Chapter 12
569 Words
Chapter 12Although I wanted to get back to Miami as soon as possible, I needed to keep tabs on the woman. Fortunately, the property manager had an apartment available right across the one Talya occupied. It took me no time to get some electronics installed near the window facing her terrace and living room, so that I could view what she was doing and l could listen on her conversations.
As soon as she walked in the door of her apartment, she took stock of her surroundings, she noticed that her plants had died and that dust covered every piece of furniture and ornaments that decorated her little place. In the bedroom, nothing had been disturbed since her hurried departure to Victoria. She took her favorite tracksuit out of the closet, went to take a shower and got dressed, ready to go to the beach. Talya was very lucky to live two minutes from it, and that’s how long it took her to run to it and shuffle the sand in front of her feet before sitting down on one of the logs facing the ocean.
She was probably asking herself if she would she be up to the challenge of supervising the projects in Africa after all. The last but not the least of her questions; was she still a target for the head of the cartel in Florida? Yes, was the one-word answer to that question. Moreover, it must have made sense to her that I, Ben Slimane, would see to it that she was eliminated one way or the other before Osnoir’s trial would begin.
On her way home, Talya went to the grocers and bought fruit and vegetables, then on to the market where she purchased chicken, fish and other items that she was sure to need in the next few days. As she put the key in the lock, she heard the phone ring. She froze. She didn’t want to answer it, but she never could let a phone ring unanswered.
“Talya Kartz speaking.”
“Aziz here...”
“Aziz!” Talya screamed. “How did you know I was back?”
Her friend, Aziz, a physician whom she dated for a while before all of this happened, had told her that she would know with whom she would spend the rest of her life once she returned home.
“Khalid phoned me...”
“Of course, he did. Couldn’t you people leave me alone?”
“Talya..., I just...”
“Never mind..., but now that you know I’m back, why don’t you come over when you can?”
“I’ll be there later – after I’m done here. How’s dinner at the Boat House sounds?”
Talya hesitated. “How about dinner at my place, instead? I’ve bought fresh lettuce and all sorts of veggies to make the most wonderful salad.”
“No problem. I’ll be there at 7:00, if that’s okay with you.”
“Yes, that’s just perfect..., oh, and could you bring some wine – I mean some real wine?”
“I can do that... but why?”
“Have you gone cheapskate on me? It’s just because I haven’t had a good glass of wine in months now and somehow all these fancy champagnes and liqueurs are getting tiresome.”
The prawn salad had been as delightful as Talya had predicted and the ice cream afterwards had crowned a perfect dinner for two. When it was time for Aziz to leave, he took Talya in his arms and kissed her.
“I will always love you, Talya, and I’ll be here waiting for you...”
“I know, I know, and I’ll be coming home after the nightmare is over, Aziz, because I know now that I have always loved you.”
Tsk, tsk... And it was about time for me to get some dinner too.
- Writer
