At 11 a.m. Taku woke up in a quiet house. He went about with his daily chores and the events of last night still played in his mind. He rushed to his bedroom and looked for his phone. He found it in the pocket of his trousers. He quickly dialled Danny’s number.

“Friend, last night the thieves were caught,” he couldn’t stop bragging.

“You disappeared! You didn’t even say bye,” Danny said calmly.

“I got a tip-off,” he said breathing gently.

“Are you a policeman now? What do you know about the thieves?” he asked puzzled.

“The thieves who robbed Mr Dube got arrested,” Taku shouted.

“How do you know?” Danny asked confused.

“I was there,”

There was silence between them. Danny remembered that his friend liked observing things. He tried to imagine what exactly happened last night. He sighed and held the phone to his ear, waiting for Taku to say something.

“I am coming to your work then we’ll talk,” he suggested because Danny asked stupid questions. Taku hung up.

Taku got a taxi to town to meet his friend. He got a message from Detective Mambo about not forgetting to come to station later. He sat on the seat next to a woman who couldn’t keep her eyes off him. His blood raced fast, and he got all shy, but kept smiling when their eyes met. He looked at his phone, avoiding the lady, and replied to the message from Detective Mambo.

I will pass by later.

“You look like the guy I saw last at night with the police,” the woman who was staring for a while whispered.

“Where? Umh, when?” he asked, shocked.

“You helped the police catch those nyaope thieves. They’re always terrorising people in the hood,” she smiled.

“Glad I could help,” he said timidly and got off when the taxi stopped.

He rushed into the building where Danny worked. Danny was happy he was being cleared and that his friend had helped him achieve his innocence. Danny hugged him tightly. Taku raised his eyebrows and sighed.

“Eish, I am not your girlfriend,” he said laughing.

“It’s a thank you,” Danny said releasing him.

Taku walked to the police station confidently and happy. He wished he was a detective and could receive an award for being the best detective. He smiled as he sat with Detective Mambo in the same office to give his statement.

***

Tell us: Have you ever helped a friend out of trouble?