When Nesisa had just finished bathing her son, getting him ready for bed, she was ready to start dressing him up when she heard a loud knock at the door. It was so loud that it sounded like whoever was knocking had the intention of breaking the door. Since Jacob was not at home, Nesisa picked her son, wrapped him in a towel, picked her phone and quickly called her husband to inform him that the visitors that they were anticipating were finally home.
She ran down the stairs and opened the door, coming face to face with Gareth.
"What took you so long to open the door?" his voice was full of anger; as if he had the authority to have doors opened for him on his first knock.
"I'm sorry but I was bathing my son. Here, I haven't even dressed him yet," she said.
Gareth forced his way inside and shouted an order to his men:
"Raid the house! Find him!"
The men, like some animals let loose, flocked in and started turning the entire house up-side down. Nesisa watched it all as her most valued property was tossed in all directions, her tables roughly pushed. And it hurt her, but she remained silent.
If in her life Nesisa had ever prayed, she prayed all the more on that day. She begged and pleaded with God, asking with her whole heart and soul, for God to protect Jeremy.
The men, since they were many, did not take long, before some came back to report to Gareth that there was nothing.
Upstairs, the men were frantically searching, looking especially in wardrobes. One bodyguard, a tall slim man with a bald head, ran up and went to the attic. He opened and a thick film of dust greeted him. Three consecutive sneezes were heard from the bald man; and he quickly covered his nose.
He fished out his phone and flashed the torch. Spider webs were all over the place, and when the man flashed the light in one corner, he got irritated and disgusted by the dirt; prompting him to switch off the torch.
What he did not know was, if only he had moved his torch into the other corner of the attic, he would have seen one corner with less spider webs, a bit cleaner, with a mattress therein, a blanket and a man on his knees. The phone light would have flashed right into Jeremy's eyes.
Shaking like a feather in that corner, folded up into a ball on the mattress, was Jeremy, holding in his breath. He was so terrified that he feared to breath, and he feared even the slightest movement that can ever happen on earth. If a cough or a sneeze had caught him at that moment, he would have swallowed it right there and then, without allowing any sound to escape. It was not the moment to be having hiccups or any such stuff; for it was a moment of facing life and death; and the former needed to be fought for, no matter what; until the end.
The bodyguard who was by the attic entrance shook his head, muttering to himself, "who stays with such dirt in their house?" and he retreated.
After receiving the same report from all his men; that Jeremy was not in the house, Gareth was infuriated. He turned to Nesisa and;
"Where is Jeremy?"
"We don't know where he is. Mum reported that when she came home from a trip which she had taken, she found his missing. His phone is not reachable, he left his car, we have no idea where he went," she spoke, her face tearful.
Gareth pulled out his name card and handed it over to Nesisa, giving the instruction that if Jeremy ever turned up, or even made any contact of any sort, Nesisa was supposed to immediately inform Gareth.
Leaving the house in a total mess, the men went away.
Left alone, Nesisa sat on the table and cried. In front of the men, she had braved up and acted cool and collected; yet when they left, she broke down. She could not handle the pressure, and she cried her heart out.
Jacob came in to see his wife a total mess.
"Aww, babe. I'm so sorry that you had to face all of this alone! Come on, my dear wife, did they hurt you?" he asked.
"N...no, they did not hurt me." she bawled.
"Did they touch you? Did any of them touch you or Elvis?"
"N…no, they did not touch us," she whimpered in great emotional pain.
"It is well, babe. Come here, come to me my dear." Jacob encircled both his wife and son, and he felt very bad as a man. He felt inadequate as a father and a husband. He wanted to be there. He wanted to be the one to face Gareth's harassment.
He took his wife upstairs and made her sit on the bed while he fixed her some herbal tea to try and calm her down.
He went in to talk to Jeremy, and the young man, shivering from the fear still, narrated the near miss. Jacob silently listened, and he told his brother that since the men had already left, he could come down and sleep in one of the bedrooms. He silently obeyed.
Back in their room, Jacob called and updated Sharon on the visit by the Pinkerton bodyguards.
"Did they think he would be with you? How…how did they find out…out where you stay?" she sobbed.
"I think they have connections. Those people are too bad. But anyway, like I told you, they turned the house upside down, and Jeremy is not here."
"Where….where is my son? Where is my son, really?"
"We will have to wait on the police, because we made a police report. I also planted missing person posters on various places. We should be able to find him." Jacob explained.
"Do you think he is alive, Jacob? Do…do you think your brother is alive? Oh, I curse the day I ever got to know the Noels. I curse the…the…the day they moved in next to my house, and I gave them a very warm welcome. If…if…if only I…I had known that their daughter was going to bring me so much demise; my son, I would have moved out on the…the...the very day that Travis and Aletha moved in next door." Sharon cried for her son.
"Calm down mum, calm down and lets all be strong for Jeremy. He will be found."
"They visit me every day, Jacob. Every day they come two…three or…or four times, to…to check if he is….is back." The woman cried all the more.
"Have they hurt you in any way?" Jacob asked; his voice full of pain and concern.
"They have never touched me. They…they just turn the house upside down. And this morning they said to me, you…you don't have to tell us where your older son lives. We won't ask you; we will find out."
"Oh! And they did find out," Jacob sighed. "What did the officer say? I mean do they give any updates? As for me, I check with them daily, but I haven't gotten anything tangible."
"The officers said they are still searching," the mother was starting to calm down.
"Don't stress yourself too much, mother. When Jeremy comes back, he must find you alive and well. At this rate, you will die before you see your son. Be strong, mother. He is alive. My brother is alive."
***
In the car, Gareth was not happy at all. He hated defeat, yet it seemed like defeat was right in his face. The cars parked at the Pinkerton mansion, and all the men came out They formed a semi-circle, waiting to get instructions from Gareth.
"Where is he?" Gareth yelled. "I want you all to tell me, if you were a young man running for your life, where would you run to? Where would you hide? Talk to me now!!"
"In…in the basement, sir." One bodyguard responded.
There was no basement at that house! Even his mother's house has no basement!"
"I would hide at a friend's house," one bodyguard suggested.
"Right; get to that job. Find out who his friends are, and bring me the list of their names and addresses! Next! Where would you hide if you were running for your life?" his piercing gaze landed on the tall, slim bald headed man.
"I always have a feeling people can hide in the attic, sir, but the attic was empty." He said in a loud, squeaky voice.
"What? The attic was empty? How come I never got to know that there was an attic at that house?"
"It was there, sir," the bald man responded.
"Well, why was it not raided?" Gareth growled.
"I personally checked it, sir. It was empty."
"You should have let me know that there was an attic! I would have checked it myself!!" Gareth fumed.
The bald man did not respond, he was already fearing for himself, for Gareth always employed some weird punishments when he was angered. However, on that day the bald man considered himself lucky, for Gareth did not say anything more. If only he had known what was running inside Gareth's mind, he would have made plans accordingly.
***
Letters to Kiara
Letter 126
This is what life has done to me now, Kiara. I live in an attic, my life is on hold.
My mother believes I am missing, and she believes that no-one knows where I am.
This is what life has done to me.
Or rather should I say, this is what LOVE has done to me.
How far can I run?
For how long will the attic hide me?
If you loved me once, Kiara; talk to them. Talk to Vine and ask him to spare my life.
For the love that you once had for me, my love, please help me.
I believe you are the only person who can help me now.
JRR