When Shirley called and informed me about Fred's death, I didn't know when tears rolled down my cheeks. We had known each other for only a few days but I felt like we had known each other for years.
Shirley was crying on the phone, and so was I. In the end, I had to terminate the call because I couldn't control myself. I quickly called Frank and told him what was going on, I mean the whole thing. He was shocked too.
He came to my floor and consoled me, thus he offered to drive me home but before then he told me to wash my face, to which I did in the washroom. After that, he told me to be bold and to pretend as if everything is fine.
That was how we left the head office, I composed myself and took my mind far from Fred's thought. But as soon as we arrived at the parking lot, another series of tears streamed down my cheeks and I quickly began sobbing.
"Saw him yesterday, he was on life support but his grandma told me he was fine. I heard he was fine from Shirley too, although she suspected we were being fooled by the family. She told me to check on him soon and see if really he's gotten better" I said amidst sob, "Now he's dead for good, just imagine. Oh God!" I lamented.
"Hey, don't let that get into you, okay? I know it's hard, but sometimes the best thing to do is to calm down" he said, trying his best to console me. "Be patient, okay?" he wiped my tears and then opened the passenger door for me, "Easy," he uttered as I gently hopped into the car. Thus, he shut the door and then walked around to the driver seat. He hopped in and shut the door as well. Then he started the car, fastened his seatbelt and then told me to do the same. "Safety over everything" he smiled at. This time around I couldn't return the smile though.
While driving, he tried to make the ride lively for me. He started asking if I would like to learn how to drive, before gisting me how he learned how to drive. He told me about his instructor who had a crush on him even though he was eight years younger than her, and then narrated how he got into his first accident while still learning how to drive.
"I nearly killed the two of us but Trinity was quick to get hold of the steering wheel, she turned it gently and pulled the emergency brake up. As soon as the car came into a halt, she alighted from the car and stood outside with her arms akimbo. Seeing how angry she was, I apologized and she warned me to always focus on the road and to stop being stubborn" he giggled and continued, "After that, she hugged me and apologized for scolding me. She was insane, you know? So madly in love with me, even though she had a boyfriend"
"Did you loved her?" I curiously asked. I didn't know why though, but to be frank I didn't like how he kept telling me she was in love with him. I was somehow pained, for no reason.
"No, I never did. But I liked how kind and understanding she was, I viewed her as a sister. I heard she's currently in Brooklyn, she's married to one Dyke" he elaborated, "Why did you asked?" he glanced at me.
"Nothing, just being curious" I muttered.
"Oh, okay" he choked, "My first car was a Vintage TVX, a manual transmission car, front wheel drive. My dad ordered it for me from the manufacturers themselves, and it was brought to our house a day to Christmas. That was on Christmas Eve. I was very happy, I drove around the house like there was no tomorrow..."
He kept talking abd talking, gisting me about random things, but all I could do was to listen. I had only talked few times, and that was when I had to ask him questions about things to prove my hunch or to clear my doubt. When he was tired of talking, he turned on the music and began singling alongside the voice from the speaker.
"I love that song" I said the moment the song ended, "Can you replay it again?" I asked.
"Sure!" he giggled and gladly replayed the song. It was a countryside music by a group of singers known as, Jazz. I used to hear about them on the radio but I had never heard this particular music of theirs being played. "You know, I don't used to like countryside music before but when I first heard this particular song it blew my mind. I was like, I really need to get a copy of this song. Signed by Jazz themselves, and that was exactly what happened. I got a DVD copy of the song, alongside other songs by them. And then an access code to a complete list of their songs in my iVoice Library" he said.
"That's good. You should host them someday to come and play in your mansion. I mean, on your wedding day" I said as I gently increased the volume of the song.
"Wow, another Jazz's fan in the making" he mocked me, "Talking about wedding, if I am going to marry a Jazz fan then I am definitely going to invite them. It's going to cost a lot but that wouldn't be a problem, money has never been the problem to Walters Family" he laid emphasis on his last two words.
"I see, but where are you going to get a Jazz fan? Or are you going to force someone into becoming their fan? Tell me" I sarcastically said trying to pull his legs.
"I don't need to force anyone, all I need to do is to play the song and that's all. If they like it, just like you did, I would be grateful" he replied with a broad smile on his face. He didn't used to get tired of smiling.
