CLUES IN THE DARK
1281 Words
The boat cut through black water.
No lights. No sound except the motor and the slap of waves.
Zara sat in the front, hugging herself. The red dress was gone. Now she wore jeans, a black hoodie, and Tayo’s jacket. It was too big and smelled like him.
Tayo was at the back, steering. Eyes on the dark. Gun on his lap.
“How much farther?” Zara asked.
“20 minutes.” His voice was low. “You cold?”
“I’m fine.”
He didn’t believe her. He reached forward and pulled the jacket tighter around her shoulders. His knuckles brushed her neck.
Zara didn’t move.
The cabin appeared like a shadow. Wooden. On stilts. A lantern burning on the dock.
Tayo killed the motor and tied the boat. “Stay behind me.”
Inside it was small. One room. A bed. A table. A kerosene stove. No electricity.
Tayo lit the lantern and set it on the table. “We’re safe here. No one knows about this place.”
Zara dropped her bag. “No network either, right?”
“None.” He checked the windows, the door. “Which is good and bad.”
He turned and saw her shivering.
“Sit,” he ordered. “Before you fall down.”
“I’m not—”
“Sit, Zara.”
She sat.
Tayo went to the stove and put water on. Then he pulled out a first aid kit and sat on the floor in front of her.
“What are you doing?”
“You cut your hand at the gala. Glass.” He took her hand.
Zara tried to pull back. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s bleeding.”
He was right. A thin line of blood ran down her palm.
Tayo cleaned it with an antiseptic wipe. His touch was careful. Gentle. Nothing like the DCP from court.
“Does it hurt?” he asked.
“Not anymore.”
He wrapped a bandage around it. His fingers were warm.
When he was done, he didn’t let go right away. He just held her hand.
Zara stared at their hands. His was bigger. Scarred. Hers was small, with ink stains from writing.
“Tayo,” she said quietly.
“Hm?”
“Why are you being nice to me?”
He looked up. “Because you’re hurt.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know what you meant.” He sighed and let go. Stood. “Tea?”
“Please.”
He made tea. Real tea, with ginger. Handed her a mug.
They sat at the table. The lantern between them made everything feel smaller. Safer.
Zara sipped. “So. What’s the plan?”
Tayo pulled out his watch. The recording device. Plugged it into his laptop. No internet, but he could play it.
Chief Adebayo’s voice came through, distorted:
“...the girl needs to be silenced permanently. Before she talks to that judge.”
Zara closed her eyes. “They said it.”
“Yeah.” Tayo’s jaw was tight. “We have them.”
“But we have no one to give it to,” Zara said. “Your boss transferred the case.”
“I know.” He rubbed his face. “Which means we do this the old way. We build a case so solid, even a compromised judge can’t ignore it.”
“How?”
“We go through the money,” Tayo pulled out the folder from the car. “Land sales. Bank transfers. If we can link Adebayo and Obi to the payments, we don’t need testimony.”
Zara leaned forward. “I have the resources. A clerk in the Lands Bureau. He’s scared but he’ll talk.”
“Not over the phone,” Tayo said. “Not with the leak. We go to him. In person.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow. At dawn,” He looked at her. “Are you up for it?”
Zara nodded. “I’m always up for it.”
Tayo studied her. “You’re exhausted.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re lying.” He stood and went to bed. Pulled back the blanket. “Sleep. I’ll take watch.”
“There’s one bed, Tayo.”
“I know.” He didn’t look at her. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
Zara watched him pull a mat from the corner and lay it down.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?”
He finally looked at her. “Because if I get in bed with you, I won’t be able to keep my hands to myself. And you deserve better than that.”
The words hit her like a punch.
Zara stood. “What if I don’t want better?”
Tayo froze. “Don’t, Zara.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean because you’re scared.”
“I’m not scared.”
“Then what are you?”
Zara walked to him. Stood over him while he sat on the mat.
“I’m tired of running,” she whispered. “I’m tired of pretending I hate you.”
Tayo’s eyes closed. “Zara...”
“Three years ago you broke my heart in court,” she said. “Tonight you shielded me with your body. Which one is the real you?”
Tayo opened his eyes. They were dark. Tormented.
“Both,” he said. “I’m the man who failed you. And the man who would die for you now.”
Zara knelt in front of him. “Then stop pushing me away.”
He reached up and cupped her face. His thumb brushed her cheekbone.
“You have no idea what you’re asking,” he said, voice rough.
“Maybe I do.”
He leaned in. His forehead touched hers.
For a long moment, neither moved. Just breathing.
Then Tayo pulled back.
“Not like this,” he said. “Not when you’re in danger. Not when you can’t say no.”
Zara’s chest hurt. “So when?”
“When it’s safe. When you choose me because you want to, not because you need me.”
Zara nodded. Tears pricked her eyes. “Okay.”
Tayo stood and pulled her into a hug. Not romantic. Protective.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured into her hair. “Always.”
Zara closed her eyes and let him hold her.
They slept like that. On the mat. Tayo’s arms around her. The lantern burning low.
Dawn came early.
Zara woke Tayo, shaking her gently. “We need to go.”
They took the boat back. The clerk met them at a bus park in Ikorodu. Nervous. Sweating.
He handed Zara a flash drive. “This has everything. Names. Account numbers. Please. Don’t tell them it was me.”
Zara squeezed his hand. “You did the right thing.”
On the way back, Tayo was quiet. Focused.
At the cabin, they plugged in the drive.
It was everything. Proof.
Zara looked at Tayo. “We did it.”
Tayo smiled. A real one this time. Small, but real. “We did.”
He reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear.
His hand stayed there.
Zara leaned into it.
“Tayo,” she whispered.
“Yeah?”
“When this is over...”
“When this is over,” he said, “I’m going to kiss you properly. Not in a safe house. Not in danger. Just because.”
Zara’s heart flipped. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
Outside, the water was calm.
For the first time in days, so was she.
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