ANISHA'S POV
It was not too difficult for me to find the address that Eden gave me, although I did get lost a few times. At number 17 Meyrick Drive stood a beautiful house, although it looked rather neglected in comparison with the other houses in the same street. All the other houses had lawn and flowers outside. Yet on this house, just outside the high wall, there was grass growing everywhere, with many brown leaves piling outside, and there was dog poo on almost every spot of the land. The house also stood out among others in that it was the only one surrounded by a very high wall. Other houses either had no wall at all, or they had a low fence, but this one seemed to be highly protected. The gate was not closed when I got there, so I just drove in and parked.
I looked around. Unlike the outside of the gate, the inside was well maintained with tarred surfaces and a row of neatly trimmed jurantas. One side of the house was covered by very beautiful green climbers. Normally I was never one for climbers, they always appeared creepy to me, but the ones before me somehow looked appealing. I liked them.
Holding Liam in my hands, I walked slowly towards the huge door and I knocked softly. Soon after knocking, I saw that there was a doorbell, so I rang it and waited for a response. No-one came to the door, prompting me to ring the bell again. From behind the house, a skinny greyhound emerged, and started barking wildly at me.
"Away! Away", I did not know what else to do except to kick in the air, in the direction of the dog. The dog, although skinny, really scared me, and I rang the doorbell continuously.
A young lady emerged from the house and shouted, "Hugo! Hugo stop!" causing the greyhound to stop barking. The young girl was beautiful, she looked to be around seventeen, eighteen or maybe nineteen years old. She looked at me from head to toe, disdain in her eyes.
"Who are you looking for?" her voice was not only cold but very low.
"I have been sent by Eden. May I come in?" my tiredness prompted me to start moving towards the entrance.
"Eden? Who is Eden?" she asked, blocking me from getting inside.
I really needed to get inside the house and just throw myself on a sofa or a bed; for I was thoroughly exhausted. Mentally and physically, I felt stretched to my very last limit. But it was impossible for me to budge into the house, so I needed to comply with the young girl. I remained silent for a while, then I said. "may I come in and we can talk? We can even call Eden together. Is this number 17 Mayrick Drive?"
"It is", she frowned. "You can't come in. Who are you?" she said.
"Are you Evangelista?" I asked her.
"Yes it's me. And who are you? Who sent you? Who is Eden? What do you need?" she bombarded me with questions.
Pulling out my phone, I dialed Eden's number and immediately he answered, "Anisha?"
"I am at the house, 17 Mayrick Drive. Evangelista is here. She said she doesn't know anyone called Eden." I stated.
"Hand over the phone to her." Eden spat out.
I handed over the phone, and the girl was listening for a while before she nodded and said, "I understand, brother. I will do as you say." She continued to listen and then nodded again, "I understand." A few moments later she spoke again "Why? Whose car is it anyway?" she was listening for a long time then she said, "I got it…..yes, I know that….Israel, I said I got it!...ok…I hear you, brother…of course….why?....why?....ok…..I said ok! Bye!"
She gave me another dirty look before saying, "follow me to the bedroom."
Evangelista did nothing to try and hide her disdain towards me. A frown seemed permanently plastered on her face, and she continued to look at me as if I was a heap of waste. I followed meekly.
"You are to give me your car keys. I will get it parked somewhere far from here. Apparently there are men who are following you and tracking that car which you are driving. Israel said we must get rid of it as soon as possible. I will empty the car and have it driven as far away as possible. You stay here; the bathroom is on your right. Don't leave this place, Israel said it's too dangerous. There is food in the kitchen. I will be back soon. Let me get the car driven away now."
"Who is Israel?" I asked.
Choosing to ignore me, the girl swiftly opened the bedroom windows wide, and pointed at the bed. I threw myself on to it, and started feeling better.
"Cute little girl. What's her name?" she pinched Liam's cheeks, and for the first time I saw her smiling. Liam looked at her and he clung to me. Not used to having new faces around, he must have been scared of the stranger. His little hands held on to me so tightly that his little fingers dug painfully into my skin.
