He is sitting on my bench …..
Chapter 1
We are born with a set of parents, a set of relatives. We can’t pick our parents and certainly not our siblings. Neither can we pick our cousins since our parents do not pick their siblings. But no one can harm you except yourself, and of course your trusted friend.
Robert lives in an old European house with an attic. The house is three storeys, and he often wonders into the kitchen late into night to steal a glass of whisky or two. Cherie his wife will clean up after he has gone back to sleep.
The next day he wakes up sober without a clue as to how many glasses of whisky he has taken, and whom he has spoken to when he was in the kitchen.
As he took the car out for a breeze and coasted the lanes before bringing it home and parking it at the garage, he went in through the backdoor to the kitchen. Once inside, he surveyed the place and found that he had a new visitor. He took out his slippers and almost used his bare hands to hit at it when it slithered away. And then just before he could kill the lizard, a woman pushed open the door.
She was not supposed to come. It was too late in the evening, and Robert had already closed shop for the day.
She followed me in the car ride. Robert thought to himself.
Flabbergasted, Robert dropped his slippers on the floor, and he gave the woman a wry smile.
“Err … I am afraid we are closed.” Robert said.
“There is nothing to be afraid of,” the lady began, “I merely wanted a cup of coffee,”
“Not at this time of the night, liz,” Robert almost said lizard, then, “Madam, anyway we don’t serve coffee,” he said. He was actually afraid that the stranger would linger on for an extended period of time. Cherie still has to mop the floor, after cleaning the tables.
And the used glasses were still in the sink.
Robert moved to the wall, automatically he turned on the lights, and then he gave Robert time to sit down.
Then Robert went to the fridge and asked, “Orange or Perrier?”
“Orange,” the stranger replied.
“Why not Perrier?” Robert asked.
“Because I wanted sweet,” the lady said.
“Ice?” Robert asked again.
The woman hesitated, and then she said, “two cubes,”
Obediently Robert used the tongs to pick up the remaining two nicely formed cubes, and then he brought the ice tray to the sink, adding more water to refill.
The water flowed without them speaking a word to each other, and then Robert became less irritated.
Three minutes later the woman opened his mouth, “why are you living alone?”
“Who said I was alone?” Robert told her. And then, “how long have you been stalking me?”
“Hey man! This is the first time I am seeing you, stalking? This seems outrages!” But then she added, “not long,” he said, “long enough to see that you sleep on a single bed,”
“Oh, you have supersonic eyes,” Robert said, the lights shinning on his glass.
She must have gone to the other parts of the house before she came into the kitchen. Robert thought to himself.
Robert knew that he had to entertain the woman, since he had forgotten to lock the back door.
“Why did you follow me?” he asked.
The woman stood up, took another sip of the orange juice, then she walked to the mirror.
“Don’t you want to know my name?” she said, before taking two steps away. And then, “I think you can’t remember me,” now she turned to look at Robert.
“Of course I can’t remember. I have never met you in my entire life,” Robert retorted. He disliked people claiming to have met him when in fact they had no idea whom they were.
The woman took three steps; this time she was closer.
“It took me four years to come out of prison,” she said.
Automatically Robert asked, “With or without good behaviour?”
“It doesn’t matter, the important thing is, I am out now,” the woman said.
“And you have come here to take your revenge. What gave you the courage to?” Robert began.
“You know, … “the woman continued, standing tall in front of Robert.
“What?” Robert stood up as well.
Chapter 2
“By the way, how did you end up in prison?” Robert became curious with her story.
The woman suddenly turned violent. She smashed the whisky glass onto the floor, spilling the orange liquid on the carpet.
Cherie was upstairs. She heard and she came down.
“Let me clean this up for you,” hurriedly she took the vacuum cleaner out and dragged it around the wet spots, in an attempt to suck up all the splintered pieces.
And then Robert turned to the woman again.
“What is her name?” the lady asked, pointing to his wife.
“My wife? I can’t remember,” Robert at once became protective over his wife.
“Ok, then what is the name of your helper?” the woman changed Cherie’s status.
Currently, Cherie has already finished cleaning the spot.
And for a while the three of them just stood there in a triangle without saying a word. Cherie holding the vacuum cleaner.
Chapter 3
Robert was told that he was able to find cure by going to the St. Peter’s Church in Malaysia. There was a pastor there who would be able to help him. Before he left, the tour guide told him that the sanctuary was not visible from the main road. He would have to search for it after he has reached the sign board which says, “My Sanctuary”.
