BELLA'S MEMOIRS (ENTRY #23)

HERE COMES THE RAIN

The ride to the hospital was the longest half hour of my life. I rode in the ambulance with Yinka and his mother and watched her as she wept helplessly. Each sob broke my heart and I couldn’t help but feel remorseful. How many times had I wished Yinka dead in the last couple of months but now watching him fight for his life, I felt sorry for every bad thought that had ever crossed my mind about him.

I said a quiet prayer, I didn’t know his mother was watching me until I opened my eyes and she said;

Yinka’s Mum: Do you have any idea who could have done this to my son?

Me: No ma. I am still in shock over the whole episode.

Yinka’s Mum: The person had better pray he makes it otherwise someone will pay for this.

I heard an underlying threat in her voice. Did she think I had anything to do with it?

We got to the hospital and within seconds the place turned into a circus with half of the people at the party showing up at the hospital trying to show support for the Vice President obviously not because they cared but because they wanted him to notice they had shown up at the hospital. There were reporters everywhere, the news was already trending on social media and people were making speculations. Most people had concluded that the attempted assassination had a political undertone based on the forthcoming elections. I was glad that was distracting people from guessing that it had anything to do with his forthcoming wedding. My gladness however, was short lived.

At the Vice President’s order an entire wing of the hospital was cleared and set up for Yinka. It was also heavily guarded in case there was another attempt on Yinka’s life. It was just Yinka’s parents, his sisters my dad and I in the waiting area with the guards. Everyone else had been asked to leave and my stepmom had gone home at my father’s request.

Vice President: I do not believe the attempt on my son’s life has anything to do with the forthcoming elections. Otherwise they won’t have struck now when the elections are still weeks away. This has everything to do with his forth coming marriage.

My Daddy: …but what motive would anyone have for stopping the wedding?

All the eyes in the room turned towards me. I gulped and just then the doctor walked into the waiting room.

Doctor: Your Excellency, I am afraid I have good and bad news.

Vice President: What is the good news?

Doctor: He was brought in on time and we were able to flush his system. He will pull through.

Vice President: And the bad news?

Doctor: We suspect his food or drink was spiked with Thallium which is colorless and odorless. He would not have noticed anything unusual while consuming it. The side effects of large amounts of Thallium over a short period of time include damage to the lung, liver and kidneys. We would have to make sure every trace of the poison has left his body before we can run the necessary tests to determine the condition of his vital organs. I want to assure you that we would do our best to ensure his quick and full recovery.

Vice President: I will make arrangements to have him flown out of the country as soon as he is stable enough to fly. When can he leave?

Doctor: As long as it’s an air ambulance with equipment to handle any emergencies he should be able to leave in another eight to ten hours. I would also be willing to personally accompany him if necessary.

Vice President: Thank you Doctor but the Family Doctor is already on his way here to take over the treatment and would accompany my son.  Is there a place I can have some privacy, I need to make some calls.

Doctor: Yes sir you may use my office.

The Vice President motioned to his head of security who then went with the doctor to his office to check and make sure the room was safe and not bugged before the Vice President was ushered in. He requested that I follow him and I suddenly became very nervous.

Vice President: Bella you do understand the gravity of what happened here tonight?

I nodded.

Vice President: I don’t need you to nod, I need you to open your mouth and speak to me.

Me: Yes sir I understand the gravity of what happened tonight.

Vice President: So you understand that someone tried to take the life of my only son right under my nose, someone disrespected me and made a fool of me and my entire security team by trying to kill my son in front of the whole world and make a spectacle of my family.

Me: Yes sir I understand.

Vice President: So you understand that you must tell me what you know about this.

Me: I don’t understand.

Vice President: I have security agents combing the crime scene right now looking for evidence and they have confirmed his champagne was poisoned. The champagne he used to make his toast and you were right beside him the entire time so you must have either put the poison in his drink or you know who did.

Me: Sir! Are you accusing me of trying to kill Yinka?

Vice President: Did you try to kill my son?

Me: No sir! I was going to marry him why would I try to kill him at our own pre-wedding dinner?

Vice President: You tell me. So you claim you know nothing and I would take your word for it but just ensure you are telling the truth because whoever is responsible for this and every single accomplice in this huge slap on my face would wish they had never been born.

He left me in the doctor’s office and walked out.

I burst into tears because even though I didn’t know for sure who the guilty person was I had a feeling that the person had somehow been trying to help me.

The very next day, the investigation into Yinka’s attempted murder began and all suspects and witnesses were being interrogated and of course I was summoned for questioning. At the point I didn’t know if I was being summoned for questioning as a suspect or a witness. My father immediately called his lawyer to accompany me but because I had not been fingered as a suspect yet, Uncle Femi – my dad’s lawyer was of the opinion that appearing with a lawyer would make it look like I was being defensive so we decided that I would go in alone. However, I was prepped and specifically warned not to admit to anything and also to feel free to decline to answer any question I was not comfortable answering.

