DEVIL’S PAWN: One Down. Two Down. How Many More?

It was a penis. He held a warm bleeding penis in his hands.

“Shit,” he exclaimed.

Simon reacted like a vegan would, if he were force fed with raw pork. He dropped the penis (like) as if it was hot coal. His phone clattered to the floor.

He gagged, as the food he had the previous night came rushing out his mouth. He rushed towards the bathroom, but he was done before he got there. The vomit left a sour taste on his tongue, but he gave it no thought as he bent over, trying to recover.

Simon gave the penis another look, as it lay limp on the floor. It must have been crudely severed. Some skin from the scrotal sac was visible. It was fresh, and was already bleeding out on the rug.

He could almost feel a knife slicing through his own penis as he wondered at the one on the floor.

Blood, Oche’s jeans and a penis… What is happening here?

The phone rang again.

He ignored it. He couldn’t trust himself to speak on the phone. The phone rang the second. He looked at it, and watched the screen flash on and off.

At the third ring he picked up the phone. The number called hid his id. Simon suspected it was a member of the Black Cats. His hands shook and his voice quavered as he said hello.

He was right. It was Dave, and he was hysterical. His heavy breathing carried over the phone. Simon felt his heartbeat quicken again.

“The fuckers have gotten Kunle and Oche they killed them,” He blurted out.

“What…Kunle and Oche?”

“Yes, both of them. And they took away their fucking dicks.”

“They took away their penis... they cut them off?”

Simon paused to regain his composure. He could hear the quaver in his own voice as he spoke. He hoped Dave had not picked it up. He ran his tongue over his dry lips.

“Which fuckers? Who do you think did it?” That was all he could manage to say.

“We don’t know yet. We will find out. Already the word is out.”

“But, how did it happen?”

“We have no clues yet. They died near the grave, so we had to move their bodies away from where they died. Emeka is very pissed right now. Oche is like the apple of his eyes and you know that. Skulls asked me to check on you to be sure you’re safe.”

“Are you checking up everybody?”

“Nope. We checked out on you, because we thought you were gone too…,” he paused.

“Gone? Why did you think so?”

Even before Dave answered, Simon knew this involved him somehow. The bloodied clothes and penis meant something. He waited for Dave’s answer with his heart in his mouth.

“We found your wallet there.”

Shit!

“My wallet was there at the graveside? O! I remember now. He…he…e, I must have left it with Oche last night."

Simon hoped Dave had not heard the confusion in his voice. He waited to hear Dave mention it, but only the raspy breathing came over the phone. It seemed Dave was waiting for him to continue talking.

I’m in deep shit!

Dave grunted, urging him to keep talking.

“I dropped it when we went to pick the girl, and he held on to it for me. I totally forgot to ask him for it.”

“Well, that is just by the way. I just wanted to know if you were okay. I’ll come by soon to check you up. Don’t go anywhere alone until we find out what this is about.”

Dave hung up.

Simon dropped the phone on the bed after the call. He closed the window and locked his door. It would be game over for him, if one of the Cats were to walk into the room and find Oche’s clothes in his room.

Even one of his neighbours could walk in for a chat. He couldn’t risk that happening. He picked a mop and bucket of water from the bathroom, and started cleaning the blood off the rug.

He was almost done scrubbing, when his eyes caught something odd under his dresser. It was half-covered by a t-shirt that did not look like his. Using the mop handle, he dragged the object out.

Before he got it fully out from under the dresser, he knew what it was. It was another penis. He did not give it more than a passing thought. He spread the t-shirt. It was Kunle’s.

No doubt it was.

He looked at the penis, and wondered if it was Kunle’s or Oche’s. The penis was gnarled. Clearly, the rats had taken a bite or two out of it. As if on cue, a rat left its hiding place under the dresser, and scurried across the room into the open kitchen door. Simon ignored it.

Only one thought was on Simon’s mind as he wrapped the penises in Kunle’s t-shirt. He would have given his hand to know what Emeka was thinking at the moment. Dave did not sound as if he was hiding something. But it could be an act.

And then there was his wallet.

It was beyond doubt now that he was involved in whatever had happened. It was now a question of how and why.

He packed all the bloodstained clothes into a Ghana-must-go bag together with the wrapped penises. The bed sheet went into the bag too.

Two minutes later, he walked out of his place with the Ghana-must-go bag. It felt very heavy in his hands. Even though nobody paid him any attention, it seemed as if every eye was querying the contents of the bag as he walked along the streets. He cast furtive glances around, praying quietly that he wouldn’t meet a policeman on his way. He was lucky, no one asked any questions.

The communal refuse dump loomed in the distance. That was his destination. He doubled his pace. When he got there, he looked around to see if anyone was looking, then dumped the bag. He waited a few seconds, then turned to walk away.

“Stop there,” a voice bellowed at him from a cluster of bushes behind him.

…

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEDNESDAY... (Please leave your comments if you enjoyed this).

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