Chereads / 11 MONTHS / Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: Finding Tom

Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: Finding Tom

The drive was quiet and, on their way, they saw Charles debating about something with a group of kids and it was like just any regular normal day. Seeing the kid not being treated as an outcast because of the things that were being said about his mother and he seemed to not be that affected warmed his heart. Again, Chido interjected his thought process by giving some information about her family and she seemed not to mind sharing and Solomon as a detective wanted to learn more about this woman, well both the missing one and the one sitting next him for totally different reasons. "If I am correct then you must be wondering why he seems so calm even though he heard that you wanted to talk about his mother who has been missing for almost 11 months. The answer is simple because he just does not care at least not that much. They are not that close, well not at all, the circumstances in which she got pregnant were not the best though I would say she kind of had it coming. She was not too fond of the kid and the nurse said it must be postnatal stress, but we knew that she only kept the child because she was afraid to dye while aborting. When the child was born my parents took on the responsibility of the child since it was way too obvious that neither the mother or father cared about the kid. Chipo even went as far as to tell her child not to call her mom. It is safe to say they barely knew each other; she partied like she was still a single 18-year-old with no child and he had my folks and me. When my parents died, he had me. Chipo, she had zero contribution to his life and a few months before she went missing, she started to notice him but he just did not care. He is young but his mind is something else and he never acknowledged her presents if it was not for me asking him to, he would have never talked to her. To him Chipo is a stranger."

After hearing all this, to say Solomon had a loss of words would be an understatement of the year. He just continued to drive as if he did not hear what she had said. To be honest he could barely believe what Chido was saying at the moment it did not make sense that a mother and her child could be estranged while living under the same roof. They got to the sight and at a specific area where he had noticed something. It was a stylish necklace that was attached to something at first, he really did not think too much of it but after seeing Chipo's picture he was sure that it must have belonged to her. It was not the same necklace but it had the same style and it sounded a little far-fetched but he was never one to ignore his gut feeling.

When they got to the place Chido confirmed that the necklace could have belonged to her sis and that she used to make them on her free time. For Solomon this was enough confirmation about what route he was to take. He was never one to believe in the supernatural or paranormal but it wouldn't hurt to check things out. After getting the information he needed he had suggested to go home but Chido insisted on looking around the area just a little while, of cause Solomon was against this but she had already been looking it did not take long to hear a scream from her and when he came he saw what Chido had seen, there was a lump of mud but it seemed to be..... breathing! though just barely. He took a stick to pock it and he heard a low grunt which sounded like it was a child. He started prying on the lump of mud and he saw a little boy and his body was so cold that if it was not for the small rise and fall of his chest one would think that he was a corpse.

"Chido can you please wait over there I need to call this in" Chido could not even respond she just kept staring at the kid, and after a while she just moved away. In less than 15 minutes the police were on the scene, and Solomon briefed them on what he found and what had happened. The little boy was taken to the hospital and the police were waiting for him to be conscious so that they could ask him some questions. Chido had refused to go home saying that she seems to know the kid. However, when the kid gained consciousness, he refused to say a word that is until Chido walked into his room and the boy started crying. She did not know what to do except to just hold him. She did not know how to calm a crying person and a kid for that matter, Charles was not a crier so she never had to deal with this. He started mattering 'they are dead' repeatedly and that 'she killed them' over and over again, and he was trembling so bad. After almost an hour of crying the kid fell asleep. While all this was happening, the police were watching.

After that Solomon took Chido home.

"I am sorry you had to go through all that,", said Solomon, "it's okay I am happy I could be of help. So, what are you going to do with Tom?" Chido asked with a concerned look on her face, which Solomon found really cute but did not say anything. He concentrated on a more serious topic. "Oh, his name is Tom, can you tell me anything about him." Solomon asked more focused. "Well, yes, his name is Tom we go to the same church and that kid is one of Charles old nemesis well they could not get along I could say all the time. But at the same time, one would look for the other they are cute you should see them" she had this beautiful look on her face when she said that but after she said that last statement all that light was lost. "I guess things are not going to be the same. I guess you found one member of the missing family it was reported at church that they were reported missing. It has been three to four days now. I guess we now know what happened to them." Solomon wanted to console her but he just gave her some space.

They got to her place at around 8 at night, and Solomon reminded her that she had left Charles at her neighbor's. "You don't have to worry he never sleeps at someone else's place he most probably went back home around 6. So, detective see you. Just be patient with Tom he is a good kid he will come around just give him time." She waved her hand at him and left the car. Solomon said goodnight under his breath. She was really beautiful he wanted to bash his head for having such stupid thoughts in a situation like this. Not that her beauty was extra ordinary or anything its just that hers caught his attention maybe it was her innocence or whatever it was he kind of liked it. It was just that he knew this would go nowhere she was way younger than him.