Sales girl episode 11

*Recap: Dami had an encounter with her
mysterious stalker and he left a clue she could
use to find him and possibly save Nonso’s life but
she knows he wants her in return. Kevin seems to
know something that can help Dami discover why
she’s being stalked. Natasha tried to quit
prostitution but doesn’t have the courage to do
so. One night, she met an unusual customer who
turned out to be Inspector James.*

8:23am, 22nd May 2016,
Sunday Morning,
Campus Grounds.
I was pacing in the bedroom, too nervous to even
think of going to church. Today was the day the
Police and I would find my stalker. Chioma was in
the room and she too was waiting anxiously for the
time we would go to the station. I nearly jumped
out of my skin when my phone rang. It was Daniel.
“Dami, are you still at home?”
“Yeah, I am. Chioma and I are leaving soon.”
“I still have a bad feeling about this.” He sighed.
I shook my head. He was always worrying.
“Listen, it won’t be easy but I have to do
something. Nonso can’t stay with that lunatic.”
“I agree with that but let the Police go alone.”
“It would raise far too much suspicion. I need to
go so he thinks I’m giving in to his demand.”
“Okay, I understand. I just… I don’t want you to get
hurt.” He said, quietly.
“I won’t.” I promised him, really believing I could
keep that promise.
***
Hours later, Chioma and I were in a Police van on
the way to the address the man had given me. We
parked near some bushes several meters away
from the building and the policeman in charge
instructed me to go ahead. Chioma had to stay
behind because the man wasn’t expecting her, just
me. The officers were to follow after me minutes
after I enter the building and arrest the man. We
had three officers with us because they wanted to
be discreet.
I got down and took a deep breath to steel my
nerves, praying everything goes well. I could the
see house from a distance, it looked normal from
the outside and I wondered how someone as
twisted as the man could live in such a serene
environment. I approached the door of the building
with my heart pounding in fear, glancing back once
to be sure the Police were still behind me. I
knocked and waited but there was no reply. That
was when I noticed the piece of paper taped to the
side of the door. I glanced around before reading
it.
Continue down the street and look for the black
car. Don’t try to play smart with me, come alone.
I’m watching.
I closed my eyes and sighed. I knew it shouldn’t
have been that easy. I tried the door handle
confirming what I already knew. The door was
locked and no one was inside. I glanced up to find
a tiny camera right above the door. He really had
been watching this whole time. I knew I couldn’t
try anything risky like going back to inform the
Police, I just hoped they would notice me change
direction.
I left the house and continued down the street,
looking for the black car but there were several. I
carefully checked each car for any clue. As I did
so, I discreetly typed out a message to Chioma,
telling her about the change of plans. I hoped she
would receive the message and inform the Police
in time. I’d gone so far down the road that I
couldn’t even see the Police van anymore.
I’d just pressed ‘send’ when a car engine roared
to life ahead of me. I barely had time to register
what was happening before it was speeding in my
direction. I turned heel and ran out of instinct but
that was useless because it overtook me within
seconds and blocked me off from running further.
“Get in!” A voice yelled.
I took several steps back.
He was wearing a mask but what made my blood
run cold is that he held a gun in his hand and it
wasn’t pointed me. It was pointed at the person
sitting beside him. That person was Nonso. His
face was badly bruised and he looked half starved.
“Dami…?” He whispered.
“Shut up!” The man hit Nonso roughly and
instructed me to get in again.
“Let him go first.” I said.
I hoped the Police were coming. I was trying my
best to stall for time.
“You don’t have a say in this. We had an
agreement. You come with me and then I let the
boy go.” His voice growled in anger.
The gun was too close to Nonso’s head and I
could tell that despite his barely conscious state,
he was aware of it. Suddenly a gunshot pierced
through the air, making me scream. I ducked my
head and looked around wildly. The man didn’t
shoot, Nonso was still okay.
He swore loudly and pushed Nonso out of the car
before reaching out to drag me inside. I struggled
desperately as Nonso lay motionless on the
ground. The Policemen were running towards us
with the van behind them, they were the ones who
fired.
“You stupid girl!” The man yelled at me, shooting
at the Police with his free hand.
I struggled against his grip wondering how one
man could be impossibly strong. One of the
officers cried out as he was shot in the arm, his
gun fell from his grip and another shot quickly
followed, making him crumple to the ground. The
sight made me go limp in horror as I stared at the
blood draining from his body. This wasn’t
supposed to happen. We were supposed to rescue
Nonso, arrest the man and have it all over within
minutes. Not this…
I barely understood what was happening as my
body was dragged into the car and the door
slammed shut. I was too shocked to protest. As
he drove away, I watched as the door of the van
was flung open violently and Chioma rushed out,
running towards her brother. The last thing I saw
before they were out of sight was her holding
Nonso tightly as she stared at the car driving
away.
***
I woke up to the sound of soft music playing in the
background. It sounded like jazz. I blinked my
eyes open and stared up at the ceiling before
rolling over to look around. I was lying in a bed
with dark blue silk sheets spread over me. I
gasped as the events of the day flooded into
memory and quickly jumped out of the bed. But
my limbs felt clumsy. What on earth was wrong
with me?
I heard footsteps approach the door before it
swung open and a man walked in. He was dressed
in jeans and a dark T-shirt that clung to his frame
but I barely recognized him.
“Sweetheart, you’re up.” He smiled at me.
“Who are you and what do you want?” I spat.
He lifted me easily and dumped me back in the
bed. I tried to kick him in the face but I couldn’t
understand why my body was so slow to react.
“You don’t want to hurt yourself dear, right now,
you may be feeling a bit tired.”
My eyes widened in realization.
“What did you do to me?”
“It’s just a little drug I had to inject you with. I
knew you would try to get rough.”
What gave him the right to go about injecting me
with all sorts? I was about to fling more words in
his face when the door opened again. My mouth
dropped open in shock and I felt my heart painfully
skip a beat in terror.
“K-Kayla?” I whispered.
She glanced at me with an unreadable look in her
eyes.
“D-Dami?” She mocked.
“What’s going on?” I asked, shutting my eyes. I
didn’t want to believe she had a hand in this.
She bit her lip and looked away playfully.
“Are you sure you want to know all the gory
details?”
“What the heck is going on!” I yelled. The drugs
hadn’t affected my vocal chords one bit.
A spark of anger blazed in her eyes as she stared
at me.



