The Rain in April

Smoking gun

Chapter 16

Nana stood by the window and watched as few cars raced on the road across the lawn. She stood there for a while, her attention focused on the cars before she took it off them, shifting her attention to the lawn. It had already overgrown and she immediately remembered Ama Williams. She had this feeling that something wrong happened to her, her sudden disappearance did not seem to add up. She had come to be fond of Ama as she was the only person she spoke with in the neighborhood. Not that she could not make friends but the fact that many people feared her husband made it impossible for her to relate with them. Well, she came to terms with that many years ago, Eric was a hard man, she remembered how she met Eric, her father had introduced him to her during a party marking his birthday, Eric was a junior soldier by then, a Warrant Officer. She fell in love with him and they both got married. During their period of courtship, she came to know more about him, how tough he was and despite her father’s warnings, she had gone ahead to marry him. Poor old man, her father had been her guardian ever since she lost her mother. A person she was so close to, unlike her father who seldom stayed at home, a five star General in the army. Even after his death, three years ago, she didn’t miss him a bit. To her, she lost her only parent when her mother died. She had only agreed to remain with her father because it was her mother’s last request of her; what a burden it was for her, the only child in the family. Now she felt empty, Ama was no longer there to play with her daughter Muteteli or to tell her what was happening around the city as she found it difficult to associate. She turned away from the window and walked towards the sitting room where Muteteli was sleeping on a couch. She sat by her and placed her hand gently on her head. Muteteli was five years old, dark and had short dark hair, something she picked up from her father. Nana was ready to protect her child, even in this time of uncertainty, no matter what; she was sure Eric felt the same way.

**********

The intruder walked around the house looking for an entrance, he had seen her by the window side and was sure the target was inside. For four days now, the target was off the radar screen, the best possible explanation for that was that he was at home, probably taking some time out with his family or yes, he was ruminating, probably going through what he did, the evil he had committed, the torment, the regret, all these had to sum up to something; he was afraid, afraid to face the public again, afraid that the face he buried would resurface. This was definitely the right time to take him out, to take revenge on behalf of his best friend who had fallen victim to this maniac. With the death of many senior officers being a norm as days rolled by, killing the Lieutenant wouldn’t be a problem. Many of his friends insisted they carry out the attack when the Lieutenant was in his office, but he could not wait, not when an opportunity like this presented itself. He was accompanied by a friend who was waiting in the car. He took out his pistol, a magnum and matched round the house once more.

“The window,” he whispered to himself walking towards the glass window that was half open. He quietly opened it and in a flash, hopped inside. He landed with a gentle thud, looked at the window and decided to leave it open, to make his escape faster. He knew he had to be patient; extremely careful and wait for the family to converge somewhere so that he could take them out. He nodded, taking his breath sequentially.

“This is my chance,” he muttered to himself.

**********

Eric accelerated the jeep; he took out his pistol, a P99 and pulled the cartridge out to check if it was loaded, it was. He held it tightly, controlling the steering with his left hand.

“If Andrew and Joseph were absent, then there could be a problem,” He said to himself. All these were connected to what happened at the village four days ago. He had been involved in an incident with a soldier. The soldier tried to take out a little boy, his sister and when he had intervened, the soldier failed to take orders. Things then got physical and it ended up with the boy killing the soldier. He let the boy and his sister go, opting to hide the soldier’s body in the bush and filing a missing soldier’s report. Unknown to him, he was being watched; someone had discovered and unearthed the body. Someone had taken out the identity chip and sent it to him with a letter this morning.

“It’s definitely Andrew and Joseph.”

He said aloud turning into the street where his house was located. The two men were friends with the dead soldier. There could only be one place where he was sure he could find them, one place he was sure they would be; his home. As he passed by his house, he could spot a window open, this was unusual as his wife always locked the windows. He stopped the car and immediately opened the door; he held out his gun with both hands and with haste, ran towards the door.

**********

The intruder waited, time was running out, he placed his ears on the door trying to eavesdrop. He could hear footsteps, now was the time.

“Now or never,” he muttered.

He pulled the door open and stormed out, pointing his gun forward. He stopped almost immediately, dead on his track; he wished he had waited a little longer. There on the couch was the target’s wife and his little daughter; they looked at him with fear and terror as he maintained his aim at them. He was troubled as well as confused; he wanted to talk, to ensure the target was still inside the house when the door burst open. He turned but it was late, he wasn’t prepared for this kind of surprise. Before he could move an inch, a bullet sank through his chest, he fell on one knee, looked at his chest and up at the man who shot him, he wanted to retaliate, to aim at him but he could not, he could feel his gun becoming heavy in his hand, his vision getting blur; he just had to do something, see who his killer was, but it was too late, he saw the man raise the gun again, a flash of light, a groan of pain and then… nothing.

**********

Eric stood still, his gun still pointed forward. He was right, the intruder had been Andrew. If he had been a minute late, his family would have paid for his sins. He ran and hugged his wife who was still in shock; his daughter was awake now, crying.

“Hey… it’s alright, daddy is here,” he said in a rush, embracing her.

“What just happened?” his wife managed to ask. He looked at her and shook his head.

“We need to leave, now.”

“My grandparents, like many g******e survivors, took most of their stories to their graves.”

Chris Bohjalian