"Joy what do you think of Paul?"
"Which Paul, Oluchi's brother?"
"Yes"
Joy shrugged "I used to think he was cool until yesterday...what got into him?"
"I don't even know. He really scared me"
"Have you told daddy?"
"Eh...please no o...you know how Dé Nwachukwu is" Amara replied her sister. Her father didn't joke with his daughters. Telling him was out of the question.
Both girls continued their dinner in silence. There were so many things to think about.

.·.·.·.·.
Osi walked back home with Bartholomew and Gregory. They had left Pa Kenneth's compound not long ago after deliberating about the crusade. The elders had requested they cancel the Vigil service tonight in honour of the fallen dibia and in order to avoid angering the gods further. Osi personally thought it was a load of hogwash but he could only hold his peace.
"Pastor what can you tell me about Steve..." He asked the pastor as they drew closer.
"Stevenson? The European?" Pastor Bartholomew sounded surprised.
"Yes"
"Why...what's wrong"
"I'm merely curious about him. I mean, to just get up and leave your country...in this case your continent and take another strange land as your home...it baffles me"
"Hmmm..." The pastor's expression said he knew the real reason Osi was 'curious'
"Well what can I say? He claims to be in love with African culture, specifically Nigerian Culture and more specifically Amaife...from our previous discussion coming down here wasn't really difficult as he doesn't have any wife or any family back in Ukraine."
"Hmmm...what do you think about his work; his research and all?"
"Well...he once brought a portion he had written about the spiritual lives of the people, he said he needed my input. He's a good writer and I have a feeling whatever book he writes about his experience would be a best seller...over there of course"
They had gotten to the entrance of the house already and they stopped.
"So...I'd advice you to rest, tomorrow we'll just kick off in the morning, let's forget about the Vigil tonight."
"No problem...I don't even know where you stay, I know you gave up your house for us." Osi asked his new friend as they shook hands.
"Oh, that's no problem. I have so many places to rest my head. But I'm living with my younger brother right now. I believe you met him the day you arrived"
"Yes, I can recall something like that"
"Okay have a good night"
"You too...take care Mr batholomew"

.·.·.·.·.·
The deacon was gone and it felt good to have more than enough bed space. Osi stretched his long body to the fullest as he stared blankly at the ceiling.
So many things were on his mind:
1. They had only three days remaining for the crusade.
2. He didn't feel they had really connected with the villagers and brought them closer to God.
3. The case of the serial rapist/ killer was beginning to give him sleepless nights.
He tried to decipher what he had found out so far:
1. The killer had started his rampage a month ago.
2. His first kill had been his stressor; something had snapped him to kill and unleashed the beast in him.
3. He had been romantically involved with Ozioma and she had been the first victim.
4. What had made him to rape and kill her so horribly?
5. He had enjoyed the act and had begun to hunt unsuspecting girls.
6. Was he selecting girls by random or he had a list or a specific target.
He frowned as he envisioned Amara's face suddenly. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts and her image from his mind.
7. The killer had access and probably wore second hand clothes and had given Ozioma the clothes as a present sometime back.
8. He was leaving behind pieces of material, at first as a blindfold but now Osi felt it was some kind of signature. Like the one he had found at the stream. He decided this was the ultimate clue. The one he needed to solve, the one that would bring clarity.
He still felt he could learn one or two from mama Ozioma. She had been interrupted the last time she wanted to speak to him. He made up his mind to pay her a visit tomorrow.

.·.·.·.·.·
Dé John arrived at his friend's compound very early in the morning. He banged the gate till a sleepy eyed Amara opened up for him.
"Don't tell me you're still sleeping?" He entered the compound.
"Dé good morning" she tried to stifle a yawn but failed.
The girl was beautiful. Even straight from bed in the morning. That was true beauty. He thought idly to himself while she hurried inside to call her father.
"Dé John... I knew it would be you" Dé Nwachukwu commented as he chewed on the stick and shook hands with his friend.
"My brother...anyone that looks up and sees a vulture flying and circling about must surely look down to find the cause"
Dé Nwachukwu frowned. Whenever his friend spoke like this then something was wrong, very wrong.
"Have you heard from the search party...any sign of the bloody Okudili?" he asked
"Hmmm..." Dé John shook his head sadly "I'm beginning to think that someone is harbouring him in our own village. Under our very nose!"
"Haba! Why do you think that...who could do such a thing?"
"Okudili struck again yesterday"
Dé Nwachukwu's mouth hung opened in shock.
"My God...."
"It's becoming something else I tell you"
"Wait...Who did he kill?"
"It seems he is now revisiting the mothers of his previous victims"
"Dé john, be direct and don't give me a heart attack!" Dé Nwachukwu scolded as his pulse and his voice rose.
"Mama Ozioma was killed last night. He entered her compound and strangled her to death."
"How are you sure it's Okudili?"

