Chapter Four

The mind’s unrest

The time was 4am and Benjamin had been in front of his desktop computer since midnight. Sleep had eluded him and he found solace in front of the crystal screen as it reflected back his now unshaven face with sunken and glum eyes. There was no better time to channel his energy into his collection of romantic short stories than now.

With his back hunched over his computer, his fingers did the rest.

“Grace had enough time to select a dress for her date night with Mike. She had 3hours to kill and she was yet to figure out how much of her skin to show. The last time the two met, Mike’s eyes were practically dancing about her low neck dress all evening. She imagined him drooling and could sense lust written all over his face.

There was something about Mike that made her feel so young inside, but not in a childish way. He had awakened the pure side and best side of her personality. Every moment spent with him felt like a never-ending evening.

The energy between them both vibrates in such a unique way, each the perfect compliment of the other or so it seemed. They met only a month ago and she was content with just being around him, close enough to smell his cologne and sinking into serenity while in his warm company. His smile alone burnished her soul into a beauty it could never have achieved on its own. Mike could do no wrong. She had to admit that she wasn’t simply “in love”, she was “ well and truly smitten.”

Grace was determined to make this budding relationship work although she was yet to consent to Mike’s torrent of sexual advances. He made ‘sexual’ comments, jokes, gestures so often during their dates and she intercepted signals that were subtly sultry directed at her. He made no pretense about his desires. His eyes would turn into a cold stare while he would ‘accidentally’ brush up against her, or linger his hand longer than it was usual when they shook hands. The sexual tension was now very palpable and she could sense that her defense was ebbing away faster than she had hoped.

Grace was a huge romantic, and her intense sexual nature ensured that she was vulnerable, noticing every move, never missing a hint. She hadn’t been with a man in months and Mike came the closest to her ideal sexual partner. 

At the last date, he had hugged her, not a perfunctory gesture mandated by social etiquette, and it lingered enough time for his hands to travel the distance from her shoulders to her buttocks, glazing over her butt cheeks in a gesture mixed with sexual innuendos. There was no way she could miss that. She thought it was inappropriate, but then she liked it. In her head, she imagined herself saying “Stop it, I like it”

She had only started dating again a couple of weeks after her marriage of six years crashed following her husband’s arrest, subsequent trial and public disgrace for alleged corporate fraud. 

The pressure of his fraudulent activities was telling on their already tense and loveless marriage where the centre could no longer hold. She had stayed faithful and invested her energy in her career hoping that he would sort out his finances with the banks and get their relationship back on track. But it wasn’t long before the fault lines in their marriage turned into gaping holes they could no longer suture. Holes large enough to consume them both.

Grace was an On Air Personality at the local radio station in the city. She had a degree in communications and hosted her own radio talk show every week.  Her strong voice, excellent public speaking ability, and positive attitude endeared her to many, making her quite popular in the entertainment circle. The news of her broken marriage was therefore in the media and gossip columns for a few weeks before the wind of the Intercontinental world cup overshadowed the scandal offering her some respite.

Occasionally, updates on the trial featured in small columns on daily newspapers, but other than that, her husband was now confined to her past. He was somewhere languishing in prison. 

That was a difficult period for her and she struggled everyday to stay sane amidst the pressure of work and life. She longed for company and her body in particular yearned for love.

Mike offered a different kind of friendship. He had a listening ear and barely interrupted her during their conversations. This feature made him handsome from the depth of his eyes to the gentle expressions of his voice. With him, she could voice her fears, concerns, frustration and hopes and his eyes told her that he was not judging.

For Grace, It took courage to walk into the light after a marriage of semi-shadows and in Mike she could see the chance for that kind of love they say didn’t exist anymore. The type that spans far longer than one’s lifetime.

She found the dress, it was a black, lacey and clingy short gown and was all shades of sexy. It could easily pass as deliciously indecent as it left very little to imagination. She was absolutely certain that if Mike was on the fence about their situationship, this sexy gown was about to turn the pressure up a notch. He was going to get crossed-eyed no doubt!

She looked herself up in the mirror and she liked what she saw. Her soft, ivory shoulders were exposed and her hair,  black, long and fluid, layed gently over her shoulder bones, kissing her soft skin till it reached down her back. Her lips were carefully tinted red and her skin looked flawlessly ebony. 

As though on cue, her phone rang, Mike was outside the street waiting for her. She pleaded for a few minutes and would join him in a bit. In reality, she was done and ready to go, but prefered to linger a bit, rather than give a hint of how eager she was to see him.

When she stepped out of her gate and approached his car, Mike’s overwhelming smile, revealing a perfect set of dentition welcomed her to an evening she would never forget. His eyes lit up like the sun the moment he saw her in that dress, he simply couldn’t hide his excitement. He wasn’t sure what to look forward to when he was driving over to her place, but seeing her in now, there was no doubt in his mind how the night would end.

They shared an intimate hug the moment she sank into the passenger seat of his SUV while he made a comment about how beautiful she looked and how irresistible her perky lips were. 

