SAKADINIA - Episode 12

I had prepared breakfast for everyone and now I was
preparing myself to go see the pastor at the hospital. I
had already made something hot for him to drink, I hoped
he was okay.
I decided to go through Grace’s things once more, I had
never met her in person but I felt I had known her my
entire life.
I fetched her album and stared at her pictures again
especially the one she stood with Romeo, they looked so
great together, I was sure Mark started raping her when
she fell in love with someone else.
‘B-----d’ I cast the album aside and wept on my bed.
I cried for about fifteen minutes, my eyes were all foggy
and swollen, I stopped the minute I heard a strange
sound. You know when your battery is about to be
exhausted and it makes a sound, exactly what I heard,
but I was quite sure it wasn’t from my phone.
I rose up immediately, what if Grace had left her phone
behind, I heard the sound again, it came from the
cupboard where I’d found the photo album and the note,
how come I’d never seen or heard it?
As I pulled out the last drawer, a huge rat climbed out
and I screamed for my dear life.
‘Jeez, that wasn’t funny’ I laughed for the first time that
day.
‘Here you are darling…’ I wondered what it was, it wasn’t
a phone, I realized it was a mini sized video camera.
‘What’s this’? I pressed a button and waited for the
device to show me something, but it didn’t, so I tossed it
aside.
I slipped on my shoes ready to move when I heard
sounds that resembled moans from a woman in pain, this
time, pain wasn’t the case, what I saw was going to haunt
me for eternity.
My phone rang and I picked it up hurriedly.
‘Hello’ my voice was shaky from what I’d just seen, how
could that happen?
‘Ajunwa? Have you forgotten me so fast? This is your
friend Joy’?
‘Joy, I’m sorry, I’m just not feeling too well’ I lied, how
could I have forgotten Joy, my best friend whose uncle I
worked for.
‘I’m sorry sweetheart, guess what’? she sounded excited.
‘Wow you sound happy, what’s that’? I asked.
‘I know my uncle just had an accident, the news is
everywhere so I am at the hospital with him, later I’d be
at the house and we would gist throughout the night’ she
replied.
‘Wow, I’m coming there soon’ I replied and dropped the
phone in my bag.
Joy was in town, I wondered if I could let her in on what I
had encountered in the house. I turned the video camera
off and hid it safely, I had watched enough. Pastor Ita
was making love with his daughter Rose, truly, this was a
house of secrets.
***
She smiled mischievously, her mother’s plans was for
them to keep their dad’s accident secret but she’d
tweeted it and the media had carried it, she would have
Helen begging for forgiveness for slapping her like that.
‘Rose, open the door’ Mark pounded her door.
‘Come in bro’ she answered sweetly.
She had dressed up, things had changed, she needed to
see her father, they needed to save themselves from
what was to come.
‘How could tweet about dad’s accident? Have you
forgotten about mum’s orders? Why did you disobey her’
Mark was annoyed with his sister.
‘Well, I did the right thing, your mother is a very selfish
woman and she doesn’t care much about either of us,
how could she defend Nelson like that’? Rose hissed
angrily.
‘Oh, this is still about Nelson? I’m sure you were f-----g
him, how could you disobey mum? Though she seemed
off, but I saw the good in her suggestions, now, dad’s
members may lose faith in him, I hope you’re happy now’
Mark hissed and turned to walk away.
This was her chance and she seized it.
‘Why do you think so highly of your mother? Let me tell
you something sweet bro, mother was having an affair
with Nelson, what if they connived to kill dad to afford
them more time to be with each other, have you thought
about that’? Rose asked.
‘Is that all? Mum is sleeping with Nelson, is that a bad
thing? What of dad, what if he’s sleeping with other
people? How is that your business, see Rose, this is their
marriage, we’re the children, we’re not supposed to take
sides, we’re to let them work things out on their own not
to judge, I’m not perfect, I just did something that’s
eating me up which I may pay for later, I don’t think
you’re perfect too, let’s just be united now more than
ever’ Mark hoped she’d see reasons with him, he wasn’t
surprised to hear about his mum’s infidelity, Grace had
mentioned it before they had a fall out and Ajunwa had
told him the night before.
