THE DEVIL WEARS OKIRIKA

In the small and peaceful town of Amaife, a psychopath begins to rape and kill young girls. Because the community is so small, the villagers cannot control their panick, knowing whoever is doing this must be someone everyone knows and knows everyone, so no one is safe. Osi, a young pastor on a revival mission comes along with his team of young ministers and experienced more deaths first hand.

Osi is provoked into playing village detective. His youthful zeal, blended with a crush on the village hottie and an honest passion of finding justice for the victims and closure for theIr families, Osi would put his life on the line to find the devil behind the killings, but little did Osi know that the devil has plan for him too.

CHAPTER 1

The fume from the generator entered his office, making him cough in his sleep. His eyes fluttered open as he inhaled the gas. He mumbled incoherently to himself and got up, dragging his feet tiredly as he shut the window. His ceiling fan didn’t provide much breeze and he had to rely on cross ventilation from outside most of the time. But his office was badly positioned and anytime the generator was on he had to shut his window because of the air pollution. He stretched and cracked his knuckles as he returned to his seat. He had been updating a form about the monthly expenditures of the youth church before he dozed off.

Osita Azikwe, called Osi by everyone or pastor Osi by his church members, mostly the youths had been ordained as the youth pastor of New Life Ministries barely a month ago and he remained devoted to his duties.

He was two weeks shy of his twenty sixth birthday and remained the youngest pastor in the church. Osi was the fifth and last child of his parents. For long he had harboured resentment towards his parents because all his siblings had been born in the United States. But when his mother was pregnant with him, she had risked having a miscarriage and flown back to Nigeria to be beside her father who was dying. Osi had been born a week later and his grandfather had gotten better.

When his visa application was continually denied while his two brothers and two sister had flown in and out of the country, going to the states and coming back with pictures he had been filled with so much bitterness and had sent himself on exile. When he graduated (Mechanical engineering) from the university of Portharcourt, he remained in the state vowing to settle down and cut all ties with his family.

All of that changed when he met Reverend Benji Okafor: The overseer of New Life Ministries. The reverend took a special interest in Osi and took him under his wings.

“We need a new Drum set, new amplifier…..definitely a new generator,” he said to himself as he resumed his duty, shaking off the lingering effects of the nap.

There was a knock on the door and he glanced up. “Come in.”

A young lady walked in, “Pastor Osi, good afternoon, please the reverend wants to see you.”

“Theresa, how are you. You’re in church for choir practice?”

She nodded shyly, “Yes. I have a special number to perform tomorrow.”

Osi smiled, “Wonderful. I can’t wait, tell the reverend I’d be with him shortly.”

 

Reverend Benji Okafor leaned on the pillar, watching the choir go through the practice for their song in preparation for the Sunday service the next day. He saw Theresa hurry to take her place; she had such a lovely voice: He thought to himself. He was about to ask her about the youth pastor when his eyes caught a movement from the rear of the church. He watched Osi’s lanky frame make his way towards him. He had a special fondness for the young pastor and indeed loved him like a son.

 

“Let’s go to my office.” he shouted over the choir’s uniform voice blasting from the overhead speakers.

Osi nodded curtly.

“Are you done with filling the expenses?” Reverend Okafor asked, settling behind his desk, sinking into his massive comfortable leather seat.

Osi sat down across from him “Not yet sir, I’m almost done.”

“Okay, that wasn’t why I called you anyway.”

 

Osi got up and opened the mini fridge. He removed a bottle of water and returned to his seat.

The reverend’s office was spacious; the walls were decorated with framed photographs of motivational quotes and bible verses. On the table was a framed photograph of his wife and two daughters.

Osi drank  from the bottle. “I’m listening sir.”

“Well,” The reverend studied him intensely “you know of our rural uplifting crusade coming up.”

“Yes sir.”

“There have been some changes.”

“What happened? What kind of changes?”

The reverend leaned back in his seat. “Osi do you believe God has a unique purpose for everyone?”

Osi had no idea where the reverend was going (or coming from) but he nodded slowly.

