CERTIFIED THIEF

MISSING GROOM

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“You shouldn’t be late for the airport,” Maverick said softly. He was inside the sitting room, in the company of Sophie and some friends. Sophie gazed at Maverick and nodded her head. She was about to stand up from the couch when her phone rang. She quickly glanced through the screen of her phone, it was her bosom friend. She picked up the call and they started discussing. “Alright. We will join you girls soon.” These were Sophie’s words before she hung up the call.

“I guess that’s Remi?”

“Yeah. They are already at the airport,” Sophie said. She glanced through her wrist watch. “It’s 6:30 am already and our flight is 7am. Ladies, we need to go now.”

    The ladies nodded their heads and stood up from the couches. They held their luggage and began to move out of the house one at a time. When Maverick and Sophie remained inside the sitting room, Maverick said he would join them in Colorado.

“Ensure you don’t embark on a night journey,” Sophie said.

“I won’t. Have a wonderful flight,” Maverick said, and kissed Sophie. Sophie quickly clutched her luggage and walked in the direction of the door. As soon as Sophie left the sitting room, Maverick took out his phone and dialed Miles' number. The network was good, so he could hear Miles clearly as they talked. He told Miles to join the bus that would convey the well-wishers to the train station and Miles acceded to Maverick’s wish wholeheartedly. “Thank you very much. I owe you a lot,” Maverick said, and cut the call.

    Maverick got up from the couch. He locked the windows one at a time and ensured that the curtains were well fixed. He turned off the bulbs and the ventilators. When he was sure that the house was safe, he clutched his luggage and walked out.

    He was about to enter his car when his phone rang. He removed the phone from his pocket and glanced through the phone’s screen. It was the managing director of his workplace. They exchanged pleasantries over the phone. The managing director said he wouldn’t be able to make it to Colorado. He stated his reasons. “Alright, sir. Take good care of yourself.” That was all Maverick could say before he cut the call. He hopped into the car and drove the car away gently.

“I don’t know why the managing director is too pompous,” Maverick said to relieve himself after he had been thinking about what the managing director told him before he started his journey.

    When Maverick got to the front of Royal restaurant, he parked the car. Maverick would always visit Royal restaurant before going to work or after work in order to eat. He had developed a love for the restaurant that he couldn’t do without visiting the restaurant in a day.

    When he got inside the restaurant, he sat down on a plastic chair. It was a round table kind of arrangement inside the restaurant. He ordered fried rice and chicken and one of the carhops served him.

    He ensured he ate every grain of rice inside the plate because he needed to fortify himself for the long journey ahead. As soon as he emptied his plate, he drank a little water and paid for the service rendered by the restaurant. He stood up gently and walked in the direction of the entryway, clutching his car key. He hopped into the car and drove the car away.

   Miles was in the company of fifteen other men. The men were all Maverick’s friends, though some of them were Maverick's colleagues at his place of work. After they had waited for Maverick and didn’t see him, they became worried. Miles called Maverick’s phone number several times, but it didn’t go through.

    “We can’t keep standing here and waiting for our groom. We will start our journey once the train arrives. The groom will definitely sort things out for himself. Let’s hope he will be fine,” Miles said when he saw worry written on the men's faces.

    When the train arrived, the men joined the other travelers and the journey to Colorado started.

    Cameron and his family members were watching films when they heard the sounds of cars. “That must be our guests,” Naomi said. She stood up from the couch and peeped through the window. She could see some ladies, clutching luggage and walking in the direction of the door. “They have arrived!” she screamed, and caught Cameron’s and Bella’s attention. Bella quickly stood up and walked in the direction of the door.

“Welcome home!” Naomi said as soon as she opened the door. The ladies smiled and waved at mother and daughter. Sophie was the happiest, she hugged Bella and Naomi simultaneously. Naomi ushered the ladies to the sitting room. She told them to sit down and feel comfortable.

