All of the phones that belonged to the staff at the Pinkerton mansion chimed, alerting everyone to urgently assemble in the front hall.
"Is it a fire?" one maid asked, but no-one responded. Kiara saw all of them going in the same direction, and she too followed. She stood near the wall, making sure not to expose herself too much. She was not hiding, but she preferred not to be in the forefront.
Gareth came forward and went straight to the point:
"It's sad that I have to announce this terrible news. One of our own, who had served us faithfully for many years, has passed away today."
"What? Who?" the staff could not help but wonder in shock.
"Rosaline Chaitra has died. She went into the scullery and no one is sure what she wanted to do, but she must have touched the dishwasher and got in contact with some wiring. An electric current from a live wire killed her. We have informed her family, and the Pinkertons, being the responsible people that they are, will take care of all the funeral expenses."
"Oh no!" most of the employees felt very sad.
"We must all be careful when it comes to live wires. Rosaline was not aware, but the dishwasher was due for service tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure something had already gone wrong with the wiring. Our in-house electrician had scheduled to have a look at it tomorrow. Also, following the fire which burnt part of the mansion, it's possible that we still have some live wires lying around. A team of qualified electricians shall come and check that everything is in order. You may all go back to work." Gareth ended his speech as he already started to walk away.
In her corner, Kiara shivered from both the cold and fright. She walked away, joining the group of employees which was going back. They all acknowledged her presence, greeting her warmly, but she did not respond to any of them.
She went straight to her room and picked up her son. After checking to see that his diaper was dry, she held him in her arms and descended the stairs. It was a matter of now or never; there was no time to waste. She had to do what she needed to do.
She exited the mansion using one of the back doors; which were hardly ever used. Worse after the fire, the place had not yet been fully renovated, so it was as good as deserted. Kiara walked very fast. Some guards saw her when she was about to exit, and they greeted her, asking if she was OK walking alone, and she told them that she was not going far; she was only getting fresh air with her son.
She walked on, until she exited the mansion grounds. She went to get her bag from outside; and continued to walk in the almost deserted road, and then started hiking for a lift. The lady who was driving the car dropped Kiara at her parents' house.
Aletha was shocked to see her daughter coming with her son in her hands, while pulling a travelling bag.
"What happened?" she asked.
Kiara did not waste any time, but told her mother everything, without leaving out any detail.
"Do you think they killed Rosaline?" Aletha asked, failing to believe it.
"I think so. I don't believe in the electric current story."
"The Pinkertons are bad, aren't they? Do you think the old lady and Vine knew about this, or it was all Gareth's doing?" Aletha was started to get very scared.
"I don't think Gareth would have the power to do it without the Pinkertons' approval. They are all in it," she said.
Aletha ran her fingers through her hair, trying hard to think of a solution out of the mess. Her phone chimed, and she checked to see a message from Jacob. It read,
'Where and when can we meet, so that I get the diary?'
Immediately another message came through, and it was a video clip.
"The video is here," She told Kiara excitedly.
"Let me see it, mum!" Kiara snatched the phone and downloaded the clip from Jacob.
She sat down and started to watch.
First of all, some words ran across the screen. They were white words on a black background. But in the background there were numerous candles which shone dimly. She read the words:
…in memory of Jeremy Richard Rain;
Born to Sharon Cecilia Rain
And the late Michael Judah Rain.
Kiara fast forwarded the video, and it stopped just when the words were ending with:
…and may his soul rest in eternal peace.
Then the screen was black. And a small light flickered. It grew until it lit the whole screen, only to start dying again. Kiara figured that must have been a way of telling the life of Jeremy in a nutshell. He was born, he shone, and he left.
The City River came out in the video, the water cascading noisily. Kiara tensed up, and she started to regret ever asking for the video. Was she ready to see it? Was she ready to watch the gruesome images of him? They said there was no head. There were only parts of his body. She wanted to close her eyes; yet those same eyes wanted to see more. She needed the closure.
