Outside, Lt. Clottey waited, his eyes darting here and there to ensure nothing fishy escaped his eyes. After a while, he phoned his colleague, Lt. Badoo.
“Yes, Victor. Where are you? Are you safe?” Lt Badoo asked him.
“Yes, I am safe. But it is not safe enough for me to tell you everything on this line. So, check your other phone. I am going to send you a message right now from another number” he told his colleague. Then he switched the phone off. Reaching into the pocket of his trousers, he pulled out the spare phone he always carried around, switched it on and proceeded to send a text message to Lt. Badoo’s other phone. Using the key pads of his phone, he began to type what he was going to send to his colleague.
“I am with the Vice- President. We are heading for my residence. We will be there in ten minutes. Please dash there ahead of us and scout the surroundings to see if it is safe for me to bring her in before I arrive there with her. I will explain everything later. Leave Helen behind and go there alone. After checking the vicinity, if you think it is safe to bring her in, keep the gates open. If I reach there and it is closed, it means it is not safe. I will drive on.”
Having completed typing the message, he pressed the sent button. A few seconds later, he replied “Okay” came from Lt. Badoo. Lt. Clottey then switched off the phone and then using the rear view mirror, scanned the area behind the vehicle. He saw nothing suspicious. Just then, the glass doors of the boutique opened and Acting President Gertrude Mensah stepped out. Lt. Clottey leaned over and opened the door of the car for her. Gertrude Mensah got in. After she had strapped on her seat belt, Lt Clottey drove away. At the KwegyirAggrey intersection, he took a right turn and then hit the main Osagyefo Dual Carriage road, heading for East Legon.
“Thanks,” the Acting President said. She had in her hands a bag containing two dresses, two shoes and some other stuff.
“Hope you do not mind if I take a shower in your home. You know I have not had my bath since morning. It has already been a very long day for me after you rang to say you had caught Gloria in my office attempting to poison me. I bought a sponge, towel, shower gel and a few other items as well to enable me to have my bath before I dress up” she said.
Lt. Clottey said he did not mind and that the Acting President can use his sister’s bathroom.
“I am confident it is fit for use by the President of any country because my sister is a hygiene freak. She is squeaky clean about such things as her toilet, bathroom, kitchen, clothes and her plates” Lt. Clottey said as he turned right at Ave Maria Avenue and hit the short route to his house while wondering if he was doing the right thing by bringing the Acting President to his residence. All now depended on his buddy, Lt. Badoo. As he approached his residence, he reached for his gun and placed it by his side. Gertrude Mensah turned to him and asked if he was expecting trouble.
“No, Madam. I have placed the gun here just as a precautionary measure since anything can happen. I don’t want to be taken by surprise” he said. They were now almost at the main gate of his residence.
Seconds later, they were at the gate. Lt. Clottey had his hand on the pistol. To his relief, the gate was open, a sure sign from Lt. Badoo that the place was safe.
“Why are the gates opened?” the Acting President asked nervously. “Are we not entering a trap?”
As he drove into the house, Lt. Clottey quickly explained to the Acting President why the gates were left open. Gertrude Mensah sighed in relief.
When the car came to a stop, Lt. Clottey, in the rear view mirror, saw Lt. Badoo closing the two gates. He and his guest got out of their car. Quickly, Lt. Clottey introduced his colleague to the Acting President. Then he headed indoors with her leaving Lt. Badoo to keep watch over the place.