The Morning After
It was a tough time at the Cough 2000 International Inc. following the
robbery by members of Whirlwind's gang. The following day, the police
combed everywhere to see if they could find any trace left behind by the
thieves. But they did not see anything. Everyone was surprised about the
robbery. Amanda walked in later in the day with Maxwell, the expatriate
American who worked in the company. He was worried by the theft of his
passport.
"Gentlemen, as you can see, the thieves broke into the company in the
night and they stole our money and a passport. But investigation is still
going on," he announced to the workers.
The workers looked on worriedly and wondered why thieves descended on the
company.
"We will get to the bottom of the matter and I will not relent. I
will go to my village and meet people at the grassroots to do something
about this theft," said Amanda.
"It is good to get to the bottom of the matter even if it means going
to your village," said Hain who had come to the office very early in
the morning.
"I also support that you go to your village to find those who are
behind the robbery," John advised too.
"I will surely visit my village to unravel the mystery surrounding
the theft," said Amanda again.
"What are you going to do in your village? Have they caught the
thieves there?" Asked Maxwell, the American.
"No they have not caught the thieves there. I am going there to
contact men that are vast in sorcery who can detect the thieves by
speaking to the gods and spirits," said Amanda.
"Really? Is that possible?" Asked Maxwell.
"Yes. We have a very powerful native priest there who can detect the
thieves with some magic," said Amanda.
"If this thief is caught by this local priest, I bet, I will
recommend him to the authorities at the Federal Bureau of Investigations
assist them in catching runaway thieves and criminals," said Maxwell
who was eager to recover his stolen passport.
Later that afternoon, Amanda went to a cattle market where they also sold
goats and sheep. He wanted to buy two goats which the herbal priest he
consulted earlier in the day to help him catch the thieves demanded. The
priest demanded two goats. He said that the gods needed the goats before
they could be consulted with his divination. As Amanda walked to buy the
goats, he remembered the dream he had earlier when the cow screamed at him
as he was haggling. He kept a distance from the cows and bought the goats.
They were later put in the van. Few minutes later, he was on his way to
drop the goats at the priest's place. On his mind was the thought that
those who broke into the office were possibly the workers who worked for
him during the day and turned coats to be thieves at night. He however
went to the office later and told the workers that they needed to clear
themselves of any suspicion and that the police was working on the theory
that the theft may have been an insider's job.
The police came to the office on the second day and confirmed to the staff
that they were working on the theory that the stealing was carried out by
those who knew the office very well. They said that the workers needed to
clear themselves by visiting the local priest who used to help the police
to catch thieves with voodoo.
Two days later, Amanda, accompanied by Maxwell went to Buffalo, the herbal
priest who was believed could catch the robbers that took away the
organization's money and Maxwell's passport. The case of the theft in the
organization had become very sensitive and the workers were ready to clear
themselves. The workers knew that anyone who refused to go to Buffalo's
shrine would be branded a thief.
Before they got to the shrine of the thief catcher, Whirlwind, the armed
robber was with the same herbal priest with three members of his armed
gang. He was a regular visitor to Buffalo too.
"You said that I should fortify the four of you?" Asked Buffalo.
"Yes. Because the one you did before may be wearing out and as you
told us before this thing should be done on a quarterly basis to replenish
what may have been lost," Whirlwind reminded the priest.
"That is true. It was three months ago that I did the last ritual on
you. Do you want me to do the same thing for all of you?" Asked the
priest.
"Yes. We are all equal in this business because we face the same
risks," said Buffalo.
"You are very considerate. Some people do not think like that,"
said Buffalo.
He asked the men to sit down on a mat before him and began to incise some
marks on their arms with a blade. Blood came out of the tiny marks and he
later rubbed some black powder on the blood into their bodies. He gave
them some green leaves and asked them to chew it and recite some
incantations.
"What about the talisman you promised me?" Asked Whirlwind.
"Which one is that?" Asked the priest.
"The one you said could make one vanish if policemen are trying to
arrest or shoot!" Said Buffalo.
"That is what I am preparing to give you after this ritual. But you
have to come back later separately so that I can complete the remaining
works before giving you the pendant to wear around your necks,"
Buffalo advised.
"We will be happy to have that kind of charm," said Whirlwind.
"When you wear the pendant that I am going to give you, just chant
the incantation that I will teach you now and raise up your right leg
simultaneously and no one will be able to shoot you. When they pull the
trigger it will not fire a shot," Buffalo explained.
"Say after me;
If they say that they will arrest the day,
They will fail because
No man can arrest the day.
You mothers in the spirit world
Heed my call and do not disobey me," Buffalo ordered as the men
recited after him.
