Khadija’s sudden outburst at my little remark on Alhaji’s handsomeness proved she was quite passionate about him.
Passionate enough to sabotage a childhood friend?
‘Oh, I’m sorry. I spoke out of line,” I said, scratching my head while smiling “Please don’t tell him.” I said, turning serious.
“Hmm,” she smiled, coming closer.
“Where were you when you first heard about Usman’s disappearance?”
‘I was returning from my shop at the market.”
‘That was when?”
“Around 7:30 pm.”
‘Hmm. You’re quite dedicated to your business.” I said offhandedly.
“I’m learning from your Igbo sisters at the stall. I was there throughout from 7 in the morning.” she laughed.
I filed this information away.
And how long do you think he’d been gone?”
“Maybe 6 hours or so, judging from what Aisha was saying,” she said, looking at Alhaji once more.
‘Do you think the child was kidnapped, or was it just some harsh treatment from Aisha that made him run away?”
She scoffed, and then she laughed, a bit mockingly. She suddenly composed herself.
‘I really don’t think he was kidnapped, even though I’m worried about him. I’ve not been to my stall since, and I’ve been looking for him and asking about him. There are a lot of dangerous people outside there, and I fear he may well have entered the wrong hands. Don’t you think so?”
‘Hmm. Maybe.”
“Then, would the case still be in your hands?” she asked. “I mean, I’m not so clear about the jurisdiction here, so I want to know if it’ll be back in the hands of the incompetent police,” she added, frowning.
“I guess so. We can hardly build a case out of this.” I said, noting that she had, without her knowledge, given me a few clues to ponder upon. In one night of serious reasoning, I could bring out a few pointers as to what happened to the child.
That is if the child was actually kidnapped.
“Oh, and what did you study at the university anyway?” I asked. I didn’t really understand why I asked that question, but I guess it was just a way for me to end the session.
I had no idea how important that information would be later on.
“Nursing,” she asked, looking at me questioningly.
“I just wanted to know. You shouldn’t have much difficulty finding a job then,” I answered, walking away.”
Shola soon joined me as we marched back into the house. I was quite satisfied with my answers, but there was still one more thing I needed to know before we went back to the office to ponder the details we’d gotten.
‘Alhaja!” I called out, beckoning for her to come. She seemed a bit pleased to hear me call her that.
“How old are your kids? All of them, including the one that’s missing?”
“Usman was the eldest. He was 17. Then there is Jafar, 14; Fatimah, 12; Hanifa, 10; Maryam, 7; and Ibrahim, 5.”
“Okay,” I said, writing this down. “Was Usman his favorite?” I asked, really wanting to know this.
She suddenly looked at me, shocked. “How… Why do you ask that?”
“Your husband seemed very upset about his disappearance.”
‘Well, yes, Usman was his first son, and he was also very good at school. They both shared a close bond and I guess you could say Usman was his favorite. He barely had any time for any of the other children,” she lamented.
‘It’s okay,” I said, having gotten the information I needed.
‘Detective, do you think you can find my son? Have you gotten any…?”
“Madam, rest assured that we did not come all this way in vain,” Shola suddenly spoke up. “The fact that we are still here means that we’re more interested than before, so you don’t need to worry about anything now. It’s not good for your health too,” he added, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Sometimes, just sometimes, Shola showed his human side. And it was why he was my companion. Because I needed someone to express those emotions I was not able to.
‘We’ll get back to you tomorrow,” I said, as we walked outside and boarded a taxi.
‘Nice speech,” I stared.
He chuckled, before suddenly becoming serious.
“There’s something to it, isn’t there?” I asked.
“Yes, something that has much to do with that affair,” he said.
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Nice story, Next please