"Mummy." she sighed. "Mummy, I'll call you back." she disconnected the call and collapsed on the bed. The tears would not come. She really wished she could cry.
Mrs. Kwesi was jittery. She had been jittery since her last phone call with her daughter earlier in the week. As she paced the arrival lounge at the airport waiting for her husband's flight to be called she was overcome by her feeling of anxiety. She reached for the nearest seat and grabbed it as her legs buckled under her. She dragged herself into the seat and put her head between her knees as she tried to calm down.
Her baby was dying.
She knew that was the truth of it but she was unwilling to accept it.
An announcement came over the speakers but she was too frazzled to understand what it was about. Her eyes scanned the faces of people as they went about doing whatever it was that had brought them to the airport. Life went on. Her baby was dying and life had the audacity to be going on with it. She shut her eyes against the tears that suddenly filled them but it could not stop the tears from spilling unto her cheeks.
She did not notice her husband come through the gates, stop to look at her when he noticed her seating by herself on one of the few benches in the arrival hall looking so forlorn. She did not notice him as he strode up to her until he sat beside her on the bench. Then she turned to look at him.
"What has happened?" he asked, half afraid of the answer he would get.
Mrs. Kwesi shook her head as the tears kept spilling from her eyes. Mr. Kwesi put his arm around her and shifted closer to her.
"I was in touch with Doctor Umar. He doesn't think there's a lot they can do." he said in an odd, consoling voice.
"She is so angry. Angry at life, at us I think and God?! Can you imagine? I can barely stand the thought of the pain she must be going through to be so angry." Mrs. Kwesi said her voice jerky with her tears.
Both of them remained silent for a few moments locked in their embrace.
"My baby is dying Luke." Mrs. Kwesi said mournfully as she looked in his eyes, searching for the measure of his grief. "Our daughter."
Mr. Kwesi leaned back on the back of the bench, his arm dropping off from his wife's shoulder.
"Have you nothing to say?" she asked.
"Let's go home dear." he said as he stood up and put out his hand to help her up from her seat. She stared at him a moment longer before putting her hand in his. Once she got to her feet and gained her balance, she dropped his hand and moved off in the direction of the exit. Mr. Kwesi sighed and slung his overnight bag over his shoulder as he followed her out.
CHAPTER 10
Doctor Aloysius spread out his notes all over his desk as he tried to make sense of the information in front of him. Silently, he cursed his father for putting another human being through this torment.
He shook his head. There was something he was supposed to be seeing but he was not, for the life of him, he was not.
He reached for a chart on his far left just as the beep went off on the security monitoring system. Someone had just come unto the property. He paused in his reach and turned towards the monitor on the second desk in the laboratory.
He felt alarm race through his spine as he realized he was looking at a stranger. The man was of average height and slightly built. He moved stealthily around the property probably seeking for an entrance. Aloysius was not worried that he would find any. There was no other entrance into the building except through the front door. His alarm grew however when he realized that there were two other men who had been hiding in the bushes at the back of the property. They came forward now when the first man gave them some kind of signal to them.
He stood up and hurriedly packed up his notes to lock them in the safe built into a wall in the laboratory. He went back to the monitor to see what was going on. It seemed that the men were setting up some kind of device against the wall on the side where the lab was located. Was it coincidence or did they have some information as to how the building was planned? Did his father send them? That thought alone sent a frisson of fear down his spine and propelled him towards his cell phone.
Obinna, the police officer who had accompanied his father's latest victim, had insisted on leaving his contact when he had met with them. He picked on the second ring.
"Hello." his voice came crisply over the phone.
"Officer Obinna?" Aloysius asked.
"Speaking. Who is this?" he responded.
"This is Doctor Aloysius. I think that I am being attacked."
There was the sound of a shuffle and then Obinna's voice came back on. "Are you at the lab?" he asked.
"Yes and there are three men trying to break in. I think they are trying to use explosives."
