Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Theo called Bintu to change his bedspread, after which he went to the bar to have a drink. After he'd had a few glasses, he called the bar attendant.

“How much is my bill?” he asked.

“It is five hundred naira, sir,” the bar attendant said.

Theo dipped his hand into his back pocket but could not find his wallet. He frisked his body again.

“Pardon me," he said. "I think I left my wallet in the lodge. Let me fetch it.”

The bar attendant obliged.

Theo stumbled over Bintu in the passage hurrying away with a bedspread in her hands.

“Have you changed my bed sheet?” he asked.

“I have done it, sir.” She briskly left through the passageway.

Theo gave a second look at her before he went inside his lodge. He looked for the wallet that had brought him to the room and could not find it. At first, the wallet's disappearance seemed like a joke, but after he had turned the entire room upside down and yet could not find the wallet, his heart trembled.

“The wallet holds my life,” he said in genuine frustration. He was not sure where exactly he'd left his wallet. His concern was not the money he'd lost, but the vital documents inside the wallet. His countenance turning sour, he sat back to think about where he could have left his wallet.

In the evening, Theo sat quietly on the sofa in Paula’s living room. His eyes were fixed on the television, but he paid no attention to the moving images playing out on the screen. Paula, who was having a drink with him, called his attention to almost all the details on TV. He had not gotten over the pain of his missing wallet.

She noticed his absent mindedness. “Is there something wrong, Theo?”

“I am fine,” he said.

“Are you sure?" she insisted, "Because you don’t look like it this evening.”

“It is just a little headache, I will be fine.”

“I should get you a pain relief? I have them in the house.”

“You don’t have to bother, I will be fine.”

“No,” she insisted and went inside to fetch him the drug.

Not too pleased with what he was viewing on TV, Theo picked up the remote and changed the channel. He was greeted with shock at a brief announcement about him on the next channel. He wiped his face with his hand. He could not believe he had been declared missing by his family. He quickly switched over to the previous channel as Paula walked back to the living room with the drug and a glass of water for him. He took the drug, but he never got better. The image of Nkiru haunted him right in his seated position. The feeling intensified until he could no longer hold it in.

He clutched his head in aggression. “Nkiru, I apologize!”

Paula was greatly afraid and did not know what to do. “Theo! Theo!”

Paula’s call brought him back to consciousness.

“What?” He stared confusedly at Paula who was unbuttoning his shirt due to his heavy sweating.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yes. I think the drink is making me nap.”

“You have barely even sipped it.”

“I think I have a fever.”

“I suggest you see the doctor right away.” She sat beside him.

“I think what I need now is some rest and I will be okay.”

Paula led him to her room and he fell asleep. The next day, he woke up feeling much better.

Walking into the room, Paula smiled at him. “You are up. Did you sleep well?”

She rubbed her hands affectionately on his shoulders.

“Yes, I did," he said. "And you did not bother to wake me.”

“You needed some rest, and that was the most important thing.”

“Thank you for your help.”

Paula prepared a warm bath for him. After bathing, he settled for breakfast—bread and tea with fried eggs—with her at the dining table.

“Thank God you are better now.” Paula’s smile radiated much excitement in the air.

“I have you to thank for your concern,” he replied, smiling back at her.

Paula had been unable to get her mind off the name Theo had uttered the previous night. "Who is Nkiru?”

“Nkiru?” Theo asked, gaping at her. 'Nkiru' was the last name he expected to hear from Paula. He wondered if she had been searching through his documents. Could she perhaps have taken his wallet?

“Where did you get that name?” he asked.

“You made mention of the name yesterday," she said. "And you were apologizing to the person.”

Nkiru was one person Theo never wished to disclose to anybody, especially Paula. Nkiru to him was a secret and should remain a secret.

“I don’t remember mentioning any such name,” he denied.

He knew his response did not sound convincing enough to Paula, so he added, “Nkiru was a girl I knew in the past.”

“Your former girlfriend?”

Theo had to consent to her, whichever way, so they could close the chapter before his emotions began haunting him again. He knew those emotions lurked around the corner, waiting to overpower him once again.

“Does it have to do with a wrong you did in the past?” Paula pressed on.

“Paula, please don’t let us discuss this," Theo said. "It is an event in the past I don’t wish to speak about.”

“Okay.” Letting her curiosity slide, she changed the topic. “Have you found your wallet?”

“No.”

“I noticed the missing wallet is responsible for your ill-health.”

“It is the second time my property has gotten missing in that lodge. First, it was fifty thousand bucks, now it is my wallet. I have vital things in there.”

“I will advise you to report the matter to the hotel management and sue for theft.”

“I don’t want to make trouble with the hotel. It is my seventh month there.”

“Or better still, you move into my apartment. It is safer here.”

“Thank you, I will think about it.”

They focused on their meal and spent the next few moments gazing and smiling at each other.

The next day, Theo called at the hotel manager’s office. He was yet to get over his missing wallet and the danger it portended to him if not found. The manager welcomed him with a handshake and offered him a seat.

“I am here to make a formal report about a missing wallet in my lodge,” Theo said.

“Have you checked properly, sir?” the manager asked.

“This is the second time something has gotten missing in my lodge.”

“This is the first report I have ever received about a missing item in the lodge."

