Married to a Thief, Episode Three

Egwu stood like a statue in front of the police officer. His mouth was open in total shock but no word came out. He was speechless. For more than one minute, he could not talk. He looked at the officer’s face, hoping to hear that everything was a joke. He wanted to hear that it was all a prank. But the officer was serious.

“Sir, your wife was arrested. She is in our cell.” The officer said. Egwu shook his head slowly.

“No. It is not possible. My wife is innocent. My Ndidi cannot be a thief. I can argue with my life that my wife is not guilty.” Egwu said.

“Sir, it is your wife we arrested. She stole a bottle of wine from the supermarket.” He said. Egwu raised his voice and started shouting.

“What are you saying? My wife cannot do such a thing. You are making a mistake. It must be a case of mistaken identity. Maybe you arrested someone that looks like her. Maybe it is another woman that resembles my wife. My wife cannot do this. I know her. She is from a good family. She has everything. She is not the kind of woman that will steal. There is millions in her account. How can she go and steal?” He asked.

Egwu was restless. He began to walk around the station. His hands were on his waist. He could not believe what he was hearing. “No, no, no. This is not true. My wife cannot do this. I know her very well. She has never lacked anything. She cannot reduce herself to a thief. Please, officer, go and check again. It cannot be her. I am sure you are confusing her with somebody else. She is innocent. She cannot be in your cell.”

The officer looked at him and shook his head slowly. “Sir, let us show you something.”

They went to the cell and brought Ndidi out. When Egwu saw her, he froze. He almost fainted. His eyes opened wide. He could not believe what he was seeing. His beautiful wife, his pride, the woman he adored, was standing in front of him in shame.

Ndidi could not look at him. Her face was bent. Tears dropped from her eyes. He felt pity for her but at the same time, he was in shock.

“Ndidi… my wife… what is this?” he said with an emotional voice.

Ndidi knelt down immediately in front of her husband.

“My husband, forgive me. I don’t know what pushed me. I don’t know what came over me. Please, forgive me. Don’t allow this shame to destroy me. I am sorry.” She was crying like a child. Egwu looked at her again and could not understand.

“But why? Why, Ndidi? What pushed you to do this? Don’t I give you money? Don’t I provide everything? What else do you want that I cannot give you? Why reduce yourself to this?” His voice was full of pain and confusion.

Egwu turned away from his wife and walked straight to the DPO’s office. He knocked on the door and entered.

“Good afternoon, sir,” he greeted with an emotional voice. The DPO looked at him and recognized him immediately.

“Mr Egwu! What a surprise. Please, sit down.” Egwu sat down quietly and wiped his face with a handkerchief.

“Sir, I am here because of my wife. I heard she was arrested for stealing. I am still in shock. I cannot believe it. But if that is true, I want to beg you to forgive her. I will pay whatever she stole double.”

The DPO looked at Egwu carefully. “I am sorry, Mr Egwu. Your wife was arrested indeed. She stole a bottle of wine at the supermarket. The evidence is clear. But because of who you are, because of your good name in this society, and because I know you are a man of good standing, I will release her to you. But please, talk to her. Advise her. If not, this kind of shame will not be good for your family.” The DPO Egwu nodded his head slowly.

“Thank you very much, sir. I promise to handle this at home.” Egwu said.

The DPO gave instructions to the officers to release Ndidi. She came out again, this time with her head still bent. She could not face her husband. Egwu walked to her side. He did not shout again.

“Let’s go.” Egwu said. Ndidi followed him quietly. They left the police station together. Outside, people were looking at them. Some were whispering, some were pointing fingers. Egwu ignored them. He opened the car door and told his wife to enter. She entered quickly and wiped her tears. Egwu entered the driver’s side. He was very quiet.

As they drove out of the police station, silence filled the car. Ndidi wanted to talk but words failed her. She only sniffed and wiped her eyes. Egwu held the steering tightly. He was lost in thought. He could not believe that his young, beautiful wife was a thief. He felt disappointed but at the same time, he felt pity for her. He wanted to understand why she did it. He wanted to ask questions but he decided to allow Ndidi to recover first.

“I must know why she decided to disgrace me.” Egwo said.