“Fine. Here’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing
but the truth. You never had a stalker Dami; at
least, not a real one.”
I just stared at her, unable to understand what she
was saying.
“The strange texts, the pictures, the kidnap, all of it
was planned to scare you into being where you are
right now. Didn’t you think about it Dami? You’re
not that beautiful or attractive. What could possibly
make a man devote all his time and energy to
following you around?”
I ignored the sharp sting of her words and tried to
get her to reveal more.
“Then why did you do all this? What did you have
to gain?”
“It’s simple really. I had a little help.” She
shrugged. “Look, don’t be offended Dami but I
couldn’t resist the money.”
She looked at me with slight pity in her eyes but I
knew nothing was going to change her mind.
“Then who is this man?” I asked, nodding towards
him.
“He’s just a hired help playing his part.” She said.
“I can’t say I didn’t take any pleasure in doing
so.” He grinned wickedly at me.
I was momentarily speechless; so all of it was a
rouse to scare me into running straight into their
trap. But I didn’t understand what they wanted me
for and what money was Kayla talking about? It
was obvious she didn’t plan this alone so who
was paying her so much money that she would do
such a thing to me?
“Look, don’t worry yourself too much, okay. At
least, I can assure you that no one’s planning to
kill you. All you have to do is cooperate.” She
turned to leave.
“Whatever you’re doing, you won’t get away with
this Kayla! You know, I never liked you but now
you just revealed that you’re less of a human than
I thought!”
In seconds, she’d crossed the room and slapped
me across the face.
“Shut your mouth!” She turned to the man beside
her. “I think she needs to be quiet now.”
I struggled to move away as he stepped closer
with another needle in his hands. I screamed as
he injected me with the clear liquid. Moments later,
I couldn’t fight the drowsiness that overwhelmed
me.
“Lights out, darling.” I heard him say as they left
the room.
I tried to blink but my eyes refused to open again
and soon everything around me faded out of focus.
Later That Day…
Kayla picked up her cellphone and made a call.
“Sir, I have the girl ready for you.”
“Well done Kayla. You’re getting better at this each
time.”
“Thank you, sir.” She said as her lips quirked up in
a smile.
“I’ll transfer half a million naira into your account
by tomorrow morning. Remember, until you
complete our deal, I can’t pay your money in full.”
Kayla was very aware of this, which is why she had
quickly gotten him two out of the three girls he
requested.
“When do you want me to send her to you?” She
asked.
“First thing on Tuesday morning would be fine.”
“Consider it done, sir.” She said as they ended the
call.
She laughed in glee at the amount of money that
was almost within her grasp. She could already
feel the texture of the Naira bills and perceive the
distinct smell of new money. When she had met
the man at the restaurant and listened to his
proposal, she thought he might have been crazy
until she began to see the possibility. Nothing
could ever be linked to her because she usually
made arrangements with total strangers who were
professionals at what they do. All she’d had to do
to convince the man, who played Dami’s ‘stalker’,
was to promise him a good chunk of money and
he was good to go.
Kayla picked up her bag to head to work. Two girls
down, one to go. She already had her eye on the
final girl to complete her task and her mind was
working a mile per minute to come up with a new
idea to use to capture this last one.
***

