“Owen? Owen? Oh, Owen, the pizza boy.”
“Yeah.”
“I owe Owen a big, big present. He brought my man back.” She squinted behind. “Why don’t you come in? I live here with my colleague and friend Amy Wong. Come in.”
“I would love to but I’ve got to meet the detective before I sleep today.”
“Oh, I see. I heard. I’m very, very sorry about your wife. I heard she was an angel.”
I nodded. “Thanks. It’s life.”
Carol nodded with her lips pressed together.
“You know, I wanted us to catch up. What are you doing tomorrow at this time?” I asked.
“She is starting a night shift,” Amy shouted, giggling.
“No. Forget her. I’m free.”
“What about your night shift, Carol?” I said.
“I’ll see. Tomorrow we catch up.”
“Yeah, I was thinking of some Italian restaurant along Frey Ave, downtown.”
“Wow! Italian!” Carol screamed. “It’s a date. Oh my God! Oh, my God.”
8:16 PM
The plan was simple. Since I was ignoring Karen’s calls all day, she was angry. So I had to loosen her up with a date to an Italian restaurant. I knocked. I knocked harder since the living room was noisy. The kids were still up running and screaming. For whatever reason, she brought them back from her ex.
She opened, catching me off guard; I didn’t hear any footsteps coming. She was barefooted. When I looked up at her face, she put on an irritated appearance. “What do you want?”
“Baby, I know I messed up but please understand. My day was so rough.”
“You know, I want to close the door. It’s cold out there. What do you want? I’m not interested in your stories.”
“But I’m trying to explain.”
“Who said I care about your rough day,” She slammed the door in my face.
My eyes widened. “I wanted to take you out on a date.”
The door swung open promptly.
“What did you say?”
“I wanted to take you out tomorrow on a date. Italian restaurant on Frey Ave. Seven o’clock sharp tomorrow.”
She smiled and slammed the door again. “Pick me up at seven forty-five. Six forty-five, I mean.”
As I walked away I heard her scream, ecstatic. Her children asked, “What is it, Mom?” But she didn’t answer.
I sighed, relieved both my fish were safely in the net. I only had to pull it and take them for some deep frying.
I felt indescribable peace of mind that the truth about Grace’s whereabouts was about to come out. And I was sure she was still alive since Njeri was clear that she would know if she was already dead.
In my head, I saw myself running to untie my queen in the chair they tied her to. Then I hugged her tightly as she wept in my arms. I walked her out of the filthy place they kept her in.
But I wasn’t sure whether to ask Carla to help me with her cab or if I should involve the police. I considered calling Detective Howell when driving to the address where she was being kept. Probably, I would need some backup if things didn’t go exactly according to plan.
DAY 7
ELIJAH
Monday, January 23, 2017
7:29 PM
As if the pressure on my shoulders was not enough, my cell phone vibrated continuously in my pocket. The caller dialed again and again after the automatic terminations. I held the steering wheel with both hands. My pulse was hitting the ceiling. Karen in the passenger seat didn’t stop nagging me about taking the call. She must have thought it was some other lady I was dating. I had no choice but to ignore her. If it wasn’t for her perfume suffocating me, I would try forgetting she was even next to me.
Finally, the GPS said, “You have reached your destination. You have reached your destination.”
The dim parking lot of the Italian restaurant was almost packed. I didn’t take parking for the handicapped but I was close enough to the entrance. I waited until some couple left a good spot – three cars away from the entrance.
Quickly, I pulled out my cell phone. As I expected, it was Carol. There were eight missed calls. She called again. I put the cell phone back into my pocket.
“You aren’t gonna take it still? Who is calling?” Karen asked, staring at me.
I didn’t return the stare. “If I take it, I might be forced to cancel our date.”
“Then don’t. Oh, it’s the police?”
“Babe, this date has instructions.”
“Instructions? I’m listening.”
“I have a big surprise for you.”
