Abel’s abduction creates confusion, fear in Government House

07 Feb Abel’s abduction creates confusion, fear in Government House

Rika lay in her bed as her husband was seeing Dr. Camp. She remembered the pain of Abel calling her a ‘vulnerable woman’, and took her cell phone to call a VIP he controls.  After two rings, Tiko picked up. “Did you do what I asked?”

“It has been taken care of, my love.”

Rika felt a surge of lust through her body. “Come over. Gorem will be out most the night with Camp. And don’t tell me he doesn’t know what is going on. This is all politics, you know? Nothing personal.”

“Rika, I have things…”

“No! Come now!”

Tiko knew when not to argue, telling her he would arrive soon. Rika lay back and relaxed. Another rejection would have been too much to bear, but now she would have something to fill her night.

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Late the following morning, Doctor Camp received a visitor through his private entrance. It was Chief Benson.

“How are you feeling, Idi?” Benson asked his friend, who shrugged.

“They have me sedated on so many pills, I’m not feeling anything. Which I guess is how they want it.”

“I’ve come to tell you that Peter Abel never reached his home last night. Nor did his bodyguard. And his car is missing.”

Camp blinked at Benson. “What can it mean?”

“I’m hoping it simply means Peter is following a lead. But he has strict orders to report in every twelve hours. I’ve got the police looking, but I wanted you to know. And to ask. Was there anything Peter was working on in the past day or so? Anything you know about?”

Camp shook his head. “I wouldn’t know. But one of my assistants has been handling some aspects of the investigation for me. Talk to her. Comfort Deree.”

“I’ll make sure nobody sees me.”

Camp suddenly sat up, animated for the first time. “Listen to me, Chief. I don’t care who knows about the investigation now. The worst is over. They can’t do anything more to me. And if we press them publicly, they may well make a mistake. Let them know you’re on it, and I’ll make sure they know I’m on it. I want them to see you with me.”

Benson understood the impulse and even agreed that public pressure right now might be a good thing. It would certainly make his job and Abel’s easier. And he was glad to see the fire return to Camp’s eyes.

“Only protect Comfort, chief. Meet her in secret.”

“Of course.”

As Benson left the building, this time through the very public front entrance, he passed Governor Huud who recognized him. Benson took pleasure in the concerned expression that passed across the governor’s face.

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Later that day, under cover of delivering a press release to the local Zodiac office, Comfort met secretly with Benson. When she heard about Abel’s disappearance, she grew frightened.

“I gave him some information about a corporation in London.”

“I know. He passed it on to me. And I passed it on to a police inspector there. But that was the last time I heard from him.”

“I’m sure he’s all right,” Comfort said with more conviction than she felt. Then on second thought, he asked, “Wouldn’t that be useful to the EFCC?”

“No, they take over when Abel has compelling evidence, but right now, I don’t know. I know his final interview was with Rika Huud.”

Comfort looked at him, alarmed, but Benson held up his hand. “We know he left there about ten with Billings. We have confirmation he was alive and well after speaking to the First Lady.”

“Did you ask her if she has any idea where Peter is?”

“The police have asked. She didn’t know. She said they concluded a very standard interview and Peter left.”

“No interview with Rika Huud is standard.”

Benson smiled and nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. It’s why I believe she’s lying. And why I believe she may know Peter’s fate.”  Benson paused before continuing. “Peter told me you and Huud are… close. Can you see if you can find out anything?”

Comfort nodded and said that she would help in any way she could. The truth was, she was terrified. The deeper she saw into Huud’s life the darker and more disturbing it all appeared. She began to believe that Huud and Rika and Tiko were capable of anything.

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For once, Huud had the upper hand, or felt he did. He stood over Tiko, who sat behind his desk looking up at the governor, eyes wide. Huud was screaming at him, veins popping from his neck.

“You idiot! You complete fool! Do you have any idea what you’ve done to us? Killing his wife and children?”

Tiko stuttered. “Gorem, I don’t know anything about this.”

“You wanted Camp dead!”

“We agreed to discredit him.  We had no need… “

Huud slammed a file folder down on Tiko’s desk. “Liar! This proves his wife and children were murdered!”

Tiko looked at the file. Huud knew he was trying to figure out how to spin this. “Where did you get that?”

“Police Commissioner Noro.”  Tiko stared at him in disbelief. “That’s right, Timo, I told the man I wanted to see every piece of evidence on the accident, especially the autopsy report and the crime scene photos.”

Tiko started to speak but Huud barrelled ahead. “I know you paid the Police Commissioner off, Timo. Maybe you can get a refund. But he decided it was better to give me the material than to go to jail.”

Tiko rose up from behind his desk. “Are you insane, Gorem? We’ll all hang if they prove we’re behind the deaths.”

“I’m not behind them. You are. And probably my wife. She’s all yours, Timo.”

Tiko panicked, Huud could tell. He expected some counterattack and it came finally. “This proves nothing. It simply backs up what that reporter wrote. And so what?”

“The fact that you paid the Police Commissioner to bury these documents is proof. And who knows what else might be found if anyone had a chance actually to investigate the matter.”

Tiko didn’t budge. “All right, Gorem. What is it you want?”

“It’s over, Timo. That reporter won’t stop. He’s already pulled at a thread. There are student demonstrations all over Bammak City demanding an inquiry. My own cabinet has brought it up.”

Tiko nodded. “We’ll give them an investigation. Don’t worry. And we’ll let the press write stories, stories we feed them and can control.”

“That won’t work! This man, Peter Abel, he’s not going to trust anything that comes from us.”

“Peter Abel is no longer a problem.”

Huud swallowed, knowing what this must mean. “You had him murdered? That will point right to us.”

“He disappeared. Nobody knows where and nobody will ever know where.”

“He’s not the only reporter…”

“He’s the only one I know of with the connections and the ambition to keep pushing this. And let’s face it, Gorem, when other reporters see what happened to Abel, or suspect what happened, it will dampen their enthusiasm. If someone persists, well, we’ll deal with that. But for now, the problem is contained. You’ve done well, visiting Camp, making statements about full cooperation. Don’t panic and everything will be fine.”

Huud sat down, his knees weak, exhausted. “This can’t be happening.”

“It has happened. It’s a tragedy and there’s nothing we can do to change it. But now we have to go on. We still have a great deal to protect here, Gorem. Don’t be stupid.”

Huud looked up at Tiko. “Or what? You’ll have me killed, too? Fortunately for me, you don’t seem to be very good at it.”

“Keep your wits about you. Nobody can prove anything if we stand together and let this all run its course. Students are always protesting something. Let them march about and sing songs and chant slogans. It’s good for us. Makes us look as if we’re allowing democracy, the trappings of a free country. Really, Gorem, you need to stop being so goddamned idealistic.”

And all Huud could think to do was nod. The truth was, he didn’t want to lose his life or the money he had stashed away. But maybe he could get away from all this. He just had to figure out how.