He heard Obinna shout something to someone in the background and then he came back on line. "How secure are you?" he asked.
"As secure as can be but I never planned for explosives." Aloysius said drily.
"We'll be there as soon as we can. Try not to do anything too crazy." Obinna said wryly. He had really ended up enjoying the time they had spent at the doctor's lab even if he had nothing to help them with at the time, he had promised to do some studying. It was amazing how different he was from his father. The older Doctor Greene was a real piece of work.
He was already moving to the door as he disconnected the call, his partner was waiting for him holding the door open.
"Do we need back up?" he asked as Obinna got near him.
"I think so. Can we get someone from Explosives? He thinks these guys are heavily armed."
Lawrence nodded as he moved off towards the offices of the anti-explosives team.
"Meet me outside in five. I'll pick Osaru on the way."
Lawrence waved to indicate that he had heard him and understood.
Obinna winged by his Superintendent's office and briefed him hurriedly. He was given an express approval to proceed with the mission. As he hurriedly left the office, he pulled out his cell phone and punch in Osaru's digits. He was just about to cut the line in frustration when Osaru picked it up.
"Boss! Sorry I was occupied."
A sharp retort came readily to Obinna's lips but he forced it back for expediency sake. "Meet me outside in five. We have an emergency. I'll brief you on our way out."
"Eh, Sir..."
"Wherever you are, I expect you here in under ten minutes and you had better not be late." He cut off the call and looped towards the squad cars where Lawrence was waiting with two officers from Explosives.
"Morning gentlemen. We have a situation at the address we are headed to and there may be explosives involved." Obinna said as soon as he got to them. He gave them a rundown of the possible scenario they were going to encounter and what their strategy would be and then gave the order for them to move out.
Just as they were about to get into their respective vehicles, Osaru jogged up towards him. Obinna cut him a furious look as he slammed the door of the car he was getting into.
"I had to run an errand." Osaru excused as he got up to him. Obinna refused to acknowledge his excuse as he tapped the designated driver to move. Osaru had to jump into the car even as it started to move.
"Lawrence, brief him." He said shortly as he pulled out his cell phone again.
He scrolled to the number which Doctor Aloysius had used in calling him and clicked the redial option. The phone had barely finished its first ring when it was picked up.
"Hello." Obinna said.
"Hello." a voice responded. It was not the doctor's voice.
It put Obinna off his stride as he tried out various likely scenarios in his mind. Had the assailants gained entrance already? What had happened?
"Doctor Aloysius?" he asked with as bland a voice as possible.
The line clicked off. Obinna felt a swell of dread go through his body. "Hurry!" He barked at the officer at the steering. "It seems we may be late." he said agitatedly. The sound of the engine revving was the back drop to Obinna trying to marshal out a plan B, just in case.
CHAPTER 11
Sarah Jane picked up the shrieking cell phone, grumbling about people who would call at unholy hours of the day. She checked the clock on her phone. Or not so unholy. She had lost track of time. It was almost eight am.
She had moved back home with her parents after their last visit to the Centre. Her mum had insisted. Sarah Jane would have sworn that her mother's thoughts that day had jumped out at her, 'If this place can't help you, at least come home where we can be around for...' Her mind shied away from that path. She would not allow herself go there. If she was dying, so be it but she would not dwell on it.
"Hello!" she snapped as she connected the call.
"Sarah Jane?" a strangely familiar voice asked.
"Yes?" she responded all trace of her irritation fading as curiosity and a weird feeling of dread began to fill her body.
"It's me Doctor Aloysius."
Sarah Jane bolted to an upright position on her bed.
"What's ...is everything alright?" she asked. Her mind going off in several directions all at once. Had he found a cure? Was it bad news?
"I don't think I have much time. Just listen. Do not interrupt at all." Sarah Jane felt the frisson of alarm racing through her increase with each word but she held her peace. Doctor Aloysius Greene was a man who liked to get to his point with succinct directness. She would ask her questions later.
