Coming Home - Chapter 2

...Agreeing to attend the party had been a bad idea and while she had been caught up in the excitement of doing something different and exciting, a feeling that something wasn't right had remained at the back of her mind.


When her friend, Omoh whom she hadn't seen since their graduation from university five years ago had showed up at her house last week looking well groomed and uber sophisticated, she had no idea that she was the target of a well planned kidnap.

That she had escaped it tonight was the work of God Almighty.


She let her thoughts go back to the entire visit and wondered if she had missed anything that could've alerted her. She had bought Omoh's story hook, line, sinker of how she got her new address and phone number from another schoolmate who was on Facebook and decided to surprise her instead of calling. Omoh had told her she had been in the UK since after Youth Service and only just came back to look for a job as the company where she worked in the UK had gotten into trouble for tax evasion and got shut down.

While Omoh hadn't exactly been the brightest bulb on the tree back in university, she had made up for her lack of book smarts by being street savvy and quick thinking. She had all the inside scoop on which lecturer was dating which student, which party was the hottest to attend, which lecturer would accept bribe and so on, she was what the parents would refer to as "risqué" but to Helen who was coming from a quiet and subdued however very wealthy background, she found her exciting and Omoh was a loyal friend who stood up for her and made everyone on the campus take notice of the two of them. They had made a strange pair back in the day, one short, light skinned, slim and pretty, from a wealthy home, first class material, no boyfriend, never attended parties, the other, dark skinned, tall and chubby with boys always hanging around, attended all the best parties, and from a poor background. They always attracted stares and Omoh always enjoyed it. She loved the attention they got and several times, Helen found herself wondering if this was why Omoh had singled her out to be best friends with, considering that there were lots of other girls who were more suited to her all over the campus.


They had chatted for hours and had had a good time catching up on life, men, job and families and the pressure to get married. It was definitely good to see Omoh again, she had always been very entertaining and gave a good gist. She had asked her to stay a couple of days while she got her self together and maybe she could see if they were hiring at her dad's company where she worked. Being the Chairman's daughter and a director, she knew she could get her a job if she wanted to but she also knew her father gave the go-ahead on new staff, and she wasn't sure if Omoh would fit the bill. Their company thrived on hiring only the best and smartest young people. Most of their staff were first class graduates from leading universities, it was a thing her father had and it had helped position their company as one of the leading technology software developers in the country.


That was how Omoh had moved in with her and one week later, invited her to go this event with her, saying she needed to have more fun in her life and she would never meet anyone if all she did was go to work, come back home and go to work the next day. Helen had agreed because frankly she was bored with her life and was quite glad Omoh had appeared to spice things up for her.
So they had gone shopping for what she would wear, being that Omoh had looked through her wardrobe and declared everything unfit for the calibre of the party they were attending. With Omoh three dress sizes bigger than herself, there was no option of borrowing anything from her so they had gone to do some damage after she got off work on Tuesday and Omoh had dragged her through more than a dozen shops in the mall and selected really great outfits for her. She had enjoyed it even though her ATM card was groaning at the end of it all because in typical Omoh style, she had joked and made friends with the boutique managers and shop assistants, got them good discounts and generally made the entire trip a fun one.


The evening of the party, she had got home early from work and wanted to get some rest before they left. Walking into The room that was now Omoh's, the door was slightly open and she could hear her on the phone, "No, we're coming together, I have to bring her else, she will probably not come. Don't worry Aziz, I have my end under control.."
Helen pushed the door open and entered the room, on seeing her, Omoh removed the phone from her ear and ended the call. " Hez! I didn't hear you drive in, how was work? You're back early, is everything ok?".
"You shouldn't end your call on my account, I just wanted to let you know I'm back, I think I should rest for a few hours before we go. Who's Aziz and what're you telling him is under control?" Helen replied with a puzzled look on her face.
"Oh that, never mind, it's a friend that'll be at the party, i'd told him about you, he wants to meet you and he was just confirming that. Plus, he was asking if I'm settling in ok"
"Hmmmm so you already have someone in mind for me, this girl, why didn't you tell me? Helen said laughing. "Well, I didn't want to spoil the meet by getting you anxious and besides, Its better if he's the one anxious and you have no idea whats going on, you know? That way it's more natural."
"Ok, madam matchmaker. I'm off to lie down for a bit, wake me up if I oversleep ok?"
"Of course Hez,"

At 9pm, four hours later, they were dressed and in Helen's car driving towards Apo, where the party was taking place. As they drove through Garki, Omoh said she wanted to pick up a gift from a friend who lived in the CBN estate, she was going to give it to the celebrant. Ok, just tell me where to go said Helen. After giving her directions, they arrived at a run down house at the end of a quiet street. Is this the place? It doesn't look lived in asked Helen as she peered at the surroundings though her windshield. "Yeah, it's cos the owners are out of the country, come on, lets go, well be quick" Omoh was already getting out of the car and Helen didn't like the idea of remaining in the car, so she got down and locked her car, walking after her friend.
She noticed Helen going round to the back of the house and asked, "Not the main house?" "I told you, the owners are out of town, my friend lives at the guest quarters behind, come on replied Omoh with a little annoyance in her voice.


Omoh knocked twice before pushing the door open and walked into the room, as she stepped in behind her, she was grabbed from behind and felt a hand wrapped in a wet handkerchief cover her mouth and nose, and all she could think before she passed out was that she had walked into a trap and she should have listened to her instincts.