Episode 43
<>Val’s side of the story continues
‘’I guess I should be going now. You know I can’t spend the night here with you guys’’ I softly said to Clara as we watched over Vivian who was peacefully sleeping like a baby. The doctor really did a pretty good job on her and had equally assured us that she would be okay to go home the next morning.
‘’ I guess I have a long night of watching over my cousin all alone. Who could have imagined things ending this way today? I’m really still confused about the whole thing. Many
things don’t add up’’ she breathed while I softly embraced her.
‘’early tomorrow, I will head back to the hotel to talk to the manager. I will try to get the CCTV footage of the bar from him, with that I can check out what really happened’’ I assured her,.
‘’what if they don’t have it?’’ she asked curiously, bringing up her face to meet my gaze.
‘’come on don’t be ridiculous’’ I replied with a smile.
‘’ok very well, I will wait for your call tomorrow. Good night dearie and be careful’’ she added, and pecked me.
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I cautiously headed back to my house with plans on how to follow up with the case. I had showed up from the village that fateful day on Vivian’s invitation and was never prepared for the turnout of events.
I couldn’t go back to the village that evening because it was already very late at night when I left the hospital and I equally knew with the case at hand that my vacation there was definitely over.
As I got to my apartment that night I couldn’t help but inspect my surroundings because I knew whoever that drugged the poor girl was still very much around following things up. I equally knew my own life could be in danger but only hoped for the best as I whistled a song. and headed into my apartment.
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The next morning I headed back to the hotel to talk to a visibly surprised manager who nervously listened to my
story without interruption.
‘’I really do sympathize with the poor lady but I can assure you that neither the bartender nor any of my staff was responsible for her condition. We run background checks before employing anybody and I can vouch for them. Luckily the bartender in question works two shifts and he’s at the hotel already, I will send for him right away and equally get the CCTV records for the previous day for you to see’’ he replied politely, grabbed his office phone and summoned the bartender who appeared within two minutes. ‘’this young man here is a DSS officer and he’s here concerning the lady that collapsed at the toilet yesterday. You served her drinks right?’’ he asked the young man who was probably in his early twenties.
‘’yes sir I served her like every other customer. She didn’t drink much. I was really surprised when I heard she fell at the toilet. My first thought when I heard the news was that probably her head couldn’t take the drinks she took which weren’t much in the first place’’ he nervously replied. ‘’fine, I will collect your name and phone number from the manager and get back to you if I still need you for more questioning. You can go now’’ I said to him while he heaved a sigh of relief, smiled and headed out of the office.
‘’so now I will be needing the CCTV record you promised’’ I said to the manager who smiled and stood up.
‘’I will be back shortly with it. Let me go get it at the security department’’ he breathed while I nodded. Definitely with it I could see what really happened at the bar the previous evening.
<>Clara’s side of the story continues from the first scene
It really was a very long and uncomfortable night for me as I watched over Vivian. Of course I could have easily assigned someone to be with her and gone home to sleep but I didn’t do it because I wanted her to feel respected and appreciated.
Yes I must confess it really took me a whole lot to be with her till morning. I wasn’t used to spending the night in such an uncomfortable small room. In fact I wasn’t even sure of making it to the next morning but I luckily did. My mum on her own part kind of disturbed all night with her calls. ‘’where am i?, what happened?’’ Vivian woke up the next morning asking like a terrified child. I smiled and held her hands.
‘’I believe someone got to you at the hotel and got drugs into your system. We still don’t know how it happened’’ I informed her slowly while she closed her eyes.
‘’I remember nothing. All I remember is having few drinks at the bar as I waited for you and Val to finish with your romance’’ she managed to mutter while I rolled my eyes as the memories of what we did the previous day played back in my head.
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Two hours later we were back in the house to face my mum who was as curious as ever. I had to leave Vivian in her room to rest further while mum and I went into my room to talk. For the first time, I opened up to her, telling her everything and hiding nothing. I had no choice than to tell her everything myself because I knew she would still find
out if I hid my story. However I couldn’t help but smile inside as I noticed the different expressions her face gave out as I narrated everything to her, including my rekindled relationship with val. Seriously I didn’t know what got over me that gave me the mind to open up to her as if we were mates.
‘’so you see mum, there is no doubt Charles is behind everything. I won’t marry him anymore. He’s too tricky. He has a bad heart. He’s a chameleon’’ I concluded seriously while my old lady grabbed a bottle of water which was on my table, drank it and breathed deeply.
‘’my ears are filled up believe me. Dear Lord, you children of nowadays is something else. Gosh I feel so terrible and disgusted’’ she muttered with a frown.
‘’mum let’s talk about the current issue at hand please. How do I deal with Charles?. I need your help. I need your support’’ I asked seriously.
‘’you should first ask yourself if all Vivian told you was the truth in the first place?, even according to your story she had and still has a thing for your val. Are you really sure she told you the truth?. Let’s not sacrifice Charles yet till we confront him. He called me yesterday evening, full of excitement that he finally secured the ministry of works deal he has been fighting for his father. He equally hinted of making full payment for a house he got close to ours for your sake. Do you think such a guy is capable of doing all you accused him of?’’ mum asked while I drew back in despair. I couldn’t help but feel that I made a mistake telling her the whole story.
‘’Anyway first thing first, since Charles will be showing up either today or tomorrow we will confront him together and decide afterwards. Do you agree??’’ she asked while I swallowed hard and nodded. Deep down I felt very uncomfortable.
How do I get to catch him red handed??
To be continued
Clara the state governor’s daughter