Sixty-Two

Effe's office door opens.

Her office is huge, replete with all the modern gadgets that a state-of-the-art office should have.

Her desk is U-shaped and made of polished mahogany. The view out of the window is an exquisite sight of the beachfront. There is a door that leads to a finely-furnished sleeping quarters. The sitting area is furnished with the best settees and a minibar.

Three men walk into her office, sharply dressed in suits.

They are HAMMOND SLOAN, senior and founding partner, ALBERT MENSAH, partner and JEFF ATAKORA, the Public Prosecutor.

Effe has just landed that morning. She had cancelled her participation at the seminar and arrived in Accra. During the night, she forced herself to follow the terrible news feed about Chris Bawa.

It is now an international viral news item.

The Beast has fed, and suddenly everybody is in arms.

From the clergy to the judiciary to the ordinary man on the street, the cry is the same: Chris Bawa, The Beast, should be punished to the most rigorous extent of the law possible. She has finished mourning Chris, and the only feeling she has left is a hatred so strong that it threatens to suffocate her.

She is dressed in a beautiful black dress as she gets up to meet them. She ushers them to the sitting area and sits down primly.

"Welcome, gentlemen. Can I offer you something to drink?" Effe speaks lethargically.

They all shake their heads.

Sloan and Mensah look very disturbed indeed, but Atakora, who is a bearded, balding severe-looking portly man, looks directly at Effe.

"You know why we're here, Effe," Atakora says gently.

"Sloan told me you want us to lead the prosecution in your ex-husband's case, but they declined because of me, and because of conflicts of interest clauses."

"Listen, Effe. Look, the people upstairs want Chris to be locked away and the keys thrown away. He has embarrassed the President for pardoning him and has done this dastardly thing. I know how difficult this period is for you. I know how much you love Chris…"

"No, you don't, Jeff. I hate him with every single drop of blood in me," Effe says coldly. "I don't want you to talk. I want that case file. I'm going to lead the Prosecution. I'm going to make sure that Chris never sees the outside of a prison wall again."

Her utterances stun all of them, especially Hammond, who is a personal friend of Chris.

"Jesus, Effe! That's absolutely preposterous! You can't do a thing like that! Not to Chris!" Sloan cries.

"Chris is an animal, Sloan. He could've had everything… EVERYTHING!" Effe cries painfully. "But he chose to return to the mud, like a pig! He certainly doesn't require any mercy. I'm going to lock him away, and God help me, I'm going to take great delight in doing it!"

"Hey, Effe. Guy is your ex-husband. Talks had been rife that you two were coming back together. It ain't right to prosecute him. Judge wouldn't buy it!" Albert says.

"Actually, Judge Tamakloe asked for Effe to be on the prosecution team," Atakora says softly. "He believes Effe can present a perfect case, and to hell with unethical interest. He has made sure seven hard women were on the jury."

"Good gracious! You guys are gonna bury him!" Sloan says, stunned. "Come on, Effe! Surely, you're not doing this!"

Effe looks at him coldly. There is no spark in her eyes, only the pain.

"Watch me, Sloan. But first, Jeff, when are we going to court?"

"A week. Shouldn't take long as the country expects justice. I'll let the Judge know you accepted then I'll hold a press conference this evening," Atakora replies.

"How's Barbara? Still in the hospital?"

"Yes, some of her injuries, especially the blows to her ribs, are quite severe, but she should be up and about in a couple of days."

"Can she talk? Before I accept I'll have to speak to her, but I'll use a lie detector if you don't mind."

"I'll set it up, Effe."

"Good," Effe says. "Case file?"

"In my car," Atakora replies.

Effe stands up and picks up her handbag.

"Can we go set up my interview with the victim?"

Hammond Sloan gets to his feet and approaches Effe.

"Don't do this, Effe. Look, I'm not going to stop you, if you want to do this, but please consider your son," he says tremulously. "He loves his father. Doing this to Chris can really affect that poor boy. You want me to handle it, I will, but in the name of God do not prosecute Chris."

Effe looks at him darkly.

For a very brief moment, she cannot hide the pain in her soul, the deep agony that is tearing her apart. For a very brief moment, she trembles and pain suffuses her, and she almost collapses, but she shakes her head and grits her teeth.

"Junior will be fine, Sloan. He had the misfortune of being the son of a pig. He will live through it, and it will make him strong so that he doesn't grow up to be like that damn man! Let's go, Jeff."

***

Effe is appalled at the sight of Barbara.

