Securing The Bag (The Lagos Hustle)

Searching for Answers

FUOYO
I already had my mind made up to call Kanaku by afternoon but I didn't expect to have such a nice time with Jessy. I lost track of the time from the moment we went shopping, then watched a 2-hour movie, before having brunch at Dominoes. Then we went shopping some more and played video games before having a drink at the bar. The crazy thing was I found her completely engaging, we exchanged banter easily and she could definitely hold her own on any topic. She seemed to enjoy my company too and I realized even if we had stayed indoors, talking and quarreling it wouldn't have made a difference to me. Although I realized her sugar daddy had spoiled her senseless to the point that she almost didn't respect money. Can you imagine she picked ridiculously expensive clothes while I turned to a mental calculator, adding up our total in my mind with each clothing she selected. But she surprised me and paid for both rounds of shopping with her debit card, despite the fact I had picked a sweater and a quite expensive pair of Jordans. 

Both bills arrived at 120k and she swiped the pos without breaking a sweat, smirking at me while I struggled to maintain a poker face. Okay she was not broke. I got the message loud and clear.

I also got to know a lot about her life and told her about my mom and siblings too. She didn't mention Mr. D and I didn't ask her. We weren't on a date or anything but I didn't want to ruin the mood with prying questions. By 5 pm we decided to enjoy a bottle of red wine before booking our uber and it was while sipping the rich wine she mentioned Mr. D had loved to drink red wine a lot, especially a particular brand called Castillo. From that point, she couldn't stop talking about him, telling me unbelievable tales about the crazy things he did for her, and how he had given her millions of naira in cash and gift over the last 3 years. She had loved his dress-sense and his cologne, his refined and wealthy aura, and the way his voice always sounded like he didn't have Adam's apple, she even loved when he got jealous at times cause it made her feel special.

I knew she needed a listening ear and I sipped my wine in silence wondering if she had loved him and further wondering why the thought bothered me a little. When our uber arrived we found ourselves back at square one, undecided on the next move to make.

"once we get home, I'll call Kanaku and see about my car, I'm sure he'll have a smart suggestion"

"you're sure?"

"yeah he's very intelligent you know"

I paid the driver and we entered my compound to see the Lexus parked in front of my flat.

"Shit, maybe he dropped it off and left immediately. I'll call him and ask about the key" I couldn't hide the disappointment from my voice. There was something assuring about Kanaku's presence. There was the general feeling that our odds of survival increased considerably with him around, but I wasn't so confident in leading Jessy to solve the mystery of the identity of Mr. D's killers all on my own. Despite how much I liked to claim my Surulere hood heritage, the fact was Kanaku was the most street-smart and calculating person I had ever come across. I unlocked my gate and dialed his number with one hand while I struggled to dust the soles of my shoe on the welcome mat.

I heard a phone ring from inside at the same time it began ringing in my ear, at the same time Jessy shouted my name, "Fuoyo Kanaku is here"

I hurried inside and was surprised to see him lounging on my chair, watching a pack of courageous hyenas challenged 3 lionesses over a kill on nat geo wild.

"Kanaku! how did you...?"

He smiled, "I have my ways boy...if you really knew my story then nothing I do would surprise you," He looked at Jessy, "And how are you feeling? Hope much better?"

"yes," she nodded, "how about you? How's your wife and baby?"

"girlfriend, not wife" he corrected

"well how is she?" Jessy asked again

"upset with me cause I can't perform my duty"

"woah...what duty?" my ears perked up

He thought about it for the moment and shrugged, deciding he valued us enough or didn't value us enough to share whatever was disturbing him with us. I hoped it was the former.

"I can't fuck my wife because I keep remembering the dead body and losing any reasonable erection I manage to get!"

Jessy's eyes went wide, unsure of what to say and for a minute I didn't know what to also say, but then we both burst out laughing at the same time, although Kanaku didn't seem to appreciate our laughter.

"It's not funny" he grumbled

"I know it isn't....I just hope I don't have the same problem" I replied

He sighed, "Any luck....?any news yet? have the police caught any of the killers yet?"

"Not yet, we decided to try and find out all we can about Mr. D's work and colleagues but we don't know where to start," I said hoping he'll think of something we hadn't thought of.

"you don't know anybody? any friend of his or family?" He asked Jessy

she shook her head, no.

I added, "the person who introduced them is beefing her and not picking her calls"

Kanaku looked interested in that information, "do you know where she lives?"

"yes we lived together for a year" Jessy replied.

"Then let's pay her a visit" Kanaku suggested, "tonight"

Jessy was unsure, "I don't know....she didn't even really know him. She thought he was a bank ceo"

"don't assume just because of that, she might know something or someone...we have too many unanswered questions" Kanaku reasoned with her and she was nodding before he finished talking.

"where does she stay?" I asked Jessy

"Ajah"

"then we better leave as soon as possible" Kanaku was on his feet. "I need something to take my mind from everything going on at home" he explained his seeming impatience.

Jessy chuckled, "then we better go find answers for the sake of your eh-em"