Strange Occurrance

 The adage goes something like this: Only two things can kill a man. If you survive alcohol and women, you live to old age. Almost all the parents in this land have said something like that to their sons as advice. Yet, people still die of one of the two or two of the two. Officer dauda doesn't play with anything beautiful on skirts. Despite being married with two sons and a daughter, he still refused to retire his waist from away games. On that beautiful sunny morning of June two years ago, he was on his daily beat with his partner officer charles. They had just passed two blocks away from their station when they saw one lady in a red dress marching as if she was late to an important appointment. He never missed. This one was on the top of the list in comparison to all he has bedded. He asked his partner to slow down. 

      " I can see you are late to somewhere, we seem to be heading in the same direction. Is there any way we can be our neighbor's helper this morning?" He asked with an enticing smile plastered on his face. Many years of practice has made him a kind of professional in that department. The killer smile never failed to entice. "I am heading to bright street, I have an appointment there and I am almost thirty minutes late" she answered with her own killer smile. "Bright street you said, we will take you to a brighter street within minutes. Please hop in" 

Lake sail is a new three star hotel tucked into  one interior village not far from the city. The man that came with that idea is said to be based in Europe with his family. Many had been asking why he would waste such money building what some even believed is a four star hotel in that interior village. No one will patronize, they kept saying. But it seems as if people for reasons like officer Dauda see the place as a heaven. There is never a time the place is not busy, full of young men and girls.  Officer Dauda was in the swimming pool with a fair tall girl in a swimming suit that left little to imagination. They had checked in a few hours ago and both seemed to be fairly good in water and were competing with each other on who would splash more water out of the pool than the three other couples in it with them. From the look on his face, he seems to have that far away look of a man in action to please his partner. He wanted them to splash the water in their room out of sight of any humans but the girl wanted to have the feeling.

Thirty minutes later, the girl seemed to read his mind and suggested they retire to their room. He jumped out of the pool and on the way to their room, he ordered a bottle of Eva wine with two plates of pepper soup. He was grinning like a teenager that was on his first date. The lady was busy downloading her own plate of pepper soup and drinking her wine but Dauda was not interested in any soup, he barely touched the wine even. He was thinking of another kind of soup and wine. Three hours later, both were completely naked on the bed and the man was snoring it out and the girl was eyeing her with what looked like a smirk plastered on her face. When he stirred, the girl still naked was rubbing his chest, seemed to be drawing an imaginary map of Mars there and was asking questions on recruitment and what police work entails. He was answering groggily like someone who was under the influence of something. Then, she veered towards the case they were handling that period and the answers were being supplied with a contentment of a dog being scratched by its owner. Towards the evening, they made their way individually towards their various bases exactly as they had appeared.

The fair lady Shirley Odiegwu no one knew if it's his true name recorded all the man was vomiting on the bed and was busy wondering how what she has in her possession would translate to her advantage. Knowledge they say is power and power money. She smiled and decided to keep the information in a cooler for two weeks. There is no hurry in life. Infact, ideas always appear from the blues when you least expect it. 

The less people see you with anyone you have a plan for, the better the chances of that plan materializing for good. Infact, what she has in her possession was the result of three months planning and reconnoitering. She had been observing two different officers and Dauda seems to her to be the man she can handle easiest. She never expected it to be that easy but at times heaven has a way they answer their own prayers. 

She had intentionally been marching that morning knowing that Dauda and his partner always take that route at that particular time. She had pretended she did not see them and was focused on marching with the intent of a person with seriousness written all over her face. And nature again was on her side when she was not disappointed by her reading of her target that still believed he was the lucky hunter and not the hunted. She smirked to herself.  "men have wrong ideas of themselves' ' she said with that triumphant smirk of hers that never failed to appear on her face whenever mischief was lurking nearby. 

 The best way to utilize what she has is now the problem she has. She knocked herself on head twice for finalizing a project she started had always been her problem. She reminisced a little and was easily confronted by up to six to seven of such problems in all the projects she had handled before. Now, the same ability to finish well what has gone eighty percent successfully okay without help is always her waterloo. A week plus, no idea has surfaced for her to implement. Maybe, she is not learning from her past exploits well. She decided to revisit those assignments and review how it was done and learn from them. 

She had still no idea on how to finalize what she had started. What came into her head is what she is not sure any sound person will go along with. She is not even sure she will agree to the plan herself if another presents it to her. But that is the best option she came out with. After mulling it over for almost another week, she decided it is the best she can do. 

