Beating The Odds – Episode 14

Beating The Odds – Episode 14

© Brian Ngoma

Cayn comfortably sat in the chair aware that he was been watched as this was a drill he had become used to. Without a care in the world, he acted normal. With his brief case put on the table, he crossed his legs and adjusted his tie. He had worne an all black suit. His phone rang but he ignored it. He knew any slight suspicious calls would put him in trouble. A moment later, the door sluggishly opened. A detective with a file in his hands entered the room. He hesitantly moved around Cayn and sat across the table. “Sorry for taking long Mr. Cayn Simfukwe,” he said as he sat down.

“I can see, you people are keeping me here to waste my time, right?” Cayn relaxed in his seat.

“Sorry sir,” the detective said. “We are just following procedure. For the record, how old are you?”

“24,” he uncrossed his legs. “We have been through this a couple of times. What is it this time detective?” he asked furiously. “I am a busy man and you people calling me here back and forth is getting odd now.”

“We understand the frustration sir but like last time, we have information that you are running an illegal business at your house.”

“Haven’t you people searched my house?” he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“We have sir but the information this time is pretty strong.”

“Do whatever you want detective, I am running late,” he stood up. “Excuse me. You will find me home when you come. Just come with a warrant. You can turn the house upside down if you want. I am getting sick of this, is the chief in?” he asked.

“No sir, he resigned two weeks ago.”

“Resigned?”

“Yes. With all the mounting pressure on him not doing his job, he had to.”

“Any idea whose replacing him?”

“That’s above my pay grade.”

Cayn stormed out of the interrogation room. He walked outside with his brief case in his hand. He stood at the door and looked around taking a long breath in. “Damn, where is she?”

“Boss!”

“Sky, where have you been?” he asked annoyed.

“I was getting some information boss,” she answered. “Apparently, our chief has resigned.”

“That’s what have been told,” he said.

“And that bas***d had the nerve not to inform us,” she said thoughtful.

“He has his reasons. Where did you park the car?”

“There sir,” she pointed at the Toyota XTrail. “Boss look whose coming,” she pressed a hand to her throat.

Before Cayn could turn around and check who it was, the voice was a familiar one he needn’t turn.

“If it isn’t Cayn and his Abel,” Detective Paul Boadi exclaimed. “You should be careful of this one,” he looked at Sky and went on, “He will betray you like he did his biblical brother,” he laughed.

“Boadi,” Cayn said forcing a smile. “Long time,” To Sky he said. “Go and get the car ready.”

“Come on, it’s only been three months. It seems like you are this police stations favorite even though they cannot find anything on you.”

Cayn laughed. “There is nothing to find, I am just a humble business man running some car washes in the city. Is that a bad thing detective?”

“It’s not but I’m not really convinced that you have made that fortune through car wash stations.”

“Africans, Africans, when someone is suffering, you will just be quiet but when they are making money, you will try to come up with theories on how that money is made. I’m an honest business man.”

“Are you sure?” Boadi asked looking at him suspiciously. “You know ever since i saw you two years ago, my guts have been telling me that i have seen you somewhere but i just cannot remember. Your face is very familiar especially that grin of yours; too too familiar it haunts me.”

“My grandmother told me at one point that a detective came to our house, didn’t i tell you that?”

“Yes you did, the grandchild who was in Australia, i still doubt that.”

Cayn looked at him mockingly and said, “When will you stop? I told you when i saw you two years ago, that was a first but every person has a double somewhere, so i wouldn’t be surprised with your fixation.”

“It’s true but your face is just too familiar.”

“It’s the picture my grandmother showed you.”

“How do you know about the picture? You weren’t there.”

“Don’t be such a dummy detective, I have to go,” he said shaking his hand. “My business cannot run itself.”

The detective watched him go to the car. He nodded his head cussing himself. Why couldn’t he remember where he had seen him? He hated himself. He waved at him as he got into the car. What he didn’t know was that they had crossed paths 11 years ago. The boy that climbed the wall fence. The case he never solved.

Cayn got in the car. He looked at Sky who was busy tuning the radio. “Detective Boadi is still on you?” she asked him.

“Blank shot will always be on me but he will never find what he wants,” he said looking at the entrance to the station.

“Why do you call him blank shot Boss?” she asked starting the engine.

“It suits him,” he laughed. “We have pressing issues on our hands now. The chief resigned. That doesn’t sit well with us. Find out who is replacing him, he has to be on our side. Only then can we smoothly continue our business. We also have a mole. I’m tired of coming here every after three months. I have to talk to everyone tonight,” he looked at her. “When we get home, gather everyone around.”

“On it Boss,” she started the car.

As the car left the station, he saw Detective Boadi peeping through his office window on the first floor having the same facial expression he had two years ago they had met. They reached home. Cayn got out of the car while Sky parked the car. He went into the living room and sat. It had been a long day, after meeting one of his clients, he had been called to the station. He rested himself on the chair. He looked on his right and saw a photo of him when he was 17 with Thelma and Yohane. Next to it was another photo of him with Thelma and her daughter. He sighed thinking about how good Thelma and Yohane were to him.

“Boss!” Sky interrupted his thoughts.

“What is it?” he asked her.

“I am from talking to Mponda,” she answered and went on. “He said he cleaned the graveyard he’s going now.”

“Did you give him something?”

“Yes Boss,” she answered.

“Now go and tell everyone I need to talk to them,” he said, “I am coming down there in five.”

