"You hired Abdul to tamper with my car brakes"
Beth sighed, frustrated at the turn of events, at one hand Kamara had gotten to know she lied about not meeting Emma that night, and there Kenita was at her neck with an accusation.
Great, her day couldn't get worse than that.
"You paid Sarah to take the blame for you" Kenita explained. After receiving the number from Sarah's husband, she had David track the sim's location after several failed to connect to the line.
She was a bit hesitant not sure if she wanted to know who had the number, especially when her suspicions were on Kamara, and lately things have been going well between them.
She sat at a cluttered desk, nervously tapping her fingers on its edge. Her face was illuminated by the faint glow of the computer screen, casting shadows that accentuated the tension in her expression. Her hair was slightly disheveled as if she'd been running her hands through it out of frustration. Her eyes dart back and forth between the phone in her hand and David across the room.
Her unsteady mind wasn't helping at all, it kept reflecting on the earlier scene of his lips greeting hers, and her heart was flustered with mixed emotions unknown to her. Her cheeks were pale red on each second her mind wandered.
"You okay?", David asked seated at a second desk with multiple monitors, typing quickly. The sound of his keyboard tapping echoed through the quiet space.
"Don't worry, it's just seconds more and the culprit will be known" His calm demeanor contrasts with her restless energy. She wasn't stressed about finding the culprit she was scared of the culprit being Kamara.
Every few moments, she stood up, paced a few steps, and then sat back down, barely able to contain her anxiety. The room felt thick with anticipation, and her shallow breathing was almost audible.
The clock on the wall wasn't helping either, it kept ticking louder with every second. She clutched her phone tighter.
Finally, David glanced over his shoulder and gave her a nod, the number was almost traced. Her heart skipped a beat as she leaned forward, the tension in her body palpable.
"Done" he informed with the rest of his fingers on the keyboard.
"It's in the building" Her heart sank in, the building which only meant that Kamara was the culprit. Wasting no time they traced their steps to where the number had been located, having walked half through the hallway they were in front of the door that led to the general office where the meeting was held.
"You're here?" Alima asked with a warm smile, "Mr. Kamara just left" she informed connecting the phone in her hand to a charger inserted in the wall.
"Alima, who's phone is that?" Kenita inquired, her feet slowly pacing to where she stood. Alima dumbfounded looked as her boss gave her a tense gaze, curious as to why but dared not ask.
"It's Beth's phone" she responds with a flat smile, "her phone ran out of battery and asked I charge it, well I wasn't going to but Mr Kelvin pleaded on her behalf" she detailed, easing the heat in Kenita's chest.
"If that's her phone then.." the whole thing became clear, and to confirm it she waited a moment for a bar in the phone and called it after switching it on.
"You are behind everything," Kenita said, irritated at her audacity to smirk.
"What is she talking about?" Kamara snapped at Beth, his fingers rubbing against the bridge of his nose. He knew she was capable of certain things but not to the extreme of taking another's life. "Did you do it?" his eyes met hers and she was drowned by guilt. Known to her she had offered money to Sarah to confess to the crime when she was behind it.
"You wanted me dead, didn't you?"
"Believe me when I say this, if I wanted you dead then I would have done so myself, and that to dome perfectly" she whispered in her ears, her eyes sparked on Kenitas pulled from her grasp.
And yes, had she wanted her dead she would have done so long and she certainly would have done the job well.
"I didn't cause your accident nor your memory loss, believe it or leave it" her voice disdained," I'm not that incompetent" or not so heartless or cruel as they visioned her. That night she had called Abdul to cancel the attack on Kemidia with clear thoughts and consideration of the consequences. She feared the extent of her actions, she did want Kemidia gone from Kamara's life but not at the cost of her freedom.
Just then, the doors to her apartment came wide, and in appearance was her father, one that she hadn't seen for a long time. He was a busy man with tight schedules which made it hard for them to see or communicate.
