Olumide marched at a speed beyond reasonable and sane as he headed towards the large white building with dark blue window panes that formed a greater part of the wall. While Matthew still refused to talk, he was sure this man would sing like a canary. Or maybe like those wicked cats that used to prow in his grandmother's backyard at night.

The two police escorts that the IG had lent him would make sure of that.

Kennedy. That was the name of Vivian's ex. The man with the missing piece of his puzzle. He had to know the truth before he delved deeper. If Romola sent the pictures to Kennedy, he would not bother himself with her anymore. He would choose simply to believe that she was dead as the woman he loved, instead of listening to the warnings his gut issued but, if Kennedy got the pictures by other means... Really, what other means were there?

He'd turned the issue over and over in his mind and had got nowhere. But now, this Kennedy man would free him from his confusions. He paused in front of the glass door. One of the policemen opened the door for him. The reception area was clean and spacious. A woman stood behind an S-shaped white desk above the marble floor.

"Good afternoon, Sir. Welcome to Tech Codes. How can I help you today?"

"I'm here to see Kennedy."

"Mr Kennedy Oritse? Do you have an appointment?"

The taller policeman, the one with the scar above his right eye spoke. "We're here on matters of security and public peace."

Olumide nodded. Of course, they didn't have a warrant to arrest the guy but she didn't need to know that. If there was one thing he'd learnt from his debacle with Romola, it was that concealed information contained power. The one who had more information controlled the conversation.

"I hope there is no problem." Her hands reached for the black landline on the table.

"None. We simply have some questions for him." The Policeman replied.

"And if he does not respond favourably, then there will be a problem." Olumide added.

The woman nodded, picking the landline and placing it against her ear. "Good afternoon, sir. There are some men here to see you.... No but... sir—"

The shorter police man grabbed the phone from the woman's hand. "Hello, this is Inspector Tade from the Island Block C Police Division. It would be in your best interest to come out now. My patience is very thin."

Inspector Tade passed the phone to the receptionist.

"Yes sir. I will let them know." She dropped the phone in its cradle and pointed to the wooden door on the left. "His office is in there. And whatever you think my boss did, he didn't. He's a good man, I swear."

"The judge will decide that." Inspector Tade threw his hand over his shoulder. But Olumide had already made his judgment. Kennedy was guilty. It was just a matter of how much part he'd played in getting Romola's pictures.

They knocked on the door and a deep voice drawled from behind it. "Come in."

Inspector Tade walked in first, then Olumide, then the taller policeman. The thick smell of weed hit Olumide as he entered the office. He twisted his nose, unable to stop a frown from forming on his lips.

"Good day officers." Kennedy, a thin man with fair skin and large hands, rose. He stuck his hands into the pocket of his well pressed pants. "I had no idea you were coming; else I would've made the office more convenient."

Kennedy's eyes met his. There was no recognition there but the man stared longer than necessary.

"The warning from your receptionist was warning enough." Olumide said.

"I hope you didn't frighten the poor girl, Inspector Tade. She says a lot of nonsense when she's scared." The man gestured towards the wooden high back visitors chair with wine coloured furnishing.

"I am Inspector Tade." The inspector sat on the seat closest to the white wall where a painting of Kennedy dominated the space.

"Oh right. That makes more sense." Kennedy sat in his chair. "To what do I owe this visit?"

Olumide reached into his grey tablet carrier and pulled out the photos. He tossed them on the table. "How did you get these pictures?"

Kennedy took his time to pick up the pictures. He looked at one then dropped it aside, and did the same for all the seven pictures until he had formed a small disarrayed stack. His chest rose with the beginning of a nervous laughter that died a premature death. "You're asking me. Didn't you just drop them on the table?"

"Mr, Kennedy, I swear—"

"Sir, let me handle this." Inspector Tade said.

Olumide sat in the empty chair beside the Inspector and nodded.

Kennedy looked from one man to the other. "Why are you asking me about these pictures?"

Insepector Tade leaned forward until his elbows rested on Kennedy's desk. He linked his fingers and stared at Kennedy's face. "We are currently investigating a case of public obscenity and indecency. We have the culprit in our station."

