DESIRES.

CHAPTER TWO.

Once office hours were over I immediately drove home to prepare myself for an extravagant night. I picked up a black three piece suit from my closet. This I matched with a cream shirt and black leather shoes. After I had dressed up I stood staring at myself in front of the mirror. The scar on my forehead was still visible but looked better than the previous day. For security purposes I strapped my police belt on which had a compartment for my pistol. I held the gun in my arms for a while and could not remember the last time I had used it.One glance on my watch and I could tell it was time to go. There was a cool breeze outside and I could feel it at the palm of my hands. I got into my car but just as I was about to leave I noticed something strange. There was a car parked two houses away and I could tell it was new to the area. If I was not wrong I am pretty sure I made out two occupants in the car. Then it hit me that I was simply being overcautious and I drove past the car.

Abdul could not help but look at my car until it was completely out of sight.

“That’s him alright.That damn inspector. ”He hated me with zeal especially since I had killed his counterpart in cold blood. “So what do we do now?” asked the guy who was currently seated on the driver’s seat. His name was Johnny and he was Yusuf's replacement.

“For now we do nothing. All we were sent to do is find out where the guy stays. All we can do is to await further instructions. ”With those remarks he took out a cigarette and a matchstick. He lit up the cigarette and smoked while blowing circles of smoke in the air. Johnny then roared the car to life and they drove away.

It was around nine o’clock by the time I got to the Governor’s place. It was a magnificent posh house whose value was much more than the savings in my bank account. After checking in with the guard at the gate I went to park my car. There was ample parking space and among the vehicles parked was the Governor’s state vehicle. As I stepped onto the front yard there was booming music coming from the other side of the house. I presumed I was late and proceeded to the front door.

The doorbell was beautifully decorated in gold and I pressed on it.In a matter of seconds the door was opened and a plump maid ushered me in.She led me to the swimming pool area which was just behind the house. Just one look around and I almost felt out of place. The pool side was crawling with people most of which were big political personalities. In my absent mindedness I did not notice that someone was sneaking up on me.

Without warning my eyes were suddenly covered by smooth soft hands and a sweet voice said, “guess who?” On turning around I came face to face with Clarissa.In one swoop I held her between my hands and pressed her against me.She laughed a little and teased me for being possessive of her.

“Daddy’s been waiting for you. ”At that moment the Governor appeared with one of the guests in tow. I did not know the guest’s identity and guessed he was a business associate of the Governor.

“Well look what we have here, welcome inspector. ”With that he gave me a hearty hug.

“Thank you for having me sir.”

“Please meet my close friend and business partner Mr. Leonard.” I stretched out my hand to greet him and he did the same too. “It’s a pleasure to meet you inspector. I have heard a lot about you.”

“All good I presume.” He let out a laugh and the rest of us joined in.“Lets join the rest of the party shall we,” interjected the Governor when the laughter died down. As we headed towards the crowd they gave an applause in honor of the Governor. The party was now in full swing and everybody was drinking, eating and dancing as if there was no tomorrow. I mingled freely with the guests and the thought of my old beat up Volkswagen looking odd amongst their fancy cars hardly crossed my mind. The DJ was now playing some cool music and Clarissa could not help but drag me with her onto the dance floor. It was a slow dance and both our hands were locked behind each others backs. Her head rested on my chest and I could smell her sweet smelling perfume. I had not yet commented on her look that evening. She had put on a beautiful red evening gown with a pair of heels to finish the look. Her black hair, which to me seemed to glitter in the night, was well made and reached up to her shoulders.

In a flash something happened and I thought I was hallucinating. I noticed Leonard seated on one of the chairs and his gaze was fixed on us. When our eyes made contact he quickly looked away and I found it odd. “My goodness Harry what happened to you?” This changed my attention to Clarissa who was now slowly stroking my forehead. “Its nothing dear. Just had a slight accident at home that’s all.” I looked into her eyes and I saw their tentative nature. I kissed her on the forehead as she continued to stroke mine. It was at that moment that I noticed Leonard had disappeared.

Leonard walked back to his car and it was evident he was not in a good mood. He got into the car and slammed the door angrily. Seated on the driver’s seat was a huge muscular figure who’s fingers were busy toying with the car keys. There was a brief silence before Leonard spoke. “That old goof won’t give in. He wants to play hard ball with me and am gonna make him pay for that. We will proceed with tonight’s plan as earlier discussed. That ought to teach him a lesson.”

