His wife did not say anything. Suddenly, she remembered confiding in Comfort, the Speaker’s wife, (when she came visiting at the end of the year before her untimely death in a fatal road accident) that her husband was going to resign as President at the end of June the following year which was the very month they were in, and hand over power to his Vice due to ill-health. Linda Marfo was sure her friend leaked the secret to her husband who decided to have the Vice-President assassinated just about the time the President would resign so power would automatically be handed over to him.
She felt guilty seeing the role she has inadvertently played in what has turned out to be a plot to assassinate her husband’s deputy.
“And all those people who have been killed in the process; that fisherman and his men as well as his wife, the policemen at the James Town police station and the inmates in the police cells! My God! If I had not told Comfort that my husband was going to resign on health grounds, she wouldn’t have had anything to tell her husband; he too would not have had any reason to want to assassinate Gertrude.” Linda Marfo thought quietly. She remembered her mother of blessed memory always advising her to keep her mouth shut and never to confide her secret with anybody. She felt ashamed of herself.
Meanwhile, all in the room were quiet, waiting for the action the President would take. It was clear that time was of essence. Marfo was quiet too, deep in thought. He had resigned just a few hours earlier as President of the republic and sent his resignation letter to parliament. The letter arrived long after parliament had closed that day so the Clerk of parliament, who received it did not open it; he locked it up in his safe to be given to the Speaker the following day. Now duty was calling upon him to continue his job as President. For the first time, he was glad the resignation letter had not reached the Speaker yet nor had it been made public. If it had, there was no way he could speak again as President of the nation.
Outside, it was now raining very hard, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Then suddenly, the lights went off due to a power outage. The whole house was thrown into darkness. In the room where the President and his visitors were, they could not see each other. Seconds later, the light came on; the electric generator in the house automatically switches on whenever there is a power outage. Most parts of the country however stayed dark. In many homes, people switched on all kinds of lamps and lit candles, oblivious to the threat to national security the President has to deal with.
“Lt. Clottey, you said I am the only one who can arrest the situation. It means there is something you want me to do so tell me about it” President Marfo said.
“Yes sir. I have a plan; please call the Speaker and tell him a bird has whispered to you that he has discovered Madam here is responsible for your ill-health and as a result he has sent soldiers after her. Declare your support for him, denounce Madam to him and tell him though you are still resigning, you would make sure she does not take over from you. Tell him you are writing a press statement dismissing the Vice-President and so he should come for it and make sure it reaches the media. He would come running here. The rest of us would stay hidden when you engage him. We shall be recording him. Afterwards, we shall emerge and confront him with the truth before arresting him. Soon after, we can get the media here so you can broadcast to the nation announcing your resignation and also tell them about the crime the Speaker has committed against the state”, Lt. Clottey said.