"Okay then. I have some information that I think will be of help. I think it was twenty four years ago when I was moving along Clinton road and I met a woman sitting by the road side who appeared to be in a not so good state. She had a baby in her arms who was crying and from the sound I could tell that she was a new born. I assumed that she was from Clinton International Hospital because it was the nearest. I asked her what the problem was but all she did was to ask me to take the baby to any orphanage.
When I asked her why she wanted to do something like that she said that she couldn't take care of her. I convinced her to change her mind but she had already decided on what to do. I decided to help her since she wasn't well. I took the baby from her." Mrs Howells smiled with tears in her eyes for she was so close to meeting her daughter. She asked," Where did you take her please?" Then came silence and he said," I decided to bring her here and consult my wife first." "Here, then...then where's she?" she asked as she looked at them expectantly and the man looked at his wife who after a while said," Unfortunately, when I checked the baby, she was in bad shape." "What do you mean?" Mrs Howells whispered. "She had a fever and as I was planning on taking her to the hospital....she died." "No!! You're lying!! I want my daughter!!! You're going to pay for this," she stood and yelled at them with tears in her eyes. She refused to believe it.
"Cynthia, calm down," Mr Howells stood up and tried to coax her before asking," So then, where did you put her?" "Her grave is at the back of this house. We tried looking for the woman but we failed and decided to give her a proper burial here," said the woman and Cynthia glared at her before asking," Did you inform the police about it? And for all the years we've looked for our daughter, why come out now?" "Listen Mrs Howells, we couldn't inform the police because we didn't want any trouble. I think you should be grateful because we- "There's nothing for us to be grateful for. That's not my daughter," she yelled. "Okay. Can you take us to where you put her?" asked Luis who had been quiet all this while and the couple nodded. They all went outside and made their way towards the back but Mrs Howells remained standing at the front. She refused to believe that it was her daughter. When she looked for her daughter all these years and failed to find her, somewhere deep she assumed that she might be dead but now that there is a possibility that her assumption all along might be true, she didn't want to believe it. The three followed the couple until they stood in front of three graves.
"This is the one," they pointed at the one that didn't have a tombstone and the smallest before leaving to give them their privacy.
Mr Howells looked at the grave and didn't know what to think. Was it true that the daughter they have been looking for, is lying in there? He heard a sniff and looked at his son who was trying so hard to suppress a sob.
Elena was already crying. Luis approached him and asked," What are we going to do, Dad?" "I don't know." "When are we doing the exhumation?" asked Luis once again.
Elena came closer to them and said," I honestly don't trust that couple. I think before the exhumation, we should first do a DNA test for confirmation. Don't you think?" "I think you're right. I will get men today who will do the digging exercise tomorrow," said Mr Howells. "You shouldn't worry Dad. I will handle everything," she said but he immediately objected," No. This involves my daughter so I have to do it myself." She pursed her lips because the statement made her feel like an outsider, which she truly was.
When they sat in the car, there was a heavy silence. This is not what they expected to return with back home. Mr Howells said," Cynthia, we are going to do an exhumation and bring her home." She kept quiet for a while until she said," Lucas, my daughter is not dead."
"We are first going to conduct a DNA test then confirm," he said and it somehow calmed her heart. On reaching, she went straight to her room. Mr Howells told his mother how things went and she couldn't believe it. She clearly knew what she saw at the Mall. "Okay then. We shall wait for the results then," she could only say.
Elena was in her room pacing back and forth.
How was she going to handle this? She had to take care of the DNA test!! As she was still thinking, her phone rang and she immediately answered. "I hope we did it perfectly as you wanted?"asked the woman. "Yes," she answered. "Then send the remaining balance."