Mali Drive (Episode 16): Abel and Ene Should Have Taken Bishop Chukwu to the Lake

Rebecca sat in her balcony, a cigarette burning in between her fingers; it was as if she had forgotten that she was holding it, as her mind hovered over events of the past month. Events caused by Bishop Chukwu’s muder. It had been a month since she experienced her near death experience and Rebecca still felt numb towards her experience.

The man who shot her that faithful day in the hospital managed to escape, as everyone in the hospital was more concerned about saving her life; rather than finding the shooter. She was first pronounced dead but at exactly two hours later she started showing signs of life; the doctors would say it was a miracle but Rebecca would tell you that it was her battle for survival. She did not believe in miracles.

As her mind wandered, she subconsciously touched the healing bullet wound on her stomach and wheezed silently. She was still on medication and was not supposed to smoke but she didn’t care; all she cared about was the cold case of Bishop Chukwu’s murder.

Indeed the case had gone cold, John Bull had been released from jail and there was no lead to continue investigation; so the case was thrown out of court and Rebecca was furious, she remembered how upset she was when she received the news on the hospital bed cursing the man who shot her and grounded her to that bed. On that balcony she was still furious.

Not finding Bishop Chukwu’s killer was an itch she could not live with; she didn’t even care about the man who shot her because she knew that catching Bishop Chukwu’s killer will lead her to find him. So the only thing she could do was to succumb to that itch and do the needful which was to find Bishop Chukwu’s killer at all cost, no matter what the court or the case was saying… cold or hot, witnesses or no witnesses… Rebecca on her balcony with a forgotten cigarette in between her fingers vowed to find Bishop Chukwu’s killer.

Abel was very touchy that morning, snapping at Ene and the children for no just reason. It was a Saturday morning and their four year old son was watching cartoon as he always did but Abel was so irritable that he sent the little boy to his room; and when he cried for an explanation Abel smacked him in the back.

“Why are you beating him?” Ene dragged her son away from Abel, horrified at the look in his eyes “What is wrong with you? If something is wrong, why wouldn’t you tell me instead of torturing us” she exclaimed tears pouring down her cheeks.

She was frustrated because Abel had gradually turned himself to a monster in the past few weeks and as the day went by, he became more difficult to be around. Abel was gradually turning into Bishop Chukwu and he knew this so he had to do something fast. He had to find a way to dispel all the accumulated frustration he had been feeling for years and years and years.

“You are right” he admitted “I’m sorry” he said to Ene after a few hours of pondering “I have not been myself lately and this is why” he told her that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be a pastor anymore and that he felt like he wasted his life following Bishop Chukwu.

“I’m sorry about how you feel, may God help you… help us get through this and I hope you know that I am here for you every step of the way?” she didn’t see the genuineness in what he was saying but she went along with it anyway. She was a very discerning woman and could tell when something was up but this time she didn’t say much. Her decision was to watch Abel discreetly and closely

“Remember how we used to go to the lake when we first got married? Let’s do that today. I miss those days” Abel suggested and Ene agreed.

It was a long drive to the lake and they both knew that it was going to be a tough one since they barely had anything to say to each other on a normal day. Ene tried not to think about it too much; if Abel wanted to put an effort into making their marriage better, she was not going to stop him.

They listened to music and then a sermon and then more music, it wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be “why are you sweating so much in this cold?” Ene asked “I don’t know oo” he answered with a nervous laughter turning up the AC cool.

When they got to the lake it was about 7 p.m. and the whole place was quiet and lonely, just as they remembered it to be. Abel made sure that he was always a step behind Ene as they walked and talked. It was surprisingly nice and calming for Ene but it was the opposite for Abel because he brought her there to breathe her last breath.

Abel, after weeks of contemplation came up with the perfect way to get rid of Ene; his plan was to take her to the lake and hit her with a blunt object in the head thereby making her unconscious and leaving her in the lake to drown.

He was tired of living for other people and he believed that this was the only way he was going to live for himself and get everything he had always wanted A.K.A Rita.

As they walked around, he touched the small sized sledge hammer in this pocket and just as they stood under a big orange tree; he knew it was time to strike.

“The water looks so dark” Ene said with her back to him “the stars aren’t out tonight” he replied bringing out the hammer; he held it for a few seconds, the sweat on his palm making it a bit slippery so he tightened his grip. But just as he raised the hammer to strike the back of Ene’s head, she turned around swiftly and pointed a gun at him.

They stood there both of them frozen in that position, no words said because their eyes were doing all the talking. Abel looked at his beloved wife observing a kind of hatred he had never seen in her eyes before and that made him sure that only one of them was going to leave that lake alive.