20 All Roads Lead To One Place

Since the night Paris paid an unexpected visit to Judith just outside her house, and Hasley caught a glimpse of her, she had been insisting that she had seen Jessy Paris before.

"Maybe it's someone else you saw. A lot of persons look like a lot of persons in this town." Judith was exhausted from the day's activities and wanted a hot nice dinner and a warm massage before heading over to the Robinson's for a scheduled meeting. It was 5pm. She placed a call to one of her supporting officers and told him to meet her up by 6:00pm at the mansion with two other officers.

Hasley wasn't having it. "I'm sure it's her. She comes around my office quite often."

"Okay. You saw her. How is that supposed to help anything?" Judith pulled off her shoes and went into the toilet to urinate. Hasley followed her.

"I think she is sick." Hasley said.

Judith wiped and washed her hands. "Sick? You mean she acts like a crackhead? I'm not surprised."

"No that's not what I mean." Hasley let out a deflated breath. "You know Doctor Peter Styles?"

"The retired oncologist that worked in the city for 30years?" As Judith left the bathroom, her face creased in contemplation.

"Yes. That lady... the Paris lady visits him almost every week. You know my office is close to his home. I see her. My workers can testify to this. Why else would she be visiting an oncologist if she doesn't have cancer?"

Something like heavy stone shot into Judith's heart. No, it couldn't be true. Paris looked healthy and strong enough. "He could be her sugar daddy."

"She visits him in his home where his family resides. A side chick doesn't do that, or do they?"

"Paris can't have cancer." Judith shook her head.

"I'm not saying she does. I'm only saying she might have considering that she visits a retired oncologist all the time."

"Oh damn!" Judith swore, recalling the night she and Paris had fought. If it were true that she had cancer, she must have been in so much pain that night.

***

David Lui did not like family dinners and it was mainly because of his father Nate Lui. His dad talked way too much and was always comparing him to better men. Sitting across the dinning table now with his two sisters and his mother who usually pretended not to overhear him and his father's discussions.

"Eat up your soup." She said when David paused his meal as his father mentioned him getting a Ph.D.

"David, you keep avoiding the discussion about you bagging a Ph.D. How can you be comfortable with having only a Masters degree?" The older man said, picking up a slice of club sandwich from his plate.

"What if I don't want that?" David pushed his plates away. "I have a Masters in Business Administration. I'm helping you run your company."

"You work for me." Mr Lui corrected quickly. "As the head of my Investment Department, you do only what I tell you."

"And that's because you won't let me be my own man." David looked at his mother and sisters for support, but they all continued eating their meals indifferently. They were used to this. David wanted more from life. He wanted to be a pilot and he wanted to travel the world, and maybe start a farm. But his father was so bent on securing their family's image. And as the oldest and only son, Mr Lui considered him his legacy.

Mr Lui's appetite was not affected. Running a cement company for over 25 years was no small business. It meant a lot to him. He had put every sweat and labor into making it work. And he was now becoming worried about what would become of him when he died eventually. At 59 years old, and managing Diabetes, he knew he needed to prepare his children for what was to come, especially his obstinate son David.

"Is this why I was invited over for dinner? Not because you wanted a nice family time?" The question was for his father, but his eyes were set on his mother. Her mother's African complexion shone brighter as he stared more at her. It was a sharp contrast to his father's Asian skin.

"We are having a nice family time." Nate Lui said and gestured at his son to finish up his dinner.

David's appetite was already lost. He poured himself a glass of juice and began to sip quietly.

"Another thing that bothers me is the kind of company you keep." Mr Nate Lui started again. "I have always had this hunch it would land you in trouble."

"Not again, Dad!" David was consumed by the insistent thrashing of his lifestyle. He drowned his juice in anger and dropped the glass.

"Not again what? You go around with those Robinson's brothers who barely know their right from their left. See what they are doing to their father's legacy. There is word flying around that the youngest of them has gone missing for almost a month now. It beats me how the police hasn't arrested those brothers yet." Mr Nate Lui knew exactly the kind of words to say to get his son pissed and he did not miss an opportunity to get him pissed.

"They are my friends. We have been friends for a long time. Especially Abim. You were friends with their father before his death. I can't bring myself to comprehend or swallow what this whole backbiting is about." David pushed his chair back a few feet, showing he was preparing to stand up and leave.

Before his father could reply, his phone rang and he was thankful it did. The caller was Abim.

"Hey bro, what's up?" He pushed up his chubby body from the chair and walked out of the dining room.

"Hey David, you need to come to the mansion right away. There is an urgent development on my brother's case." There was gravity in the voice speaking on the other side.

"Okay I'll be on my way right away." He dropped the call and left the house without saying goodbye to to his family.

***

Doris hated herself for feeling the way she was feeling: missing Abim. She did not want to miss him, but she did. And she was getting more anxious as each hour passed without him reaching out. He didn't call, he didn't text, he did not even drop a message on social media. She knew every time he was online on Facebook and Twitter. He saw some of his comments on other people's posts. He even dropped a picture of his brother in hospital and captioned it, 'Quick recovery bro. It's all love from here' followed with a love emoticon. Yet he did not message her. He did not like nor comment on what she posted either. And now she was getting worried. Maybe she had reacted a little bit more than necessary, but how could she not have? Did it mean she was insensitive? Was she wrong for being insecure about the right things? She loved Abim and she knew the love was reciprocal but sometimes Abim made it hard to love him. She looked at her wall clock. The hour was exactly at 7. 7pm. She then looked at her phone. Maybe he needed her to text him first. Why was he even so mad? She was the one who was supposed to be mad right? She had walked him out of his house. That was bad. It was he who rented the apartment for her.

"Fuck it!" She swore, and opened her messages. She searched for his name and began to type but stopped and deleted the whole thing when she realized calling him might be better. So she opened her phone book and dialed his number. It rang and rang but he didn't answer. She tried again but it was the same result.

Her heart began to beat fast. Had he moved on already? But they weren't broken up. Was he with Paris already?

"Oh God! I think he has to be with Paris." Her head screamed and she started packing a bag. She was going to the mansion right away. Abim could not just ignore her!