RUNAWAY GHOST EPISODE 4

EPISODE 4
BY Mide Benedict

‘Banned it is for a sole heart to bear
Such secret alone;
It’s a secret that no one can dare
Or struggle with every means to share.
 A secret every one ear must hear,
Yet a secret every ear must fear
For its whisper is an upset death
That could swallow any liver’s breath, 
For if an alien’s ear beholds its half- dust,
One is apt to become a runaway ghost’

CONTINUED FROM THE LAST EPISODE


‘With all these evidences against you, I sentence you to death by hanging for the murder of Miss Benita Williams.’ 

Tears dropped from Mike’s eyes as the judge sentenced him to an end to life. He placed his left hand on his chin, raising his head to the sky, the roof actually, as if to pray or say something but his mouth was sealed by nothing. He couldn’t believe he was going to die so soon, not some days after his wedding crashed and was accused of murdering someone in cold blood, without proof to prove his innocence. No one went to sympathize with him; of Course, no human being would have sympathized with a murderer, especially when it was a poor one, because a rich man wouldn’t have been taken to court in the first place, not to mention being sentenced to death; that was the way of the world about situations in this side of the world.
The vibration all over his body could be seen by all. His eyes were red and begging for help, but from whom? Or was it from Barr Davis, sure No! If there was any help coming from him, that would be feeding his body,  after being hanged to dogs and hungry vultures to eat up. Not after he had attempted to murder his daughter. Mike himself could not understand whether he was under a spell when he commited the crime, because he couldn't figure out what had driven him into committing such crime neither could he remember when it happened. 

'And this will commence on the twelfth of July 2011.'

The judge adjusted his black robe that was obstructing the free movement of his hand. He raised his hammer, ready to slam it on the huge table before him when suddenly, a voice drew his attention, leaving his right hand hanging in the air.

‘Mr. Mike didn’t murder me!’ 

Everyone was surprised at what they had heard. It was like the church scene once again, but it was somewhat different, it didn't just make people stand from their seats, it also made them run for their lives. The police officers at the entrance had already fled on seeing the figure of Miss Benita, the same one whose case had just been concluded, the same one who has been declared murdered and dead.
The courtroom turned into a room of catastrophe as she entered fully into the place. Everyone wanted to see Mike being hanged to death, but no one wanted to see a dead woman as well. Even the judge couldn’t wait to set eyes on her once more before he dashed into an inner room in the court. 
The main entrance had already been gridlocked by a crowd who were trying to flee the courtroom. As I cast an eye over the room, I saw a man trying to discreetly escape through a door: the door was a little bit hidden from sight, thus no one running haphazardly would spot this door easily, except someone who was familiar with the court structure. Immediately the thought came to mind, I knew it was no one else but him. I ran towards him, held his flying Agbada (a huge type of men’s clothe worn in Yoruba land) and pulled him back.

‘Get your hands off me!’ 
He shouted without even looking at my face.

He elbowed me very hard in the stomach and I landed with my back on the ground that was when I knew how desperate a fleeing criminal could be; dangerous and evil, hence never to be stopped. As if that knockdown wasn’t enough, he repeatedly landed slaps on my face when I had tried to stand up. As soon as he saw I was no longer much of a trouble to him, now that I was weak and unstable, he proceeded to the door, but he saw something that made him run back into the courtroom.

'I didn’t mean to do it, please have mercy! Please I beg of you!
I never meant to kill you, I… never… knew…never knew…. Barr Davis pleaded with horror, as Benita stood before him.'

 Actually our plan had been that immediately we got to the court whether it was in session or not, she would try to testify against him, for trying to murder her and afterwards conspired against Mike whose identity was unknown to anyone, even himself, except Benita. Mike was the heir to a multi-million naira worth of possession and he was the only son of Mr. Herbert, a multi-millionaire who was said to have died in a plane crash along with his family. But due to the bad traffic on our way, our plan was destroyed, but nevertheless that didn’t stop the confession, as it even worked better for us. As soon as Barr Davis shouted and everyone heard his plea for mercy, the whole place became suddenly quiet and all were filled with surprise that they each began to turn their heads backwards, even though the rush for their lives was still in them, but in this side of life, gossip was first before any other thing, not even the security of their last breath.

