Hotel Room Murder Page 6

  “I told you I have a few questions for you.”

  “I mean, why am I in this room?” the doctor sounded stern, but still looked composed. “I know what this is. It’s an interrogation. Am I a suspect?”

  “Should you be?”

  Doctor Umanze relaxed on the seat. “If this is how you want to play it, I have nothing to say to you then.”

  Inspector Osbourne didn’t react to the doctor’s comment. He simply pushed the cheap phone to the centre of the table, and asked, “Do you know what this is?”

  Doctor Umanze didn’t care to look at it.

  “It’s apparently a phone belonging to your wife,” Inspector Osbourne volunteered.

  The doctor took a glimpse at the phone, then looked away. “There’s no way that phone belonged to my wife.”

  “Could she have hidden it from you?”

  Doctor Umanze breathed loudly. He hardly saw his wife because of his work schedule, so she could have had a hundred other phones for all he knew.

  “She could have, right?” the inspector pressed.

  “I don’t know,” Doctor Umanze snapped. “What number is in the phone?”

  Inspector Osbourne had no clue what number was in it, so he dialled his own number with it, then pulled out his phone and showed Doctor Umanze what was displayed on the screen.

  The doctor shook his head. “That wasn’t the phone she used with this number.”

  “So perhaps she had another phone number, which she swapped intermittently?”

  “I don’t know anything else at this point, but what I know is that, this phone...” He sat up and pointed at the cheap phone. “Has never been used with this number.”

  “Which means that someone could have robbed her and taken her phone, then replaced it with his one.” Inspector Osbourne paused, as he put his phone in his pocket, then abruptly asked, “Where were you today between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.?”

  The doctor scoffed in response. He found the question unwarranted and totally accusing.

  The inspector drummed his fingers on the table, indicating that he was waiting for an answer.

  “Wait, you suspect that I stole my wife’s phone this morning? To what end?”

  “Answer the question. Where were you between 8:00 and 11:00 this morning?”

  Doctor Umanze relaxed his back on the chair, then said, “I was sleeping.”

  “I didn’t ask what you were doing, I asked where you were.”

  “I was on the bed.”

  “Doctor Umanze, let’s not do this.” Inspector Osbourne unlocked his phone, then scrolled through. He fiddled with some apps, not sure where Princewill Jackson had saved the photos.

  The doctor watched briefly in confusion before sighing and turning his focus away. A few seconds later, the inspector found what he was looking for. He tapped the folder open, then stretched his hand towards the doctor, who didn’t move an inch to look at the phone.

  Inspector Osbourne, with his hand still stretched across the table, continued, “This is you entering the Lagos Star Hotel this morning at eight. So I’m pretty sure you weren’t sleeping, or on any bed.”

  The doctor moved slightly in the chair in apparent discomfort. He turned and squinted at the phone, perhaps to confirm what the inspector had said before he reacted in any way. Once he recognised himself in the photo, he said, “Well, maybe I was at the hotel this morning. I must have forgotten. But if you already knew where I was, why ask me?”

  “I’m sure you know the answer to that. We need to hear your own side of the story first and check if you are a liar.” The inspector smirked. “And you are a liar.”

  Doctor Patrick shook his head.

  “You were at Lagos Star Hotel this morning,” Inspector Osbourne stated. “The same hotel where your wife showed up about an hour later and was found dead.”

  Doctor Patrick opened both palms. “Is that a question?”

  “No, but this is: What happened to your wife?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “We have a theory, and it’s that your wife and the man she was found with were no lovers. In fact, you and Desola Ogunba were, or rather still are the lovers.” The inspector pointed over his shoulder, and continued, “You saw each other in the station lobby earlier this morning and pretended to have never met.”

  “That’s because I had never met her before this morning.”

  “So explain this.” Inspector Osbourne showed him another photo. “Thirty minutes after you went into the hotel, Desola Ogunba showed up. Second lie, Doctor.”

  “Maybe it was a coincidence.”

  “Maybe, but for the last one month, she has been showing up minutes after you at secret locations, like guest houses, apartment buildings for rent, and hotels.”

  “Secret locations? Since when did all those places you mentioned become secret locations?”

  “Since when lovers used them as their meeting place.”

  Doctor Umanze sighed. “These photos, they are the work of someone following me, right? My best guess would be the man who showed up with you at my doorstep.”

  Inspector Osbourne inconspicuously glanced towards the two-way mirror, while Princewill Jackson swallowed hard. He was usually not made when he spied on someone, but despite that, people who had things to hide were always watching their backs.

  “He’s a policeman,” the doctor continued. “So why was he following me?”

  “He’s a private investigator, and although he works with the police, he isn’t a policeman,” Inspector Osbourne replied. “So yes, you were being followed. Your wife suspected you of cheating, and consequently, she hired someone to follow you. We have pictures dating back to a month. Pictures from every morning, of every meeting.”

  “My wife might have as well hired the woman showing up after me. Didn’t you think of that?”

