The Moment of Truth

Chapter 16

Toward the end of the first semester examinations, Sylvia spotted Samuel on campus one day seated on a concrete bench under a tree behind Amphi150D; he was enjoying the beautiful view of the Herbert NganjoEndeley Amphitheatre (Open Amphi) as well as the fresh breeze passing around there. He was seated there all by himself, listening to music from his phone through an earpiece.
     As she materialized before him, he jerked from his thoughts to the present, plucking the earpiece from his ears.
     He noticed that she looked concerned, clad in a knee-length floral gown and a low pair of brown sandals with her hair flowing across her shoulders as the breeze ruffled them. Her rosary hung from her neck and her shoulder bag from her left shoulder. He had not seen her since he she turned him down at the Hotel Saint Clair snack bar, which was about two months ago.
     ‘Samuel!’ She sounded like he had been snatched off the face of the earth by an alien monster for years only to be brought back to Earth at that moment. ‘Where on mother earth have you been! I have been looking for you for weeks.’ She then sat next to him. 
     ‘I’ve been around,’ he said dryly, wondering why she would be looking everywhere for him after what she did to him back at the snack bar.
     ‘I hope you have not been keeping bad friends, Samuel,’ she said in that sweet angelic voice of hers which he realized he had missed it for a very long time. However, the statement itself made him turn and look her straight in the eye, surprised at such concern.
She added, ‘I have been seeing you with those three people you thought were my friends. I must warn you: they are not suitable friends for you; they will land you into serious trouble someday.’
     Would she ever cease to amaze him? He wondered. She was still steadfastly denying any affiliation with the trio.
And what’s with this sudden burst of concern? He wondered.
     ‘What do you care?’ he said as he tasted bile.
     ‘Jesus, Samuel! The fact that we cannot be lovers does not change the way I feel about you – as a friend.’
Say that again and I will slap your teeth off, he thought as he felt whatever patience he had within him fade away.
     He countered, ‘You need not bother about me. I’m doing just fine.’
     ‘No, you are not,’ she insisted, patting his right shoulder with her tender left hand. ‘You are leading a misguided life, especially at such a crucial moment when you must focus on your studies.’
     ‘I am doing just that.’
     ‘Your pastor’s death must have left a vacuum in your heart; but I implore you, for your own sake, not to give in to despair and destroy the bright future ahead of you.’ She looked even more concerned now. ‘My offer for you to join my Church still stands. It would give you a whole new view of life and a good reason to hold on to the purpose God has for you.’
     He looked at her ridiculously as he felt the urge to counter. Rather, he paused for a while before saying, ‘You think your church can undo all the damage that has been done to my life?’
     ‘No, but it will make you heal faster and give you a chance to start over. It is never too late, you know.’
     After another short silence, he said, ‘Well then, we would have to see about it, won’t we?’
     Her face lit up instantly, ‘Is that a yes?’
     ‘You bet. My life is a shambles as it is now; I would not pass up the opportunity to begin anew on a clean slate.’
     ‘Yes!’ she hugged him tight before letting go after realizing what she had just done. Her entire body shuddered with excitement. ‘Ok... You once told me your roommate is a Catholic. He worships at the St. Charles Lwanga Parish at Molyko, I presume?’    
     ‘That’s right.’
     ‘I seem to have forgot his name.’
     ‘His name is Beltus.’
     ‘Yes, I remember now. This should not be hard for you, then. You have to start attending doctrine classes for the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. You see, I worship at the St. Martin de Porres Parish Bokwaongo, so I don’t know how it works over there at the Molyko Parish. But Beltus should be able to brief you on the days it takes place at the parish. With luck, if you start now, you can be baptized by this August 15th.’
     He frowned. ‘Why that day?’
     She smiled and said, ‘It is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; the day the Church commemorates her rising up into heaven body and soul. The two Sacraments I just mentioned are always administered on that day.’
     He sighed and said, ‘It’s settled then. I will consult Beltus and then get back to you.’
     She smiled from ear to ear. ‘Wow! I assure you: you will not regret it.’
     ‘I certainly sure hope so.’
***
‘Have you gone nuts?’ Beltus screamed as he hovered - arms at akimbo - over Samuel who was seated on the edge of the bed. He could not believe what Samuel had just told him. ‘What has got into you?’
     ‘You heard me,’ Samuel said, sounding impassive. ‘Sylvia asked me to become a Catholic, and I am doing just that.’
     ‘And since when did you start doing whatever she tells you to do?’
     ‘My life has taken a nasty turn ever since I met her, Beltus,’ Samuel bolted as he shot to his feet, seething with rage, ‘and there are some shocking discoveries I have made about her which I cannot seem to explain.’ He then placed his left hand on Beltus’ right shoulder and – stabbing at Beltus’ chest with his right index finger – said calmly now, ‘The only way to find out what she seems to be hiding is to infiltrate her inner circle – play it her way. You get it now?’
Beltus stopped for a while to let message sink in. Samuel had told him how Sylvia broke up with Nelson, how he suspected Elvis had some unknown connection with her, as well as the details of the night Nelson had taken her out to Las Vegas. He was equally aware that there was someone out there plotting Samuel’s academic ruin – after all, it was he who had pointed that out to Samuel.
     So he fully understood Samuel’s motives. He just didn’t known how far he would go with them.
     He then looked Samuel in the eye and said, ‘Yes, Sam, I get it.’
