Yemisi
Lagos, Nigeria

"Hold on, Yemisi. How are we going to ask the wardens or the authorities for access to the surveillance cameras? We don't even have a clear description of the rapist guy. " Karen asks me as soon as we arrive at the prison yard.

"That shouldn't be hard. We'd just have to squeeze some more information from the ones behind bars, especially the one-eyed guy. It will be foolish to think that the one-eyed guy didn't catch a glimpse of his accomplice. All we have to do is ask him precise questions so he can say something tangible."

Karen nods, seeing sense in my reasoning. Shortly, we step into the prison premises after letting the warden on duty know the people we are here to see. Right before we reach the cell, Karen grabs me by the arm, making me face her. I'm fazed and confused by her action.

"What is it?"

"I know you to a large extent, Yemisi, and I know what you can do. I know you are about to yell at those guys in the cell or cause a scene. Still, please, take it easy. Don't be hard on those guys. You won't gain anything from yelling—not even a chunk of information."

"Damn, Karen. You sound so ridiculous." I remove her hand from my arm. "Those bastards don't deserve nice treatment. I wish I could even slash a knife through their throats if they conceal anything from me."

"You are difficult, Yemisi. You seem to forget that I'm equally aware of everything they did to your sister. I know how severely they have to pay for their actions. Still, they are the only ones we can approach to help us find the other rapists. I'm not asking you to be nice, dramatic, or fake. Still, you don't have to yell either because it is unnecessary. I didn't have to yell before they gave me the information."

"But...I can't stand them. I really can't." I can understand Karen's point, but my heart aches.

"I have an idea of the anger you are feeling right now, Yemisi," Karen rests her arm on my shoulder. "Still, you can be calm if you choose to. You just have to act like you are in charge. It has always been your case to deal with, so the mere sight of you would make them tremble because you have their fate in your hands. All you have to do is compose yourself in that manner."

"Hmm, " I sigh. "Okay then. Thanks. We should go in."

I stomp my foot quickly against the terrace until we get to the cell.

The warden guarding the prison cell lets us in without requesting our identity because he knows we show up occasionally to interrogate the criminals.

Once the two criminals see us, they get up from the cemented, bare floor where they have been dozing off. They begin to adjust their trousers properly. The one-eyed guy dares to remove a boogie from his nose. Call me cranky, but Lord knows I'm minutes away from losing my mind. Every little thing is a trigger for the anger in me.

Karen and I take a seat on the bench while the two remain on their feet, their backs leaning on the wall. They are trying their hardest to avoid our deadly stares—especially mine—that's if Karen is even frowning at all.

"Word got to me two days ago about one of your accomplices who stopped by the prison yard to see one of you." I stare at the one-eyed guy. "I also believe that you must have caught a glimpse of what he looked like to be able to decipher which one of your accomplices it was. At least your only functioning eye must be useful to an extent. First, tell me, where did you see him?"

"I was on the field and was about to start working when I felt someone tap on my shoulder front behind. I saw a guy wearing sunglasses. I knew it was one of us when he started speaking and talked about turning himself in. I tried to find out which one of us it was by looking at his lips while he spoke, but I couldn't find such details. The sunglasses made it tough for me to find out who he was."

"Hmm. He was wearing sunglasses, you say?" I jot down.

"Yes," he confirms.

"Tell me that you were at least able to see what he was wearing."

"Well, yes. He dressed casually. I think he was wearing a green or a blue shirt. I don't know which color it was precisely between the two. He was wearing black jeans and oh, yes! He wore a face cap too. It was black.

"Hmm," I continue writing the details down.

"And why could you not tell me these things when I came last week?" Karen asks him.

"I don't know," he confesses.

"How about his voice? What does he sound—" the ringtone from my phone cuts my speech rudely. I nearly cuss out for forgetting to put my phone on silent mode during an investigation. Karen gives me a nod, signaling that it's okay for me to pick the call. I step out of the cell quickly to receive the call.

After seeing the name of the person calling on the screen, I know I can't dismiss the call because it's coming from one of my mentors in the Law profession, Barrister Peret—a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. More importantly, it's always worthwhile talking to him because whenever he calls me like this, he discusses matters that always help me in one significant way. I know I can trust him.

"Good afternoon, sir. How may I be of help to you?"

"I have an assignment for you, Barrister Yemisi,"  he says in his usual gravelly tone. I can imagine him with his grey beards and crescent-shaped spectacles, sitting behind his office desk, throwing orders.

"Err...I'm quite busy right now so—"

"I understand. Trust me when I say I do. I know you are busy with a couple of cases at the moment, and you have court trials to function at, so it might seem too much for you to handle, but this particular assignment is, in a way, affiliated to your sister's case."

A pause. My heart trembles for a moment. Barrister Peret knows how to get me. He knows I can't say no.

"That's the issue, sir. I'm working on my sister's case at the moment. Right now, as I speak, I am at the prison with my colleague, Karen. We are questioning the rapists since word got to us that one of the accomplices is planning to turn himself in, and we must find out which one of them it is."

"Hmm. But will you believe me if I tell you that this assignment I am about to give you might take you to the next step? This assignment might help you find one of the culprits that are still roaming the earth and doing evil."

I contemplate for a moment. Finding one of the culprits honestly seems more important than looking for someone who will report himself very soon. Still, the fact that it's not sure that I will find one of the culprits makes me hesitant.

"I believe you, sir, but right now, I have to be on the lookout for this guy who says he wants to report himself."

"Leave that to me. Since he plans on reporting himself, then I can always work with your colleague to be on the lookout. More importantly, I have to stay back because I need to take care of my wife. She has a terminal illness. I know I shouldn't be giving you my case to handle, but I have a strong feeling that it might be of help to you too."

"Okay. Then I'll do this assignment for you. I'm sorry about your wife's condition too. By the way, I just heard you say something about staying back. Does that mean this assignment would involve me traveling out of the country?"

"Yes."

"Alright. So where am I traveling to?"

"You would be traveling to Germany."

"Germany?!"