Kennedy shrugged his shoulders. "What does that have to do with me? I hope it's not someone I know."

"We have reason to believe that you are a distributor of pornographic materials. We have a list of victims who are ready to press charges."

"Again," The joy faded from Kennedy's face. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Everything." Olumide barked.

"Mr. Makinde." Inspector Tade reached for his hand but he waved off the man's bony arm.

Olumide placed his fingers on the pictures and slid them across the table, closer to Kennedy. "Do you know the woman in these pictures?"

Kennedy stared from one man to the other before shaking his head.

"Are you sure, because one of our victims has already identified you and the more corporative you are, the easier you'll get it. Do you understand?"

Olumide did not know of any victims. So far it seemed like it was just him and the IG that were interested in the case. Each for their own personal gain. He, for peace from Romola's memories; and the IG, for another opportunity to add a stellar case to his portfolio even though Inspector Tade was the brain and muscles behind the operations.

"On second thought." Kennedy picked the pictures and held it up to his nose, his brows narrowing. "I think I know her. I've seen her somewhere."

"Where?" Inspector Tade beat him to the question.

"I don't know."

Olumide slammed his clenched fist on the table and Kennedy jumped in his seat. "You don't know? Let me remind you. Two years ago, in University of Eko. Is that clear enough for you?"

Kennedy shrunk in his seat. "What does this have to do with me?"

"What doesn't have to do with you?"

Inspector Tade's voice rose over Olumide's. "What my partner here is trying to say is that you may have unwittingly participated in a crime. Now, do you recognize the girl or not?"

"I do. She was in my department."

"Is that all?"

"I swear on my mother's grave. That's all."

Olumide shook his head. "Your mother would be very unhappy at the thought of you spending 15 years in prison, wouldn't she?"

"Fifteen?" Kennedy's lips parted. "Please, what exactly did I do?"

Olumide shared a sharp look with Inspector Tad. The man's little nod was all the permission he needed. "Tell me, did you receive these pictures of her sometime around May 17th-21st two years ago?"

"Ehmm. I can't remember the day."

Olumide scoffed. "You can't remember the day? Are you sure?"

"Yes. It was two years ago. You can't really expect me to remember anything like that."

Olumide's gaze fixated on the man's face. Before he'd met Kennedy, he'd imagined that the man would be some tough person who was at least honest enough to admit their deeds. Not this quivering bumbling fool before him. Even Matthew had more stamina. But Matthew had cost him money without leading him closer to the end of this mystery.

"All we are asking is very simple. What do you remember about this girl and those pictures?"

Kennedy's voice rose. "I don't know anything about these pictures."

"Have you seen them anywhere else?" Inspector Tade continued.

"Yes. Maybe. I don't know."

Olumide's brows narrowed and wrinkles of anger formed ridges above his eyes. "Which is it?"

"They were all over the internet."

"Of course, they were!"

"Listen to me, I know nothing about the pictures. And besides," Kennedy squirmed in his seat. "Is this normal? Shouldn't you have some sort of warrant before you come in and question me like a common criminal. I've done nothing wrong."

"Possession of pornographic material for criminal intent is a crime." Inspector Tade replied.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means," The policeman behind Olumide spoke with a deep even voice, without the colouring of opinion or emotion. "You have the choice of answering our questions in a calm and relaxed environment or we can haul you to the station like a common criminal."

The tips of Olumide's lips lifted in a smirk. "The choice is yours, Mr. Kennedy. Fifteen years is not a joke."

"Okay, okay. I'll talk but I don't know what I should talk about. I mean, the pictures were everywhere. It's like trying to penalize me for breathing when air is everywhere."

"So, you mean to tell me that it was harder for you to resist holding on to this woman's pictures?"

Kennedy's rolled his eyes. "Have you seen her body?"

Olumide itched to slam his clenched fist into Kennedy's face over and over again until the man's fair skin blended with the wine material of the chair. He settled for wrapping his fingers around the chair arm rests. "How did you get these pictures?"

"How did you get them?" Kennedy threw the question back at him.

"From the internet."

"Exactly, that's where I saw them too."

