***
Thomas Wilson
Cape Town, Civic Centre Bus station.
Twelve hours later…
We finally arrived in Cape Town. Detective Ank-wana seemed to be uncomfortable during the bus ride. I don't blame her for feeling that way. After all, I was the one who hurt her. I just wish she would just ask me for an explanation.
The bus finally stopped and She sprint out of it the moment the doors open. I stared at her as a part of my heart stung a bit. The saying that I heard so much finally made sense.
'YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.'
My phone rang as I got out of the bus and I absentmindedly answered it.
"Hello?" I spoke.
"Detective, I have emailed you information that would prove to be useful for you," said the voice on the other side of the call before hanging up.
"Yes sir," I said, sighing.
He was never nice. I don't know why I still stayed when I could have been taking over my fathers business. Five years filled with this man's bullshit.
I looked at my email and saw a what he sent.
{SAIGE MILLARDS...}
"Let's go," I said, looking at Ana.
I wanted to reach the hotel and look at the information that was sent, and I was also very tired.
"No, we are meeting someone now," she stated looking around for someone or something through the crowded bus station.
I frowned when I heard her say that. Who was she looking for? Why was she looking for this person? Was it a clue? or just someone she wanted to meet?
I stared at her and she was different from back then. She wasn't the cheery person I knew anymore. She was so serious...
***
"What are you doing Ana?" I asked.
She covered her book and her cheeks tinted a very light red. I chuckled and sat next to her. Her hair was braided with kanekalon, she had styled it and she looked very beautiful. She was beautiful.
***
I sighed snapping out of my thoughts. After all, it has been eleven years. She would not stay the same for eleven years. She had to change...
Sighing, I looked around trying to see if I could find what she was looking for. A petite, one hundred and fifty-seven centimetres tall female, frantically looking around her as though she saw a ghost caught my attention. Her Petite body flinched as people passed by her. It was like she was starving and abused.
"Is she the one you are looking for? " I asked, pointing with my head in the direction of the frightened girl.
"Yes, that's her. " Ana answers walking towards her.
Her bloodshot red eyes showed how she hasn't slept at all. The bags beneath her eyes were so dark, one would think she uses drugs. Her dried-up lips make her look like someone who hasn't been given anything to drink.
Ana walked towards her and gently patted her shoulder.
"Lerato? " Ana queries gently.
The girl flinched as she heard her name.
"Sss...say...t...th...the sss...sec...secret....pa...pass...password." she stammered in a language I didn't understand as she moved away from Ana.
"Under the grass lay secrets that God only knows of." Ana answered in the same language back.
"Fff...fo...foll...follow m...me. " the girl replied after hearing what she heard.
I stared confused at the two of them. I didn't know what they said and that made me curious. It felt like a tourist hearing people talk bad about them.
Nevertheless, we followed her close behind as she took us to an abandoned street. She kept shaking her head in distress.
"I saw a girl." she utters when we stopped.
"A girl? " I inquired.
"Yes."She answers as she shivered a bit.
"What did this girl do?" Ana asked calmly.
"She…She showed m…me things, things that… are here… bu… bu…but looked di… di… different." She answered stuttering.
"How different?" We both asked at the same time.
We looked at each other before looking back at Lerato.
"Like this. " She answered, giving us a drawing.
"You drew this? " We questioned, shocked...
"Yes."She answered, scratching her neck violently.
"Who is this guy?" I asked, looking at the man with no face.
"She said his name is Nkosi." She answered.
"An-cozi?" I inquired.
Lerato frantically nodded her head.
"No one can stop this fight," she said, scratching her neck more violently.
"Death will be upon us all," she adds crying as blood seeped into her fingernails.
"What do you mean?" I questioned.
Lerato ran past us, into the street where she ultimately got bumped by a car. We turned our years to see her lying fifteen meters away from where the car had stopped.
"Oh my God, is she okay? " the woman asked getting out of the car.
I walked up to her body and searched for her pulse.
"Her pulse is weak! " I shouted looking at Ana.
"Ma'am we are going to need you to take us to the hospital. " I heard Ana say, looking at the woman.
"I didn't mean to bump her." she says in a panicking tone.
"It's okay ma'am, " She answers, giving a sign for me to bring Lerato to the car.
The lady drove us to the nearest hospital where we seemed to find a challenge. The hospital wasn't willing to help us immediately. This enraged Ana, causing her to do something I could not fathom her doing. She pulls her gun out and points it to the nurse.
"You will treat this young woman immediately or else I will shoot you and every person in the room. "She said in a stern voice.
"Please don't shoot us! " cried the crowd.
Everyone was frantically scared of Ana with a gun in front of them.
"Aren't you going a bit too far?" I whispered into her ears.
"No, it's about time I make it clear to them." she answered fuming.
"Nurse, you are aware that you will be charged for refusing to assist a government official." I explained calmly to the nurse.
"Sir, there are many patients who also need help here." She tried to reason.
Ana suddenly pulled the trigger and shot the nurse in the knees. Everyone cried out as they saw the nurse fall and cry. Another nurse ran to her coworker trying to help her.
"You have 5 seconds to start helping this young lady in this man's arms before I shoot another nurse," Ana warned as she reloaded her gun.
The nurse buzzed for a doctor and the doctors all came running. The doctors stared at us shocked and frightened and they immediately started treating Lerato.
***
Six hours later…
"Why did you do that?" I asked curiously.
I have never met a detective who would shoot a patient for a witness. Usually, they would arrest them for infringing on an investigation but she shot them for a witness.
"Lerato's hiding more than she leads on." She answered
"What do you mean? " I asked her.
"Look at the drawing." She answered.
"There she is! "shouted a woman pointing at Ana.
The police were walking towards Ana, who had been sitting calmly as though she had not shot someone six hours ago..
"Detective, " They said.
"I know the drill," She replied putting her hands behind her back as they handcuffed her.
"Don't leave from here, I'll be back," she said looking at me.
I nodded as I saw her walk away. It made me wonder why she shot the nurse, knowing it would get her into trouble. She could have just spoken normally to the nurse but she chose to shoot her. I sighed as I took the picture next to me. This wasn't even what I was here for her, I came here to find Ana, not deal with all this. I looked at the drawing of Lerato and tried to figure out what Ana saw. To me, it looked like a simple sketch. After all, it had been a drawing of a man facing a mountain with houses burning behind him. The man was looking at the mountain.
Water suddenly spilt on the sketch and the underlying colors of the drawing appeared. Two people. It all started making sense.
Taking out my phone I attempt to call Ana but realize I don't have her number.
I decided to call him because he would be able to get me her number.
"Send me Ana's number." I ordered.
"Who?" he asked.
"And as in the woman of my dreams num..."
Before I finished, I heard a nurse call out to me.
"Sir? The patient needs surgery. " The nurse said running to me.
"Why?" I asked confused.
"She is suffering from cerebral haemorrhage as she hurt her head." The nurse explained.
" Is there no other way, I'm not her legal garden and it would be unethical." I explained.
The doctors and nurses ran up and down as they tried their best to learn who I am.