Dé Nwachukwu had never felt as angry as he felt that morning. He was breathing fire and every now and then he would stand up and pace round the living room.
His friends and fellow leaders: Dé John and Pa Kenneth tried to sooth him by quoting parables and words of encouragement. But Dé Nwachukwu was hardly listening.
"My daughter! My Joy! Almost killed...almost raped!" he kept on lamenting
"The key word is almost my friend...the gods didn't let that happen" Dé John said wisely. He was the most traditional of the three men and had voiced his disapproval concerning the crusade right from the beginning.
But this morning Dé Nwachukwu was not in the mood. "To hell with the gods!" he snapped. He could remember vividly how his daughter had looked, her face swollen from the impact with the tree, her lips bleeding and her eyes wide with fear. It drove him mad.
He sighed then repeated himself "to hell with the gods!!! They misled us in thinking Okudili was the killer but now there's another one in our midst".
"It must be a copycat...we'd get him very very soon" pa Kenneth spoke up and managed to stop Dé Nwachukwu from walking about. "My friend, let's be thankfull that your daughter is still alive, she was not raped and she's healthy" Pa Kenneth adviced
Dé Nwachukwu agreed but He shuddered as he thought about how close his daughter had almost been raped. "I have to take her to the hospital for check up.....a really good hospital not the clinic we have here"
"I'd only hope she can recognise the person" Pa Kenneth said after some time.
"No" Dé Nwachukwu sat down finally "she can't recognize him, he had a mask on... A face mask....My fellow elders you know what this means? Okudili was not responsible for the others...he was set up"

.·.·.·.·.·
Amara sat on the bed beside her younger sister.
Joy was still resting and the pain killers had lulled her into a deep sleep. Amara was really shaken to the core and she knew she couldn't stand it if anything happened to her sister.
She listened intently to the voices coming from the parlour. Her mind immediately drawing a mental picture of the European.
Yes if Steve was indeed the devil then it was high time they set him up before he hurt someone else.

.·.·.·.·.·
Osi was 26 today. It was his birthday. The day didn't feel special, instead he had woken up with a bad feeling. Like a grey cloud hung over his head.
He needed to see Amara.
Pastor Batholomew came in just as Osi was contemplating leaving the house. He had been holding onto the the house key and thinking if he should leave it in the flowerpot as usual.

"Pastor...where you thinking of going out?" Pastor Batholomew asked him as he shrugged off his coat.
"Yes...I wanted to see someone else"
"Hmm...That may not be such a good idea..at least not now" pastor Batholomew unknotted his tie and Osi wondered where he had suited up to so early in the morning.
"Why?" He asked him
"Because our people can look at it and decide you're behind the crimes, especially as you stayed behind. They would build imaginary bridges and link you to the killings.They won't remember you came just this previous week and that you are associated with me"
"Pastor...I'm still not getting you...is there something I'm missing? What happened?"
"Oh...you didn't hear!" He hung his coat on one of the chair and approached Osi. He lowered his voice "The killer struck yesterday"
"What!" Osi was shocked. Although he knew the killer was still on the loose but still he was shocked.
Pastor Bartholomew went on, apparently oblivious to Osi's reaction. "It seems Okudili was innocent after all...or at least innocent of crimes of this nature"
"Who did he kill" Osi asked breathlessly. The truth was he was tired of seeing and hearing of dead bodies. The pictures from the candle night still had some lingering effects on him.
"She's still alive; she's in the hospital, that's where I went from Church when her father called me. She's a very lucky girl"
"Thank God" Osi was suddenly excited. The killer must have made a mistake, probably hundreds of mistakes. The thing was even with a careful and well planned murder, there could be as many as 99 things or as few as a single detail that could go wrong. But now something new had happened, the killer had struck and he hadn't been able to kill, hadn't raped her too. He must have attacked out of desperation or maybe he thought the opportunity was too good to pass up.
He would need to speak to the girl. Whoever she was she was extremely favoured and she would have little important details that can help crack this case once and for all.
"Who's the girl...have I met her before?" Osi asked again, rather impatiently this time.
Pastor Batholomew sat down and began rolling his shirt sleeves to the elbows. When he didn't meet Osi's eyes, the pastor began to panic.
"Her injury is not life threatening, it's not really serious. She was slammed into a tree...and when I saw her I thought-"
Osi interrupted Pastor Bartholomew "pastor who is the person? Who was attacked?"
"Her name is Joy-"
"Wait...Joy?! Amara's younger sister?" Now he was really shocked and panicking
Pastor Batholomew was equally surprised "yes...you know her?"
Osi flashed back and remembered Joy handing him the bar soap after making the impression of the key, he remembered Joy listening intently as he went through a plan, remembered her witty humour and sharp mouth.
He earnestly hoped she wasn't traumatized and he prayed her spirit was not broken.
Pastor Batholomew was looking at him like he was waiting for an answer to the question Osi couldn't even remember.
He had just one thing on his mind now and he asked pastor Batholomew "pastor which hospital is she in?"

