chapter 9

Thursday was finally here. Somehow the air felt a little more charged. Or so it appeared to Lisa. She was so excited she could barely sit still.

She was up and about thirty minutes before 5:00am. She took a bath, listened to pep talk, and went to the kitchen to begin preparations for her outing.

The bulbs in the kitchen were lit. This struck Lisa as unusual. She heard movement in the kitchen and then a suspicious silence.

Lisa went ahead soundlessly. She was able to achieve this stealthy motion thanks to the flat shoes that was part of her uniform. She entered the kitchen unnoticed by it's occupant.

She was very much surprised by who she found there.

Of all the people she had been expecting she didn't think she'd find Lucas there. Her shock was short-lived as Lucas passed her by on his way out of the kitchen. She was placed even more out of sorts because he passed her by as though he didn't see her.

Lisa followed him to investigate. She was surprised to see that his eyes were closed. My God! Lucas was sleep-walking.

Lisa had never before experienced such a thing. It made her smile. Lucas was very much human. She'd at one time him an angel. She followed him and tapped him awake lest he hurt himself. She didn't know much about how sleep walking worked, but if Lucas had managed to find his way to the kitchen unharmed then his subconscious memory is probably very good, but she wasn't taking any chances.

She shook him awake. He was disoriented for a few moments. When his vision seemed to come to focus she said, "You're awake." Lucas looked a little surprised. But he seemed to come to the right conclusion in a few seconds and said, "I was sleep walking. Wasn't I?"

Lisa said," You're still in one piece. No one would guess." She smiled to put him at ease. She then said, " Would you like to have sit?" He said, "I'm a little tired. I'll like to go back to bed." "Good night sir" Lisa said. "Or should I say Good morning." "Good morning Lisa." He replied.

Lisa then went back to what she'd initially come to the kitchen to do. She removed the supplies from the fridge, and began chopping the vegetables. When she was half way through, Mrs. Lee came into the kitchen.

"Be careful. Don't chop off your fingers." She said. Lisa smiled. "Good morning Mrs. Lee." She said.

Mrs. Lee began preparing breakfast. As soon as she was done she started helping Lisa make sandwiches. The maids had been at work somewhere in the house. They joined Mrs. Lee and Lisa in the kitchen and all went to work. Lisa was glad for their cooperation. They finished in very little time. All Lisa had to do now was pack the stuff up, tell the boss she was leaving, and head out. She went to her room, changed her clothes and went to tell Lucas that she'd be leaving.

After obtaining permission she went to the kitchen, took the basket filled with packed lunches and a cooler flask filled with the beverages and headed out. She took the bus to the other side of town. Alicia was really happy to see her. They then went to the old people's home in Alicia's car. Lisa was so happy to be back here. The old people were happy to see her too. They had their picnic under a tree in the yard. Alicia left sometime during the picnic. So Lisa enjoyed the rest of it with her other friends.

Lisa then went to visit her aunt as planned. She had bought gifts for her little cousins. She wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing her aunt, but she knew she had to visit her.

Lisa knocked at her aunt's door. Her aunt answered in a very cranky sounding voice."Who is it?" She said. Lisa said, "it's Lisa aunty."

As soon as her aunt opened the door Lisa noticed a significant difference in the smell of the house. Let's just say the smell wasn't pleasant. Lisa's aunt turned her back to her rudely, and went into the house.

Lisa invited herself in since her aunt didn't think it necessary to do so.

There was no better way to put it. The house was a mess. Everything was out of place. I guess that's how it is when you have two bratty sons and are too lazy to clean up after them.

Lisa gave her cousins their gifts, and started to clean up the house. She did as much as she could before she had to leave. She was going to arrive at the mansion much later than she'd earlier planned, but she was convinced she had nothing to worry about in that area.

She considered walking to the bus stop to wait for a bus, but decided against it. Lisa called a cab, something she rarely did. Lisa could be considered frugal. She tried to save every single penny she could spare. But at the moment she considered taking the cab an investment in keeping her job, or her reputation at her job. As soon as she entered the premises, she noticed something was not quite right. There were lights coming through nearly all the windows. She went into the house through the back door.

The atmosphere in the house seemed very tense. Amy, Carie and Mrs. Lee were nowhere in sight. Lisa called out for Mrs. Lee but there was no answer forthcoming. She then went into the living room. What she saw was a veritable spectacle. Mrs. Lee, Amy , and Carie stood in a straight horizontal line facing a man, and woman, who looked familiar, but try as she might she couldn't figure out why. What was most shocking was that a security guard was there too. Mrs. Lee looked panick stricken as did Carie. Amy on the other hand looked calm, and determined.

The unknown yet familiar looking lady said," I must apologize for calling you all out here, but something very valuable of mine has by some means migrated to an unknown destination. And I'd like to have it back. I apologize in advance for the inconvenience, but security will have to search your rooms for my amulet."

Lisa put two and two together and came to the conclusion that the lady was most probably Mrs. Ward. She now knew why she looked familiar. She bore a slight resemblance to Lucas, and she had seen her on a magazine cover before.

Lisa came forward then and said,"Excuse me Ma'am, I'm the new housekeeper." Mrs. Ward smiled though it looked more like a grimace. That amulet must really be valuable. Lisa thought. "Oh... Hello dear. We can start with your rooms then. Ofcourse , if that's okay with you?"

Lisa said,"By all means. I'll lead the way."

They all went to Lisa's rooms. The guard started his search. To put it mildly, he was thorough. He went through all her stuff swiftly. Her wardrobe was turned inside out, her clothes box turned upside down, yet he didn't find the amulet. He went to her bedside cabinet then. He opened it and pulled everything out. And with the rest of her stuff that hit the floor came the unmistakable sound of metal hiting tile.