What the inhabitants did not realize was that this so-called lucky one was a conniving shark that would leave everybody in the community scratching their heads and chewing the fat for months to come.
Jamo's parents had returned from their vacation. They inquired as to how things went while they were away.
"All went well, and sales were extremely good," he said.
His mom and dad were thrilled. They did have a question about the new woman in his life. He asked how they knew. They reminded him that tales travel fast, even to St. Kitts.
He could not believe this since he never discussed Malana with anyone and said, "She was someone I met on the Internet; she came to D.C. on business for a couple of days and went back home."
He assured them it was not serious. They did not press the issue any further. He may have thought his parents fell for that line, but they were not that naïve.
Just as Malana had instructed him to do, Jamo went on the Internet to sign up for an on-line bank account and came up with a unique username and password. He could now transfer money anywhere without having to do it in person.
That evening, he e-mailed Malana and informed her as to what he had done.
She e-mailed him back and said, "Excellent. I will see you soon. Take care, my love."
Life was really looking wonderful for Jamo. For the new apartment, he purchased a beautiful bedroom set, a dining room collection, and two loveseats; he wanted the place to look like a fortress for his queen but did not want to add too many items; they would only be living there temporarily. When they were ready to depart, they would leave the furnishings behind or have them shipped to Benin.
When Jamo returned to work, he went on-line to check his e-mail. He did not receive any messages from Malana but did receive the following communiqué:
Dear Valued Banking Customer:
It has come to our attention that your bank account information needs updating as part of our continuing commitment to protect your account and to reduce the instances of fraud on our website. If you could please take ten minutes out of your on-line experience and update your personal records, you will not run into any future problems with the on-line services. Failure to do so will result in suspension of your account. When you update, your banking session will continue as normal. To bring your bank records up to date, please click on the following link.
He immediately clicked on the link and entered his username and password, followed the instructions and updated his account; he then logged off and continued his work.