Daniel looked at his watch anxiously for the third
time that morning. It was close to 2pm yet Dami
hadn’t shown up for work and it was three days
since he’d last seen her. She wasn’t even picking
up her calls. He prepared himself mentally to
venture into the girls dormitory if he had to. Just
then, Kevin walked into the employee’s room
where Daniel was.
“I need to talk to you.” He said.
“About what?” Daniel replied, distracted.
“It’s about Dami but-’’ His words were cut off
when Daniel suddenly grabbed him by the
shoulders.
“Tell me what you know.”
“Listen, we can’t talk here. Meet me at this
address after work.” He scribbled the words
hurriedly before he left.
Daniel stared at the piece of paper, with a deep
frown on his face. For a moment, he suspected
Kevin might have had something to do with it but
quickly banished the thought.
After his shift that
evening, he set out on his bike. The address was
a popular hangout spot where a variety of people
were. He sifted through the crowds until he
spotted Kevin in a corner.
“Why would you choose this kind of place? I can
barely hear a thing.” Daniel yelled as he sat down
opposite him.
Kevin was silent as he watched something in the
distance. Daniel grew frustrated by the second with
his silence.
“What is-?”
“Look over there.” Kevin interrupted him.
Daniel glanced behind him to find a group of
women laughing and chatting as they sat together
in a booth. He turned back to Kevin with a
questioning look.
“I’ve come here at least twice a week for the past
month and something struck me as odd.”
“What does this place have to do with Dami?”
Kevin sighed and turned his attention back to
Daniel.
“Listen, I’m still trying to figure it out myself but
last week, I saw Kayla in here and she was with a
man.”
“Since when did we start caring about Kayla’s
extracurricular activities?” Daniel sneered.
“Ever since I noticed a pattern in which girls at
work start going missing.”
“What do you mean?” Daniel frowned and sat up.
“Think about it,” Kevin said. “Each time a new girl
is moved to the reserved area, she resigns, loses
her job or simply disappears. Only few have
stayed on. People like Kayla. What exactly goes on
there? Or haven’t you wondered?”
“You might have a point. Remember that girl,
Bukky. She resigned didn’t she?”
“Exactly and Natasha was fired less than a day
after she started working with VIP.”
“Which other new girl do we have?”
“There’s one… um, Tolani.” Kevin said.
“I suggest we watch her carefully to see what
happens to her.” Daniel said. “In the meantime, do
you think our boss could have a hand in this?”
Kevin sat back and seemed to consider it. “You
may be right. After all these girls have one thing in
common and it’s that they work for Mr. Hassan.”
“This is way more complicated than I thought.”
Daniel sighed. “But we have to do something. If
Dami truly is in more danger than I thought, then
there’s no way we can sit back.”
“I don’t plan to do so… not again.” Kevin said
quietly with a trace of bitterness.
Daniel gave him a questioning look and waited for
him to explain.
“Before Bukky left, she came to me and tried to
confide in me about something, she said she
needed my help but I… I was scared. I didn’t want
to be a part of anything strange that was going on.
I’m the only child of my parents and what she was
telling me sounded dangerous. I remember that
day as vividly as if it happened just yesterday. She
was upset and tried to talk to me but I didn’t want
to get involved with her business so I walked
away. I never saw her since that day.” Kevin shook
his head sadly. “I can’t help but feel that maybe if
I’d done something… I don’t even know what but…
only God knows where she is right now.”
***

Meanwhile…
9:35am, 25th May 2016,
Wednesday Morning,
Lagos Island.
Natasha woke up with a slight headache that
morning and looked around the bright room in
confusion. She sat up in alarm when she
remembered what happened the previous night.
However, the Inspector was nowhere to be found.
Beside her on the bed lay a piece of paper.
Call me when you find this and don’t try to evade
me. By offering your help with this case, I might
reconsider turning you in to the officials a as a
drug pusher.
Under the note was a phone number. Natasha
sighed and held her head in her hands, wondering
how her life got this complicated