TAMISHO - My Story. My Life (20)

Playing Detective, Meeting Simi And The Viruses

Richard writes down the information his accountant has just given him on the open yellow pad before him as I wait for the phone call to come to an end.

“Eighteenth of November?.” He scribbles something on the pad again and then drops his pen, leaning back in his seat. “Well thanks Mr. Bassey. I will be in touch.”

“What did he say?” I ask Richard as soon as he lowers his phone to the table.

“He says, the last time he heard from Jude was last month…” Richard’s eyes grow distant with memories.

“And?” I prod, a little impatient.

Richard shakes his head, coming back to the present. “Nothing.”

I frown at Richard, tapping my own pen against my chin. “There is something. You just don’t want to share.”

Richard finds humour in my statement and gives me a smile. “You are right, but I want to be sure before sharing it.”

My facial muscles tighten into a frown. “We are supposed to be on this together.”

Richard sighs and I can feel him relent. “Okay fine,” Richard says, dragging his chair towards me and leaning back on the table again. “I remembered having a meeting with Tokunbo around that time when she claimed to have spoken to the accountant that same day.”

I twirl my pen in my fingers and wait to hear where this is going.

“And she relayed exactly the same message the accountant said Jude called him for.”

“Hmm,” is all I can say as I put two and two together and arrive at the only logical conclusion. “So Jude speaks to the accountant, gets information and passes it to Tokunbo?”

Richard nods. “That would be the only plausible explanation.”

Cocking my head to the left, I study Richard. “Why though?”

“I don’t know,” Richard tells me with a shrug, that pensive look still on his face. “The weird thing is, that day she was complaining about Jude and how she wanted him sacked because he was not doing his job.”

I think about Richard’s words for some minutes.

“And it turns out that they are keeping in touch.”

Richard gives an absentminded nod, picking up his pen again. “And probably know what is going on with the company’s account.”

I think of the internal auditor as Richard does another scribbling on his pad. “Sounds complicated.”

“Yes it is.”

I take note of his Richard’s observations on my own notepad and then look up again. “Where does this put the other auditor?”

Richard sighs. “I am thinking of that one. I might need to use another alternative means to get to the bottom of this.” 

I abandon my pad and watch Richard concentrate hard on what he has written. Finally, he puts the pad away and looks at me.

“Do you have a lot of work on your table?”

I remember my decluttered desk and shake my head. “Finished my tasks this morning.”

“Good,” Richard says, throwing his neck to the side and massaging a sore spot above his collarbone. I lift the pad to the table, tug down my black skirt and walk to meet him.

“Here, let me help you.”

I encourage Richard to straighten back up and stay still as I begin a slow massage, running the pads of my fingers along shoulders until I locate the knot of tension there. I slowly begin applying pressure on the spot and soon a moan escapes Richard's lips. I continue and until I feel his muscles relax.

“That was good,” Richard says when I step away from him. “Maybe I should just sack you from your job and make you my personal masseuse.”

I roll my eyes at Richard and walk round the table to pick up my pad. “Yeah right.”

“Going back to your office now?”

“Yes.”

“Sure you don’t want to keep me company?”

“I have to work for my salary,” I tell Richard, making a playful face at him.

“True. See you later.”

I nod and give him a smile before walking to the door. My hand stretched out before me to pull at the door handle, I step back when I see the handle go down.

“Hi,” Henry says, stepping into the office with his trademark grin. A wide stretching of lips framed by a single dimple in the left cheek.

“Hello Henry.”

Holding on to the handle and leaving the door half opened, Henry makes small conversation about office meetings and the driver that just resigned. Then he suddenly remembers that he met me on my way out.

“I should really let you go now.”

I nod and step away from his path.

“And…”

I pause at the door, giving Henry a questioning smile. “Yes?”

“My fiancee thinks it will be nice to have you and ….” He transfers his gaze to Richard who is raising his head to give us a puzzled frown. “….Richard come over to the house one of these days.”

His shoulders going down in a relaxed slump, Richard smiles and returns back to the notes on his table.

“….she has been itching to treat you both to dinner for some time now.”

I tell Henry that this weekend will be fine to meet his fiancee.

“Right Richard?”

Richard sighs and gives up on the notes. “Right,” he says, pushing away from the desk and sitting back in his chair. Henry is happy to hear this and holds the door open for me as I leave. 

My office is quiet and welcoming when I walk in but the moment’s peace is disturbed when the phone I had left behind on my desk begins to ring. I rush towards it and pick it up. I take in a deep breath, exhale and press down the answer key.

“Good afternoon Jude.”

“Hi there, Tamisho. I have been calling for some time now.”

“Okay.”

I pause and wait for him to state the reason for this call, but he is silent and seems to be waiting for me too.

“So what do you want to talk about?”

