THE ORDEALS OF NNEOMA
Episode 17
*****
Stella’s husband then faced Dera and urged her to speak.
“I saw mummy putting something inside Nneoma’s food. Nneoma started acting strangely from the day she ate that food.”
“What are you now insinuating? What I put in her food was just salt, just the way I put in your own. How can you lay such an accusation on your mother,” Stella yelled at Dera.
Dera was calm.
“Stella if I find out that you have a hand in what happened to Nneoma, you will regret ever marrying me,” her husband threatened.
“Why are you doing this to your mother,” Stella said to Dera and started shedding tears.
At that point, Dera felt pity for her and apologised for what she said.
“We all know it was too much reading of books that put Nneoma in her present condition. I was with you and even took care of her before she went missing. How can you now believe I made her m@d.”
Nneoma’s father, stood there speechless for a little while before leaving for the bedroom.
Stella looked at Dera with so much rage.
Dera was frightened, she knew that she would be in trouble if her father did not take action. So she quickly entered her room and locked the door.
Stella later joined her husband in the bedroom.
The following morning, there was a heavy knock on their door.
Stella’s husband quickly jumped off the bed and went to check who was at the door.
He opened the door and saw two hefty policemen at his door.
“Good morning Officers, you are here.”
“Good morning Mr Ike,” they chorused.
“Come in please.”
The officers followed him into the living room and stood.
Stella was coming out to see those who were knocking. Immediately she saw the policemen she was startled. She rushed back to the room.
Her husband went inside the room to call her.
“Why are those men here?” Stella asked.
“They came to see you, don’t keep them waiting.”
“I thought we settled this last night? Has it gotten to this, you called the police on me?”
“Go and prove your innocence.”
Dera opened her door and was watching them.
Stella then left for the living room.
“We are from the state CID. Madam, you are under arrest for putting harmful substances in your stepdaughter’s food,” one of the officers said showing his arrest warrant as soon as Stella came to meet them.
“Officer, I didn’t do such a thing.”
“She did,” Dera shouted from her room drawing their attention.
“Young woman, come here,” the officer ordered as he saw Dera.
Dera went to the living room at once.
“If you see the substance, would you recognize it?”
“Yes sir.”
“Mr. Ike, we want to search this place.”
“Go ahead.”
They started searching all the nooks and crannies of the house
When they got to Stella’s wardrobe, they searched the whole place and finally saw a black nylon with some white substance beneath her box.
They showed it to Dera who confirmed that that was what she saw her putting inside Nneoma’s food.
“You said it was salt you gave her, taste it,” Stella’s husband said.
Stella refused to taste the substance.
The officers later took her away with the substance.
“Thank you for standing by me Dera, I involved the police so they can handle it their own way. I’ll make sure that Nneoma gets justice.”
A few hours later, the police called Stella’s husband to come over to their station.
When he got there, one of the officers took him to the room where Stella was.
She had a few bru!ses on her face and hands. One doesn’t need to be told that Stella has received some beat!ngs.
“She had admitted to putting the substance on the food,” the officer told Stella’s husband.
“Undo whatever you did to her. I want my daughter back,” he shouted.
“I cannot do that alone. I need to go and see the baba that gave me the substance. He’s the one that can undo it,” Stella said amidst tears.
“Please I want them to undo whatever they did to my daughter. Can we go and meet the baba?”
“Mr Ike, take things easy. She would take us to the place. She also confessed she knows where Nneoma stays.”
Her husband was shocked.
A few minutes later, two policemen alongside Stella and her husband left for the Baba’s place.
About an hour later, they arrived at the place.
The police didn’t want the baba to see them, all they were after at that moment was Nneoma’s wellbeing. So they packed their vehicle close to a bush nearby.
Only Stella got down and started walking towards the baba’s place.
“Is it not good if one of you follows her,” Nneoma’s father suggested.
“No, I don’t want whoever she’s going to meet to see us. Let her get the remedy first. Our presence may change their minds. Let’s just wait here. I don’t want the person to know he’s being trailed.”
Stella went inside and greeted Baba. He offered her a seat.
She then explained to him how she added excess substance to Nneoma’s food which led to her m@dness and that she would like him to undo it.
Baba looked at her with suspicion.
“Hope all is well?”
“Yes baba, I just want to undo it. I want to set her free.”
“Okay.”
He then brought out one small calabash and set it before her, Stella put in some money and he covered it and kept it aside.
He then stood up and went to the back of his house. He plucked some leaves from a dwarf tree in the bushy area. As he was going back to the house, he saw the police vehicle packed just a few kilometres away. He looked through the outgrown grasses and saw some people inside the waiting vehicle. He suspects that trouble looms.
He quickly got back to his chamber and gave the leaves to Stella.
“When you get home, wash these leaves and squeeze them. Give her the liquid that you squeeze out of it to drink and she will be fine.”
“Okay thank you baba,” she said and left.
The baba watched as she left for the police vehicle. He then confirmed what he was thinking about.
The police drove off with her.
“Madam, you will take us to where the girl stays. By the way, what did he tell you to do with those leaves?”
Stella explained to them what Baba instructed her to do.
They stopped somewhere for Stella to extract the water from the leaves as she was instructed. Then they continued moving.
When they got to Bakers Avenue, everyone came down from the police vehicle.
Stella went straight to Bimbo’s shop to ask about the whereabouts of Nneoma.
Immediately Bimbo saw her with the police, she started fidgeting and started talking.
“It was all her idea, I didn’t k!ll her. She planned it all.”
Everyone looked in amazement as she spoke.
“Shut up,” Stella shouted, trying to hush her.
“Where is the m@d girl?” Stella continued.
“She’s down there,” Bimbo replied, trying to comport herself.
“Madam come and take us to where the m@d girl is,” one of the officers said to Bimbo.
She came out from her shop and everyone follows her as she leads the way.
TO BE CONTINUED.