“Lisa? Are you awake? You have some emails, I think you need to check them out. They are coming incessantly from the same email address,” Alex said and rolled over to his side to hand over Lisa’s phone to her.
“What the heck? When did she leave,” Alex said as he stared at the empty space beside him. He realized Lisa was out of bed.
He dropped the phone and laid back to sleep. The phone kept buzzing as the emails kept coming. The noise became unsettling. Alex picked up the phone and flipped through curiously. He accessed Lisa’s mail box and clicked one of the mails.
“I am sorry about the location of the first payment. I promised to choose a better location this time. I am planning to release a fresh and juicy story online sometime next month. I don’t want my baby to get hurt.. you could buy your way out… you know how we roll.
“What the heck?” Alex muttered and sat up. He scrolled through the mail and continued reading.
‘THIS HONEY DRIPPING PUSSY BEGGED FOR ECSTASY. SHE WANTED TO RIDE ON CLOUD NINE. WITH MY ROD, I DUG INTO HER FANTASY, SETTING HER HIGH AND HIGHER JUST LIKE SHE DESIRED!’
‘I think my lines are attractive enough. I can do better but I doubt you would like it either. If you don’t want my lines and your videos online, you know what to do. I await your reply. Until then, enjoy the view.’
Alex gripped the phone harder, his hand shook vigorously as he clicked on the next mail. It was a picture. He waited patiently until it downloaded.
He stared back at the picture of his wife being dug into by an unidentified man. He clicked on all the pictures and videos and charged towards the sitting room.
Alex groaned and sweated. He stared at the screen and checked out each picture one after the other. It was too much for him to bear. He smashed the phone on the wall and roared like a wounded lion.
The shout alerted Lisa. She was by the car preparing to take the kids to school.
“What the hell was that?” She muttered and returned in to check.
Alex was by the door. He dragged her in and shoved her against the wall. “Since when? Ehn?!” He asked and decked a hard blow on her face.
Lisa could not think. It was so sudden. She panicked and she felt blood flow through her head. “What…” She tried to speak up but another punch landed on her face.
“Since when? You whore?! You’re a pretender! Alex roared and continued to hit her hard. He was out of control.
Margaret ran upstairs to get Jane who was fast asleep in the visitors’ quarter.
Margaret banged hard at the door. Jane woke up. She sprang up at the sound and opened up.
“It’s boss! He is… beating up madam. You have to come help!” The maid mumbled and scurried off.
Jane could not fully comprehend, she followed after the maid at her own pace.
She bursted into the sitting room and covered her mouth in shock, “Alex! Stop! Please! Stop!!” Jane shouted and knotted as she begged.
Alex stopped. He froze and looked behind. He walked past Jane and she cringed. He was on fire.
The floor was in a bloody mess. Tears ran down Jane’s eyes as she walked closer.
“Get the kids out of sight!” She screamed at the maid who paced about aimlessly.
Jane fell on her knees and pulled Lisa with all the strength she could muster.
Lisa was slowly sipping out of consciousness. Her mouth moved but her words were faint and inaudible. “What the hell resulted in this?” Jane asked with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Lisa groaned and darkness closed in. Jane fidgeted, she could not lift her up. She sent Margaret for her phone and dialed the emergency line.
Alex walked towards his car. He hit the car repeatedly and screamed out loud. He suddenly flung the door open and ventured in.
He was restless and scampered around in the car. He looked down repeatedly at his bloody hands and fidgeted. He grunted repeatedly and tried to simmer down.
Margaret had taken the kids to school before the emergency van arrived.
Alex remained in his car and watched disgustingly as Lisa was being taken away.
He returned in to wash off his bloody hands. As he walked in he beheld the bloody mess on the floor of the sitting room. He regarded his hands and the bloody floor shamefully and began to clean off the mess.
Jane walked in with a mop and soapy water. She met Alex cleaning and turned to leave.
“I am sorry for what I did but you log into Lisa’s gmail and check things out yourself.” Alex said.
“Nothing justified your actions,” Jane responded and walked out.
Her heart skipped a beat, she wondered what could have made Alex spark up. He had never raised his hands against Lisa. She knew he slapped her occasionally but that was long gone.
Jane found Lisa’s phone. The screen was broken and it was not in good working condition but she managed to operate it
She groaned as she flipped through Lisa’s emails. The phone slipped from her hold and she covered her mouth in shock.
She could not hold her tears. She hit her chest repeatedly and blamed herself for the mess. She saw it coming but she was negligent.
Through the mails, she realized Lisa had paid some ransom already. She shivered as she remembered the day Lisa returned looking dirty and all.
Having seen the mails, Jane understood Alex’s plight. The pictures and videos were obnoxious and provocative enough to spark up madness but again, the grotesque image of Lisa’s battered face lingered in her head. She groaned, “What a fool! I warned her! I told her to investigate! She was humiliated because of you! She hid it for you!” Jane shouted into the empty room and wept like a baby.
With her pajamas still on, she made her way out of the house and hailed down a cab. She eased herself tiredly into the cab and headed down to the emergency center. The stress was taking its toll on her but she gave no damn.
Jane was led down to Lisa. Lisa had regained consciousness. She stared blankly at Jane. She uttered no word.
Jane sat by her bedside and wept bitterly, “I am sorry, I could have stopped this… but I warned you, I told you to investigate what happened that night.” Jane sniffled.
“Why did you hide the blackmail from me? Why?! Why did you have to pay!?” Jane yelled and cried harder. “I worked on a similar case previously. I wanted to bring it up with you but I could not… I know you wouldn’t welcome it…” Jane stammered. She hurriedly wiped up her tears and said, “you know what? No blame game. Just heal up and get better, I am sure Alex will come around. I won’t sit back. Not anymore.”