“I have vital documents in that wallet, and that is my major concern.”

“This is serious matter,” the manager lamented.

“I suggest you find out from your staff if they found the wallet.”

“I am sorry, sir,” the manager apologized. “I promise to look into the matter.”

Theo left the office after he had finished talking with the hotel manager.

The CID men had started their search mission in the federal capital metropolis over the past two weeks and they were yet to make progress. The public announcements on the local radio and TV stations had not yielded the desired result.

Nkiru, her parents, her mother-in-law and Mr Akintola visited the police station to hear the progress report on the search for Theo. They were at the inspector’s office when a call came through from the federal capital. Everyone became apprehensive, hoping for a positive report from that end.

“Hello

” The inspector fidgeted about the confines of his office as he answered the call. “What is the present situation in Abuja? Any progress?”

Nkiru, the most agitated of them all, held her mother-in-law in anticipation. She could decipher the news would not be palatable. It turned out so and they were all disappointed.

“No progress," the inspector said into the phone. "You have to carry out a search in every hotel. I give you two more weeks. If there's still no progress we will have no choice but to ask you back to base.”

He ended the conversation.

“No hope yet, inspector?” Nkiru asked, looking into the man’s eyes, praying he told her the contrary. Her mother and mother-in-law consoled her as she burst into tears.

A jeep halted in front of a bank, and six fierce men hopped out of it. They were well armed, and had come to rob the bank. People scampered to safety at the release of the first gunshot into the air. In a split second, the busy street turned into a deserted enclave. Four of the men burst into the banking hall, and two stood guard outside. In no time, the four who'd gone inside returned with black polythene bags stuffed with money. They shot sporadically into the air as they negotiated their escape. But the robbers did not go without an opposition from the police; it was indeed a feeble effort due to the superior firearm of the robbers. They intensified their shooting to keep the police at bay. They hopped into their parked jeep and drove off. One of the robbers was left behind due to a bullet wound he'd sustained. He lay on the ground gasping for life until the police rounded him up.

Nkiru was yet to go to bed late in the evening. Her mother had called her to bed a couple of times, but to no avail. She refused accepting the suffering Theo's disappearance had brought her. She feared she was too young to be a widow because she was not sure what had befallen the father of her unborn child. She wondered how she would cope telling the child his father ran away owing to the lack of a child.

Her mother came in again and met her staring at the TV she was hardly even watching. She fell in and out of a nap instead.

The woman stood at a corner. “Nkiru, why are you so stubborn? Go to bed and rest.”

“I have heard you, mama," Nkiru said. "Leave me in peace. I am not a kid.”

The poor old woman realized she was provoking her more. She heaved a sigh and walked back inside, hoping Nkiru sorted herself out.

Nkiru stumbled upon breaking news on TV as she searched through the stations.

The men behind the Abuja robbery have been apprehended at their hideout in a hotel, the news said. One of the ladies in company of the robbers was arrested in possession of a wallet belonging to one Theophilus Nzeribe.

“Theophilus Nzeribe,” Nkiru repeated in apprehension. The mention of her husband's name rekindled her hope and she hurriedly called her mother.

“Theo’s name was mentioned on TV,” she announced.

The old woman thought her daughter had gone out of her mind because of the condition she'd left her in before going to bed.

“You don’t believe me, mama?” Nkiru asked. She could see disbelief written all over her mother's face.

The woman did not say a word. She did not know what to tell her daughter; she too was confused with the entire episode.

“Do you think I am going insane, mama?” Nkiru asked.

“Go to bed, my daughter,” her mother said. "It's too late in the night to be talking like this.”

“I can see you don’t believe me.”

“Tomorrow we shall talk about that. Please, go to bed.”

Nkiru knew her mother would not believe her no matter how much she tried to convince her. She obliged her request; hoping things would improve the next day. With the hope that the police had gotten a clue to find her husband, she savoured the possibility of seeing him until sleep came.

The next day, the same news about the recovered wallet of one Theophilus Nzeribe was repeated to the hearing of Nkiru’s mother.

The woman raised a debate about the news. “What could Theo’s wallet be doing in the hands of such a lady?”

Nkiru grew pensive. “I never thought of it myself.”

“How are we sure he has not been attacked by the robbers?”

“It is true, mama.”

“Are we sure it is your husband?”

Nkiru was beginning to get confused at all the possibilities brought up by her mother. Her mother suggested she call the inspector to get an accurate report. Nkiru quickly picked up her cell phone and rang the inspector.

In the evening, Nkiru, her mother and mother-in-law visited the police station. Mr. Akintola was also in their company. Nkiru had tried to reach the inspector on phone in the morning, but she could not get the man. The inspector was aware of the new development, but was yet to ascertain the true story as regards Theophilus and his recovered wallet. He had a closed door conversation with the CID men working on the case at the federal capital.

Everyone was eager to know the outcome of the inspector’s call. They all hoped he came back with a positive report.

“Has he been found?”

“No,” the man said, to everyone’s disappointment. “But they have found a lead. The police caught the hostess in possession of a wallet, and luckily Theo’s ID was found in the wallet. The lady in question confessed she stole the wallet from a lodge in the hotel where she works.”

“Thank God.” Everyone was relieved at the second part of the story. The news heightened Nkiru’s hope. She felt they were close to finding her husband.