It was the first time they had been totally alone, that Monday.
Zack had told Kuukuwaa that he wanted to be in the next city to purchase a few things.
Evidently, he was very excited about the gadgets in the highly-secured briefcase.
“I’m sure I built it. The notes are in code but I understand every single one of them. If this is what I think it is, then it is indeed something great. However, I need to buy some things before I can be totally sure.”
“But what is it, my love?” she asked, intrigued.
Zack smiled. “All in due time, my love, all in due time.”
And so, that Monday, Kuukuwaa let one of the teachers take over her school periods, and here they were in the city.
Being together, totally free of prying eyes, exhilarated both of them.
They eat delicious waakye at a joint as soon as they landed in the town of Axim.
They then went around electrical shops as Zack bought mostly electrical cables and tools which they took to the lorry station in a chartered taxi.
Kuukuwaa was amazed to see how well he fit in the city.
He knew exactly what he wanted and gave specifications with such confidence that her fears began to surface again.
She knew that this was no ordinary man.
She knew that Zack was way above her league, and she was dreading that one day he would completely regain his memory.
At the station, she looked at him sadly. “So, we go back to Densua now?”
He looked at her thoughtfully for a while, and then he smiled at her ruefully.
“Actually, I was thinking of going over to the bank, you know.”
Kuukuwaa quickly looked away to hide her sudden look of fear.
“Oh, yes, of course. The Royal-Gold Bank. You have their check book. Of course, they can trace your address for you, so that you can go home.”
He looked at her for a long time, his own face a trifle sad.
“Actually, I haven’t thought of that. I just wanted to know how much I have in that account. I’m not in a hurry to get back home, Kuks. Home is with you, and I want that above all else.”
She nodded miserably but did not develop any particular assurance from that.
She had seen him in action – his eloquence, his air of assured confidence, the ease with which he blended with city life – evident that he was a man with means, and so incredibly handsome. There was just no way a man like him will be single.
Out there was a woman, or women, and probably children.
It will be so bad on her part to keep him chained to her, to this life. With his memory would come the truth, a truth that maybe he was in love with someone else.
The pain from the mere thought made Kuukuwaa’s heart skip a beat and bring the sting of tears to her eyes.
But then as they sat in the back of the taxi that was taking them to the bank, he slipped his arm around her waist, drew her close, and held her tight.
She put her head on his shoulder, slipped a hand across his chest, and she closed her eyes. Then she breathed with a few minutes of pleasure and love.
She felt his hand under her chin, lifting her face to meet his.
Her heart was beating, and she could not open her eyes because she was loving the feeling.
A moment later his lips covered hers, and she sighed and slipped a hand around his neck, drawing his head closer still and kissing him with a fierce hunger, feeling every core of her body melting.
The taxi driver glanced at them through the driving mirror and smiled gently.
The Royal-Gold Bank was huge and imposing, rising gloriously from the ground up in a majestic explosion of glass, shiny metal and exquisite painting.
They were ushered through the sliding doors into the cool interior.
The interior was luxurious and not crowded.
Kuukuwaa noticed that the dress code was strictly formal. Both the men and women were in suits mostly.
Kuukuwaa and Zack were both in faded jeans and polo T-shirts, and she felt very self-conscious indeed.
She however saw the looks of appreciation people were casting at them. She caught a glimpse of Zack walking by her side in a large pane of glass, and her heart skipped a beat with wonder.
They looked incredible, she thought, and a smile crossed her face.
Zack made enquiries from a help desk, and he was directed to the floor above.
They climbed the stairs to another luxurious landing and were directed into a plush open office.
There were several bank officials behind neat glass-topped tables.
As Zack and Kuukuwaa made their way towards a table that had an overhanging flier that said ENQUIRIES, a short fat man in a black suit standing at the far end of the office glanced at them.
He was reading a report in a flat file, and a subordinate was standing by his side.
The man was bald, and he was wearing gold-rimmed spectacles.
He looked up again and took a critical look at Zack.
His eyes opened with great shock, and his hands shook visibly. He turned his back fast on Zack and waited until Zack had taken a seat, and then he put down the report and quickly walked towards a door marked BRANCH ACCOUNTANT.
He opened the door and entered. He closed it and then he moved to the window and opened the blinds slightly so that he could peek at Zack.
The golden nameplate on his desk indicated that this man’s name was Henry Offei.
“My God!” he exclaimed with a massive shock on his face. “Good gracious me, it is Mr. Zack Larbi!”
His face was covered with sudden sweat, and he was breathing hard.
The bank official behind the desk smiled mechanically at Zack.