She listened attentively as he reeled out instructions at her. Sarah Jane's mind could barely keep up with the barrage of information being thrown at her.
"Just in case, there is a safe built into the wall at the laboratory. The combination lock has been changed to your original birth date. All of these instructions and guide have been written in notes that I have kept there as well as a few vials that I have labeled. Get them. You'll know what to do once you have them in hand."
Sarah Jane waited a few heart thumping seconds until it was clear he had said all he had to say.
"Is there a problem doctor?" she asked. "Why do you sound as if...you would not be able to continue with your research?" she queried.
"Say..." his voice was cut off by what sounded like a loud explosion. There was some rumbling in the background that Sarah Jane tried to make sense of but could not.
"Doctor?" she shouted into the phone. "Doctor, what's happening? Are you okay?" There was no response from Doctor Aloysius. "Doctor?" she called out even as she was already off the bed and heading towards her wardrobe.
Her room door was flung open and her mother came into the room.
"Is everything okay Sarah? Who are you speaking to?" she asked in concern.
Sarah Jane checked the connection to see if the call had disconnected. It had. She clicked on the redial button as she pulled open her wardrobe and began to throw whatever piece of clothing that came to hand on her body.
"Sarah?" The bite in her mother's voice warned her that she was irritated with her for ignoring her questions. She turned to her mum fully dressed. "Where are you going off to?"
"That was Doctor Aloysius. The doctor I told you about." Her mother nodded her understanding and her impatience.
"I think something is wrong at his lab. He was sounding weird and he's no longer picking his call." Sarah Jane stared at her phone screen as another call she had placed disconnected without being picked.
"If he...do you think it wise that you rush over there at once? Why not give it some time and then try his number again?" her mother reasoned.
Sarah Jane considered her mum's word for a moment and shook her head.
"Something is wrong. He left some instructions. I need to get over there now." she said already moving towards the door and leaving her mother to follow after her wringing her hands worriedly and mumbling what sounded like words of prayer after her.
"What's going on?" Her dad called from the balustrade over the grand staircase. Sarah Jane rolled her eyes. She had known it would be a circus moving back in with her parents.
"Good morning Dad. I need to get somewhere in a real hurry." she said even as she trotted backwards towards the front door. As soon as she cleared the door, she broke out into a run. She should be tired as she had not slept in over thirty six hours but she was not. She realized that she could function on less and less sleep these days.
She called to the security guard at the gate as she jumped into her car. In a few minutes, she had driven out of the compound and was heading towards the main road that would take her towards the part of town where the laboratory was located. As she drove, she tried to call Doctor Aloysius but again there was no response. Her alarm grew as she raced towards the lab hoping that whatever was wrong, she would not get there too late.
CHAPTER 12
He was dead.
Sarah Jane stared at the stretcher as they wheeled out the body of her new found friend.
She had screeched to a halt in front of the laboratory even as police squad cars had started arriving. There had been a rather large crowd in front of the building too when she had first arrived. The police had done their best to disperse the crowd but there were still a lot of people lingering looking unwilling to leave.
The attendants were currently trying to load him into the back of an ambulance. He had been a rather tall man so it was a bit of a maneuver to get him in and still shut the door completely.
She watched as Obinna spoke a few words with a member of the ambulatory team and both men nodded as they moved away from each other. She saw that he was headed her way and straightened her posture as she leaned on the tree. As he made to cross the road, a news van screeched to a halt on the road just a few feet from her. Sarah Jane quickly ducked behind the tree and watched as a news crew alighted from the vehicle all business like and began to move towards the scene of the carnage.
And carnage it was. A substantial portion of the wall on that side of the building was gone. What had been so important that they had risked this sort of notice to get to it? She had no doubt in her mind that the cartel working with Doctor Greene the elder had been behind this incident. And now his son was dead. What kind of man would put his son's life at risk in this way? Or had he not known that his son's life was at stake?