Therefore, when he saw the board, he told the bus driver to stop and then as the bus cruised away, he walked until he saw a building. It did not have a cross on top of the building, He wondered if it were a church. And then he followed the trail of the footsteps on the muddy path and paused before he stepped into the large brick house.
It had been raining with no end in sight, and the bench in the flat garden had patches of water. Robert used his shirt to wipe it off before he sat down.
There was a bottle of whisky on the floor by the foot, and he grabbed at it, then found that the bottle was empty.
He took it as a hint to go into the sanctuary to pray without further delay.
But he was still resistant to the idea of stepping into a church. So that he clasped his hands together and started to pray there and then. No one was around. Robert told himself that he mustn’t stop until someone came to him. It was a crazy idea. On a quiet evening like this without a soul, who would come?
Even if they had seen him, they might not talk to him, as he was a stranger to the land.
After a few minutes when he had exhausted all conversations with the Almighty, he felt no choice but to enter the sanctuary.
The moment he sat down, a woman came in from the exit to the pew and stopped him from moving further left. And then subsequently another couple came in from the right side to stop him from walking out.
When he was a little bored, he started talking to the lady on the left.
“Have you had your breakfast?” he asked.
“Why, no!” Looking horrified, she replied, “you are not supposed to eat before you come.”
“May I have your name please,” Robert asked. He was a stranger, and he wanted to make some friends. This will help him decide how long he would stay here. He has sufficient funds to last him for another three weeks. If he can’t get a companion, he would move on to another town.
“You know, I am here for the first time,” Robert ventured, “you are pretty …
“We cannot afford to be draconian,” she began.
“Cruel? In what way am I cruel?” he asked.
“You will know what I mean at the end of your stay,” she replied whilst taking her Rosary out.
“Nice beads you have there,” he attempted further conversation, he wanted to get to know her.
“I am grieved that you have so little confidence in me,” she replied.
That put Robert off guard and scared him out of his wits. “This statement came out from nowhere. Is she sane?” he questioned.
“Stop flaring up at me,” she turned to look at him.
“Oh, I think it’s the fan, it’s blowing in your direction,” he replied. Something must be wrong with her. He thought. He decided to give her time to correct herself.
“Now that I have got your attention, won’t you send me home after the service?” she decided to offer him a chance to her address.
“Any parents?” he asked. He wanted to know what her liability was, the fact that she was already a resident in this town is an asset.
“No, I have a mom, and she has already found her abode in heaven,” the lady shredded a tear.
“And that’s why you are here?” he continued with the conversation.
“Err … yes, and to make some new friends … “ she said softly.
“Can I be your friend?” immediately he followed suit.
“Dong! Dong! Dong!” Suddenly the church bell rang.
“Fire!!!” Someone shouted, and all the parishioners rushed out of their pews and went to the open ground, before falling down the steps. Some instead chose to fall onto the ground and started to pray.
Robert grabbed the lady by the hand and they too followed the masses and finally as they left the compound, he turned to look at her.
It was a different woman!
He felt let down. He wanted the more pretty lady but instead he got an older woman. Frustrated, he asked the new lady for her name.
“Oh, you can call me Mary,” she said.
“Mary, Mary what?” he asked.
“Mary. Just Mary,” she replied.
“Oh my God!” he said, “I knew a Mary Sarah before,” he carried on, “she was my helper,” confident that no one knew that he took her cheque.
“I am not she, you know right?” this Mary said.
“But you have the same name,” he reminiscent.
“But this time you are my helper,” woman responded, “you helped me out of the church,” “in other words, you saved my life,” and then she pulled his hand up to her chin and she started to kiss his hand.
“Whoa, whoa,” he pulled his hand away, angry that this was not the first woman. And then a car pulled up in front of them. The driver poked his head out,
“Back to the town?” he asked.
“Yes, of course,” Mary said. Reluctantly Robert followed her on what seemed to be the only available cause of action.
After what seemed to be eternity, with his mind still thinking of whether he would want to spend more money on this town before he headed for home.
Home is still the best place to be in …. he thought to myself before he fell asleep in the car.
Chapter 4
Robert Wong is a contractor. And he worked as a general contractor. His work is to do carpentry works according to the designs and specifications of clients who already have a design in mind. He is not an architect, and he only copied, as far as he could. He has very little formal education and as a matter of fact only completed high school. He finds it hard to remember names and faces of people he has met. But give him a piece of wood, and he would be able to tell you whether it’s teak, oak, maple, pine, or walnut. He is also familiar with their unique characteristics and which tree it fell from.
