Tales Of A Lagos Babe – Episode 18 (GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY)

Posted by: b3rrilyn in Tales of a Lagos Babe Jan 4, 2014

Read Previous Episode (Willie Willie and other stories)

The knock on the door was very annoying. Where was everyone? Ever since the will was read, it’s been a mess.

The bang on the door continued. I got there just in time to see Taiwo open the door.
“Are you Shalewa Benson?”
“Not, she’s my sister” Taiwo answered the men at the door.
“I’m Shalewa” I answered
“Miss Shalewa Benson, you are wanted for questioning in our station for the murder of Mr. Gbolahan Williams”

Taiwo looked at me and shouted “mummy” she ran to get Iya Shalewa.
I couldn’t even think right. What? How?.
“Can I at least change into something decent?” I looked at myself in my bum short and hello kitty tank top
“No” the men grabbed me
“Hold on a second.. Taiwo” I tried to get away from them.
They dragged me out of the compound into a black Volvo and screamed out to Taiwo who had run out; I could see Iya Shalewa running out too.
“You can come to falomo station if you want to see your sister”

They zoomed off. Oh my God!

“Where were you on Friday night at about 11.00pm?” The inspector standing in front of me asked.

There was me, a round table, a lady inspector and this tall inspector. The only light was the one that shone down my head. Here I was, in a cell for the murder of Gbolahan Williams, A.K.A Willie Willie.

“I was in my house; I came in at about that time and went straight to bed”
“Who was with you, who can attest to your whereabout?”
“My mother and sisters” I swallowed. With the tug of war about the will, would this people I mentioned protect me?

This is what happened with the will;

Barrister Tochukwu had come to the house accompanied by my Aunt Nike after close of work. She had gone to him and demanded that the will be read.

His reason for delay could not be explained, it was my father’s wish to see that a part of the will be concealed until a certain time. He showed us a letter to prove this.

Apparently, it involved some other people and his interest was being protected by some assigned professionals with a drawn contract under the supervision of Barrister Tochukwu.

My father had left me our house in Ikoyi, the one we all lived in. He had a flat in 1004 and he left that to the twins. He had died with some millions of naira left in his account; he shared it amongst the twins and me, 50 percent for me and 50 for the twins. He also shared his shares the same way amongst us. He asked Aunty Nike and me to oversee the outcome of the un-read will when it was ready. He left Iya Shalewa a letter. She didn’t open it.

The house in Magodo went to me with a letter to accompany it. He had 4 no. of flats in Ikeja, one flat was for me, one for Iya Shalewa, the two for the twins. It was a wrap after this, the twins were speechless.
Kehinde started to shout “how can he leave most of this things to Shalewa, mummy, this is so unfair, daddy left you only a flat and a letter? He should have left it all to her na, after she killed him.. this is so unfair.. I always knew you were his favourite” she stood up “thank God mummy didn’t pick you as her favourite, maybe you would have killed her too”

I laughed at her childishness and got up to leave “well, it’s hard for a woman who isn’t really a child’s mother to pick another woman’s child over her own”
“Ha, Shalewa” aunty Nike shouted.

I saw Iya Shalewa open her mouth. The twins looked at each other in complete confusion.
With this, I excused myself and “went to get ready for Femi’s soiree. Iyalaya wan mehn!

xxxx

They let me go. They checked my alibi with my family and they attested to it. I picked up my phone and called Femi.
“Baby, where are you?” I asked
He was all messed up. He couldn’t talk. His mum was on her way from the states. I felt a pang of guilt.. if only.. if I had not..

I started to cry.
“Tell me where you are Femi, I need to talk to you, I need to see you”.
“Not now Shalewa, I can’t”
And with this, he hung up.

Omoyeni’s call came in immediately he hung up.
“Shalewa, what is going on, Taiwo called me”
I confessed everything to Omoyeni.
“Don’t repeat anything you said to me to anyone, I’ll see you in a bit”

Taiwo had come to pick me. We drove home in silence. I arrived to see Iya Shalewa waiting at the door. Aunty Nike had called 100 times. I’m not exaggerating. She had returned to Akure.

I wish I had not.. I couldn’t stop myself from crying.
“Shalewa” iya shalewa called out.
I wept like a child.
“I’m sorry” she said “I tried to be the best mother, I tried not to let you notice, until your father died, I blamed you for it..” She started to cry.

I wasn’t in the right frame of mind so I couldn’t listen to her, was this a ploy to get everything dad left me? I walked away into my room and started to try Femi again.
I picked up my car keys and drove to his house.

Miss Agedo’s car was parked outside.
I stood by the gate and rang the bell, his gateman told me he didn’t want to see anyone.
“But you let her in” I said pointing to Miss Agedo’s car.

He closed the gate and left me staring at the high walls.

I went back into my car and waited for a while. I saw Femi come out holding Miss Agedo’s hand. The tall inspector was with them. I bent down and waited for them to disappear. I started to panic. Should I run?
I went back home to pack some things. The twins and Iya Shalewa sat quietly as if someone had died.
“What is it?” I asked
I looked back to see the inspector and 2 policemen sitting on the dining table.
“Shalewa Benson, you are under arrest for the murder of Gbolahan Williams, anything you say will be used against you in the court”.

Gbam!