A woman that stays about seven stores away from hers in their garment line is a person she doesn't pally with but observing all that is in that line, she was her best option. That option made her sigh loudly for approaching whom she doesn't know well for such an assignment is not what she likes getting mixed up in. Always good to maintain one's facade in front of those that know you not. Nothing like putting on a show of being who you are not in front of those you see each day you don't have any business with and such acts come with its own demerits. The lady Mrs Grace is who she sees but doesn't know. She is banking on the fact that she must be acting out in front of people too. It will be the fuckup of the century if she is to approach her and she declines. All her effort would have been in vain and the woman might even follow her. Her number one rule of engagement is what she is even contemplating breaking to gain access to what she is not sure of. "Never be seen in public with who you work with"  but how is she to approach Mrs Grace? This is her acute headache. 

It boiled down that she needed to monitor her movements and that is why despite what you might say is a bad habit in her play book. Necessity is necessity. She followed the woman around for five days discreetly and figured she has black history more thick than hers. Humans are chameleons. Who can believe the wing this gentle Mrs Grace woman is playing after work. Shit. She said and smirked to herself. How best to approach her became another headache. "Am I to use blackmail or smile my way into her confidence or something" she was mulling those over in her mind and decided that softly always opens the gate in good faith rather than hard. 

She started frequenting the spots the lady goes by the same time she does and smiling from afar and waving became her acquired trait that period. It's not easy to be confident. You need to stoop to their level and make sure the person is sensible enough to know to keep her distance in the line. The lady seems to pass that exam with ease. She must be the one with problems, she is not giving the lady enough credit. Another week passed before she made her move that friday night. After cornering her in the hotel lodge and buying a drink and keeping away from prying ears and eyes. Two glasses into their casual talks, she noticed that her laughter is changing and decided it's time to table her biz to her. 

     She was into it in a hushed voice and after about one hour, the woman was more than attentive and seems too eager to make the move. Shirley did not entirely love what she saw but what can one do. Proposal involving death supposed to frighten any normal person. But Mrs Grace was into it wholesale and that is not always good news. "So, let me get it. You said I need to approach this office and them table my findings and submit this recording them and then staged my death and print posters and then, change city afterwards?" She asked with that glee in her eyes still. " yeah, and it's important we do it silently and quietly and keep our distance" "afterwards, I receive this amount you are mentioning"  "yeah, even more" that glee again that makes Shirley uncomfortable. The woman was too eager for her liking and that is her worry.

Officer Dauda had continued to see Shirley in their secret rendezvous and their acts kept getting better and better. Shirley never for once asked him any questions even when there is opening for such. Better to close that door and don't overplay your hands. As far as he is the one paying, why not. He is the potential source of pay that needs managing well. She sometimes eyes the man well when he is sleeping and tries to read him well. But, it's like reading a dead person. To get the correct answers, the person needs to be alive and acting.

There had been this theft of raw diamond worth about three hundred million dollars and the government had come out with a reward of fifty million for anyone that can tell them how to lay hands on it and those behind the act. For months now, there had been no breakthrough in the investigation. Thousands of information publicly submitted, all led to dead ends. But Shirley knew that no group could succeed in carrying out such successful theft without some crooks in the force being involved. She had monitored some of them and casted his bet on Dauda. If anyone will know where it is or what is happening, it's him. She had not been disappointed. But she is not stupid not to know that if she made that approach, no matter what, Dauda will later put two and two together to arrive at the correct answers and will come after her with his hood. there are even chances that they will not find what is before their nose intentionally. Since Grace seems not to care, to die afterwards to confuse the bulls, she is the best option she has. 

On the D-day Grace had done as she was told and submitted her contact address and information. Stated how she got the information and even recorded without the authority knowledge what they were saying. She handed it to Shirley as she requested and was always on the phone trying to know the true situation of things. She started poking Dauda on that aspect whenever they were alone and were getting interesting feedback. The man and his group officer Dauda claimed to have done the job, one day just faded into thin air. The families reported about their disappearance and Shirley and the public that is following the events concluded it must have been the government that seized them. 

Shirley had believed that the police seized the group and their leader and now don't want to pay the rewards. Mrs Grace had gone on to stage her fake burial and afterwards, disappeared from circulation to the consternation of Shirley. To think she doesn't even know exactly where Grace lives, only where they met is another problem for her. 

Five months later,  Shirley heard she is in Spain with her family and Dauda that has cut his relationship with Shirley was transferred to another State and government no longer seeking for the disappeared thieves and rewards no longer being talked about. Strange.