‘Am not dead, I was only running for my life’. Benita said.
‘And Mr. Mike wasn’t the one who killed me.’

 Mr. Mike’s lawyer promptly ran straight to call the judge back into the courtroom.  Fresh evidence had been brought up and that which no lawyer could argue out, even the fear of Benita could have made one win the case without any evidence. The judge came back still fidgeting and frightened. He called for new proceedings and new evidences were provided him.

The day the devil’s temptation started for Barr Davis was when Mike’s father took him to Barr Davis for him to be taken care of. Barr Davis was his father’s closest friend and lawyer who knew all his ins and outs, including his biggest secret which was Mike, a secret he got out of wedlock, because his wife was void of a ‘woman’s prime’. 

When the news of the death of Mike’s father and step-mom who had flown out of the country together reached Barr Davis’s bird like ears, he saw that as an opportunity for him to become a power in the country. Hence, he instantly altered the will Mr Herbert had written, wrote a new one and transferred it all to his own name. Since no one knew about Mike who Mr. Herbert, Mike’s father had willed all his cash in banks to and that he as well appointed Barr Davis as his guardian till he was old enough to manage them all by himself, Barr Davis changed Mike’s name from Mike Herbert to Mike Albert so as to hinder anyone from knowing his true identity and also told everyone he found him on the streets, thus was moved with mercy to help him out. 

Mike was unfortunately little then to know the truth about his origin and birth, so when he grew up, he believed the lies and lived with them, until the truth dragged itself out of the hidden cage of lies and came out to the open. She also told me that on the day the incident happened, Barr. Davis had walked quietly into the visitor’s room and had spoken to someone on phone on how he would kill Mr. Mike two days after the wedding ceremony in order to impede him from eventually finding out the truth, but unknown to him, that she was in the bathroom, busy cleaning up the place and that she had heard all the secret during the conversation, Barr Davis left the room. She, knowing all these unbelievable truths, secretly sneaked into his bedroom to find the document, so she could hand it over to the rightful owner. 

After searching the room for a while, she found it hidden among some other documents kept in a box and swiftly, she took it then headed for the door but unfortunately for her, Barr Davis entered into the room. When he first saw her, he wasn’t surprised but when he saw the untouchable in her hand, he began to fume intensely. He immediately pounded a wooden stool on her head and she collapsed. Thinking she was dead, he dragged her into Mr. Mike’s room, positioned her in his cupboard then called someone on phone, probably a senior police officer and asked for some of his men to be sent to his house, purposefully to search Mike’s room in order to implicate him and make his death official and clear rather than creating awareness by murdering him personally. So when her body was discovered, she was carried into an ambulance and was driven to a hospital. And as soon as they got there, she woke up and managed to escape, knowing fully well that if she was discovered she would be killed the ‘second time’ by Barr Davis and the hospital never filed a report, definitely, that was done to protect the hospital's reputation and her license.
Shortly after, Mike was arrested in the church by the police and was eventually detained. 

What I had convinced Benita to tell me that day about the dead secret that must never be known was the same thing she had told the court that afternoon before Barr Davis was sentenced to life imprisonment along with some other persons that were also involved in the murder attempt. That afternoon before Mike was discharged of all criminal charges and before he inherited all his rights and wealth: the afternoon before I became employed and was off the street from my day to day petty jobs and that same day before Benita was officially declared alive and her death testimonial was withdrawn. That day.was the same we became the talk of history; a historical story about a runaway ghost.

THE END


Hello dear reader, I hope you enjoyed the final episode of the Runaway Ghost and I also hope you enjoyed all the other episodes. 

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