VOILA!"What is this all about?" Liliana queried as Caleb bounced into his office. She was still there waiting to find out what the shocking news was about which made his phone slip out of his grasp."You have to go home now Liliana. I'm having a very surprising day and I need to gather my thoughts together to know how best to handle things."She opened her mouth to say something but had a change of heart. "Right, Caleb. I shall be at my old apartment if you wish to talk." Liliana picked up her handbag and headed for the dog. Then paused but without turning back. She said, "You have to address what happened today in this office with members of your staff. There have been whispers and murmurings."Having said that, she gently opened the door and shut it.Outside the afternoon sun was high as Liliana made her way to her car. She saw two men holding the same lady that caused the commotion in Caleb's office."Get moving or else we would have to use force," one of them was saying."Let go
ON THE RUN "Before I go, what findings did you make from your investigations into the murder of the barrister?" Caleb asked the deputy inspector. The man cleared his throat and looked around. "We cannot have this discussion here. Let's go somewhere private and talk." Caleb nodded. The deputy inspector pointed to Mia still on her knees sobbing and asked, "What about her?"Caleb looked at her for a while and remembered the morning he was arrested on the orders of her boyfriend; his former boss, shoved into the back of the police van like a condemned criminal after being humiliated in front of his colleagues and eventually taken to the station. And all for what? For breaking the mug he went to serve Hart tea in his office. It wasn't like he was being careless. The tray had slipped out of his hands because of the shock of seeing her with Hart romancing and kissing each other. Caleb hissed silently and swallowed hard. The memory of the way Mia scrunched her nose when she saw him comi
MUDDLED UPCaleb saw the nuzzle of the gun aimed in their direction and was quick enough to go down on one knee. The bullet flew out with a quick flash like lightning and he shut his eyes.It wasn't until he heard deputy inspector John groaning that he knew someone was hurt. The minimart erupted into a frenzy of commotion: People running helter-skelter seeking safety. A woman flung her baby into a heap of teddies and the child wailed loudly. "Get him!" a voice shouted as the gunman attempted to shoot again. Caleb had now lain on the floor with his face kept down. He saw from the corner of his eye that Mr John was struggling to move. But nothing prepared him for what happened next. Two gunshots followed by a man's agonising cry rent the air. The D. I. P had shot someone with his gun. Before the voice giving the order for the shooter to be restrained realised what was happening, the man was writhing in a pool of blood. A uniformed man squatted by the fallen man and touched his pul
THE LONG WAIT"It seems there's something you're not telling me," observed Caleb. "Why does the shooter believe you killed your wife?" Deputy Inspector John turned his face away from Caleb. He was going back in time. It was the morning of the supposed accident. Elizabeth, his ex-wife, had booked an appointment with her dentist for a check-up; he was reliably informed. "She shall be taking the kids alongside," his informant had tipped him off. "But what about her new husband?" "He is on a business trip to New Orleans." Deputy Inspector John knew it was the perfect opportunity to execute his long-awaited plan for revenge. So the night before that day, he disguised himself as a mechanic and visited Elizabeth's apartment. Elizabeth used to own a watchdog but he had made sure the dog's food was drugged by his informant. The poor dog slept all through the night. When he succeeded in gaining entry, he went into her garage and began to work on the brakes of the car. He dismantled it and
REUNIONCaleb rushed to the door to catch a glimpse of who the mysterious visitor was, but she had disappeared like she was never even there. He looked to his left and right, only a nurse carrying a tray of medication was coming from the direction of the female ward which was on the other wing.He sighed and turned to go back inside, and that's when he heard a familiar voice saying, "Please take me to the open field by the cafeteria, I need some fresh air."Caleb paused right there. He could recognise that voice anywhere.Without going back inside to let the D. I P know he was stepping outside, he followed the direction of the voice.Bella El-Zaki was seeing daylight for the first time in ten days. She was advised to remain bedridden in the ward until she complained to her doctor that she was getting depressed from not being able to talk on the phone or allowed to go outside. "The ward attendant on duty will assist you to go outside when the sun comes up," the female doctor gently s
THE UNSEEN MOVEMiguel El-Zaki had been trying to make contacts with his men; at least the few ones who were still loyal to him."I am in deep trouble," he said when he arrived at the hotel where he asked them to meet and wait for him. "My wife alongside my son took an important document out of my safe while I was hospitalized and..." his voice broke off."The mistake was in not telling us you went under the knife," one of the three men at the meeting began."Yes that's true," the second man concurred. "Even Mr Amos Adelio defected as a result of you keeping everybody in the dark." It was the third man that contributed. They were all greatly displeased. "You could have told one of us at least. And someone would have kept an eye on your properties." "My lawyer, barrister Alfred Crusoe, was handling that well enough before I left," El-Zaki said in his defence. "Well, now see how well he did the job!" It was a sarcastic remark from the second man. But even El-Zaki could not bring h
OUT OF REACH After reading the letter from Hannah - which was masterminded by Caleb, El-Zaki stood up and entered into his private chambers, and shut the door.He was visibly shaken. And trying to wrap his head around the content of the letter made him have a migraine."Bella is my biological daughter?!" It was more of a statement than it was a question. He began to pace about with a glass of whiskey in his hand. As he moved, he gulped down the content and put the empty glass on the table. Then clasping his hands together, he started thinking of what to do next. "How do I tackle this so-called Hannah?" On one hand, his guts told him to call her bluff and ignore her. But on the other hand, his mind was telling him there was an element of truth in what she said. And he could not pretend that that night never happened. How could he when the baby's photos bore too close a resemblance to his own baby pictures? The full hair, pointed nose, and deep-searching eyes. How could he have mis
CHAINS OF REACTION Bella made her way to the car park where Caleb was waiting to take her from the hospital to her mother's place."I'm never going back to that mansion," she declared with determination in her voice. "Hmm. You have a new family now, and they will love you," added Caleb as he started the ignition. None of them spoke another word until they got to a T-junction: one was leading towards the El-Zaki mansion while the other led downtown and to the suburbs. "Do you know which way to follow?" Bella asked him. "I think it's this way," he pointed to the road on his right, "according to what Google map is saying." Bella who was sitting in front of the car looked out the window at Caleb's side and stifled a smile."What?" He looked out too to see what was fascinating to her but couldn't spot anything of interest."This!" she made a gesture with her hand, mimicking his.Caleb looked about him wondering what she was implying."You have that funny look on your face but I don