When they finished reciting these words, the priest warned them not to
forget.
But Buffalo was still not finished with the men. He began another round of
spiritual fortification exercise on them.
The men believed that the herbal priest was actually assisting them to be
able to confront anyone that may want to stand their ways whenever they
went on outing to rob from people in the city and beyond.
.
The priest looked at Whirlwind, the leader of the gang and held his hand.
He used the blade to incise his body again, chanting incantations as well.
The priest took the hands of other members of the gang and repeated the
same thing he had done to Whirlwind on them. It did not take him long
before he finished the rituals he carried out on the thieves who paid him
and walked out of the room. As the thieves were walking away, Amanda and
his workers who had come to identify those who had raided their company
amongst his staff members arrived.
The staff vehicle of the robbed company stopped in front of the sprawling
house of the herbal priest. The men went inside the compound through a
small gate. They passed by the robbers who walked away and entered their
own vehicle. The two groups greeted each other but they have never met
before publicly. But Whirlwind knew Amanda very well as the rich
businessman who owned the Cough 2000 International Inc. He used to see his
face on the television when his company made advertisements. But Amanda
had never met the thief before or was he aware of his activities in the
city. Whirlwind and his men left while Amanda went inside with his
workers.
They met the herbal priest and shook his hand. The priest was again
informed why they came even though Amanda had earlier brought the goats
for the rituals to him. The priest said that he would do everything within
his power to catch the thieves but added that he would like to show them
the extent of his power by taking them through his numerous shrines in the
big courtyard.
This strategy was meant to invoke fear in anyone who had stolen anything
from the company and make them to confess even before any ritual was
carried out on them.
"This whole place is dedicated to the gods. I have five different
shrines and different gods in this place. Your boss has told me what
happened in your organization and I will help you detect those that were
responsible," he told his guests as he led them through the
courtyard.
"That was exactly what I told them before bringing them here,"
said Amanda.
"We run a kind of spiritual detective center here. Wherever the thief
is, he will be detected. We do not force or torture people to confess to
crimes here. The gods do and I have five of them here to help me track
down thieves. Your sins will be made public by these gods if you do not
confess to me peacefully now as we walk around the courtyard. I hope your
American friend is not carrying a camera?" Asked Buffalo, pointing at
Maxwell.
"I am not with a camera," said Maxwell.
"We are not with any camera," said Amanda.
"Why did you ask?" Asked Maxwell.
"Oh, Mr. America, this is a different world altogether. This is
because we are approaching the shrine of Sango, the god of thunder and
lightening. Sango is the one who fishes out thieves. You know he is always
in rage and he fights with lightening and thunder. Whoever steals and
refuses to confess before the owners of the property is struck when Sango
is called in. The god however frowns at lightening in his own shrine.
"What if your camera flashes?" Asked Maxwell
"That is big trouble! Sango will be furious. He did not like rivalry
and he will be angry that someone is trying to put up a fight against him.
With his awesome powers, Sango will strike when camera flashes in his
shrine and destroy the camera and whoever is behind it. This is why we
forbid that pictures be taken in his shrine," explained Buffalo as
they walked through the shrines in the courtyard.
He led the visitors back into the building when no one had confessed to
the burglary and stealing in the company. Inside the building, he said
that he had one system that he was about to use. He asked all of them to
stay closer.
Maxwell was very curious. He thought that if this man detected the thief,
he would recommend him to the FBI. He really wanted to see how an
herbalist could help track down the bandits.
John and Hain wondered what would come out of the spiritual search but
were afraid that the priest's detective system could pick the wrong person
and this would make matters worse for whoever was picked wrongly. The
workers clustered amongst each other as the priest consulted his objects
of divination.
"This bowl that you see before me will detect the thief if he is
amongst you," said the priest as he slammed his objects of divination
on the ground and chanted some words.
The priest looked at their faces and continued to utter some words
inaudibly.
"Your names have been given to me by your boss and I will begin to
call those names. When I call your name, you raise your hand and wait for
the reaction of the bowl. If the bowl spins around then you are the
thief," said the priest.
The workers were very much afraid now. They complied because they were
desperate to keep their jobs. Buffalo began to call the names as the men
looked on. But nothing unusual happened until he finished calling the
names of the workers.
The bowl did not spin at all and there was great relief amongst the
workers. But Amanda wished that he were able to detect who the thieves
were among his workers. He had the belief that they were responsible for
the burglary.
"Are you sure that all your workers are here?" Asked Buffalo.
"Yes. They are all here. No one is left out," replied Amanda.