"Because the other half of the shirt we found at the dibia's shrine was tied round her neck"
"Was she...was she...?" Dé Nwachukwu didn't need to complete his question.
"Honestly I have no idea. she was naked from the waist down when I got there. She was supposed to host the market women tomorrow but because she's been mourning it was shifted to someone else. Mama Gladys only went to her place this morning to collect the remaining contribution money and she found the body"
"Where's Gladys now?"
"She's in my house. We can't afford to let this news spread like the last or else it would send everyone into panic"
Dé Nwachukwu was already on his feet. "But why...why has Okudili brought this kind of curse upon us...eeerrrm, Amara! I'm going out come and lock the gate"

.·.·.·.·.·
That morning Osi woke up as early as 5. Actually he hadn't really slept. There werre so many things on his mind and he couldn't sleep.
He engaged himself, praying in tongues that morning as he had his shower and made a jug of coffee. He strolled round the house just praying and singing and walked round the compound.
He did this for an hour and felt energized just like he had intended.
Bukky was the next to wake. She always woke up early because she was tasked with preparing breakfast and making preparations down for lunch. Osi deeply appreciated her efforts and the rumble in his stomach made him very happy to see her suddenly.
"Top of the morning to you...how was your night?" He asked her cheerfully.
She frowned in reply as she studied him with an intense gaze. "Osi let's leave this village...my spirit is not at rest here. I have a bad feeling"
"Woa!" He got up and placed his hands on her shoulder. "Where did that come from? Everything is fine, that's just the enemy trying to scare us away because he's scared...scared that we're winning this village for Christ and he's losing his grip"
But she didn't look convinced she frowned deeper. "Osi I had a dream. A very bad dream...please let's just leave this village, we're already divided"
"Divided? The deacon was never one of us in the first place and Samuel is returning today...wait what did you dream about?"
"Osi I dreamt...I dreamt you died"

.·.·.·.·.·
"It seems the dead has a way of attracting you" Dé Nwachukwu commented watching him with a suspicious look.
"I beg your pardon?" Osi didn't understand the question or the look either.
"Or you came to pray for her soul then?" Dé Nwachukwu asked. He had been tasked to stand outside because no matter how you tried to curtail it, news still spread, especially news of this kind. They couldn't afford any villager to come by for confirmation and stumble on the dead body.
Pa Kenneth and Dé john were talking to Gladys the hysterical woman who had discovered the dead body.
"I'm sorry sir, am I missing something?" Osi asked the elder. He was getting confused.
"You don't know then...why are you here?"
"I just have a couple of questions for Mama Ozioma concerning her daughter."
"Too bad she can't answer your questions..she was killed last night"
"What!" Osi was shocked. "By who...who did it?"
"The very same man that is wanted for the others...Okudili"
"Jesus...!"
"....was nowhere to be found when he was needed last night" Dé Nwachukwu said skeptically.
The door was slightly ajar and Osi studied the frame, running his fingers along the edge and studying the catch closely.
"What are you checking for?" Dé Nwachukwu asked him.
"For sign of forced entry...don't you think she would have raised the alarm and shouted for help if she found out that the person wanted for her daughter's murder was at the door?"
"Hmmm" Dé john looked around thoughtfully "she didn't scream...her neighbours aren't far away, they would have heard her otherwise"
"Exactly! Which means she probably knew her killer or atleast trusted him to an extent"
"So what are you saying...Okudili is not responsible?"
"I could be wrong...I hope I'm wrong but I don't think he's behind this one"
"Oh my God" Dé Nwachukwu rubbed his jaw tiredly "no one should hear this"

.·.·.·.·.·

Dé john came outside looking like a white bedspread. His face was pale as if he had just seen something traumatic.
He didn't notice Osi at first but hurried to the side and threw up.
"Take it easy friend...take it easy...what happened?" Dé Nwachukwu asked him softly as he patted his back.
"Okudili is a bastard and a devil...it shall not be well with him"
"What's wrong? where's Pa Kenneth?"
"He's still inside...its horrible..I never noticed it before, she was raped"
"My God!" Osi put his hands on his head.
"You mean in her elderly age she was raped like the others?" Dé Nwachukwu asked.
"No this is worse...he used a piece of wood...her pestle...imagine...pestle! What she used in pounding yam"
"My God!" Osi's legs turned to rubber and he felt like fainting. He didn't want to believe he was somehow responsible for her death.
"I'd like to see the scene. He may have made a mistake" he said slowly.
"Do so at your own risk." Dé john replied him "and send for pa Kenneth, we need to plan our next move and we need to act!"

