Yemisi
Bonn, Germany

Monday arrived as quickly as I had wanted it to. It was a weekend full of tension. Barrister Peret never for once picked my call or answered any of my numerous text messages. Not only did I find that snobbish act irritating, but it was also worrisome as well.

I wondered why he would treat me like that when he was the reason I came here in the first place. I was aware that his wife suffered a terminal illness but he owed it to me to at least drop a response no matter how little it was. He had promised to take care of me and Karen. He made the promise unprovoked.

He was just one irresponsible act away from being closely monitored by my private assistant in Nigeria, Alberts.

Christopher on the other hand didn't come back after that morning he dropped the note. I was suppressing the urge not to be mad at him because he deemed it fit to communicate with me in the first place but I missed him and hoped that he was okay.

Myron being the prim and proper lady that she always was had arrived on time. I was ready so we drove to the Bonn police station. I made sure to dress like a lawyer and carried my ID with me just in case.

When we got to the police station, I took a deep breath. Myron noticed I was a bit nervous but didn't want to ask verbally because she believed that I couldn't possibly be feeling that way when I had talked her out of being nervous four days ago.

I sprayed a little more cologne.

We walked in.

I studied the officers present at the front desk and noticed that the ones I had been troubling on that day were not present except for one of them and he recognized me because his middle finger twitched. I cleared my throat, choosing to remain focused.

"Good day, I am Barrister Yemisi Roberts, and here with me is..."

"Barrister Myron Tyoden."

"Good day madams. How may we be of help to you today?" The officer who recognized me had put a bit of stress on the today. He forced a smile.

There was a strong urge to wink at him for bullying's sake but I had to remind myself of my purpose for being here. Lawyers had no time for jokes.

"You would help a great deal if you could tell us of the whereabouts of one of your colleagues, Officer Geoffrey Lepdung." having to call him an officer of the law made bile rise in my throat speedily. That vile limping bastard.

"And may I ask why?"

"He's a rapist and a murderer. He raped a little girl who lived with her grandmother in Bradenburg, an area that a few members of your police force usually patrol at night. He raped her till she died and that of course is not his first time of committing such a grievous crime, " Myron explained.

I knew there was a reason I liked Myron so much. At first, I wanted to stop her from being so straightforward for fear that she would mention my sister but I realized I didn't have a right to do that.

Besides we had introduced ourselves as lawyers so we didn't have to lie. We were not detectives in disguise who were thirsty for information. It was a fact we knew and we had to say it with a good amount of authority.

"Look—"

"We are not looking, officer. You do the looking and you would see for yourself that unseriousness is not one of the attributes we possess and it's certainly not an impression you should have about us. Now, where is Officer Geoffrey Lepdung, and tell us all you know about him."

Immediately the officer's countenance transformed into a frightened one. He knew I was right. Even the last time I visited, it wasn't as though I said something stupid. I'd inquired for the right information only that I soiled it with a little bit of redundant nagging. Quickly, he swallowed and blinked even.

"I-I don't know where he is ma'am. None of us are aware. Truthfully, he has been absent for quite some time and the last time we saw him was that night patrol at Bradenburg you spoke about indeed. When we were done with our duty in the area, he had a smile on his face as usual but I saw a bit of a bloodstain on his shirt so I asked how that came about and he said he killed an armed robber he had spotted and then he told us that he was having a headache and would not be able to stay for the entire night. Ever since we never saw him and we tried to check on him at home but he was absent."

"Where does he live?" Myron and I asked at the same time.

"Somewhere in Berlin."

"Why doesn't he stay here since he works here?"  my blood was raging hot.

"He says it's more rewarding for him to reside in Berlin and now that I think of it, the fact that he used the word 'rewarding' is questionable."

"Indeed it is. Give us the address."

He did as told and gave me the piece of paper. I read through in two seconds and nodded in satisfaction. It had the details we needed.

"Thank you for cooperating with us," Myron said in my stead because I did not bother.

We left.

***

"When are we going to Berlin?" Myron asked me.

I didn't answer for a moment because I was unsure. Christopher was back in my life now so I could not just embark on such journeys without letting him know.

"Maybe in a week, " I answered after a poor estimation.

