Please Break My Heart E36 by Tomi Adesina
Tuesday (6:00PM)
I leaned against the stairs as I walked upstairs. One of the
maids halted as she was pulling a bag down the stairs. “What is this?” I
asked, looking at the bag.
“It is for Ms. Dora Williams. She asked me to take it to the cab.”
I eyed the bag and continued up to my room. I met Dora
in the hall way upstairs. “Where is it that you are going to?” I asked
with sarcasm in my tone. She clutched her pouch to her neck. “Or are you
going with Dad to the Bahamas? You really want my life, don’t you?”
She sighed and shook her head. Dora looked sad.
“Darlene, I came to this house with so much admiration for you.” here we
go again with the reverse psychology, get to the point! “But, like they
say, things change. I don’t know how much of you I admire anymore,
maybe just your decisiveness. And that, I don’t think you have anymore
because if you did you would know who you are in love with.”
YOU KNOW HOW SUCH STATEMENTS END; I HIT HER WITH A
THUNDEROUS SLAP! “Are you by any chance out of your mind?” I asked. My
eyes were burning hot now. “You are shameless enough to be jumping
around Jake when you have a boyfriend and here you are preaching to me
about not knowing who I love. What has love got to do with this?” I
shouted.
“Everything, Darlene. EVERYTHING!
Darlene, you are burning in jealousy and pride because Jake prefers me
to you.” She stopped to caress her cheek. “Never hit me again!”
It was as though a bell had hit my head, and it was
still resounding from the reverberation. “Dora, wake up and smell the
coffee. I have been with Jake forever; he could never choose you over
me!” I was talking defensive.
“You sound so confident. I would be sending you a wedding Invite soon.”
I swallowed HARD. My eyes blinked carelessly as I tried to place Dora’s statement. “Is that a threat?” I asked.
“Why would I threaten you, big sister?
You are in real denial of who you truly love, Darlene and this is making
you see the evil in everyone, and I care about you a lot.”
“Dora, you are selfish. You just want
everything that I have and own. Well you have it all now, Get out of
here.”
She smiled with one of the worst defiance I had ever
seen. “Darlene, back to your initial question, I am leaving this house
for a while, I need to understand what family means again. I love you,
Darlene and I wish you the best against Subomi.” She then moved aside
carefully with her bag and left.
I watched her as she walked away, I couldn’t say a word
to her. I sighed and turned around to see Dad. He had a muffler wrapped
around his neck. He was wearing a jean and a polo white shirt. “My
flight is tomorrow morning.”
I sighed and stepped out of his way. “Safe journey.”
He held my hand back. “For a moment Darlene, I had
thought that we were connecting again yesterday and that I could tell
you a deep secret, but now I really don’t know.”
I rolled my eyes. “Dad, keep your secret. Sooner or
later we will all know. After all, I found out about Dora. This won’t be
an exception.” I said and left for my room. Where could be Dora be
going? Could she be travelling with Dad to the Bahamas? OR WAS SHE GOING
TO JAKES??? I hurried to my phone and then paused. I was restrained
with the thought that I might be stirring up enough things in Jacob’s
heart.
I would take a nap. It’s so necessary. Dare still hasn’t called.
TUESDAY (9:00PM)
I rolled over my sheets and turned on the wireless
route. I would have a Skype chat with Sameer. It is important to check
the welfare of your witness.
“Hey Sameer.”
He smiled as he adjusted himself before the web cam. “Ms. Williams, are you having a good evening?”
I smiled. “Yes, it is fine. Where did Dare go to?”
“He told us that he had something important to attend to.”
I nodded with the typical look of ‘whatever he had to do could wait’ “So how are you doing?”
“I am doing okay. I can’t wait for tomorrow. I will be happy to see the end of Obi.”
I sighed. I wanted Sameer to go back to his family as
soon as possible. “Get some sleep, Sameer. Tomorrow means War.”
I checked the usual the popular lawyers’ website to check what was going on.
“SUBOMI BANKOLE SALUTES DARLENE WILLIAMS COURAGE.” I read aloud and then went to the commentary.
The punch line in the commentary was Subomi saying… ‘I think Darlene
Williams is good, at least, my baby girl Jumoke used to cry because of
her during their high school days, but law is more than school debates.
Court rooms are bigger than class rooms, and definitely Subomi is bigger
than Darlene Williams!”
I read the punch line over and over again. It was dampening. There was
this heat rushing through my body. I turned on the A.C; it was getting
hotter and hotter. I rushed into the shower in my clothes and sat in the
tub.