As a result, he saw people in shades of brown, not their names. Like now, he just couldn’t remember if the lady who sat with him in the car was Mary Sarah, Jane, Joan, or Joyce. And he was not asking her because he knew that it would have been rude. That would also expose his ignorance since he has been acquainted with her for at least a day by now.
But Robert also has a bad habit, which is that he can’t help noticing things that are left unattended in other people’s homes, much as he does not want to pry into their affairs.
He has seen a couple’s quarrel written all over the kitchen table, and he has seen the diary of a few heart-broken ladies on their dressing table when he was fixing a drawer or two for them.
But recently, he has taken his habit to greater heights. He found a cheque written for three hundred and sixty-seven thousand dollars. If it were only for three hundred and sixty-seven dollars, he would have just ignored it, and probably left it behind in a prominent place to remind the owner to take it back. To his delight, the cheque, to a payee named “Mary Sarah Chan” was uncrossed. I am sure that you would agree with me that the opportunity was just too good for him to miss. Robert immediately removed it from his view and placed it inside his pocket. After that, without a moment’s delay, he got into his car and drove straight to the nearest Bull Bankand dropped the piece of paper into the cheque deposit box, not forgetting to write his own name and account number on the back. Since in any case, it could be paid to anyone who found it.
After that he took out his car and drove straight out of town. The fact that he lived alone and has no close relatives made it easier for leaving.
And that is why Robert has found himself here, now, in this town. With that amount, he could support himself for at least three years without doing a spot of work. Mind you, a contractor’s job is not always rewarding. You don’t get paid on time, and you often have to make several alterations to your original completed works before the client would call it a day.
So, Robert is here now. With this lady by the name of Mary.
Now that you know why he is here, I would like to consult you. What if the bank found out that the bank account and telephone number written by him was a fraud, and that the intended recipient was actually Mary Sarah Chan? Although, technically speaking, an uncrossed cheque could be paid into anyone in possession of it.
Chapter 5
A hand nudged at Robert, and at the same time he heard a man shouting, “you can go now.”
He used his will power to pry open his eye lids and he saw a woman’s face.
And then this time to his surprise he saw the first prettier lady. She was wearing a bright lipstick different from the plain contour that he saw earlier on. He quickly grabbed hold of her, and he said, “I want to follow you home,”
Instead of which she replied, “sir, you could pay the driver,”
Still half asleep, Robert forgot where he left his money. He used his hand to dig into one of his pockets, and he took out several pieces of notes and handed it to the lady. She took it at once, using her thumb and forefinger to shuffle the notes like the way the money changer count money.
“Not enough?” he asked, looking for approval.
“You need to give another two pieces,” she said, holding up two fingers.
“I … err … I don’t have so much …. “, he spoke, only loud enough for himself to hear.
“I saw your wallet just now, you have enough,” she emphasised.
“Then why didn’t you take it from my wallet?” he became annoyed. Then I won’t even know. He thought to himself.
Without another word, he handed her his pouch. The woman flipped open the worn-out leather and slipped her hand into the compartments. She fiddled at them for a while, and then she took out a pile of ten-dollar notes.
“Is this all you have?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said, “there is also a credit card,”
“Oh this, you mean?” she flashed a blue card at him.
He took a look at it, “yeah I think so,” and then he got up from the slumber position.
She turned to the bus driver, and she gave him the notes, after taking out a stack for herself.
This time he was amiable to following her home.
“Where do you live?” he asked.
“Yes, where we came from,” she looked straight at him.
“Then why are we here?” he became angry.
“There was a fire, remember?” she refreshed his memory.
“Oh, yes, I forgot,” eager to know if the church was alright.
“Shall we go back there again?” he asked.
“Of course! But we have to discharge this driver first,” this lady Mary said.
“But … I thought you said …” he was still concerned.
“The fire was just an emergency response exercise; we have it all the time.” Lady Mary replied.
Throughout, she wore the same expression as though she was completely innocent of extortion. Or maybe it was just a mild form of coercion.
Satisfied, he slumped back onto the couch, his mind thinking of where he could have a coffee, his brains still in sleep mode.
What would they do if they found out?
“Of course, the car will stop at my house, but I warn you first, it’s very small, and I have an old woman in the house, she is my late mother,”
“Late mother?” Robert became very curious.
“Yes, she has dementia, she can’t remember that I am her daughter, she is as good as dead.”
“Oh,” he replied, “that’s why you call her late,”
“And how old is she?” he wanted to know if she was expiring soon.
“It depends on ….” she murmured.
“Depends on what?” Robert became fearful, afraid that he might be detained by the old woman whom he was going to meet. He has more urgent business to attend to. And he has no intention of entering into a permanent relationship with this Mary or whatever her name was.