“I want to share something really private with you.”

My interest is piqued and I turn to lean on my desk, my legs stretched out ahead of me. I refrain from urging Jude to continue with his story. The last thing I want to do is sound eager.

“It is about Tokunbo.”

I pull my notepad towards me.

“What about her?”

Jude sighs into the phone, causing all kinds of static to fill my ears. “I have a feeling she is up to something.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Well, I spoke to the accountant yesterday and he says Tokunbo has been calling him to find out if I have done any recent checks on the account.”

I frown and write down this information on my pad even though I know it is not credible. I almost want to tell Jude about Richard's call to the accountant, but I don’t have Richard’s permission to do that so I just swallow the urge and wait for the rest of Jude’s story.

“I don’t know what this means but it seems as if Tokunbo has something to hide.”

“Have you spoken to Richard about this call?”

There is a small hesitation in Jude’s voice before he tells me no.

“I think you should.”

“I..just wanted to share with you first. Is Richard in his office now?”

“Yes.”

At this point, I expect his goodbye but Jude has other plans.

“I have more, Tamisho.”

I stop pushing away from the desk and lean back on it again. “More?”

“Yes,” Jude says in cool flat voice. “More on what I have discovered but I have to see you face to face to talk about this.”

“What is wrong with discussing it over the phone?”

“I don’t want to.”

I shake my head, remembering my last encounter with him. “I don’t think it is a good idea for us to meet Jude.”

“Why not?” Jude asks, sounding wounded.

“Our last meeting did not end well,” I inform Jude in a cool voice. “Besides, Richard is the best person to talk to about your….findings.”

“You brought me here Tamisho. I feel more comfortable with you.”

I close my eyes and let myself be tempted to play detective on my own but Richard’s scowling face soon appears to chase away the temptation.

“No, I am sorry Jude but I maintain my position that Richard is the best person to speak to.”

Jude’s sigh conveys his disappointment, and I purse my lips thoughtfully. What exactly is going on? Is Jude trying to throw Tokunbo under the bus? His lying about speaking to the accountant yesterday is the piece of puzzle that does not fit into the whole picture.

“The only way I can do this is meet you face to face. Anything apart from that will be hard to pull off.”

I repeat my stand on the matter to Jude, my voice thin with impatience, but he is surprisingly persistent.

“When you want to talk about this Tamisho, call me.”

The call ends and I look at the phone for some minutes and then decide to call Richard.

“Hey.”

“Jude just called me.”

Cold silence.

“Are you there? Is Henry still with you?”

“Yes I am. No he is not.”

“Okay.”

“So what did he say?”

I repeat the entire conversation to Richard and he listens without interrupting me. I end it all in two minutes.

“It is evident that he is lying.”

“Did Henry find anything?”

“Yes he did,” Richard says, breaking off the conversation as I hear papers rustling in the background. “I will tell you all about it later at home.”

“Cool.”

Ending the call to Richard, I return back to my chair, my mind churning with a thousand possibilities. Jude is possibly trying to get information from me by pretending to antagonize Tokunbo. It is also possible that a rift somewhere was responsible for Jude’s claim. Whatever it is, I – we are going to get to the bottom of this.

                                  

                                     ***************************************



The detective bug is spreading and right now my friends are restless from it.

“I am beginning to think there is more to this than you know,” Chika says, running her hands down the sides of her glass of orange juice. “Seems to me like these two people are up in arms against you.”

Ajumai shifts in her seat, arranges her white round neck dress three quarter sleeved dress around her knees. “Maybe they share a history together….who knows?”

Patricia’s finger is running in circles on the coaster before her. “I don’t think you should meet him.”

Chika opens her eyes at me. “You are not considering that, are you?”

“No. I made it clear to him that I will not be meeting with him,” I tell Chika with a shake of my head.

Bidemi is next. “Here is what I think,” she says, holding up her hand like a music conductor. We all turn towards her and wait. “Okay,” she says with a sigh, dropping her hands in the next second. “I am not sure what to think.”

“Maybe you should suggest a threesome with Richard.”

We all stare at Sarah aghast.

“A threesome?!!”

“Jeez,” Sarah says, shaking her head. “O ye of dirty minds. What I mean is that Tammy should meet Jude with Richard.”

“Thanks for clearing that up,” I say with a laugh.

“Abi o,” Bidemi says, laughing along with me. “That was quite scary.”

Everyone reaches for their drinks simultaneously. When I am done with my own drink, I toy with my phone as we enjoy additional seconds of silence. I can hear the thoughts of my friends. They are all thinking the same thing.

“You guys think she might be having a relationship with Jude?”

“I think so.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Makes sense that she is.”

“I have that feeling.”

I stare at my friends, suddenly seeing things from another perspective. “So a relationship huh?”