Myron didn't say anything in agreement or otherwise. She only stared in a particular direction as her hands stiffened on the steering wheel, seemingly not to have been attentive enough to hear what I'd just said. "Myron, " I called a little louder. "What are you looking at?"

"Yemisi..." she said, her attention still fixed on whatever had caught it. "I just saw a limping man walk down that direction, " she pointed towards a restaurant on the farther side of the road.

"And? Are we just going to conclude it's him?"

"His back frame looks like that of a young man. Someone who could most possibly be Geoffrey. We shouldn't lose chances."

My heart lept. What could he be doing close by the police station though? Did the officer lie to us? Did they know of his atrocities and did wonderfully well at hiding it?

"Damn..." I looked in the direction in which she looked and just afar off, I saw a man at a distance limp as he walked into a seemingly dark alleyway across the restaurant and disappeared. "We can't drive into that small space so we should chase him!"

And we picked up the pace immediately after we had found a manageable, decent place to stop the car. Myron was ahead of me. He walked pretty fast for a limping man but I was thankful that I had worn a flat pair of shoes and trousers that my legs could move freely in. It made the sprinting easier for someone like me.

I made sure to keep on the lane as the wind blew past my face unprovoked. Thankfully there weren't many vehicles in sight so we weren't constituting any nuisance. Myron was swinging her arms by her sides violently, the movement of her hair as she ran was quite the mystery. I was doing my best to stay close to her.

I was not so much of a good athlete but this time around,  I couldn't tell if it was my average ability that had depreciated quickly or Myron was the one who had rented the limbs of a cheetah.

My phone vibrated against my pocket. It wasn't the right time to pay my phone any attention because I desired to catch the bastard but Christopher was equally important.

I stopped in my tracks, breathing heavily with pain hinged in my ribs. I checked the text message that appeared on my screen and indeed it was from him.

What I had expected to read was a text telling me that he was doing great, I needed not to worry or he would be back soon but what I read shocked me too much. I wasn't prepared.

Irene claims to be pregnant with my child.

I read it, again and again, to be sure that it wasn't my inner eye working ahead of my physical eyes, that my mind wasn't overworking itself and that I wasn't dreaming.

But it was the same text.

I tried to imagine the things that must have gone through his mind as he sent the text or even as Irene told him that.

Yet, he still thought it proper to tell me about it first and that spoke volumes. Somehow, I realized that I appreciated it. A lot. It meant that he needed me above any other thing and was willing to hold me firmly by the hand no matter how easy it was to slip away.

He wanted to trust me and I had to try to trust him in return. He was stuck but I couldn't help but think of the possibility.

What if she was indeed pregnant with his child?

Chris never debunked the allegation that he had sex with her at the alehouse because he was heavily drunk and wouldn't know. There was no way I could cope if it was true but right now since it wasn't a fact, I had to stay by my husband's side.

It was obvious that Irene was working hard to keep Christopher by her side and this was only just one of her numerous wiles but It was up to us to let it have its effect or not. The only thing in between was the wisdom in finding out.

Still, that didn't stop my head from aching. The crashing noise of the few speeding cars added to the cacophony of noises that affected my mind. My head was spinning with thoughts, emotions, and burdens. The weight of the world was on my shoulders.

How many more turbulences could I withstand?

I didn't know how long I had been standing in the same spot, by the mailbox post to be precise but it was adequate (since she ran fast) for Myron to return from her chase after realizing that I had stopped running behind her.

"The limping man wasn't Geoffrey. I felt so embarrassed to see that it was a high school student instead." she clasped her knees with her hands, panting.

"I'm relieved. It would have been worse if it was him." I said absentmindedly. If it was him, I would felt bad for not taking my sister's case a bit more to heart but I couldn't kill myself. I was already trying hard enough.

"Why did you stop the chase though? Are you okay?" she touched my shoulder lightly.

I was glad that I wasn't crying without my consent. That way, I could keep myself together moderately. Tears were a betrayal. Although I could confide in Myron to an impressive extent, this was just too heavy for me to share.

"I'm not okay, Myron, and I'm afraid it's going to last a while."

"Is it very bad? Like...is it going to affect our investigation?"

"I'm afraid..." I swallowed. "Perhaps it will."