The car cruised for what seemed to be an inordinate amount of time and then suddenly it pulled up by the side of a stall set up haphazardly. An old man with a long beard and a straw hat was seen pouring water into several cups at the same time.
“I need a coffee!” he shouted excitedly, “could you ….” his hands pointing at the stall outside his window. He swore he could have smelled the strong Arabia aroma.
“Sure, that will be fifty dollars”.
“That must have been the most expensive coffee I have tasted,” Robert thought to himself, before digging into his wallet preparing to give the lady Mary more money.
His slap phone vibrated in his pocket; he picked it up to see who it was. Then he put it back in his pocket.
“Your wife from home?” she asked.
“No, my cousin,” he said.
“Huh? Cousin calling from home to check if you were, ok?” she sneered.
Robert looked at her and asked, “How about you? You have a sister or at least a cousin?”
“Nope, mine died a long time ago,” she replied, with a kind of nostalgia on her face.
“Oh,” he said, “I am sorry,” and then he added, “brother or sister?”
“No need to be sorry,” she replied, “they are of not much use to me anyway, brother!”
“I find mine a nuisance too,” he continued, wished she hadn’t call me brother. I was supposed to be her boyfriend now.
Chapter 6
“Mother, I have brought Brother Robert to see you,” Mary announced the moment she entered the house.
“So, you have finally come?” the frail old lady looked at Robert without a blink.
I wasn’t sure that there a plot to bring me here.
He remained calm, “I could just leave by the next bus,” he told himself.
But since he was here, he told himself he should find out how he could make use of this situation, the purpose being to find a bank nearby where he could encash the cheque. He knew that the Bull Bank also has a branch in this town.
And then he saw the way Mary dissembled herself when she went into the house, and the speed with which she put her act into action. She took her shoes off, carefully slipping them into a shelved cabinet by the side of the front door, then she took off her straw bag and hung it on the clothes hanger just by the side on the left. Couldn’t say he wasn’t impressed with her.
Chapter 7
Robert slept well on the first night of his arrival, as he was tired out throughout the day. But he woke up with a recurring question:
“Is this Mary asking me to finish her mother off?”
Then it took him quite a while to recall that the recipient of the cheque was Mary Sarah Chan, and that this Mary is just Mary.
Chapter 8
Robert was sure it wasn’t the food. But in the middle of the night, he felt really thirsty. It was not the ordinary kind of thirst, but that of a very dry mouth, and he became longing for a drink, not just a drink but an iced cold drink.
He needed to go down and get some water, he told himself. But then he would wake up the rest in the house. The kitchen was below on the ground floor, and the old lady lived in the maisonette. Mary was just next door. It was a wooden floor, and it creaked a little if you apply too much force when you walked.
It was pitch dark as he opened the door. No light coming from the other parts of the house. And he almost tripped over a rug carelessly thrown at the staircase landing. One step at a time, he took his steps slowly holding onto the railings.
Then suddenly he heard a click sound. The old lady’s bedroom door opened, and she peeped at him from the narrow slit of the ajar door.
“You are awake?” she said, not suspecting anything.
“Yes,” I was hoping that she didn’t know that it was me, the uninvited guest.
“You need to use the toilet?” she queried.
“Err …. yes …. don’t worry I know where it is,” he didn’t want to prolong the conversation. All he needed was a glass of water. A tall glass of water.
“I think Mary can get it for you, let me call for her ….” she offered.
“Oh no, I can manage it myself,” the last thing he wanted to do was to alarm another person. He was sure that he could do this himself. Besides, he was thinking of how he could run away from Mary when the sun comes up tomorrow. He really didn’t like what she was putting him up to, judging by the looks of it. He didn’t want to remain here for longer than necessary; he wanted to encash the money he has in the bank account.
Chapter 9
This was the first time Robert has entered the kitchen. It was pitch dark. He could not see the stove. He couldn’t even see how many stools there were for the kitchen island. But he could see the fridge. It was white, like all fridges are, so that it stood out. Tentatively he walked towards it.
By habit he pulled the fridge door open. And then he saw nothing except several bottles of pills in different sizes. Out of curiosity he picked up one bottle and it read, “Poison – Keep Away from Children”.
This must be her medicine for the dementia, he thought to myself.
Then he saw that there was a carton of orange juice by the side door. Florida Orange! Robert grabbed at it and started looking for a glass. Thank God for these small mercies! Immediately he poured the whole carton down his throat without even the need for a glass. Then when he saw a glass on top of the cabinet, he used it and drank water from the tap.
