What Chief Nwosu Said

It was raining on the night Chief Emmanuel Nwosu knocked on Femi Balogun's door.

Femi remembered it exactly. Seven years later, on Ada's sofa, he could still smell the wet wool of the Chief's coat, hear the creak of the one chair, feel the fear that had settled in his stomach like a stone.

"I'll tell you everything," he said, "and then you can throw me out."

Ada sat opposite him, on the arm of a chair, with her tea untouched. "Go on."

"He was already ill. You knew that?"

"We all knew. He had cancer."

"Stage four. He'd known for eight months. He hadn't told you or your mother." Femi swallowed. "He told me."

Her face went still. "Why?"