The Devil Wears Okrika

Chapter 34

Sofiri was scared. He fumbled and began stammering as the youths marched round his house, ripping the place inside out.
Benedict glared at him and from the way he held his machete sofiri was scared the butcher was going to use it on him.
"Where is your brother?!" Benedict barked
"I-i-i....I don't know....I s...s-s-swear" he stammered as his voice shook with fear.
"But you knew of his evil deeds didn't you? And you protected him?!"
"I never knew...I don't even know what you're talking about"
"Sofiri what's happening...what did Batholomew do?" Mabel asked. She sounded confused and scared.
"Honey its nothing you go and rest...it's late" Sofiri told his wife.
One of the young men reentered the parlour.
"He's not here...we searched everywhere"
Benedict grabbed Sofiri by the collar. He shoved him roughly on the wall and with amazing strength lifted him up till Sofiri's feet dangled in the air.
"Where is he? Tell me the truth...where would we find him? Answer me!!!"
Sofiri made a choking sound in his throat..
"Pleeease...I don't know..." His face was getting red.
Mabel held Benedict's hand and tried to remove it from Sofiri's throat.
"Benedict what are you doing? Butcher you want to kill my husband?!"
Two youths held her hands and pinned her back. But Mabel was a very fat woman and she struggled out of their grip by shrugging them off a little too easily.
She was immediately held back by about half a dozen young men.
Sofiri struggled to speak and Benedict reduced his grip a little.
"He would be in his home..." he gasped "he has his own house. I don't know where he is but he would have gone home" [of course he knew he wasn't home but locked up in his father's house]
"Don't mess with me Sofiri"
Benedict released him finally and he fell to his knees.
"Ben, why don't we teach him a lesson first" one of the young men suggested.
"Yes make hand touch am small" another youth echoed.
Benedict nodded. He really needed to vent some of the rage that had built up in him.
By now Mabel was sobbing uncontrollably. She had stopped struggling and she pleaded with the youths as she cried. "Please, don't hurt my husband..Sofiri is innocent...he can't hurt a fly"
Benedict spared her a glance "don't worry...we won't touch you...but your husband is an accomplice...he has to pay"
"I swear I'm not an accomplice...I never knew Batholomew was behind-"
One of the men struck him on the face, interrupting him with a backhand slap that reddened his cheek immediately. "My friend would you shut up!"
"Hey..what's going on here? Let him be...release him at once!"
It was Pa Kenneth. He barged into the parlour just as one of the young men gave Sofiri a kick to the groin.

"Pa Kenneth, elder! This man has been protecting his brother all along" Benedict explained as pa Kenneth strode over to his side. He looked angry.
"And what evidence do you have of that?" He thundered unable to keep the anger out of his voice.
"But elder, they are brothers...there's no way-"
"Look at his wife...you see how you've hurt her. what is the difference between you and the killer right now?"
The youths fell silent and the ones who had Mabel pinned to the wall released her.
"Pa Kenneth we believe he assisted his brother all this while and in fact he knows where he is right now"
"Nonsense! Utter rubbish...there's no room for jungle justice in Amaife anymore...except for maybe Batholomew. But not for an innocent person!" Pa Kenneth affirmed strongly.
Pa Kenneth was well respected by everybody, even the youths and their anger took the backseat.

.·.·.·.·.·
Dé Nwachukwu sighed as he leaned into his chair. He searched for his daughter, looking round the hospital and not seeing any sign of her.
Joy was still fast asleep resting her head on Oluchi's shoulder.
"I think you girls should go home" he nudged Oluchi gently. She was also dozing off. She nodded and sat up. "Dé...where...where's Amara"
As if in reply Amara burst into the waiting room. She had a spring in her step and her eyes were very bright.
Dé Nwachukwu got to his feet, he suddenly felt very hopeful. "Amara....what happened?"
"He's alive! He survived it" she hugged her father happily and Dé Nwachukwu gave a sigh of relief "thank God...oh Thank God"