He wasn’t surprised that no one saw him, since everyone in the house was supposed to be asleep now, including the dog Vodka. The old lady he thought she must have gotten back to bed.
And then he heard a door close. And a woman saying, “I don’t want.”
Too ashamed by his behaviour he quickly walked out of the kitchen and promptly went back to his bedroom. This time he already knew the way.
Back in the safe confines of his own room, he pondered on his encounter with the old lady. She had seen him, but he was only going down to get some water, no offence committed. So that there was no harm done. Even if she tells Mary about it tomorrow it was just to fulfil a basic need. He wasn’t a thief here although he has taken some money from his client.
Has she discovered that her cheque was gone? Again, he asked himself this question.
Chapter 10
The morning finally came after a long night. Robert couldn’t sleep at all as he was worrying about the status of the cheque. And he won’t know unless he has gone to the bank. This time he was thirsty for a good cup of hot coffee. He freshened himself up and he went straight down to the dining hall without much delay.
The weather was slightly chilly this morning, and Robert had put on a light jacket. The jacket was bought at a night market and a steal, and he was hoping that it would impress the ladies. Proudly, he took his steps outside the small bedroom, and he walked down to the main hall. This was where he first came in. There was no one in sight. Surprised, he walked around to the backyard where the dog Vodka was usually lying. No one.
This was strange!
As Robert stepped into the kitchen, he found two men. One was standing and the other was sitting on the stool in the middle.
“So, there is only one stool for the island,” he thought to himself.
“Where were you last night?” the standing man asked.
“I was here. Where else could I have been? I just woke up from a bed upstairs,” he replied.
“And who was the person you went to bed with?” he followed suit.
“I myself, of course,” a bliss to what went on downstairs, he said.
“Did you talk to a lady after you went to your bedroom? Or did she anytime come up to talk to you?” the man asked again.
The questions were persistent and fierce, so that he got a little annoyed.
“Why are you asking so many questions?” he said, “in the first place I don’t know who you are,” Robert said.
“Ok, then let me inform you,” the man smiled, looking slightly pleased with himself,
“I am the inspector in charge of this residential area, and we have found the body of a lady who has been identified by the neighbours as living in this house. You got this clear?”
“Oh my God! She is dead?!” Robert exclaimed.
Just when I thought I could use her as a cache of the holder of the cheque Mary!
“We are not sure of how many people are living in this house as of now, but you are the last guest the ladies received, so we have to keep you here for more information,” the man said.
“Wait! Who are you? Show me your ID, I am not obliged to tell you so many things,” Robert became adamant, when he was actually a fugitive of another potential crime.
“Fine, if that’s what you want,” by now the man was fairly acquainted with him.
He took out a pass from his breast pocket and he flashed it in front of him. Robert only managed to see the words: Inspector Morris.
“What is your full name?” It is Robert’s habit to remember full names.
“Let me have your passport first, then I can give you all my details,” Inspector Morris said.
He then signalled to his other friend, who had been ignored all this while, “follow him upstairs.”
Frustrated that his morning routine had been disrupted, as Robert always has a cup of coffee before he begins the day, he turned back and put his right foot on the wooden and squeaky staircase. And before he moved up, he tried his luck,
“Could I go to the kitchen and grab a cup of coffee first?”
“No, you may not, after you have given us what we want first,” the inspector was firm. As he was speaking, his friend came nearer, giving him no space to manoeuvre. The left side of his body was touching the edge of the wall.
Chapter 11
Let me describe the upstairs to you now, where Robert slept the night before.
The first thing you notice is that the room was clearly wallpapered because you could see the paper peeling off.
And then as you look up, you could see the fan hanging from a cracked ceiling. Robert did turn on the fan for a while last night but switched it off because it swirled at such a great momentum that he thought it might fall off if he let it rotate any longer.
A large double bed occupied the entire room, and all of his clothes were oozing out from the small suitcase that was lying on the bed. Apart from that there was a lamp on the bay window behind the bed which could not be turned on because there was no bulb in it. He did wonder if it was working.
He tried his luck again, “It’s too dark, could I turn on the lights first?”, this was an attempt to send the second man elsewhere to get the bulb.
“No, I am not going anywhere,” the friend was just as firm as inspector Morris.
“I don’t think I brought my passport with me,” Robert said.
“Then how did you come here?” he asked, a little unsure.
“I came by bus, I live in this town,” Robert replied.
“Could I search your suitcase?” the friend decided to help himself.
“Wait!” he shouted, “Do you have a search warrant?”
The friend stopped in his track, and then he turned to him, “Ok, let us go downstairs and see Morris,”
“Why didn’t you carry your passport with you?” Inspector Morris asked.
