MISSING PIECE (19)

9p.m……..Few days later. ..

“The kids asleep?”, Jacinta asked.

“Yes. Welcome back. How was church?”

“Great! You didn’t come as promised”, she asked, pulling off her shoes.

“No. I finished what I was doing very late at my mother’s”, Armstrong explained.

“Okay. I need a hot bath now. I’ll be with you shortly”, she said, dragging her feet into the room.

Her phone rang inside her bag. “Your phone is ringing”, he called out.

“Please, help me take it”, she shouted, careful not to wake her children.

He reached out for the bag. The call stopped and continued again. He held out the phone. Sweet. What kind of name was that? 

“Hello?”
********

“It’s really sad that such a promising young man would face such. I wonder why boss won’t listen to us. He is innocent”, Effiong commented during their break at work. Sunday had explained to them what Armstrong was facing.

“Indeed! He was so kind to everyone, always willing to listen”, Peter concurred. He motioned for them to draw closer.

“It’s obvious the perpetrators are still in the company because money still goes missing. Boss does not pay our salaries as regular as before and I heard some are planning on resigning. We know he is a good man, and so is Mr Armstrong. I say we fish them out.”

“Your idea is good, but how can we do what even the police have not been able to crack?”, Sunday asked.

“I support it too. You know I’m also a suspect now since Mr Agbo left and I became the one in charge. I have to report every week to the police station. It’s very embarrassing”, Effiong said.

“So your point?”

“Let’s investigate everyone discreetly, keep our eyes and ears to the ground. Then we’ll know who’s worth it to give all the information we gather. I mean, the police”, Peter strategized.

“Agreed. For one, I suspect that rascal, Olumide, Mr Chris and some others”, Effiong began.

“No. Leave Chris out of this. He is Mr Armstrong’s friend. He won’t do anything to implicate his friend. Olumide is the boss’ brother, not a staff”, Sunday reasoned.

“In this investigation, no sentiments. No one can be trusted”, Effiong said.

“All right. Let the game begin. Please, be careful”, Peter said, ending the conversation when he saw a staff approaching them.

*********
Sunday Afternoon…….Two days later….

Jacinta, cheating on me?  No, it’s not possible. But the text messages he’d been seeing, thanking her for her display on the bed proved otherwise. The person always texted when she got home, thanking her for taking him to heaven with her beautiful body……

He tried to shake it off his head but couldn’t. How could she do this to me?  Maybe that’s where she always went when she claimed she was going to church. Maybe that’s who even gave her money to clear the debts. How disgusting!

Not able to hold it in again, he blurted out, “Jacinta, who is ‘Sweet’?”

She sat up, smiling. “You of course.” She thought her husband wanted to play one of their games they enjoyed when their children were not around.

“Don’t be silly”, he bellowed, “Who’s the man you stored his name as Sweet and has been sending you all sorts of messages. How could you do this? I trusted you!”

“What are you talking about?”, she asked. “This……”

“Feigning ignorance is just so disgusting”, he cuts her short, “I trusted you and you betrayed me!” Off he went out of the house in a rage.

He kept walking for a long time with no direction in mind. He was too angry. After a while, he stopped. He couldn’t hear people’s voices or music blasting from any speaker. He looked around to see where he was. He could hardly see buildings. It was still a new site. He must have walked very far from home.

He decided to turn around and get somewhere to sit. How come he hadn’t seen the signs? It was so glaring but he’d been blind to them. He clasped his fist as if ready to hit someone. He’d been taken for a fool by a woman he claimed to love.

So engrossed he was in his thought that he didn’t realize two persons coming out from one street he had passed. They waited till he was in another quiet place and hit his head with a plank.

He staggered, turning to see his attackers. He placed his hand where he had been hit, trying to stop the blood that was already gushing out. He turned and tried to run but fell. The two attackers held him firmly, dragging him.

He tried to free himself from their grip but failed. He muttered something he could not hear before succumbing to the darkness.

(To Be Continued)

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