I ran the water open and started to rehearse. The conditions for my
rehearsal to any sane lawyer was harsh, but when you are already written
off before you step into the court room, you might want to hype
yourself in any appealing manner.
“Knock knock”
I hurried out of the bath. I was wet from head to toe yet I didn’t mind
and I sloppily opened the door. “What do you want? You should be long
gone.” I said, returning into the room.
“I can’t leave you alone. You have a court case tomorrow, you need family.”
I smiled. “Isn’t that what you said you were going after?” I asked, staring at Dora.
“I couldn’t leave.”
She handed me a towel. “Do you still care about me?”
I collected the towel and wrapped it around me. “No.”
“Then I’ll leave.” She replied and left for the door. “You may not see me again.”
I smiled. “It’s about time.”
She nodded and opened the door. “Bye Darlene. I hope you win.” She then left.
“WHY DID YOU COME BACK?” I yelled!
I dried my body and had a change of clothes. I then left for the
kitchen. Food was of the essence. I had starved myself and it was
beginning to wear me out. I settled for some noodles. After a while, I
dialed Dare’s phone to no avail. I got the traditional, ‘NO ANSWER’
response. Dare wasn’t answering his phone. I was in no mood to drop any
message for him so I didn’t go to the answering machine.
As I ate my dinner, I read the papers and soothed myself to a hot mug of
chocolate. All the papers were with the same story, ‘Subomi versus
Darlene Williams’. I got tired of the same thing and left for my room.
I plugged my I-pod into my ears and started playing some country music. I
needed to talk to someone. I resulted to my Skype contacts. Even though
Jake was offline I wasn’t sure I would have called him, I tried to put a
call through to Toni but she was also offline.
I tried to sleep but it was almost impossible.
WEDNESDAY (12:15AM)
I was taken aback by my first court case in Law school. I
didn’t sleep all through the night. I was nervous. My colleagues then
used to say that ‘I was obsessed with successes but I wouldn’t have it
the other way. Losing was never an option. I knew people who lived by
the philosophy but still couldn’t point out to success. I wasn’t lucky, I
was blessed. I had spent hours reading all night and then Jake was with
me all through that night.
“I know you will win this case.” he had said.
I smiled as I closed one of the text books. “Jake, it’s my first.”
He shrugged. “With you, it just comes.” he stretched out on my bed. Jake came around often, we were inseparable.
“Jake, I am sleepy.”
He smiled. “Then sleep.” He replied, yawning.
“I don’t want to. I want to round off
this section…” I rattled about how important it was for me to master the
composure.
He left the room and returned with a mug of hot chocolate. “This should keep you awake.” He said.
I snapped out of my thoughts as I caressed my mug of hot
chocolate. There is no Jake here today and I have to fight it through
this night. Wednesday had arrived now and I knew it was time for me to
confront Subomi. It might still be the early hours of Wednesday, but it
was still Wednesday and I could bet that Subomi was having a time of his
life after he had made me look weak in the press through his mind
games.
A message popped up on my phone. It was from Jake. I opened it and it read:
“Darlene, I don’t know how the road before you is,
But I am sure that you are coming out top in the end.
Love, Jake x”
I read the message for the 2nd time and then replied. “Thanks!”
I heard noise from downstairs so I went down to check, but not without a base ball stick.
“Hi Darlene.” Dad said, sloppily. He was tipsy-drunk.
I shook my head. “Are you feeling convicted and now you
have taken to drinking?” I asked, collecting the bottle of vodka. He
snarled. I placed the bottle carefully on the side table and helped him
to a chair. The maids instantly took their leave.
He grunted a bit. I was irritated by the sound. “Dad!”
“Whattttttttttt?” he asked, turning on the television.
I relaxed in my seat.
“It’s in the news. It’s on the internet. Everyone is talking about you, Darlene.”
I rolled my eyes. “Dad, it’s expected. I know what’s coming.”
He scoffed. “You have no idea yet.” He dragged himself
into an upright position. “The case is against Subomi Bankole. Not his
daughter!”
I hissed dryly. “The alcohol is really something, Dad.
Am I ignorant that I am up against Subomi?” I paused a bit. “Is that why
you are running away?”
“I have urgent matters to attend to.”
I charged at him. “It could wait, DAD!” I scoffed. “This
is my first case and you are not even going to be around to witness it.
How fair is that?”
“I warned you.”
I nodded. “I agree! But I want your support. You are the only family I have got!”
“You sent Dora away.”
I scoffed. “Here we go again! I knew you before Dora.”
“That’s no explanation for hurting Dora I
warned you to sort things out with Jacob, you let it get out of hands
and you want Dora to share in the blame, that’s unfair.”