“A big surprise! Wow! You know, I’ve been fantasizing about what you said – marrying me, having a baby. I love you, El. I really do. I’ve never felt so much love. And I can’t believe that you are here to spoil me thoroughly now.” She squeezed my hand and screamed. “Lucky girl, lucky me.” She sighed softly, gazing at me.
I smiled. “I’m glad if you’re happy, sweetheart. The first instruction is that I will need you to put on a blind-fold when we reach the door. Then we shall stroll like a couple on the aisle to our seat of surprises.”
“Sounds superb babe. I can’t wait to see my surprise. OMG,” she said with a big smile. She looked certain I was going to propose and I had arranged with the restaurant to do some romantic setup at our table, not the usual jars of oil decor, dried pasta, and hot peppers.
At the entrance, I blindfolded her. Then I locked her left arm with my right and we strolled between the dozens of occupied tables. The mixture of scents forced lots of saliva down my throat. The chatting, murmuring and eating occupants stared at us. Mainly, they were drawn by the blindfold, but some probably admired our outfits, more especially Karen’s evening gown. She definitely ignored the chilly weather. Mine wasn’t sophisticated: black suit, white shirt. But Karen was dressed to the nines: gold, glittering evening gown that hugged her tiny figure awesomely. Her red stilettos made her a little taller than me. I volunteered to help her with her clutch bag because she had to lift the gown or it would sweep the floor and probably trip her.
A few tables away, I saw Carol shaking her head, not believing what she saw.
“Here we are, babe,” I said, making Karen sit next to Carol. I picked a seat opposite Carol. Unplanned, I gave Karen a kiss.
I sighed and stared at Carol. As planned, Carol sprang up and slapped Karen in the face. Instantly, she was on the floor, trying to remove the blindfold.
Carol eyed me and splashed red wine on her face. Unfortunately, Karen was still struggling with the blindfold since she was panicking, scared, and confused.
7:53 PM
Everything was still under control as planned except for the attention. Some teens and even a few adults were on their feet taking videos. I finally got up to separate the two ladies. At least, they had not damaged any property. They only damaged each other.
Soon after removing the blindfold, Karen took out both stilettos and used one to hammer Carol in the face and chest. Carol didn’t need any form of weaponry; as a big girl, she trusted her fists. And she did throw them all over Karen’s face and chest. But Karen defended her tiny self successfully; Carol’s left cheek was bleeding. The stiletto heel created a big cut.
Eyeing Karen like a buffalo aiming his target, Carol drew back tapping her injured cheek. She realized she was bleeding and grabbed a wine bottle from a nearby four-seat table occupied by a family. I jumped to her and snatched the bottle. I also saw the restaurant security running towards us. I grabbed both women by their hands and pulled them out of the stunned restaurant.
In the parking lot, next to Karen’s car, I released their hands from my tight grip and looked at them in the eyes. “Look here you fools. Witches. You’re fighting for nothing. I belong to my wife. I don’t belong to you and you. I’m Grace’s man. Now you choose – either I call the police and report you two with Rodger.” Their eyes bulged, and they exchanged blank glances. “Or you tell me where you and that evil man have kept my wife.”
<
br /> I scanned their faces, itching to slap them, but I controlled myself. I had to, lest I messed up everything just before I got my queen back. “Who hired Rodger between the two of you?”
Simultaneously, they pointed at each other.
“Both of you?”
“No. It’s Karen, not me,” Carol screamed.
Karen swung and gave Carol a resounding smack on the face. Even passing people heard the sound and peeped at us. I pushed Carol away from squashing the tiny bird.
“How dare you lie like this? Where would I get a hundred thousand dollars to pay Rodger? Huh?” Karen screamed, sobbing. “Aren’t you the one who bribed me with thirty thousand? Aren’t you the one who paid Rodger to even rape my friend? Aren’t yo –”
“Wo. Wo. What did you say? Rape my wife?”
Karen nodded.
I released a punch aimed at Carol’s face, but Karen pushed me away, and I punched the air.
