68. Angela Missing - 2

I was not just horrified, I was terrified, 'what kind of human being would do such to another living person?', I was questioning the whole of humanity and I was in a state of terror, not just me but the whole room was in despair. To this day, the images on the phone remain engraved in my mind, a scene from a serial killer thriller/horror movie. I don't know how my hand ended up covering my mouth, but there I stood in shock, with eyes wide open. Angela was stripped naked and hanged with her hands above her head exposing her rib cage. Her head fell lifelessly on her neck and her whole body was covered in blood, there was even blood trickling from her head, and the whole ground where she was hanged was a blood sheet. I also thought she was dead until a message followed and I was the one who saw it first since the phone was in my hand, the tone of the text showed no remorse nor guilt, 'just how sick is this person?' I wondered as I read:

"If Walter doesn't annul the marriage in 24 hours, I am going to whip and cut her until she becomes a corpse then burn her body with acid and fire.", I gasped as I read the explicit message, but one thing was for certain, it was definitely Khalinda. 

I had Angela's sign of life and I was excited to share it with everyone, I ran my eyes around the room and the faces were darkened with grief, loss, and despair, Lira was sobbing while she cuddled Angela's jacket in her arms. While, in addition to loss, Rachel and Walter seemed to have succumbed to their guilt, they couldn't stop blaming themselves. Angela had no idea what her death would do to those people and I was not prepared to have everyone lose themselves over something that was outside their control. They needed to hear that she was still alive, I knew that was the only thing that would ignite a glimmer of life in them, knowing that she could still be saved was the only thing they needed to hear. I instantly yelled, "Guys! She's not dead yet...", and I was right because the room fell into silence as if to question what they just heard, Walter went as far as anxiously grabbing my shoulders, and his eyes desperately begging me to repeat and I iterated now calmly and slowly, "She is not dead. A message just came through".

Lira instantly teleported to where I was standing, although tears were still running down her face, I could see her eyes breathing life again, she sniffled shortly after scanning the message, and with confidence, she remarked, "Okay, this is easy, we just have to make sure Walter divorce her in 24 hours, doable right?",

Walter took the phone from her, read the message then supported her remark, "Yes, I will call my lawyer right this second", he handed me Rachel's phone before turning to the balcony to call his lawyer.

I had so many questions about the whole kidnapping saga; how did she hang her like that? Because it was not something she could have done on her own. And how did she transport her to that place? Thanks to those many nights of crime documentaries, my detective instincts kicked in, and I instantly began scrutinizing the picture for clues. Luck was on my side because I saw that she was hanging from a big chain hook attached to a pulley, as far as my limited knowledge went, the size of that equipment is mostly associated with factories and other manufacturing industries, which meant warehouses. I knew only one person who was interested in this business, this had Bonga all over, I recalled my mother telling me about his many properties and how some needed to be developed. As much as my gut told me it was his property, I refused to believe that he was helping her, he had no reason to hurt Angela. Thank goodness I only blocked his number, hence I still had them on my phone. I shot him a message and began patiently waiting for his response.

Walter finally hung up the phone but his face was wearing a frown and we all knew what it meant, "Uhm, my lawyer is dealing with a family emergency but he asked someone to handle the case-"

"Okay, that sounds like good news, but why the gloomy face?", Lira interrupted,

Walter helplessly sat on the couch, and a heavy sigh followed, "He will only be able to do it on Monday." It broke my heart to see him so defeated, the strong confident man I knew was wearing the face of a broken, desperate man. Rachel has since been quiet, all she could do was hope that her sister didn't go that far. 

"Walter, I think you should call her parents-"

"No!", both he and Lira shouted without even giving me a chance to elaborate further, well on the bright side, at least they were getting along quite well.

I calmly sat next to him, and took his hand, "Listen, her father is connected with big people, maybe he can get someone to hasten the divorce proceedings and not only that, we might actually get to save her because I don't think Khalinda will let her go without something to physically remind her of this day forever", and my bet was on the acid, she wasn't simply going to let her walk away. His face showed that he was reconsidering it because he fell into a long minute silence, and Lira was also quiet, I knew deep down, they knew I was right.

Walter finally took out his phone and made his way to the balcony, we all just anxiously watched him through the glass sliding door as he paced up and down while occasionally running his hand through his hair, he looked agitated, after the 10-minute phone call, he finally walked inside with a complete change in attitude. I am not sure what his father-in-law said to him but Walter came back determined, not only to find Angela but to also make sure that Khalinda gets maximum security prison, "I am going to catch this bitch!", he snarled as he clenched the phone in his hand. 

In response to Walter's newly found fight spirit, Lira also changed her attitude, vowing to be the one to rescue Angela, I guess the thought of having another man assume the role of a knight and savior over her queen did not sit so well with her. 

I finally got a response from Bonga confirming my suspicions and I didn't waste time calling him back, "Bonga-", I said as I headed towards the balcony, but Walter followed behind and his eyes harbored so much hostility that I couldn't even speak freely but the moment I mentioned Khalinda's name, I saw the tension in his face being replaced by confusion. I know it was not the right time, but seeing him look at me like that made me want to kiss him, I hadn't kissed him in a while and I wondered what his lips tasted like when mixed with jealousy. My eyes were glued on Walter's, and his lips when my attention was suddenly drawn back to the call I was having with Bonga, his words on the other end of the line lit up my eyes. I couldn't contain the excitement of knowing that in not so long, Angela would be coming home.