I smiled. “What does Sir Kunle Williams know about being fair?”
He shook his head. “Darlene Williams, I want to take
some blame in making you grow up too fast, but it’s your life, rescue
it!” he said, sloppily.
“Cheers Dad. I chose this life.” I said and left for my room.
Dad might have thickened me right from my cradle. I used
to frequent Soldier’s camps. Dad had lot of friends in the force. So we
practically hung out together all the time whilst I grew up. I spent
most of my holidays living like a Soldier. I had troop hang outs from a
tender age. I was the youngest in my class, my dad was dissuaded from
putting me there, but he refused and through influence I had plenty of
experience with the soldiers.
Dad might also be right about me needing to rescue my
life. Perhaps, that’s why I had Jake, but I had practically kicked him
away. The next stop for me had to be the internet, sleep was impossible.
Nervousness had taken over and my saving grace might be the social
networks-twitter, preferably.
I had good will messages on my TimeLine. People really
wanted to see Subomi fail, but at the moment, I feel I am not the right
person to take him down.
WEDNESDAY (5:45AM)
Sleep did come and it took me unawares. I jumped out of bed
and hurried into the bathroom. My alarm had been on since 5am, but I
didn’t respond to it. ‘Traffic…BRT bus…Standing….Subomi…Oh God!’ My
thoughts were disoriented as I had my bath. I spent roughly 15 minutes
in the bathroom and then rushed to my mirror. I rubbed my body elegantly
with my lotion; I then sprayed my most expensive cologne. I was
‘enchanting’ myself. I had a new dress for today. I brushed my hair
backward. I slipped into my shoes and clutched my laptop bag to my hand.
I stood before my Giant Mirror elegantly and stared at myself from head
to toe.
“Ready…Set…Go!” I said, as I took a quick glance at my wrist watch. “6:35AM”
I hurried downstairs and headed for the kitchen. Dad was
having himself a glass of wine. “Good morning, Dad.” I said, pecking him
and picking up an apple.
“Good morning, Darlene.” he replied and swirled he chair towards me. “You look beautiful.”
I took the time to stare at me again. “Thank you Dad.”
He was all suited up and a muffler dangled around his neck.
“I want you to know that I love you, and
I wish you the best in this case. You are special, Darlene.”
I smiled faintly. “Thank you Dad.” I crossed my fingers.
“I wish you could come, but I know you have important matters to attend
to.” I blinked carefully and pursed my lips for some air.
He nodded. “I would follow the case.” Was that meant to
comfort me? Even the retarded ones would follow the case. This is a
chance for Chidi Obi to be damned. Who wouldn’t follow?
“Dad, safe journey. I would see you later.”
He grabbed his keys. “Let me drop you off.” He offered.
“Never mind, Dad. You have a flight to catch.”
He smiled. “The Firm is on the road to the Airport.
Don’t be stubborn. You shouldn’t be caught in a Mass Transit today.” He
smiled leading the way.
“Darlene, I am running away from your court case.” Dad said, as he drove out of the Estate.
I nodded with the ‘who are you trying to convince’ look. “I understand. You have been saying this forever.”
“I just want you to believe me. This
matter is very urgent and it has to be resolved. If it comes out
unresolved, I am finished.”
I smiled. “You are always in trouble, Dad. Must you always have secrets?”
“Everyone has their secrets. It’s just
that I have made too many mistakes in my life and I need to sort them
out.”
I nodded. “We all need to sort ourselves out. So are you
going to Bahamas to sort it out or to run away from it?”
“I am going to sort it. It’s about time.”
The next minutes was quiet as Dad played ‘Call your name’ by
Daughtry. Dad also had a similar taste in music. The music was sober and
I anticipated getting off the car. Dad pulled up in front of the Firm
and took a deep breath.
“Darlene Williams, no matter what happens, I am proud to be your father.” He said, and kissed me on the forehead.
I watched Dad drive off and then walked into the Firm.
Lawyers stood in clusters. Some smiled at me while others whispered. It
was obvious that they were discussing about today’s later showdown.
‘I hear she is 24…I have been in this
Firm for 15 years and I have not been giving the opportunity to
represent Ade-Cole Firm in any high profile case,’ ‘She must be sleeping
with Dare Ade-Cole to get her hands on Chidi Obi’s case…she will
definitely lose’ ‘I think she has got courage…but I am afraid for her,
even Kunle Williams couldn’t beat Subomi. He is a tiger in the ring!’ ‘I
am afraid that she will have a low self esteem after this case…poor
girl’ ‘Something tells me she will win’
I had heard enough! The lobby was busy with my name
filtering from mouth to mouth! Even people from my own Firm doubted me. I
had the urge to run into the elevator but it was busy, so I headed for
the stairs.