"I'll take it from here, Mr. Makinde." Inspector Tade cleared his throat. "We have reason to believe that you had the pictures in your possession before they became public property."

"Really, why would you think that? Is that what she said?"

Olumide roared. "Have you been communicating with her?"

"Excuse me. What is it to you? Since when does the Police find it necessary to interfere in a relationship between two adults? Or don't you guys have something better to do? Like fight Boko Haram?"

"Stop deviating from the topic. Have you had any contact with her recently?"

"No. Does she want to see me?"

"I hope not." Olumide muttered under his breath. "Just answer the question."

"What question exactly?"

"Were you in possession of her pictures before they went viral on Social Media?"

"What if I was? Is it now a crime to have pictures of someone?"

Olumide's gut twisted like someone had taken a knife and stuck it in his intestine while twisting the it around and around. "Not these kinds of explicit photos."

"Again, I don't understand why the police finds it necessary to involve themselves in a consensual relationship between two adults."

"What do you mean?"

"My girlfriend sent me pictures and I had them on my phone. Simple."

"Your girlfriend?" Olumide barked. "She was never yours."

"Excuse me sir, but it's like you know more about me than I know about myself. I am telling you that she sent these pictures herself."

"That's not true."

He'd never considered that Romola could've dated someone else. The thought had occurred to him a few times but he had never let himself think that far. It was one thing if she prostituted herself for money. That, he could provide. It was another thing if she gave herself, body and soul, to another man. Even if only for a brief moment.

"We were in a relationship and then we broke up."

"So, how did pictures sent in a confidential manner become public property? That's what we're really here to find out." Inspector Tade said.

Kennedy shrugged. "I would really like to know too. Maybe she gave them to another guy and he was careless. You know, there were many rumours about her prostituting herself—"

"Stop it. Stop it!"

Kennedy's eyes widened. "Did I say something wrong?"

"I don't believe your story. Maybe you were mad at her for a relationship turned sour and so you posted her pictures online."

"Me?" Kennedy beat his chest. "I cannot do that. Over my mother's dead body."

"Your mother's dead body rain curses on you."

"Don't tell me you were unaware that she asked for money for those who wanted to have more pictures of her? Are you that blind? If anyone should be questioned concerning this, she should. I don't know how much she paid you to show up here and harass me."

"Arrest this man, at once."

"Calm down, Mr. Makinde." Inspector Tade gestured with his hand for Olumide to calm down. "Mr Kennedy, can you tell us more about your relationship with Miss Ibikunle?"

"Ibikunle?" Kennedy raised a brow.

"The woman in the pictures."

"Oh. Romy baby? That's what I called her. Well, I didn't want to date her at first but she came to me and I didn't want to turn her down. The relationship was sweet at first but then she started bugging me about money. You would think she was an Igbo woman."

Kennedy's description of Romola matched nothing like the one he knew or the one that stepped into his office for an interview. It sounded more like something Yetunde would say. It was funny that the man who claimed to know Romola didn't even know her surname.

"And when did this relationship end?"

"Just before we graduated."

"When did you graduate?

"About a year ago."

"And you didn't go serve in the NYSC?"

"I'm deferring for now. Maybe next year."

Olumide shook his head. This man's words were not reliable and he could not even begin to imagine what Vivian found attractive about him, or what Romola would have found attractive about him. But the noose was set now. Inspector Tade knew about Romola's educational history. He insisted on confirming Vivian's words after he had wrestled for Kennedy's identity from the mobile phone operator. There was one more thing to do.

Olumide picked the stash of pictures and flipped through them until he got to the picture of Romola on the beach. He slapped it to the table. "Do you recognize this picture?"

"Yes. It was Valentine's day. I took her to the beach."

Olumide repeated it again. "You took her to the beach?"

"Yes." Kennedy folded his arms. "Is that also a breach of public decency?"

Olumide rose to his feet and stuffed his hand in his pocket. "You, Mr. Kennedy, are a poor pathological liar."

"What?!"

Olumide turned to the other policeman, the one who had mostly been silent in the meetings. "Arrest this man."

"But... but for what? You wanted me to cooperate. And I've told you all I know."