Everyone nods at me. I nod back and add that to my list of possibilities. There is more digging to do.

Meanwhile Ajumai has a story for us.

“He took me out to dinner the other night, and then…and then….he did the most amazing thing.”

Sarah beams like a fairy god mother on a mission to save marriages, but she is still the astute businesswoman. Her thoughts are all figures right now.

Five more corsets remaining. Eight thousand Naira….in all, that should be about forty thousand Naira. Two satin night dresses…twenty thousand Naira. Ajumai has to have them.



                                            **********************************



We settle into one of the boots of the bar. Henry and Simi on one end, me and Richard on the other end. Simi gives me an apologetic smile, her round brown face looking even more attractive with her effort. Her hair is styled in a short bob and moves around her face with every movement she makes. I remember being glad to see that her short red sheath dress with roching across the bust was almost identical to my fashion choice of the evening, an electric blue twist with doll sleeves that ends at the top of my knees.

“Sorry about this. I really wanted a nice dinner at home.”

“Don’t worry about it…” I tell her, returning her smile. “This is good too.”

Henry looks pleased to see that his fiancée and I are getting along well. Richard's attention is focused on the large LCD screen hanging on the wall opposite our booth. Simi leans to whisper something to Henry and I look around the bar. The soft lighting of the small cosy room makes it hard to study the few patrons on the other tables but the signs above the booths catch my attention and I squint at them to read.

Camp Nou.

I turn to the next.

Emirates Stadium.

And another

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

I decide to look up above our booth to find our own sign and it says,

Old Trafford.

When I look back, Richard, Henry and Simi are watching me.

“Sorry about that. Did I miss something?”

Richard nods. “The kick off.”

I look back at the television screen ahead to see players in red jerseys chasing players in navy blue jerseys who co-incidentally are chasing after a ball. Ha, football. If only I could understand the obsession with it.

“Okay.”

“So what club do you support?”

I blink at Simi. “Club?”

Richard laughs. “I am not sure my wife is much of a football enthusiast.”

I nod in agreement. “He is right,” I tell the couple sitting opposite me. “I rarely watch football.”

Simi looks horrified by my admission. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Shhh.”

Henry’s reprimanding whisper shuts off any interrogation from Simi who gives me a smile and leans into Henry to watch the ball chasing happening on the television. About ten minutes into the game the waiter comes to take orders and just as he lives a loud cheer erupts from the room.

“Goal!!!”

I cringe at the noise and lean back into my seat. Richard smiles at me, and places his hand on my thigh under the table.

“Crazy right?”

“Yes.” I look around at the chattering patrons and the signs above them. “It really feels like a stadium of some sort in here."

Richard laughs as the noise dies down.

Henry looks at me, his eyes alight with good humour. “Enjoying the game?”

“I am trying to.”

“That is my team,” he says, pointing to the screen. I am about to ask him which of the jerseys belong to his team and then he points up at the sign above us.

“Old Trafford.”

I am tired of looking out of depth so I steal a peek into Simi’s mind for answers.

Now I owe him five thousand for this goal. Who asked me to bet with this man now? Manchester please lose this game.

“Manchester?”

“Yes,” Henry says beaming at me with a pleased smile. “Simi is an Arsenal fan and she always wants me to lose.”

“Because of Van Persie?” Richard asks with a laugh.

Simi giggles at Richard. “Not really. I am just faithful to my club I guess.”

Henry snorts and goes back to his game. Richard asks me if I am okay once again and also turns back to the television. The screaming and the commentary would continue for the next one hour and towards the end of the match, I notice a high pitched female voice assailing my ears from the area of the bar.

“Oh..no. Why?!!....pass the ball….yes!!!....Oh God.”

I turn to find the owner of the voice perched on a stool, her midriff exposed as she leans back with both elbows on top of the bar. I see the gleam of a belly chain at the top of her black jeans pants before noticing her heavy make up and wild halo of weave. Sensing my perusal, lady screamer turns to give me a hostile stare. I flash her a smile to let her know that I am harmless. Simi is grinning at me when I turn back to the table. She leans across the table and says,

“I am going to the ladies…you want to come?”

I follow Simi out of the booth and we both make our way to the female toilet. The place is clean with a scent of vanilla lingering in the air. We enter different stalls and stay there for a few minutes before meeting at the open space where a wall sized mirror is.

“You were surprised with all the screaming that lady was doing, weren't you?”

“I thought it was quite…distracting.”

Simi laughs and leans to wash her hands in one of the sinks before us. “I see that a lot in places like this.”

I twist the faucet of my own sink open and squeeze washing liquid from the bottle on it.

“Really?”

“It is a ploy to attract sports loving men.”

Done with washing my hands, I wring them while I wait for Simi to finish using the hand dryer.