Judging by Dé John's horrified reaction, Osi had an idea of the kind of eyesore that awaited him inside the house. A part of him was reluctant to look at the violated body of the woman he had set eyes on just the day before.
But a man's got to do what a man's got to do. He knew she had been killed for a reason and he could bet she knew whoever the killer was. It was up to him to search and observe and hope he would find answers.

He could hear voices coming from the parlour. Pa Kenneth was talking in a calm voice. He was speaking in his native dialect which Osi didn't understand but he guessed the elder was trying to calm down the woman who had to be Gladys judging by the muffled sobs coming from the parlour.
He avoided them and went straight to the room. He stopped at the door and scanned the room, purposely averting his eyes from the bed as he studied the room.
The first thing he noticed was that the room was a mess. Clothes were strewn about, the table was upside down and the little wooden drawer in the corner had been emptied and dumped on the floor.
He moved around gently, subconsciously edging away from the bed. He was not ready for that...not yet.
He decided the killer had turned the place inside out. He must have been searching for something. Or maybe he had instructed the woman to find whatever it was...after he had subdued her of course.
No, the set up of the room and the rate of the mess brought to mind the actions of a mad man. The killer had been searching for something...searching frantically for something important.
He looked around for 5 minutes but didn't see anything of interest. Maybe the killer had been looking for something that ties him to Ozioma...maybe a gift, who knows maybe the clothes he had given her or maybe a letter...a love letter with his identity...that sounded more like it!
Finally he felt the guilt wash over him as he studied the dead woman. She had been killed in such a gruesome way and it was his fault. It was all his fault.
He could see the pestle on one side of the bed and thankfully someone had covered her body with the bed sheet. Still he had an idea of what lay underneath as the whole region was stained red and it wasn't zobo.
He felt his guilt turning to anger. Whoever this person was he; Osi Azikiwe would not rest, would not sleep and he would not leave Amaife until the killer was exposed.
He made the solemn promise to the corpse before him.
.·.·.·.·.·

"I saw him! I saw Okudili. I saw the killer...he's hiding along the stream path!!!" Ezinne ran round the market square, screaming at the top of her lungs. She held an empty pot in her hands and she thrust it up to emphasize her point.
"I was going to fetch water but I saw him hiding in the bush drinking. I thought he would pursue me!"
"Where did you see him?" Someone asked from the growing crowd.
"Along the stream path, near the palm trees!"
"What are we waiting for? Let's nab the bastard!" Benedict shouted and was rewarded with a high spirited roar. They began marching towards the stream but they soon broke into a frantic race. None of them had any weapon apart from Benedict who had been on butchering duty and thus held a dangerous machete.
It didn't matter though, the sheer volume of the mob and their anger was enough weapon.

.·.·.·.·.·
The house had two rooms and a parlour which suprised Osi because from outside it looked like it was just a room.
The second room was smaller however and when he stepped in he knew it must have belonged to Ozioma.
This room had also been searched. It was even messier than the first. Her clothes had been dumped from the closet and the other furniture in the room: a small reading table had been pushed on its side.
Osi felt the killer hadn't found what he was looking for but he himself had no idea what 'it' was. Still he began to poke around praying for some kind of clue that would serve as an insight into the kind of life Ozioma had lived.
"Pastor...young pastor are you there?" Dé Nwachukwu called from outside.
"I'm in the second room. I'd be out soon" he replied as his eyes scanned a bunch of papers that must have fallen off the table.
He heard footsteps and turned just as Dé Nwachukwu entered. "I think you were wrong. It's Okudili that committed this crime"
"Why do you say so?" Osi stopped and observed the old man.
"Because he was spotted in the village just now...our youths are combing every corner for him as we speak"
"Hmmm...Who saw him?"
"One of our daughters going to fetch water...in fact it looks like he was ahead laying ambush for her but she spotted him first and ran away"
"Hmmm...So he's been in this village, but that doesn't mean he-"
"Look here boy, I like you that's why I'll tell you this...whatever theory you have its best you keep it to yourself, we're not buying it and frankly it would only put everyone in a state of panic"

"But it would be better they know the killer might still be out there so they can be security conscious and aware of the danger"
"The keyword is 'might' you yourself are not sure...is there a high possibility that Okudili is the killer?"
Osi nodded
"Then that's good enough" Dé Nwachukwu said dismissively

