Daddy's little Secret

part FIVE

Tolu.

It wasn't obvious, the day that I got killed. It was never glaring that it would be the day that I'd die. There was no warning sign or weird feeling or some kind of bad aura. It was a normal day, too normal even.

I'd been working from home, finishing up some  things from the office. I had a lot of emails to respond to and I'd had a proposal to construct for my boss. Though I was supposedly on leave but it was always another meaning for 'work from your house'.

The television in my living room was on but I hadn't been watching it. There was some stupid show on, a bottle of Sprite next to me and my phone very far from where I could reach it.

It was me, my laptop and my work, just as I liked it sometimes. I think I was typing a reply  to my 6th or 7th email of the day, when my phone began to ring. And that meant it was somebody important because I always had my phone on the do not disturb mode.

And that meant it was Dara.

I had deliberately let the call ring out till it stopped, hoping that whatever it was she would find someone else to do it. Dara only called when she needed you to do specific things, things she would have a hard time explaining through texts and I wasn't ready to be disconnected from the atmosphere I was in.

But she called again so I had to pick it up. Now, I really wish I hadn't. I wish there would've been some kind of feeling in my gut or wherever that would've made me decide against answering that call. Well, I guess that doesn't matter anymore and there isn't even a now for me.

I dropped my laptop on the sofa and walked to the kitchen where the phone laid. I pressed the answer button and was awarded with immediate rambling.

"Ah ope o, thank God you picked it. I was already wondering what was happening with you." Some shouting played on her end, in the background. Inwardly, I tried to imagine where she was.

"Wo it's your oga that called me here o. Abeg look for him so I can go abeg abeg!" She seemed to be yelling at someone, that was what I could hear.

"Dara? Dara o!"

"Sorry jare," she had apologised for getting carried away and continued to speak. "Fola jor. Please, please and please, I need you to do something for me. If you're not busy."

I'd known Dara for more than a quarter of my life, met her in the university and kept her ever since. Though there are times when I wonder why I did, this time was one of them.

"I'm busy, but what do you want?" I had said.

She had answered that she needed me to help her with some documents from her dad's house. I stood, shaking my head, "Dara you know I don't like going to your daddy's house."

"I know I know," she silently begged, "but please. See I'm even at the police station, otherwise I'd have gone myself."

My brows came together. "Why are you at the police station?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you when we see ehn. But shey you'll go to the house for me? The documents are for the shares he bought in Fola's name, I just want to see how far. But the way they're doing in this place, I don't know when I'll leave here."

"Ohhh," I had whined. "I really don't want to go o. Especially now tha-

"That my dad is no more," Dara said. "I know I know. But please, your house is closer from the station. So when I'm done here, I can just pick them up from your place."

There had been another series of back and forth till I eventually gave in because truth be told, I didn't know how to say no to Dara.

She got off the call, had said some officer was waiting for her and left me to the task. I had made sure to complete the mail I had been typing before I left my house, only if I'd known the mail wouldn't be of any importance

The drive to Dr. Williams' house had been normal, there hadn't even been the usual traffic as I'd expected. The spare key had been under the doormat as it always was. But it was when I stepped into the house that everything went wrong.

I had seen the documents. Just as Dara said they would be, they were on the center table in the sitting area. I grabbed them and heard a noise.

Well actually, they were footsteps. I'd heard footsteps headed down the stairs to where I was. My mistake had been "Who's there?"

I should've just left and called the police maybe, or even the next door neighbours but I didn't. Somehow, I felt it would be someone familiar with the house. Dara's sister perhaps, because who else could it be?

A guy stepped into the room, finally revealing his presence. The look of shock and confusion slowly plastering across his face as he took out the earphones he'd had plugged in. I really should have ran then, not running was my second mistake.

This guy hadn't even known I'd been in the house. Left to him, I'm sure he was certain that he was alone.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" The third mistake.

He sighed, "Person no fit enjoy music again sef.  I didn't sign up for all this stress o."

I glanced at his hands. One was still on his earphones, the other was clutching a briefcase. A briefcase I knew didn't belong to this guy.

"Aunty. Who are you too? You really shouldn't have come here." He had yawned, looking quite irritated.

Minus the facial expressions, he had been looking really absurd. He had on a really nice outfit but a terrible choice of shoes; a pair of bathroom slippers. "You shouldn't have come here at all because today, I'm too tired to lie about who I am."

"What?" The fear that I hadn't even remembered to have, suddenly grew its head.

I turned to run, it was very late. He pulled out a gun so fast. A bullet was all he needed.

Just one bullet. That was what took me down and left me lifeless, in a pool of my own blood.
My guts must have been on vacation that day.