.·.·.·.·.·
The pain in his chest was very severe. He lay still on the bed with his eyes closed. An oxygen mask was strapped to his face and enabled breathing so he would not strain and put pressure on his chest from the exercise of breathing in and out.
An intravenous drip transferred blood to his veins. He had lost quite a large amount of blood and when Nkiru had called the doctor, he had quickly gotten a pint of blood and set up the drip.
The doctor himself was ashamed and embarrassed. He found it hard to look the nurse in the eye and locked himself in his office unwilling to talk to Dé Nwachukwu and admit he made a mistake.
Osi: Although his eyes were closed, he was still very much conscious. He pondered about the bright room he had been in...Was it a spiritual realm?
The fight with Batholomew flashed behind his eyelids as his brain ironed out the details. He couldn't believe Batholomew was responsible for all the murders. Batholomew? Pastor Batholomew? The very same man who had hosted them? The man who had prayed for the families after the attacks...after his attacks.

But something didn't add up in Osi's tired mind. How was he able to get away with it for so long? He tried to grasp it but maybe he really needed rest...needed to rest his overworked mind. Fatigue had really drained him and he had almost died just minutes ago. Heck, he must have died for some minutes...his spirit left his body or did it not?

.·.·.·.·.·
Dé John arrived at the clinic shortly after sweating profusely. He wiped sweat from his brow with a handkerchief as he studied his friend "Dé Nwachukwu...I heard what happened...how is the pastor?"
"He's recovering...it's a miracle!"
"Pastor Batholomew? Unbelievable!"
"I know I'm still in shock..." Dé Nwachukwu replied watching Stevenson walk in their direction. He noticed his movement was quite uncertain.
"What of Pà Kenneth...has he been here yet?"
"Yes....that reminds me, you're to join him at Sofiri's house, the youths marched there earlier and in their rage they may actually harm him and his wife"
"Toor...I'd be going then...but if you ask me the man may not be innocent, he deserves whatever is coming for him" he turned to leave and his eyes passed over Amara and the two girls (Joy and Oluchi) who were both sleeping soundly.
"Why don't you take them home?"
"Yessir...I'd do that" Amara replied him but she did not have any intention of leaving the clinic. Not yet.
Dé john shook hands with the European who was standing awkwardly and left.
Stevenson greeted Dé Nwachukwu and Amara solemnly "I'm sorry for what happened, hope you're not hurt?" He asked Amara.
"I'm okay...I hope you're not going to include this in the book you're writing? It doesn't portray our culture in any sense"
"No, not at all...this is a very sad event"
Dé Nwachukwu excused himself. "I need to talk to the doctor...how can he just declare someone dead without even making an attempt to save him...he deserves a serious tongue lashing"
When he was gone, Stevenson sat down in the vacated seat beside Amara. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She shook her head. She could still remember the sharp pain she had felt in between her legs.
"No...It's something I'd like to forget" she replied him.
He nodded understandingly and Amara studied him, she had something else she wanted to talk about with Steve. She remembered the newspaper clippings she had found in his case. The case he had held on to so protectively. She had really thought he was the devil after learning what he had done to his wife and now she needed clarity.
"Steve" she began "I saw the newspaper clips in your briefcase the other day"
She saw his face become pale immediately "how....how is that possible?"
"Steve please explain to me what happened...did you kill your wife?"
She watched him intently and noticed different emotions flicker on his face. Shock, surprise, anger, embarrassment and finally resignation.
He put his face in his hands and sighed
"I knew it was going to catch up with me sooner or later" he was silent for some minutes as he left his face buried in his hands and when he looked up finally, there was pain. Raw pain on his face. "I didn't kill my wife. I loved her dearly. She meant the world to me...no Amara...I didn't kill her"

.·.·.·.·.·
PortHarcourt

Reverend Benji Okorie paced round his bedroom worriedly. He had woken up about an hour ago with Osi's name sounding over and over in his heart. He felt the message clearly. "Pray for Osi" and immediately he had gotten on his knees and began to pray for his youth pastor. Now the feeling had passed but he was still very much worried.
He watched his wife sleeping soundly on the other side of the bed. She was a very deep sleeper. She could sleep through an Earthquake.
He watched her for some seconds although his mind was far away. Finally he reached a decision.
He brought out his phone and dialled a number.
Gregory picked up on the fourth ring. He sounded sleepy. The call had likely woken him up.
"H-hello" he said groggily.
"Greg...its Reverend...get ready...Get Samuel to get the bus ready...tomorrow you and I are going to Amaife"