Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Theo lay on the bed in his lodge, holding the picture frame of his wife, and staring at it in retrospection. His heart grew troubled, and his mind wandered to the day he and Nkiru had made their marriage vow before God and man

“Theophilus Nzeribe, do you accept Nkiru as your wedded wife in good times and bad times till death do you part?”

“Yes I do,” Theo consented to the pastor's question.

“Nkiru, do you accept Theophilus Nzeribe as your wedded husband in good times and in bad times till death do you part?”

“Yes I do,” she consented.

“I hereby pronounce you husband and wife.”

Smiling at Nkiru, Theo unveiled her face and kissed her

Theo’s mind also wandered back to their honey moon at the Obudu Ranch...

The newlyweds played on the open field of lush green grasses of the hilly landscape of the ranch. They gazed at the beautiful mountain and the pillar of snow-white clouds settling at the peak of the mountain like a glorious crown. They took photos of the mountain. They also rode in the cable car at the Tinapa. Floating in the air inside the car, they kissed and cuddled in the new world they'd built.

Theo jolted out of the past and was faced with the reality of his actions. He realized the futility of abandoning his family. He realized he could run away from home, from family challenges, but he couldn't run away from himself. He represented a shadow of the problems that couldn't melt away until he confronted them.

“Nkiru, please forgive me for all my wrongs," he said. "I don’t know what I am doing anymore. Please, find a place in your heart to forgive me."

He picked up his phone and dialled Nkiru's number. Her phone rang and she answered the call.

“Theo?” The sound of her voice filled him with guilt and robbed him of speech. He ended the call and set the phone aside.

Nkiru came out of the bathroom and dried her body with a clean towel. She turned her attention to her ringing phone. It was Theo calling for the second time. Eager to hear his voice, she answered the call. “Hello? Hello, Theo, how are you doing? Please, come back home. I miss you. I still love you. Please, speak to me.”

Theo disconnected the call without a word. Nkiru called the attention of everybody in the house, including her mother-in-law. Although Theo had said nothing, she was pleased to know he was alive and still thought of her after being away for so long.

“Theo called again,” she said to everyone. She tried to call again but his phone was switched off as usual.

“Hello? Hello, Theo, how are you doing? Please, speak to me

”

Nkiru's words echoed in Theo's head, denting him with guilt. He stared at the cell phone on the table where he had left it as if it were capable of hurting him.

“She could still tell me she loved me after all I have done.” He broke into a sob. “If only I could summon courage and tell her how stupid I have been. Nkiru, you don’t deserve me. I am a coward.”

Theo stood before the mirror in the bathroom, staring at his face. Filled with regrets, he felt his face with his palms. The cosmetic surgery was a huge damage on his personality. He could not endure the embarrassment he would face if his family eventually saw him. Memories of the surgery crossed his mind, and he wished he could go back in time to undo his wrongs. Covering his face in shame, he walked away from the mirror.

Alice called at Paula’s boutique to say hello. They ended up discussing about Theophilus.

“How is your—what should I call him?” Alice chuckled.

“Call him Theo,” Paula said pouring her friend a drink. “He is fine.”

“Theodore or what is his name?” Alice asked, still chuckling.

“Theophilus,” Paula corrected, and had her seat.

“I haven’t seen him these past few days. Did he travel?”

“Theo has been down with fever for the past few days.”

“Oh dear,” Alice empathized. “I hope it‘s not something serious?”

“It is just depression.”

“A big man like him, what could he be thinking about?”

“I don’t know. And he won’t see the doctor. This thing is getting worse. The last time he made mention of a name I cannot remember now, and was apologizing.”

“I told you that man was strange.”

“Please pal, what do you know about him?”

“Nothing, he could be a dead man who has wandered to this part of the world. I’ve heard stories like that.”

“Alice.”

“Sorry pal, if I scared you. But everything seems to point in that direction.”

“So, Theo could be a dead man after all. Does that mean I have been sleeping with a ghost all these while?”

“Don’t let us bore ourselves with these; I may be wrong.” Alice emptied her glass and helped herself with more drink.

“Theo has been complaining of one theft or the other in his lodge," Paula said. "And I have asked him to move into my apartment. I don’t know if it is the right thing I did.”

Paula developed a phobia for Theo due to the information Alice had fed her with.

“You did not bother to ask me about the robbery incident at the bank,” Alice changed the topic.

“I heard about it on the news," Paula said. "One of them was shot.”

“It was in fact the worst day of my life. The only time I saw people shooting sporadically was in the movies. I hid myself under my desk hoping the ground would open and hide me.”

Paula took a keen interest in her friend’s story.

When Theo called again, Nkiru was at the inspector’s office in company of Mr Akintola, her mother-in-law and Theo’s siblings. She quickly passed the phone to Mr Akintola, fearing Theo could be afraid of speaking with her.

“Hello, Theo," Akin said, "It is your friend, Akin. We are all rooting for you to come back home. Your mother and your siblings, Mary and Udoka, cannot sleep knowing you are out there probably in danger.”