“My passport was due to expire, and I had sent it into the immigration department for renewal,” he replied.
“Ok, let me be frank with you,” Morris looked him in the eye.
“A woman living in this house was found to be dead at 7:00 a.m. this morning. Her symptom was that of an induced poisoning, and we are not sure whether she committed suicide or if anyone else induced her to swallow some poison.”
That bottle “Poison – Keep Away from Children”!!!
At once Robert asked, “Do you know the name of the poison?”
“No, not yet, we are trying to find the source of the poison,” Morris said.
Robert was about to move to the fridge to open it to see if the dammed bottle was still inside. But common sense told him not to reveal the fact that he saw it last night. In case they said he used it to poison the victim.
“Why don’t you just cooperate with us?” Morris looked him in the eye.
“What do you mean, inspector?” he was sure that he was innocent of the crime, assuming that it wasn’t suicide.
He couldn’t have known that I came down to the kitchen last night.
“I had done nothing …. I was here only just a day ago …. as you can see, my suitcase is still unpacked,” he defended himself.
“We don’t know, no one here knows how long you have actually known the victim,” Morris replied, and then,
“Let me be outright with you now. My name is Ryan, Ryan Morris, an inspector at the Salaita Police Station. Whether you are a witness or the potential killer, we don’t know yet. The victim is dead. But we need to put you as a suspect, and at the very least, to stand as a witness. Meanwhile as investigations are on-going, you have the right to remain silent,” Morris fished out a pair of handcuffs.
With that, the friend came forward, grabbed one of his wrists and then he felt a ring, together his other hand was placed in a pair of metal rings. He heard the click sound and the keys turning. That was it!
He was then ushered by the two men out of the house. Outside a police car was waiting and a driver was waiting to start the car. Only now then he realised that there were three men in this mission.
“Wait! I don’t even kill spiders,” he started to panic ….
The two officers ignored him and continued to lead him into the car.
Chapter 12
In the cell. His thoughts racing ….
Are they applying the principle “All men presumed guilty unless proven innocent” on me?
By now he couldn’t remember inspector Ryan Morris’s face. They were all in police uniform.
“Why did you kill the deceased?
….
“Why did you kill Mary?
….
“I have the right to remain silent,” he spoke.
“Good, you are talking now,” “How long have you known the deceased?”
“I only met her a day ago … the day before I woke up and saw you,”
“Good, an acquaintance, no motive,” officer replied.
“I don’t even know her real name,” he said.
“You often follow unknown women home? What were you looking for? Sex?” officer asked.
“Of course not, I knew that she was a decent woman,” he said.
“But then you said you just knew her? How could you have known?” “After all, she brought you home just after having met you … in the church did you say?”
“I can’t remember,” he answered.
“Olivia said she saw you in the church with her,” the officer’s eyes glued to his face.
“You followed her home, and when she refused to sleep with you, you killed her,” officer said.
“Did Olivia ask you to do it on your bed or her bed?” another question.
“Olivia? Who is Olivia?” again he asked.
“Answer me. Hers or yours?” officer’s voice was getting louder.
Oh, her name was Olivia not Mary.
“Err, I wanted to do it on her bed, but she refused,” Robert wanted to give him a story to lead him to an illogical conclusion.
“That meant that you did try, and when she refused to comply, you strangled her,” officer was insistent.
“Hey, I thought you said she died of poison,” Robert was alert again.
“No, the cause of death is still under investigation,” officer said.
“Ok, she did tell me that her name was Mary, I didn’t know that she was actually Olivia,” he said.
Officer threw a red book at him, “this your passport?”
He picked it up, “no,” he said.
“Why?” officer asked.
“I can’t remember my name,” he looked at it again. He was afraid that they might have found the cheque and his bank account.
“Ok, file it under unknown,” officer said.
“I am innocent!” He declared.
“Without your passport, we don’t know your identity, so we would have to keep you here for further investigations. You might be released once we have found the real killer.” Officer was reassuring.
“You mean I am not the real killer?” Robert continued with the conversation in his thoughts ….
Chapter 13
“I am not here to offer romance,” first things the officer who came in said.
“Then why are you here for?” Robert asked him.
“How much did you take from her?” officer asked.
“How much! I didn’t take any money from the house!” Robert immediately replied.
“So, when you found that they had nothing to offer you, you got angry and killed her,” officer said.
“Who died? May I know?” he was genuinely curious now.
“Come on, don’t play a fool with me, surely you know who you killed,” the man said. He was clean shaven and not the same as anyone whom Robert had seen earlier on.