     ‘Good. Now where do I begin?’
***
Over the last couple of days, the Rev. Atteh Daniel Oben had grown pale from distress and melancholy to the extent that the housemaid, his wife, and eight-year-old son Michael – he had two other children studying abroad – feared he had just received most terrible news. However - no matter how hard they tried to get him to tell them about it - he would not say a word.
     Now the housemaid had retired to her house for the day and his wife and son had travelled to Limbe to visit a relative the night Ruth had come and seduced him.
     What troubled him now was the fact that Ruth had taken pictures of them making love; and he was painfully aware of the implications, especially after what he had seen happened to the three clergymen who were now dead.
     He rarely ate, lost pleasure for the things that once gladdened him and secluded himself for long hours, deep in thought and muttering to himself so much that his wife feared he was going insane.
     One faithful night, as he and his wife, Evangelist AttehPrudencia, lay in bed about to sleep, she sought once more to know what was troubling him.
     Cradling her head under his left arm and resting it on his chest, she looked up to him in supplication and asked, ‘What’s the matter, darling? You seem so different these past few days. And you no longer pray as often as you used to. Tell me what is troubling you. Or is it not my place as your wife to share in your troubles?’
     He smiled faintly as he looked down at her. ‘There’s nothing wrong, sweetheart; I’m alright. It’s just the stress that comes with shepherding God’s flock.’
     ‘I know; but I have never seen you like this before, and it frightens us all, especially Michael!’
     ‘You need not be frightened, my dear,’ he said as he lovingly kissed the crown of her head. ‘Everything’s going to be fine.’
     It was with that assurance that his wife fell asleep while he stayed up late figuring out what he was going to do next.
After breakfast with his family the next morning, just after Michael left for school, he told his wife he was going to see a friend who lived at Buea town. When he got into his car, however, he drove somewhere else – the Second District Police Station Molyko.
     At the police station, he met a female Police Constable seated on a bench at the front door and requested to see the Inspectors of police. He was then taken to the Inspectors’ office where all five of them were busy working behind their desks.
     After the Constable left, he said, ‘Good morning, Inspectors. I am Rev. Atteh Daniel Oben of the Apostolic Church in Cameroon, Molyko District.’
InspectorDauda then said, ‘Good morning, pastor. You are welcome. How may we help you?’
     He looked round from one Inspector to the other before saying, ‘I have a confession to make. It has to do with the recent murders of the clergymen in this our town which has turned into a battleground.’
Inspectors Fabrice, Gladys and Timothy felt their heartbeats accelerate upon hearing this.
     Losing no time, Timothy asked the man of God to take the seat before his desk.
     Fabrice and Gladys dragged their seats to Timothy’s desk as he himself fetched a blank sheet of paper and his pen before addressing the pastor, ‘You may proceed with your confession.’
     The pastor sighed deeply and bowed his head in regret before looking up at the Inspectors. He then recounted in vivid detail what had happened that night.
‘It has been haunting me ever since,’ he concluded. ‘So I thought you could help me out before it is too late.’
     Timothy was furiously taking down notes while the others were nodding at the pastor, encouraging him on.
     Fabrice said, ‘You have made a wise decision coming here, pastor. Most people would just sit in their houses and let guilt eat them up from the inside. Take for instance the late Rev. Okah Simon who preferred to take his own life. Now can you recognize this lady when you see her?’
     The pastor nodded. ‘Yes, I can.’
     ‘Very well then,’ Fabrice said as he went to his desk and returned with a photo from the case file. It was one of those taken by the young lady making love with the pastor who had recently killed himself.
     He set the photo before the pastor and said, ‘Please see if that is the lady you were with.’
     The pastor took out his reading glasses before taking the photo in his hand and squinted at it. He then felt his body go dumb as his mouth fell open in shock. ‘Jesus! This is her in the picture. I recognize her!’
     ‘Bingo,’ Timothy said as they gave a sigh of victory. ‘So the stripper in that photo has done two rounds with her head still on her neck. Is that tough or what?’
     ‘Stripper?’ the pastor looked confused. ‘What are you saying?’
     Gladys said, ‘We believe the killer hired these ladies, who are strippers, to seduce the likes of you and take these photos which are then used as leverage to get you to succumb to his demands which you are well aware of.’
     ‘And the result is instant death,’ Timothy said with a grin. Fabrice shot him a stern look as the pastor looked like he was going to pass out.
     ‘Jesus!’ he exclaimed. ‘I should have known. Ruth seemed so determined, and had no qualms at all. Only a cold-hearted person would do such a thing; though I am ashamed of myself for giving in to her.’ He bowed his head again as the Inspectors thought he was going to cry.
     ‘Ruth?’ said Fabrice, jerking the pastor to look up at him. ‘Is that her name?’
     ‘That was what she said.’
‘It has to be a fake, a name for the club,’ Fabrice said, his mind reeling hard and fast. ‘We have to find her before she delivers those pictures she took with you.’
     Of course, they knew it was not going to be easy.
     After thanking the pastor for his testimony, they took his phone number in case they would need to get back to him, and told him he could go, with the assurance that they would do their best to track “Ruth” down.
     After the pastor left, Fabrice said, ‘As we know, the lab report that just came in yesterday states that the bullets that killed the first two pastors were fired from the same gun that killed Amanda and Tony - a .45 caliber pistol. We have to act really fast. I think it’s about time we mount more pressure on Jennifer.’