"You've told nothing but lies." Olumide stepped aside as the silent officer walked past him with a pair of silver handcuffs. The man captured the hands of a struggling Kennedy.

"What are you arresting me for?"

"For obstruction of justice as well as possession and distribution of another citizen's private files with malicious intent." Inspector Tade said.

Olumide's eyes hardened at the protesting man. "You may want to include a count of slander, as well."

"This is an abuse of my right."

"You should've thought about that before you lied."

"What in the world did I lie about?" Kennedy struggled against the restraint of handcuffs.

"One, Miss Ibikunle never graduated from the University of Eko. She was rusticated because of those pictures. Second, you never took her to the beach."

Kennedy sneered. "I said I took those pictures myself."

"Take him to the car. We'll continue this in the station." Mr. Tade pushed his chair backwards and stood.

Olumide pressed his hands against his chair to pull himself up while Kennedy resisted the officer's attempt to push him towards the door.

"Wait. Wait. I'll talk." Kennedy said.

"You had your chance."

Kennedy stared at him with large pleading eyes. "Okay, Okay. I didn't take that picture."

"Obviously." Olumide almost screamed. But he settled for nodding his head.

The other office held Kennedy in place, then dropped his hand but didn't remove the handcuffs. Kennedy shifted towards the wall by the office door.

"Now, will you say the truth? Our informant told us that you received these pictures and that you distributed them." Inspector Tade said.

"Who is the informant?" Kennedy asked.

Olumide glared at him.

"I mean, yes. I did receive the pictures but I wasn't the only one. There were seven of us."

"Good. Keep talking. Tawofik, I hope you're taking note of this?" Inspector Tade sat back in his chair.

"Yes sir." The other policeman tapped his left breast pocket. "My recorder has been on since. I won't make the same mistake twice."

"Keep talking, Mr. Kennedy." Inspector Tade said.

"Five of us got the pictures and some of them distributed it to others."

"Some of them? Weren't you part of them?" Olumide asked.

Kennedy remained mute.

"Were you?" Inspector Tade's voice bore a harsher element.

Kennedy nodded. "I only sent it to a few friends. I never meant to hurt anyone."

Inspector Tade tsked.

Olumide turned his head aside, unable to look at the man any longer. One more second and he would lunge at the man's throat. "Did you even think of her? Did you think of the impact? Or what it would cost her?"

"I didn't know the pictures would go that far. It was just supposed to go round our department. Besides, I wasn't the only one."

"Were you ever in a relationship with her? Because, I can't imagine someone doing this to someone they love."

"I didn't say that I loved her."

Inspector Tade asked. "Don't waste anymore of our time."

"No. We weren't."

"Well, how are we supposed to believe you?" Olumide rose and turned his back to Kennedy. "You said something else before and even swore on your mother's grave. Does your mother mean so little to you?"

"I swear, this is the truth. I got them from twitter and I don't even know the guy who sent it but she did not send them to me."

"Twitter? Wasn't that when it became viral?"

"No. I got them before they became viral. Someone formed a twitter group and shared it to us."

Olumide's cast a condescending look at the man. "Do you take me for a fool?"

"No. I swear." Kennedy raised his hand to the officer's face. "If you will just uncuff me, I'll show you."

"There's no time for this nonsense."

"I'm not lying." Kennedy shook his hands. "Uncuff me."

Inspector Tade rose to his feet. "We can talk more about this at the station."

Kennedy ran past Olumide and towards his desk. The officer followed but Kennedy was quicker. He jumped to the other side. His ankle hit the back of the arm rest before he tumbled to the other side, leaving his chair between him and the officer as he cradled his leg. As the officer came towards him, he struggled to his feet, then backed the chair, feeling across the table's smooth wooden surface with his arms. He grabbed his phone and brought it towards Olumide.

"Here. Take it."

Olumide raised a brow. "And do what with it?"

"Just put my thumbprint over the back and unlock the phone. You can check the message."

The other officer grabbed Kennedy's hand and pulled him forward. "We can do that at the station."

Kennedy's head stretched backwards as his eyes focused on Olumide's face. His breath came out in short heavy gasps. "Please, please. I don't want to go to the station. I have a wife and a small child."