“I used to be like you…. laid back about these things,” Simi continues, looking backwards at me. “And then, one day I visit a sports bar with Henry and I see all these women crawling all over the place….running commentaries to show how much they like football…and then from that moment, I make up my mind to enjoy whatever Henry enjoys.”

“Do they like…visit every sports bar?”

Simi steps away from the dryer and urges me on. “Oh, they are like virus…football loving virus. You find them everywhere.”

I concentrate on drying the remaining moisture on my hand and then turn back to Simi.

“If most of them are like the lady at the bar, they’ll have to learn to be less obvious.”

“Well, at least I am closer to Henry now because of them….we even bet during games....because of them,” Simi says with a laugh. Then she stops and regards me thoughtfully.

"Do you know Richard's favourite club?"

"No."

Simi shakes her head. "You have never gone out with him to watch football?"

I leave off the head shaking and decide to defend myself. "We talk about other things, but...not football."

Simi shrugs and smiles. "Well, he obviously likes football...and," she pauses and inclines her head towards the door. "Don't forget the viruses."

We laugh together, check our make up and leave the toilet. The match is over and Richard and Henry are talking and laughing about something. We draw close to the table and Henry looks up at his fiancée with a smile. 

“Ah there she is. Now where’s my money?”

Simi bites her lips and asks, “two goals?”

“No,” Henry says with a shake of his head. “Three.”

“Fifteen thousand?!!”

Henry’s smile moves past his ears and almost touches his temples, “Right.”

Simi turns to me and says, “Oh God, damn the viruses.”

I laugh and settle back into the booth beside Richard. I am going to introduce Simi to the gang. They will love her.



                                                **********************************



I breathe in Richard’s scent as I nuzzle his neck. His arms tighten around me, but his eyes never leave the ceiling where they have been glued for the past five minutes.

“So what did Henry find out?”

“He seems to have found some information linking Jude to Tokunbo.”

“He did a background check?...How?”

“Henry is quite resourceful…besides he has always been up in arms against Tokunbo.”

“Give me more,” I urge, wriggling against him.

Richard looks down at me, his brows going up.

“I am not sure I know what you are requesting for at this moment.”

I stop my wriggling and grin at him. “I am asking for more….information on the background check.”

“Oh that,” Richard says, his eyes dancing with mischief. “You could have fooled me.”

“Go on,” I tell him with a wide smile. “I hate the suspense.”

“Okay,” Richard says with a sigh, going back to looking serious. “Your friend claims to have moved from the states, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, he actually used to live in London.”

“Oh…really?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

“And contrary to what you told me about his marital status…he has never been married.”

“Wait, how did Henry know all this?”

“Henry and I have always been best friends from school…”

“So…that means the three of you attended the same school.”

“Yes….and Henry was social enough to make a lot of contacts back then.”

“And these contacts happen to know so much about Jude?”

“London is quite small where Nigerians are concerned Tamisho,” Richard says, giving my side a small squeeze. “All you need is a name and people start talking.”

“Okay.”

Richard rubs his eyes with his right hand. “I don’t want to think about Tokunbo or Jude,” he says, turning on his side, effectively flipping me with him so that I am facing the window, my back pressed against his chest. I am too curious to find rest as my mind deals with what I have just learned from Richard. Chika’s words also flit around the recesses of my brain.

Tammy, I think I saw the woman we met in this place with your husband around the neighbourhood.”

Then my secretary Rita...

“I saw Miss Tokunbo and the new auditor…Mr….

“….Mr. Jude. Thank you ma.”

“I saw them together in the passage to Oga’s office yesterday.”

It is all beginning to make sense now.




                                              ************************************



“Someone is madly in love with me,” Richard says, one eye flying open before the other joins the first to watch me in amusement.

I straighten out my elbow, collapse back on the bed and roll my eyes, “so cocky.”

Richard laughs, turns to his side and lifts himself up on his elbow.

“Hard not to be when you have a wife that watches you sleep.”

I snort in answer and Richard drops a quick kiss on my lips and pushes away to his side of the bed. Stretching and showing off his well toned back, he begins to move towards the toilet but his phone stops him dead in his tracks and he turns back to it, sitting on the bed to answer it.

When he speaks, his tone is guarded. Careful.

“Hi.”

He does a lot of listening. I inch closer to him and begin to stroke his back, my ears on his conversation. I smile as he arches his back under my stroking.

“You want to see me?”

I frown, my stroking slowing down.

“And we can’t talk about it on the phone? We can’t talk right now?”

Richard shakes his head and says, “Okay. See you later.”

“Tokunbo?”

“Yes,” Richard says, standing up and walking to the bathroom. “She wants to discuss something important with me.”

I throw myself on Richard’s pillow and echo Simi’s words. “Damn the viruses.”