She is propped up in the hospital bed, and her face is badly bruised from where Chris had punched her repeatedly. Her lips are broken and swollen. Her hands are bandaged, and her ribs are also bandaged. She speaks with great difficulty.

The lie-detector experts have attached their sensors to her, and the machine is set up. The man in charge asks Barbara her name and a few test questions which she replies slowly. Jeff and some police officers and some doctors are in the room too. Effe sits on the edge of the bed and looks at Barbara critically.

"If Chris has wounded you this terribly, I'm very sorry, Barbara. But I need to hear the truth, and once I confirm it is the truth, I'm going to make sure Chris receives the harshest prison sentence we can mete out to him," Effe says sadly.

Barbara nods slowly and tears brim in her eyes.

"Thank you, Madam," Barbara says quaveringly.

"Okay. Can you tell me what happened? If you're too traumatized, I'll understand."

Tears spill down Barbara's bruised cheeks, and a doctor wipes them off with a hankie.

Haltingly Barbara tells her story.

She had seen Chris entering his room. He had called her the previous day to tell her he has a package for Jon Fii, his friend and chaplain at James Fort prison. When she came to the house she saw Chris entering his room, so she chased him inside.

"I was calling him, shouting out his name. I found him in the kitchen. He had a tube and he was snorting cocaine on the kitchen counter. I was alarmed. I told him to stop it," she says tearfully. "When he wouldn't stop, I brushed the cocaine off the cabinet. He got so mad. Before I realize he punched me and hit me all over. I begged him to stop, and I scratched him and cried, but he wouldn't stop. He tore off my clothes and raped me. When he finished, he was preparing more cocaine on the counter. I picked up one of his dumbbells, the one he uses to exercise and hit him with it. He fell unconscious and I used my phone and called the police."

She begins to cry as Effe sadly gets up from the bed and approaches Jeff.

"I read the police report," Effe says tightly. "Chris had cocaine in his bloodstream."

"Yep. A hell of cocaine in his blood. He was doped solid," Atakora says somberly. "Scratches on his face, skin under the girl's nails. She had semen in her vjay, and bruises. Semen and skin match Chris' DNA. HE did it, Effe. Guilty as hell. I'm sorry."

Effe shudders. She breaks down then and has to walk quickly into the bathroom to wash her face. Still, she cannot stop her tears as the pain tears out her soul. She hugs herself and slips helplessly to the floor, and her heart breaks again as she weeps bitterly.

When she emerges finally she walks up to Barbara and speaks softly.

"Just one more thing, Barbara. Before this, have you ever had sexual intimacy with Chris?"

Barbara nods.

"Yes. I slept over at his place once. He was sad, and he was very disturbed that night, and I can't actually remember the date. He was so vulnerable, and before I could help it we had sex. Later I told him I wouldn't make love to him again, because it is a sin, and I want to keep myself for the man I'll marry. He seemed to understand! I like him as a friend, that's all."

She begins to cry again, and the doctor moves in hurriedly, a sympathetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry, but that's enough for today if you don't mind. The patient needs to rest," the doctor says firmly.

Effe turns and walks on dead legs to the lie-detector expert. She looks at him questioningly. He presses some buttons, and a printer whines, ejecting a long sheet of paper. He holds it and tears it off from the printer along some dotted and perforated lines.

He shakes his head sadly, his lips grim in obvious anger against Chris. He folds the sheet and gives it to Effe.

"Every word she said is the truth, madam. That boy needs to go to prison," he says grimly.

Effe wipes a tear from her cheek and puts the sheet in her bag.

"There's no room for error? Is it final?" Effe asks, crushed as she feels a sudden deep pain in her heart. "Is it the truth, Gospel truth?"

"No margin for error, please madam," the expert says. "Absolutely true, every word."

Effe trembles perceptively, and then she turns away, totally broken. She walks towards the door, and Jeff falls into step beside her.

"You okay, Effe?" Atakora asks with concern.

"Fine, fine, couldn't be better. What're we up against? Who's representing him?"

"Nobody wants to represent him. I heard he tried to hire some lawyers, but everyone is staying away from him. They're protecting their reputation. It will be absolutely tragic to rep a guy like Chris in a case like this. The hatred for Chris Bawa right now is so damn high. But I forced a guy called Ben Buabasah to rep him. New from law school, and mad as hell for being asked. He'll play ball."

"Good," Effe whispers. "Very good."

When she goes out of the hospital she puts a call to Steve and asks him to meet her at her parent's residence.