THE LOVERSMY HUSBAND

CHAPTER ONE

The news on every television station had been the same for almost two weeks. The public was in awe. They didn seem to trust each other. Every one thought the other was behind the murders. Husbands guarded their wives and children jealously. Mothers no longer trusted their neighbors to even have a few words of greeting to their children. The fear of the unknown was very evident once the sun started its rushed decent. It was very obvious that if one tried so hard you could not only feel it but also touch it. The wave of fear was so strong that the humble residents of the big estate were taking certain measures. German Sherpards were released as early as 5pm; a common breed that most of the residents seemed interested in keeping. Doors were locked with metallic chains and heavy padlocks. There was no curfew as far as the local police was concerned but every one was in their homes at exactly 8pm. Those that could afford it had gone a head and hired security personnel with guns to ensure that they felt safe. Murder had come once again to Bulenga Estate in Mukono, the seventh of its kind in the area.

The only time the residents of the estate felt safe was when the afternoon sun was out and blazing. That was when little children got out of the suffocating gates accompanied by adults to have a walk or buy small trinkets from near by shops. The neighborhood trust that the residents had built for a long time between each other had been broken in a short period of three months. This particular death had shaken the entire foundation of the community on which it had been built. The values of trust and faithfulness including the added advantage of security had been scrapped by this gruesome murder. These small benefits had for long been taken for granted till the murders began.

Some said there was a serial killer or two on the loose and their lives were at stake. The only difference was that this time the victim was male while initially only women between the ages of 24years to 40years were murdered. Most of the female victims were mothers and wives with prestigious jobs or businesses. Their heads were severed off and the killer took time to remove the eyeballs out of their sockets. The eyes were taken and every thing else was left behind including their valuables. According to the coroner the eyes had been removed after the head had been cut off the victims body. A small mercy one might add. The same specialist said that the deceased were drugged before their heads were chopped off with what he suspected must have been a sharp machete. The cuts were made with precision and everything was done neatly an indication that the criminal was an expert in the art. He believed that the culprit could have been a butcher or someone that used sharp such sharp instruments. According to the police the women were killed from another place and their bodies had been dropped off in the trading center for people to find. The community had been scared and been forced to protect their female members from this new evil.

Unfortunately, another murder had occurred on that July morning and this time it was different. Police spokesperson in Mukono assured the public that they were investigating the case. And called for calmness, patience and cooperation of the community.

The victim was male, age 38, chocolate complexion, six foot two with broad shoulders. He was found dressed only in a pair of black slacks and no shirt. He was lying on the floor face down in a pool of blood. His eyes unlike the rest of the victims were intact in their socket but widely open. His body was battered giving an indication that he had been beaten to a pulp. Part of his skull had broken in and the brain was oozing out of its traditional location. He had been stubbed in the abdomen with what the coroner said could have been a sword. According to the coroner he had been dead for approximately 3 hours and most of his bones had been broken while the internal organs had been totally damaged. If one didn know more they would have thought that the man had been attacked by a mob and had been killed in the process. The coroner an old man of 60years that had experience of more than twenty years too was in shock at the horrors that seemed to be sweeping the population of Bulenga Estate. The weapon used to stub him was not left at the scene of crime. According to his documents, which were found in his house when the police arrived his name, was Elvis Odong. He was the head of IT at the Daily Tribunal, a prominent newspaper in the country. Elvis also owned an Internet café in the trading center in Mukono town. There were six houses on the small flat where the deceaseds home was; so everyone seemed to know each other.

The case was assigned to Frank Ashaba one of their most reliable and determined officers at the precinct. Frank was a rising star in the homicide department. He was recently married to the lover of his life a certain Sharon; another officer in the police who was also the most hated woman in her department. The only time anyone ever saw her gentle smile was when she was talking to her husband. The rest of the time she was tough and angry wearing a scowl on her pretty face. The initial speculation was that this Sharon was sexually starved. Maybe that explained the anger. But now with Frank around it was now a concluded fact that she was simply an angry woman.

Frank took his job too seriously for a young man of 36years. Because of that he was on the list for promotion, as he wanted to become a detective and take his talents to Kampala where there was more action. The chief assigned the case of Elvis Odong to Frank because he knew the young man would not give up on the case till he had found the culprit responsible for ending Elvis life.

You get the bastard, Frank, I get you that promotion you so badly want. You wanted action, consider this practice. The Chief had said as he gave a three page long file to Frank.

He was to be assisted by a small team of five that had been sent from Kampala Metropolitan Police. The team like the coroner was in shock when they saw photos of the recent murders in the area. One thing for sure, the murder of Elvis Odong was not in any way connected to that of the six headless women.