“So, was it the young one or the old one?” Robert asked.
The officer wasn’t provoked, “you tell me, mate,”
“Err, let me guess … the young one,” Robert said, thinking to himself, “since they said that I had slept with the victim, surely, they must know that it would have been the younger woman that I slept with. No one in their right mind would sleep with a demented old woman.”
“How did she die? May I know?” Robert decided it was time he cross-examined the officer.
With this, the officer stood up and walked out of the room.
And Robert decided to fall asleep on the hard and thin mattress again.
Before he fell asleep, all he could say to himself was, you have the right to remain silent.
He remembered the song he used to play during Christmas – “Silent Night”. But it wasn’t winter and for once he realised that there was no chimney for Santa to climb in to give him what he wished.
Chapter 14
The officers brought him out again.
This time the driver was wearing a pair of oversized sunglasses.
His mind drifted away as he was being ignored. But at the centre of his focus, he was always concerned about the cheque. By now he has forgotten exactly how much it was. The police have a way of erasing memories.
The car stopped at a large brick building, and he recognised it as the church which he saw as “My Sanctuary”. No fire has swept the place. In fact, it looked exactly as when he first saw it.
“So, you are right, there was no fire,” he said, thinking that Mary was still with him.
“What fire?” one of the three scoffed at him.
“I was there!!” Robert exclaimed, he wanted to back track.
“No. You were not,” another man replied.
“Hey! You can ask Mary,” Robert exclaimed.
“No, her name is Mary Sarah Chan,” now the third one was speaking.
“Huh?” he was confused.
“Mary Sarah Chan is her full name.” Officer said again.
OMG!!! Robert almost fainted. His breathing became short, and his heart started to pump rapidly. If you read his pulse now, it was at least 135 BPM ….
…. So, she followed me all these whiles! She must have known that I took her cheque and decided to meet me at “The Sanctuary”. But why didn’t the woman just ask me for the cheque all the while? Why did she bring me home and put me to all the drama? If I stole from her, why would she even want me to meet her mother???
He found no logical answer to this.
“Ok, they haven’t found my passport, so they didn’t know my identity. And that’s why they are not talking to me.” Robert thought to himself.
He sat in silence in the car and told himself he must find out who died by the end of the entire episode.
He couldn’t remember what he did for the rest of the journey until he saw the prison cell again. This time another person was inside. He wanted to open his mouth and ask the guy who brought him here, and why it wasn’t empty.
But the thin figure was sleeping, so he decided not to wake him up.
To his surprise he was given salmon for dinner, the fish was fresh but there were no condiments. He refused to touch the coffee because he did not want to stay awake, for fear of further questioning. He won’t call this cross-examination because this was not a court of law.
After food, he went back to bed and lie down hoping to fall asleep. Under the circumstances, the best thing to do was to allow time to pass, until they have established his identity, which would have been evident in his missing passport. He tried to recall where he had hidden it, but he couldn’t remember. The earlier journey in the car with the police had made him forget things.
He started to think of Mary again. Is she really dead? Or was it her mother that died? And who was Olivia? And then he realised that he had forgotten to find out the name of the old lady before he met with the police. When he was with her he had assumed that since she suffered from dementia, she would have forgotten her own name.
Chapter 15
The person who shared the same cell with Robert was a young man whom he guessed was about twenty-five. By now he realised that they had put him in another cell. This time the beds were parallel with the door rather than facing it.
He decided to engage in conversation with the young man. He got up from his own bed and went up to his.
“How did you come in?” he asked.
“How did you come in?” the young man returned.
Selfish with his memories Robert chose not to share them. So instead of carrying on with the thread, he said, “Oh, I can’t remember,”
The young man gave him a petulant toss of the head and then went back to a horizontal position.
Deflated, Robert went back to his own bed and started to talk to himself, “are they framing me because I stole the cheque?” and then, “is Mary really dead?” “Surely the old lady could stand as my witness and confirm that I didn’t kill Mary.”
But fact was that no one heard the conversation when he went down to the kitchen on that fateful night. Or was Mary inside the room as well?
The door opened, and like a saviour a man walked in.
“Olivia said that she was with you on the night that she was killed,” the man said.
Hold it! How could this happen?! Robert thought they said that Olivia was dead, how could she speak? He jumped at the inconsistencies.
“So now who is dead???” He was getting inflamed.
“Surely you must know who you killed?” officer did not give in.
“It was dark, and there were no lights, I saw a lady at the maisonette, and I didn’t know if she were the young or the old,” he began to recall.
