"Can you believe that Pelumi and Sam are dating?" Aderonke told her husband in the evening after he was back from work.

"Your staffs?" Wale asked while concentrating on the football match he was watching.

"Yes and they are always fighting in the botique like enemies. I didn't know it was love play. " Aderonke continued.

"Okay." Wale replied slowly, refusing to take his eyes off the television.

"I wanted to ask you something dear, why are you never around these days? You are always at work. You wake up early, come home late and most times you don't talk to me anymore, am I annoying or what? " Aderonke asked, adjusting her body on the couch in the sitting room.

"I've a new project I'm working on and it's taking most of my time. " Wale answered.

"Really? Have you forgotten that.... " Aderonke started but stopped when her husband interupted her.

"Forgotten what? What did I forget, Ronke? " Wale turned down the volume of the television.

"You have forgotten that your daughter is dead and you are talking about stupid projects. " Aderonke hissed aloud.

"Stupid projects abi? Projects that will feed you and me. And Bimbo is not.... " Wale trailed off.

"She's not what?" Tears began to well up in Aderonke's eyes.

"Never mind, let me watch my football in peace. " Wale responded.

"Are you kidding me, Adewale? You want to watch football after all this?" Aderonke vibrated her legs.

"W-What do you want me...to do? I know my daughter is dead... Do you really.. have to.. remind...me?" Wale's eyes began to release droplets of tears slowly.

"I-I didn't mean to, dear. I didn't really mean to say.... " Aderonke tried to beg him.

"Do you...know... that sometimes I drive to Bimbo's school in the afternoon, waiting for her... But then I realize that... she's gone.... " Wale wiped the water away from his face.

"I-I'm sorry dear, I really didn't mean..." Aderonke was stopped by the beeping of her phone which was on the centre table.

She picked up her phone and frowned at the caller ID.

'Incompetent Detective' was calling her.

She hesitated at first before sliding the green button.

"Hello, what is it?" Aderonke asked promptly.

"Good afternoon Madam." Ada greeted.

"Spare me your sarcastic greetings and get straight to the point." Aderonke cleaned her right ear with her finger.

"Your daughter...did she ever have a diary?" Ada asked.

"I don't know, why are you asking?" Aderonke replied, getting up and signifying to her husband with her finger that she was going outside.

"I just need to know, your daughter...might have kept some secrets in it that might help the investigation." Ada responded.

"Okay, I'll check." Aderonke replied.

"Do you know that Sade, your daughter's friend is in the hospital presently? I think..." Ada began but Aderonke interupted.

"Who is Sade? Is she my daughter? Do I know her from Adam? What's my business if she's sick? Make sure she confesses, that's my concern." Aderonke yelled.

"But she was your daughter's friend." Ada pushed.

"I don't care. Catch the person who killed my daughter and stop spewing nonsense." Aderonke shouted.

"Okay, Thank you Madam." Ada said.

"Stop calling me Madam like you are being sincere. You've been on this investigation for three weeks and you have nothing to show for it. You're the most arrogant, stupid detective that I have ever met in my life. I'm sure you aren't married, what am I saying sef? You can't even get a man with your...." Aderonke ranted but stopped on noticing that the detective had cut the line.

"She's so proud, haba." Aderonke screamed and turned around. She was extremely annoyed, the detective told her to stay out of the investigation and the detective wasn't even doing anything tangible.

"Madam, I am here." Uche declared, dragging his feet.

Aderonke whipped her head, "Did I call you?"

"Yes ma, you called me." Uche nodded.

"Omase o, the sun is too much abi?" Aderonke shook her head with pity.

"Yes ma, see the way I'm sweating like Christmas goat." Uche rubbed his sweaty brows

"Your brain has stayed too long in the sun to the point that it's already burnt to ashes. Did you hear me call you?" Aderonke shouted at the trembling gatekeeper.

"B-But ma, I a-already told you, you called me. I swear." Uche argued.

"Uche, go and swear for your village people. Better go and meet your people at Yaba left, idiot. Time waster." Aderonke hissed and walked away from a confused Uche.

******

"Goal!" Wale chanted with his arms raised once Aderonke stepped into the living room.

"Can you believe that detective cut the phone on me, again?" Aderonke complained to her husband.

"My club won, darling." Wale pulled his wife closer to him.

"You know I hate football. That detective is pissing me off." Aderonke spat.

"I know, I know. What did she say?" Wale asked.

"She said, Sade was in the hospital which is none of my business." Aderonke shrugged and crossed her legs.

"Be sentimental, she's Bimbo's friend." Wale answered.

"At least she's sick, my daughter is...dead. Her parents are very lucky." Aderonke mouthed.

"That reminds me, I have to go to the office and pick up something. I might be late because of the traffic." Wale suddenly stood up.

"This is what I don't like, you're always going to the office, back and forth. Are you married to me or your job?" Aderonke pouted.

"I'm married to you but obviously I love my job more." Wale laughed.

"Ehehn, it's okay. I'll divorce you and you and your darling job can go to the altar and kiss each other." Aderonke turned her face away.

"Ronke baby." Wale winked.

"Don't do that." A blush creeped into Aderonke's cheeks. That was the nickname Wale had given her when they first started dating.

"Don't do what?" Wale bent and pecked his wife's lips.

Aderonke laughed against her husband's lips. She was still mourning her daughter's death but she never failed to realize how much her husband doted and adored her.

*******

Sade squinted her eyes to grasp her surroundings properly. She had slept for over three hours. She, Bola and Mercy talked extensively when she awoke at first in the evening. She was shocked on hearing that the detective visited her in the hospital. Sade knew that the detective was getting closer and closer to the truth. She shut her eyes on remembering Bimbo and the tears flowed down her cheeks.She wished that she could go back in time to Valentine's day. Maybe she would have stopped Bimbo. Sade remembered her previous WAEC exams she had written the previous week. She knew she had flunked mathematics. Her brain was completely shut down. She almost wrote Bimbo's name on the paper instead of hers.

Her stray thoughts were halted when she heard the clanking of the door. She opened her eyes wide to see who had entered but due to the darkness of the night and no moon shinning, she couldn't see anything.

She then lifted her neck to check and that turned out to be the biggest mistake of her life when she felt someone wrap his strong hands around her small neck.

She almost screamed but he had pushed a dirty sock into her mouth, leaving her to survive on bad oxygen.

"Y-You told the detective something, didn't you?" he growled at her.

Sade stuttered, "No... sir...I didn't. I didn't say anything."

"Really? Then why are you in the hospital?" he demanded.

Choking , Sade replied, "I... fainted...at school."

"You are making yourself suspicious, remember that if I go down. We all go down... together." he whispered into her ear.

"I... didn't...kill..Bimbo, you...did." Sade managed to speak.

"It was an... accident. You know that, your friends know that and Bimbo knows as well." he replied and then released his hold from her neck.

Sade whimpered and looked up but he wasn't there anymore. She kept breathing in and out repeatedly trying to calm herself down but it was futile, her heart was running a marathon.