‘Bravo, nice speech, I see, Helen has gotten her claws on
you, but before you go, I had this feeling you and Grace
had something you guys shared and I’ll love to tell you
something about your sweet dear mother’ Rose rubbed
her hands together.
‘What about Grace’? Mark sighed.
‘Grace isn’t missing, she is dead, she walked in on mum
and Nelson and mum killed her and buried her in the
garden, I could show you where, if you promise not to
flare up’ Rose said.
‘You’re bluffing’ Mark swallowed hard. How could Rose
cook up such a lie? His mother was many things but not a
murderer.
‘Go find out, beneath the roses, midnight, check it out’
Rose patted his shoulder.
‘Beneath the roses’he whispered the words, Ajunwa had
found Grace’s necklace beneath the Roses, he swallowed
hard and prayed it wasn’t true, he needed to confront his
mother.
‘Yes bro, you’ll have to excuse me now, I have a call to
answer’ Romeo was the caller and she couldn’t wait to
answer it.
‘Hello my darling…’ she pawed sweetly. She had set her
plans in motion, she couldn’t wait to see her mother go
down.
‘Hello red rose, guess what’? Romeo answered in the
same manner.
‘What is it my love’? she asked.
‘I’m at your gate, please let me in’.
***
‘Mum, open the door’! Mark was infuriated, different
emotions ran through him, how could his mother betray
him like that? Why did she have to kill Grace and lie to
him about it?
‘Mark, what happened?’ Helen had just woken up from her
sleep.
‘Mum, please tell me this isn’t true, please deny it’ Mark
stared deeply into her eyes.
‘What is it dear’? she wondered why her kids wouldn’t let
her be in peace.
‘Did you kill Grace because she found out you were
having an affair with Nelson? Did you cut her into pieces
and bury her beneath your roses’? Mark asked.
‘I see, Rose is twisting this story, trying to paint me black,
was she the one who told everyone about your dad’s
accident’? Helen felt deeply hurt, calls from her church
members had awoken her, somehow they got to know
the pastor was in the hospital. How could Rose betray her
like that?
‘Mum?’ Mark called her.
‘Thank you for coming to speak with me first before doing
anything stupid, come in and have a seat, let me tell you
everything but first swear you’ll forgive me and trust me
again’ Helen invited him in.
‘Just tell me the truth’ Mark sat at the edge of her bed.
‘I kept this secret from you because I didn’t want you to
get involved in something so dirty, I felt you saw me like
a saint and I had to keep it that way, I’m sorry darling, I
should’ve told you everything, but know this, I love you
from the bottom of my heart, I protected your sister who
had turned against me now for some reason, just like I
protected you’she paused.
‘Just go straight to the point mum’ Mark was getting
impatient.
‘No, I’ll take this step by step so you’ll judge for yourself
who’s guilty or innocent. Your sister came into my room
one day just like you’re doing now and begged me to
save her, she was so scared, I followed her and found
Grace on the floor bleeding from her head, she was dead.
Rose claimed they had a fight and she hit Grace too hard,
I knew reporting to the police would destroy your father’s
reputation, so I cut the body into pieces and buried it in a
place where no one would ever know, under my roses,
and now she accuses me of being the one that murdered
that girl’ Helen scoffed, she would destroy Rose with her
hands.
‘Mum, how could you do something so gruesome?
What’s the difference between you and Rose, you helped
her cover her sin’? Mark was still confused on who to
believe.
‘I had to protect her, she is my child, even you, I have
protected you before, when I had the chance to turn you
over to the juvenile court, I saved you, don’t you
remember Mark? What happened when you were sixteen’?
she rose to her feet.
‘I don’t want to talk about it mum’ Mark was evasive.
‘No, let’s face it, judge me, I’m the bad one here, but in
my badness, I protected you, Joy, your cousin had come
visiting and you raped her in this house and I covered for
you. I should’ve reported you to the police, but I sheltered
you, look into my eyes and tell me you believe Rose’
Helen pressed his head to her face.
‘I’m sorry mum, I judged you wrongly’ Mark cried.
‘That’s my boy, now, your sister has drawn the battle line
and we must fight her, if she leaks that secret, I would go
down for nothing, so I need you on my side, I need you
to support me, we have to be clear with each other, no
secrets’ Helen instructed him.