Grace was content that her message was well received and hoped that the evening would go as planned.

She looked Mike over as he maneuvered the SUV into the street, they were driving across the town to a nice Lebanese restaurant that he had talked about the whole week. She admired his well shaven and almost symmetrical face. He had a slim, muscular body to die for and a warm and loving personality. Wherever he went, everyone loved him, they were simply drawn to him just as she was.

If he wanted to, he could have more friends than hours in the day, it wouldn’t be a challenge at all. His personality was so magnetic that anyone in his company would feel truly honoured and privileged that he chose to be with them. He could have had almost anyone, he could have had someone with a bigger bust, a smaller waist, prettier face and with more self-confidence, but he chose her.

When her eyes wandered to his thinly shaped lips, she snapped out of her lustful stare into the empty street down the road.

But in one swift move, Mike turned the car into the sharp bend, navigating into a quiet and dark street with houses gated on either side. A ray of panic flashed across her face as she turned to look at Mike”

*************

The manuscript

Benjamin got off his chair in one swift move. He had been sitting down hunched over the computer for hours. His eyes was sore from lack of sleep and inundated constantly by the brightness of his computer screen. He had to take a short break. He looked up at the wall clock, it was 6am already. He had been up the whole night, but he wasn’t done yet. He had a story to finish and he wouldn’t want to leave this one half-done.

His mind raced quickly through the events of the previous day and he wondered what next he had to do. He had decided to call Allen in the morning to find out what his friend at the telco could find on the SIM number of his former Boss. If the result turned out to be positive and that the number indeed exist, then he would be 100% convinced that Mr. George was not dead as had been erroneously touted in the last four years. 

And then, he would be keen to find out why this is so. His mind was now made up to uncover this mystery, no matter how long it took. But first that phone call from Allen was all he needed to get into overdrive.

He grabbed a cup of water from the dispenser and walked back to his computer. For now, he had a story to finish.

*************

“Grace’s fears were drowned just as quickly as they appeared the moment Mike turned to her, leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips.  One touch and it was over, it was always that way with Grace. That singular lip locking act sent Grace into a sensual state of intoxication.  She couldn’t hide her smile. How nice, she thought. He couldn’t even wait!

They closed their eyes with both their breaths shaking while the still air in the car offered no respite. It started first as a casual non-invasive kiss, Grace then gently leaned in and kissed Mike’s warm lips allowing her tongue explore the depth of his thirst. 

They pull apart taking shaky, shallow breaths and with hearts skipping dozens of beats  she said “Thank you,” in barely more than a whisper.

“For what?” He replied in a low and husky voice”

“For being you.” Her voice wavered, exhilarated from the tension between them.

 Unable to contain themselves anymore, Mike held Grace’s head in his hands and pulled her into a fiery, more intense and passionate kiss. It was a full, open-mouthed, almost sexual kiss. And caution was soon thrown out of the car.

That moment, it felt as though their lips fit like two puzzle pieces. No spoken word could break the intimacy at this time and Mike’s roving hands were beginning to explore the skin around her neck and bustline. Grace’s hands weren’t idle either, they worked their way around his shirt, feeling each crevasse, each line along his perfect physique. 

When they managed to break away after what seemed like ages, she looked at him with eyes full of pure lust and dizzy from the intensity of the kiss. They stared at each other in an odd way, as if it were a silent argument while their glances battled each other. That kiss held promise of realness and a primal desire that looked to cut their evening short.

Mike turned the car back on the road and drove slowly until they approached an abandoned field within the quiet neighbourhood and it looked like a perfect spot for their spontaneous moonlight tryst.

Grace’s silent protest- if she could muster one, was drowned by the sound of her own heart beat and she loved how the evening had turned. Driving off to a motel or back to her house could easily kill the raw, uncouth and passionate moment they just shared, she had to trust Mike on this.

The moment he killed the car engine, they were up in each other’s arms. In that split second before his touch, every nerve in Grace’s body and brain was electrified. 

She felt electricity in her skin and hormones shutting down her higher brain and the rise of her animal self. From there on, it was all intense and intoxicating passion. It was her release, her escape, her drug… not that she was easy, she knew well enough to avoid letting a man lay his hands on her. Yet with chemistry, with real love, too many of her switches were flicked for a reverse gear to be possible. All she could do now was to go along for the ride and pray her instincts were right.

Out of nowhere, multiple flash lights peered into the car revealing their naked bodies. It was accompanied by voices of men dressed in black. Their voice thick and brash muffled across both sides of the door jolted them both to mother earth. It looked like they may have been busted.

“Hold it there! Don’t move!”

If you move, Open the door!

Grace scanned both sides of the car in frenzied panic and was convinced there were at least 6 policemen around the car, knocking and hitting the car, all of them speaking at the same time as though in a military drill.

“Oh dear, what have we done!” Grace muttered

“Don’t worry I will handle this. I got this” Mike assured her.

Mike calmly buttoned his shirt, while Grace pulled her dress closer to her bust to cover her shame.

