I could feel the frown lines forming on my forehead. I didn't get to smile a lot in my line of work but no criminal could squeeze a frown as hard as that out of me as easily as the chief of detectives did.

"What nonsense are you saying, Wilson?" He barked through the phone.

"I can't close the case sir."

"You we're the one whining about being dragged out of leave and now you don't want to close the case. Why? Enjoying your accommodation a little too much?"

He could be such a prick but for some reason, people liked the man.

"All we've got is a bloody knife that may or may not be the murder weapon. No motive, no evidence, no witnesses, not even a hint of a confession. You can send your men down to bundle Sade up and bring her to you but if she can afford a decent parrot in black and white, she'll be out of there before you can tell what she looks like."

The line was quiet.

"You wanted me on this case and I'm telling you it's not solved, let me do my job."

"Fine, do your thing but just so you know, women of different caliber are walking in here every two hours to cause unrest in the station. That woman really was a workaholic. Solve your case detective, fast."

"Yes sir."

I threw the phone on the table and walked to the window. Since the weapon was found, I had spent the rest of the day questioning the Coker sisters and trying to make sense of everything.

It was almost six pm now and still, nothing. Chief Ededem may have conceded but only I knew how quickly his patience ran out.

       My second night in the Coker house wasn't very different from the first, I was awake late into the night beating myself up about what I was missing, listening to the case recordings, drawing up clues that refused to add up.

For the second night in a row I slept on that stiff chair and when I woke up, it was past 8am. This time someone was knocking on the door. It was one of the officers on patrol.

"There is someone downstairs, he wants to see the girls."

"Give me a minute." I rushed and brushed my teeth before going down to meet our guest.
He rose the moment he saw me, clad in ankara shirt and trouser.

"Good morning ma. I'm Samuel, the security."

Samuel had a solid build and too much hair for a man in his late fifties. His smile was confident, not cocky and his eyes carried a fair amount of warmth.

"Mr. Samuel. How is your wife?"

"She is doing okay, don't worry. What happened to Idara."

I noticed he called her by her first name so I asked him to sit.

"Mrs. Coker was stabbed to death, repeatedly."

His face fell as he finally got the news firsthand.

"I should have been here."

"Your wife needed you." That was the only consolation I could give him and he took it with a sad frown.

"Did she have any enemies? Anyone that would want to hurt her?" Sammy shook his head.

"Idara avoided trouble, she just wanted to be happy and raise her kids. She was a ball of sunshine and positivity, she never treated anyone like they were below her."

"How long have you worked here, Mr. Samuel?"

"Over 25years."

"Mr. Coker employed you?"

"No, the Mrs. did. I knew Idara growing up, we are from the same place. After graduating from polytechnic, I couldn't get a job do I returned to the village but when she heard, she offered me a job here, I was reluctant but she said I could always look for a better job from here. I never found any and they let me stay, eventually I stopped looking."
That explained the familiarity.

"You think any of the girls could have done it?"
His eyes widened.

"Her children? As kids, they all considered me their uncle but they grew out of it, even Vera. I don't feel like I know them enough to be able to answer that."

"That's okay, thank you Mr. Samuel." I rose and he did same.

"Will you be staying?"

"If it's okay, I'd like to, till the animal who did this is found ."

I nodded.

"You can stay in your room as long as you do not interfere with our investigations."

        There was no breakfast today and no Coker in sight. The house was eerily quiet until Charles walked in.

"Word on the street is that COD wants our case closed." He said as the door swung closed behind him.

"He is giving us more time." I leaned back on the chair.

"Sometimes I wonder how he got that job, he reasons like a primitive man."

"Isn't he?" We both laughed.

"You won't believe what happened to me last night." He took the only other chair in the room and leaned towards me.

"You didn't get in an accident, obviously."

"Martha was at my place when I got home from the station."

Martha was his new girlfriend. I didn't like her, she was pushy and malicious. She didn't like me either, she knew about mine and Charlie's night of unchecked emotions.

We never talk about that night, I had just broken up with the bag of scum I had called my boyfriend for two years, I was emotionally unstable and when Charles walked through my door to console me, I practically jumped him.

It was intense, it shouldn't have happened but we laughed it off the next morning and made a silent pact not to ever talk about it but for some reason, he told her. He said she just popped the question on him and he saw no reason to lie.

"How long had she been waiting outside?"

"That's the thing Kay, she was inside, lying on the sofa waiting with dinner on the table."

"A wife material she is." I cooed and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm not marrying her."

"Then why are you dating her?"

"You are talking like you don't know Martha, she refuses to take the hint. She promises that when she handles me in bed, I'll ask her to marry me immediately."

"Wait, you guys haven't__" He shook his head and leaned forward on the table.

"We did last night."

"Okay, so you proposed yet or you need me to help you pick out a ring?" He let out a short sigh.

