YOU MESSED WITH THE WRONG GUY "Why does this case matter so much to you?" she had asked him. "I will let you know when we meet one of these days." She didn't want to be an alarmist but she felt strongly that something was awfully wrong somewhere. ***Caleb woke again and the undulating movement had ceased. Maybe they were now on land, he assumed. But he was feeling pressed and thirsty at the same time. He started to move his body violently. He could hear hushed voices from nearby and wanted to attract their attention. After what seemed like forever, someone tore open what looked like a door but was concealed with a blind and the brightness nearly blinded his eyes. He had gotten accustomed to the darkness. He blinked and tried to see who it was. The person was short and stoutly built, his face was covered with a mask and his head wrapped with a headgear. Caleb imagined he was sneering at him because he saw his mouth moving. He tried to speak but the only sound that came out wa
IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE Why would Pedro have him kidnapped and taken across the Caribbean Sea to heaven knows where? Then the guy's words kept ringing in his head. "Tell that to him when he sets his eyes on you." Wait! Was Pedro released from jail? He'd dread to be in the same room with him.Caleb lay on the floor trying to make sense of everything that had happened leading up to that moment. From when he was talking to the nurse at the hospital reception and felt something pricking his neck - the same side that the broken windscreen pierced him in Mumbai, to the time he woke up to realise he was in a boat, and the moment the short guy cut him with his penknife. He could still feel the sting, made worse now that his hands were not free to massage it. "How long have they been on the run?" he pondered. He had checked his pocket for his phone and wallet when he went to ease himself and, just as expected, there was nothing on him. His phone and wallet containing his valid work ID c
IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HIM... José took the bread out of the cupboard and fetched water in a glass from a running tap in the kitchen and carried it to the room. He met a motionless Caleb lying on the floor with his tongue sticking out of his mouth. He dropped the bread and glass of water on the floor and rushed over to squat at his side. "What are you doing, rich kid?" he slapped him on the shoulder. But Caleb didn't stir. He crossed his body to the other side and shook him in the head, he didn't respond still. "Listen, if this is a joke, cut the crap already. Wake up!" When he lifted his head from the floor, he found something black recoiling from the side of his neck where he had pierced him. He brought out his penknife and swatted it. The knife got stuck to its body. When he looked closely, behold, it was a snake. That's when José let out a scream to alert the others. A black snake sting was usually dangerous and he didn't know how long ago the guy had been bitten before he pa
CONTACTING THE POLICE Two days passed and Caleb still hadn't returned home and neither could he be reached on the phone. His grandfather had gone to the police station the following morning to lay a complaint, the police told him they could not officially declare a person missing until after 24 hours. It was already evening the third day and there was still no sign of Caleb. The police had assured him they would swing into action if he didn't return by the evening of the next day. So they were true to their word. The second day in the evening, they started making enquiries. By the third day when the police still couldn't establish his whereabouts, his family and friends had begun to panic. "Where was the last place he was seen?" the detective asked Abhi for the third time having earlier interrogated him on the other two previous occasions he accompanied Lord Dezani to the station. "I really don't know. We only talked via WhatsApp chat that afternoon," Abhi repeated to the police
FINDING A LEADThe inspector turned to his colleague when the call ended."What do you think?""I believe she's telling the truth.""So where do we check next?""Let's go to the hospital she was receiving treatment and interrogate her colleagues," Anderson suggested. "Maybe they heard something or know something.""You know, that's a brilliant idea, Juan," he patted his younger colleague on the shoulder. "If the young man in question rode off somewhere to go and see 'a friend', and the doctor implied we should do everything to find 'her friend', that can only mean one thing...""She's the friend he was going to see that night!" Juan completed the statement."Viola!" the inspector whistled with a snap of his finger.They got to the hospital and started looking around. That night when Caleb rode to the hospital on his power bike, he parked it under the canopy that serves as an extension of the hospital at the Accident and Emergency unit instead of the main parking lot. The reason was t