Lisa flicked her eyes shut. She doubted if Alex would ever get over it. She had never seen him out of control. He was like a deranged dog.
Alex watched the two through the window. He had followed Jane to the emergency unit. He did not fail to notice the pure hurt and pain in Jane’s expression. It tugged at his heart as he made his leave.
Alex drove down to a run down bar. He was in pain. He regretted his actions. He could have demanded an explanation but it all did not seem right. What explanation would justify what he had seen?
One thing that baffled him was Jane’s reaction. Having known her, he expected her to be mad at her friend but she was there cooing and crying over her.
He ordered more drinks and drank heavily.
******
Patrick picked up his phone. It had just beeped. He flipped it open and hoped it would be the expected message. He had deposited the amount Shaggy demanded and was yet to get a response.
Luckily, it was as expected. He clicked on the picture and almost dropped his phone as he stared at Jeff’s image. He blinked hard and fidgeted as he put a calI through to Shaggy.
“Hello Shaggy, it’s the investigator. I just saw the picture, are you sure this is the man we are looking for?”
“Trust me man, he was the one that took the lady. I saw him at the eatery where I work now.” Patrick hanged up and ran his fingers through his hairs.
Without thinking, he got his car keys and drove down to Clinton’s residence. He was unsure of how much he should reveal but he felt Mr Clinton should be the first to know.
“I have some information about Jeff,” he said to Cole as soon as he settled in.
“Oh! Finally, Let’s hear it,” Cole answered and waited eagerly.
“Jimmy Jeff is a fraudster and a bigger one than his father,” Patrick said.
“Don’t speak in parables,” Cole responded.
“l am yet to get details but it is what it is.”
“Is this a hunch or what? Nothing can be proven without evidence,” Cole said.
“I will surely bring you evidence.”
“Don’t tell me you drove down here just to feed me on your assertions.”
“They ain’t assertions, Mr Clinton Cole,” Patrick said bluntly.
“Alright, I await your evidence, till then please keep this away from my daughter.”
“Alright sir,” Patrick said and rose up to leave. He wanted to lay it bare before Cole but he changed his mind at the last moment. He could not reveal Lisa’s rape case to Cole.
Patrick put a call to one of his underlings. He needed to put a tail on Jeff.
*****
Jane returned to Alex’s residence for the night. A lot played on her mind. She was determined to go through the pictures and the videos for possible clues.
“Jane! Watch out!” Benny called out from within the compound. Jane was lost in thought and had strayed away from her path.
She recognized the voice immediately. She looked behind and greeted him formally. “Thank you,” she said.
“You are welcome,” Benny responded.
“I was told you checked on me at the hospital, thanks but you don’t…”
“No buts,” Benny interrupted and followed her in. He was fascinated as he watched her care for the kids.
“Good job, you would make a good mom after all… How is your health now? Ensure you watch it, you look all stressed out, I am afraid you might collapse anytime,” Benny warned.
“I will take that as a compliment,” Jane responded lightly.
“Please can you tell me what the hell happened here today? I heard boss..”
“Can you possibly narrow down where and who sent a mail through the mail address of the sender?” Jane interrupted.
“Well, it depends. We can track it if the mail address is registered with a phone number but trust me if the mail was used to commit a crime, the culprit would have taken necessary precautions to avoid detection… Why did you ask?” Benny asked.
“Lisa is presently laying in the hospital bed. Thank heavens Alex did not beat her to death. She was involved in a sexual scandal. Alex found out. He was so mad that he beat her black and blue,” Jane said.
“‘Sexual scandal?” Benny asked with a quirky brow. “Lisa isn’t that kind of a woman. There must be more to it,” Benny reasoned.
“She was raped and the rapist took pictures of her,”Jane responded and headed for her room.
“Did boss know about this?” Benny asked. “Jane shook her head and made her way out of the living room.
Benny tried reaching his boss but he didn’t pick up. He threw in the towel and began making his way home.
He was just by the door when Alex staggered in. “Boss!” Benny exclaimed and rushed to him. “This is too bad,” he muttered and led him in.
He realized it was useless to try to make a conversation, Alex was wasted.
Jane locked the door and settled down in her room. She brought out Lisa’s phone and flipped through the pictures. It was all carefully edited. “The culprit must be a pro,” she muttered and read through the text again and again.
She realized the tone and the style of the text sounded familiar. It was like the tone and the style of someone she was accustomed to. “Jeff?” She asked herself and smirked at her stupidity. “Impossible,” she said and shook her head vigorously.
Benny slept over at his boss’. When he woke up at dawn, Alex was gone. He searched for his car and remembered he did not come home with it the previous night.
He dialed his number but the phone rang out right on the sofa. Benny shrugged and got prepared for the day.
He wanted to speak more with Jane but shrugged off the idea. He had noticed Jane drew the line last night.
He also wanted to maintain the status quo. Moreover he knew she needed rest. She has a lot to deal with and it was obvious she was yet to fully recover.
Benny thought hard about his boss’ whereabouts. He wouldn’t forgive him if he gets caught by paparazzi while drinking away. He had committed a huge scandal by beating up his wife. He prayed the woman would not be bent on reporting the abuse. They had gone a long way to salvage the company. Any misconduct could crumble all they had done.
Jane approached the garage just as Benny was pulling out. He waited and informed her that Alex returned drunk for the night and had left even before he woke up.
“You should watch your health also. It’s way too early for you to be up already, you are just recovering,” he added.
“Thanks, I will keep that in mind . I just wanted to get down to Lisa, the doctor said she would be discharged today.”
“Oh great, hop in let me drive you down,” Benny offered. “Will you drive me back?” Jane asked.
“It depends on the timing. I have to get down to the company in time,” Benny responded.