The moment Mike opened the door, the police officers pounced on him as though he was a criminal. One grabbed his pants while the other started taking pictures with a mobile phone.

“Stop it” Grace yelped as they opened the door on her side of the SUV.

“What’s this about?” she heard Mike clinging to the last string of ego he had left.

The police officers immediately started off with questions in quick succession. Questions that Mike opted not to answer. But they asked nonetheless. 

Grace had heard some people say there are good cops and bad. But the scenario playing out suggests that that is oversimplification. True, the police can be honest, courageous, corrupt, devious, malicious, altruistic, cunning or stupid. But these ones here, looked to have passed judgement even before they could offer any form of  defense.

“We are going to the police station” Declared one police officer.

Mike did not object. 

“ It’s okay, let’s go to the station and don’t manhandle the lady” his voice had an edge to it, even the police officer next to Grace winced.

“No, she goes in our van over there and you will drive after us, we don’t want either of you playing smart.” The police officer calling the shot wasn’t mincing words either.

Mike beckoned to Grace and asks that she joined the police officers.

“It’s okay, I will be filing a report myself of this nonsense” His voice now with a hint of anger.

Grace was disappointed with the way the evening was playing out. Her plans for the night had no police disturbances and certainly no random make-out in an open field. For once in her life she gave in to her moment of weakness and now this was going to be a public shame by the time news hit the stands in the morning.

She could see the headlines.

“Popular OAP caught pants down” or even worse “Popular OAP caught having sex in the Rayfield”

“Oh dear” There was no telling how bad this could get.

Quickly she scanned her head for a quick solution to this messy quagmire, but none readily came to mind.

She walked gingerly to the police van just parked a few meters away. 

“How didn’t they notice the van?” It was cleverly parked in the dark so it would appear unnoticeable.

She shook her head more in disgust than disappointment.

She could hear their sultry and unguarded remarks as they were just a breath away from calling her a prostitute. She opened the door and sat in the van smelling like urine and sweat and waited until another police officer joined her in the front seat, sandwiching her between the driver.

“Lets go, lets go” yelled one police officer.

******************

Lets, Go, Lets Go, Lets Go.

Benjamin had to use the bathroom, he was loving the turn of the story. His wrist ached and he needed a break.

As he opened the toilet door, his mind wandered to his girlfriend. He hadn’t spoken to her since the day it rained. Linda had travelled back to the university and was too serious a student to call Benjamin every other day. Somehow they had both got used to not speaking as often and he wondered if they weren’t already drifting apart. 

The few times she sent a message, it was a request for some cash. He was getting frustrated at her nonchalant attitude and he could tell that their relationship was hitting the rocks in a few months. Perhaps she had found herself a school boyfriend, he could care less.

He needed to find a lady as passionate and smart as his fictitious Grace.

He takes his seat at the computer, rubs and twists his palms together excitedly.

“It’s time to finish this story” he mouths loudly.

***********************

Mike was joined by three police officers. The one in front asked him to follow the police van ahead.

The officer in front started a small talk, but Mike was not having it. He kept his face grim while his mind raced to his next line of action. He picked up his handset and dialled an old friend of his, James.

James was an excellent and highly respected senior police officer with an impeccable track record in the criminal justice system of the country. Just as the phone rang, Mike placed the phone on his ear to speak with his friend. The police officer in front slapped the phone off his cheek in a well calculated move that barely avoided hitting him physically.

A brief tussle ensued as he and the police officer went into a fisticuff in between swear and curse words. The two police officers at the back intervened holding Mike’s hand and restricting the officer in front.

“You are in trouble, now you have assaulted a federal police officer, no oga-at-the-top will save you today” ranted the police officer in the passenger seat just as Mike got a grip of the steering wheel and edged closer to the police Van where Grace was being conveyed. His lips bore the sting of the tussle as he licked them to ease the pain.

They had only driven a distance of 500meters on the main boulevard when the police van suddenly pulled up to the curb in a gestapo style with all its four doors opening at the same time.

Mike’s eyes opened wide wondering what was going on. He watched as two police officers hurriedly carried Grace out of the police van. They seemed to easily pull her out of the door,lifting her into the arms of one of the other police officers, who walked briskly to the sidewalk, roughly dumping her down.

One other police officer walked briskly to his SUV and quickly beckoned to the other to get out of the car.

“Lets go, lets go, lets go. Quickly”

Bewildered, Mike watched as the officers hurried out of his SUV and chased after their van as it made its way back to the boulevard getting away from the scene. 

“What’s going on?” Mike muttered as he wheeled the SUV to the sidewalk before getting out of the car to find Grace lying on her back with her eyes half shut, wriggling on the floor as though in epileptic fit.

He had never dealt with an epileptic person before and he was clueless about what to do. He looked around to find the police van far off and disappearing into the night traffic with no one else in sight.

As though on cue, Grace’s eyes opened up as she suddenly sat upright, looking to both sides of the road and then settling in on his face.

“Have they gone?”

*****************

When Benjamin checked the time, it was 9am. time to call Allen.

Follow the story into Chapter Five – The Wild Goose Chase