The Operator

 

SAMUEL COBBY GRANT

THE OPERATOR

EPISODE 17&18

EPISODE 17

Ever since Kuuku and Pat confessed their love to each other, they hardly slept together in the same bed. They were content in the fact that they were in love and that there was no need to rush things as they were eventually going to be together. After having his bath the following day, he went to her home, entered and asked in a jovial way if there was any breakfast for him.

He received a peck instead but no answer.

KL followed her to the kitchen and his nostrils were assailed with the sweet-scented smell of what she had prepared.

“Make yourself comfortable,” she said and served him with oats and bread, with boiled and fried eggs.

They were soon done and upon his suggestion, they went to the Hospital to visit Kate. They found Jude there and it was obvious that he had spent the night there. They introduced themselves

“Are you her boyfriend?” Pat asked Jude, wanting to be sure that her man was safe.

“Naa. She’s just a friend. I saw her at the Pub after a long period of not seeing her,” he explained.

“I see,” she said but not seeing at all.

“You two look so good together,” Kuuku said with a smile when he noticed the look of uncertainty on Pat’s face.

“I am here too wai,” Kate said with her eyes closed, and that got them all laughing.

Jude immediately went to her side and placed his palm on her forehead.

“I am fine,” she smiled at him tentatively, unaccustomed to being given such attention by a man

“Here,” Pat proffered the polythene bag containing food flask that had oats and brown bread and fried eggs she had been holding all along. Kate collected it gratefully and started eating it without waiting a second. It was only when she had had her fill that she glanced their way, a shy smile on her face.

“I think I have fallen in love,” Jude said to the amazement of them all.

Pat signalled to Kuuku and they excused themselves.

“Please let me know when you are discharged so that I can come to pick you,” Kuuku said.

“Don’t worry, my driver is on his way here with my car,” Jude told him, stunning Kate.

“Is that not the guy who was involved in the fight at the Pub?” Jude said when he was going to see them off, and saw Ashalley, wearing a white overcoat.

He then called him over. They introduced themselves before Kuuku and Pat left, but Jude and Ashalley continued to walk to the building while he explained how his girlfriend got injured at the Pub the night before due to the fight.

“Smart guy,” Pat said as she drove away to Chapel Hill after taking Kuuku to Kokompe. She had been invited by Kuuku’s Mom to accompany her to the customary marriage of her friend’s daughter.

Kuuku opened the shop, went through the books, noting with satisfaction that business had been good. He praised the machinist, Ashes, and encouraged him to keep up with the good work with a promise to reward him fairly with a bonus should patronage increase.

Meticulously, he inspected the drill bits and cutters replacing those that needed to be replaced.

He was sitting on a bench in front of the shop, a while later, chatting with Ashes who was so funny that he had Kuuku laughing so hard that his ribs hurt.

“And so what happened when she told you that she works at Aids Commission.”

“We arranged to meet and she came wearing a very short skirt and a top that exposed almost all her breasts, but as soon as she saw me wearing Charlie Wote, she told me that she had to leave and left at once,” Ashes said.

“You paa, how can you wear Charlie Wote when your Facebook profile says you went to London School of Technology, did your Masters programme at Dubai Institute of Oil and Gas. You even have it there that you work with Tullow Oil as an Engineer,” he said and they laughed.

“As soon as I saw her, I knew she was trouble.”

“How so?” he asked.

“From the way she was dressed,” he said laughing with Kuuku.

Kuuku was about to say something when he saw Ackah on his way to the Machine Shop but as soon as he noticed Kuuku sitting there, he changed direction and went the other way.

He became suddenly silent. He knew that Ackah and Ayi had lied against him to the Police.

“Do you know him, Ackah,” he asked Ashes.

“Yes, he usually comes here to sell drill bits,”  Ashes explained.

“I want you to buy them from Iron Master from now henceforth. Don’t buy from him anymore,” Kuuku told him.

“But boss, his drills are affordable o.”

“Well, if you want to continue working here, you’ll listen to me,” he told him “I need proper receipts and invoices to balance my books.”

“Yes Sir,” stunned at seeing this new side of his usually affable Boss.