“What about the inspector sir?”“I have something cooked up for him. He is a hard guy to exterminate but if worse comes to worse then I will leave it up to you to finish him.” Leonard noticed a smile on his lips and knew the big boy would be delighted to tear me to shreds. The car was then started and the two drove out of the premises. Back at the party things were moving smoothly and it would have been an abomination to leave.

Nonetheless I was a busy man who carried most of the city’s burden. I begged to leave but Clarissa would have none of it. To be honest I never imagined that we would be together. It all happened when I was in the line of duty and I had saved her from an attempted kidnap. She was by then studying at the local university. “Don’t go yet dear. Stay a bit.” Her arms were at the back of my neck and her eyes bore a pleading look when she said this. If it were up to me I would have never left her sight. I kissed her one last time and her lips seemed to beg for more. Unwillingly she escorted me to my car and we embraced one more time.“I promise to come and see you tomorrow. I will be leaving the office early.”

All she did was stare at me with her lovely brown eyes and she gave me one more kiss to send me off. Soon I was driving off into the moonlight and I felt like a new being. The evening had ended well for me but little did I know that things would never be the same again. The next day I was woken up by a phone call from the office. It was Gladys and from the sound of her tone I could tell she had disturbing news.

“Have you heard the news?” Her voice seemed unsettled when she asked the question.

“What are you going on about Gladys. Don’t you know its seven o’clock in the morning.”

“You mean nobody has told you. The Governor is missing!”

“What!” I thought my ears were playing tricks on me. The news was too devastating to bear. Gladys noticed my silence and chipped in, “a team has already been sent to asses the situation. ” Immediately my mind went to Clarissa. “I’m heading there right now Gladys,” I said and hang up the phone. I quickly prepared myself and before long was driving like a mad man to the Governor’s place.

On arrival the place was swarming with police officers as well as the guys from the C.I.D. I spotted Clarissa sitting at the doorstep of the main door and she was crying her heart out. As I rushed towards her a hand gripped me on the shoulder and pulled me back.

“Where do you think you’re going?. This is a crime scene.” I looked back at the guy who was holding me and saw his C.I.D badge dangling from his neck. I took out my badge and the guy immediately released me and his face bore a shameful look.“I am so sorry sir…I…I…I thought you were…” I was not interested in listening to his excuse and walked over towards Clarissa. On seeing me she ran into my arms like a wounded lion and fell in my arms. Tears were gushing out from her eyes and all I could do was to hold her and give her comforting words.

She was in no state to talk about what had happened and I did not want her to feel traumatized. I managed to get a report from one of the investigator’s and to my shock I realized it was a well executed kidnap. All the guards had been mysteriously taken out and the footage from the security cameras had been tampered with. So far there were no leads on who could have done it. This dealt a big blow to the investigators who were now clueless. The incident was believed to have taken place some few minutes after midnight.

To make matters worse the story had spread like wildfire and I was sure it would make the headlines of prime time news. I spent the rest of the day with Clarissa as the investigators kept trying to dig up anything that could shed some light on the matter. It was not my case to handle for this was now a state matter. However I could not just sit around and do nothing.

The next day I headed for the Governor’s office. Something in my gut told me I could find something there. His secretary was a bit reluctant to let me into his office but I managed to convince her. The Governor’s office had a posh look. From the smooth expensive carpet on the floor to the huge mahogany desk at the center of the room; it all represented class. I began by going through some of the files arranged on his desk as well as those placed in his filing cabinet. In my search I managed to come across a file containing county development projects. What mostly attracted me to it was the name of one Mr. Leonard Okoki. On reading clearly I was able to notice that nearly all the county tenders had been awarded to him. The report also stated that he was the owner of a reputable mining company and the address of the company had been indicated.

This however did not seem valid to me so I decided to go through his office phone. As the messages were being replayed I heard something that caught my attention.

“Hello Peter its Leonard. I hope to see you this evening at your party. We have a lot to discuss. There is gold out there waiting for you and I and nothing is gonna stop us from taking it.”

I listened to the message one more time but could not quite relate how it came into the case. This left me with one option and I decided to pay Mr. Leonard a visit. With the address I had gotten from the file I drove off to his company’s office which was just at the heart of the city. The Trust Mining Company was a huge company dealing with most of the mining in the country. It had its main branch based in Bagadi city and other branches were elsewhere. As I stood outside the tall and menacing building I took a deep breath before entering into the sliding glass door. I headed straight to the reception and on inquiring was informed that Mr. Leonard was in his office.

