Hell Mary

Chapter Twenty-two

"What were you doing with a dagger in school Stella?" The detective asked. It was the third time of her asking and yet again Stella had remained mute.

Staring keenly at the pink silk gown that glued tightly to her skin, she remembered the vague thoughts at the computer lab and how she was sure she had smashed the chip into tiny unrecognizable pieces and buried it under the sand. When she passed the narrow path that led to the computer lab, and she did quite frequently, her eyes searched the sand for the black pieces until they were no longer seen. She had let that past behind her and never revisited it until the talk with the detective.

"It's not what you think ma," she said. "The dagger is mine but I didn't use it to kill Mary or anything like that."

"Have I said that?" The detective asked again. "What were you doing with a dagger in school?"

Stella crumbled and her forehead shone because her plaited braids pulled at her scalp. It still ached from the pulling Vivian gave it. "I don't know how it got into my bag ma. It's from home and I brought it to the event because the priest was looking for a knife to slice the cake."

"You must think I'm stupid," Detective Uju said.

"Ma, it is true. I left the hall to hand it over to the sisters in the convent. I hadn't known it was a dangerous weapon before then. You can ask Sister May."

Uju did ask Sister May after her served lunch of jollof rice and beef. She took slow munches and even slower swallows of water over the desk filled with important files and evidences when Sister May stepped in with her ashen gown and gold stud earring.

"O bu eziokwu," she finally affirmed. "It is true, the girl is right," she said again and Uju wished the sister spoke in pure English with her. Taking a seat on the white plastic chair, Sister May continued. "This investigation is taking forever. These children need to go back home for their Christmas break. The boys need to move back into their own school. Let's conclude this case."

"You're saying that I should just conclude her case instead of seeking justice?" She asked and Sister May looked away while Uju gulped down a glass full of water. "Where are her parents?"

"We reached out but the man has been away and the woman has been in the hospital as well. There is no one else to reach out to nne. End this investigation so these children can go home." Sister May stood up and receded the room while Uju watched her leave. The food that bore carrot shavings and a sliced cabbage at one end, suddenly nauseated her and so she pushed it away and used the empty plate by its side to cover the meal.

She wasn't on the verge of leading an inconclusive investigation or ending it based on popular demands. The girl deserved better, she thought. Peering into the page with the list of suspects, she realized she had ticked every name and had thoroughly questioned them except one, Thelma Oguike. "Thelma Oguike," she said slowly.

*****

Beatrice walked into the room Mary was confined in quietly. She pulled down the door handle but the rusty hinges nearly gave her away. One hand carried an exquisite white bag while another struggled with the rustling sound a crumpled bag released. She pressed herself to the seat beside the bed and stared at the anesthesia machines that had been attached to her pinched nose as well as the heart rate monitor that beeped beside her. Each beep reassuring life.

Beatrice held Mary's free fingers but didn't touch the index that had been pegged as well. It could detach from her finger and she could die so she avoided it. After a brief moment, she reached for the novel inside her bag and drew it out.

"Hello, hope you're getting better?" She asked, pausing for a nod maybe, but got none. "What am I thinking? You're still in coma. The doctor said you'll be OK soon and so I brought food," she said, raising the silver plated flask she brought. "-and a novel," she said, raising the book that laid idly on her legs. "I'll read a chapter a day until you're better. The book's title is Addicted." She stared at Mary's unmoved self before delving into the juicy romance story.