Suspects: murder case

Chapter 53

Chapter 53

‘’I will send someone to collect her things once you pack and clear the room,’’ I say.

‘’Alright, I am sorry for your loss once more.’’

‘’Thank you.’’

I hold his hand and we walk out to where the car is parked.

‘’I’ve got you, I will make all the necessary arrangements for burial, you don’t have to worry about it.’’

‘’Thank you.’’

‘’You don’t need to thank me, we are a team.’’

We drive back home in silence. Upon arrival, I ask if I should make Daniel some tea.

‘’Yes.’’

He follows me into the kitchen and sits by the table as I make the tea.

‘’I didn’t know it would hurt this bad to lose my baby girl, nothing ever prepared me for this day.’’

‘’It gets better with time, I guess, are you going to tell Nkoli?’’

He takes a sip from the steaming mug I handed him, ‘’I don’t know how to get in touch with her, she blocked my contacts remember?’’

‘’Yes, are there some people you would like me to contact?’’

‘’Yes, just a few close friends.’’

‘’Okay, give me a list I will contact them, I will also inform my family and people from work.’’

‘’Alright.’’

*

Nkoli

I have just logged into my f*******: account and I am scrolling through my news feed when I stumble upon, ‘’Good afternoon, this is to inform you that Mr. and Mrs. Mumbi have lost their daughter Joan Mumbi who has been suffering from an untreatable condition that was degenerative. Kindly note that Mrs. Mumbi will be away from social media for a couple of days. May the soul of the departed rest in peace and kindly remember the family in your prayers. Kind regards- Stella Mumbi Media.’’

‘’Oh my God!’’ I exclaim.

‘’What?’’ George asks, he is sitting next to me, he has been trying to make amends for the words he used in the morning.

‘’Joan is dead.’’

‘’Okay.’’

‘’Just okay?’’

‘’What do you want me to say?’’

‘’How about sorry for your loss?’’

He rolls his eyes, ‘’it’s not like you even cared for this child in the first place.’’

‘’I carried her in my womb.’’

‘’And so?’’

‘’That should mean something.’’

‘’What are you doing to do about?’’

‘’I have to attend the funeral that’s my baby.’’

‘’Are you sure it’s the funeral you want to attend or maybe you just want to use it as an excuse to see your Ex?’’

‘’I have nothing to do with Daniel, he is in my past I am with you now.’’

‘’I hope so.’’

‘’Whatever,’’ I mumble under my breath.

Wednesday, it’s been two days since Joan died and we are finally putting her to rest today.

‘’We are gathered here today in the memory of our daughter Joan Mumbi, so that together we can acknowledge and share both our joy in the gift that her life was to us and the pain that her passing brings,’’ the minister begins.

I stare at Daniel who is staring intently at the coffin as he blinks away tears that threaten to fall, my hand rests quietly in mine and I squeeze it gently- I want him to know we are in this together, Joan might not have been mine but I share in Daniel’s pain.

Halfway through the procession, a woman clad in a short and tight dress, a round black hat on her head and a pair of six-inch heels on her feet walks to the front wailing, ‘’oh my child, my child, Joan you have left me in the cold- I am now childless!’’

Daniel bends close, lowering his voice he confirms my suspicions, ‘’that is Nkoli,’’ he says.

She must have obviously seen the news on f*******: and decided to make a grand entrance- this woman has no shame, she should thank God we are at a funeral and I am trying to be at my best behavior otherwise I would have fixed her.

She cries for a few minutes before coming to stand next to Daniel and me. Irritated, I look at her and she meets my eyes, a fierce gaze that traps and holds mine, ‘’this is war!’’ I mumble under my breath before I look away from her and lean close to Daniel.

Eventually the minister concludes- the coffin is finally lowered into the ground and the grave is covered with flowers.

Standing by Daniel with my arm wrapped around his waist, I shake hands and accept words of condolences from the people who came to pay their last respects, most of them are members of staff from Sondashi Inc., I must say they have been really supportive during the entire funeral, Palesa and mum handled most of the arrangements for the funeral.

We also have some workers from the Hospice who whisper words of shared grief with Daniel.

I am leading Daniel back to our car when Nkoli calls his name, we turn at the same time to see her rushing towards us.

‘’I don’t want to talk to her,’’ Daniel says so we ignore her and continue walking.

‘’Daniel! Daniel! Daniel!’’ she screams.

‘’Drive off,’’ I order the driver and he does just that.

Smiling, I look back at Nkoli who is staring at the car while shaking her head.

Later that evening, the house is unusually quiet, I am sitting in the living room staring at the TV but my mind is elsewhere, Daniel has already gone to bed- I am worried about him though because he hasn’t eaten much of his food and he is not talking.

So I don’t know what to do to help him with his grief, I don’t have experience about such things, I don’t know what to say to make him feel better and cheer him up a little. I want to take care of him but I don’t know how.

Frustrated, I drain my wine and set the glass back on the table. I know that this marriage is fake but I want Daniel to be able to lean on me in a time like this, I want to be the person he can depend on, I want him to trust me and open up about what he is feeling. But can he trust me enough to turn to me?

I couple of minutes later, I turn off the lights and head to the bedroom, since we brought in s*x in our arrangement we decided to be sleeping in the same room. Changing into my night dress, I lift the blanket, get into bed next to him, I tuck the covers around us and slip my arms around him, holding him tight.

‘’It’s going to be better with time,’’ I whisper.

‘’Thank you.’’

‘’You are welcome,’’ I respond, stroking my hand over her back and my fingers through his hair.

‘’Thank you for being here Kristy, thank you for supporting me, I don’t know what I would have done without you.’’

‘’I am your wife, it’s my duty to make sure you are fine.’’

