Familiar Foe √

14. Two heads

       I had been expecting his call for a while but it didn't stop me from letting out a sigh before answering.

"Sir."

"Wilson. Why is the Coker case not closed?" His voice held anger waiting to burst free.

"Because it hasn't been solved, sir."

"Why hasn't it been solved? What are you doing?"

"Everything I can. We just need a little more time."

"You said that before." His voice was rising.

"I know and a lot has changed since then. We are so close to the truth, sir. I can smell it." The only thing I could smell was the stench of my unattended dirty laundry.

"I can smell it too, sitting in a cell at the headquarters. Tender your report and wrap this up."

"I can't do that sir."

"Why not? What are they feeding you in that house?" I reminded myself to stay calm as I rose from where I was leaned against the tiny table.

"Because Mfon didn't kill Mrs. Coker."

"Then why is she taking up jail space!"

"I believe she possesses information that is vital to this case."

I could hear him taking deep breaths. His voice was controlled when he spoke again.

"You have concrete evidence and the motive is glaring to everyone. What more do you need?"

"That is not enough."

"Do you expect her to tell you how she stabbed her?"

"I am certain Mfon didn't commit the crime, not only is she clueless on the weapon, the timeframe doesn't match and I have reason to believe that the victim was already dead at her arrival." I was pacing the room, trying to get through to the unyielding man.

"Reason doesn't help us, Kaima. Find proof!"

"I will. I just need more time."

He was quiet for a moment, leaving me to listen to the sound of his ragged breathing.

"One week." I dropped onto the bed.

"One week and if you do not give me something tangible, I am working with Mfon."

"Yes sir."

"You do understand the importance of this case right? People are scared, someone was killed in her bedroom and the killer hasn't been found. Put their minds at rest Wilson. Give them a killer." He ended the call.

That was exactly what I was trying to do and Mfon wasn't a killer. She was guilty of something, something I had a week to figure out, something I could only hope would shed some light on the dark maze we were threading.

      With the sisters all out solitary confinement, Sade suggested a group breakfast and invited me down. Funmi was absent but Tamara made up for it with her extra chatty demeanor. Sade served baked potatoes and vegetable egg sauce while I tried to ignore Tamara. She was trying to get a rise out of me but honestly, it was getting old.

I ate slowly, watching the youngest sister. Vera had the lightest skin after Tamara but now it had paled. Bony fingers weakly wrapped around her fork and her collarbones jutted out against her skin. I hadn't seen much of her on the past days so the drastic weight loss worried me.

"Are you okay?"

They all stopped to look at me, then at Vera who looked like she had been pulled out of the depths of her mind. She looked at me with eyes that didn't seem to belong to a child, cold and empty.