    Cameron was very happy to see Sophie and her friends. He greeted the ladies and they replied to her. Bella ensured that she took all the luggage away. When she was done, she walked into the sitting room and she could sense the joy that had rented the atmosphere. She quickly sat down in between her parents.

“You must be famished by now. The table is set. All you need to do now is to follow me at back,” Naomi said after they had been discussing for minutes. Everyone stood up from the couches and they walked in the direction of the dining room as Naomi took the lead.

    When everyone had gone to bed in the night, Cameron picked up a magazine and walked in the direction of the sitting room. He sat down and began to flip the pages of the magazine. He was on page five when his phone rang. He wondered why Milo would call him in the night. He picked up the call and greeted Milo with a low tune. Milo told him that the other men had arrived, but Maverick was nowhere to be found. It was then that Cameron knew there was a serious case at hand.

“The last time you called me, you said they were already on their way to Colorado,” Cameron said and stood up from the couch. He had suddenly developed backache.

“Yeah, that’s what his friend told me. They have arrived, but my son is not with them.”

“They must provide our son!” Cameron screamed. Naomi could hear her husband’s voice clearly. She quickly hopped out of the room. “I will be in your house first thing tomorrow morning.” These were Cameron’s words before he cut the call.

    Naomi could see sadness written on Cameron’s face. When she questioned Cameron, Cameron told her what happened and she became sad. All through the night, the couple couldn’t sleep. Their eyes were opened as if they were vigilantes.

    In the morning, when others were still in bed, they quickly hopped into the car. Cameron was the driver. The car moved at speed, but Cameron ensured that he obeyed road signs and symbols.

    When they got to Milo's house, they saw him sitting under the Marquee. A young man was sitting beside him. They quickly walked in their direction. It was a three-sitter chair, so Miles had to stand up for Naomi to sit down. Naomi thanked him wholeheartedly.

    Cameron was the first to start the conversation. “I hope our son has arrived?” he said. Milo’s reply dropped on him like a bombshell. He wondered what could be delaying Maverick.

“What shall we do now? The wedding is tomorrow” Naomi finally said with a quavering voice after she had been silent.

“You shouldn’t cry, Naomi. Prayers will sort things out for us,” Milo preached.

    Cameron asked Miles some questions and Miles replied to him the best way he could. He took out his phone and dialed Maverick’s phone number, but it wasn’t reachable.

    They were in the middle of a discussion when Charlie walked up to them. She greeted them and told them that the table was set. Milo yelled at her. Charlie had no option than to leave.

    Cameron suggested that they should let the police be aware, but Milo was against the suggestion. He gave his reasons and Cameron nodded his head.

“We should be optimistic now, everything will be fine. We have to attend to our guests at home,” Cameron said.

“Alright. Send my regards to them all,” Milo said with a low tune. He walked the couple to where their car was parked. He bid them farewell and Cameron drove the car away.

    When they got home, they could see the guests sitting on different couches in the living room. They had been discussing before the couple entered. Sophie wondered where her parents had gone to. “Dad, mum, I hope all is well? Where are you coming from?” she said.

“So you've not heard?” Cameron said and caught the attention of all the ladies. He told them that the groom was missing and their countenances changed. Sophie said she had been trying Maverick’s phone number since the previous day, but it wasn’t going through. She said all her thought was that Maverick switched off his phone because he didn’t want anyone to disturb him.

“I think we should support Maverick with prayers. That’s the only help we can offer to him now,” Naomi said, and everyone acceded to her point.

    They stood up from the couches and held one another’s hands. They sang songs of praise before Naomi led them in prayers. She raised different prayer points and everyone prayed as if they had never prayed before. Naomi opened her eyes from time to time to see if others were praying.

    She rounded up the prayers and ordered everyone to sit down. She asked whether the guests had eaten. The guests said they wouldn’t eat until Maverick arrived.

“C’mon, ladies. You don’t have to starve yourselves. You have prayed for Maverick. I am sure he will arrive sooner or later.” These were Naomi’s words before her phone rang. She glanced through her phone's screen and saw a strange number.