Treachery in the Yard by Adimchinma Ibe Read Free Book Online Page A

Thought you would want to know.”
    This was good news. “They’re sure he’s our man?”
    â€œNo one saw their faces earlier, but he was caught sneaking around the Karibi home.”
    â€œWhen?”
    â€œEarly this morning, before the sun was up. He couldn’t give a straight story why he was in the area.”
    â€œExcellent. Where is he now?”
    â€œNot here. That’s the bad news. Barrister Osamu came and took him on bail.”
    â€œHowell Osamu? Same Osamu? I saw him leaving with a younger man when I came in this morning.”
    â€œSame. Same Osamu. Same young man. His name is Thompson. If that’s his real name.”
    What interest would a high-end lawyer like Howell Osamu have in such a fellow? “I want to check on Osamu. I want to know what his interest is in this Thompson.”
    Captain Akpan shook his head. “Go after Osamu? Is that a good idea? What do we have on this guy? Nothing; just loitering. Osamu will be only too glad to chew your ass off if you make a charge against his client without any evidence.”
    â€œI’ll take that chance.”
    â€œThere’s more,” Femi said. “We received a call from Judge Karibi. I just heard.”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œOur men are on the way. I don’t know the details yet. The staff sergeant passed it on.”
    â€œI don’t like any of this, Femi. I’m going over to the Karibis. Do you have his number?” Femi checked his notebook and gave it to me. I dialed it on my cell. No answer.
    In my car, I tried his phone again. On the third ring, it was answered. “Judge Karibi, I’m concerned about your call,” I said immediately.
    â€œWho is this?”
    â€œDetective Peterside.”
    â€œThis is Staff Sergeant Okoro, detective. Judge Karibi doesn’t want to talk to anyone right now.”
    â€œThanks, sergeant. Too bad for the judge. Put him on now.”
    There was only a slight pause before I heard the judge. “Detective?”
    â€œI’m driving toward your house now. I am concerned about your call. The man found in your backyard this morning. He’s on the loose again.”
    He sighed. “You are too late.”
    There was a pause, and Okoro was back. “Detective, you don’t know?”
    â€œKnow what?”
    â€œThe judge’s wife is dead. He found her ten minutes ago, in the kitchen.”
    â€œMurdered?”
    â€œDefinitely.”
    â€œI’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m in the Rumuokwuta, round about.”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    I don’t like murder investigations when the bodies pile up. You have to spend a lot of time climbing over the bodies to get to the truth.
    Staff Sergeant Okoro walked over as I got out of my car at the judge’s house.
    â€œWhen he came home nobody answered the door. He and his driver found Mrs. Karibi dead in the kitchen.”
    â€œWhere’s he now?”
    â€œIn an upstairs bedroom. I have an officer with him.”
    â€œHow did she die?”
    â€œBeaten. Head bashed in. The pathologist is on the way. There’s more.”
    I wiped off the sweat from my forehead, the ever-present sweat, the ever-present heat. “More? Like what?”
    â€œThe maid was killed, too. I think she died from a hit on the head. We found them both in the kitchen.”
    â€œWhat does the crime scene say?” I asked as we walked into the house.
    â€œJudge Karibi found the front door locked. The gardener said he was relaxing in the boys’ quarters, listening to music onheadphones. Says he didn’t hear a thing. The house isn’t ransacked, no signs of forced entry. Looks like they gained entry through the kitchen. We found signs of a struggle in the kitchen, a chair overturned, and a table on its end.”
    I walked through the ground floor of the quiet house with him. There was blood on the kitchen floor.
    â€œWe found two distinct pairs of shoe