“Good morning, Darlene.” “All the best,
Ms. Williams.” I was greeted as I tried making my way to the top floor.
Bola greeted me with a smile as I got to the top floor. “Good morning, Ms. Williams.”
“Darlene…” I corrected with a smile. “God morning, Bola.”
She collected my bag and took it into my office. “Here
are your mails.” She said dropping a bundle of envelopes on my desk.
“You have had calls from four newspaper houses and two Television
stations. They want you for interviews. I told them that I will get back
to them at noon.”
I smiled. “Thank you.” I had not even been to court yet
and they want interviews. Press and their snooping around!!! I checked
the mails. Half of the mails were to wish me ‘Success’ in the case.
Interestingly, Bobby had sent me a mail too. “That boy…” I said and sank
into my chair.
“Knock knock.” Toni said as she entered.
I smiled. At least, she would take away my fears. “Good morning, Toni.”
“You are beautiful.”
I smiled faintly. “Thank you.” I rose to hug her. “I am scared.”
“You will be fine.”
We took our seats. “Dare still hasn’t called me.” I
said. She shrugged. “I tried his cell but he isn’t answering. Do you
think he is fine?”
She shrugged. “I think Dare is fine.”
“Are you hiding something?” I asked, probing Toni. “Or is he back with Reina?”
Toni sighed. “Don’t be so paranoid. Dare had something very important to deal with.”
Everybody had something important to deal with, especially on a Day like this. “I understand.”
WEDNESDAY (12:45PM)
Toni strode into the office. “Do you want to grab lunch before we leave for City Hall?”
I stared at my phone. “Dare hasn’t called.”
“Oh boy…is that the question I asked?” she hissed dryly and took her seat. “Dare couldn’t have called yet. He is still attending to serious matters.”
I nodded. “Would you drive me to City Hall?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course Darlene, moreover it’s not like I have a choice here.” She winked at me. “Let’s get you something to eat, honey.” She said, taking my hand.
Bola rose to her feet as soon as we stepped out of my office. “Ma’am…There’s been a call from the Court to re-inform you.”
“Subomi could forget he has a case because he is a pro…but this rookie here is as anxious as ever.” Toni blurted.
I stared at her. “Thank you, Bola.” I pinched Toni. “Shall we?”
“Yes of course, my lady.”
We had our lunch at a snacks shop just few blocks away from the Firm. I wasn’t in the mood for heavy food. “I would have a Sausage please…” I said. “And a can of Fayrouz.”
Toni smiled proudly as she was about to order. “A double-decker club sandwich, please.” She paused and smiled. “A diet coke too…I won’t like to add to my weight.”
I chuckled. What did Toni think a Diet Coke would do for her?
CITY HALL (venue for the court case) (2:30PM)
Toni pulled up and turned off the stereo. “These rats…they are everywhere.” She said, taking a swipe at the Press Men and Women who were lurking around. I sighed and bowed my head. She rubbed my back. “Its okay, Honey. You see, I would have killed to have these people follow me around on my first case, I’ll say you are lucky.”
“This isn’t funny.” I said, looking through the mirror. The Pressmen were teeming in numbers and some pointed to Toni’s Range Rover. “I think they are coming.”
I slid down in my seat and ensured the doors were locked. “Can these people just get away?”
Toni laughed. “I think it’s cool. You just have to be yourself and don’t say anything that you don’t want to. It would be worse once you step out of the court room.” She sighed. “I think you should just soak it up.”
I sat up. “The case doesn’t start until 4pm. What do we do to avoid these ‘rats’?”
She started the engine. “We would drive to Shoprite, it’s just a block away but be careful not to pick a teddy else the headlines would be that, ‘Darlene Williams picks out a teddy to hug at night as she loses to Subomi.’ We both laughed.
“You are beginning to sound like Dora when she first arrived at our home. She was everything called ‘funny’. She made my life ‘spontaneous.’”
Toni nodded. “Sweet talk about your sister, you should just hug her when you get home.”
“She already left.”
Toni sighed and drove. “You must have frustrated that little girl. Do you think she has a connection with Jake?”
“Yes. I think she is in love with him and I feel he likes her too.”
Toni smiled. “What did you expect, Darlene? You struck the match; you are bound to feel the flame.”
“I didn’t push her to Jake.” I retorted, defensively.
She nodded and pulled up at Shoprite. “But you pushed Jake to her.” She turned off the engine. “Hurry and meet me here by 3:15pm.”