Theo did not respond. Mr Akin passed the cell phone to the inspector to speak to him.

“Mr Theophilus, this is Inspector Ojodu," the inspector said. "I and my team are determined to rescue you from any danger. Tell me where we can reach you so we can come over and pick you up

"

Theo hung up the phone, to the disappointment of all.

“All is well," the inspector assured Theo's family. "At least we are close. The man is home sick, but his guilt is keeping him away.”

“The good news is that he is alive,” added Akintola.

Those words from the men comforted Nkiru and her mother-in-law.

In the early hours of the morning, the CID men drove to the hotel where Theo had been lodging for the past eight months. They hopped out of the car and headed for the building. They stumbled on Theo on his way out without recognizing him.

“I am sorry,” one of the CID men said to Theo.

“I am okay,” Theo replied and walked away.

The CID men walked to the reception desk. They exchanged pleasantries with the young receptionist and showed her their identity cards.

“How may I help you?” she asked.

“We are looking for Mr. Theophilus Nzeribe," one of the men said. "He lodges here in this hotel.”

“Let me check the register on the system, please.” The damsel opened the computer and typed in the name, but no such name came up on the system.

The men kept watch on the vicinity while the damsel went though her files over and over again.

“Sir, there is no name that matches the one in question," she said. "I have one Theodore and there is no Theophilus."

“Please, check again,” one of the men said.

“I have done that, sir.”

“You are joking, lady,” the second man said. “This man has been lodging in this hotel for the past eight months."

The lady was frightened by the men’s words. “But sir—”

“Listen, we are on a serious mission," the man said, "and we demand the truth from you now.”

The damsel became even more scared. “Sir, I am a new employee in this hotel. Maybe you should see the manager.”

“Where is the manager’s office?”

The confused damsel managed to give them direction. She breathed a respite after the men had left.

A knock on the door forced the manager off the comfort of his bearing seat. He attended to the door and the CID men walked in.

“We are CID Lagos command.” The men brandished their IDs at the manager.

The manager, a little perturbed, ushered them to sit down.

“How can I be of help?” he asked, taking his seat.

“Mr Theophilus Nzeribe, a married man left home for close to eight months owing to a marital dispute,” one of the CID men narrated. “And we discovered from our investigation that the man has been lodging here for that period of time.”

“Have you checked the reception?” the manager asked.

“Yes, the receptionist said there was no such record.”

“It could be that you got the wrong information,” the manger reasoned.

“No, we are right,” the second officer said. “One of your staff, Bintu is in our custody now. She was caught with the man’s wallet and other particulars.”

The manager was shocked at the news. “Bintu, one of my staffs is in police custody?”

After a moment, he recalled what had happened. “There was a report of a stolen wallet, but that person was a chief.”

“A chief,” The CID men glanced at each other.

“Yes," the manager said, "Chief Morris Herbert. His wallet was stolen three weeks ago if my memory serves me right.”

The men looked at each other again. “Maybe he lodged with a different name.”

“We have a warrant to search lodges, and we demand to search his room.”

“You can go ahead provided it doesn’t disturb the peace of my customers,” the manager said. He watched the CID men walk out of his office.

A young lady led the CID men to Theo’s lodge. She opened the door and the men went inside. No one was in the lodge, but the men went about taking samples of what they found in the room that could serve as a full proof of Theo’s presence in the lodge. One of the men stumbled on the newspaper from which Theo had adopted the name he'd used to lodge in the hotel.

The man called the attention of his colleagues. “He bought the paper on the day he left the house.”

In the newspaper article, Theo had circled the chief's name with a pen.

“He had indeed perfected his act very well,” the men reasoned with each other.

They stumbled on another piece of information that could aid their search. It was the complementary card of Paula Isang.

“Paula Isang," one of the men read the information on the complementary card, "a marketing executive of a metropolitan bank in the federal capital,”

“We will track her to get further information about Theo. He may have gotten a sign we are coming here and left the lodge."

“What is the news, inspector?” Nkiru asked Inspector Ojodu. She and other members of Theo's family were in the police station, awaiting the progress report.

“The men are very close to finding your husband," the inspector said. "They have discovered his hotel lodge. They did not meet him in the lodge, but very soon they will find him.”

“Thank God,” everyone muttered in a lighter mood.

“I will be leaving for Abuja first thing tomorrow morning,” the inspector disclosed.

“Inspector, I would love to go with you,” Nkiru said.

“No," he said, "you can't go in your present condition.”

“I can cope," she insisted. Her eyes radiated with a visible joy as she caressed her protruded stomach. "Besides, I would like my husband to see me in my condition.”

The inspector could not understand her excitement, “Somebody who abandoned you for months?” He grimaced at her.

“He is my husband," Nkiru said, "the father of my unborn child. And we have vowed to be together in good and in bad times.”

Her mother-in-law could not hold back the tears pouring down her cheeks. She commended Nkiru’s patience and dexterity.