Familiar Foe √

8. Downs and ups

     I stayed up all night waiting for Mike's call but it didn't come in until around 8am the next morning.

"Once again your instincts came through. The fingerprints on the phone are a perfect match to the previously unidentified ones from the site." He successfully made my morning.

I wasted no time in sending men out to bring in Theodore. We met him at the station and at the first sight of him, I yelled.

"Corporal!"

James Ayang who was at the front desk rushed into the interrogation room.

"What happened to the suspect?"

Theodore Enun who was cuffed to the table had a swelling around his left eye and a busted lip.

"He resist arrest ma." The officer said, puffing out his potbelly that was barely contained by his fading uniform.

"I did not." Theodore hissed at the officer who caste him a death glare. Ayang was popular in the area as a bully and self-serving egomaniac.

"The order was clear; bring the suspect in for questioning, unharmed."

"Sorry ma." He grudgingly said.

"Just go. Take the cuffs off will you?".

He did as he was told and Theo rubbed his wrist while glaring at the retreating man.

"So I'm not under arrest." He glanced between Charles and I.

"Not yet." Charles said.

I sat on the chair he had already pulled out for me.

"It's nice to see you again, Theo."

"It doesn't feel so." He scowled.

"Where were you on the night of July 24th?"

"At home. Where else would I be?"

"I don't know, some hotel? Cheating on Sade. Again."

"Are you kidding me? I'm here so you can carry out some feminist vendetta?" He looked crazed, angry, still aggressively rubbing at his wrists.

"You are here, eranko because you are a valid suspect in an ongoing murder investigation. So bros, behave yourself."Charles warned.

"How am I a suspect?"

"Where were you on the night of July 24th?"

"I told you, I was home."

"Your neighbors said they saw you leave sometime before midnight."

"My neighbors also said they saw Davido at Marian market."

"Since your neighbors are odes, tell me how your fingerprints ended up in Mrs. Coker's bedroom." Charles placed both his hands on the table.

Theodore looked between us for a few seconds before he began laughing.

"What's the joke, Theo?" I leaned back on the seat and watched him, trying not to let my annoyance be seen.

"The joke us you guys, you two are the joke. I was in Mrs. Coker's room once, she wanted to talk about Sade."

"And she couldn't have done that in the living room?"

"The girls were there and she needed privacy."

"I think that house has a few more private spots aside the woman's bedroom. What do you think Charles?"

"I think son-in-law here isn't telling us the truth." His voice was casual.

"It's true I swear, it happened just a few days before she was killed, you can ask the girls. Sade was just starting to get over the miscarriage and she wanted me to assure her I was going to take care of her daughter."