  The inspector smirked again. “So you noticed the man following you, but you didn’t notice the woman entering guest houses or apartment buildings with you?”

  “No, I didn’t. I’m a man, I would be more concerned if another man followed me around, not a woman.” The doctor exhaled deeply. “All I can say is that the woman is either a stalker or it’s just a mere coincidence. Maybe she followed me, but I’ve never met her in my life.”

  Inspector Osbourne sat back. The doctor had a point. All Princewill Jackson had were photos of them going into the locations and coming out. They were never seen together.

  “If that would be all, I have to go home and prepare for my shift at the hospital,” Doctor Umanze said. “I start in less than an hour.”

  Without saying any other thing, Inspector Osbourne extended his hand to the door, palm facing up, indicating that the doctor was free to go. And once the door closed, the inspector took out his notepad and added hospital to his list.

  ***

  Inspector Osbourne left the interrogation room and headed to the viewing room where the P.I. had been watching the questioning from. Concurrently, the P.I. had also left the room and was going to meet the inspector. He slowed his pace when he saw the inspector approach.

  “You heard it?” The inspector tilted his head over his shoulder as if the doctor was standing behind him. “He said they have never met, and there’s actually no proof stating otherwise.”

  “I’m telling you that he’s lying,” Princewill Jackson opposed. “He has met Desola Ogunba, and I’m pretty sure he knows what happened to the victims. Did you look at him? He was overly composed for someone who has just lost a spouse.”

  “We still have no proof, and besides he was distraught when I first took the news to him. He seemed truly shocked to learn that his wife was dead. He was also worried about his kids being forgotten in school. You can’t fake that.”

  “The man I saw in there was nothing close to distraught or recovering from any loss. Of course, he would be worried about his kids being forgotten in school because he hadn’t thought about that in the first place. And yes, you’re right. He can’t
fake that emotion, but it’s of confusion, and not of worry.”

  “Look, it just seems like he has accepted his fate and must move on,” Inspector Osbourne said. “He’s a doctor, he knows he would have to compose himself at a point.”

  “You’re also right about that, but believe me, he’s hiding something. I say this because I’m sure that he knows what happened in that room. He and his lover. They were both there.”

  “Maybe, but he had a valid point,” Inspector Osbourne said, exasperated. “Did you ever see them together?”

  Princewill Jackson shook his head. He had never seen them together.

  “So there’s a possibility that they never met, right?”

  “There is, but I’m sure they did.”

  “What we need are facts.” Inspector Osbourne thought briefly. “If we cannot prove that they met at that hotel or anywhere else, we need something else to tie them together. Maybe I can run a search on their phone lines for any form of communication. They signed in at the station earlier, so I can get their numbers from the front desk.”

  “That won’t be necessary. Enitan Umanze first searched through her husband’s phone and found nothing, which made her the more suspicious and certain that he was cheating.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “That only family members, domestic staff, and his workplace contact details are stored on the phone. Those are the only people he communicates with. There are no random messages or social media.”

  “So what? They likely don’t communicate via telephone?”

  “They don’t, that’s why I was hired, but you are welcome to check if you want.”

  “Then how did she know he was cheating in the first place?”

  “She suspected he was after unsuccessfully trying to reach him one morning. She called the hospital and was told that he had left a while ago having signed out at about 5:00 a.m. She was worried that something had happened to him if he left that early and wasn’t back home by 7:00 a.m., but the hospital reassured her that he was fine because he left around that time every day. And indeed, he was fine. She observed his timing for the next couple of weeks and it was the same thing, so she believed he had to be going somewhere else. His phone gave nothing away, and she couldn’t follow him around because of their kids, so she hired me, and you know the rest.”

  “It makes a lot of sense, but it wouldn’t hurt to try for a link,” the inspector concluded on that point. “Also, when they met in the lobby earlier, the woman was doing the talking, so it could mean she’s the weak link. I’ll question her again. And in the meantime, I need you to do something for me.”

  “Anything I can do to help,” Princewill Jackson said. “The only reason Enitan Umanze is dead is that I sent her to that hotel room. I’ll do whatever I can to help find her killer.”

  “Good.” Inspector Osbourne corked his head to the side. “Do you know the name of the hospital where the doctor works?”

  “I do.” Princewill Jackson nodded. “I also know where it is. What are you thinking?”

  “Can you get over there as quickly as possible, before the doctor resumes for his shift, and find out if Desola Ogunba has been there recently? They should have a sign-in register or something. I have a feeling that the hospital might be their means of communication.”

  “And you may be right,” Princewill Jackson agreed. “I’ll go there straightaway.”

  ***

  Before Inspector Osbourne left to pick up Desola Ogunba for questioning, he made a stop at the lobby to get both her and Doctor Umanze’s phone numbers, then went to the tech lab of the station. The cold in the lab made him shiver slightly as he entered. The tech lab was the coolest place in the station, with at least six air conditioners hanging firmly on the walls. A lot of computers, monitors, processors and other gadgets were littered about in the room. All powered on, they left an intense buzzing sound in the air. There were also neatly arranged workstations at every corner, all of which were empty, except for one. Inspector Osbourne immediately walked up to the only, always available, techie.

