Mali Drive (Episode 27): The Killer Goes Home
Rebecca Amodu and Abel Egwurube sat in Abel’s living room that morning watching each other; Abel watched her for any sign that he could use to exonerate himself from that moment while Rebecca watched him in amusement.
“What do you want from me? If you are here to make me admit to anything then you have another thing coming” Abel pretended to be upset as a way to intimidate Rebecca but she was unperturbed.
“I am not here to make you admit to just anything, I am here to make you admit to killing three people; Bishop Chukwu, your wife and Nkechi” she blurted out. Her words slapped him into a sombre expression that he could not hide anymore.
After numerous unanswered calls to a lawyer he met a year ago; Abel decided to talk and charm his way out of Rebecca’s grip. She asked him all the questions she had asked him before and his answers were all the same as before except one
“You now say that Nkechi was a close family friend and that is why you could never have her killed but months ago you said that she was the head of the choir and you didn’t know much about her because all you had was a professional relationship with her” Rebecca was now pacing around Abel who sat nervously.
“I did have a professional relationship with her” “which is it? A professional relationship or a close family friend?” Abel was quiet “waiting for an answer Mr. Abel” she sat down and leaned forward towards him for the answer to her question but there was none.
“You know that you don’t have the right to interrogate me like this in my home” he was calm, humility oozed from his aura. “I know. You’re right. I don’t but I am not here to interrogate you, I am here to have a conversation with you… victim to victim” her words brought confusion to his eyes. “What do you mean by victim to victim?” he asked
Rebecca went on to tell him the story of how she was raped by Bishop Chukwu her first time in that church. “Sorry about that… you see that is what that monster did to women for years” Abel jumped in “I’m not done” she continued “You see, after what that man did to me all I wanted to do was hurt him, make his life miserable… I wanted revenge so bad that I wanted to kill him”
Abel’s eyes opened and his ears were now more attentive than ever “I went there…” Rebecca laughed but her laugher was not contagious because nothing about that moment was funny “I went there… I went to his house, Bishop’s house. I was around that vicinity the night he died” by now she was facing the window and did not see the shock and fear Abel was expressing.
She laughed again “I saw Isaac standing by their kitchen window and I saw Nkechi sitting in her car talking to herself like a madwoman… the person I did not see was you” she turned sharply to look at him but no words from him.
She walked close to him “I was there that night to kill him myself so you can imagine my anger when I discovered that you beat me to it” she sat down and gulped the last of the water in her glass like it was forty-year-old whiskey.
“This was never about justice. Finding you was never about justice; it was about finding the person who took my meat of revenge away from me and to look them in the eye to say this” she looked him in the eye “you shouldn’t have gone through the trouble” a drop of tear sneaked away from Abel’s eye and he buried his face in his palms.
“I am not a killer… I am not a killer… Chukwu destroyed everything his hands touched and he got away with it all… he was a monster. I hated him. I hated him” he finally raised his face up with free flowing tears “I am not a killer. Chukwu took the only thing I loved dearly away from me” he whimpered “I am not a killer”
The sound of blaring sirens got louder and louder, the roaring of car engines got closer and closer and soon it stopped to make way for the sound of car doors opening and closing. “It’s time… they are here” Rebecca spoke this time with sympathy. Sewese opened a banging door to the presence of Inspector Dele, who let himself in and walked straight to Abel “Mr. Abel Egwurube, you are under arrest for the murder of Bishop Nnaemeka Edison Chukwudozie, Ene Egwurube and Nkechi Lawson…” “What?!” Sewese interrupted, the shock filling her soul. “This must be a mistake. Can someone tell me what is going on here?” but nobody attended to Sewese.
Abel was handcuffed and moved towards one of the police cars in front of the house; just before he was put inside the car Rebecca stopped him “If I gave up on the case and let you go free. I would have never been able to forgive the Bishop”.
She was right, there were times when she wanted to give up on the case just because the person that was murdered was guilty of raping her but deep down in her heart she knew that that decision was going to live with her for the rest of her life.
And now that the killer was exposed; she was now free… free to believe that she did not deserve what Bishop did to her. She was finally free to tell Ben the truth and moving on didn’t look so impossible anymore. “It takes time but patience and love is all you need to become the person you were created to be” words from the sermon Bishop Chukwu gave on the day she went to his church.
Sitting in the police car driving behind the one that carried Abel; she was able to smile a genuine smile. “Rest in peace” she whispered.
The End