“Years ago,” the reverend continued, “Your mother had to rush back to the country to be with her dying father, she was pregnant with you and so you were born in the country.”

Osi wondered why the reverend was recounting his own history to him, in fact everything the reverend knew about him, he was the one who had told him.

“Interestingly, your mother’s father got better the moment you were born and would live for another decade, meaning his time had not yet come then." The reverend drummed his fingers on the desk, “You see, we serve a mysterious God, he works in mysterious ways, do you believe if your mother hadn’t come back when she did, you would have been born over there and as a citizen, you wouldn’t remain in this country but would be living there as we speak.”

Osi nodded “That’s true…I know.”

“Also you never would have met me, and more importantly you might not have met Christ,” he cleared his throat and Osi waited for the punch line, “But the interesting thing is you would not be able to go for this assignment God has placed in my heart for you.”

This time Osi sat up, “Assignment, what assignment?”

“You are going to lead the rural uplifting crusade.”

“Me? But what about evangelist Tomori?”

“This assignment is for you,” the reverend waved hand  “The Lord wants to use you for great works.”

Osi was silent for some seconds. “How long is the cusade?”

“It would last for a week.”

“Who would accompany me?”

“Your team of youth leaders and deacon Oforbuike as well.”

Osi winced when he heard of the deacon. The deacon disliked him immensely and didn’t bother to hide it. According to him, Osi was too free and wordly to be a pastor, to be the head of the youths.

He was more qualified for the position but still remained a deacon. Osi had been chosen.

The reverend fired on, “We would be hosted by the pastor Mr. Bartholomew, he has assured me of maximum hospitality.”

Osi nodded for the umpteenth time that afternoon. So be it, he was a leader and he had to be firm. He couldn’t let anyone as the deacon get under his skin.

“One question sir, where is the crusade taking place?”

“Amaife.”

 

 

At 21 years, Amarachi was the most sought after lady in Amaife. Her beauty had no equal. Her father, Dé Nwachukwu was one of the three leaders of the community and he was tired of receiving suitors. Amarachi had been clear: she planned to finish her education before any thought about marriage would cross her mind. Her father knew she was intelligent and very strong willed and so he didn't force her. Moreover he had a high regard for education and wanted his two daughters to be well educated.

 

Amarachi was in the kitchen stirring a pot of soup over the fire. She touched the spoon to her hand and tasted it. "More salt," she said to her friend. Oluchi was her best friend since childhood and they were inseperable.

Oluchi passed the bowl of salt to her. "Did you hear about Chisom?" she asked as her friend sprinkled salt in the food.

"I heard, so, so bad.”

“They said her mother fainted when she heard."

"My God, she was the only child, who found her?"

"It was little Ndidi and her sister," Oluchi replied setting up another fire.

"Who is this devil? What kind of terror is this?"

"That is the third girl in four weeks," Oluchi replied striking the matches. "Ehen…Paul is coming back tomorrow," Oluchi said after a while.

"Paul? Oh...your brother."

"Yes he's coming from Lagos, and he can't wait to see you."

Amarachi raised her eye brows, "Really?"

"Yes. We would go and pick him at the park, me and you pleeeeaaasss." She flushed her eyes.

Amarachi rolled her eyes, "Oh, all right then."

 

The devil walked round the market square, enjoying the clear sky and the cool breeze. His appetite had been satisfied temporarily but very soon he would need to have another girl again. Very, very soon. He had someone on his mind. She had been hunting his dreams recently.

He waved at a woman selling oranges, flashing a charming smile and licked his lips in anticipation as he thought about Amarachi. Sweet Amara...

 

CHAPTER 2

Dé Nwachukwu patted the young boy on the head as he dropped the jug of palm wine. "Thank you my son."

"Yes sir, Dé John would be outside soon."

The young boy hurried inside the house. There was something intimidating about Dé Nwachukwu, despite the fact that he was quite a smallish man.  Maybe it was his piercing eyes or the fact that his mouth never turned upwards, not even when he smiled. And he hardly smiled, especially not this morning when he seemed to be in a bad mood.

