Chapter 36

In his best possible way, Luther made his speech snappy. He looked at his wristwatch. Had exactly ten minutes to meet up with James Palmus at Boulevard Palace.  Two minutes to wait for James in one of the front rooms.

Luther walked off the stage the minute he was done with his speech. He shook hands with few people, had prompt conversation and took a rose from a little girl when he walked down the aisle.

People continued applauding.

Followed by two men, he walked out of the City Hall. A convoy of four black SUVs waited outside in readiness for him. He got in the one that had two small Liberian flags on both edges of the front.

The cars drove away, few yards apart.

Just like he had thought, he arrived at the hotel in ten minutes. He was a government official; didn't need to worry about traffic. It was already 1:00pm.

It didn't take him long to book a front room either.

Luther got into the elevator and it took him to the last floor. He got out and headed for the room. He ordered his bodyguards to wait for him at the door.

Luther left them outside to take their positions, and went into the room. He didn't want to get comfortable, so he got to the window and drew the curtains apart.

James was ten minutes late.

Luther kept his eyes outside the window, his hands tucked in his trouser pockets. He enjoyed watching the traffic beneath him. The not-very-busy road. People moving about. Sounds of engines. The sun overhead. Everything.

Two little boys, perhap twelve to fourteen, started their summer, too, early. They licked ice-cream like their mothers had deprived them ice-cream throughout the rainy season for them not to end up with chronic cold. Luther was way up to tell the flavour they each had.

Luther had been watching the boys lecture while sitting on the side of the road when James' black Bentley parked across the street. James stepped out few minutes later wearing a leather, brown, tailcoat, shining blue jeans, a white shirt that wasn't his exact size, and black leather shoes. James threw on his summer glasses as he began to walk.

Like he had been instructed, Luther watched to see where James was heading to. James stood, looked left then right.

There was a speedy movement of traffic. James watched, vigilant, before getting on the road. He stood on the yellow line in the middle of the four lane road for the other side to be freed.

Right there, on the yellow line, in the middle of the road, Luther saw it happened faster than the speed of light. His whole body went numb as he watched James' head meet the solid road, splattering blood the instant it touched the ground.

A black SUV with tinted windshield like the one Luther had had hit James right in the middle of the road while trying to overtake another car. Luther was up so he couldn't see the plates before the driver could speed off after he had knocked James over.

Luther rushed to the door. As if he was being chased by someone, he ran. His men had their hands on their weapons the moment he busted out the door. They followed him down the stairs. Luther ran out of the building straight to the crime scene that was already getting crowded. He maneuvered through the crowd until he reached to where James was lain on the road bleeding out of his mouth, head, and nose.

"He can't die," Luther said it out so loud as he dropped down next to James. He held James' head in his hands and placed it on his laps. "Stay with me James," he said, feeling James pulse. Good. It was still there. He was still alive. "Somebody call an ambulance!"

How the fuck there had been more people who had knowledge of taking pictures than those who had medical knowledge? All they did was stare, whisper and take pictures. Nobody did more than those.

Luther's men made them step back few paces away from Luther and James.

The faint sound of siren was heard in the distance before becoming louder. The ambulance showed up, followed by an ambulance crew of three dressed in white uniforms and carrying a stretcher. They made their way through the crowd of spectators.

A man who Luther assumed was the chief paramedic amongst them squatted and checked James' pulse, then his heartbeat and his eyes. He did few things that Luther was ignorant to. He signaled his team to put James on the stretcher. They put him on it gently and adjusted it up then carried him into the Ambulance.

Luther hurried back to his car, followed by his bodyguards. He got in and ordered them to follow the ambulance.

James couldn't die. No. He couldn't. James was his only source of getting close to what Harriet had been hiding from him. If James dies, so will the so-called secret. He had to make sure nothing worst than what happened few minutes ago happen.

James was willing to tell. James was going to tell him already. James was a man of his words. He said he was going to tell Luther and he surely was.

Luther was just a step away from knowing what James knew.

This couldn't be coincidental. He had the strong feeling. It wasn't time for strong feelings, it was time for James. James was in there fighting for his life right now. He would die if something would go wrong.

The possibility of James dying was low, in Luther point of view. They were only thirteen blocks away from JFK hospital. Thirteen short, medium and long blocks. No heavy traffic.

The ambulance had arrived on the scene in less than five minutes. That means they could reach the hospital in less than five minutes.

♦️♦️♦️♦️

Harriet was the last speaker before the distribution of the parcels to the little children that had attended the program. There were individual parcels and general parcels for an institution: schools and orphanages.

With the help of Ashley, Linda, Jane and Rachael, the parcels were gleefully distributed to happy children.

Charles walked up to them. He attempted giving Rachael a kiss, but she turned into another direction, not wanting people to see she didn't want to kiss Charles.

People has been wondering what travels faster than light. News does. A simple turning away from a kiss could reach another country in less than a minute. News indeed travels faster than light; no argument.

Henry and Michelle walked to where the women were sharing the parcels. They walked hand-in-hand.

"Mrs. Blade, Mrs. Diggs, hi," Henry greeted both of them politely, flashing both of them his beautiful smile.

