MISSING PIECE (28)

What was that all about?”, Jacinta asked when they got home. She’d seen that he was very angry and had refused to say anything on the way.

“What?”, he asked, still fuming.

“You know exactly what. Baby, you need to forgive……”

“Don’t tell me that!”, he snapped angrily at her. “You heard all they said, with no remorse. They made us suffer for what we didn’t do. I’ll make sure they pay”, he continued pacing up and down, clenching his fists.

She walked up to him, placing her hand on him. “Please, take a sit” He sat down after a while. 

“You deserve every right to be angry, my love. They did us more harm than good, and they were very close to us. But have you thought about what would happen if God had not forgiven you? Have you thought about where you’d be now if not for His grace?

 It is not easy, I understand. I’d warn you then about Chris, but you ignored it. I also told you then about certain dreams I was having about you in your place of work, but you threw it aside. I am not saying you are to blame, but telling you that God did all these to give us something bigger”, she counselled. 

And what is ‘bigger’ in all these?”, he asked sarcastically.

She smiled. “Maybe if you were still working there, you would not have gotten this opportunity from Delvan. When God moves us to various heights in life, the devil would try all he can to ensure we feel discouraged and stop trusting God. Look at us, baby. We survived, to the shame of the devil.” 

He put his hands on his face, crying. He cried for the pains he’d gone through, for the problems his family had faced, for the pains of betrayal, for the times he’d turned from his Maker. She allowed him cry. She wiped the tears falling from her eyes too. She must be strong now. And he had to let go…..all of it.

Jaycee, it’s….so…. hard. It’s so painful”, Armstrong amidst tears.

“God won’t ask you to do something He knows you can’t do. And He’s given you grace already. Just access it. You have to let go of all those anger and resentments”, she whispered.

“You know, I don’t like when you’re right in times like this”, he said. She smiled a bit.

He prayed to God, asked Him to forgive him and the grace to forgive all those that had hurt him. He prayed specifically for Chris, Tessy and everyone involved. And he felt peace like never before.

******************

“So it was you all that did this?”, DPO James asked incredulously after listening to all that they told him.

“Yes sir. We knew Mr Armstrong was innocent. So we decided to do something about it the little way we can”, Sunday replied. 

“And thanks to you all, I got them all. I’m grateful.”

********

This is my final judgement”, the presiding judge announced. The whole courtroom was as silent as a graveyard that even if a pin fell on the ground, one would hear its sound.

“For impersonating one Mr Armstrong Coker, a former employee of Hills Group Construction to embezzle fifty million naria, the law court finds you, Mr Ikemefuna Rex(the driver), Miss Linda George(the secretary), Mr Okafor Nnadi(cleaner), Mr Olumide Komolafe(brother to the owner of the company), Mr Kwame Kwesi, Mr Chris Isokhai(executives), all guilty. 

You allowed greed to rule your consciousness and went extreme measures to get what you want. You are all sentenced to 15 years imprisonment without an option of fine. You are also requires to pay back the money you stole, and #5 million naria each to Mr Armstrong Coker.”

“Silence!”, the court clerk shouted to stop those that were shouting, especially the family involved.

“And as for you, Mr Titus Okonedo, Mr Charles Igwe, Miss Aminat Sule, Mr Igbehen Oma, Miss Itohan Asikiye, Mr Bobo Akpofure and Mr Imole Babatunde. What a pity! Rather than been useful to the society and your parents, you chose the other way round. You allowed yourself to become thugs and drug peddlers, wasting your lives away. Your case would be a deterrent to other youths in the future. You are hereby sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour.”

“Please, have mercy. He’s my ony child”, one woman shouted from behind. There was confusion when the woman fainted. People gathered her, some asking questions and some fanning her. They eventually rushed her out.

The judge shook his head in pity.

“Order! Order!”

“This is what happens when children are not cautioned when they are young. To parents out there, don’t leave your child at the mercy of others in the guise of being ‘too busy’. Discipline the child when he is wrong. Stop saying, ‘He is too young. He will learn later’. It’s a pity, it’s already too late for those tears”, the stern judge said when the courtroom was calm again.

“Now you, Miss Arike Alabi, popularly known as Tessy. You poisoned and killed your husband because he cautioned you about your wayward lifestyle, and to take his money to run away with your lover, one Mr Friday Amah. Not still enough for you, you killed your daughter too. You later connived to destroy Mr Armstrong Coker for leaving you in the past. You are heartless and a disgrace to motherhood. You are sentenced to life imprisonment!”

(To Be Continued)

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