Suspects: murder case

Chapter 42

Chapter 42

‘’Goodbye!’’ I respond, he walks out of the room without looking back and when the door closes, I grab my pillow and hit it against the wall. He can leave for all I care, I will not beg him to stay- that wasn’t how I was raised.

‘’Jessie!’’ I yell and she comes rushing into my room a minute later.

‘’Yes auntie,’’ she kneels beside me.

‘’Clive has left, lock all the doors and don’t ever allow him back into my house ever again.’’

‘’Okay.’’

‘’And bring me a glass of wine, I need something to calm my nerves.’’

‘’Are you okay?’’

‘’How is that any of my business.’’

‘’I am sorry.’’

‘’Sorry for yourself,’’ I reply, clicking my tongue.

She walks out of the bedroom and returns two minutes later with a glass of wine and hands it to me.

‘’You can leave now,’’ I say taking a large sip.

‘’Good night!’’ she says and I just click my tongue, she tries so hard to be friendly, I just can’t deal.

When I finish drinking my wine, I decide to call the only friend I have, I dial her line, it rings once and she picks up.

‘’Stella!’’ she exclaims.

‘’Hey Jada.’’

‘’I miss you.’’

‘’I miss too girl, work has been hectic.’’

‘’And I haven’t been able to go out because of the baby.’’

‘’How is my little Else doing?’’

‘’She is perfect.’’

‘’I want to see you, I need someone to talk to, can we do dinner tomorrow?’’

‘’Yes, as long as you come over to the house.’’

‘’I will come over after work.’’

‘’That’s great.’’

‘’Okay, see you tomorrow.’’

‘’See you, sleep tight.’’

‘’You too.’’

Jada is the only friend I currently have, she is the only person who has been able to tolerate me and my tantrums. I met Jada a year ago, her father introduced us and we instantly clicked. I had gone to interview Penjani, I did a lifestyle feature story which ran in the newspaper. Jada and I don’t see each other much but we talk, she recently had a baby.

‘’Daniel! Good morning,’’ Madam Veronica politely greets when I get to the Hospice.

I woke up quite early, showered and headed straight to the hospice, I couldn’t sleep last night. I was so worried.

‘’Good morning madam V, how are you?’’

‘’I am fine thanks, how are you? I wasn’t expecting you would be here this early.’’

‘’I am fine, just nervous, I couldn’t sleep, I was worried about my girl.’’

‘’Take a seat please.’’

‘’Okay,’’ I say, sitting down on the chair across from hers.

‘’I will not waste much of your time because I know you need to go to work. Joan hasn’t been sleeping well for the past days, she has been crying and fussing consistently. We ran a few tests and decided it’s time to change her medicine, we need a cocktail of drugs to keep her comfortable and out of pain. Unfortunately we don’t have the drugs here, they can only be gotten from South Africa at a cost of k30, 000,’’ she says.

‘’30, 000?’’ I ask, ‘’where am I even supposed to get that kind of money from?’’

My hands tremble and my heart races but I can’t stop the emotions from threatening to overwhelm me.

‘’We need to get the medicine as soon as possible or we will lose her.’’

I draw in a deep breath and let it out slowly, ‘’Okay,’’ I mumble, fighting back the tears that are threatening to fall.

‘’Thank you for everything, I will see what I can do.’’

She squeezes my hand, ‘’I know this is hard but do but this is the only option.’’

‘’I understand, can I see her?’’

‘’Sure! You can go to her room.’’

‘’Thank you.’’

‘’Have a good day Daniel.’’

I don’t reply to her comment, instead I walk out of her office and head to Joan’s room where I find her crying while the nurse is trying to quiet her. I get Joan from the nurse and she cries uncontrollably for a long time before she falls asleep.

My heart aches, I hate to see my child in this state- I will find that money at all costs. I leave the Hospice a few minutes later and head for work. If Stella is in today, I know she will be extremely mad at me. I didn’t tell her I would be late, I was too worried about my child to think of calling her.

*

I open my eyes to the rays of sunshine peeping through the blinds, turning over my heart aches to find the side of the bed where Clive usually sleeps empty. This is the first time in months that I have slept alone, my bed has always been a place where adventurous things happen from making love for hours to cuddling and holding each other till morning.

This is the first time in months that I haven’t woken up to the touch of his hands and caressing lips. I was content with what we shared and now that he is not here, I feel lonely and empty but I will not beg him- I will survive.

Clive is the first long-term man I’ve had, we met on a Sunday about a year ago at a restaurant, we sat on the same table and exchanged a few words, by the end of the evening we exchanged numbers.

He wanted a relationship but I told him I couldn’t commit so we opted to be friends with benefits.

I have been with a few men over the last couple of years but nothing lasts, each time I sense that things are taking a serious turn I always bail out. I don’t want what happened to my parents to happen to me so I am better off being alone.

A glance at the clock tells me I need to get ready for work or I am going to be late. I have decided to continue working at the company until I get a better offer somewhere else, I will send out some applications, with my credentials it won’t be hard for me to find something. Mr. Msizi has managed to humiliate me in the eyes of his daughter but I promise to have the last laugh.

Slipping out of bed, I get into the bathroom, after turning on the shower and adjusting the water temperature, I step into the shower, I finish showering a few minutes later and quickly get dressed then I step out of the bedroom into the living room, surprisingly Jessie has prepared and served my breakfast in time. I sit down and eat while reading some online newspapers.

After I finish eating, I leave the house and drive to the office. Upon arrival I walk straight to the conference hall for the editorial meeting, only to find Kenzie is sitting in my seat. I smile knowing very well what she is trying to do and instead of starting a fight, I decide to act like a decent person and sit elsewhere, I will not stoop down to her level.

Kenzie clears her throat and looks up at me, ‘’Good morning sister.’’

I laugh, ‘’Good morning Kenzie.’’

‘’I hope you don’t mind but I decided to join the meeting today so I can have a feel of how you do things around here.’’

‘’I see! Before we get started, can you get me a list of yesterday’s approved stories from Daniel’’ I tell Nancy.

‘’Okay,’’ she stands up and walks out.

She comes back in a few minutes later, ‘’Daniel is not yet in.’’

‘’What do you mean he is not yet in?’’

‘’He hasn’t come.’’

‘’Oh, things are changing around here, let’s get started then.’’

For the next two hours, I listen to the ideas, I shoot down some and approve the workable ones. I am grateful though that Kenzie has kept her mouth shut, I had plans of shutting it up for her if she had said something.

‘’The meeting is done, let’s get to work, I expect to start receiving stories in my inbox as soon as possible,’’ I say.

And with that I rise to my feet and walk out.

‘’Where have you been?’’ I ask Daniel when I get to the office.

‘’I had an errand to run in the morning.’’

‘’And you couldn’t call to inform me that you would be late?’’

‘’I am sorry, it was an emergency.’’