"How're you here?" Was the first to pop out, her eyes frozen at her tall father with a stout figure, his gray hair matched to his jaw hair lined to the chin. Behind him were two men in dark shouts, needless to say, they were his bodyguards but as she saw it, they were his minions that did his dirty bidding.
"I'm here to see my daughter" her father plainly yet softly said as he led his way to the couch and offered himself a comfy rest. "How have you been?" He questioned, scanning his eyes at the average apartment his daughter was in. Still baffled as to why she left the house he purchased for her to stay in a place like that.
"I'm doing good." Her response came flat, still baffled at her father's sudden visit. His boat wasn't one to be thrilled of, every action of his was calculated and schemed through. She should know as she once stayed under one roof with him.
"I heard from Abdul that you ordered him to get rid of someone?" He asked. There, she should have known he was going to be told about it, why didn't she hire someone else, she had to hire her father's men.
That big mouth, she was in trouble. She said to herself as she looked at his fingers clicking on the armrest of her couch, certain he was there to scold the hell out of her. He had warned that she stayed low and out of trouble, as it would affect his political career as the mayor of the town, less said he was at the edge of going in for minister of health.
"I,…I" she stuttered through, blurred and confused on what to say, her eyes fluttered in circles, evading gaze at her father.
"Is it his wife, Kemidia isn't it?" Her breath seized as he called her name, paled her skin went as a second went on his sealed lips.
"Push with it"
'What?' Her voice scolded out as her gaze widened at her father. "Push with what?" Her voice crumbled out, uncertain of what he meant by it. Was he being serious? Was he in his right senses? All those roamed in her head.
"Give him the order again, have her get rid of" he instructed "I want her gone"
"But why? Why would you give such an order?" Her voice was high. Her father wasn't the careless type to just give orders like that, if he ordered such then she must have been an enemy of his and she was more curious to know what relationship Kemidia shared with her father, or best what had she done to have him give such orders?
"You're under arrest " Samuel walked in, crashing on Beth's memory of three months ago. She glanced up to see him heading her way, certain Kenita must have called the police at her. But if she thinks she was the one behind her accident and attempted murder then she is mistaken, cause there was someone else, one more powerful and more dangerous.
***
"You hired Abdul to tamper with Mrs Kemidia's car, didn't you?" Samuel interrogated
"For the last time, I didn't cause her accident nor tried to murder her" Well her actions were different from her words. Though compelling evidence was against her she stayed true to her words, she didn't plan the kill or the accident, and ben if it was at her order.
"Then why did you pay Sarah to confess to the crime?" that's because she didn't want to be in the situation she was in, who would believe her that everything wasn't her fault and that there was someone else? Besides, she couldn't stomach it to measure or reveal him.
"You paid her because you're behind her attack"
"I'm not sure of what you're accusing?" She trailed off, hesitant on her words. One slip and she was to be in danger, not from the law but from her father whom she feared. Her thought is still corrupted on why he ordered her to be killed.
"We already have a confession from him, you hired him," Samuel said out
"I'm not saying anything more till my lawyer gets here" she stated crossing her arms on her chest. Determined not to slip a word, it was safe to have someone of law to guide her through.
"Fine, I'll wait for your lawyer to come" With that
Samuel was hot on her feet and walked out.
Outside his anger grew as he crossed his eyes at Kamara who stood beside his wife, still holding onto the assumption that he was behind his sister's death.
"Can we talk?" Kamara requested but got nothing from Samuel that brushed off to the other end of the office.
"It's about Emma" his legs halted on hearing his sister's name.
"This better be good or else you will ending behind bars" he threatened Kamara knew he couldn't do so, not because he wouldn't causehe didn'thave such power over him, not yet.
"What about Emma?" he asked, his body on edge to slam any moment.
"That day, Beth was the last person to meet Emma." that was all it took for him to flash his way back into the interrogation room. His body sat on the chair after a quick pull of it closer to the table. His eyes glared at her as she tried to vision what was happening.
"And you are back" she sarcastically stated with eyes rolling.