"Are you certain that I will find what I'm looking for here?" Olumide placed the phone thumbprint scanner on Kennedy's thumb.

"I'm sure."

"And if I don't find it, you are aware of your fate right?"

Kennedy nodded.

Olumide sighed. It was worth a try. So far, Kennedy had only dropped one piece of information and it was worth checking to see if it was true. Nothing would be more annoying than finding out that Matthew was the one guy who sent Romola's pictures to this man. But the main question still remained, how in the world had he got those pictures?

He opened Kennedy's twitter app and visited the messages page. He still remembered the date and time frame of when Romola's pictures exploded on the internet. It was funny though, because he had lived the rest of his time then, in a sort of fog. A fog that had never really began to clear until he started this active search. He scrolled down to the messages from around that time but he didn't find anything.

"There is nothing here"

"Are you sure? Check again."

Olumide scrolled up and down the page and entered the conversations. Most of them were random information. Some of them were Kennedy's poor attempt to hit on girls. Olumide shook his head. He felt sorry for Vivian, that she had wasted some amount of her life dating this idiotic twat.

"If anyone wants to find this more, I believe it's me but, there is nothing here. I suspect you are not telling us the whole truth."

"Ha... No. No." Kennedy screamed. He walked to the police man with a scar. "Uncuff me. Uncuff me right now. I will find it."

"Inspector Tade, let's go." Olumide felt his heart pace slowing as he turned towards the door. He was nowhere closer to where he wanted to be.

Kennedy cast himself at Olumide's feet. "I beg. Na beg I dey beg Oga. I'm begging you, boss. I know it's there. Uncuff me. I will find it."

Olumide raised his head higher and kicked Kennedy off his shoes. He brought a handkerchief from inside his pants pocket and wiped his leather shoes until Kennedy's thumbprint had disappeared and his shoes gleamed. He tossed the handkerchief aside and rose to find that everyone watched him.

The policeman with the scar turned to Olumide. "Should I?"

"It's not like we have much to lose, right?" Inspector Tade added.

Olumide sighed. "It's your case, Inspector."

The Inspector waved at the other officer and soon the cuff fell from Kennedy's hands. He rose and grabbed the phone from Olumide's hand and began to scroll, his brows narrowed as sweat beads formed on his foreheads.

"Now, where did I keep this? Is it this account? This phone? Yes na. Or..."

"I hate. when people. waste. my time." Inspector Tade growled.

Olumide was certain now. The inspector had more patience for Kennedy than he did. So far, he had not seen an inch on impatience in the inspector's behaviour. Left to him, he would have dragged Kennedy to the station after the first lie. But this wasn't his case. The inspector had bigger fish to fry and Kennedy just happened to be caught in the net.

"Abi, did they change the group name?" Kennedy muttered to himself. Then he hit his palm against his temple. He raised his head, smiling at them. "Of course. I did it. I changed the group name."

"Have you found it?"

"Yes, but..." Kennedy's hand shook as he handed Olumide the phone. "The pictures you see there... I have not been active on the group since I got married. I swear."

"I am tired of your swears. They mean nothing." Olumide grabbed the phone from Kennedy as Inspector Tade came closer.

Olumide's face twisted in disgust. Now, his feelings mirrored what Dami had probably felt when Dami had seen Matthew's page. Countless pictures and videos of women in sexually intimate positions and clothing flooded the group chat. Olumide thought he heard a smack beside his ear and he turned to face the Inspector who leaned over his shoulder. The man stood alert as Olumide's gaze slide to Kennedy's face.

"You have done nothing but waste my time."

"That's the group. The pictures are there."

"More incriminating evidence. Tawofik, confiscate this phone." Inspector Tade pointed at it.

"I didn't share anything there oh. I told you. Since I got married, I haven't even looked at the group."

"Thank God Vivian broke up with you."

"Vivian?" The shock in Kennedy's voice caused his voice to boom louder. "She reported me?"

Olumide bit his cheeks. It was his fault. He should not have mentioned Vivian's name.

