She had heard the news from Miracle, the first son of Mr Lucky Odefe and she was present when the whole family came to the house to plead with her mother to have mercy on their father. But Dr Beatrice Ehiaghe was a very hard woman who hardly showed mercy to anyone who had wronged her.
Itohan could smell fowl play as this was a man she had known all her life. She had grown up with him as her only father figure and not once has she had a cause to suspect him of any wrong doing. He was the most honest and straight forward person she knew and she had always thought her mother felt the same way about him, until the news of his arrest got to her. Itohan knew her mother was capable of so many things, but putting Mr Lucky in prison was something she never thought possible.
“He stole from me”, Dr Beatrice had argued when Itohan comfronted her after the Odefe family had pleaded with her to no avail.
“How can you be so sure?” Itohan asked. “I have known this man all my life mother and I can’t believe you are buying Lisa’s story”. Itohan was irritated. “Mr Lucky has been one of your closest friends and confidants for over 35 years! He was there when father left! He literally raised Ehimen and me!”
“It is not Lisa’s story!” Dr Beatrice barked. “The evidences where very compelling even the police had no choice!”
Itohan scuffed. “Keep pretending like your influence didn’t push the police to arrest that poor man with limited evidence!”
The argument had gone on and on and on until Itohan made a statement that prompted her mother to send her out of the house for the umpteenth time. They had started to argue about Lisa’s position as president of Clay World and the message it would send to fellow Christians that Dr Beatrice’s company is being headed by an atheist.
“I have decided to look beyond Lisa’s beliefs and instead look at what she has in her head”, Dr Beatrice had argued. “She has the most brilliant mind in the whole company and she will take Clay World to a whole new level, higher than any Christian I know would”.
“For long mother”, Itohan had argued, “I had wondered what you loved better, God or your money. You just answered that question perfectly. You don’t care what message having an atheist as president of Clay world sends all because this atheist will make you more money. You place Money above God and it’s a very big shame”.
That flared the former senator and she sent Itohan out of the house like she always did whenever they had a quarrel. The 32 year old grabbed her bike and headed straight to the Isihor Police station to see Mr Lucky. She drove faster than she usually did and even freaked out some police men that were sitting outside on getting there. She knew many of them very well because they were friends of her mothers. They were the same people she saw on roadblocks whenever she drove recklessly and they always waved her on, praising her driving skills. No one dared arrest her but they would arrest other people for doing less. As she got down from the bike the two police men in front came to her with smiles on their faces.
“I.T!” Chigozie called with his right hand raised. “Madam you are looking good with this your new hair style oh”, he smiled.
They were expecting money from her and she knew she needed to see Mr Lucky, she had to bribe them. “Chigozie where is your Oga?” She asked.
“Oga nor dey oh”, Ahmed replied with a smile still on his face.
“Good”, Itohan smiled. “I want to see my uncle”, she demanded. “Mr Lucky, is he here?”
The two policemen frowned. “Oga say make we nor let anybody see Mr Lucky oh”, Ahmed confessed. “Say your mother go vex”.
Without saying a word, Itohan dipped her hand into her back pocket and pulled out her wallet. She counted five thousand naira and handed it over to Chigozie. “No one will tell him”, Itohan said.
The smile on the officer’s faces told her all she needed to know. Before she could say another word they were leading her to the waiting room. In the police station there were other officers but they were all junior to Ahmed and Chigozie so they were not going to rat on them. “wait here”, Ahmed instructed after she entered the waiting room.
“Thank God say you come today”, Chigozie added. “They go transfer am go police cell for Uselu tomorrow”.
She sat there for almost five minutes before both men arrived with a tattered looking Mr Lucky Odefe. It had only been two days but it was like his white hair had gotten whiter and he had gotten relatively older. She jumped on her feet and hugged him as tight as she could.
“Excuse us please”, she pleaded with Ahmed and Chigozie. “I will be done in less than five minutes”.
“I.T quick oh”, Ahmed responded. “Oga will soon be back”.
“I will be done before you know it”, she promised.
There were two chairs and a table in the waiting room and Itohan led a horribly looking Mr Lucky to one of the chairs. “Your hair…”, was the first thing he said when they both sat down., “I don’t like it”.
Itohan giggled. “Of all the things around you uncle, it is my hair you don’t like?”
“Apart from your hair, you look really good”, he forced a smile.
“My mother doesn’t think so”, Itohan replied. “I am the bad egg in the family”.
“Your mother has always been a bad judge of character”, he sniffed. “Except she has always thought I was a good person until now”.
Itohan was silent. She knew she had to ask the question and look in his eyes as he answered. She was a hundred percent sure he didn’t do it, but she still had to ask. “Did you do it Uncle?”
He smiled. “I have committed a lot of sins my daughter”, he replied. “but stealing from your mother, I have never done”.
“Your signatures where on the documents”, Itohan insisted. “I saw them. You signed off on the water project in Blazers hotel worth over millions that was never actualized. You signed off on the elevator project at the Excellence cinema. That cinema has no elevators till now. There are so many of them, over 20 projects that were signed in the name of Clay World that were not actualized”.
“We never conducted any water project at Blazers hotel”, he replied. "They hired another firm to do that so I never signed it. Excellence cinema never wanted an elevator, so I never signed it”.
“But your signatures were on those documents and over twenty others…”
“I was set up I.T!” He cried. “Someone wanted me to take the fall and your mother has fallen for that”.
Itohan believed him. Mr Lucky had never lied to her before and she was sure he wasn’t lying this time. She shifted on her chair as her mind flashed at the one person that was capable of such a set up. She was also the one that was to gain the most in the downfall of Mr Lucky Odefe. “Monalisa”, she frowned.
Mr Lucky shook his head. “Lisa is very ambitious”, he admitted. “But she doesn’t strike me like someone who will set me up to get to the top”.
“You don’t know her!” Itohan argued. “From the moment she started working at Clay World, she had her eyes set on that top position and she was going to do anything to get it”, she hissed. “Her marriage to my brother, winning my mother’s heart against all odds and turning my mother against me were all part of her big plan.”
“I am still not convinced…”
“You were too soft Uncle”, Itohan cut him short. “And your softness has landed you here. Now we have a 30 year old gold digger running my family’s business”.
“And what do you hope to do about it?” He wondered.
“I will take that atheist down with every drop of my blood uncle”, she promised. “And I will get you out of here soon”.
Note: chapter four titled "Revelations" will be out on the 23rd of September. Please stay tuned.
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