.·.·.·.·.·

The hospital was on the outskirts of the Amaife on the other end, between the village and the main town. When Osi located the place he wondered if the hospital was Government owned because it sure didn't look like a private hospital.
It took few minutes and some serious explanation to the extremely thin nurse Lady at the reception.
If Dracula had been a woman and was exposed to the sun for too long she probably would have been a doppelganger to this woman.
She also had a foul mood to accompany her looks.
She observed Osi with her head bent slightly so she could look at him above her glasses. She sneered when he introduced himself as a pastor who was a close family Friend.
"You'll need to come back" she pointed at a piece of paper attached to the wall. It read: Visitation hours: Mon-Sat: 01:00pm- 4:00pm
"Please I really need to see her. It is very important, please I won't waste time..I request for just five minutes....pleeeaasse"
Maybe she wasn't that bad after all because she studied him for some seconds and led the way without saying anything. Osi followed her.
They ascended a flight of steps and Osi couldn't help but wonder how injured Joy would be. Pastor Batholomew had contradicted himself, first indicating the bruising was horrible but later he had said she looked okay and wasn't really hurt.
Osi decided the pastor didn't want him to worry but he prayed that indeed the injury would be minor.
He thought about Dé Nwachukwu and Amara and wondered how they were holding up.

.·.·.·.·.·
Amara was surprisingly holding it well. Or so it would seem, the truth was on a closer look she was barely holding back from bursting into tears.
Seeing her sister receiving a drip in her arm and her face bandaged caused her chest to tighten whenever she looked at Joy lying helplessly on the bed.
Her sister was in a deep sleep was literally filled with painkillers.
Dé John and Pa Kenneth who had accompanied them had left the hospital about an hour ago.
Amara sat down on the chair beside the bed. She held her sister's free hand. The doctors had said her skull was not cracked and no serious damage had been done. But staring at her sister's swollen lips and the purple bruise on her forehead and she was almost moved to tears again.
"Joy, Joy if you can hear me its alright...you're going to be okay" she whispered gripping her hand tightly.
The door opened and a mean looking nurse stepped in. Amara thought she had probably come to change the intravenous bag but then she turned and addressed someone behind her.
"Five minutes...be snappy"
"I'm grateful..thank you"
She recognized Osi's voice before she saw him and her mood lightened considerably.

.·.·.·.·.·
After announcing the time, the vampire looking nurse left the room a bit stiffly after she emphasized on the limited time again.
"How's she?" Osi asked
They both looked at Joy in silence.
"She's alright...she would get better" Amara said confidently. She had decided to make a conscious effort to be positive.
"That's the spirit...I don't have much time here. I just need you to explain to me exactly as it happened"
"Actually I wasn't around. I was with Oluchi when Joy left me earlier with some of her friends, she said they'll escort each other home. Only for me to hear she was attacked"
"Did you speak to her? Did she tell you anything she noticed? Anything at all"
"No...She's been sleeping since, she only woke up for about two minutes and slept back almost immediately."
Osi decided he would go and check out the intended crime scene. There was every possibility he would find some kind of clue. He would need to talk to Joy also. He hoped she had seen the attacker even if for just a second or maybe she had recognized the voice or maybe a distinct smell.
"Did you find out anything about Paul?" Amara asked him invading his thoughts and he blinked.
"Paul..?"
"Yes, Oluchi's brother"
Because he could read her eyes clearly and see the meaning, he thought it best to tell her right away. "Actually Paul was around, I saw him myself and spent time talking with him. There's no way he's behind this attack"
Amara nodded but she seemed unconvinced "pastor if there's anything I've learnt recently, it's not to put a limit on the capacity of man's wickedness.
He nodded. She was right. If indeed Paul was the killer all it would require is dedication and speed and he would get into the village from the other end before Osi stepped foot in Amaife.
Or maybe he had an accomplice? He thought about mentioning it to Amara but decided not to. He would need to visit the scene immediately first.
He had about 3 minutes left and decided to share a short prayer with the sisters.
His phone rang as he was about to begin; distorting his thoughts and he silenced it immediately. Although Joy was obviously in a deep sleep and the ringtone would definitely not wake her.
The caller I.d read: Bukky.
"Hello?" he whispered
"For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow...." The phone must have been on loud speaker because he could hear Ovie and Gregory's voice over the line.
He had even forgotten today was his birthday. Gregory seemed to be going off key and he smiled genuinely for the first time that day.
His friends asked him when he was coming back to PortHarcourt and they assured him they had a nice gift for him.
He thanked them and didn't mention Joy's attack when they asked about the progress of the investigation. "I believe I'm making progress" he replied" "...I'd like you to make some research for me about a crime that took place in Ukraine....Ovie are you there?"
Ovie grunted in reply and Osi rambled on apparently satisfied.
"No problem I'd send whatever I dig up as an attachment" Ovie assured him "wait this is about the white man right?"
"Yes! I never really liked him, he's too nice that something is definitely fishy." Ovie answered his own question with the conclusion.
When he ended the call, his five minutes was already up. He expected to see the nurse poke her face into the room and drive him out any minute from now.
"Today is your birthday?" Amara asked
"Yes, how did you know?"
"Your phone is quite loud and I heard them singing for you...they're nice people. Happy birthday"
"Oh...thanks" He moved closer to Joy for a close up inspection.
There was no piece of skin under her fingernails which probably meant she hadn't been able to defend herself and fight back...the killer might be very strong. He remembered how Steve had lifted him easily off the ground days ago.
The doctor finally arrived. She touched her watch impatiently and gestured with her head signalling Osi that the five minutes was over.
The time was 11:45am. He decided he would be back in the next 1 hour, 15 minutes by 2 in the afternoon.
But right now he left the hospital without any resistance.
The truth was he needed to find out how the devil attacked. It looked like impulse, like he hadn't really planned it thoroughly and Osi could only hope that he would make an important discovery.