Maimuna and Sule left the hotel about two o’clock. When they reached the motor-park, they found a mini-bus with only two vacant seats. As soon as they climbed into the bus, the driver pulled and drove to Kaduna. The mini-bus was halfway to Kaduna when, after hurtling around the bend, it came face-to-face with another oncoming lorry. To avoid the bend-on collision, the driver swerved to the right. Suddenly, out of the dust raised by the oncoming lorry, he perceived a stationary vehicle. There was no time to save himself or the passengers. He slammed on the brakes and braced himself against the wheel … He remembered how she had looked after him. How placid and beautiful she had been. Could such a creature be a whore? No, no, she certainly had not been a human being. She was a jinn sent to earth. Maybe Allah Himself sent her to him. The nurse had told a lie when she said Maimuna was buried by the roadside. It was not Maimuna’s body; she had disappeared, as a jinn would do. But was she offered? Dis he betray her? He had promised never to come to Lagos. But here he was …