"Hmm, nice!" I managed to smile.
When we arrived home, he pulled over in front of our house and alighted from the car as soon as I did. I really thought he was only going to drop me and then head back, but he didn't. He followed me into the house surprisingly there was nobody in the house, it was empty.
"Hello, Aunt Vicky" I uttered as soon as I called her and she picked.
"Hi Laura, are you back home?" she said, her voice somehow stern.
"Yes, where are you guys? I've checked everywhere but..." I said as she cut in,
"The police called us an hour ago and apprised us that they found a lead to the ongoing investigation. Evidence shows the store's CCTV footage for that day has been tempered with, and that about ten minutes are missing from the footage, few hours after Jessica and her friends left there" she explained.
"Wow, does that mean the culprit would be found soon?" I curiously asked.
"Well, it depends on where the evidence leads the police. See you later, we would be coming back soon" she said.
"Okay, Aunt" I uttered, thus she ended the call.
"Is there anything I need to know?" Frank asked as I headed to the kitchen to get him a glass of water.
"Nothing much, just that they found a lead. The camera footage has been tempered with, someone came an hour after Jessica and her friends left the store. The person is still yet to be identified, I just hope that they find him soon" I responded as I filled a glass of water for him.
"I hope so too. I knew the camera footage was tempered with, but now the question is by who? The person must be experienced in I.T or CCTV engineering, who among Jessica's friends is good at that aspect? Is Jessica a pro in that aspect?" he queried.
"I don't... really know, all I know is that they are not that stupid to pull a heist. They only wanted to look rich, hence they went to the store to take pictures with their ornaments" I said as I handed him his water.
"Thank you" he uttered.
"You are welcome" I watched him as he took a sip and then dropped the glass on the table in front of him.
"I believe, whoever is clean would be spared. Although sometimes, people get sentences they don't deserve for the crimes they committed. Sneaking into a store, a jewelry store even is totally against the law. I don't know what exactly is going to happen when the culprit is found but I am afraid some people would have to be fined or may face charges" he expressed his fear.
"Her dad was a Sheriff before he died, so she will be fine I guess. But the rest, I just don't know what is going to happen to them. Fred is gone though, and I hate to even think about that. And Shirley, she's weak now. Those are the two people I care about in that group apart from Jessica" I heaved a sigh.
"Great," he looked around the sitting room and said, "you live quite far from our head office, you know that right?" he wrinkled a brow at me. I was sitting in the opposite chair.
"What can I do? I am thinking about finding a place in the Mainland though, but the problem is I don't want to be alone and far from Anty Vicky. Plus I had to make arrangements for provisions, I wouldn't just find an apartment and occupy without necessary things" I explained.
"That won't be a problem, you can come live with me or... I can get you a luxurious apartment to live in, few kilometers away from the Head Office. And also get you a car or scooter to be coming to work with" he said prompting me to blush. I didn't expect all that from him though, I really loved how caring he was. He was always trying to help in all the ways he could.
"Thank you," I gulped, "I appreciate the fact that you are willing to help me but... I need to talk to my aunt first, you know, I can't just agree to relocate without her consent" I politely uttered.
"Yes, I get it. Please talk to her. I hope that she agrees though" he said.
"Me too" I huffed.
"Good, so, how about Jessica? Has she started making plans to enroll into Oxford? Or is she still looking for sponsor?" he asked.
"She's still looking for who to sponsor her, and recently she told her mom she found one. The guy is supposed to come today, he probably did since I wasn't around since morning. If they come back, I will enquire about it. However, I don't trust him. His name is Reade and I suspect he's been..." I paused, it wouldn't be proper for me to say what I wasn't sure about hence I decided not to complete the words. I actually wanted to say, I suspect he's been taking advantage of her and now he's willing to fool her into falling into his trap so he could ruin her life.
"He's been what? Is there something I need to know?" Frank was curious.
"Actually, I just don't trust him" I muttered.
"Hmm, you just don't trust him? Does that mean you hate him or you just feel like he's a untrustworthy or something?" he wanted to know the reason why I didn't like Reade.
"He's untrustworthy, he talked about having connection in Oxford and also promised to get her a student loan that would help her with the tuitions and other things. If you were the one that made that promise, I would totally agree because you are... wealthy, but that crap? He's only trying to fool her" I explained.