"What is her name?" Evangelista asked again.
Name…name…name….it was impossible for me to say his real name. The child was there, looking like a little girl, so there was no way I could have said the name is Liam. Liam is a boy name, right? I never came across a girl named Liam. With the dress that Liam wore to disguise anyone who saw us, the little boy surely looked like a pretty little girl.
"Hallo? I asked you, what is her name?" Evangelista bent forward and spoke in my face.
"Oh" I chuckled softly and uttered the first name that came into my mind, "Layla. Her name is Layla."
"You must be very tired," Evangelista commented.
"Tired and hungry," I confessed.
"Take a shower, prepare some food for Layla and yourself, and take some rest," she tossed her thick black hair backwards. She looked up at the ceiling and used both hands to bring her hair together, braiding it into one thick, loose braid which ran down to her waist.
"I will prepare something for us now." I told Evangelista and she promptly led us to the kitchen. I was seriously craving for a hot meal, so I quickly pulled out pans and started preparing something nice for me and the child.
"Should I include you in the meal?" I asked politely.
"Don't. I'm going out now to take care of the car. Israel said it's urgent. I need to do it as soon as possible."
"Who is Israel?" I repeated my question.
Evangelista took out a bottle of water from the fridge and gulped it down. She breathed heavily and looked at me.
"How is it possible for you not to know him?" she sounded annoyed.
"Please tell me, who is he? Israel?"
"Who sent you here?" she asked.
"Eden. My housemate, Eden Salatto."
Evangelista laughed a little and tapped her foot slightly on the floor.
"Eden Salatto," she repeated in a mocking tone, and walked towards the kitchen exit. Before she vanished out of my sight, she said, "The one that you call Eden Salatto is my brother. His name is Israel."
SOUTHRAIN CITY NEWS ONLINE
….investigations are still underway following the murder of Mrs Larissa la Martina. Her body is still at the de Milo Private Hospital where the professionals are working together with the authorities to further investigate the person behind the brutal murder. The suspect, whose name has been established as Eden Salatto, is still at large. However, Salatto had no intentions of stealing anything, because nothing of value seems to have been taken away from the la Martina's home.
The whereabouts of Mr Lucas la Martina are still unknown. However there is a slight ray of light, as police have managed to get a picture of the child minder, Anisha Meyerton. She is still on the run, and is believed to be the one with the baby, Liam la Martina. This therefore makes Anisha Meyerton a suspect in two cases: the murder of Mrs Larissa la Martina and the kidnapping of the nine month old baby, Liam la Martina.
Police have established that there is a high chance that Eden Salatto and Anisha Meyerton are working together. This comes after the detective managed to find out that the two share a house, together with Valentina Meyerton, who is currently behind bars for allegedly conniving with these two criminals and withholding information from the police.
In other unsettling news, the handing over of the de Milo Children's hospital leadership, which was due to be held on Thursday morning, was postponed indefinitely. This comes after the new hospital CEO, doctor Dylan de Milo, has suddenly gone missing. Speaking to the police, doctors Roderick and Shimmer de Milo said their son last made a call to his friend and colleague, doctor Pete Rockridge. After that, his number was no longer reachable, and he cannot be traced.
Police are investigating if there could be any link between the murder of Mrs Larissa la Martina, the disappearance of Mr Lucas la Martina, the kidnapping of Liam la Martina by the child minder, and the abduction of doctor Dylan de Milo.
Anyone who might have information leading to the arrest of any of the suspects is encouraged to immediately report to their nearest police station. Keeping such information to one's self is a crime that can land one in jail. The police are urging everyone to report anything suspicious, no matter how insignificant it may appear.
Residents are encouraged to call detective Harris on 235885, Officer Fraser on 235886 or report at your nearest police station. Anonymous calls can also be made at 5565785. Let us all work together to keep Lakeworld a crime-free country.
Any other news in the murder and kidnapping matter will be updated as soon as it is received. Meanwhile, our national soccer team ...