He laughs, ‘’If someone told me I would get to see this side of you, I would have laughed in their face.’’

‘’Why? Was I that bad?’’

‘’You were more than bad.’’

‘’Oh please, you just judged me from afar.’’

‘’From afar?’’

‘’Whatever!’’

‘’I am really grateful.’’

‘’You are welcome, what will you do with Nkoli?’’

‘’Nothing! There’s nothing that binds us now, I hope she stays away from me because her mere presence annoys me.’’

‘’Allow me to handle her when she shows up, you know I can put her in her place.’’

‘’I have no doubt you would.’’

We talk for a few more minutes before he says, ‘’you go to sleep, the last few days have been hectic you need to rest.’’

‘’You go to sleep too.’’

‘’Okay.’’

‘’Good night husband.’’

‘’Goodnight wife.’’

Shutting my eyes, I bury my face in his warm neck and with a sigh of contentment, I fall asleep. Thursday, I wake up earlier than Daniel, easing myself out of bed, I grab my robe and stand up then I head out to the kitchen to find Jessie cleaning the dishes.

‘’Good morning madam!’’

‘’Good morning! How are you?’’

‘’I am fine thank you, do you want something?’’

‘’I want to prepare breakfast for my husband.’’

‘’’Huh?’’ she shoots me a questioning look, I have never cooked anything since I hired her.

‘’I will be preparing breakfast this morning.’’

‘’Why? Is everything the matter?’’

‘’No, I just feel like cooking for my husband.’’

‘’Okay.’’

When she walks out of the kitchen I open YouTube and search for some breakfast Ideas. I spend the next one hour trying to get the food right and when I am done, I set the table- the flowers, strawberries, eggs and bacon are all set in a heart- shape.

I am about to go and wake him up when Jessie tells me there is someone looking for Daniel outside. I walk to the door wondering who could be here at this time of the morning, pulling the door, I come face to face with Nkoli.

I eye her from head to toe, she is wearing tight low-cut jeans and a cropped red top with sneakers.

‘’Good morning!’’

‘’What do you want here?’’

‘’I am here for Daniel.’’

‘’You can’t see my husband, he is sleeping and I don’t want him to be disturbed but come to think about it, even if he was awake, I doubt he would want to see you. Leave my husband alone Nkoli, you have caused him more than enough pain.’’

‘’Unless you have walked a mile in my shoes, you have no right to judge me Stella.’’

‘’I don’t even have to judge you Nkoli, your actions speak for themselves, you are a pathetic person.’’

‘’Like I said, you have no right to judge me, I need to see Daniel and I will not leave until I see him.’’

I laugh, ‘’I don’t think you know the person you are dealing with sweetheart, maybe I need to introduce myself to you.’’

‘’There’s no need for you to do that, I have more than enough information about you Stella Msizi.’’

‘’Stella Msizi Mumbi,’’ I smilingly flaunt my ring in her face.

‘’Daniel was mine before he was anyone else’s and I can get him back if I want but that’s not even why I am here.’’

‘’Leave my house,’’ I snap, pointing to the gate. ‘’Leave before I call security to come and kick you out.’’

Daniel

I wake up alone, Kristy’s side of the bed is cold and empty indicating that she has been up for a couple of hours now. Stretching, I swing my legs off the bed, grab my robe and stand up, walking into the bathroom, I wash my face and brush my teeth. Then I head downstairs to the living room, I notice Kristy is standing by the door talking to someone and she sounds angry.

‘’Babe!’’ I walk towards her and wrap my hands around her, she turns her face and lightly kisses my lips.

‘’Good morning husband of mine!’’

‘’Good morning wife of mine!’’

‘’Slept well?’’

‘’Yes babe, you?’’

I have seen Nkoli but I am trying to pretend like I haven’t seen her, I don’t even know what she wants from me. She left me and Joan when we needed her the most, I loved Nkoli dearly but she wounded me, I don’t have time for her.

‘’I slept peacefully with you by my side.’’

‘’I am starving.’’

‘’I have prepared breakfast, the table is already set.’’

‘’Then let’s go and eat.’’

‘’Daniel!’’ Nkoli exclaims, ‘’you can’t see me?’’

‘’I have seen you Nkoli but I have no business with you.’’ shared on w******p by Martino

‘’You and I have a lot to talk about.’’

‘’What can we possibly talk about? Joan is dead, she is the only connection that you and I had.’’

‘’I am sorry Daniel, I shouldn’t have left you and Joan, I was going a lot of stuff and I needed time to myself.’’

‘’Are you seriously going to stand in front of me and tell me that nonsense?’’

‘’If I had stayed I wouldn’t have been a good mother to Joan, I needed to heal before I could be a mother to her.’’

‘’Joan is dead, I am sure you are happy now.’’

‘’She was my child, why would I be happy that she is gone?’’

‘’Please leave!’’

‘’Daniel!’’

‘’Leave!’’ Kristy and I say in unison before I slam the door shut in her face and we head to the dining table.

‘’This looks beautiful, you mad breakfast?’’

‘’Yes.’’

‘’Stella Msizi woke up early to prepare breakfast, what’s the occasion?’’

‘’I wanted to do something special for you.’’

I laugh, ‘’I hope this food is amazing as it looks.’’

‘’Are you saying I am a lousy cook?’’

‘’I didn’t say you are a lousy cook but you told me yourself that you hate cooking and I have seen you cook.’’

‘’Well, you will have to thank YouTube for the recipes.’’

I open my mouth to respond but she waves her hand in my face, ‘’Can we eat already, stop fighting with me.’’

‘’Fine my love.’’

‘’You are the most dramatic person I know.’’

‘’I guess that’s why you love me.’’

‘’There’s no love between us.’’