Christopher was in his study room seated on an office chair, he was skimming through files and flipping vigorously through pages of a document. He was deeply focused and buried in his work that he did not notice that Catherine entered the room.
Catherine was wearing a white strapless dress and black heels on her feet, she made a pony tail with her long black hair. She was neither fat nor slim, she was just right. She had beautiful makeup on her beautiful face: black eye liner and a red lipstick on her lips. She was very gorgeous.
She stood by the door with her hands akimbo. She noticed how busy Christopher was. She took few steps towards Christopher and said, “So you are here. I looked for you in all the rooms, I had left you in the living room. But here you are: working.”
Christopher slowly looked into Catherine's eyes and smiled innocently.
Catherine announced, “Dinner is served,” she then quietly sat down on a chair opposite Christopher and spoke. “I'm not leaving here without you.”
Christopher leaned back and spoke: “I forgot to inform you that I transferred K10,000 million into your name this morning, I have also put some documents in my safe for you as a gift. I'm sure you know the combination to that safe. I can't wait to see the look on your face when you open that safe.” He then chuckled silently.
Catherine retorted, “Why did you do that?”
He replied, “You are my dear wife, is it perhaps a crime to surprise you once in a while?”
Wrinkles formed on Catherine's round face, “My dear husband,” she began, “You of all people are aware that I'm not a fan of luxury. We could have used that money for something else, something more important. Perhaps we should have made some donations, it has been quite long since we donated some money to Charity, isn't it?”
Christopher closed the files silently one after another and shoved them into different drawers.
“Dear,” he spoke softly, “I know that you are not a fan of luxury. That is why I transferred the money directly into your account. Had I spoken to you about it, you would have flatly refused.”
He continued with love in his eyes, “And as for the donation, we did that multiple times last month. And yes we will donate this month, and probably the next and the next. But, you also need some ‘me time’ that means that you are to think of yourself sometimes. Make yourself happy by getting yourself something nice. You think too much about others but never about yourself.”
“By the way, you look amazing tonight,” Christopher complimented. He then asked eagerly, “What's the occasion?”
A horrible frown came upon Catherine's face. She had it for several seconds and asked, “Are you telling me that you forgot?”
“Forgot what?” Christopher was attentive as he stroke his chin.
Catherine scolded, “Of course you would have forgotten. You are always busy with files and paper work. You are so busy that sometimes you even forget your birthday.”
She continued in a calm tone, “Anyway, let me remind you that Mrs. Williams is coming over for dinner tonight. We invited her several days ago. She's actually on her way here as we speak.”
“Oh! Is that so!” Christopher exclaimed. “Let me quickly take a shower.”
Christopher quickly stood up and rushed out of the study room and ran into the bathroom. Catherine made her way to the living room.
Several minutes later there was a soft knock at the front door. Catherine hurried to the door, looked through the peephole. She saw Mrs. Williams through the lens standing with a black handbag. Quickly, she opened the door widely for her.
“Welcome Mrs. Williams!” Catherine smiled brightly.
“I hope I'm not late,” said Mrs. Williams.
“No. You are right on time,” She replied. “Please come in.” She stepped aside leaving enough space for Mrs. Williams to walk in.
The both of them walked to the dining table.
“Take a seat. I'll go get my husband.”
Catherine rushed to the bedroom to get Christopher.
Meanwhile, In the dining room, Mrs. Williams was admiring the house and everything in it. It was a modern house fashioned to attract any visitor.
The walls were painted white. Colourful neon lights on the walls, the tiles were very smooth that you could see your reflection.
Modern and expensive furniture, modern chandelier and a big television set. Everything was fancy and classy: the doors which were French doors, the tables, the chairs, the sofas and the utensils were all modern and expensive.
A wide and big aquarium was placed in the dining room so that you could enjoy the food and admire the aquatic life.
While Mrs. Williams was still admiring the basic features of the house, Catherine walked in with Christopher. He wore his finest attire – simple but appropriate.
They sat down.
“It is such a wonderful thing that you made it tonight,” said Christopher.
“The pleasure is mine,” responded Mrs. Williams. “I really admire what you've done with your house. It looks fantastic and very modern.”
Catherine replied, “All this was my husband's idea. I only helped in the decorations.”
Mrs. Williams responded promptly, “Either way it's amazing.”
“Thank you,” replied Catherine.
Christopher passed a bowl of food to Mrs. Williams, “Let us eat. We'll talk later.”
They began eating the food and enjoying the view of the fish swimming freely in the aquarium. Later the table was cleared and cleaned by Catherine.
They were still seated in the dining room as they resumed their conversation.
“I have brought you good news,” began Mrs. Williams, “Your request to adopt a child was approved successful by the orphanage board. Two to three days from today you'll sign some documents as the final procedure and then afterwards you will have a child running joyfully in this beautiful house.”
Catherine and Christopher had smiles on their faces. Their hearts were filled with joy after hearing Mrs. Williams words.
Finally after a long time they would be able to see a child running and playing in the house. There was no other great thing apart from seeing such a moment.
“I also took the time,” Mrs. Williams continued, “ to go through the files and backgrounds of the children at the orphanage. I was able to find the perfect child for you.”
She pulled out a picture of a little girl and passed it to Catherine.
“That is Memory. She is a 4 year old child but she will be turning 5 this May. She's much more cuter and beautiful in person than in the photo. But you have to admit, she doesn't take a bad picture, does she?”
“Certainly not,” Catherine replied and smiled.
Christopher spoke, “This is indeed perfect, we would certainly like to adopt her. And we really thank you so much for taking the time to go through the trouble of picking the right child for us.”