The receptionist directed me towards an elevator and informed me on which floor I would find him. In less than a minute I was standing outside his office. I knocked at the door and a voice told me to enter. Leonard was a bit surprised to see me but he quickly hid his shock with a smile.

“Inspector Poitier, how nice it is to see you again.”

“Its nice to see you again too Mr. Leonard. I was hoping you could help me with something. I believe you are aware of the Governor’s disappearance.” He went silent for a while before responding.

“Yes. I heard it just today. What a tragic thing to happen to our dear Governor. I hope the police are doing all they can to get him back. It is disturbing to think that anyone would wish my dear friend any harm.”

“Sadly there are no leads on the perpetrators. That is precisely why I came to see you. Do you know anyone who was not in good books with the Governor.”

“Not as far as I can remember inspector. ” I seemed to be getting nothing useful out of him and no amount of questioning would help. It was also clear that my presence there made him feel unsettled. He was definitely hiding something.

“Okay then. Thank you for your time and please do get in touch with me in case you recall anything.” With that I stood up from my chair and gave him a parting handshake before leaving. Just as I closed the door he picked up his cell phone and dialed a number. When it was received on the other end he spoke in an alarmed tone.

“That inspector was just here. If he managed to come to my office then it means he is getting closer to finding out the truth. You are therefore going to execute the plan tonight. I hope you got someone to do the job.”

“Don’t worry sir. I have it all covered on my end.”

“Very well then.”

He then hang up on the phone and stood facing the glass wall of his office. I was already downstairs by then. My visit seemed to have been a complete waste of time but something peculiar came across my eye. Among the cars parked at the parking lot was the very one I had seen in my neighborhood the night the Governor had disappeared. It had the same license plate and I was sure this was no hallucination. What was the connection to it all? I wondered. I went back to my office and tried to piece it all together. After office hours I drove to the supermarket to buy some household stuff before heading on home.

By the time I got to my house the beautiful sunset had already faded away. My car buzzed silently as I parked it and switched off the engine. The neighborhood was silent since most people were already in the comfort of their homes. With the household bags in one hand I proceeded towards my door and opened it. I headed straight towards the kitchen and placed the bags on the kitchen counter. Feeling a bit weary, I made for my bedroom and that is when something odd struck me. The door to my bedroom was slightly a jar but I was sure I had left it closed.

On instinct I took out my pistol and held it within firing range. Slowly I made my way towards the room. I could hear no movements inside so it was hard to tell how many intruders were there. As I entered the room the door was pushed against my body and the pistol flew from my hand. My attacker made a haste attempt for the pistol but I was on top of him before he realized it. We both rolled onto the floor and struggled to pin each other down. He gave me a nasty blow on my stomach and I reciprocated with a kick on his groin. Before he could fight back I added a blow at the side of his mouth and was sure I had knocked out a tooth or two. The gun was lying close to the door and I quickly went and picked it up. I aimed it at my attacker whose mouth was now filled with blood.

“Who the hell are you and who sent you?” It was more or less as though I had said nothing for he merely laughed. He then took out a gadget from his pocket and I c****d my gun ready to fire. That is when I noticed something lying at the center of the room and my mouth fell wide agape. It was a bomb! The guy’s laughter brought my attention back to him and he was about to press the strange device in his hand. “STOP!!!” It was already too late for he had already pressed it. Being quick on my feet I ran out of the house and had just passed the front door when the explosion occurred.

My body was thrown in the air by the blast and I landed just next to my car. It took a while before I finally came to and my house was a fiery blaze by then. The whole neighborhood was now awake and people came to see what was amiss. Nobody took notice of me as all their eyes were fixed on the burning house. Somebody wanted me dead and it seemed they were willing to go to any length to achieve this.

Luckily I had not sustained any injuries for luck seemed to be on my side once more. There was no need to draw attention towards myself so I got on my feet and moved away from the scene. Only one person could help me at that moment. My phone was still in my pocket but on taking it out I realized it had been crushed by my fall. In anger I threw it down and cursed aloud.

With a deep sigh I decided to walk all the way to town which was the nearest place for me to find a phone booth.