End of days

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

"Okay, sure" Vivian took a seat next to Lauretha. "So what was the information you said you had for me?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I'm here to question you instead"

"How do you mean?"

"My name is Lauretha, I am a private investigator, and I'm here to question you about two missing persons"

"What in heaven's name are you talking about?" Vivian immediately stood up. ''Which missing persons?''

"Miss Jane and her best friend Amaka are both missing" Lauretha gauged Vivian's reaction as she gave her the news.

"What? Amaka and Jane are missing? I never knew about it, how long have they been missing?"

''They have been missing for close to hours now, miss Amaka is one of your staff, how come you are not aware that she hasn't been to work?''

''I have over 200 staff under me, I can't possible know the whereabouts of all of them. That is why we have heads of departments they all work under. So after this meeting I will confirm what you just told me from Amaka's boss''

"Okay, I'm here to ask you a few questions if you don't mind?"

"Of course not, please go ahead" Vivian sat down back on her chair.

"Where were you on Sunday night?"

"I was with my family, after our Sunday dinner, we saw a movie together until about 10pm, before we all retired to bed"

"And you had this dinner where?"

"At my home, and we also saw the movie there too"

"That means your husband and your family are your alibis?"

"Yes please"

"How many children do you have?"

"Two children, a boy and a girl"

"Mrs.."

"Just call me Vivian please"

"Alright, Vivian I was told that you had some sort issue with miss Jane which led to her resignation. Do you mind to enlighten me a little about what that issue was?"

Vivian who was already looking troubled, stood up and sat behind her desk. "It's something I will always regret for a long time to come, for it cost me not just my relationship with Jane, but I also lost an efficient assistant too"

"And what was it you did?"

"I wanted Rayford to date my niece for my own selfish reasons, and when I found out he was dating Jane, I tried to sabotage their relationship and paid Rayford's ex to go public and announce that they were still together" Vivian looked down shamefully as she spoke. If her actions are anything to go by, then Lauretha thinks she is innocent, but she has also learnt in her 5 years as a private investigator never to believe people to be innocent because of their looks.

"When I came to realize the gravity of what I had done, I retraced my steps and apologized. But by then, it was too late as the damage had already been done and the people involved were deeply hurt"

"So after then, what happened?"

"I apologized to Jane and Rayford and asked for their forgiveness, which I got, but I lost Jane as she said she couldn't continue working with me and re-signed"

"And you haven't tried to harm her again ever since then?"

"No, no, of course not. I promised Rayford I was going to stay out of Jane's way of happiness and ever since then I have done just that. Wait a minute, are you thinking I could have a hand in her kidnap?"

"We are interrogating everyone who knew Jane and Amaka before they got missing and you happen to be one of them"

"I swear with my life, I have nothing to do with this. I have a lot more to lose if I get caught, so it's not me"

''Who was that lady who I met in here a while ago?''

''Oh, that's Katherine my niece''

''And what were you both arguing about?''

''She is dating some lowlife who can't even provide for her, but she claims she is in love. I was just telling her to stop seeing him when you came in''

Something told Lauretha Vivian was really telling the truth, but she didn't want to rule her out just yet.

"Thank you for your time Vivian, I would suggest you don't leave town yet as you might be needed for further questioning"

"Sure no problem"

When Lauretha came out of Vivian's office, she decided to give Rayford a call.

Rayford immediately picked up on the first ring, "hello Lauretha, what's the update?"

"Nothing much, I think we would have to intensity our investigation"

"Oh, okay" Rayford's voice on the other side of the line sounded so depressed, Lauretha felt for him.

"Would like to meet me at Tasty Kitchen, so we could talk about it?" Lauretha asked.

"Yeah sure no problem, when?"

"How about in thirty minutes time? I will be heading there from Vivian's office"

"Alright no problem,

Rayford was at the hospital with his sister, so he decided to go see Lauretha and then come back later.

"Please do say hello to Jane for me and tell her I'm not happy she hasn't come to see me yet" Leah Rose said as Rayford hugged her before leaving.

"Emm she has been sort of busy, but I'm very sure she will come see you once she is free" Rayford hasn't told Leah Rose or his mother that Jane was missing, the last thing he wanted was to tell his sister anything that will sadden her in her present condition.

"Too busy to even call? I don't believe that. The Jane I know wouldn't hear I'm in the hospital and not come see me, or even call"

"Well, I will relay your message to her, I have to go now bye"

By the time Rayford got to Tasty Kitchen, Lauretha already had a table reserved for them, she waved at him the moment she saw him walk in.

"Hey, I was able to reserve us our favorite table" Lauretha beamed at Rayford when he got to where she was seated.

"Yeah I can see that" Rayford pulled out a chair and sat down.

"You remember our first date was at this restaurant? And we shared our first kiss here?" She had a longing in her voice as she spoke.

"Yeah Lauretha I remember all of that, those were good old days"

"You are right, they were. I still remember those days like it were yesterday"

"Yeah, so how did your meeting with Vivian go?" Rayford quickly changed the topic.

"I don't think she is behind this, she was home on that particular night and she has alibis, though I would have to speak to them" If Lauretha was hurt, she didn't show it.

"So what do we do now?" Rayford didn't want to lose hope, he knew Jane wouldn't want him to lose hope.

"I would have to continue investigating, meanwhile tomorrow I'm going to contact a fellow colleague of mine who would come assist me in the investigation. Do not worry Rayford, we are going to find her"

''Thanks Lauretha''

''You must really love her don't you?''

"With every fiber of my being''

''Does that mean, there is no chance that you and I could get back together?''

''I'm sorry Lauretha, but the answer is no''

''Even if I told you we have a son together?''

''You must really love her don't you?''

"With every fiber of my being''

''Does that mean, there is no chance that you and I could get back together?''

''I'm sorry Lauretha, but the answer is no''

''Even if I told you we have a son together?''

"What do you mean by we have a son together? Are you joking or something?" Rayford asked in shock, because he wasn't sure of what he just heard Lauretha say.

"We do have a son together Rayford, I'm sorry I didn't tell you ever since" She tried holding his hands across the table, but he quickly withdrew his hands from the table.

"Wait a minute, I have a son with you? How? When?" Rayford was clearly confused. Just when he thought his life couldn't get any more complicated, now she comes to tell him he has a son? Is someone out there playing some games with his life?

"After we graduated from high school, I discovered I was pregnant" Lauretha avoided Rayford's eyes as she spoke.

"And the pregnancy was mine?" Rayford's heart was racing fast, he was suddenly sweating even with the air conditioner being on.

"Yes of course, it was yours. Do you need even ask? You know we had unprotected s*x severally when we were dating"

Rayford took a long swig of the bottle water on the table, he has always fancied having a child of his own, but never did he think that he had a son out there somewhere.

"So you got pregnant for me, had the child and it never occurred for you to tell me?"

"We already broke up before I found out about the pregnancy, and you were already processing your documents to travel out of the country. I didn't want to be an obstruction to your travel plans. I knew coming to you with the news of my pregnancy might stop you from traveling out of the country"

"That was my decision to make! Not yours to make"