"Oh men..." Kennedy's faced squeezed in anger, his skin tightening against his jaw. "When I'm done here—"

Olumide pointed at Kennedy's face. "If there is so much as a scratch on Vivian's skin, I promise you, I will rip you apart bit by bit and feed you to my dog."

Kennedy shrugged, muttering. "I should've known she'd set me up."

"Nobody set you up but your own bad decisions."

"Let me just show you the chat, so that you'll leave me in peace. Scroll up. You'll find it."

Olumide found himself scrolling higher and higher to previous dates. The closer he got to the week, the faster his heart beat. He scrolled up until he got to the top of the chat. The first picture was one of Romola wearing only a see-through bra with waist beads on her waist. The next was a video of her dancing to Shakira's song. His heart pound so hard against his chest, he was certain it wanted to escape his ribcage.

"As you can see. I was not the one who shared the pictures first. I don't know how he got it. I don't even know him."

"Him who?"

"The man who shared the picture."

Olumide stared at the group. It was formed some days before Romola's picture became everybody's business. And the group had been formed by the same person who shared the picture. The person also shared Romola's twitter account. Olumide swallowed as he read the name of the perpetuator. The name of the man he sought to kill.

"It's not possible."

"What's not possible. Haven't you seen it?"

"This is my account. It's not possible."

Kennedy looked at his face, then stared at the screen, then back at his face before clicking on Olumide's display picture. Olumide's page was private. He returned back to the group. "Ah, well at least you can see that I didn't send it."

"I said it's not possible!" Olumide yelled.

"Hmm. Maybe you just wanted to frame me." Kennedy rolled his eyes then sidled to Inspector Tade. "You can see that your colleague is the one who did this. Thank God I don't delete chats. That's how I would have been framed."

"I said It's not possible." Olumide stuck his hand into his pocket, pulled out his phone and opened his twitter page. He stuck his phone in Kennedy's face and scrolled up and down really fast. "Can you see it? I don't have such chats. I don't belong to such groups."

"Well, I guess this case is solved then." Inspector Tade said.

"No. No, it's not. I need to find out who opened this chat and who sent these pictures."

"Well, the chat did not magically appear on my phone. You added me, sent the pictures and got off the group."

"No, it can't be me. It can't be my account. Somebody else must have done it."

Olumide stared at his phone again. The username and display picture matched his but it was not his. He could bet his life on the fact. He would never ever have done that. And he couldn't imagine that Romola would have done that. In fact, it was impossible. At that time, she did not have access to his phone. She had been kicked out of his life.

"See, let me follow you, so you'll confirm this. Because I cannot suffer for what I did not do." Kennedy clapped his hands then held his open palms in the air, as a sign of freedom. Kennedy followed Olumide's account.

Olumide watched his notification page and sure enough a blue circle appeared on the inbox icon. He clicked on it and received a follow request from Kennedy's page. He accepted the request.

"This isn't possible."

"But you've seen it with your own eyes."

"I would never send that picture to anybody."

The picture had been meant for his eyes alone. And he would have deleted it. Eventually. But it was still on his phone now.

"Hmm, na so. That after sending it, you put your page on private so that you would not be implicated."

"That's not why I did that." His voice strained against his itchy throat producing a rasp sound.

It made sense now. Why so many people tagged his account after Romola' s pictures exploded online. He had not understood and he thought it had to do with the incident at the house warming because many influential people had been there. There were no journalists— he'd made sure of that. But there were a few bloggers, mostly friends of his sisters. But it had all come together. It explained why there was barely any context given when Romola's pictures flooded the internet. And if so many people tagged him, then, it meant they thought he was responsible. That he was responsible for the downfall of the woman he loved and he'd cost her so many things.

"But, it's not possible." Olumide's stomach warred against his ribs. Waves of nausea, rising and falling against the wall of his skin. "I have to find the person who sent this. It wasn't me."

Kennedy tapped his shoulder. "I believe the man you are looking for is really yourself. Now, get out of my office before I press charges against you."

Olumide turned on Kennedy. "Well, there is still the part you played in distributing these pictures. Don't think you'll get off so easily."

With those words, he stormed out of the room and if anybody had tried to hold him, he would probably have slammed his hand into their head.

(Note: There would be no other update for the rest of this week. 🥺)