‘Whose phone is that?’ Sisi asked.
‘Somebody who is about to make me very rich,’ Malik said.
The Russians and the Ukrainian girls had left and Malik and Sisi were alone in the office. Malik opened a couple of drawers on his desk and found a packet of wet wipes. He pulled one out and began to clean the phone.
‘Does she have a name?’ Sisi asked.
‘What makes you think it’s a she?’
‘Pink. Doh.’
She sat in a one of the chairs opposite.
‘Oh, yes.’
Malik held the phone up. The pink cover had little hearts etched into it. He peeled off the cover and tossed it into a bin behind his desk. The phone’s white case looked new.
‘I’m guessing the owner isn’t getting their phone back?’ Sisi said.
‘Nope.’
‘What are you up to, Malik?’
‘Nothing that concerns you.’
‘Who is the tranny for?’
‘A client.’
‘He asked for a tranny?’
‘Not exactly. But we are getting him one.’
‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘Malik. We agreed. No more of this. No more blackmail. Whose phone is that?’
‘Someone who no longer needs it. You have asked enough questions. If you don’t want to know the answers, don’t ask.’
‘Should I be worried?’
‘Only if you get in my way.’
‘Malik. You scare me when you talk like that.’
‘Good.’
‘Good?’
‘Yes. Good. Because that fear will keep you out of trouble.’
‘Malik, I can’t go on like this.’
‘Makes two of us. You want to know who the tranny is for? I’ll tell you. Ojo. Yes. Chief Olabisi-idiot-Ojo. The fool is going to become Governor of Lagos State. Did you know that? That moron would become a governor. That fool. A governor. This is my chance. Whoever controls him controls Lagos and that person is going to be me. I deserve it. I lost a good girl because of him.’
‘Is that the girl’s phone? The one he attacked?’
‘The one he killed.’
‘What are you going to do with the phone?’
‘It has nothing to do with you. What concerns you is to get him in bed with the tranny when she arrives. I’ll handle the rest.’
‘Blackmail. So we’re back to this.’
‘We never stopped. We just didn’t have a catch big enough.’