The Telephone Call

The cold beer had never tasted this good. The extra distance trek to The Cold Joint was worth it. The bar is reputed to have everything cold. There was a long tale told about how the bar got its name. Mike, the previous owner, used to give customers change that was cold as he stored his money in the refrigerator. My uncle who enjoys drinking a little too often told me to never believe the stories of a man after the third bottle of beer. The day he gave me that advice he was on his seventh bottle of beer.

The tropical sun was merciless that day. The temperature was so high that one could easily fry eggs off the tarmac. So, anything cold was worth its weight in gold. It was very quiet in my room, with most of the occupants of the building at work. I took another sip of the beer and surveyed my small room. It is a small self-contained flat made up of a single living room, one sitting room, and a toilet-bathroom in one room. That was was in high demand by bachelors, like me, who wanted simple comforts without having to sell their souls to the devil for it.

I was just finishing my third bottle of beer when the phone rang. I thought it was most likely Rose calling. Rose is my girlfriend, though we are going through a rough patch. It has been a while I heard from her. I was happy she is returning my call. A call I have been patiently waiting for her to make.

I eagerly picked the call without looking at the screen.

^{Google Image}
It was a male voice.

"Hello Sah Bobo, we have been trying to reach you." A gruff voice I could not place said from the other end.

I then looked at the screen it was a strange number calling.

My first reaction was to tell him he dialed a wrong number. But I decided to play along and be the Sah Bobo.

Maybe it was the beer or just curiosity that made me say what I said next.

" Yes, sorry I was in the bathroom. Just stepped out now to put on my phone." I replied.

The voice on the end continued,
"Ok. I just wanted to let you that I have them now. The big and the small. It was difficult getting them at this time."

By now I am at a loss for what to say. Fortunately, the voice continued,"Where should I start Sah Bobo?"

I replied,"How small is the Small One?"

The voice on the other end sounding slightly irritated,"I believe we discussed all these two weeks ago, the Small One may not be as potent as the big one."

He paused, briefly to let that sink in and I did not utter a word.
He continued, "We've discussed these previously. The more the sacrifice, the better the result. Don't you want your family and friends to enjoy your money with you?" He queried.

I replied cautiously, "Well,... Em...What do you think of the Big...?" He quickly cut in here.

"Sah Bobo, I shouldn't be the person to make that choice for you. So, tell me the one you want."

Now, I have to think fast as I am intrigued by this conversation.
I cautiously said, "I prefer the Big One."

The voice on the other end quickly said,
"You made the correct choice. So I should just tell Ety to kill the.."

At the word "kill" I nearly dropped my precious beer! Now, this is going from intriguing to bizarre. I didn't know when I interrupted him, " Kill?" I asked him in an incredulous voice.

I could feel the exasperation from the voice on the other end.
"Sah Bobo, that is what we do. You make an order, we find them, we call, you pick the one you want, then we kill them.
Or do you prefer them delivered alive"?

He continued.

"The problem with delivering them alive is instead of getting the parts you need you'll get the whole bodies.Keep in mind the fact that it would be more trouble to deliver them alive, I don't think you'll have a suitable place for the kill, do you?

Now I had to be very careful in what I say next. This man may just be those guys people hire to kill for ritual purposes. There has been series of headless bodies lying around the city. Police are unable to make any arrest.

I have to do something as my brain went into overdrive.
The police are the next people I should call.
But I needed more things clarified.

" Are they still alive now?" I asked.

He replied. "Yes"
I asked again."How much is my bill?"
He quickly said. "Thirty thousand naira"

Now I'm feeling more positive about having cornered the mercenary.

"Please confirm that you have my correct address". He quoted a location on the other part of town. I jotted this address down, ended the call, and immediately called the police.

Four hours later, in a park near the location the caller had given me, in the presence of a truck load of police officers, I received a call that my package was ready. With unlikely agility, the police officers pounced on the man parked in front of a black gate next to the park. In the trunk of his car were two bucketfuls of chicken.

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