Sky run along. He admired her swiftness. He trusted his life with her. Ever since he got her from the streets four years ago, she had been loyal to him and she did everything required of her. She almost took a bullet for him. He had been training her both physically and how to handle the business. What she didn’t understand was why he was training her so hard physically. Whenever she asked, he told her the time would come when she would see the need of all that training. She never asked anymore questions. She trusted him and she knew he too would put his life on the line for her.

He stood up and walked to the kitchen. He saw Mponda outside washing his hands at the tap. Further away from him was Thelma’s graveyard. Before she died, she requested to be buried on the same house. Cayn and her daughter did what she wanted. Thelma’s daughter grew fond of Cayn. She saw how much her mother had been changed when she was living with the boy. It was her who processed everything and made the adoption legal. In Thelma’s will, she left the house to her daughter and telling her that she should take care of Cayn. Thelma’s daughter had made a life in Australia and left the house to Cayn who at the time was living with Yohane. After the funeral, she went back and trusted everything with Cayn. That was seven years ago and they had been communicating almost every month.

As he opened the small wooden squared door to the cellar, he thought who among his workers could be talking to the police. He got in the passageway and slowly walked to his secret offices. He had furnished the whole room and made himself a cubicle office while the rest of his workers were working in an open space. As he reached, he found them all gathered and chit chattering. They got quiet when they saw him. He untied his tie and happily greeted them. There were only five workers. Martin, Wezi, Fungai, Chishimba and Boyce. He didn’t consider Sky among these workers. She had a special place in his business operations.

“Has everyone eaten?” He asked them grabbing a chair.

“Yes boss,” they all answered.

“Sorry to call for this meeting on short notice but as you are all aware. This is the third time I am been called at the police station. Me and Sky think there is someone in here in who is ratting us out,” he carefully looked at them.

“Hmm Boss, are you sure?” Wezi asked.

“That’s what i want to find out,” he said. “Are my working conditions not good?” he stared at Wezi. “There is lunch and in-between meals every day, there is a television there, there is also an Xbox for you people. What am i doing wrong?”

They were all quiet.

“I take care of your families. And the contract you signed even says that if anything happens to any of you, your family needn’t suffer,” he drew in a long breath.

“Boss just think of it, if anyone was to snitch on what we do here, don’t you think they would have found the workspace because every time they come here with the warrant, they don’t even think there are some offices underneath the kitchen,” Martin looked at his workmates.

“That make sense,” Cayn nodded. “Anyway whoever is behind this will get caught and I will personally deal with him.”

“Or her boss,” Fungai added. “It can be a woman too,” he looked at Sky.

“Wait, what? Are you insinuating it’s me Fungai?” Sky fiercely looked at Fungai. “Who found this job for you? Who brought you here? You ungrateful piece of sh*t.”

“Hold it right there, Sky,” Cayn stood up. He well knew that he had to restrain her because she would have beaten him there and then. “Let’s not point fingers at each other now.”

The rest wondered why Fungai had to stand up to Sky. She was the boss’s right hand man. They had come to know her as one not to mess with. She had beaten some thief who thought could steal some car parts at the house since the house had no fence of any sort around it. They were all busy working in the cellar when they heard someone screaming outside. When one of them got outside, he found a heavily battered individual begging for his life and further away from him was Sky eating a Guava as if nothing had happened. Since that time, they had grown scared of her. They had come to call her ‘Street she devil’. Only their boss knew how to handle her.

“If you ask me, I think it’s that detective Boadi, he doesn’t trust you,” Sky said. “Or perhaps the former chief but i doubt, that one knew what’s at stake if he opens his mouth.”

“Boadi is dull, he only has speculations,” Cayn said. “The former chief, not likely.”

“Boss!” Wezi called him.

“What?” he answered.

“Come and see what’s on the NEWS, we have a new Chief of police.”

They all walked to the screen. There was a reporter introducing the new chief of police. They all stared at the screen with interest. With the resignation of the chief who apparently made their business simple, they were curious to know who the new chief would be. “As everyone was caught unaware with the resignation of the chief of police, I am here to unveil the new Chief of Police,” the reporter said. “Without further ado, this is our new Chief of police, Shekinah Wambachi.”

“It’s a woman,” Sky said. “I didn’t know they also come as women,” she laughed.

The camera shifted to the New chief of police.

“Thank you,” she said. “This is a tremendous honor, but it is an honor that comes with tremendous responsibility. To me it’s a humble responsibility, one that I take very seriously,” she said and looked at the crowd of citizens and the police officers in the audience. “To the men and women of the station who are working tirelessly to ensure the citizens are protected, I promise to care deeply for you and represent you to the very best of my ability. I promise to be honest with you and to be as fair and objective in my dealings with you as I possibly can be. To the people of Lusaka and the nation at large,” she smiled. “I promise to serve and protect this entire community to the best of my ability regardless of your age, your gender, your social status, where you come from or what language you speak and finally to everyone on the other side of the law,” she looked at the camera. “I am coming for you.”

Cayn switched off the TV. They all slowly turned to him and could see he was uneasy. Who wouldn’t be nervous in his situation? They were all nervous. This meant things were no longer the same and would never be the same if nothing was to be done.

He looked at them and they stood staring at him like children. Only Sky showed no fear. She was chewing a gum and looking at him like always; expressionless.

“Who the hell is she?” he apprehensively asked. “Where has she come from? Sky find out everything about her ASAP, we need to have her on our side. Everyone get back to work; we have a deadline to beat.”

To be continued

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