PRESENT DAY

As Stella lay on her bed, she reflected on events both past and present. She knew it was all about to end soon; the walls were closing in. The ground was going to fall out from underneath soon, and there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

She’d enjoyed her life of privacy, away from everything after Malcolm had died. But the motherfuckers who botched the job before had left a big mess on her hands. There’s a reason no one ever sent a man to do a woman’s job, and this time there would be no mistakes.

She remembered the beautiful moment when Carol sent her to high heaven while interrogating her. The memory alone made her wet. She sighed as she turned over, murmuring to herself, “All personal, baby. All personal.”

*****

“Mr. Minister, get your man to lay off, or I’ll tell your wife about your trysts with my wife and I!”

Caris hung up, pretty frustrated. He’d called half the ministers he knew and they all said the same thing: national attention to the case meant that they couldn’t intervene without catching heat.

Carol came out of the shower. “That man’s going to cave.”

“He just said he wouldn’t.”

“Oh, the effects of ignorance. He’ll cave. I just sent his wife a case of wine and a picture of the three of us together, and it’s not the appropriate kind.”

“Oh, I guess he’ll cave, then. Only, if he doesn’t, then we become wanted people.”

“Well, do you have a better alternative? Or is it the deal with Karla where you gave away the store?” 

“Not the store, Carol. The way I see it, that’s a pretty low price to pay for freedom. We got ourselves a plane and access to a safe house for a month. We’ll probably move to our place in the Maldives before then, but we’ll have buckets of time to decide.”

“Ooh, I love the Maldives! I also love that no one knows that we have a place there. We can go to our beach house in Turks and Caicos too after a while, just to keep things fresh.”

Carol came and sat by him as she put on her lotion for the night. “Nice plan, babe. It means everything to me that you didn’t cut and run when this happened. You could’ve sold me out and walked away clean, but you’ve stuck with me thus far. I love you, Caris Benton. Thank you.”

Caris found it hard to speak as he looked at her massaging lotion on her leg. You’d think ten years would take out his hunger for her, but time never stood a chance. “Love you too, baby.”

She noticed his eyes on her legs and laughed. “And I’m glad to know I still make you hungry.”

“Don’t even start with me. Do you remember when we took each other under that cross?”

“I wanted you to take me on the pulpit, actually. I just knew there was a limit to how much sacrilege you could bear.”

“Oh, and you didn’t think fucking under a cross right behind said pulpit violated the limit, huh?”

 Carol realized he had a point. “Well, in hindsight, I didn’t think that one all the way through.”

“At any rate, I’m glad you didn’t. Cos my dad had to go and sanctify that whole area. They were in there praying for like four hours.”

Carol let out a fake gasp. “We defiled the altar of God? Lord have mercy on us!” She covered her mouth as the both laughed at her foolishness.

“Seriously though, we might have to move up the timeline. I spoke to the Interior Minister last night. Kpodo has quietly made you the prime suspect. He plans to call you in for questioning again in a few days.”

“Prime suspect? Based on what?”

“Well, they got some new evidence, and Kpodo wouldn’t say what the evidence was. This was secondhand reporting though. The minister got it from one of the boys in the branch.”

Carol tried to throw the lotion bottle in frustration, but Caris stopped her. “Well goddamn! I’m already sick of that guy. I never even heard of him before this happened.”

“The poor lotion bottle didn’t know about him either, so ease up. Also, one of my guys in the force told me that Kpodo is the last surviving member of the team tasked to find Kane the first time.”

“Makes sense why I didn’t know him. We’d left before all that started, so we never followed any of that. Okay, why don’t we leave, say Saturday?”

“I’d say Friday. The safe house is in Kenya. It’s a six hour flight. Let’s get there, have a full night of sleep, then Saturday’s ours.”

Carol nodded in agreement. “Friday it is.”

*****

TEN YEARS AGO

Carol had just texted Caris. They were to meet up at Ziba’s Lounge.

Caris left his room and was about to step out when his father stopped him.

“Caris, listen to me. I am your father, and I forbid you from seeing that girl ever again.”

“Why, dad?”

“Do you know her line of work, son?”

Caris looked at his dad, not wanting to lie but not wanting to admit either.

“Do you, know her line of work?”

Caris was sick of hiding her. She was his nympho freak, and he loved her. “Yes dad, I know.”

“Yet you kept company with her? Do you even care about the family you’re from? Do you care what this could do to us and the church if it came out?”

“It won’t, dad. We’ve been together this long and it’s never come out.”

“Tell that to Bishop Monslant. His wife just found your girlfriend straddling her husband!”

“Carol tried to get with Uncle? Wow, that’s bold as hell.”

The slap that followed was one not even a ghost could’ve seen coming.

“Hear me, son. Never see that girl again. Whatever you two have is now over!”

The Archbishop started walking away when Caris decided enough’s enough. “Well, that’s too bad cos we’re getting married, dad.”

His father stopped. “What?”

Caris’ inhibitions and fears were dying as he spoke. “I love her, she loves me, and the only impediment to our marrying has been you. I don’t think we’ll have that problem anymore.”

