Sequence 57
*****
When they got home later that night, Mattie was exhausted, she felt like she had been hit by a truck. Her emotions were running wild, she was nervous & her heart was racing.
She released her breath slowly wishing her heart would stop its wild erratic pace.
‘Are you okay?’ Chard worriedly asked, she wasn’t looking good at all.
‘I want to take a bath before I can rest,’ she said ‘I will also get some rest,’ Maya yawned loudly
‘You really need to rest I have put you through so much trouble today.’
‘Don’t worry about us,’ she smiled, ‘We are stronger than you can ever imagine.’ She smiled back at her, ‘Thank you for everything.’ ‘You are welcome.’
Mattie was so touched by Maya’s kind heart, Maya had left her home to come and be with her- offering her help and support. She would never forget this act of generosity.
‘Give me a few minutes I will put fresh sheets on the bed in the guest room.’ Maya nodded.
Mattie returned a few minutes later and lead her upstairs and into the guest room. ‘Thank you.’
‘You are welcome.’
She stepped out of the room and closed it gently behind her back.
‘Let’s go and get some rest,’ she told Chard
He nodded and walked closely behind her into the bedroom.
‘I will just go in there and take a bath,’ she said
‘Sure.’
She walked into the bathroom, turned the shower on and waited for the water to heat up. Then she undressed and climbed in letting the hot water wash away the stress from the day.
When she was done, she stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and went back to the bedroom. When she stepped out, she saw that Chard was lying on her bed wearing nothing but his boxers. She tried not to act surprised. It’s not like she had never seen him naked before. But the sight still startled her a little, this was weird. She dropped her towel and quickly dressed into her purple night dress. When she turned, his eyes gazed into her so intently. She had to turn away.
‘Are you okay with me sleeping in your bed?’ He asked, ‘I can sleep on the couch in the living room.’
She managed a weak smile, ‘It’s okay.’
‘You are sure?’
‘Yes.’ she nodded her head.
She took a deep breath and walked towards the bed then she crawled under the covers.
He rose to his feet, ‘I will take a quick shower too.’ ‘Okay.’
Mattie tried to sleep but her mind whirled, she tried to make herself relax but how she could she with everything that was happening around her.
She closed her eyes and willed her terrible thoughts away. She managed to doze for a while but then she had a dream about Trinny- an awful dream so she woke up startled.
‘Trinity where are you? Have you eaten? Are you warm enough? Are you sleeping on clean beddings?’ The questions ran through her mind.
After his bath, Chard dashed from the bathroom to the bed and slipped under the covers next to Mattie. She shuddered at the feel of his skin she couldn’t handle his bare arms pressing hers.
‘Still awake?’ he whispered
‘I can’t sleep Chard. I am worried about Trinny, what if…..,’
He didn’t allow her to finish her sentence, ‘Come here,’ he said
She moved closer to him, he guided her head to lie on his chest. She draped her arms across his waist and listened to the steady beating of his heart.
‘Trinny is going to be okay, I swear on my father’s grave I will find her.’ ‘Okay,’ she said softly
A long silence settled between them, she could feel the rise and fall of his chest as his breathing settled into sleep.
She closed her eyes too and tried to sleep.
******
At four Mattie jerked away to the sound of her ringing phone, easing out of bed, she tiptoed to where her phone was.
‘Hello!’
‘Mattie Moonga? A scratchy voice which was obviously being edited spoke on the other end of the line.
‘This is she,’ she responded
‘Well! Well! Well! I finally get to speak to you, beautiful voice if I must say,’ he chuckled
‘Who are you?’ she asked anxiously
‘I am your worst nightmare,’ he laughed
‘I am not in the mood for jokes I am going to hang up now if you don’t tell me who you are.’
‘Not so fast girly, we have your little brat here with us,’ he said ‘Trinity!’ she said her heart instantly beating faster than normal. ‘Yes.’
‘What have you done to my daughter? Where is she? You will pay for taking her,’ she cried.
‘If I were you, I would shut up and listen to what I have to tell you.’ ‘You bastard!’ she yelled
‘Do you want to see you daughter or not?’ ‘Of course I do.’
‘Then shut the f**k up.’
“Mattie who are you talking to?’ Chard sleepily asked
She signaled for him to keep quiet and put the phone on loud speaker.
‘My men and i were working with Thomas and we have Trinity here with us. Now that our boss is dead, I have taken over this deal,’ he said ‘What do you want?’
‘Good question.’
‘Listen and listen carefully,’ he said.
She remained silent.
‘In exchange for your beautiful daughter’s life we want hundred thousand kwacha as ransom.’
Mattie gasped and asked worriedly,’ Hundred Thousand?’
‘You heard me right.’ You have about fifteen hours to get us that money or you are childless.’
‘How am I supposed to get that kind of money in less than 24 hours?’ Mattie began to cry
‘I don’t care how you get that money but I need it,’ he said, his voice cold and harsh.
‘Is my child still alive?’
‘That’s for me to know and for you to find out.’ ‘Please let me talk to her.’
‘You don’t call the shots here, I do.’
‘Please,’ she pleaded.
‘I will call you back in a few hours when she is awake and then you can talk to her.’
‘Thank you.’
‘In the mean time start looking for the money and don’t you dare involve the police,’ he said and the line went dead.
‘A hundred Thousand kwacha ransom and he wants it by 19:00 tomorrow afternoon,’ she trembled.
‘Shhh,’ he held her in his arms as she broke down in tears, she was shaking. ‘Babe, listen to me,’ he said
‘How will I get that money by 19:00 hours, they are gonna kill my baby Chard,’ her voice cracked.
‘Listen to me please.’
She sniffed and kept quiet.
‘The money is not a problem, I will get it for you and these people need to be caught and dealt with.’
‘Please don’t call the police,’ she pleaded
‘I have some friends working on this case, they are private investigators and I hired them specifically for this. Let’s work with them.’ ‘No I am scared.’
‘Trust me.’
She nodded her head.
‘I will call them just about now and they will advice on what we should do next. I swear on my father’s grave, I will get Trinny back even if it’s the last thing I do.’
****
‘A hundred thousand?’ Mark asked his wide open ‘Yes,’ Sam responded
‘You think she will find that money by 19:00?’
‘She will find the money, she is desperate and I know she will do anything to have the child back.’
‘She will find the money,’ X said sipping from his bottle of beer, ‘From what I have gathered, she is dating some millionaire and I am sure he will come through for her.’
‘Great,’ Mark responded
‘So all we have to do now is to be alert, we need to get our things ready. As soon as we get the money, we are off.’
‘Don’t you think she will call the police?’ Mark asked
‘And risk losing her child?’ asked Sam. ‘She wouldn’t be that stupid, trust me.’ ‘Okay.’
‘Relax Mark, everything is gonna play out safe in the end. We have dealt with so many cases of this nature. She will have her child back and we will have our cash.’
‘Okay.’
*******
TBC
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The Clock is Ticking
Ella