.·.·.·.·.·
"Ezinne calm down...calm down...I'm sure our youths have caught him, they are probably beating him to a pulp right now"
"Or forcing his rotten eggs down his throat" Oluchi added with so much venom that Amara winced.
"I just saw him hiding there...he must have been waiting for me, I didn't even know..if not that I heard him burp..."
"You heard him belch" Amara said with a frown "he was drinking then?"
"Yes...as usual"
"And I heard he killed Ozioma's mother last night."Oluchi whispered.
"I heard she was raped with fire wood" mama added her voice almost breaking down as she forced the words out of her mouth.
"So he plans to go for the mothers now? Okudili is very sick. I so much hate that beast, I wish he would suffer greatly....death is too lenient for him!" Amara's voice hardened.
The truth was mama Ozioma had been a very cheerful woman, always one to smile and talk to you when you bought something from her shop. The death of her daughter had taken some of the life out of her eyes and dimmed her spirit and now she was dead! She didn't deserve this. No one did.
"I heard pa Chisom got himself a gun. In case he comes for his wife" Ezinne commented.
(Chisom was the third girl to be killed the one who had been found in the stream.)
"I trust pa Chisom" Oluchi said standing up "I want to get water, who else is thirsty?"
"I'd like some. Stupid Okudili didn't let me fetch my water again" Ezinne said
The girls had gathered in Oluchi's house this time around. Joy had gone to a friend's house just a stone throw from there and that had been the main reason Amara had insisted to Ezinne they visit Oluchi. They had met mama on the way coming to the house and so they all converged in Oluchi's cramped compound.

There was no sign of Paul. Speaking of Paul....Amara leaned in so Oluchi wouldn't hear as she went inside the house.
"Do you know Paul has been in the neighbouring village for like two months now?"
"Are you serious...I thought it was Lagos"
"Me too..apparently he used to visit Chinaza's maternal home and one of her cousins recognized him during the burial"
"Poor Chinaza...we've lost a lot of girls to this beast" Ezinne said shaking her head.
"I just knew it had to be Okudili! Deep down everybody hated him, no girl ever gave him the chance but he loves women and that would have angered him a lot" mama said

"You just reminded me of something...the tall pastor asked me and I've been thinking since" Amara said.
"What is it?"
"Ezinne...you were the closest to Ozioma, if anyone can remember it would be you...can you recall her dating anybody few months back?"
"Hmmmm" Ezinne narrowed her eyes and frowned as she thought back.
"Not really...okay there was this man that used to give her clothes one time like that...you should remember now!"
"Yes I do..but I can't remember who the person was. Can you?"
Ezinne thought hard but she was already shaking her head slowly "no...she never told us..I can't count how many times I badgered her but she was tight lipped about his identity...I thought she really loved him then"
"Hmmm..."
"Why are you asking that all of a sudden? What did the pastor say?"
"He believes she dated the killer"
"No...I can assure you that Ozioma didn't date Okudili"
"How can you be so sure? Ozioma was a secretive person" mama added
"I'm sure because I have a letter...she gave me a love letter he wrote to her. She was scared her mother would see it and wanted me to keep it safe, Believe me Okudili can not pen what was written there"
"Paul!" Oluchi shouted her brother's name suddenly from inside the house.
Amara was too excited to notice "the letter...you have it?"
"Yes"
"Was it typed or handwritten"
"Typed ke? It was handwritten"
"Then we can check the handwriting"
"I'm not sire Okudili knows how to write sef so what would we be crosschecking?" Ezinne asked with a slight frown.
"Unless you think Okudili is not the killer!" Mama gasped as her eyes went wide.
"Of course not...I'm just curious. I'd like to find this clue, a part of my friend's memory and discover who it was that she loved so much and Left her heartbroken"
"How are you sure they broke up?" Ezinne asked, the frown deepening.
"Remember for like two days before her death she was a wreck, very sad and didn't come out but locked herself inddors and cried....I know because I stopped by once. It was very sad"
Oluchi appeared with a glass of water which she handed to Ezinne. She walked briskly and opened the main gate and looked both ways before locking it. When she returned she was out of breath.
"What's wrong?" Maama asked her
"Sometimes this my brother used to fall my hand" she complained shaking her head dismally.
"What did he do...I've forgiven him so don't worry" Amara assured her.
"No not even that...from the kitchen I noticed movement and saw this reflection of someone standing outside close to the gate. The way he was standing like he was eavesdropping on what you people were saying"
"Did you see who it was?"
"Not really, it happened fast, when I called out Paul? The person took off immediately which was strange"
"How long was the person standing there?" Ezinne asked
"I can't really say...but its probably nothing...I'm sure Paul was feeling bad about that incident and thought we were talking about it" Oluchi offered apologetically. Recently she wasn't as proud of her brother like she used to be.
"Is it possible for someone to hear us from outside?" Amara asked her brows drawn together in a serious expression.
"Honestly...I think so especially with the direction the wind has been blowing"
"Ezinne we need to see that letter now and I think you should be very very careful" Amara told her in a no nonsense voice.
"Now you're scaring me" Ezinne sounded worried
"Me too" Oluchi said
"Me three" maama added.