“Don’t!” Karen screamed. “Or she will get an excuse and be off the hook. This evil witch.”
After a stretch of awkward silence, Karen pushed Carol. “Talk. This was your plan. I told you it’s gonna land you in trouble but you forced me.”
“Forced you?” Carol laughed sarcastically. “What about the thirty thousand I gave you. Why did you accept it?”
Karen shrunk and gave me a sorry eye. “I…I…I…”
I shook my head. “You evil bastards. You teamed up to take the one thing I value on this planet. How could you do this to me? But anyway, that’s who you are. Why do I even ask; it’s not my business.” I took out my cell phone and dialed Detective Howell, but Karen grabbed my hand and terminated the call.
“Carol talk,” Karen screamed.
“But you know there is nothing to say,” Carol screamed.
“Carol. I thought you were smart. Do the math. It’s smart for you to lose your hope of getting Elijah back, but avoid jail and keep your job. You’re a doctor for Christ’s sake. If this comes out, you will lose everything. Tell him everything,” Karen said.
“Karen, I know all that, okay. But the truth is I don’t know where Grace is. I have not finished paying the seventy-five percent to Rodger. He was clear he would not move an inch until the seventy-five percent is all in – you heard him. I have only paid sixty. I called him even yesterday after you told me about the date. He refused to kill her before I finish the deposit,” Carol said.
I snorted, deeply relieved. “Jesus. Okay, that’s better. At least, she is alive. So Carol, you must call the man and cancel everything. Tell him to let her go alive and untouched.”
“That’s the problem I was telling you about a few seconds ago. Grace was not kidnapped by Rodger. He told me yesterday. When she disappeared, I also thought Rodger had her and was only waiting for me to pay the seventy-five to kill her. But he was clear yesterday, he has not even done a slight move on her. He said he has not even visited the address I gave him. He doesn’t even know where she stays.”
My head spun like a merry-go-round. I became very dizzy instantly. I sat down on the black surface. My body shuddered. Tears gushed.
8:27 PM
“One last turn, and we are home,” Karen said when she took our street. She tried to sound as encouraging as she could. But I was extremely far from being receptive of encouragement, especially from her. If she was smart, she would have learned that along the 278 because she said a lot of things but I didn’t even respond. She just spoke to herself and her car. I remained glued to the road – to my scary thoughts. Even accepting her ride wasn’t my choice – I found myself in her car on 278. I didn’t even know or cared about what happened to Carol.
There was only one monster staring in my face: the strongest lead proved to be a dead end; Grace had been missing for a number of worrying days. I almost exploded and bawled in Karen’s presence because I badly feared and hated the fact that I wasted a lot of precious time on the Karen-Carol lead. The real criminals obviously had uninterrupted access to her since even the police were busy with useless leads.
If she was kidnapped by human traffickers then they had already shipped her anywhere they desired. But I pushed that thought away when it clicked how Njeri’s life was destroyed by human traffickers.
I slapped the dashboard and produced an explosive sound.
Karen shook. She lost control of the wheel and the car swerved and tires squeaked. She sighed and began breathing audibly, but she didn’t say anything to me. She didn’t even glance at me.
Deep in me, I wished there could be some form of assurance I could grasp. Assurance that I would get another lead and find Grace alive. Surely, Grace’s ordeal wouldn’t end in the grave like Leon’s. Sorrow upon sorrow would kill me, and Kim could be left alone in the cruel world.
Karen peeked at me from the corner of her eye probably unsure how to tell me that we were home. But then she found a way to soften me a bit by doing something she had never done before. She drove into my driveway and parked in front of my garage.
“Here we are,” Karen said still holding the wheel with both hands, gazing at the garage door.
I opened the door and moved out. Still, she couldn’t find a glimpse of confidence in her to even look at me. I walked straight to my house.
However, Karen ran behind me. “How can I help Elijah? Please, allow me to help you, at least.”