I stepped out of the car and hurried into the mall. I didn’t know what to buy, but I had to occupy myself, I was nervous. After few minutes of walking round, I bought myself a Digital Camera I didn’t need.
“3:15PM…SPOT ON! Shall we?” I asked as I joined Toni in the car.
She started the engine. “Okay…my sources report that Tunji Davis just got to the court house, and Chidi Obi is also present. We all await Subomi.”
Toni hurried back to the City Hall
“Here we are…” she said.
I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. Yes…the ‘rats’ rushed at me.
“Ms. Williams, this is your first case, how are you going to handle it? “You are up against a veteran, it’s no child’s play, are you confident? Can you tell us how you fancy your chances?” the questions poured in as I tried to make my way through them into the Court room.
Toni rescued me. “No comments…no comments….no comments….” She dragged me by the arm into the court room. Some sanity, at last!
There was an uproar and running around followed. Toni and I stood up and rushed towards the window. Toni sighed. “Subomi Bankole arrives.”
Darlene Williams, are you ready?
Please Break My Heart E37 by Tomi Adesina
The court clerk started the proceeding with the traditional “May the Court Please Rise.”
We all took to our feet as the Judge came in. The Judge,
David Fatoye is a man of high standing. He had been in the business for
over twenty years, and his records were impeccable. I smiled as I felt
justice was definitely going to play his course. As soon as Judge Fatoye
took his seat, we all sat.
The clerk stood up to read the case. “On this day,
Wednesday 25th April, 2012, Tunji Davis versus Chidi Obi for fraudulent
acts.” The clerk ran through all the pros and cons. “For the
interrogation, Defense counsel, Subomi Bankole against Tunji Davis. Mr.
Tunji Davis to the seat, please.”
Tunji Davis adjusted his Suit and put on a smile. He
shot a glance at Chidi Obi and then took his seat. The Clerk had him do
the swearing and then it was ‘Subomi time’.”
Subomi Bankole cleared his throat. “Mr. Davis, I can
tell this has been a grueling time for you. You lost your bid for the
land to my client, Chidi Obi, and after a hard time with having your
company suffer a dip in the stocks and you seeing the honorable Mr.
Obi’s rise, you decided to take him to court.”
Subomi was trying to wrap Tunji Davis psychologically.
Professor Dean had warned us against such lawyers, he called them,
‘potential losers’. They would try to bring out relevantly-irrelevant
facts and disturb the minds of others, a sort of psychological
distortion so as to make the jury see reasons with them when the heat is
on.
“Objection, my lord.” I interfered swiftly.
Judge Fatoye peered through his half-mooned spectacles. “Granted.”
“My Lord, my fellow lawyer, Mr. Bankole
is leading us off course. This is supposed to be an interrogation, not a
conclusion.”
Judge Fatoye cleared his throat. “Mr. Bankole, I advise you stick to asking questions.”
Subomi Bankole smiled defiantly. There was arrogance in
his smile. He shot one at me. “Of course…my Lord.” He cleared his throat
and faced Tunji Davis. “Sorry if I made you a bit uncomfortable, but
you see my friend, when the truth stares us in the face; it’s hard to
run from it, no matter how hard my counterpart here tries.” He said,
looking at me.
He unbuttoned his jacket. “Mr. Davis, where did the alleged sale of the land take place?”
“It took place in Dubai, The United Arab
Emirates.” He replied, confidently. Tunji Davis was now getting
comfortable. Just like we had rehearsed, Subomi Bankole was bound to
play into our zone.
Subomi smiled. “Where is that land and rig located?”
“It’s in here in Nigeria…located in Cross River.”
Subomi scoffed. “Dubai and Cross River are miles apart. Why did you choose Dubai as the point of sale?”
“The sale of a land can be done anywhere
as far as there are papers to be signed.” Tunji Davis replied.
“Moreover, we were on vacation and the previous owner of the land, Late
Sheik Ali had sent his son, Sameer Ali to complete the sale to me upon
his death.”
Subomi adjusted his jacket. “Why was Chidi Obi present at the point of sale?”
“Chidi Obi and I used to be
acquaintances, so I just felt secure going with a friend, not knowing
that he had ulterior motives.”
Subomi nodded and probed him. “What do you suggest were Mr. Obi’s motives?”
“Chidi Obi had a document saying that
Late Sheik Ali sold that land to him, meanwhile I was the legit buyer of
the land from Late Sheik Ali.”
Subomi cleared his throat. “So if I understand you, you
are telling this court that you have an original document of the sale
of the land and Mr. Obi also has his own copy, right?”
“Exactly!”
Subomi fired on. “Describe your relationship with the Late Sheik.”
