Out of Focus |finished|

20- hierachy and pebble-like devices

Every memory Simi had with Elder rushed back up to her. She she tried to recollect when she had even given a clue that her family were having financial problems. Sure, she and Elder had been childhood best friends but her parents had always told her not to go round telling people her problems just for their pity.

Malachi felt his chest tighten seeing Simi standing there with her hand on her chest and her eyes teary. He went to her and tried to get her to sit down but Simi wouldn't budge.

"Come on Simi. You know Elder wasn't that daft," he told her. "He probably said that to Jamal for a reason."

Simi's head whipped to face Malachi. "Everything makes sense now. Why Elder would actually try to blackmail someone when he was always so gentle."

The tears that had formed in her eyes threatened to fall freely. Malachi passed his thumb under her eye, clearing away the tears. He smiled at her and Simi couldn't help it but smile a sad smile back.

"Jamal said something about El having other photos of Dr. Forson," Simi said and sat down. "Did you see them in the photobook?

Malachi shook his head and fished out of the photobook from his drawers. He opened it and sat beside Simi on the bed.
Both of them unaware that there were secret cameras all over the room, recording everything they did.

"Maybe we didn't see them because we were looking for more photos of the Dean and Dr. James," Malachi said as he went through the photobook and a still dazed Simi sat beside him.

And in other parts of the photobook they hadn't analysed, they uncovered six different photos of Dr. Forson. Three of them were taken at night in a warehouse where he was talking to three students with a large crate behind them.
Elder must have been afraid because the photos looked blurry. In one of the other photos, Dr. Forson was talking with a female whilst walking out of his office.

They could see Dr. Forson but he was blocking the view of the female. There was something about the girl that was familiar to Simi. She felt as if she had to know her. While she racked her brain trying to remember her, Malachi was going over the last two photos.

"Shit!" Malachi exclaimed at once and stood up.

"What is it?" Simi asked him.

He thrust one of the photos in his hand to her, "Look at this."

In the photo, which was taken through the window sill of an office and looked zoomed, Dr. Forson was giving a bluish wrapped substance to Ama Rawlings, one of the students who had turned up dead under strange circumstances. Ama had a hungry look on her face, a look perfected by addicts and Dr. Forson had a look of contentment on his face.

"I am really getting scared Kai," Simi whispered. "This man is dangerous."

"And Jamal thinks he didn't have anything to do with El's death." Malachi scoffed and analysed the last photo. "Look at this one too," He gave Simi the last photo.

It was a photo of a piece of paper. What appeared to be a family tree was drawn on it. At the top were two words with branches coming out of them.
Ananse and Yaa Asantewaa.
All the names under them were code names.

"It's a hierarchy table. Kai, we just found the list of all those involved in dangerous activities on campus." Simi said, her heart beating fast and her palm clammy.

Malachi chuckled, "I wonder how much they'd pay for this photo."

"This isn't funny! Even if Dr. Forson didn't kill El, we just discovered a whole underground world in the school," Simi got up and almost tore up the photo but Malachi grasped her hand.

"What are you doing? We can't destroy this."

"Do you want to get killed? Do you want me or anyone we know to be in mortal danger? Let go of me Kai."

"El's death isn't your fault Simi," Malachi's face softened.

"What if it is? All because I was too proud to ask for help," Simi let out, as tears fell down her face.

"Come here," Malachi opened his arms to her for a hug but she shook her head.

"This is too painful. Please destroy that photo." Simi let go of the photo in her hand and rushed out of the room.

Two hours later, Malachi was solving online questions on one of his courses. He was spinning his pencil absentmindedly while trying to understand an equation when the pencil fell from his hand.
It landed under the study desk. He contorted his body under the desk to look for the pencil and found a strange black pebble like device. He got out under the desk and examined the device and saw a pulsating red light.

His eyes widened in understanding, that he was holding a recording device. Quickly, he switched off the light in the room and in the pitch black darkness, searched for any pulsating red light.
When he found none, he let out a sigh of relief.

Here I was thinking I was being recorded, probably one of Elder's camera stuff, he thought whilst looking at the black pebble-like device.

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