Chapter 12: MISSING PERSON

I know y'all have the same question, how was I in possession of a gun .So this is the thing i didn't reside in the safest hood. Often you would hear cases of robbery with violence and theft and murder, also forced entry. So I applied for one and I carried it with me all the time. My wife wasn't aware of the same.

It was one in the morning. The world was dead silence. I was out in an alley with a person whom I wasn't sure if she was alive or not. To confirm I reached for her pulse, I couldn't feel it. When I held her arms they were very cold. I freaked out and for the first time I had a panic attack. I was struggling to get some air; it felt like I was also dying. I can't even what felt at all. After some minutes of struggling for air I pulled myself together. I moved her body from the entrance to the further end near the trash cans. I hid the body in between the cans. I positioned it such that no one would recognize anything. I removed my cardigan and wiped the blood then I walked away with it to ensure that I left behind no evidence.

2:00A.M IN THE MORNING

I arrived at my place and the lights were still on. I thought that I'd find her up waiting for me and she'd realize what I had done , take away my son from me and report me to the police prolly and I'd spend the rest of my life from behind bars. I tried to look through my translucent curtains. I couldn't clearly see her. So I headed to the kitchen window since it could give me a clear view of her. She slept peacefully with Michael in her arms. 'You failed them again' a random thought crossed my mind. I stood there trying to think realize where the rain began to beat me and what I would do to make it up to them. I only realized that I had much way important things to worry about than taking my family to the park and beach. I took advantage of the fact that both were asleep and I tiptoed to the bedroom ensuring I don't wake them up. Still in a confused state i took a hot shower and walked jumped into different clothes. The old ones I had thrown on the bed I grabbed them and put them in a black polythene paper and threw them under the bed. Just then my wife walked in.

"Jesus, you scared me!" she exclaimed. I'm sorry babe I said. She asked what time I arrived that I didn't bother to wake them up. 'I just walked in. She kept interrogating me as if she knew what I had done. Where have you been this whole time? Why didn't you return my calls? Honestly the questions kind of irritated me and they made me more nervous. Then suddenly she changed the subject 'WTF! Is this?' pointing at the red stains on our bed cover. It must have been my cardigan. Fuck I sighed softly not to make her suspicious. She sniffed it. "Babe what are you doing,' as I pulled it away from her nose. How's our son I tried to change the topic as well as I removed the bed cover and threw it in the laundry basket.

She replied "The son you're ignoring lately is doing quite fine and those stains smell like blood, did you hurt yourself?"

I didn't answer her, she didn't force me to say anything either. She got into the bed and covered herself and moved to the age of the bed. That night I can't say I slept at all. I had million thoughts running through. What I had done had already begun to haunt me. I had some serious guilty drive. I was afraid that she would find out and take my son away from and report me to the police.

Early in the morning, Michael ran to our room shouting 'Dad, Mum Merry Christmas'. The door flew open and as I turned my wife was not in bed. F*** I cussed. Where had she gone and what how much she knew freaked me out. I pushed Michael away as I looked under the bed and my package wasn't there. "Where's your mom?" I asked as I made my way out of the room. I kept calling her 'Babe…babe ...…' she was not in the kitchen, or sitting room. Where might she have gone? I checked if she was chilling on the verandah but she was nowhere. Could she have gone to the police? As I got back in, I heard some noises from the basement. I rushed there .Thank goodness she was there. "Where's it?" I asked. She didn't reply. I held her by the shoulders and I pulled her back almost falling down. "What's wrong with you?" she shouted as she removed her ear pods. I kept asking where it was. She asked me what I meant. I told her the black polythene that was under the bed. "I disposed it off," she replied and I left in a rush. I walked to the nearest supermarket with my pajamas with the black polythene in my arms, probably the most stupid idea ever. I purchased some paraffin and a matchbox then walked back to the scene. I looked around to make sure that no one saw me. That path wasn't mostly used since it wasn't safe at all.

Once I got there I confirmed that she was there and I let out a sigh of relief. Then I burnt what I carried including the bottle of paraffin. As I walked away I kept replying the voice of the gunshots in my head. I couldn't get the pictures of her smile and dead corpse from my head. I was so confused that I didn't know where I was going. What I had learnt in school flowed back into my memory. Men's Rea and Actus Reus. I'll only be held responsible for manslaughter not murder. I made up my mind and walked into the police station. The receptionist was a female. Good morning sir and how can I help you today she said. I just stood there lost in my thoughts. Debating with myself on what to say? I killed someone and I hid her body down the street? 'I….i….i…'I stammered. I couldn't get myself to talk. The woman just looked at me and ready to write whatever I wanted to say. Just then two ladies seemed troubled walked in. The older one said "We are here to file a report a missing person." The receptionist turned to me and asked me to take a sit and compose myself. As she attended to them I thought of how my time was up before it even began. As she asked them the details of the missing person and they answered I realized they were talking about my victim

Name: Maya Greenwood

Age: 45 years

Last seen: Yesterday

Description: Medium height, fair skinned, hair of shoulder length

What was she wearing last: A single sleeved white dress?

When asked their relationship the older one said she was her friend whom she had made plans and she didn't appear when the time came. Instantly I recalled her picking a call and assuring the person that she was on her way. The younger one was her daughter. The innocence on her face took me back to my son outside the courts being hurled those harsh words by the court of public opinion once I was found guilty.

What do I do? Should I just walk up to them and tell them the corpse of their loved one is hidden few blocks away from St Tropez? 'No I can't get arrested for one time mistake,' I also thought. I walked out promising myself that I was going to do things right this time. Tell everything to my wife and son. With a loaded mind on the words to say I crossed the road with looking for the oncoming vehicles. The continuous hooting brought my senses back to me. I realized I was in the middle of a busy road. The driver pulled the car right before me as if he was some superhero from some movie. He alighted and approached me. "Ooh! My good God do you want to be killed?" I raised my head and I realized it was Henry. I threw myself on him and I hugged him tightly without saying a single word. He held me tightly and asked me if everything was fine. I said nothing. Cassie from the other side patted my back softly. We got into their black Benz and they drove away.

They tried to question me to find why I was trying to get myself killed. I told them of how I was becoming a terrible husband and father to my son. How I kept on letting both of them. With tears rolling down uncontrollably. Cassie always walked with candies and she handed me one as it was our tradition.

We drove to my house, where they were also headed. The moment I alighted I recalled I hadn't brought any presents for the next day, Boxing Day. Disappointment was written all over my wife's face. No one could fail to see her anger. "Here you're why did you walk out on me and why have you not been picking my calls?" Before I could answer her my saviors walked in and she cooled down. I mean we shouldn't wash our dirty linen in public.

"Honey this are my best friends from school, Henry and Cassie, Guys this is my wife and that is my son, Michael," who was watching his favorite cartoons. They exchanged greetings as Henry, the usual hype man he is hyped how we looked great together. We had lunch together you could think it was one big happy family. After the meal we all sat by the TV waiting for our favorite TV show 'THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST'. Before the casting there was Breaking NEWS on the headlines. MISSING PERSON: MAYA GREENWOOD.

Cassie broke the silence "I think I might have seen her in the bar, where we were yesterday."