“I knew the Late Sheik when he lived in
Cross River, he was a business man that helped my company with sales in
the U.A.E, business went bad for him and he needed a huge sum, he had a
number of ships sabotaged by pirates whilst at sea. So you can imagine
the extent of damage that was caused to his business. To him, the land
wasn’t of much use in Nigeria to him so he decided to sell and then I
was his best option, first as close friends and second as a business
man.”
Subomi pounced in. “Could it be said that you killed the Late Sheik for the Land?”
I interfered. “Objection, your honour!”
The Judge cleared his throat. “Overruled. Please
continue, Mr. Bankole.” I swallowed Humble pie and took my seat.
Tunji Davis smiled. “Sheik and I were good friends, I
love my friends, and I won’t hurt them. I am not Chidi Obi, moreover,
Sheik was struggling with Prostate Cancer for almost ten years, and he
died due to it.”
Subomi Bankole cleared his throat. “Is there a quick check for those facts of yours?”
“The Late Sheik was a powerful man; even a Google search would give you answers.”
Subomi nodded. “Away from that issue, Mr. Davis. Are you
aware that the land sold to Mr. Obi was done by a relative of the late
Sheik, his own son, Sameer Ali?”
Tunji Davis stared at me. “That is a blatant lie. Sameer himself told me that I was the only buyer of the land.”
“How then do you explain my client’s possession of the original copies of the land document?”
Tunji shrugged. “I also have the original copies which I can tell you are genuine.”
“Do you have those documents here?”
Tunji Davis nodded confidently. “Most definitely.”
Dotun Davis whispered to me. “Sorry am late, how’s Dad doing?”
“He’s doing fine against Subomi,
hopefully we can have it all sorted out soon.” I replied with a whisper.
Toni grinned at me. I tried to peek around if Dad or Dare was in court
but no of them was.
Subomi bit his lip. “Could the Court attendant please verify those documents?”
I passed the documents to the Court attendant who ran a
quick scan on the seal and nodded in the affirmative. “Positive. They
are authentic.”
Subomi had a wry smile lurking his lips as though he
still had one last card to play. “That would be all for now your
honour.”
The clerk stood up. “Mr. Obi, Please move to the witness
seat.” Chidi Obi complied. He then turned to me. “Prosecuting counsel.”
I took a deep sigh and strode across towards Chidi Obi. “How is business these days?” I asked.
“What do you care, Ms. Williams?” he
asked back with a bit of arrogance. “Stop with the cynics and get to the
point.”
I smiled and stepped back. “Such a temper, Mr. Obi. I
won’t mind though.” I took a breath and fired the first gun. “How are
you involved in this Oil land tangle?”
Chidi Obi frowned. “It is my land. The person in the tangle is Davis. I bought the land from Sameer Ali.”
“How did you meet Sameer?”
Chidi Obi sat upright. “I went to Dubai with Tunji Davis
and then I met Sameer who told me that he had a land to sell. I then
agreed to pay and then he sold the land to me.”
“How is it then possible that you went
with Tunji Davis to meet with Sameer Ali and you didn’t tell your friend
that you had already bought the land from Sameer?”
He blinked and then cleared his throat. “I never went with him to see Sameer.”
A section of the court murmured. I bit my lips and
stared hard at Chidi Obi. “Mr. Obi, are you suggesting that you don’t
know who Mr. Davis claims is Sameer Ali?”
“Objection!” Subomi had jumped to his feet.
The Judge stared at him. “Overruled.” Subomi fumed and took his seat.
Judge Fatoye turned to me. “Ms. Williams, please continue.”
I smiled. “So, you allege not to have met with Sameer Ali in Mr. Davis’s presence, right?”
Chidi Obi nodded. I continued. “Mr. Davis told this
court clearly that he went with you to buy the land, what have you to
say to that?” I charged.
“It’s my word against his.” He replied confidently.
I smiled. “Not if we have a witness. I call for cross examination, your honour.” I said.
Chidi Obi relaxed in his chair.
“Who would you like to call?”
I pursed my lips and let out some air. “Mr. Sameer Ali, the Witness for the Prosecution.”
The clerk looked at his register and looked up. He then
cleared his throat. “Please bring in a certain Sameer Ali as the Witness
for the Prosecution.” He said to the Court Officer. The court officer
immediately took his leave.
We stared at the door as we awaited Sameer’s grand
entrance. ‘Oh…what a beauty’ I thought in my heart. ‘I was about to put
the case to bed’
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************
A Black Ford Truck raced down the road. Sameer bumped
from side to side in the Truck as he struggled for light. It was not
forthcoming. His hands, legs and mouth had been tied with strong twine.