“Why, because I’m about to kick you out of my house?”

“No, because you will no longer force me into any decisions anymore.”

“Son, she has been a distraction from your calling all these years. She was sent from hell to take you away from your destiny. You cannot possibly fall for that trap. Now, stop talking nonsense and break it off with her!”

“Your belief, dad, not mine. She has been the one thing that’s kept me sane. All these by-force deliverances, all these ridiculous all nights, as if God doesn’t like for His children to sleep. My best friend died and all you could tell me to do was pray? Then you went on to try to make me fast for 21 days to mourn him? Man was I glad I ate and went out all that time, cos I would never have met the love of my life. And now, I am going to make her my wife. I like God, but you have stopped me from loving Him like I want to. Goodbye, dad.”

Right before Caris got to the door, his father spoke. “Caris!”

Caris stopped, and his father walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

“My son, you have successfully disappointed me. Since you have chosen to go against the ways of the spirit, harbor no surprise when God successfully disappoints you too. You will go very far, all the way to the top of the ladder, but you will fall drastically. No one will ever remember that you came, and no one will miss you when you’re gone. As for that corruptor of godly men, may God have mercy upon her soul. Never return to my presence or my church; you have lost all the rights, privileges, and properties of a son. You may bear my name, but you no longer bear my blood. You may go.”

*****

PRESENT DAY

Tembo stood in front of the police station as the taxi he arrived in drove away. He looked around as though he was taking in the surroundings for the last time, and shook his head as he said “Life.”

He took a small envelope from his pocket, the same one he’d gotten at the restaurant, and took out the two small pills in it. He bought a sachet of Tampico and downed the pills with it. Then he walked into the reception and went to the counter. “My guy, how far? I’m here to see Inspector Julius Kpodo.”

Once they settled in the interrogation room, Kpodo set up the camera. Once he was ready, he let Tembo know.

Tembo raised his hand. “Wait. I’m ready to talk, but I need to know you’ll hold up your end of the deal.”

Kpodo nodded. He stepped out for a bit, and then came back with a folder and handed it to Tembo. Tembo read through it, nodded his head. “I’m good to go.”

Kpodo took back the folder. “Unfortunate that she refuses to have any relationship with you.”

“Yeah. The life of a criminal, you know. She saw my face on the news once. That was it.”

“I’m ready to begin.”

Tembo nodded, and Kpodo started the recording.

*****

Caris walked into the temple, slowly making his way to the front. He hadn’t been here since the day his father disowned him. That curse his father had spoken had failed. He’d been successful, and everyone who mattered in this country knew who he was. Everyone remembered him, and would continue to remember him even after he and Carol disappeared for a little while.

He stood in front of the altar, and tried not to laugh when he remembered what Carol had said to him before.

“Try not to defile it, brother. Church service promises to be otherworldly tomorrow, and I’d rather not have to spend all night cleansing the altar.”

Caris turned to the right and saw his sister approaching. “Reverend, is it?”

“Bishop.”

“Bishop. Wow. Good on you, sis. I see father regaled you with stories of my heyday.”

“Why are you here, Caris? Father died and you couldn’t even be bothered to come and say goodbye. Now you show up here?”

“He must’ve forgotten to tell you he’d disowned me.”

“So?”

“So, I had no business being at his funeral.”

“Maybe not for him, but for me. You’re my only family, Caris. I wish you hadn’t burned me along with him.”

“I’m sorry, Katherine. I didn’t realize it early enough.”

They embraced, and a wave of emotion rocked him. He’d been so pissed at his father that he didn’t realize just how much he’d missed her. Once they pulled away, she asked again, “Why are you here?”

“I figured father could hear me through the altar, since he’s now part of the great cloud of witnesses or whatever.”

“You know that’s not how it works.”

“I know, but I don’t know another way to tell him how wrong he was.”

“What exactly did he say to you?”

“Basically that I would succeed until I failed, and no one would ever know I was here.”

“Hmm. Well, you’re definitely on the succeeding part, so he was right about something.”

“I suppose.”

“Caris, whatever you may think of him, dad really loved you. He was so heartbroken after you left. I was hurt, but he was shattered. He felt he’d failed as a father.”

“I bet he did.”

“He really did, Caris. It took him four years to return to the pulpit. He was still the Oracle, but he was not the same. I hope you find it in you to forgive him of his shortcomings; he was only human, after all.”

Caris felt what she said. He’d never considered the opposite side of things. He only had his hurt and the curse. “I’ll take that into consideration, sister.”

“Thank you. Come by the house sometime. I’d love to treat you and your wife.”

“Consider us present.”

Just then, Caris received a text.

He saw it and kept the calmest face on when he told Katherine, “I have to go now. I’ll reach out again soon.”

She hugged him goodbye, and he ran out of the cathedral. Once he got to the car, he looked at the text again. It was from Carol.

“TEMBO CONFESSED! COME HOME NOW!”

It’s turned critical now! Time to see how this insane first season comes to an end…