"She's got skills, but I've had better." The look he gave me was rare but not foreign and I've never been able to deal with it but it doesn't last long.

"Mike called, he's ready for us." He leaned on his seat. I stood and grabbed my jacket. My service pistol already secure on the holster around my waist.

"Let's go, I could use a field trip." I grabbed my helmet and keys as well.

"I know you missed riding that thing." He said as he followed me down.

"Don't bitch Charlie, you get to ride shotgun."

He insisted he hated riding on the back of my bike but I knew he got off of it.

*********

     Michael Orji, forensic consultant of the police department of Cross River State owned a pharmacy, a pretty big one. He said it was his side hustle but it was an investment, government work was good but for someone with a family as large as his, a salary could only do so much.

There were a good number of customers in the pharmacy at Goldie when we got there. Mike flashed us a goofy smile from behind the counter and invited us to his office, leaving the work to his salesperson.

"The bar is getting grander Mikky." Charles said as we took our seats.

"What can I say? We specialize on hotcakes like CDs." He replied and both men laughed.

"Looking good Mike." I complimented.
He smiled and touched his balding head.

"I got a new haircut." Charles watched him with amusement, there was barely ever anything to be cut on the man's head.

"Suits you. What do you have for us?"

He adjusted his glasses and brought and envelope out of his drawer.

"This came in yesterday from Lagos. Sorry we are doing this out of the office."

"The location doesn't matter, man." Charles reassured him. He nodded and handed the envelope to me.

"There are the results from everything we swept off the site. Most of them are gibberish but you'd be interested in the fingerprints."

"Why is that?" He made himself a little more comfortable on his seat.

"There are a lots of prints of all except one, Funmi Coker."

"That makes sense, she rides a wheelchair. I don't think she goes up every night to kiss mama goodnight. She doesn't even seem like the type that kisses anyone." Charles stated.

"Or she was smart enough to cover up her tracks." I reasoned.

"And the rest were just left behind?"

"Could have been left there from the morning after the crime. She's studying criminology Charles, I'm not letting her off easy." He backed off for the time being.

"There is something else, a print that appeared at least three times but doesn't match with any of the suspects. I ran it through our systems but couldn't find a match." Mike revealed.

"So this person is either too young, has a clean record, not a citizen of the state or lacks electoral apathy."

"All instances rightfully stated ma'am." Mike said with a couple smile.

"Now we have mystery suspect number five." Charles pulled on a fake smile.

"I think I have an idea who our mystery guy is." An idea was brewing in my mind.

"Guy?" Charles inquired and I nodded.

"Without anything linking him to the case we can't bring him in." He served a reminder.

"What if we get their print, will you be able to match it for us Mike?"

"Of course."

"Come on Charlie, field trip just extended."

**********

      Theodore Enun was a casanova, I saw it in the way he addressed the secondary school girls in short skirts gathered around him. Schools were on vacation but the ss2 students were still taking the state's mock examination and he was invigilating.

There was nothing special about his appearance but he had charisma, the sort that kept one up at night waiting for him to reply their text.

He dismissed his students and finally walked up to me with a charming smile, ready to swoon.

"Hi. You asked to see me?"

"Theodore Enun?" He nodded and I pushed myself off my bike.

I dug into the back pocket of my cargo pants to produce my wallet. I opened it and flashed my ID.

"Detective Kaima Wilson." I watched his smile flatter.

"Is there a problem detective?"

"No. I'm here as regards to the death of your almost mother-in-law, Mrs. Idara Coker. I'm sure this isn't news to you." His smile was lost.

"I heard the news, I've been trying to get through to Sade but her line has been turned off." The level of effort he put into the relationship ticked me off a bit.

"Miss Coker and her siblings are under protective custody."

"What? Why? Is she okay?" His show of concern didn't move me.

"They are all okay. Actually Theo, I came to see if you could be of any help."

I didn't want him to think we were onto him. This elephant had to be left alone for the time being.

"Okay?"

"What can you say about Mrs. Coker?"
A smile ghosted on his lips.

"She was very welcoming and friendly. She made me feel like a part of the family already. I lost my parents at an early age, she filled that void for me."

"Any ideas who could have done this?"

"None. It's hard to believe anyone would want to kill that lovely woman."

I stared at him for a while, he had a little scar above his right cheekbone.

"Well, thank you for talking to me."

"It's the least I can do."

"Can I have your contact? In case we have something to run by you." He nodded without hesitance.

I fished the small new Nokia phone Charles had gotten a couple minutes ago and handed it to him. He cast me a look before punching his number in.

"Thank you. Sorry for interrupting your work." He smiled and returned to his students.

I rode out with the phone still in my hand. Once on the next street, I stopped in front of a kiosk and Charles walked out. He produced an evidence bag and I dumped the phone in it.

He stuffed it in his breast pocket and got on the bike, wrapping his hands around me.

"One more stop Charlie boy."