This is how it went.

MY INTERROGATION

There were two of them a short, dark skinned man with a bald head – Detective Michael and a tall lanky man with an angry scar on his face – Dectective Isah. They both looked very scary.

Dectective Michael: Miss Bella. It is in your best interest to tell us everything you know about this case because you know that lying and obstructing justice by withholding information are punishable offences. I hope you understand that?

I nodded.

Detective Isah: This is being recorded don’t nod, speak so the recorder can pick your response.

Me: Yes I understand.

Detective Isah: Good. Now tell us all you remember of that night.

Me: It was my pre-wedding dinner and I got to the hotel at about 4pm to get ready. The dinner started at 6pm and everything went well. After the dinner Yinka gave a toast and everyone started mingling so I went over to meet my friends and that was when my father came and gave me the news that Yinka had been poisoned.

Dectective Michael: That’s a very brief summary. Did you notice anything or anyone unusual at the party?

I remembered seeing Toni (Yinka’s mistress and being surprised that she had turned up for the dinner) but my father’s lawyer had insisted that the less I told the police the better for all of us.

I shook my head.

Detective Isah pounded his fist on the table.

Dectective Isah: Speak up! Someone tried to murder the son of the Vice President! We need to get to the bottom of this.

I was startled and burst into tears.

Me: No ….I….didn’t see anything or anyone unusual.

Dectective Michael: Would you say that your fiancé has enemies because from what we gathered he doesn’t have many friends either.

Me: I don’t know of any enemies he has.

Dectective Michael: How about you? Do you have any enemies that may have wanted to stop your wedding?

Me: No I only just moved to Nigeria. I don’t think I have enemies.

Detective Isah: But you have friends.

Me: A few.

Detective Isah: Were they all happy that you were marrying the Vice President’s son?

Me: I don’t understand the question.

Detective Isah: Do you think any of your friends would have had a reason to stop you from marrying the Vice President’s son. Maybe out of jealousy.

Me: I don’t believe any of my friends would have stopped my wedding out of jealousy.

Detective Michael: What of out of love?

Me: I am sorry, I don’t understand your question.

Detective Michael: Do you know this man?

He tossed a picture of Okechukwu to me. It was a recent picture. I recognized it as a recent picture because Okechukwu had grown a beard while he was away and he had a beard in the picture.

I nodded.

Detective Isah: For the last time madam, SPEAK UP!!

He shouted at me. Detective Michael patted his hand and asked him to calm down.

Me: I know him.

Detective Michael: State his name and your relationship with him for the record.

Me: Okechukwu Okonkwo. He is my friend.

Detective Isah: Define the word “friend”.

Me: We used to be in a relationship before I met Yinka.

Detective Michael: Do you think your ex-boyfriend had any cause to want to stop your wedding?

Me: No we ended the relationship on amicable terms. I don’t see any reason why he would want to stop my wedding?

Dectective Michael: Please can you explain this to us?

He passed me a couple of pictures. I recognized them. They were camera footages of me and Okechukwu from the Guest House in Ikoyi where I had gone to meet him after he had just returned to the country.

Me: He had been away for a while. I heard he was in town and I went to visit him.

Detective Isah: So you are no longer romantically involved with him?

Me: No I am not. I was engaged to be married, I was not romantically involved with another man.

Detective Michael: Do you know where Mr. Okonkwo is at the moment?

Me: I haven’t seen or heard from him in almost two weeks.

Detective Isah: Can you guess his whereabouts?

Me: The last time I heard from him he told me he was leaving the country and since I haven’t seen or heard from him since then I guess he has left.

Detective Isah: Interesting because that picture in your hand was taken from the Hotel’s security camera the night of your pre-wedding dinner. Where the Vice President’s son was poisoned.

Me: I don’t understand.

Detective Michael: What Detective Isah is trying to say is that contrary to your theory that your lover is not in the country he was in fact at the venue of your pre-wedding dinner and is now the prime suspect in this investigation.

Me: Okechukwu didn’t do it!      

Detective Michael: You sound very convinced of his innocence. Perhaps you know of someone who had a stronger motive to want your fiancé dead.

Me: That’s not what I am saying.

Detective Isah: Well that is the only lead we have at the moment and if you want to save him you better start telling us all you know.

Me: I know someone who might have done it.

Detective Michael: Good Miss Bella. Now tell us all you know…

It was like a pack of cards which was about to come tumbling down all I knew was Okechukwu was not going down for Yinka’s near death experience. I was ready to bring down the rain for the man I loved with all my heart. We were in this together and I prayed when it was time for him to bring down the rain for me he would because I knew as I turned the accusing fingers away from Okechukwu, the fingers would begin to point at me.