"Yes, and this time am getting what I want without your lawyer" his voice firmly stated, and she cared not to protest against it.
"Were you the last person to have met Emma that night?" great, Samuel must have tipped him off. Now this was going to be one long talk, she groaned within as her eyes trailed in exhaustion.
"This is not why am here, do you have a court paper for that?"
"I don't need one for this, now, were you the last person to have met her that night?"
Of course, she had met her that night, was she the last? That she couldn't tell. But she did have a rough discussion with her that night, one that might have influenced her decision to seek death.
" You don't deserve him or his love" she yelled, her voice echoing into the night. " If I were you I would leave and set him free"
Emma stood tall, her arms folded across her chest, her expression a mix of defiance and pain. " Please, we both know the only reason you're saying this is because you love him, your mask isn't doing you much favor in concealing your feelings for him. And you want to know the truth, no matter what, he isn't going to love you" she shot back. "You're just a friend to him, he'll see you as that and nothing beyond"
Beth's face twisted, her frustration boiling over, within she knew her words were fact and true. She was never going to be more than a friend to Kamara and she despised that she knew it.
" Was it a mistake that you slept with John?" Beth questioned, her eyes glued on Emma's fingers that clutched into her skin. Known to the truth that she wasn't all drunk when she slept with the male classmate, nor was it a mistake as she said it to be.
A clear recall of him offering her a sum that she couldn't resist, though hesitant she accepted the facts of her needing financial aid and she wasn't out for it nor was her only brother, who was saving to enter the police academy. Left with little choice she dozed herself with the liquor offered by John and went ahead with his offer.
"Let's be honest with each other since no one is here. I asked John to offer you the money in return you give him your body, just to prove to Kamara that you ain't the right choice for him." Beth acknowledged, leaving no stone unturned. "But you turned out to surprise me, you didn't only sleep with John but his friends as well, how did it feel to have all four of them take turns on you?" A broad smirk glued on Beth's face as she stared at her frozen face.
"You're a monster" Emma scolded as she braced her hands from reaching Beth's body, a tight instinct kicked in to slap the hell out of her face.
"No, you're the monster, Emma, you are the one acting to be innocent when in reality you're a whore. For money, you didn't think about your relationship with him nor his love and affection."
"I love him, I love Kay a lot" Emma screamed out, as if she wanted to wipe the guilt building in her. She knew it was wrong to have done that, but she desperately needed the money to fund not only her education but her brother's dream of joining the police academy.
"Oh please, you love him and yet you gave yourself to another man and his friends for money. Tell me what self-claimed love is that?."
A tense silence followed, both of them glaring at each other, chests heaving with unspoken accusations. The wind whipped between them, pulling at their hair and clothes as if trying to separate them before more damage could be done. But neither moved, their words circling like vultures.
"Take my words, disappear, not just from his life but from existence. I don't know how you'll face him when he gets to know you slept with not only John but his friends and it wasn't by accident but for money. What if your friends and your dear brother get to know of it, how would he lift his head in society on the fact her sister slept with four men for money, imagine the shame and hurt he would feel" With those words she walked out of the rooftop, leaving her to contemplate on her words and the reality of her actions.
"I didn't kill your sister nor did I cause Kemidia's accident" Beth stated, giving little care to Samuel's clutched knuckles and hard glares at her. She had said what she thought got to say and nothing was going to come out of her lips.
"There's no evidence that you didn't push her down that night" Samuel scolded out, raging within on the reflections of his sister being pushed, her bloodied body that lay in his hands lifeless.
"And there's no proof to show that I pushed her to her death. That night I only spoke with her and nothing else " true but she can't help but think she must have taken her words to heart and might have jumped off to her death.
"Excuse me, hello, am Peter Miss Beth's lawyer " the voice erupted, Samuel turned to see the same face that kept hiding his paths from getting information from culprits.
"Miss Beth," the lawyer placed a slim smile on his lips as he sat beside her.
Right, she knew her father was going to send him, but was it at her rescue or …?.