‘I raped Grace many times and Ajunwa last night, please
forgive me, I don’t know what came over me’ Mark
sobbed like a baby.
‘You raped them?’ Helen was scared and disappointed.
‘Yes, I’m so sorry’ he nodded.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll fix this’ Helen replied. Mark could be
trusted, she had bought him over, now she had to draw
him into her own darkness.
‘I killed Nelson and buried him in the garden, somehow
he knew about Grace as I asked him to bury her decaying
hand so I felt he was a threat to that secret, so I killed
him last night’ Helen sighed as she let her son in.
‘Mum? How could you’? he was about to judge her when
he recalled his own sins were equally if not more
grievous.
‘Good. Now we understand each other, we have to fight
for ourselves first’ Helen fetched her phon
e, someone knew her secret and she had to protect
herself from going down.
‘What’s this’? Mark asked as she handed him the phone.
‘I KNOW WHAT YOU DID. IT MAKES ME SICK. I AM
GOING TO TELL. A SECRET IS BURIED IN THE GARDEN’.
‘Mum’? he called quietly.
‘Yes’? Helen wondered why he seemed shocked, did he
know anything about it?
‘I received this text last night, what’s happening’? Mark
was terrified.
‘Really’? Helen chuckled, not even the situation she found
herself could kill her sense of humor. Someone was
blackmailing them, mind games was this person’s style.
‘Mum, this isn’t funny, what if they know all our secrets?
We are all dirty except Rose and dad, we have to find a
way out of this’ Mark sighed.
‘No, we can’t be the dirty ones, maybe your father is clean
but I’m sure your sister isn’t, she killed Grace for a reason
and that’s your job to find out. I need to speak with the
maid you raped, I need to bring her closer to me, so she
wouldn’t be used against us, most times, blackmailers
could get information out of domestic staff, one of the
reasons i took out Nelson’ Helen paced nervously, there
was a lot of work to do.
***
She had not set her eyes on one of her admirers for a
long time, Kachi Romeo was as hot he’d been three years
back.
‘Hello Cherie’ he presented her with some flowers.
‘Hmm, they smile nice, thanks Romeo and do come in’
she smiled and offered him in.
‘It’s been so long Romeo, thanks for paying me a visit, sit
here, let me fetch you something to drink’ Rose dived
into the house and left her guest in her mother’s garden.
‘Roses everywhere, garden of Roses’ Romeo looked
around the garden, it was really beautiful and smelt very
nice but held a dark secret.
Oliver had done a good job by telling him about Grace,
now all he had to do was find her and get her to give him
evidence of the pastor’s affair with his biological
daughter.
‘I am back’ she returned with a bottle of red wine and
glasses.
‘Your mother’s garden is beautiful’ Romeo smiled.
‘Thank you’ Rose wondered how he knew the garden
belonged to her mother.
‘So how’s everything? How is Grace? It’s been long I
haven’t seen her or your brother Mark’ he poured himself
some wine.
‘They’re fine’ Rose replied hurriedly, why did he ask about
Grace? Her heart raced, no one could know she was
dead.
‘Good. I was just in the neighborhood and I just wanted
to visit, I’d see you some other time’ Romeo rose to his
feet.
‘Thanks so much Romeo’ she replied.
‘Can I see Grace before I go? And Mark too’ he quickly
chipped in.
‘Uhmmm, they’re not around, Grace isn’t here, she’s at
the market’ Rose stuttered, why was he so keen on
Grace?
Rose knew Romeo from church and he’d met their maid
too, but it made her uncomfortable to recall what
happened that fateful day.
‘Really? How nice, see you later then’ Romeo smiled and
walked away, deep down he felt it, something wasn’t
right. He’d observed the evasiveness that lay prominent in
her eyes whenever he mentioned Grace, had Oliver lied to
him?
‘Bye….’ Rose waved at him. Fear engulfed her, soon, more
people would ask questions about Grace, questions she
wouldn’t be able to answer and she knew how dangerous
her mother had become, what if her mother turned her in
to the police?
‘No, she has to go down for it, for everything’ she hissed
loudly, she had her plans, Helen would go down, she
needed to see her father.
***
Tbc