Dé Nwachukwu folded both arms on his cane and tapped his foot impatiently. His village was in a state of distress. Three of their daughters had been abused. Raped mercilessly, beaten and given a dishonourable death. Were the gods asleep? Who could be behind such devlish acts?

Dé Nwachukwu sighed and shook his head in dismay. Too many questions had been plaguing him this past month but no answer was forthcoming. Now three families had been thrown into grief and the worst thing was he feared for more families, he feared for the young daughters of Amaife. He feared for his two daughters.

Dé John moved the curtain aside and stepped out. He was a tall man unlike his friend. Dé John had his pipe in his mouth. As typical of him, he had on a singlet and a wrapper tied round his waist. He sat down on the bench across his friend, looking gloomy.

"Dé, I won't greet you good morning because there's nothing good about this morning."

"I agree," Dé Nwachukwu nodded, finally picking up the jug of palm wine and pouring into a cup.

"What I'm wondering is where Pà Kenneth is," Dé John said, puffing on his tobacco pipe.

"He told me he had a meeting with Bartholomew."

Dé John scoffed, "The pastor? What is he doing, running after churches now?"

Dé Nwachukwu sipped from his cup, "Apparently a crusade is coming from another state and the pastor plans to host them."

"Is that what we need right now?" Dé John asked in disgust.

"Well it appears the gods have forgotten us, so maybe that's what we need." Dé Nwachukwu replied, his voice rising a bit, "we need to call a meeting. Our women are getting scared."

"I can't argue with that, very soon they would all lock themselves indoors," Dé John agreed helping himself to the jug.

"Maybe that's the best thing," Dé Nwachukwu said. Frankly, he was getting worried for his daughters. Especially Amarachi, she was widely regarded as the gem of the village and now more than ever he was worried for her safety. The three girls that had been murdered had two things in common: they were beautiful; they were in their early 20s.

"We need a concrete solution my friend."

"Yes I agree, we need to rally our youths."

 

The New Life Ministries team of youth leaders had of 5 people. Osi who was the youth pastor, the extremely slender Gregory his assistant and close frind then there was Bukky, she was the official secretary and had the responsibility of editing the monthly editions of the church’s On Fire magazine and then Ovie a.k.a Biggie.

That Sunday, Osi had announced that they had an emergency meeting after the service and so they waited in his office.

"Please I don't have to remind you of the contributions we talked about," Bukky announced settling down into a chair. She lowered her voice, looking pointedly at Ovie "concerning Osi's birthday."

"I didn't forget," he shrugged.

"What is this meeting for anyway?" Gregory asked. He was seated on the edge of the desk. There were only three chairs in Osi's office after all and Ovie was tucked comfortably in two while Bukky sat across the table in Osi's chair.

"I wouldn't be surprised if somebody called this meeting to remind the rest of us about a certain contribution for a particular birthday present," Ovie jabbed his thumb at Bukky when he said somebody.

Gregory chuckled and Bukky rolled her eyes. Before she could speak, the door opened and Osi stepped inside.

"You're all here, good." He entered the office and shut the door gently.

"What's going on?" Ovie asked immediately.

Osi glanced at him. He paced round the small office, he didn't waste time. "We’re going to spearhead the uplifting crusade"

"Are you serious?" Gregory asked.

"What do you mean we?" Ovie asked.

Osi stopped pacing and looked at his friends, "I'm very serious and I mean we as in the four of us."

"Just us?" Bukky asked.

"Well, the deacon is going too. I've been in a meeting with him and the Reverend all afternoon. We leave for Amaife tomorrow."

"Amaife. I've never heard of it before." Ovie said.

"Yesterday was my first time too, Ovie I need a statement of our purse contents immediately, there's so much to do.”

"But tomorrow, why weren't we told sooner, to have adequate time to prepare?" Bukky asked, getting up to offer the chair to Osi.

He remained standing. Truth be told, his mind was far away. For the first time he began feeling the weight of the responsibility. "Don't forget we are not here to serve men, we have a lot to do. Gregory you have calls to make, we need bible themes and doctrines for the duration of the week, Bukky the fliers and tracts and paperwork. It’s so many. Ovie let's know how much we need."