“Hello. My name is Afia Adomaa. Please, how may I help you?”
“I’m Zack Larbi. I have two accounts here. An investment account and a premium gold account. I want to access the details of both accounts, and also make some transfers.”
“Alright, sir. May I please have your account details? Please do you want complete bank statements or summarized account details?”
“Summarized annual accounts and detailed current three-month statements on both accounts would be appreciated.”
“Just a minute, sir.”
“Sure,” Zack said. “Thank you.”
She took the slip of paper Zack handed her and inputs his bank details, and as the information came on the screen, Kuukuwaa saw her eyes going wide with sudden shock.
She looked at Zack again, and this time there was uneasiness and great respect in her eyes.
Kuukuwaa looked at Zack.
He seemed so comfortable, so in charge, so calm, giving nothing away that he had lost his memory.
The printouts were given to him, and he took a look at the balances.
Kuukuwaa saw his jaws working gently, a characteristic trait she had come to recognize when he was getting stressed or when he was displeased.
Zack noticed that several cash withdrawals have been made on the investment account, but none whatsoever on the premium gold account.
Without a word, he took one of the cheques and wrote a cheque, and then he took a FUNDS TRANSFER FORM and filled it, transferring eighty per cent of the amount in the investment into the premium account.
The bank official quickly effected the transfer and stood up.
“I’ll have the cheque cashed immediately, sir.”
“Thank you very much,” Zack replied.
Adomaa walked away with the cheque.
In his office, Henry Offei sat at his desk and quickly brought up the two accounts in the name of Zack Larbi, and when he saw the amount of money transferred and locked up in the premium account his face drained of colour and he looked horror-struck.
“Oh, no, no, no, no!”
He turned around and reached for the telephone on his desk and quickly dialled.
The phone rang and cut.
He dialled again, and after the third ring, he heard a female’s voice in his ears.
“Hello. Larbi residence.”
“Where’s Victoria? This is Mr. Offei from the bank. Put her on immediately. Tell her it is an emergency!”
“Madam Victoria travelled to Australia on Monday, sir.”
Henry Offei was agitated.
“Shit, shit, shit!”
The female voice at the end of the telephone was offended.
“Sir!”
“Sorry, sorry! Is this Araba?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Sorry, Araba. Something urgent came up. When is Victoria expected back?”
“In a month, sir.”
“Any number I can reach her on?”
“No, sir. We were to communicate everything to Mr. Osafo. He can reach her.”
“Alright. Thank you. Kindly inform Mr. Osafo that I need to speak to him urgently.”
“He’ll be around tomorrow evening, sir. I’ll inform him.”
“Thank you, Araba. And sorry again.”
Mr. Offei put down the receiver and stared morosely at the phone.
Meanwhile, Adomaa returned with the cash in a blue carrier.
Zack folded the statements and placed them on top of the money.
He extracted four fifty cedi notes from his pocket and gave them to Adomaa, who thanked him profusely.
They descended the stairs and went out of the bank.
It was much later, when they had purchased electrical fans, bulbs, a fridge and even an air-conditioner, much to Kuukuwaa’s disbelief, and they were sitting in a chartered mini truck headed back to the village, that Zack silently took the bank statements and gave them to her.
Kuukuwaa scanned the closing balances and gave a muted cry of horror.
“Goodness! Dearest Lord! You’re… oh, Lord! You’re a million… no, no, you’re a billionaire!”
“So it seems, my love, so it seems! I’m scared myself,” Zack said unhappily. “And somebody was withdrawing a lot of money from the account monthly. Somebody who is not a signatory to the account because the investment and premium accounts, according to the information on the printouts, are entirely in my name…definitely not joint accounts.”
Kuukuwaa reached out and took his hand.
“So, you transferred it to another account?”
“Yes, to the premium, which is untouchable, I guess. The investment account was lying dormant, with no planned investment on it, so I transferred the money out without bureaucratic tapes quite easily,”
“But you look so worried my, dear. Wouldn’t it be easy to trace whoever made the unauthorized transfers from your account?”
“I didn’t transfer that money because I’m afraid of losing money, my love. I transferred it to safeguard it. You see the colossal amount of money in my accounts, Kuks? How did Zack Larbi get all that money when he is so young? You remember my memories about the briefcase, about being chased by people with guns? The content of that briefcase is mind-blowing, if what I suspect it to be is right. My dear, either Zack Larbi is a very accomplished brilliant man, or he is a criminal. That is what is terrifying me now!”
Kuukuwaa could not speak. She was horrified herself!
She only put her arm around him and drew him closer to her.
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