"Hey, Henry... Michelle...I didn't know you two came," Harriet said with a flashy smile. She left the sharing to the others and gave the couple a huge hug of welcome. "I'm so glad that you two came."

Michelle did nothing much than smile. She didn't know what to say at first. She didn't want to say something bad to make Henry mad, or something stupid to embarrass herself.

Linda was happy to see Michelle who had gladly accepted imprisonment. "How are you?" She asked with care like a mother would when aware of the hostility her child is undergoing.

"She's just fine," Henry replied for Michelle before she could, held Michelle from her waist, pulled her closer and kissed her on the right cheek. "She hadn't been feeling well days back, but, as you can see, she's just fine."

Henry understood the question very well. There was more to the question. The best he could do was talk for Michelle. Or change the topic.

"Where is Steve?" Henry asked, looking through the crowd of people that were going about their own business in the extremely large room. "Saw him about half an hour ago, but he disappeared."

"Oh..." Harriet began, "he had some urgent business to attend to. Left before the end of the program." She gave the last wrapped item that was in her hand to a little blond hair girl from one of the orphanages.

Henry nodded his head in agreement with the information. Steve was indeed a busy guy.

Now all that was left was getting rid of the decoration, clearing the room and leaving. With the help of all the woman: Rachael, Ashley, Jane, Linda and Harriet, that could be done in few minutes.

"What about the other men? Where is everyone else?" He had to keep asking questions to take Linda's attention off Michelle.

Michelle managed to take his hands off her waist gently and began to help Ashley and Rachael, staying as far as she could from her mother. From Henry's actions, she understood he didn't want her near her mother.

"Luther had business to attend to so he left early. Spent only an hour or so. Daniel and Thomas should be somewhere around, probably talking to some friends."

Though she had been talking to Henry, her focus was on Jane. Jane didn't look well. She was acting bizarre.

"Are you okay?" She asked when Jane bent down to pick up one of the cartoons that had the parcels in it, turning away from Henry who threw questions at her. Harriet saw the paleness in Jane's face.

Jane didn't hesitate to answer. She answered as if she had been expecting the question but wasn't prepared when the question came. "No, Mrs. Blade, I'm not feeling well." That wasn't a lie. "Been stressed from all the work. Barely got a rest." Not also a lie. "Think it made me sick." That was a lie that Harriet didn't know was a lie.

Harriet looked at her with pity. She understood it. She had been there herself. "Take a rest, OK? I've got this from here." She took the box from Jane. Jane walked out sickly.

Jane was a hardworking person; one of the best employees that had ever worked with her. Jane was extraordinary. She did things voluntarily, neatly; without complaints.

Harriet too needed rest, not only from the work, but from everything that had been happening. She just ignored that she needed great rest. Her old man would tell her that only the dead rest.

Harriet returned to the others.

Charles had decided to help. He was more of bothering Rachael than helping, because the only things he helped with was the ones Rachael was doing. Rachael started removing a balloon, Charles started removing the same balloon.

Harriet chuckled when she saw that Rachael looked happy and not pist. They were playing because all the attendees had left. If only they had done that in front the people, it would have helped, not in a known way to Harriet, but an unknown way.

"Ladies, and gentleman. I have an announcement." Everyone stopped to listen to what Harriet had to say. "I've decided to have a party to honor everyone of you for being helpful. It's been long since we had a party."

"As long there'll be enough champagne, count me in," Ashley announced with a smile.

"Me too," Henry said.

Everyone agreed with Harriet. Having a party wasn't a bad thing. That could take their minds out of reality for few hours. They could pretend like nothing was happening.

"I have to go now." Rachael took hurried steps to get her handbag from the chair where she had put it. Running in her self-made extremely high heels was more like taking hurried steps.

"So soon?" Ashley asked her. "Where are you going to in such a hurry?" She gazed at Rachael walk-running down the stairs from the stage.

"To meet someone." She didn't stop to give more detail. Nobody stopped her because they knew she wasn't going alone. She had bodyguards assigned to her.

"Do you have any idea where she's going?" Harriet asked Charles who had been staring at Rachael leave.

"Perhaps to meet the parents of the child she found last night," Charles retorted. He didn't want to tell anyone Rachael had been considering hiring a detective, and could possibly be going to meet the detective. Edward told him to pretend he didn't know.

"Where did that happen?" Linda asked him.

"At the parking lot of Childware. Remember she went to get the package for today's occasion last night?"

"She didn't tell me about that," Harriet said. Rachael always told her things like that. She remembered when Rachael was a child she always told her things she knew or show her things she found. A mother and a daughter personal connection was between them. She didn't feel it no more.

"She wouldn't even let me see the child. It was Gibson that told me about the child. She doesn't know that I know. It's better that way." Sorrow ran in his voice. He was getting the aftermath of the decisions he made seven years ago.

Karma.

He was the victim but couldn't play the victim because Rachael was playing the victim. They all thought she was the most affected from what happened at the wedding, but he was the most affected. He was the one who was being blackmailed.

Nobody knew the kind of pressure that was falling upon him. Nobody knew what would happen to him if Vivian tells everyone the secret. But he did. He everything.

His life would change in seconds.

If it meant dancing to the beat of the song that Vivian was playing, that was what he would do to secure the life he and Rachael had plan.