 

Okudili was a beast of a man. At five feet seven inches, his lack of height was made up for with excess girth. He had a barrel of a chest, strong thick arms and his low center of gravity ensured he was one of the most successful wrestlers in Amaife. He was also well loathed and well respected although the respect was from of fear.

Okudili was simply referred to as the village drunkard who was known to spend all day chasing anything in skirts from dusk to dawn.

"Elizabeth, how are you?" He shouted at a young girl who carried a tray of vegetables on her head. She ignored him but quickened her steps when she passed the tree.

Okudili drank from his bottle of alchoholic concoctions.

He watched the swaying of the young girl's hips and licked his lips,"The young has grown, see little Elizabeth o."

He watched her lustfully for some seconds but then he frowned suddenly. His eyes had come across Stevenson Galdot.

Okudili hated the man with all his being.

Stevenson was loved by everybody. Every girl and yes every woman in Amaife secretly or openly had a crush on him.

Okudili snickered, "All because of his useless white skin."

Stevenson was a European University Anthropology professor with special focus on Africa.

He had landed in Amaife a year ago and after visiting all neighbouring villages he had chosen Amaife to settle down and write a book. In his early forties, single and quite a handsome, he was loved by all the villagers. They loved that he was a people person.

As Okudili watched on, Stevenson helped an elderly woman load firewood inside a truck.

"Thank you, nna," the woman said.

"No problem, you shouldn't be doing any heavy lifting," he flashed a charming smile.

"Useless white man," Okudili scoffed from his tree.

"Hey OK, what are you drinking today? Let's share a drink," Stevenson stopped by the tree as he usually did every time. He always referred to Okudili as OK but that was not okay with Okudili.

"This drink is for real men. Your type should drink Ribena," Okudili replied. The only thing that had kept him from beating the man to a pulp was because he knew he would be in trouble with the community.

"Ah, I'd bring a bottle of scotch later, you'd enjoy it," Stevenson said with a smile.

 

Amarachi and her friend Oluchi walked round the market. They were browsing through for ingredients to make bitter leaf soup which was Paul's favourite.

"So he's coming tomorrow not today?" Amarachi asked her friend as they approached a woman selling stockfish.

"Yes, he had something to take care of last minute but he would be here by morning."

"Okay o."

"I know you can't wait to see him. Mama otu' tu oma...ego lé?"

Amarachi just smiled as she watched the exchange between Oluchi and the seller.

Her friend was bent on playing matchmaker and fixing her up with her brother. Well she loved Oluchi like a sister and even got along with her better than her own sister but she was going to disappoint her on this issue.

"Let's go, this price is too high for me," Oluchi said taking her hand and turning away from the stall.

"The best time to buy things is during the market day, things are much cheaper then," Amara said. They continued with their shopping, stopping here and there and haggling over the prices.

"Oh my God, look at Steven," Oluchi gasped suddenly.

Amarachi turned and saw the white man under the tree talking to the village nuisance. "What could they possibly be talking about?"

"God, he's so fine, I...." Oluchi sighed.

Amarachi shook her head. "You need to get over this your crush. Haba."

"It’s not just a crush...I think...I think I love him."

Amara had no reply. She could see both men were looking their way. Okudili was looking at her the way he always did that made her feel uneasy.

"Amara, I'd like to see your father," Stevenson called out as they got closer, "Oluchi how are you today?"

Amara could feel the excitement on her friend.

"Dé Nwachukwu is out, he and Dé John left early today," she replied. She noticed Okudili was glaring at her and licking his lips.

"No problem, I'd check back later," he waved cheerfully at them before turning.

The two girls continued with their shopping, "I don't like how Okudili always looks at me," Amara said.

"Is it today it started?" Oluchi asked her playfully. She then proceeded to fill her ears with how she and Steven could double date with Amara and Paul and how it would be a match made in heaven.

Amara was silent, she hadn't met anyone who woke any kind of feelings in her but the funny thing was she felt that was about to change.

She decided to be open-minded and free when meeting Paul the next day.

BUY THE BOOK!