"I am afraid that the gods and the oracle of the bowl have not picked
any of your workers," explained Buffalo.
"What do you think then?" Asked Amanda.
"The thieves are still at large! We need to spread our tentacles
elsewhere," Said Buffalo.
Few minutes later, Amanda left the herbal priest with Maxwell and his
workers with a feeling of disappointment. He was afraid that if the
thieves were not caught he would end up losing not only what had been
stolen but the money he had spent in buying the goats he gave the priest
and the consultation fees he had already paid to help locate the thieves.
"What will happen now?" Asked Maxwell as they walked away
towards the vehicles that brought them.
""I do not know yet but I guess I am going to keep my fingers
crossed," answered Amanda.
"This thief catcher cannot be recommended yet to the FBI until he
does his job," said Maxwell.
The men entered their vehicles and zoomed away. Surprisingly, Whirlwind
returned to Buffalo after the exit of Amanda and his men. Something
troubled his mind. Buffalo himself was surprised that the robber came
back.
"What is happening? Why did you come back?" Asked Buffalo.
"I came back because of what I noticed when we were leaving a short
while ago. I have not left the neighborhood because I saw your
visitors," said Whirlwind.
"Really?" Asked Buffalo.
"Yes. What have those people come here to do? I recognized one of
them," said Whirlwind.
"Which one?" Asked Buffalo
"The fat guy amongst them. The one who owns Cough 2000 International
Inc. But he does not know me," said Whirlwind.
"So you know him?" Asked Buffalo.
"Yes. Not intimately. I know him just as people are likely to know
rich people in the society," explained Whirlwind.
"I hope you have not struck at their base?" Asked Buffalo.
"My men have not given me information to that effect. I was just
worried and curious that an American followed them here. It was strange to
me and being your friend I thought I should not leave you without asking
about your safety," Whirlwind answered.
"That was kind of you. Thank you. Some people stole ten thousand
dollars from his company and they came to find out who stole the money.
You are right. When you see something strange in your neighbor's yard, it
is right to find out what is happening. You know that in these
professions, we need to be our brother's keeper. Whether you are an
herbalist, a detective, or a thief, we all need each other at one time or
the other. Anyone could run against the law and be in trouble at anytime.
So, we should always be around to help one another. Thank you my
friend," said Buffalo.
"You are right. How many times can I recall that you have saved me
with your position as the official herbal priest that has been helping the
police to catch thieves? You saved my skin many times," said
Whirlwind.
"That is true my friend. It was nice you came back to find out what
was happening to me," said Buffalo.
"Were you able to find out the thieves amongst them?" Asked
Whirlwind.
"No. I was not able to find the thieves. Maybe nothing was stolen
after all and they were on a wild goose chase to put each other in
trouble," answered Buffalo who also forgot to mention that a
traveling passport was also stolen.
"You know that these people can be vindictive when they relate to
each other in the office. Some of them may be after promotion and they
will be desperate to put each other in trouble," explained
Whirlwind.
Unknown to Buffalo, Whirlwind left afterwards, more worried than before.
He was alarmed that Agama, his deputy, and other men lied to him. The men
had informed Whirlwind that they only stole five thousand dollars when in
fact they stole ten thousand dollars from the company.
He was very upset about what he has just heard from Buffalo and he was
ready to confront his men with the new information and get to the bottom
of the matter. Thieves do not like to be robbed at all or outsmarted. They
get very angry and truculent when they find that there are other people
who are faster than them in their nefarious business. Whirlwind left the
priest's courtyard afterwards and raced to the home of his men trying to
see if he would meet any of them at home to confront them.
Fortunately for him, he met them at home drinking and smoking. He told
them what he had just found out that ten thousand dollars were actually
stolen from the company as opposed to the five thousand dollars that the
gang declared they took from the company. The men did not confess the
exact amount that was stolen.
They insisted that they stole five thousand. But Whirlwind began to think
of another strategy to get to the root of the matter. He decided to let
the sleeping dog lie while he worked on the strategy to know the truth. He
was not sure whether he should take them to Buffalo to unravel the mystery
surrounding the false declaration of the stolen money. He was a unsure of
what might happen since he had discovered that Amanda, the owner of the
company where the money was stolen had actually patronized Buffalo to help
him find those who were behind the theft. He was scared that Buffalo could
decide to let the cat out of the bag and reveal the secret to Amanda if he
was given a bigger amount of money.
"You guys should know me by now that I am very stubborn and I do not
give in easily. I will investigate and if I find out the truth, even if it
takes me three months, you will be dealt with. You know that I will teach
you a lesson if I find out that you all lied to me," he warned them
before leaving.
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