“You would be in the Far-East soon. You
should never have agreed to come here.” Akume howled from the Front
seat.
Sameer forced his weight against the door.
“Relax man, relax…Can’t you put him to
sleep, Obaro?” Akume shouted. He was tired of Sameer’s resistance. It
had been going on for hours.
Obaro snarled angrily. “This Arab fool resisted the
sedative we used for him in Lagos; I don’t how we want to put him to
sleep.”
Akume hissed dryly. “I wish we could kill him.”
“The boss wants him alive.” Obaro
hummed. “This man is strong though.” He said, touching Sameer’s face.
Sameer pushed him back. Obaro fell on his bum and laughed. “You are
stuck with me till we get to the East.”
Sameer’s eyes were red and hot tears burned through them. ‘Poor Darlene.’ He thought.
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
I stared at the door. The Court Officer had been gone
for almost five minutes. Toni headed out of the Courtroom. I blinked
effortless.
There were murmurings in the Court room as we awaited
the return of the Court Officer and Sameer. I watched as Toni slid into
her seat. Fear was written all over her face, she wiped some
perspiration off her forehead and then the Court officer returned. He
whispered to the Clerk and returned to his seat.
The clerk walked over to the Judge and they chattered
indistinctly. Judge Fatoye wore a surprised look and sighed.
“The named witness, Sameer Ali is not present for this case.” The clerk announced to the Court.
My eyes almost popped out of its socket. I held my forehead.
“And that’s not all, your Honour. After
running some check from the Airport and all the city’s transit
terminals, no one with the name Sameer Ali is present in this country.”
I struggled for balance as I leaned against the dock.
The Clerk was right when he said that there were no records of Sameer in
the country. We had smuggled Sameer in to avoid him being seen,
unfortunately our plans seemed to have backfired.
Subomi Bankole leapt into the case. “Your Honour, it is
quite unfortunate that this prestigious court and Jury have been misled
by an ambitious 24 year old lawyer who would come up with anything to
make a good man look bad. It turns out that Sameer Ali hasn’t set foot
in this country and she made us believe that she had a Witness.”
I had taken my seat. I was sweating profusely.
‘Sameer…Sameer…Where are you? Please show up and tell me that this is a
nightmare.’
Subomi proceeded. “Your Honour, I suggest that in the
good name of the law that we discharge this case, we have virtually no
case against my client.”
It was as though I had cold water running through my
body. I watched helplessly from my seat as I drank the water that Toni
had provided me. I looked like I would faint.
Judge Fatoye cleared his throat. “It is my decision to say if the case would be discharged or not.” He said.
Subomi bowed courteously. “I apologize for that, your Honour.” He said. ‘Sly Old Fox’
“Ms. Williams, What are we to believe about this issue of your witness not showing up in court?”
I stood up. My legs were now shaking. “I am sorry, your
Honour. It was due to some negligence on my part. I would sort it out.”
Subomi had a sly grin.
“You have a week to present us a case;
else the suit would be dismissed. This case is therefore adjourned to
Next Week Wednesday, at noon.”
The Clerk adjourned the proceedings and we all rose to
our feet till Judge Fatoye left the Court room. Mrs. Small rushed over
to me. “Are you alright, honey?”
“Where’s Sameer?” I struggled to say.
She hugged me. “We’ll find him.”
I struggled to pick up my Purse and walk with Toni. We
met Subomi Bankole and Chidi Obi outside the Court Room. They flashed
smiles at us. Tunji Davis had left furiously with his Son. I fumed
helplessly and braced for the worst- The Press.
The Security Men pushed the giant door open and Toni tried to shield me from the swarming press.
“Ms. Williams…is it true that you
feigned Sameer Ali’s presence in the country?”… “Ms. Williams, how did
your first case go?”… “Ms. Williams, look over here!” “Ms. Williams, Is
this a repeat of failure for the Williams Dynasty to Subomi Bankole?”
I stopped angrily. “It’s not over yet!” I screamed at
the teeming reporters. They would be glad to have that statement from
me. Toni and I left for her Range Rover.
“Where do I take you to?” she asked.
I sighed as I clutched the seat belt to my chest. “Take me home.”
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
The ray of light shone into Sameer’s eyes.
“Turn it down.” He begged.
Akume shrugged. “You are an ingrate. I thought you would want the light.” He said, deeming the light.
“Let me die!” he said and started his prayers.
Obaro shook his head. “We would grant your wish, but not yet. You still have to sign some documents for us.”
“NEVER!”
Akume raised his hand in defeat. “Stubborn fool.”
“I would still die anyway.” Sameer replied.