  “Wilson, I need you to check for a connection between the owners of two phone numbers.” Inspector Osbourne pulled out the cheap phone and gave it to Wilson. “The owner of this line is the female murder victim from this morning, and the number the last text message was sent to was the male murder victim found with her.”

  Wilson looked up, as the inspector spoke. He was one of, if not the best techie in the whole Lagos Force and was in the office so often that all the others feared he didn’t have a place of his own. He was always clad in a suit and tie, with no reading glasses, and looked more like a lawyer than a geek.

  He glanced at the phone, then took it as he returned focus to the inspector. “If they were found together, what other kind of connection do you need?” he asked.

  “We have reason to believe that their being together was set up and that the text message between them could be fake,” the inspector replied. “Can you look for another form of communication? Anything at all?”

  “I can.” Wilson nodded, typed in the numbers, then returned the phone. “If there is one, I’ll find it.”

  “Also...” The inspector provided two other numbers on a piece of paper with the initials of their owners’ names beside them. “I need you to run a separate check on these numbers for any form of communication. They belong to the spouses of the deceased.”

  Wilson’s eyes popped open. “What do they have to do with the case?”

  “Nothing is sure for now. Just run the check.”

  “Okay. I will do that as well.”

  Inspector Osbourne’s phone rang in his pocket at that instant. He pulled it out and saw the commissioner’s name flash on the screen. He looked at Wilson, who was staring at him, and said, “Thank you, and keep me updated.”

  Wilson nodded again, and Inspector Osbourne left the lab. Once he got outside, he answered the phone, luckily just before it rang out.

  He cleared his throat, and said, “Commissioner.”

  “What time is it?” the commissioner asked.

  “It’s...” Inspector Osbourne looked at the phone to check the time.

  “It’s past the deadline,” the commissioner responded for him. “And it’s all that matters.”

  Inspector Osbourne said nothing, but he wished he could tell the old man that his constant checking up and phone calls were slowing things down.

  “Since you want me running after you, I will. What have you found?” The commissioner was now impatient. “At first, it was just my immediate bosses hassling me, but now, the Lagos State governor is asking questions. He has been on my neck all day, and did I forget to mention that the owner of the hotel is his childhood friend? So they want this handled as soon as possible.”

  Inspector Osbourne was still quiet.

  “So what’s the update?”

  The inspector inhaled, then exhaled loudly. “I hate to say this, sir, but there was a minor setback, so we are pursuing fresh leads. Wilson from IT is currently running some checks for me in the lab, so hopefully, before the end of the day, I should be able to provide an update.”

  It was the commissioner’s turn to be quiet.

  “Also, sir, I believe we are heading somewhere, but you need to give me some time to work without interruption,” the inspector stated. “You know I’m good at my job. Just let me do it and I’ll get you a report once I solve the case.”

  The commissioner sounded defeated and calm, when he asked, “How long do you need?”

  “Just give me five days of no distraction or restriction and I’ll solve this case and drop a report on your table.”

  “I give you three,” the commissioner replied, then before he hung up, he added, “The case report should be ready by then.”

  Inspector Osbourne replaced his phone in his pocket, then as earlier planned, he left to go and pick up Desola Ogunba.

  ***

  Same Day

  Thursday, 22nd November 2018r />
  7:25 p.m.

  Inspector Osbourne was about to knock when the door swung open. One look at Inspector Osbourne, and Desola Ogunba scrunched her face. Inspector Osbourne eyed her from head to toe. She was dressed as though she was going for an event or on a date, but nothing close to a woman who had just lost her husband.

  “Can I help you?” Desola Ogunba asked, waking Inspector Osbourne from his thoughts.

  “You seem to always be on your way out to somewhere.”

  “Since when did always being on my way out to somewhere become a problem?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. You look nothing like a mourning wife.”

  Desola Ogunba rolled her eyes. “I believe you came here for a purpose.”

  “You need to come back with me to the station to answer a few questions.”

  “I’m sorry, but I have an engagement to attend to. Can you ask the questions here?” Her phone rang in her hand, distracting her for a second, then she looked at Inspector Osbourne.

  “Okay.” Inspector Osbourne shrugged. “Where were you today between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.?”

  “I don’t know, probably running some errands after my husband went to work.”

  “Have you ever been to the Lagos Star Hotel?”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Answer the question.”

  “Honestly, I believed that there was a development in my husband’s murder case and that maybe you had some questions to ask that could help find his killer, but asking me such an accusing question makes me think that I’m the development,” Desola Ogunba blurted.

  “Why would you say that?” Inspector Osbourne asked.

  “Because you are investigating me. Why?”

  The inspector ignored her question. “Have you ever been to the Lagos Star Hotel?”

  “I already answered that.”

  “No, you didn’t. You only asked what that had to do with anything.”