“It was the least I could do. You and your husband have helped many people through your donations. This is only a small favour from us.”
Mrs. Williams looked at the clock on the wall. When she saw that the time was 8 o’clock she spoke in panic, “It is getting late. I have to go otherwise I will miss the bus.”
Catherine said, “I have to buy some groceries and some wine for us to celebrate. Let me go with you because the store is near.”
“I can drive you there,” Christopher insisted.
“It's a walkable distance, don't bother,” declined Catherine, “I will find you here. One more thing,” she paused, “No office work. Tonight we celebrate.”
“Alright, then. You will find me watching my favourite show.”
He stood up and walked into the living room while Mrs. Williams and Catherine walked out of the house.
Catherine accompanied Mrs. Williams to the bus stop.
Later as she was walking back from the bus stop, she entered a store, it was not very big. A soothing music was playing in the background. The music was beautiful in the ears of Catherine. She got a shopping basket and began looking at the groceries. She would look at the product and then at the price. If the price was way above her budget; she would say to herself, “What a rip off!”
She walked over to the fruits section and picked up a variety of fruits: Apples, Peaches, Guava, Lemons, and purple grapes. She also got a gallon of milk, eggs, a loaf of bread and a bottle of vintage wine.
By the time she was finished shopping; her shopping basket was full of groceries. It became a bit heavy to carry.
It was 8:30pm, the owner was preparing to close for the day. He closed the entrance door so that no one could enter the store only exit the store.
Catherine slowly and carefully carried her shopping basket and placed it on the counter. When the owner of the store saw Catherine, he had a friendly smile on his face. The owner of the store was Bob: He was wearing reading glasses. He was wearing a red and black uniform with a bright yellow name tag that read, “Hi, I'm Bob.”
Bob chuckled when he saw Catherine.
He questioned her while counting her groceries, “Is it a date night, Cathy?”
She had a friendly smile on her face. She was flattered. She replied with a peaceful voice, “It is not really a date night, Mr. Willman.”
“Tell me then,” insisted Bob.
“We are finally adopting,” she smiled. There was calmness and brightness in her voice.
Bob was happy to hear the news. He congratulated, “Congratulations in advance.”
“Thank you,” she replied promptly.
“By the way, how is your husband?” Bob continued.
“He's fine. I left him home. I told him to stay away from business work until this process is done.”
“Is that so? Did you drive here?” Bob asked curiously.
Catherine replied, “You know I don't like driving around with expensive cars. I would rather walk. Taking a break from the luxury life for a while.”
“I understand. Anyway, don't bother paying for the groceries. It's on me,” insisted Bob.
Catherine had a frown on her face. It was like she was disgusted. She reached into her bag and got a purse. She removed money and handed it to Bob.
“Please, Mr. Willman. I'd rather pay for groceries. Big or small, I'll pay for them.”
Bob tried to refuse but Catherine insisted. Then finally after minutes of insisting and denying, Bob got the money and handed her the change. The groceries were put in the plastic bag.
Bob yelled as Catherine was walking out of the store, “Make sure to invite me once you adopt the child!”
“Alright.” She walked out and went home.
When she reached home, she entered the house through the kitchen door; she placed the groceries on the table in the kitchen.
She walked into the living room, but did not find Christopher. She called out for Christopher but he did not answer. The television was on and there was a depression song playing on the television. She listened to the song for a while then she continued calling Christopher.
She thought for a minute that Christopher was doing his business work in the bedroom or study room.
She said aloud while walking to the bedroom slowly, “If I find you with any document, I swear...” She was immediately filled with horror after seeing Christopher lying lifeless in a pool of blood on the floor with a knife stuck in his stomach.
Catherine fell on Christopher’s body. She cried her eyes out. She held the knife trying to pull it out, but she was weak. She also felt the pain in her stomach as she tried to remove the knife.
Just then; she heard the police sirens sounding outside of the house. She saw the blue and red lights flickering on the wall as the cars drove through the gate.
The cars parked outside the house, the officers got out of the cars. They kicked open the entrance door and rushed through rooms with pistols in their hands. They wore black uniforms with shiny badges on their belts.
Catherine heard the officers but she did not do anything: she did not run away or try to hide herself. Little did she know that the police officers were actually looking for her.
When they finally hurried into the bedroom and found Catherine beside the corpse; they pointed the gun at Catherine and commanded, “Hands behind your head! You are under arrest for the murder of Mr. Christopher Anderson!”
Catherine was confused, she stood up, her white dress was stained with blood. She walked towards the officers and tried to explain, “No. Officers.”
Almost immediately, one officer commanded, “Stay down! Stay down!” while another was sneaking up behind her.
The officer who was sneaking up on Catherine grabbed her from behind and pinned her to the floor.
She was shouting, “No... Officers this is a mistake!” She was handcuffed whilst been pinned down on the floor. They carried Catherine out of the house and throw her into the back of a truck labelled:
“DANGEROUS CRIMINALS”
There was a window at the back of the truck made of iron bars. It was small and specifically to let in air.
Catherine was alone in the truck, she was cold and scared; her husband was murdered and she was arrested by the officers and about to be taken to prison.
She continued pleading , “Officers please! This is a mistake, I did not murder my husband.”
The police sirens began to sound separately. Four motorbikes raved up and ready to accompany the truck to its destination; two bikes were in front, the other two were behind the truck.
The motorbikes in front began to move as the truck followed and finally the two motorbikes behind the truck. Lastly, the police cars followed behind the motorbikes, it was like a president was driving through the city.
Soon the motorbikes, truck and police cars were accelerating at full speed. When the drivers heard the sirens and saw the lights flickering, they immediately drove out of the way to allow the authorities to drive through.
