“Any problem,” Lt. Clottey asked when she was done with the call.
“Yes, Lieutenant, That was the Speaker of Parliament. He called to tell me it had been discovered that I was behind an attempt to stage what amounts to a coup against President Marfo and that I had concocted a story about a plot to assassinate me as part of my plan. According to him, it has been discovered that I have poisoned the President hence his heart problems. An arrest warrant has therefore been issued for my arrest and that it was in my own interest to report to the nearest police station for my own safety” Gertrude Mensah said.
In spite of the pain in his arm, Lt. Clottey sat up in bed immediately. He could not believe what he had just been told. But for the fact that it was the Acting President who was telling him what he believes to be a conspiracy theory against, he would not have believed it.
“Ridiculous! What nonsense is this?” he asked, not expecting an answer from the Acting President of the state.
“All this is confusing, Lieutenant. I am tired. I would surrender myself to the nearest police station so that an independent investigation would be established that the allegations levelled against me are false. I am sure this would bring this attempt to assassinate me to an end because the truth would come out”, she said, sitting down. She felt weak at the knees and was trembling.
Lt. Clottey stared thoughtfully at her. As far as he was concerned, there was no way what he had just been told could be right. He was the one at the James Town police station who was briefed by the policeman on duty about a gang plotting to assassinate the Vice-President. He saw the six policemen preparing to storm the beach to arrest those behind the plot. He saw Nii Kotey, the informant, who overheard the gang discussing the plot and who had managed to make his way to the police station to report it. He witnessed the storming of the police station by Kruger and his gang and their gunning down everybody there; he escaped certain death only because he acted smartly. He was the one who caught Gloria in the act about smear poison on the handles of the Vice-President’s cabinets in her office to poison her. And Gloria had made the confession about being part of a gang to assassinate the Vice-President right in his presence.
He had been the one who saved the Vice-President from a car bomb. But for him, she would have been blown into pieces. And he would have been blown into pieces too because he was with her in the car of which the explosives had been strapped. He also had been the one to shoot Cpl. Attinka died just as he attempted to pull the trigger of the pistol he had snatched from another person to assassinate Gertrude Mensah. He, Lt. Clottey, had been the one to drive Gertrude Mensah to safety after they were chased by the gang in their bid to get to her and assassinate her. And it was his house that the gang behind the plot attacked ostensibly to kill him so they can easily assassinate the Vice-President but they met their match in the person of Lt. Badoo. So he could not see how the Acting President could be plotting her own assassination just to remove the President from power when she could have been a dead person by now but for his interventions.
Come to think of it, had he not shot dead Phan Xuan, the Vietnamese sniper in the nick of time at the airport, he would have succeeded in assassinating the Acting President. He had also been the same person who confronted Kruger at the airport and ended up taking a bullet in the shoulder which landed him at the hospital. And an attempt had just been made by the man behind it all, Rex Yamoah, to kill him because he was thwarting their effort. So the claims and fabrications of the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Kwesi Adu-Tutu makes no sense to him. Come to think of it, Gertrude Mensah had no inkling about the plot to assassinate her until he informed her.
The soldier sensed danger. And he felt there was something that was not just right about the call from the Speaker of parliament. Wincing in pain, he lifted himself out of the bed, went to the door, opened it and beckoned to Lt. Badoo who immediately came to the door. He whispered into his ears. Badoo nodded. Then he walked to Helen, took her hand and hurriedly walked out of the ward to the parking lot, got into his car with her and drove out of the hospital. Then a few metres away from the hospital, he stopped, told Helen something had come up so she should alight and board a taxi to his sister’s place at Tema.
“I would call you immediately, this is over” he said.
“What is it, dear?” she asked, sensing danger.
“Helen, nothing serious, we are only taking certain precautions. Everything is fine”, he said. She knew he was lying; that he did not want her to worry.
“Okay, dear. You two should take care” she said. Then she crossed the road, stopped a taxi and told the cabbie to take her to Tema.