A few days after the discovery of his body the police had no information regarding the death of Elvis. According to his neighbors he had no wife and resided alone. They all said he had a female visitor who they had never seen before because she usually appeared late in the night with him and left without being seen. The only time they heard of her presence in the estate was when her voice was heard during her late night laughs or during loud moans during sexual pleasure. This was confirmed by the gateman who had no clear description of the woman except that she had shoulder length dreadlocks and a butterfly tattoo on her left arm. She was of a very light complexion, the gateman referred to as YELLOW. The gateman said that there had not been any visitor that he could recall the night before.

So according to Officer Frank, she was a on his list of suspects and on top of that she was not known by anyone from the small estate. The police came to a conclusion that she was not from the neighborhood but she was on their most wanted list.

Elvis Odong had a few friends from his office in Nakawa at the Daily Tribunal; they too were shocked to hear about his death. They didn know the yellow woman as she was now being referred to. Those that knew him, were sure that he was an outstanding citizen that could not harm a fly. Everyone that had ever associated with him had been dragged down to the police station to be questioned but it seemed no one knew anything about his life away from the office. Apart from two of his ex girlfriends that had been interrogated nobody else knew about his family. His two employees at the café too had no information that the officer didn already have.

His friends were able to locate his family from his employee file. Information regarding his death was passed on.

His family couldn believe that Elvis was really dead. His father and two brothers decided to come all the way from Kumi to get his body and take it back to the village for burial. As expected Frank was asked several questions regarding the death of Elvis from the three of the saddest faces he had ever seen in his life.

What happened to my son? the father that had become older by each passing minute was supported by his two remaining sons on both arms. The old mans face looked pale as though had applied a thin layer of ash on his body. His hair looked like it had been falling out and it was unkempt.

Tell us you know at least why he was killed. Who did such an evil act? one of the brothers asked.

Did you get the evildoer and what are you going to do to them for their despicable actions?

Unfortunately the officer didn have a single response that could satisfy or comfort them. He felt hopeless that the investigation was not going anywhere.

What am I going to tell his wife and three children? How am I going to tell them that the police does not know what happened to their father? How did all this happen? My wife is not going to make it, he was her favorite. The old man said as tears rolled down his cheeks leaving visible marks in their awake.

Wife? Children? What was going on? No one had mentioned a wife. Not even the neighbors or the company. According to the company, he was not married and above all his next of kin was a brother.

As Elvis family sat before Frank expecting to get insight about the death of their beloved, Frank listened and studied the three faces sitting before him. He looked at the file and asked any questions that he thought might help him in finding the killer. Frank realized that basing on the information he had, there was no mention of a wife and children as regards the deceased Elvis Odong.

After the brief meeting with the lates family, arrangements were made by the Daily Tribunal to transport the body for burial. Eager to know more about the wife and children, Officer Frank accompanied the small group to Kumi for burial.

From Franks observation Elvis wife Sarah was shaken and so were his children and his siblings. They couldn understand what their brother had been involved in that he had been killed for it. Elvis friends, employees, ex girlfriends and a team from the Daily Tribunal all attended the burial. Every one seemed heartbroken to see that a man with such a promising future could end in such away. The public covered the burial and followed the incident by soaking in any information provided by the media. Drugs. Terrorism. Suicide. Human trafficking. Smuggling. These were all topics that the public used to describe and discuss the possible reason behind Elviss gruesome death for three weeks. The media houses had a field day and they didn fail to parade their ignorance before the public as they laid their views and speculations.

Meanwhile in Bunga,

Celina prowled the dark corridors of her home. Desperation was eating her up. She didn want to blame her husband but she didn trust him either. Her hand still ached from the laser tattoo removal surgery she had done a week back. What bothered her the most was how calm her husband was about the entire predicament. He seemed more loving towards her a side she had not seen in him for a very long time. She got nightmares in which he was the life size of king kong and he was doing to her what had been done to Elvis. In her dream he held a long ancient Ninja sword and was using it to stub her repeatedly damaging all her organs. He went ahead and got one of her organs and ate it as he named the rest for her. He then leaves her to bleed out as he seats and watches on licking his fingers. Her paranoia was getting the best of her. Or was everything true? She knew it was possible. And he would get away with it. Even with all the evidence pointing at him he could still get away with it. He could be the Ugandan version of O.J Simpson. But he had not said a word and she knew how he loved to gloat after he has done something.

Elvis is dead! She still couldn believe it. She had not attended the funeral thinking that the police could be looking for her and they could suspect her. She sat at the door leading to daughters bedroom and started crying hopelessly.

What have I done? What am I going to do?