MISSING PIECE (24)

He knocked the door. No response. He tried opening the door and saw it was locked. How come? Didn’t she say they’d be at home? He motioned to the others to move to the back. He saw the window blinds closed too. Did they travel? He moved to the back of the house, the other guys saw the back door open.

That was too easy, he thought. She must have closed the back door too. Who opened it? He pointed to two of the men to enter. They did and checked quickly.

“No movement”, one of the whispered to him. He entered and the others followed. Some went to the room, others went to the store. He remained in the living room, waiting. This had better be good, he thought.

********
He collected the paper and read it. “Are you sure this source is reliable?”, he asked when he was through.

“Hundred percent. I did my findings well.”

“All right. You may go, I’ll send your balance to you through one of my boys”, he said dismissing him.

“Twale for you. I trust you, thank you.”

Hmmmm……..who said women could be trusted? He shook his head. It’s a pity.
*****************
“Did he mention where he was going to?”, Mr Alao asked. “I’ve been trying his number to no avail.”

“No, sir. He just said he’d be travelling. That’s all”, Inspector Hassan replied.

“Okay. Let him know I dropped by when he returns.”

“Okay, sir.”

Where did Oga go? Is he okay? Let me try his number again. It went through. Thank God.


“Hello, sir…….no, sir. Mr Alao was here, sir……why are you whispering, sir?

Okay, sir. Send me the address and we’ll be there. I’ll be careful, I promise. Yes, sir.”

*********
“What about my business? You can take the kids but….”, Jacinta protested.

“It’s just for a while. It’s for your own safety.”

Fear etched on her face. “What exactly is the problem? You’re getting me scared.”

********
Someone fell. Who was that fool that couldn’t keep it down? Or was someone struggling with them?, he thought. “Go check what’s going on there”, he whispered to the two men with him.

“Stop there. Nobody moves! Game is over.”
They were surrounded with armed  policemen.

“Come on officers. Are we condemned criminals?”, the leader of the gang asked, walking over to the officer he thought was in charge. “We can settle this here and…..”

“One more step and I’ll blow your leg off! Drop your weapons and raise your hands where I can see them. Now!”

The other officers entered the room and brought out the others, seizing their weapons.

“Arrest them!”

Damn! It was a trap. He should have trusted his intuition, he thought as they were led away.
**********
“Psssst…..over here”, someone whispered.

“Sir!”, they greeted.

“What took you so long?”, he queried.

“Sorry, sir. They boys I could trust had gone for patrol. I had to wait for them to return”, Inspector Hassan explained.

“How many are you?”

“Nine, myself included.”

“Good. I counted four men so far since yesterday. Two others came but left this morning. I believe they also have marijuana in their possession and from what I heard, they have big buyers. I want us to wait for a while and see of those two would return so we’ll sweep them together.”

“Okay sir.”

“Prepare your boys. Have them well positioned. No room for sluggishness.”

“Understood sir!”

(To Be Continued)
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