Roses and Thorns – Episode 41

CHAPTER FORTY ONE

HIGH COURT ASABA 9:56am

The inside of the court buzzed with activities as people trooped in, they needed to witness the hearing between the captain and the killer. Joel sat down, followed by Okenwa and then the detective. Chidiebube sat behind with Udoka, they waited patiently for the arrival of the jury. Joel constantly checked his wrist watch impatiently. Just then, Ezenwa was brought in, handcuffed with two police men by his side. The judge followed suit, his wig firmly placed on his head and the breeze from the ceiling fan tossed his robe around, Ambler shortly came after him followed lastly by Joel’s family lawyer. They all walked to the front pew and sat down consecutively.

“Ambler?” Okenwa shrieked, his eyes bulging out from their sockets.

“Do you know him?” Joel asked at the same time with the detective.

“Yes, he used to be our family lawyer until Dad noticed he was keeping secrets from us and he was more close to Ezenwa even though he knew that Dad loathed him” Okenwa shrugged.

“Interesting” the detective cooed.

“May we proceed please” the judge said wearing his spectacle. “Let the accused step into the questioning box please” he added looking up at the people present in the court room. Ezenwa was escorted to the questioning box still handcuffed.

“Are you a Christian or a Muslim?” a young man asked Ezenwa.

“None of the above mentioned, am an atheist” he sneered.

“Mr Ezenwa Akueze, you have been accused of rape, murder and other act of wickedness, guilty or not guilty?” the judge asked focusing on Ezenwa.

“Not guilty, your lordship” he confidently replied. Joel balled his palm in a fist and gritted his teeth “How dare he deny it?” he muttered. Chidiebube held his shoulder from behind telling him to calm down.

“Where were you on the 24 of May, 2020, between the hours of morning and afternoon?” The judge threw the question at him. Ezenwa smiled, he already rehearsed severally for it.

“My father owned a piece of land in a village at the outskirt of Asaba town, he built a cottage with the plans of starting up farm produce business, but he died anyway before that could happen. I decided to continue from where he stopped and on that particular day, i had gone to inspect the land but all of a sudden, soldiers surrounded the cottage and even shot one of my legs” he looked at Ambler and then looked away almost immediately.

“Who killed your father?” the judge asked again.

“Not who?, but rather what?, my father suffered from cardiac arrest, that was what killed him” he looked intently at the judge.

“Liar” Okenwa growled from where he sat.

“Any questions from the opposing counsel?” the judge asked looking up at Joel’s contacted lawyer.

“Yes, your honor” he stood up, bowed curtly at the judge and walked towards Ezenwa.

“Mr Ezenwa, you said your father died from cardiac arrest?” he asked him.

“Yes, he did” Ezenwa replied firmly.

“One of your father’s employee had told us about how he saved your father from death. the brakes of the car were tampered with, which means, someone wanted him dead. And we also heard that the person disguised himself as a doctor to finish the old man off at the hospital, so how come your father died from cardiac arrest or is there anything you are not telling us?” the laywer asked calmly but yet again with a fierce and scary eyes.

“Objection my Lord, he is emotionally blackmailing the defendant” Ambler spoke standing up immediatly.

“Objection overruled, may the opposing counsel continue please” the judge replied Swiftly.

“Thank you your honor” the lawyer said with a bow and turned almost immediately to Ezenwa “Can you briefly tell us the relationship between you and your father when he was still alive?” he asked.

“Objection my Lord, the opposing counsel is not in line with the topic of the day” Ambler said again standing on his feet.

“Objection overruled, defense counsel please behave yourself” the judge barked.

“Am sorry your honor” Ambler replied sitting down with a sigh.

“Well, the old man hated everything about me, he never loved me like a father would love his son, there was no relationship whatsoever” Ezenwa sneered.

“Okay, what was the body of a badly injured lady doing at the farm house the same day you went there?”

“I wouldn’t know of course” Ezenwa shrugged.

“I put it to you Mr Ezenwa Akueze that you killed your father and 5 other ladies, the sixth one is still recuperating in the hospital” the lawyer said boldy staring into Ezenwa’s eyes.

“Objection my Lord, the opposing counsel is only trying to scare the defendant” Ambler spoke up again in anger.

“Objection sustained, opposing counsel, go straight to the point and don’t accuse him yet” the judge warned.

“Am sorry your honor, permit me to call on the first witness, Udoka” he said staring at the judge, waiting for his permission to do so.

“Go ahead” the judge said after going through the list of the witnesses he had on the desk.

Udoka walked to the questioning box, a young man came forward and asked him “Are you a Christian or a Muslim?” he held a Bible and a Quoran in his hand. “I am a Christian” he replied Swiftly.

“Please place your right hand on the Bible and repeat after me, whatever am going to say here today will be the truth and nothing but the truth” Udoka completed and the young man left.

“So, Udoka, what relationship do you have with the accused here?” the lawyer asked.

“He is my former employer’s son” he shrugged.

“You saved his father from the clutches of death, did the old man tell you anything when he woke up from coma”

“Yes, the day the detective and the captain had come to see him at the hospital, he confessed that it was Ezenwa that tampered with the brake of his car” Udoka said with a nod.

“Do you have any evidence of any kind?” the lawyer asked.

“No, not really” Udoka replied.

“You can go now” the lawyer said and turned towards the judge and said, “that would be all for now, your honor” he bowed and went back to his seat.

“Defense counsel, over to you” the judge said. Ambler jumped on his feet and walked proudly towards Ezenwa. He looked at him briefly and then turned towards the judge. “Sir, i have been the Akueze’s family lawyer for many years and i can attest to the fact that they are all plotting against the defendant, none of them has an evidence to prove my client guilty” he turned towards the opposing lawyer and smirked.

“Anymore witness with a corresponding evidence?” the judge asked the opposing counsel.

“Yes your honor, detective Bode” the lawyer said looking at Ambler with a scorned face.

The detective gigantically walked towards the second questioning box occupied earlier by Udoka with a brown envelope in his hand. The act of oath taking was done again and the detective stared at Joel from where he stood.

“We will like you to present the evidence you have” the lawyer told him. He brought out a big brown envelope and stretched it towards the lawyer who in turn handed it to the judge.

“The day i had gone to visit the old man at the hospital, i jotted and recorded everything he told me, including the part where he said his son Ezenwa tried to ki*ll him after he threatened to tell the authorities that he killed Ego, his school girlfriend then. The second evidence are the test results from the forensic department, the semen found in the bodies of the five ladies matched with the one found in Melody’s body too and they all point towards Ezenwa” he completed, his face devoid of any emotion.

Ezenwa gritted his teeth in anger “How the hell did i miss this part?” he growled quietly staring at Ambler who shifted uneasily on his seat.

The judge played the voice recorder and everyone gasped when it got to the part that said “If you are referring to Ezenwa, just know that he is a murderer, he killed Ego and when i threatened to tell the authorities, he tampered with the brake of my car” Ezenwa started sweating, he looked at Ambler and pleaded with him to help him out.

“Order” the judge shouted when the noise became unbearable.

“After going through the evidence i have here with me, this is my final judgement” spectators looked on eagerly awaiting his judgement.

“Mr Ezenwa Akueze is here by sentenced to death by electrocution, i have spoken” he concluded getting up from his seat.

“Yes, finally, Justice for Mercy, Justice for all the people killed by this psycho and finally, Justice for my Melody” Joel muttered, the tears already started gathering again.

____