Chapter 4

Effe almost laughed when she saw the look of chagrin and sudden fear on the face of Susan, and she took a moment to savour it.

Not knowing what to say, she asked the only question that she thought was relevant.

"Thank you for understanding, sir. But, if I may ask, how can I help you?"

"I'll brief you in the car, Miss Kedem."

Effe was startled.

"Please, call me Effe," she said quickly. "Brief me in the car?"

"Yes, my dear," Sir Lance said with a smile. "Oh, excuse my ardour. I do tend to jump ahead of myself sometimes. Indeed, I believe I do owe you some sort of explanation. I've been watching you. I saw the way you cracked open some of the most complex cases. Two years ago, truth be told, I was very impressed by the way you used a discarded tissue paper to place Abeiku Tumpah on the murder scene in that gruesome double murder of the twins. That was one case that I almost sent an SPF agent to come over and take control, but in the end, your ingenuity came to play to crack it open!"

Effe was stumped.

To know that the most powerful man in the kingdom, security-wise, had put her on his radar two years ago was sobering, and it made her glow inside.

Already, she was beginning to like Sir Lance a whole lot, especially when she saw confusion and trepidation making an interplay on Susan Biko's face.

"Thank you, sir," she said with a little smile. "I do love what I do."

"Indeed, you do, and that is what sets you apart from those idiots Susan has promoted and appointed over you," Sir Lancelot said with a tight little smile.

Effe gasped involuntarily; this man had just insulted Susan and the two gentlemen seated at the table with blatant disgust, and Effe knew Susan would never take kindly to that.

"Now, wait a minute, Sir Lance!" Susan said tightly, and the elderly man swung on her with a face that was suddenly filled with downright rage.

"You hold it a minute, Susan Biko!" Sir Lance exploded, his soft voice giving way to a thunderous, anger-filled tone. "Maybe I do understand why you appointed Korku here as the Director of Forensics of the BKI. He has but a year to retire. But who is this Nana Kuntuo, hm? What does he have over Miss Kedem that you should bring him in as Assistant Director? The guy is an imbecile! He doesn't know fuck about forensics!

All your damn successes had been due to Effe's brilliance! So why deny her of a position she is qualified for a hundred times over? Can you explain that to me? If you like screwing the guy, go on and screw him but don't you dare put him where he doesn't belong! Kingdom first, Susan, the Kingdom first. You breached that oath, and I'll be a good man to kick your damn butt out of your chair!"

He had transformed from the gentle, half-amused man who had spoken to Effe to a seething and belligerent judge, and Effe noticed how the three people around the table quivered in their seats.

Sir Lance continued to glare at them for a while longer, and then he turned and faced Effe again with a gentle smile.

"Effe, sorry for that outburst," he said calmly, again with a fatherly smile. "Quickly, I want to inform you that Mr Geoffrey Mensah, our Chief Forensics Officer at SPF, died recently. Mr Paul Blankson is now the CFO. The lads there are brilliant, but I believe the SPF needs another brilliant mind to be the head one day. So, I came to offer you the position of Assistant CFO at SPF."

"Huh?" Effe gasped as if she had just been sucker-punched. She stared at Sir Lance and could not speak for a moment, and when she finally spoke, it was in a shocked voice. "Oh, sorry, sorry sir… I'm just… overwhelmed, I guess."

He smiled briefly.

"Of course, it comes with higher remuneration, accommodation, and other great fringe benefits. If you're interested in the offer, the HR manager will fill you in more."

"Yes, I'm interested!" Effe cried, excited as the news still floored her. "Yes, sir! I'm ready! I was losing my mind over here!"

"I guess you were," Sir Lance said and patted her on the shoulder. "Anything you would need here? Otherwise, I have your first assignment for you, something that happened over at Eden prison earlier today."

"Oh, yes, I'm ready sir. But I need a few bits from my office!" Effe said hoarsely.

"Come on then, I'll help you pack up," Sir Lance said.

"Oh, no!" Effe cried, horrified. "Just a few personal things, sir. Won't take more than a few minutes."

"Good," Sir Lance said. "I'll wait for you in the lounge downstairs then. Can't stand the stench in this room."

"Sir!" Susan said and got to her feet; her thin face filled with worry as she looked at the grim-faced Sir Lance. "Please… Effe was working on the Unifield case! She needs to…"

"Nothing!" Sir Lance exploded with the same fury he had shown earlier. "Your two directors are here! Let them work on Unifield, Susan. And remember the deadline still holds. You'll have a lot of explanation to do if Unifield is not tied up in two weeks. Explanations why the only person who could help you was overlooked at a time she deserved her promotion. Be careful, Susan. You're walking on thin ice here!"

He turned and took Effe's arm.

"Come, dear, let's get out of here," he said.

Effe paused at the door and looked back.

There were stricken looks on the faces of those men. She looked into the scared eyes of Susan Biko, and it was the most beautiful spectacle she had ever seen.

To see Susan Biko shaken, scared, and looking so desperate was an exhilarating satisfaction for Effe, and she thanked Sir Lance in her heart for taking her out of a situation that had been progressively dragging her down!

Out of BKI, unbelievable!

And into a bigger, better, more fulfilling future!

She was SPF now!

The dream of every security person in the Kingdom!

She was now a part of the Special Palace Force!

Her heart sang with exhilaration! She could not wait to let Tony and her parents hear this! Finally, the constant threats and hatred from Susan were over!

In a way, if she were ever sent to work on an assignment at the BKI, she would be Susan's boss!

She began to laugh to herself when she stepped out of the elevator on the nineteenth floor and flew into her office.

She dropped her bag and hooted with delight, and then she did a quick shuffle and a crazy sassy jig!

Life was suddenly brighter!