“Go home,” I mumbled, hating even hearing her voice. Each time I heard it, I recalled that Grace’s life was worth only thirty thousand to her.
Probably, she banked on the amnesia that I would forget everything. Unfortunately, there was no way I could forget that; it was saved in my heart, not in my sick mind. What angered me the most was that when Grace was around, she acted as the best of friends. She would even buy her gifts sometimes.
She placed her hands around my shoulders. I shoved them away and turned promptly. “I said leave me alone,” I screamed and continued to my house.
In the middle of the yard, I stopped and gazed at the house Grace and I enjoyed living in for years. I looked at our bedroom. Unlike the entire house, it had lights switched off. I sat on the snow and wept.
Karen ran to me. I wished to chase her away again but I couldn’t. The only strength I had left in me was for wailing. She sat down next to me and pulled my head to her lap. “It will be okay, friend,” she whispered. Again, I wished I could pull away from her thighs but I couldn’t. I continued crying. Hopelessness had surely got hold of me.
She retrieved a Kleenex from her clutch bag and wiped every tear that showed up. But her supply quickly ran out; the river of sorrow was completely uncontrolled.
I hated admitting it deep inside me but whatever she was doing was really effective. More especially when she said, “Shh, shh, shh…” tapping the back of my neck with her soft hand.
Then she pulled my head closer to her bosom and used her heavily perfumed evening gown to wipe the tears. “Shh, shh, shh. It’s gonna be okay, El.”
DAY 8
ELIJAH
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
8:52 AM
I jumped to a sitting position surprised the sun was flooding my face. I had hoped I would nap for an hour and work on establishing a new lead all night. I had to find Grace or perish. There was no way I could live without her. No way!
I jumped off the bed and opened the curtains. I stared at the gate. Still, no Grace, no maroon Honda Civic driving into our garage. Only fear cut through my heart, leaving a hot sensation in my stomach.
I sat on the bed, terrified. I had no idea what other lead I could establish. The police had done a good job on investigating everyone linked to Grace – at the bakery – at work – all friends and relatives. So it was hard to establish what I had to do. Or, at least, establish whatever those people were after so I could give it to them and they leave my family alone.
A fresh idea about searching the entire house for new clues dropped in my head. I stood up. But really, I wasn’t sure what I would look for. Or I subconsciously wa
nted to use the endless searching to remain hopeful and escape the wrath of hopelessness.
Surely, I never wanted the horrible force to make me feel like my soul was falling into a bottomless pit. Every bit of me fought to flash out all peeps of hopelessness.
I walked straight to the basement. The idea was to search the house from the basement going upwards.
“Morning, El. Breakfast is ready,” Chloe said as I passed her in the kitchen.
“Thanks. I’ll be back. Kim is still sleeping?” I said.
“Yeah.”
“Okay.” I proceeded to the basement, avoiding even the smallest window of small talk. Obviously, she would ask me things I wasn’t ready to talk about. Like why was I crying last night? Why had I taken Karen on a date? Why didn’t I eat supper? And her daily line: Anything promising on Grace’s case?
I shut out all her music, humming, clattering dishes and descended into the musty dimness.
I looked around trying to establish where I could start. However, a strong torrent of sourness cut across my feeble heart. I feared I had reached the point where I had to do the most difficult thing of telling myself the truth that she was gone, and I would probably never see her again. I had to stop hiding behind a small leaf like a baboon – only hiding my eyes when the rest of my body was exposed. Grace was gone. What could stop them from shooting her dead if they shot Leon dead in full view of the public? I wiped the tears warming in my eyes.
But I hated the negativity too. It made me worse. It never settled me or quenched the pain in my heart. It made it spiral out of control. So I walked up and down until I discovered a very small portion of faith left in my heart. It was small in such a way that it could easily be eroded by a single “what if” question, so I had to avoid even one of those and get busy. I started by searching the old kitchen cupboard, but it had nothing of interest – only old cutlery.
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