THE RANSOM CALL "I'm afraid, sir, we have reasons to believe that Caleb Dezani was kidnapped," Inspector Miguel said on the phone."Kidnapped!" Lord Dezani blurted from the other end. "How? By whom?" "That's what we cannot ascertain at this moment." "Who has my grandson? Who could have done this?" The old man kept rambling as though he was addressing the hoodlums themselves. The inspector and his colleague kept calm listening. They were used to this kind of reaction from the family members of kidnapped victims. But that didn't mean they were immune to their pain. "I assure you, sir, we will do everything within our powers to find those responsible...""Find my grandson first and foremost!" Lord Dezani said curtly."Of course, sir." When the old man didn't utter another word, the inspector said, "If we have any more lead regarding where he was taken, I won't hesitate to inform you." Then he added, "We also saw his bike parked at the hospital. If you would like for it to be broug
GIVE THEM THE MONEY "What have you done to him, please?" "Nothing yet. But if you don't cooperate with me, well, I can't tell you what the outcome might be." "Please tell me where he is." "Wrong request. You should rather ask what price it will take to see him again." "Oh my God!" Adriana yelped. "Is he being kidnapped?" "50 billion dollars!" José said and ended the call. Then switched off the phone. Fabian gave him a high-five. "That was brilliantly done," he beamed. José grinned. "I am a boss in my own right," he boasted. "Indeed you are," Fab agreed. *** Inside Lord Dezani's chambers, Abhi closed the door and kept the tray containing the tea and cookies on the mini-dining table. Lord Dezani was sitting with his back leaning against the soft sofa in the sitting room. "I believe I don't need to explain the reason I couldn't talk freely back there." Abhi nodded, "I understand, sir." "And I also like to think I can trust you." "With my life," he swore. That was the firs
I CAN HELP YOU IF..."You can't do that, sir. It's outrageous," Abhi tried to reason with Lord Dezani after the officers left. "What is outrageous is having my grandson held prisoner in heaven knows where," came his stubborn reply. "But we can at least get the police involved," he insisted. "Besides, we don't even know who these people are." "Which is why I asked you to do what I told you inside my bedroom." Abhi exhaled, he knew at this point he couldn't talk the old man into changing his mind. 50 billion dollars might not be too much money for the wealthy Dezani, but agreeing easily would send the wrong signal to these hoodlums. It would embolden them to do more or worse. He was returning to the guestroom to spend the night and his mind was racing like a tsunami. The following morning, he left for work and when it was an hour to lunchtime, he told Sofia he needed to run an errand for the boss. She didn't argue probably thinking he was referring to Caleb. No one in the company
THE ENDCaleb went to DeZ Cosmetics the next day with some men from the ministry to reopen the place. He still remembered a few of the staff there and began to call them one by one.Mr Apollo, the company's supervisor, was the first person he called. "Hello Mr Apollo, this is Caleb. Caleb Dezani. I'm calling from DeZ Cosmetics and I am in the office right now. Do you mind reporting to work?"The man grunted in disbelief. "But the company was closed down two days ago. And you no longer work there. Last I asked, I was told you took over as the CEO of another company." Caleb laughed. "Well, that last part is true. However, the company was under dispute and has now been resolved. I have reclaimed it as the rightful CEO and want you to return to work. Please while coming, do well to call others to report to work too. I shall be waiting at the reception hall."But Mr Apollo didn't call anyone until he got to the company and found out for himself that the place was indeed reopened. It was a
THE TRUTH IS OUT It felt like a nightmare as the black police Hilux which carried Madam Rebecca drove into the ministry. Her heart was thumping in her chest. She didn't know what to expect. She was ushered into the office by the officers who brought her with specific instructions from the inspector. Meanwhile, Caleb hadn't joined them. When the inspector asked whether he was going to the ministry from the station, he replied that he wanted his grandfather to be present during the meeting. "I need to go and pick him up at home." The two men shook hands, "Well, whatever happens, do not hesitate to ring me." "Thank you so much, Inspector. I hope we shall be able to meet and have that drink soon." The man laughed. "I will count the hours till I hear from you. Good luck!" he added. Caleb drove back home and lord Diego joined him to the ministry. Abhi couldn't follow because he had already left for work. But his stepmother, Leah, insisted on being a part of it. Caleb obliged her.