In the video, a police officer was running down the stream, shouting a command. And then the video zoomed in to a place where many officers were surrounding something….or rather someone. Kiara started shaking uncontrollably. She watched in horror as the picture of an arm started to show, filling the entire screen. The picture moved up, going towards the shoulder, and she threw the phone away, wailing her soul out.
"Shh, my child. It shall be well." Aletha hugged her daughter and did her best to comfort her. "You need to take some rest. It's too early to watch that video." The mother said.
"But for how long will I be resting here? The Pinkertons shall surely come after me?" she said.
"They won't kill you. I have nowhere to send you to; and I cannot possibly dessert you during such a time. Go and rest for a short time. I will wake you up to eat."
Kiara stood up and went to one of the bedrooms. Her mother was talking about eating…eating? Was she even in the mood of eating at that time?
She lay on the bed and the image of the hand flashed boldly in her mind.
"Why, Jeremy, why?" she cried.
The more she tried to fight it, the clearer the image flashed. It took her more than twenty flashes to sit up in bed, and realise that something was terribly amiss.
She ran down the stairs and went to her mother.
"Give me your phone, mamma!"
"Do you want to watch that video again? The video which will make you cry?"
"Give me your phone!" she took the phone and went straight to the video.
Kiara played it. She continued to pause it when it came to the image of the hand. She would pause it; watch for a long time, rewind, play again. She did it over and over again.
"What are you doing? Why are you watching it so many times?" Aletha could not help but ask.
Without responding, Kiara paused it again, and watched the hand.
"This is his right arm, is it not?" she asked her mother with tearful eyes.
"It is," Aletha said.
"They said they found his right arm, but mamma; this is not his right arm!" Kiara said.
Her voice was full of hope, and she had newly found strength and joy which she was unable to hide.
"What do you mean?" Aletha said, and she took the phone, thinking that maybe the arm in the video was a left one. She looked at the arm. It sure looked like a man's right arm.
"This is his right arm." She said.
"It is a man's right arm, I agree; but surely not Jeremy's." Kiara said.
"What do you mean?" Aletha was shocked to hear what her daughter was saying.
"If it was his hand, mamma, then right above the elbow; there should be a C-shaped scar. This arm is not Jeremy's!"
Aletha looked at the video closely, and she sighed.
"Are …are you sure? The scar could have been on his left hand, you know?"
"It was on his right hand. A day before Christmas when we were playing outside, when Jeremy was eight; him and I were playing outside. He was running with a glass juice bottle in his hands. And I was running after him. He fell, the glass breaking there, and leaving an ugly wound just above his elbow. And I personally ran to call Mrs Rain. Jeremy was taken to the hospital, and after he recovered, the wound left a C-shaped scar on his arm."
"Kiara…." Aletha blinked multiple times, a mixture of fear and shock enveloping her. "So whose body was this? Who did the Rains bury?"
"They buried a person who they thought was Jeremy; but it was not him."
"Kiara, what if the scar had disappeared over the years?' Aletha tried to reason with her daughter.
"It never disappeared, mum. On the last day that I saw Jeremy, I saw that scar. It was there. Jeremy is alive. I knew it! My Jeremy is alive!"
"Kiara wait, I don't want you to become overexcited and then disappointed again later on."
"No mamma. He is alive. I need to sit down and read the diary. In it; I will find the clues that he left for me. He is out there waiting for me. Jeremy is waiting for me mamma!" she began to cry.
Crying had become a part of her life' only that on that day, they were tears of joy.
"He kept his promise! Jeremy kept his promise, mamma! He waited for me! He waited for me!"
Kiara, at that moment forgetting that the Pinkertons were likely to show up at any minute and seek to punish her severely, locked herself in the room and took out the diary.
"I will have to start with your latest letters, Jeremy. From those, I shall surely find your latest messages to me."
She smiled widely, tears of joy steaming down freely. She did not bother to wipe them. She was well. All was well with her. She could not have been happier.
"You waited for me, Jeremy! You kept your promise! I knew that you were going to keep your promise! Oh Jeremy, I have never been this happy in my whole life! Hold on, my dear Jeremy. I will find you!"
She flipped through the pages of the diary, and stopped when she found his last letter to her.