“Name your price” Rachael yelled, stopping the man from completing his sentence. “I’ll pay you for it. Just name it, any amount”
The clerk was shocked because he couldn’t find the right words to respond to her unexpected offer. He stared at her with uncertainty in his eyes, wondering if she was capable enough to pay any amount he asked for, not that he believed her but he was just going to play along. Though, he was in dire need of money.
He sized her up once more before asking her the question on his mind. “What do you need the camera footage for?”
Rachael was a bit apprehensive but she had no choice but to tell him the truth if it was the only way to guarantee his help. “Well, my friend is missing and I think the security cameras might have captured her movement. I want to know about her every move from the last time I saw her.”
The man seemed to think of something before speaking with a raised brow,” My friend, do you mean the lady with a hoodie? I thought I saw her go to the restroom”
“Yes, she did go to the restroom” Rachael replied in haste, a little relieved that the man knew who she was talking about. “But she hasn’t come out since the time she went in. I already went to check, but she wasn’t there”
“That’s quite strange, I didn’t notice a strange movement here today” The man arched his brow in suspicion as he eyed Rachael. “How sure are you that she didn’t ditch you here”
Rachael was becoming outraged by the man’s annoying words but she knew she needed to calm down as he was the only one that could help her. So, she inhaled deeply and replied “She didn’t ditch me, she left her belongings with me”
“Oh! Yeah.. that reminds me” The man acted like a busybody looking for gossip to feast on. “That lady you’re looking for looks like the one I saw on the internet today.. what was it about?… Erm.. yes, the cheating fiancee.. yes, that’s it… Is she the one?”
“I don’t think that should be any of your business” Rachael snapped unexpectedly. “I pay you and you give me what I want. period”
“Chill, my dear”the man chuckled amusingly at her expression, he thought about her words for a while and realized it made some sense. If she could pay him well, he wouldn’t mind giving her what she wanted but the problem was, can she afford it?
“I want three thousand boxes” the man uttered without mercy, his eyes flashing with interest as he waited for Rachael’s reply. She looked like she had been poured a bucket of cold water.
“Wait a minute, did you mean three thousand like a whopping sum of three thousand pounds? Are you insane?” Rachael almost yelled at the man out of anger. She was stupified, expecting him to ask for something way more lesser than that. But he was testing her limits.
The man rolled his eyes at her, seemingly not surprised by her reaction. The first price was just a joke. “Make it two thousand pounds”
“No, it’s still too much” Rachael shook her head vehemently in disagreement. “I’ll pay you one thousand pounds”
“Nah, make it one- half” the man protested. “If you can’t pay that then you can leave”
“You son of a…” Rachael almost cursed when she saw a familiar silhouette walk into the cafe. A wide grin appeared on her face as she screamed out the name of her live saver. “William, I’ve been waiting for you. What took you so long?”
“I’m sorry. it’s not that easy to get a bus late in the night” William uttered, his voice apologetic. “So tell me what the real problem is.. how did Isabelle get kidnapped?”
“I don’t know” Rachael replied, her voice laced with frustration. “We need to check the CCTV footage of the cafe but this man here has refused to let me have it”
William gazed at the man with a smile on his face and patted Rachael on her back, saying “Let me talk to him, I’ve got this”
Rachael watched in amazement as the two men greeted each other like old friends. She was stunned that William knew him and almost felt ashamed and annoyed at the same time. She had wasted her time trying to negotiate with someone who would have been easy to talk to if she had waited patiently for William to come. After exchanging pleasantries, they both walked up to her.
“I’m sorry, ma’am” the clerk uttered with sincerity in his voice. “I didn’t know you were in a desperate situation. I’m fully ready to assist you without collecting a dime”
“Really?”Rachael’s eyes widened in disbelief, her gaze meeting with William’s who gave her a reassuring smile. “That’s great. Show me where it is then, we don’t have much time”
“Alright,” the man readily agreed while leaving them towards an unknown area, with the two people trailing behind him.
“How did you guys know each other?” Rachael whispered to William, her voice laced with curiosity. “I must say, I’m quite surprised. I can’t believe I had to waste my energy trying to convince him”
“It’s fine, Rachael. I understand” William chuckled silently. “He’s just one of the family of my patients who I rendered a little help”
Rachael sighed in relief. “That’s great. I should start to believe the saying that one good turn deserves another… I thought it was all joke”
“Hahaha…. “William laughed out loudly. “You’re funny, Rachael. You mean you took well-known wise words like that to be a joke?… Sometimes, I find you uneasy reading”
“Ugh… that’s your problem” Rachael scoffed playfully then her expression suddenly turned serious. She said, “About Isabelle, did you see the news?”
“No, I didn’t” William replied without thinking twice about it which stunned Rachael, causing a disturbing feeling in her heart as she thought of what their future would be like if both of them were anti-social.
She couldn’t argue with home now, so she threw the matter at the back of her mind and explained the whole situation to him.