WITHOUT A TRACE (5)

Monday September 1, 2014
Nowhere does man pit himself
against the machinations of nature
like many parts of Lagos Island. It’s
a vast area of water but man’s
stubbornness and an eye for profit
has prevailed on him to reclaim from
nature what is hers.
Even nature acknowledges she’s
losing the battle but every now and
then there are subtle reminders that
when man pits himself against an
invisible force, sometimes his
victory-if we can call it that is
Pyrrhic.
The rains have started again in
earnest and every conceivable stretch
of Lagos Island is flooded; the rains
don’t seem to care for the fact that
this is expensive real estate.
We’re at the marshes now;
treacherous areas of quick sand
where putting a foot wrong could
mean sinking beneath deceptively
deep sand.
It is here we find the inspector and a
couple of other officers. They’re all
sporting blue uniforms-a giveaway
for senior police officers- and the
same look of disbelief.
The area is cordoned, not like there’s
anyone around here who’s likely to
want to wander onto these parts.
Shoulder length wild flower grow here
and there, reinforcing the deception
that the marsh is firm ground;
eventually a lightly built police officer
is picked to go in but not without
precautions.
There’s a thick rope attached to his
belt to help pull him out if need be,
he’s a small man, it looks like he’ll
be fine.
When he gets in and takes a few
tentative steps, he sees the body; it’s
wrapped in a material that looks like
a sack of rice. The body is not
properly cover and it’s easy to see
that the lower half of the corpse is
naked.
The smallish officer’s face becomes
ashen as the smell of death
overwhelms him. He’s never been
this close to a dead body before and
it takes all of his willpower to slowly
hook the body with another set of
ropes with which it’s carefully pulled
inwards.
He looks around a little more hoping
to find the missing piece of clothing-
but there’s nothing. He’s about to
turn back when something in the
distance catches his eye.
It looks like another sack of rice in
the distance but he doesn’t seem too
sure.
“ I’m going a bit further” He shouts to
the people inland who can barely see
him by now, there’s a little more
space on the rope giving him
allowance to move forward.
It’s not a trick of his eye; it’s not his
mind making it up. In front of him,
wrapped crudely with the same
material as before, are three more
bodies.
Monday September 1, 2014.
The Inspector is puzzled; how did a
search for one person lead to this?
He stares at the four bodies, only the
first body is bloated with flies
festering, probably died not more
than four days ago. The remaining
three bodies would likely have been
here for a week.
All four bodies are women. All four
are naked from waist down. For even
the strongest of stomachs, it
presents a very disturbing sight.
The inspector takes a look at the
smallish man and seemingly gives
him a nod of comfort, the poor man
looks distraught.
Tuesday September 3, 2014.
Perhaps the Inspector decides it’s
time to pay Mohammed another visit,
this time at his residence; we see
him pull up to the mammoth
structure. He spends a long time
staring at it; the most surprising
thing about the building is not its
size, it’s definitely the absence of a
fence.
The big house simply opens onto a
lawn and a narrow walkway that
leads up to the front door, the
garage. There’s a lone car parked on
the lawn.
He’s halfway to the door when
Mohammed comes out; there’s a
scary looking scowl on his face and
his arms are held akimbo.
He doesn’t exchange pleasantries
when the inspector walks up to him;
“What do you want this time? I
already explained the first time that I
know nothing about Lily’s
disappearance! I even gave you her
phone”
“There’s no need to raise your voice
Mr. Mohammed, I just need your
help, no big deal”
“How can I help you?”
“I need the phone numbers and
addresses of all of Lily’s girlfriends;
all of them”
Mohammed’s face is a mask of
disbelief, “How in bloody hell’s name
do you expect me to have that kind
of information? I don’t know any of
them except in passing”
“I need it tomorrow Mr. Mohammed.
I trust you’ll be able to pull a few
strings, you’re a determined man”.
There’s something about the
Inspector’s tone that brooks no
questioning.
Tuesday September 2, 2014.
“I just need you to go in there and
see if you’d recognize any of the
bodies”
The inspector’s voice is calm and he
looks pointedly at Mrs. Adegbenro as
he says “You don’t have to go in,
I’m sure your husband can handle it
alone”
She shakes her head stubbornly,
indicating her resolve to get over
with it.
They’re gone for what could be ten
minutes or one hour, the inspector’s
pacing on the corridor makes it
difficult to keep track of the time.
Pale faces eventually emerge and
husband and wife hold themselves
straight as ramrod.
“So, how did it go?” the inspector
asks cautiously
“ We had to look at the bodies of four
strangers, none of them is Seyi ” Mrs
Adegbenro answers