บท 3: Chapter 2
The car pulled up and reversed. It was a beautiful, big compound and a mansion was situated in it.
Prince's garage was filled with varieties of cars. Anne opened her door and got out. Prince also got out of the car. Anne stood bewildered, watching the bluish glass roof shimmering in the afternoon sun, casting rays of geometric patterns in the air and giving the environment a sense of grandeur. Angular shadows fell like veins across the white tiled floors. The air smelled fresh and clean.
Anne followed through a huge door into Prince's house.
"You are back?" A lady asked. She moved to Prince and hugged him.
"I won the case, love." Prince said, handing her his suitcase.
"You look tired. I have just prepared a mouth-watering meal for you, it will help you relax your nerves."
"That would do."
The lady turned to Anne. "I am Whitney."
Anne looked at Prince demanding an explanation. "She is my fiancee and partner."
"Yeah, I've been helping him on your case." Whitney said.
"Very impressive." Anne said.
"I will go dish out food for all of us." Whitney gestured.
"Thanks. I will take her upstairs to her room." Prince wheezed.
Whitney left.
"Good eyes." Anne sneered.
They walked up the stairs.
Anne's eyes traced the arch of the ceiling sloping outward to the columned walls and finally down to the polished marble floor beneath their feet. Anne surveyed every single place she passed.
When she was taken to her room, she scanned it. She felt a pang of frustration.
"Do you like it?" Prince asked.
"Your place is nice." She said
"Thanks. Relax. Take a bath and get dressed. There are clothes and footwears in the wardrobe."
He pointed at a drawer in front of a mirror. "You have got some makeup in that drawer." "Very well then, thank you." Anne said shyly.
Prince turned and left.
Prince knocked on Anne's door. His knock was met with no response. He opened the door and walked in. "Anne, "he called.
Yet again, his words were greeted with no response. He looked around for her, but she was nowhere to be found. He leaned at the bathroom door but he heard no sound. Could she be drowning in the bathtub? He wondered. Or had she escaped through the windows?
He opened the door and walked in. He could see Anne standing behind the transparent shower curtain.
"I'm sorry," he said and turned away from her.
"You were calling me?" Anne said.
"I thought you didn't hear me."
"I did but I had tooth paste filled up in my mouth," Anne said brusquely. "I quickly used mouthwash and before I could respond you, you had stopped calling. I thought you had already left."
"I would go now. I'm sorry for coming in without knocking."
"It's not your fault, deliver your message to me and leave at once."
"I almost forgot. Lunch is ready, be quick and come downstairs."
"I will do that." She replied.
Prince left without looking back.
Anne walked down the stairs, she was wearing a black turtle neck shirt and a jean skirt. She had brushed her hair and packed it into a ponytail. She walked to the dining table and drew out a seat opposite Prince's seat. "We were waiting for you," Whitney said studying her expression.
"Were you? You guys should have gone ahead. I don't mind eating alone," Anne said sitting down.
'Never mind. I will serve the food," Whitney said.
"And what if I have no appetite for the food?"
"I prepared Chinese fried rice and it's filled with Kebab," Whitney said tolerating Anne's rudeness.
Prince looked at Anne; his expression showed he wasn't pleased with her attitude.
"I'm sorry. I must have been rude," Anne apologized.
"It is not your fault. You must..."
Anne interrupted her, "Just serve the food."
Whitney served their food together with hers. They ate quietly, except for Anne who was clattering her cutleries.
" You are not eating," Whitney said, breaking the silence.
Prince raised an eyebrow. 'Anne," he called.
"I will eat when the food gets warm. I am not used to eating hot things."
Anne sat on the bed, her looks portrayed agony other than sadness.
A knock sounded on the door.
" Come in." She hesistantly uttered.
Prince opened the door and walked in.
"I am so sorry for being rude at the dinning table," She remorsefully said.
"It doesn't matter." He replied and sat down beside her at the edge of the bed.
"I have come for us to continue the conversation we had earlier on. If you don't mind."
"Wow, I thought you forgot."
"Heaven no! Why would I forget it? You were saying something about the ..."
She cleared her throat. "The lawyer," she chimmed in.
"Exactly that," he said.
"My dad waited for him in court..."
"But the lawyer did not show up?"
She nodded. "He didn't show up."
"Was the case dismissed?"
" Yeah. Then my dad fainted. There was no proof to proffer. That's when I was subjected to life imprisonment. My beloved dad was rushed to the hospital, she swallowed painfully. I could feel he needed me and I begged the police to let me see him. But they wouldn't. He claimed I was his heart but he left me. He couldn't even survive for his heart to find him. I'm sure he must be in a better world." She sobbed silently.
"Anne..."
"I'm fine," she pouted. "I'm fine. I am sure he must be looking down on me, saying, avenge your mom's death and the victim's death. My mom left me in this so-called world and my dad followed suit. Had it been I was given a chance by the police to talk to my dad, maybe I could have assured him I would be out, then he would have been discouraged from leaving me here alone to meet God and a better world. If the lawyer had fought for my case ... if he had not run away perhaps my dad would have had his life.
