A week elapsed after the mysterious phonecall. I still had not heard anything about Vicky's disappearance. She is the only one who had known that we were supposed to meet in the studio on the following Thursday since our first meeting.
I did not have Belindah's nor Caroline's phone numbers so I didn't look for them. However, I planned to visit Vicky's home because she had directed me. I went to work very early that morning intending to visit the area at midday.
Reaching the office, I found four smartly dressed gentlemen waiting at the entrance. I greeted them then entered the studio. They followed me in.
" Yes gentlemen, welcome to SVA audio-visual Media house. How can I be of help to you?" I posed.
"We presume you are Mr. Rike Edmund. " one of them asked. I noticed they didn't look anymore like artists or musicians.
"Yes I am. And you gentlemen you are..."
"We are officers from The Criminal Investigation Bureau and we are here to ask you a few questions. "
"Mr. Rike, do you know this lady?" The other guy asked and placed Vicky's photo in front of me. She looked even more adorable in this photo that I stared mouth agape.
" Judging from your look and silence, I see you have a lot to tell us. Would you kindly pack up and follow us to the station to record your statement." He said.
"No, I don't know her,,,I mean I only met her once."
"And?" The third guy asked.
" And then she disappeared...!"
"Just like that? It seems you take us to be fools Mr Rike! How can a human being just disappear?"
" You are in for a tough ride my friend!"
With that they bundled me into the police van which had appeared from nowhere and I spent another week in police custody in the name of awaiting investigation.
During that week Belindah came to visit me and explained to me what had happened. At first I felt deep anger seething within me against them because after all they were the ones who had left Vicky in the first place. But when she said I could be released if I listened to her I held my peace.
She then explained to me that on that first day of our meeting someone had called them a few minutes after Caroline and her had left the studio. The person, she said, sounded exactly like Vicky but the number calling them was marked "private". This meant that whoever was calling them had hidden his or her identity or was using an unmarked SIM card.
The person had briefly said that Vicky and I had fought and that she was heading home. She made Belindah and Caroline to quickly board a taxi without ascertaining the authenticity of that call first or even passing by the studio. On reaching home, Vicky was nowhere to be seen.
Her story ended there. Still there was no explanations on who called Vicky. When I mentioned this and said that maybe it was her father's voice,
"Vicky has no dad," she said, " he died last year."
That is when I knew I was in a terrible situation as the police officer had said. I had just moved from the hot soup into the fire. The case against me now was abduction of a young lady by the name of Victoria Koret.
But Belindah had mentioned something of a hope. I could be released if I listened to her. How?
" Yes, I have given the police another statement of which I want you to collaborate and then you will be a free man." Belindah explained.
"What is it?"
"I have said that I came back to the studio and the two of us went together to your house and spent the night there. If you agree that this is what actually happened you will throw their case into jeopardy. Then they will have no option but to release you! Brilliant ?"
" What about Vicky? Where is she? What would happen to her?" I asked feeling more confused.
"Forget about Vicky's whereabouts! I know where she is and she is perfectly safe! She just played a prank on you! Come to your senses or you will rot in here!" And she started leaving.
"Hey stop! Where are you going? Don't leave me here!" I shouted. She stopped but did not turn around. In stead she called out,
"Guard!" And a police man came.
"Release this man he has a statement to write at the front desk!"
The rest happened as if I was again dreaming. All I recall was Belindah taking me into a taxi and calling out to the driver my home address. How she knew it I couldn't tell.
Now I was even into a more intense fire than the first one.