The FINAL NAIL The next man to interrogate him was the meanest of them. His face was cold and unfeeling."Why did you abandon your textile business?""I didn't abandon it.""Excuse me?""I did not abandon the business. I was defrauded and the business collapsed." "That means you went bankrupt after that?" He didn't answer. "Please can you speak up so the next person can take over?" "Not really. I had people who pulled resources together to loan me the capital I needed to rebuild my business." "And yet you didn't. Or did you?" Again he swallowed hard. "Okay, let me rephrase the question. As a businessman who was into textile, after you were defrauded and people loaned you money, did you rebuild your textile business?" "No." "So what did you do? "I went into partnership with someone in another line of business." "And what business was that?" "Cosmetics. I went into cosmetics." "Good. That will be all from me."By the time the rest of the members had interrogated him, El-Za
MAKING CONCESSIONEl-Zaki woke up for the third time since he was shot and realised he was in a different atmosphere.This new place smelled of drugs and drip water. "Where am I?" he asked no one in particular. A male nurse who was attached to him was sitting by a desk writing. He looked up and said, "You are in an infirmary. You were shot but now recovering." El-Zaki tried to look around and the effort made his head hurt. "Who shot me and which infirmary is this?" The nurse was instructed not to answer any questions past introducing himself and offering medical care. "I'm sorry sir but you shouldn't be concerned about that. You are responding well to treatment and your wound is drying up faster than expected. Please tell me if you feel any pain or want anything." The man stubbornly tried to sit up and felt a sharp pain on his side." Oh gosh! My rib!" he grunted. "Lie still," the nurse advised. He looked at his watch and said, "It's almost time for your midnight draught. It will
SLIPPING AWAYIt was Mr Ramirez calling back Caleb to tell him the men at the checkpoint said the truck was merely carrying items for charity.But Caleb knew better than to buy that lie. He remembered his own travel adventure with Pedro. How he had to hide at the bottom of Grandpa Carlos' truck loaded with cow refuse and feed for hours until they got to Woodward Valley from Greenville."But did they offload the entire truck to search?" he probed."I doubt that they did." "Okay. You should get to your hotel and remain inside. I just got info that the police team from yesterday may be visiting Cholula this afternoon." "Is that right?" "So I heard. Or better still, do not go to any hotel. Find somewhere else to lodge until you hear from me again." "But where else is safer than a hotel?" he asked feeling desperate. "I know a place. It's an old farmhouse occupied by an old couple. Fabian's grandparents." "Oh ho! Don't tell me this was your grand plan all along to make your friend see
DISCOVEREDIt was lunchtime and Caleb realised he was starving. All he had eaten the previous day was toasted bread and salad prepared by Hannah and Bella. Then in the afternoon, he didn't have time to eat as he spent it trying to help them settle down at the new place he got for them. Later that evening, he was called to be at Primo Palace and all he took was a bottle of the most expensive wine which he shared with Mr Ramirez. And later on in the night, he drank French wine as they talked.He felt his stomach growling in protest. Even Abhi heard it from his office and teased him. "When Madam Leah was begging you to have breakfast at home you said food was the least of your worries. Now the worms can't bear it anymore that they want to cause a volcanic eruption in your stomach." Caleb didn't know when he let out a burst of laughter. "You're crazy, man!" "I swear I've been so busy that I can't wait for all of this to be over so I can take a month-long vacation." "Sure. You will ne
SHOWING UPCaleb called the inspector of police, and he promptly answered. "To what do I owe this personal call?" he said cheerfully. "To a long-lasting friendship of mutual interests," he replied. Then he added, "I was hoping we could hang out maybe later in the day. What do you think?" "Oh, that would be wonderful. Let's make it eight o'clock this evening." "That's fine by me," Caleb consented. "What venue?" the Inspector asked. "FanFood Eatery." "I shall be there," the inspector promised and the call quickly ended. A notification dropped in Caleb's phone. He checked it was a text message. He hastily read through because he was behind the wheel. A delivery truck just turned up in the El-Zaki mansion. It has spent about 25 minutes inside the premises." The message read. Caleb immediately sensed something sinister. He pulled over and replied to the informant. "Have it followed and let me know its destination." The info made him feel a bit troubled. But he shrugged it off an
DOOMSDAY Everyone's attention was turned in the direction of the intruders. "Gentlemen, how may we help you?" the lady questioned. "It's more about how we may help you," Caleb responded. Barrister Crusoe kept his face down avoiding Hart's gaze. The director spoke next. "Yes, let's hear you out." "Good day, lady and gentlemen. My name is Caleb Dezani of Dezani Cosmetics," he introduced himself. The director narrowed his furrow, and the three men seated to the right of the lady gasped. The other three including the lady shone their eyes in disbelief. "You mean you're the CEO of Dezani Cosmetics!" "That's correct," Caleb said suppressing a grin at their dramatic expressions. The director went on. "How may we help you? I mean you already said it's you who wants to help us, so please, to what do we owe this August visit?" "Well, I was reliably informed that you were asking to see the original documents of DeZ Cosmetics." "Dez Cosmetics isn't the same as Dezani Cosmetics, am I
DETAINEDHart drove with bated breath heading to the ministry. He kept trying to reach his father to find out whether he was able to trace barrister Crusoe but his line remained unreachable.It was almost ten o'clock and his line wasn't still connecting. None of the bodyguards that went out with him had returned home last night. It was as if there was a conspiracy amongst them to abandon the mansion the moment their boss went incommunicado. Everyone was just acting strangely - including his mother. She had suddenly packed her bags after his father left the house telling him she was going on an emergency business trip but that she would call to inform him when to join her. "Where is this business conference, seminar, or whatever taking place?" "We'd be touring round different countries starting from Portugal. Then we'd move to Brazil and so on.""All within South America?" Hart had enquired. But she didn't give a definite answer. Surprisingly, not too long after she left for the ai