SOLOMON'S BRIDGE {Part I}

MIDNIGHT CALLER *31*

Dr. Jay has a long list, which desperately needs to get real short, really quickly. There are people he has to talk to, like Miss Edima McFoy; and there are people he has to interrogate, like Fanny Duke. He has to know what terrible thing was done to the house of Eyam Attah, in the time of the curse, the things she spoke of at the meeting, he has to know more, to see if it connects. Who is the woman in his vision? All roads lead to this castle. The records in public archives don't reveal any secrets. Meanwhile, the governor believes the keys to the seven gold doors do exist, and he wants Dr. Jay to find them. Something entirely different is going on in this mission, besides the retrieval of the African Codex, and he, Jay Hall, seems to be in the center of it. Still shaken by the tragic memory, Jay rubs circles into his chest, vowing to never fall in love. He read up some of his school text books online last night, in a bid to understand what may be happening to him.

The best case scenario, is that he is getting genetic or epigenetic memories of his great great great granddad's life, that is, Admiral (Lord) Justice Benedict Hall, the Navy Commander, the man who built this castle, the family black sheep, the blank canvas portrait adorning the walls going up the stairs of the Birmingham estate. The worst case scenario, is his hotel manager's suspicion of Voodoo manipulation upon his mind. This is Africa. This is where there is real juju...

Oga na dis be ya fust time hia abi? This is twenty nine days, to the night of Fust Rain, Oga! Fust Rain! You sabi wetin I dey talk? This season, na... Dangerous time! Abeg no dey do J.J.C for road, oh! Oya make I tell una dis tory wey happun for hia last year! See dis oyibo dey come from yankee jus mumu as una dey do, come dey yanga for road wit all dis kyn kaya... nah yahoo boys wey catch am put am for hole e siddun gidigba dey wait for gbese and dem take juju kpafuka his head oh!

Another rented apartment is high on his list, since he is in no hurry to give MI6 what they want. Again, Rodney, Salem and Tom can't keep entering his bedroom as they please. He's just not easy to kill, and it's time he let them know it. As his little tourist group advances into the belly of the castle, daylight recedes, to be replaced by the dull golden hue of small lamps hooked onto the walls. Dr. Jay half expects damp odorous air, not a fresh lemon scent. His gaze zeroes in on the other officials strolling about the bailey, wearing the same red and white striped wrapper that Edidiong wears, hanging securely about their loins. Ah! The stripes! The Tattoo. So it's connected. The people maintaining his ancestor's property, are yet the same people who don't want him questioning Candy Cool, the radio woman, or Fanny Duke again, they're all in the same historical society. He notes their bare chests, their oily, muscular arms, supposing it to be part of a cultural effect. It's a big syndicate, for a man as young as Byron Bassey to lead. What is he missing?

Edidiong shares some bits of folklore with them. The Navy Commander came to Canaan in 1891, at a time when the Efik and Ibibio tribes hated each other. It was a time, when Europeans engaged in kidnapping black children for slave trading; so that the people were weary of the Tall Whites. Justice Hall of his own free will, assimilated with the natives, choosing to stay, to build this castle for himself, and for the people, a symbol of unity, of humanity above racial division, one people under God. Till this day, the west wing remains unoccupied, while every part of the other wings are used by various age groups, also by leadership councils in the settlement of all traditional disputes. It evolved to finally become, the city's town hall.

They alight the speed boat, making their way towards the castle keep. They explore it, climbing up to the top to see the rampart and arrow loops in the battlements. The tourists in his group take few pictures in the bell tower. Jay notes that this castle stands about one hundred feet high, having over three hundred rooms, four towers, with two dungeons, a north, east and west wing. It is also fully furnished, according to the preferences of the Victorian era. At the entrance to the grand ballroom, they are greeted with a grunt, by the resident centenarian. Ahh. This is the dignitary Byron spoke of, at the meeting; the one he hopes will kick the bucket soon...