mistake. It can’t be him.

If it wasn’t him, what was he doing carrying
her all around town bound in his car that has
always been touted to be untraceable. It
meant –

No one will find me! Jesus. Please help me.
Please. I’m not ready to die or be raped
either.

Please…

As she prayed, her mind tried to find a
reason, an angle, any angle to hitch the
unexpected turn of events on. She couldn’t.

Between herself and Ima, the man had
devoted more time and effort to winning
Ima’s affection. Usually, he went through her.

Using her to try and persuade Ima to have a
change of heart.
I am her – For heaven’s sake! Ask her to come
out at least. If she doesn’t want to see me
again after today, I promise never to look for
her.

Even back then, the words had seemed rather
harsh.

They still did. However, she still
couldn’t see what she could have missed.

Searching her mind, no signs or inklings came
up.

Could it have been a ruse?
Dear Lord…
…
He was needed back at work. By the next
morning. That meant he would have to leave
his precious cargo for a while. A short while
he hoped. His boss had promised that but he
had learnt long ago to never count on that. In
the end, one had to do what was needed
irrespective of how long it took.
But I’m on leave. Why me and why now?

Still he couldn’t say no. Not to the job and
definitely not to his commander.
Quickly, he reached for his back pocket and
brought out the mask. The risk of having her
see his face was too great. While everywhere
was pitch black. There was no telling what
could happen. Pulling it on he strode to the
car coms few steps away and opened the back
door.
…
As the car door that led to the backseat
opened, the rush of air reminded her of her
filth. Without a doubt, she had never been
this dirty in her life before. The filth was
somewhat expected but not accepted. Being
on the road for almost 24 hours could do that
to someone, more so a female on her monthly
cycle.

She willed her eyes shut and pretended to be
deep asleep. With her legs being bound and
the night being black, it would definitely be
foolhardy to try to escape, at least for now.

A needle pierced her arm after being pulled
out a bit from the car. For some minutes she
struggled against her assailant.

Her pretense
soon became a reality as she succumbed to
the effects of the anesthetic.
…
Once again, he was happy with his level of
access at the agency.

Slowly, he dragged her
out and lifted her across his shoulder.

The
smell that emanated from her body was more
than he could bear. So, he quickly rushed into
the building which blended with the meager
buildings around it.
…
The voices woke her up. They were raised and
seemed to be arguing.
“I do not understand why you had to bring
her here in that filthy state. She’s obviously
on her period. Did you not notice?”
“No. I did not and if it wasn’t for the stunt
you pulled in changing the address, we
wouldn’t be in the position. Would we?”
A grunt was all the reply he got.
It was the first time Ima had ever tried to
move from her position. Usually, she lay
down, sat up, alternating between the two
positions. She wasn’t bound anymore.
Obviously, the man didn’t consider her to be
flight risk.

The room she was in was quite different from
the place they had hurriedly moved from. It
was quite bare, with just a bed in it. The
bathroom looked clean at least.

She moved closer to the door in order to hear
the conversation better.

“Why do you have that stupid mask on sef? ”
“You have to ask. She could recognize me in a
split second. You think I want to get caught?
Come on! I haven’t come this far to get caught
now.”

“Okay. Okay. Just put her in there. That’s
where the second one is.”
Ima staggered back to her bed due more to
the shock that was reverberating through her
body than the fact that the door would open
in any second.

She was barely on the bed when it opened.
…
As agreed, just four of them went to Ogudu:
Iyke, Mr. Okonkwo (Snr.), who Iyke referred
to as AIG, and two other plain detectives.
The AIG and the plain detectives came in one
car while Iyke came in Stacey’s. Hers was less
obvious than his.

The terrain to cover wasn’t too much. They
would search the girl’s apartment for clues
while they visited the three other flats in the
building.

One of the detectives was left at the girls’
apartment.

The three of them proceeded to check the other three apartments together.

All through the operation, Iyke couldn’t help
but notice the manner in which AIG
conducted his affairs. One wouldn’t believe
he was part of the same police force that was
said to be useless. Although retired, the
knowledge gained from his studies and
exchange programs abroad were still evident.

Only one of the apartments turned out to be
occupied, by a woman and her three children.
It was obviously not who they were looking
for.

Decidedly, they walk to the back of the house
and that was when they saw the pedestrian
gate. It was unlatched.
They went through it with Iyke in the middle
of the three men. He was key to recognizing
the man they were looking for. The man who
Iyke had spotted under the full moon the last
time he came to the apartment.
…
A knock on the door distracted Frank from his
newspaper reading. He ignored it thinking he
had heard wrong. Then, it sounded again.
This time more urgent. He dropped the
newspaper and walked to the door, wondering
who on earth could be at the door. He hardly,

if ever received visitors at his vacation home.

When the door opened, he knew the game
was up. The almost invincible nod told him
something that he didn’t need to ask. He had
been found out. But how?
“Please come in gentlemen.”
AIG nodded and they entered into the
surprisingly well furnished apartment.

Surprising due to the unassuming nature of
the outer environment.
“How may I help you, sirs?”
AIG, the unofficial but obvious leader of the
group spoke.

“Without further delay, I’ll explain and
hopefully it’ll get sorted out. The two ladies
who live in one of the apartments in the other
building are missing. One has been missing
for over 4 weeks now and the second’s
disappearance is going into its first week.

The young man with me says he saw a man
come out of that apartment some days ago,
precisely the day of the second’s
disappearance. Some seconds ago, he
identified you as that man.”
Frank felt relieved but didn’t show it. They
didn’t know why he had been in the
apartment but he had been seen.

“Am I to take it that I am a suspect in their
disappearances?” He asked as he took his
earlier vacated seat.
“No. We just want to know what you were
doing in their apartment.” AIG replied.

Without thinking too much, he replied. “I
went in to close a window. The window had
been open for days. I knew the darker one
wasn’t around. She travelled. The other one,
well, I –“
“How?” “How?” “Yes, sir. How did you know
the darker one wasn’t around? How did you
know that she travelled?”
Frank thought about the question and what to
do with it.

Do I show them how? If indeed the darker
one is missing, then I have no choice.

Sighing, he stood up and signaled to them.

“Follow me, please.”
In truth, he hadn’t gone into the room since
the darker one travelled. There had been no
reason to do so. In addition, there was no
perceived security threat which was the sole
reason why the cameras had been installed.

As they followed, Iyke wondered on what the
elderly man could possibly have to show
them. He also wondered at why AIG was
being so gentle. He could be the culprit they
were looking for.

The second plain detective waited outside in
the living room while AIG and Iyke followed
Frank.

Using a security code, he granted them all
access to his security room.
“Here sirs, is how I knew she had travelled.”
…
The mask was still on his face as he carried
the young girl into the room. He hadn’t
expected her to be there.
…
Ima was shocked, surprised but not so much
that she couldn’t speak.
“Hi, dad.”