Delayed Diagnosis {Book 1 of the Rex Obasi Trilogy}

Chapter 5

We got into the car and strange eyes showed me a picture of a very massive house. Shaped like a cake and an architectural masterpiece. "This is their house. Chief’s wife, his two children and two maids live there"
"It’s too big" I marveled at the house. I suddenly remembered something and turned to strange eyes "how many houses does the chief have?"
"Two. Why?"
"About three weeks ago he pumped me with drinks and I woke up in a strange house. That was when I took the papers"
"You mean stole the papers. How was the house? Where was it?"
"I was having the worst case of hang over ever, I didn't really pay attention. It was when I saw the papers I came quite alive"
Strange eyes looked at me with 100% concentration "think back Rex tell me everything"

:::::::::::::
-3 Weeks ago-
I moved closer to the table and what i saw cleared my eyes and my head. I shook my head and picked up the documents, my mouth opening in shock. It was like a child finding candy then finding instructions on how to eat the candy. In my hands were papers containing directions to a foreign account in Switzerland containing approximately 250 million naira plus all the account details and necessary instructions to perform a wire transfer. My hands were shaking, my red eyes were now white, my head was clear from the splitting headache and my mind was racing.
There's always a point before every decision in one’s life. Where one considers the possibilities and repercussions of any action but all I could think of was 250 million. I had never even dreamt of that kind of money in my life. My modest salary was more than enough to sustain my bachelor life (or married bachelor as my mother would say) and I had a little over a million naira in my account but 250 million! For a minute I forgot where I was as I greedily leafed through the pages; the banking statements and everything needed to transfer the money to anywhere in the world with just internet service. I let out a whistle as I thought of only possibilities and not repercussions. I could change my family life. Take my mother to see the world, settle my father, no more stressful life for him. I would be paying him pension. My sisters would be settled with all my nieces and nephews. I was a banker, I could triple this amount in a couple of years and Fome....it seemed mentioning her name in my subconscious brought my head out of the cloud. I looked around the room and remembered the chief. He had gone upstairs 20 minutes ago. I put down the papers and hurried out of the room. I paced around the parlour and started up the stairs more than once. It seemed I had two little versions of myself on each shoulder wearing white and black with a halo and a pair of horns. I remained indecisive until I heard the chief call my name from upstairs "Rex I'll be with you in a minute!"
(Now that I think about it, if the chief truly wanted me to find and take those papers he had called me on purpose to alert me he was coming down) hearing his voice seemed to tell my brain that the window was closing. I hurried back to the room and grabbed the papers, folding it neatly and placing it in my jacket pocket which i hung on my arm.
The chief was an extra 10 minutes in arriving and he offered no explanation. I was fidgeting badly, consumed by guilt but i was beginning to look at the chief in a different light. Just what was he involved in that gave him such a large amount of money? We drove out in his range back to his bungalow where I was treated to a massive meal prepared by Ndidi...she looked at me strangely with something like pity in her eyes and I thought to myself and wondered just  how drunk I was the night before and if I had made a fool of myself…

:::::::::::::
Strange eyes interrupted me as I recounted the details "I said you should describe the neighborhood, where was the house located?"
My mind was blank. I thought hard "I swear I don't know, my mind was on 250 mil. And I was apprehensive and afraid"
Strange eyes rubbed his face "My God. Okay like how many minutes or hours before you got back to his other place?"
I thought hard "like an hour, although we stopped at a filling station and spent time"
Strange eyes looked at me "you see what your lack of attention to detail is costing us? We need to locate that place...but first we need to head to Chief's wife boutique. I need you in contact with his daughter as soon as possible.