A thin man with thick, curly hair on his exposed forearms gathered the chips on the table to himself.
Otunba and Ambrose both got up and left the room. On the landing they waited while a servant left, then they sat in the sofa furthest from the room they’d come from.
‘I heard the VP came to see you,’ Ambrose said. ‘And before he left Abuja, a bullion van was seen at his house.’
‘And so?’
‘You said your governor has not received any emergency security vote.’
‘Where are the riots?’
‘It cannot come from our camp. It is your camp that lost a candidate and almost lost another. Did you have anything to do with that?’
‘Make an attempt on my own son-in-law?’
‘It was not an attempt on your son-in-law. He would be dead.’
‘They will release Douglas’s body to his family tomorrow.’
‘They were able to retrieve his body?’
‘It is a mess. What remains of it. They will take the coffin to his ancestral home at Isale Eko.’
‘In the heart of our grassroots base.’
‘Precisely.’
‘We don’t want any losses. Tell your boys, no killings. We don’t want Abuja to declare a state of emergency.’
‘And about the emergency security vote, when it comes, the governor still gets his usual two thirds.’
‘Why?’
‘It is his last term. He’s working for his retirement.’
‘He’s greedy.’
‘We split the rest.’
‘Fair enough.’
‘After this Douglas thing,’ Otunba said, ‘I’m hearing that your candidate feels he has a chance.’
‘Who said so?’
‘Call him to order. Nothing has changed. Same deal as before.’
‘Is it true that his girlfriend’s husband was flying the plane?’ Ambrose asked.
‘Yes. The boy killed them all.’
‘What a shame.’
‘Yes. Anyway. It’s less than six weeks to elections. We will start campaigns after the burial. No need for any trouble after that. The security vote should have arrived by then and you would have received your share.’
‘Good. We have a new party member. The daughter of Ambassador Mbadiwe. Amaka. Amaka Mbadiwe. She has to be on the safe list.’
‘I don’t know her.’
‘Your son-in-law does. That is why she is on the safe list. She’s untouchable. Let him know that.’
‘Like I said, I don’t know her.’
‘It doesn’t matter. She is one of ours. She is a no-go area.’
‘I have heard.’