“I see, so it was in her room, not yours,” officer said.
“NO! I did not sleep with Mary!” He raised his voice.
“Calm down, David,” the man said.
Ok, they must have found my passport now. But my name was Robert not David!
“Let them think of me as David, I am in custody now. At least they haven’t found my account in Bull Bank,” he told himself. Robert looked at the tag on his wrist. It was a long number 12-digit number.
The man in plain clothes walked out again, without leaving Robert with a clue as to how his name could be changed from Robert to David.
Could they have altered my identity in the Immigration Department?
“Oh yeah, I did tell them that I had sent my passport in to the immigration for processing.” Robert recalled.
“There seemed nothing else to do except to memorise the number on his wrist. Which language shall I use?” He said to himself. Unsure, he tried to talk to the young man next to him again. But he remained unfriendly.
He started flexing his muscle in an attempt to exercise. He knew that he was engaged in a fight, but he didn’t know whom he was fighting against.
Cell is hell.
That was all Robert could say for myself. And then he realised that it was too soon for him to die.
He slept, with the comforting thought that he was still alive.
“Where is heaven?” He woke up with the sudden idea.
He turned to his side, then he found out that the young man next to him had gone. “He must have gone up to heaven,” he murmured.
And then he began to realise that he was in heaven before. He had a cheque for three-hundred and sixty-seven thousand to clear and he was supposed to collect his money in the Bull Bank.
“What should I do with the money,” he began to ask himself, in an attempt to think positive.
Chapter 16
Dinner arrived with just one plate of beef, the salmon that Robert looked forward to being given has vanished. He was utterly disappointed and then he realised that it might not have been dinner. It could well be lunch since by now he had lost track of the time.
He looked at the tag on his wrist again. After last night he had entirely forgotten about the number. Anyway, now he knew that he was either David or Robert.
Click, the door opened again.
“Robert or David?” Robert asked.
“You tell me.” The officer said.
“Ok, since you asked. My name is Robert, Robert Wong.”
“Good,” “here is your passport,” officer threw a book at him this time. He took a look at it, it was red, but not bright red.
“No, this is not my passport,” he protested.
“Then what colour do you want?” the man asked.
“You mean I can choose my own colour?” he was getting confused now, or rather delighted.
“Then I want purple,” he said, poking fun at the man.
“There is no purple, but if you want, we can do one specially for you,” man said.
“No need,” this time Robert decided to be cooperative, “any colour will do,” he said, and then, “may I know my name, please?”
“The young or the old?” again the man questioned him.
By now Robert had given up on who died, and whom he was supposed to have killed, and who he spoke to before he went down to the kitchen. Now he could only recall the name Ryan Morris, but even then, he could not remember how he looked like.
Chapter 17
The next time he saw the officer, he took the first opportunity and said, “I saw a bottle, in fact several bottles, of poison in the fridge. They were labelled ‘Poison – Keep away from children’. I don’t know if the young woman fed her mother with it.”
“But that is just hearsay,” officer said. How do I know that you did not make it up.
They are still not telling me who died – Mary or the old lady. And they are asking me to tell them.
But how would I know who died, unless I am the one responsible for it?
This is hilarious.
By now Robert realised that he has to make an educated guess. Perhaps if he guessed correctly, they might let him go.
Officer came in again. This time he went straight to the point, “young or old?”
“Old,” Robert said.
“Yes, she died of poison, it was her daughter who killed her,”
“And her name?” he followed suit.
“Mary, as in Mother Mary,” suddenly the man became friendly.
He smiled at Robert, “it is the same as the intended recipient of the cheque Mary Sarah Chan,”
“The cheque paid to her name would only have sufficient funds for withdrawal, provided that her mother Olivia died. But that since Olivia was too old and like she said, ‘she had already found her abode in heaven,’ we have decided to just keep her with us for four years, instead of the usual punishment for murder.”
“Ok, everything tied up now, the story is clear, and you may go.”
Still unhappy with the ending, Robert turned around and asked the man, whom I shall refer to as his saviour, “Robert or David?”
“Robert,” his saviour passed him a red book. He opened it, and the biodata page had his name – Robert Wong See Choon.
Chapter 18
Looking dapper, Robert had a fresh haircut the moment he got out, and he went to the Bull Bank to check on his account status. True enough, there was more than three hundred and sixty-seven thousand dollars, including his own money, waiting for him to spend.
He used part of it to buy a house, to get married, and to buy a statue of Mother Mary and a sparkling crystal Rosary. Every night he went in front of the statue and prayed for Mary Sarah Chan’s release.
Until this evening.
leegoldielocks 