She heard the rumble of Obinna's voice as he spoke with the news crew. The cadence of his voice was very businesslike as he answered the questions being put to him with an impressive professionalism. While the interview was going on, the ambulance drove away with the body of the doctor. Sarah Jane felt a genuine moment of grief for his loss as she watched the ambulance until it disappeared from sight down the road. Nobody should have to die like that.
She turned back to Obinna to see that he was bringing the interview to a close and was politely shaking the hands of the news crew and making light banter. She admired the urbane way in which he had conducted himself in the emergency. It was a side to him she had not had the opportunity to see before. She rather liked this side of him, very much.
The news crew got back into their vehicle and drove off in a cloud of exhaust fumes. Sarah Jane waited until she was sure that they were out of sight before coming round the trunk of the tree. Obinna stood just a few feet from the tree watching her as she dusted off her clothes self consciously.
"How are you feeling?" he asked. Sarah Jane studied his face and saw that he looked as weary as he sounded.
She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders all in one movement. A light frown hit Obinna's face as he tried to decipher what the movement could mean.
"Did you get any clues as to who could have done this?" Sarah Jane asked.
"We know who did this Sarah Jane it's how to find them that is the problem." Obinna answered.
Unbidden, tears stung Sarah Jane's eyes. That in itself was such a surprise that she stood still in shock as she felt the tear drops trickle down unto her face. She raised her hand to her face and used her finger to gently swipe at the drop of tear on one cheek. She brought it to her eyes and looked at it critically. It seemed normal enough. Just another drop of tear from
a tear duct in her eyes but Sarah Jane wondered if that was true.
"Are you okay?" came the question again.
"I need to get in there. Can you make it happen?" she asked Obinna. The area had been cordoned off by the police and more official looking vehicles kept arriving every few minutes. Sarah Jane was sure that the road had been blocked at some point because only the official looking vehicles had been coming through and they all stopped at the laboratory.
Obinna turned to glance at the damaged building behind them and turned back to her. "The anti-explosives team is still working in there. Maybe when they give an all-clear?" he said on a shrug.
Sarah Jane sighed and dragged her back down the trunk of the tree until she was squatting. She took a breath so deep that it hurt her chest to push it in.
"Why would they kill him?" she asked.
Obinna was quiet in thought for a few moments before he answered, "Who knows?" He kicked at the grass at his feet. "Maybe they wanted some information from him that he couldn't give."
"Could his father have known and given him up?" She asked. "Would he be so cruel?"
"Who knows? Doctor Edward Greene seems to be one that has lost touch with his sanity a long while ago." Obinna turned again to watch the house. Some uniformed men were coming out of the building and one of them made a hand signal towards Obinna. Obinna straightened from his casual stance and held out his hand backwards to her.
"That was the all clear we were waiting for. If you are serious about getting in there, you need to come with me now before the bigwigs get in on it."
Sarah Jane grabbed his hand and fast-walked with him as they made their way into the building. Once inside, she dragged him towards the door in the paneling that led to the lab. It was hanging slightly off its hinges. The effect of the explosion was visible everywhere. Sarah Jane took note that the stacks of briefcases were still in position if a little less neat than the first time she had seen them. They walked into the lab where Doctor Aloysius had led them that day. Her eyes scanned the room till she located the calendar of charts that the Doctor had told her hid his safe. She walked briskly towards it and uncovered the safe.
"What is it you are looking for? How did you know about a safe there?" Obinna asked as the policeman in him came out to play.
Sarah Jane refused to take the time to answer him. Time was of the essence. Who knew what would happen next? Her nerves jangled together making her feel disoriented as she unlocked the safe as per instructions. There was a file of papers filled with charts, diagrams and scribbled notes. She pulled the file out and searched with her eyes for a bag to take them in. She could not see any so she slipped the file under her bulky sweater.