************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Toni pulled up inside the house. I pushed the door open. “Don’t follow me, please I want to be alone.” I begged.
“But…Darlene, you are not in the right frame of mind. Let me stay the night.”
I scoffed. “I can handle it.” I beckoned to the Security
Man. “Please help Mrs. Toni out.” I said. “Thanks Toni.”
“Take care, love.” She said and stepped into her car.
I dropped my brief case on the floor in the hallway as I
entered the house. I dialed Tom Frost immediately. “Frost, where is
Sameer?” I yelled into the phone.
He sighed at the receiver. “Darlene, please calm down. Can we talk about this over coffee?”
“COFFEE??? My life is almost over and
you are suggesting Coffee. Tell me where Sameer is!” I shouted.
He sighed. “Sameer left for his morning prayers and never returned.”
“Why didn’t you call me immediately?” I asked.
“I didn’t want you to panic.”
I screamed. “Panic??? You killed me out there!” I
shouted and hung up. I threw the phone angrily at the wall smashing it
to bits. I slumped into the sofa and started pulling my hair.
I turned on the Television. The Media houses were no
slackers; I was already making the rounds on TV. The land phone rang
from the Kitchen. I could guess that the Press People were at it again,
they probably wanted a feed from my father.
I rushed outside, took off my clothes and jumped into the pool in my underwear with a hard splash.
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
SPLASH! The sound of ‘ultra cold’ water. Sameer’s teeth
chattered. Akume hit him with the bucket. “Are you going to sign it
now?”
“NEVER!” He continued his prayers.
Obaro came in with the Phone. “The Boss is on the line”
“Sir!”
Chidi Obi cleared his throat. “How is our hostage?” he asked.
“He’s doing fine. He won’t sign the papers however.”
Chidi sighed. “Get the nurse over there at midnight. You
have to keep him properly for the next one week; anything or anyone
that comes within 50m of that perimeter should be hunted down and
killed.”
“Sir, when are we getting the backup
guards? It’s just Obaro and I here for now with the driver.”
“They would arrive at midnight with the
Nurse. I have made arrangement for all that. I would see you probably by
weekend.”
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
“She has been swimming for over 30
minutes this hard. If she continues this way, she might just faint.” One
of the maids said to a security officer.
He sighed. “Ms. Williams is devastated.” He shook his
head. “Those treacherous criminals have gotten away with another crime.
The society will still be rotten thanks to people like Chidi Obi.”
“She will fight back. The boss doesn’t give up.”
“What do you suggest we do? We can’t let her continue swimming this hard.”
The maid fidgeted. “Maybe I should call Sir. Williams,
he left the number for the house in the Bahamas.” She said and left. The
security officer left with her into the house.
I pushed my weight on the water angrily as I screamed.
As I raised my head with every stroke, I shouted. I was negligent. I
ought to have checked on Sameer. I assumed everything was fine. I
screamed harder as I thought of my error which might have compromised
Sameer or put him in danger. I started to think. I was hurt and
disappointed. Dad’s Déjà vu was reverberating in my heart. I was
drowning in my thoughts and it soon became physical.
SPLASH!!! There was another body in my pool. “Come on
D…” Jake said as he dragged me out. “It’s okay baby.” He said as he
hugged me tightly.
My eyes were hazy. I struggled to see Jake but amidst my
weakness, I still found the strength to resist him. I hit him with the
last punches my fist had to offer. “Leave me alone, Jake. Go away…” I
mumbled softly. My eyes blinked as I tried to see Jake’s companion who
had passed him a clean white towel. He wrapped me in the Towel.
“Get me another Towel.” He said.
He then doubled the towel and swept me off the floor. He
carried me up into my bedroom. “What were you thinking, Darlene? You
could have hurt yourself in that pool.” He shouted as he tucked me
carefully.
“It’s okay Jake, she’ll be fine.
Thankfully we got here in time.” Dora said as she got clothes out of my
wardrobe. It was Dora.
A maid came in. “What should I make for her?” she asked.
Dora sighed. “I’ll take care of that.” She said and left with the maid. I was left with Jake.
He stared at me and he stroked my hair. “Darlene, you don’t have to go through this alone.”
“Jacob, my life is over.” I said in
tears. “Sameer didn’t show up at court. Maybe he was killed or maybe he
ran away.”
Jake sighed and looked up to force back the tears that
were welling in his eyes. “Darlene…I am sorry.” He said and hugged me
tightly.
I screamed out and cried harder. “Dad was right. I am no match for Subomi.”
PLEASE BREAK MY HEART E36 – 37
#OpraDre
…to be continued
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wow! Chidi is such an evil …