“And another thing don’t allow him in here anymore except when he brings a job here.”

Later, just after midday, Pat brought them lunch of fufu and light soup with mushrooms and meat. Pat asked Ashes to join them but he hesitated until Kuuku nodded to tell him that it was ok and he joined in at once without further dilly-dallying.

After the meal, Ashes wanted to go and wash the bowls but Pat wasn’t having any of that. She asked him to put them in the back seat of the car.

“Ashes, Ashes, the only Petrochemical Engineer in town,” Kuuku said and laughed.

“He is a Petrochemical Engineer?” Pat asked, shocked to the bone.

“That’s what his Facebook profile says. It also says that he did his Masters at Dubai Institute of Oil and Gas.”

Pat whooped with laughter, while the ‘Engineer’ stood there grinning from ear to ear.

EPISODE 18

TWO WEEKS LATER

The day was finally due. The court case involving the State vs Kuuku Laing.

He went to court without a lawyer, despite his Mother’s attempts to get him a lawyer. He, as usual, went to court in the company of Pat and his Mother.

Prosecution witnesses, Ayi, Ackah, the Doctor that attended to her and the CID investigator in charge of the case gave their evidence. Manza wasn’t in court due to her still weakened state.

“My Lord,” Kuuku said when it got to his turn. “According to the first witness Ackah, I am a boyfriend to Manza the victim. But I am not, Your Honor. I only knew her in Accra, and later met her at the beach here in Takoradi. According to Manza, who really ought to have been here, Kuuku has a wife and kids. I don’t have a wife and kids. I didn’t even have a girlfriend until recently. She also stated that I have been taking her to a Guest House, but the Police admits that none of the Guest House employees identified me when my picture was shown to them. She stated that my nickname was KK which isn’t true. My nickname is KL for Kuuku Laing. The only KK I know is a certain Kuuku Koomson, a cousin of Ackah, the first prosecution witness. Maybe he’s the one you have been looking for. And lastly, when Twin City TV did a documentary on Nite Life in Takoradi, Ackah was captured on TV at a pub with Manza sitting on his lap. He even kissed the back of her ear live on TV.”

Ackah got shocked to the bone as Kuuku revealed all that in Court. He had completely forgotten about that. He looked left and right, and saw that all attention was on Kuuku. He stealthily made his way out of the courtroom.

The stunned judge raised his eyes then, appraising the hall, noting the shocked expression on the faces of most of the people in the hall. He saw Ackah furtively making his way out of the courtroom.

“Stop that man!” he bellowed.

But Ackah, who was almost out of the hall, shrugged off an attempt by an old man to apprehend him, went down the flight of stairs, and quickly ran out of the building.

Some of the men in the courtroom pursued him, hot on his heels.

The Press and the audience were still in shock by the turn of events. Not only by Kuuku’s revelations but by Ackah’s escape. That alone attested to the fact that there could be some truth in what Kuuku had said in court.

Meanwhile, Kuuku and the two ladies in his life exited the courtroom, having a hectic time with the Press and all trying to get to him. They eventually escaped into the car and drove off.

Madam Lawrencia couldn’t stop herself from giving praises and thankfulness to the Lord for how his son had turned out. She knew that most boys with her son’s affluent background would have turned out to be ‘spoiled brats’ as the wealth of their parents would have made them proud, but her headstrong son hadn’t turned out like that. He had even sought to make it on his own with no help from her or anyone.

As for Pat, she just couldn’t take her eyes off him. She was so entranced by him. She saw him as the perfect life companion and counted herself lucky to have found him.

The Case took a new direction from then.

The investigating team on the case was changed. And the direction of the investigations was changed too.

Manza, when she was shown a picture of Kuuku Koomson, confirmed that he was the ‘Kuuku’ who had spiked her drink, making her sick, and that he was her lover. She also confirmed, albeit shyly that she had been having sex with Ackah regularly.

Ackah was arrested at a hideout and detained. Ayi was apprehended too, but he was allowed to walk free with no charge when he admitted that he was threatened by Ackah to lie.

As for Kuuku Koomson, he was placed on the police wanted list.

To be continued…

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