THEN IT GOT PERSONAL

Chapter Eleven

Bisi took few hours off work after meeting dead ends. She needed a break albeit short. Her car was in the garage looking at her with malice, she couldn't remember the last time she took her baby into the streets.

Her bones were weary, Mez was spending time with his family, her mom was at school probably tending to teenagers pretending to be ill so they could go home and she, she was home miserable and upset.

Science had improved significantly. The crime lab could come up with IDs from partial prints, and the tinniest speck of DNA. Materials used in committing crimes could be traced back to manufacturers and then to the buyer. Investigations had impressive turn around time. Crime rate had even reduced considerably because someway somehow, offenders got nailed. There were barely serial killings because before getting to the second or third, you were in jail awaiting trial.

Her case beat the odds though. There was nothing yet that gave an inkling to whom they were dealing with. They knew a female was perpetuating the crimes but it seemed to be too much for one person. What if they were groups of killers or a committee? That would explain why the killings were so meticulous because they had to have been premeditated and well planed.

She opened the door to her car and sniffed the congealed air before rolling down the windows. Historically, public servants earned way lesser than folks who worked in the private sector but it changed when the world was hit with a pandemic in the early 2010s. Her mother told her it was as if a switch had been turned on. Essential workers became literally the link between life and death and the pay gap closed at that point.

The ridicule that came with being an essential worker disappeared and government all over the world knew they had to do right by the group that tolled and worked despite bodies dropping like flies during this period. The selfish thing was to stay indoor so as not to catch the virus but health workers, security personnels, mall workers, nannies, teachers and many more chose selflessness and went to work everyday.

The many that died while doing their duties were honored and immortalized. There was a special museum showcasing their names and faces at the state capital. Their sacrifice laid the groundwork for people like her, she could afford a vehicle she barely drove and live in an high tech apartment with her mother.

All Bisi wanted to do then was skip school and the virus granted her wish. She was a teenager happy to have her mom at home braiding her hair and baking yummy goodies for her whenever she wanted. Reality set in when she heard news of her favorite teacher dying in the hospital from the virus. She had wept for days and refused to eat. For some reason, she blamed herself for his death.

She laughed out loud as she drove out of town with her convertible top down. The wind couldn't mess with her hair since she'd stuffed it in a bonnet but her eyes watered and she searched for her sunglasses in the handbag on the passenger seat.

Bisi waved at the man selling coconut water by the street as she drove on. When she noticed the battery was almost down to 10%, she stopped at the filling station to recharge her car. As she waited, she smacked on a can of potato chips.