Prince could feel tears well up in his eyes. Why? And for that matter, a stranger? I'm a lawyer whose duty is to defend and not to sympathize with the defenseless, he thought.
"I heard of your case a month ago, it was so complicated that I refused to involve myself in it but then I would hear my late dad say to me, carry your burden to the Lord and he will sustain you. I took the case to the Lord and I heard him say to me, I will give your enemies to you, just as I did to David. All I knew was that I wasn't meant for the job neither was I ready for the job. I began to look into your case and I found out a lot. Things you would be shocked to hear of. I used those things as an iron ore alibi in your case and though it wasn't a strong one, God worked his wonders."
There was a time Prince's late father engaged him in a discussion. " My son," he said. " You resemble my dad in all ramification."
Prince nodded in disappointment. " Dad I've seen my grand father a lot and I know I don't resemble him a bit. He's fair and ugly while I'm dark and handsome."
But his father countered his words, " My dad was a good lawyer and that's his feature you possess. When I see you, I see a highly reputable lawyer in the making."
Prince had screamed. "Never."
But as he grew up, he considered his dad's words but never made up his mind. On his dad's sick bed, his dad made him promise to defend the innocent ones. That was when he made up his mind to become a lawyer.
Prince did not grow up with his mum, he never for once knew her name or anything about her but he never cared. " My dad is my mum ," he would say to his mockers.
" Tell me how you got me out of jail, " Anne demanded.
" It's of no use."
" It's of great use to me than you can ever imagine."
" Your dad was deliberately murdered in the hospital."
" It's a lie," Anne moaned. " It can't be. It just can't be."
" There's no need to cry. Put yourself together for your father's sake." He tapped her on the back. " When you're in the mood, I will give you full details ."
Anne stood. " Even lions weep for the death of their loved ones. It's all about the bond."
Prince stood up. " How would you stand the remaining details, if you are getting emotional like this?"
" I'm performing his rites."
" It can wait till the case is levelled."
" My dad was my everything," she said. " I wish you understand me."
He placed his hands on her shoulders. " I never knew my mum. Sometimes I was called a bastard or a demon. I lost my dad too."
" Just forget all those and tell me how my dad was killed and who killed him."
" Your blood is hot. You should be informed nothing."
" I'm not your slave," Anne shouted, as she freed herself from his grip. " First you take me to your house and now you refuse me any information of my father's death."
" You are my client, you are important to me,."
" To hell with your goddam words."
" Sit!" Prince commanded.
" Don't use that tone on me, I'm not your puppet.'"
" Sit and I will tell you everything you need to know," there was calmness in his voice.
Anne looked at him. " You promise?"
" Yes I promise," Prince said
Anne sat down, immensely waiting for his explanation.
"One fateful day, I decided to visit the hospital your dad was admitted to. I was gathering some proof at that time. I requested to watch the CCTV footage but I was given no access to it. They claimed everything was confidential, even if life was involved, it had nothing to do with them. The image and reputation of the hospital was what they were protecting. There reputation was their main aim and victims were only entitled to them by law. I tried to propell them as a lawyer but they wouldn't budge. A very trustworthy person told me everything. How someone murdered your father. I made the judge understand that a lawyer got missing when he was needed at the law court, a man murdered and a threatening letter sent to me was all planned by culprits, the main murderer or the suspect. You came out under a bail of three million."
" Who's the beast? Who murdered my dad? Did anyone tell you who it was?" Anne threw the questions to him in anger.
Prince dogded the question with the only answer he knew. " Whoever it was, I don't know, the person played his cards discretely well, I was just learning. The person was a step ahead of us. In the hospital, all the lights were disconnected. The hospital was blacked out. No trace of how it happened. The CCTv's wires displaced, before it could be replaced it was too late. The culprit's schemes, although mischievous, I will admit was something above expertise."
What about the receptionist, the nurse, the attendants, the technicians, the doctors and even the director?"
" The registration was clear. All contacts were called immediately in order to trace the culprit but it seemed the culprit had gotten inside through the help of someone and without the security's knowledge. I have handled cases of fraud and embezzlement, cases of robbery, vandalization of properties, acclaiming ownership of one's belonging and abuse of leadership. I have also handled cases of political power misuse but this case is different."
"It's obvious," Ann said indifferently." "I want to find the murderer before this week runs out."
"Within four days?" He raised his voice. " It took me a month and three weeks to gather up a solid alibi for your case but to catch a trained and discrete digitalized murderer would take three to four months because their schemes are far beyond comprehension."
"Even if it means tracing them?" Asked Anne.
"Sorry, it is not possible especially when there ain't a goddam clue," he said vaguely.
The place remained silent for some moment but deep down Anne's mind, she was getting ready for the bastard.
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