His mistaken Identity

Chapter 6

“You don’t look exactly happy about this.”

Christopher looked over his shoulder at Thomas and arched an incredulous brow. “Am I supposed to be jumping for joy?” He couldn’t even bring himself to clamp his hands or smile.

His friend snorted. “Maybe not ‘jumping for joy’ per se, but at least relieved. You look like you just got informed you have a lumbar puncture examination.”

“Thomas, I just moved out of my beautiful house against my free will. And I still don’t know what will happen to that woman and her child.”

Thomas stepped further into the master bedroom of the new house Christopher had just moved into. Everything had happened so fast, his head was still spinning. Finding a house at such short notice was supposed to be almost impossible in the capital city. But with money, Christopher had found out, mountains moved and the sea literally evaporated to make a way.

The economy was so bad that people were willing to do anything to make a few extra coins just to survive. All Thomas had to do was call an agent and promise him a decent sum of gratitude for his efforts, and less than two hours later, the agent had a house for them.

Thomas had been against the idea of Christopher returning to his house, even for just a few hours it would have taken him to pack his belongings. The risk had just been too high. Too many unknown facts. So again, money had taken care of that. A small upcoming company was hired, given the keys and his new address.

Five hours later, Thomas and Christopher stood in the middle of Christopher’s new house. Thomas liked the place and had said as much. The rent was a little high for the everyday white-collar employee, but the place was beautiful. And it wasn’t like Christopher Baker couldn’t afford it.

The location wasn’t bad either. The new house was one of four in a well-secured compound. That was what had sold the place to them in the first place. The level of security around the house was a comfort considering what had just instituted the move from his former house. High block-built wall fence, and a live electric fence at the top. The compound also had an electronic gate and two beautiful, big dogs. A black Rottweiler and a brown Boxer with a patch of white on its back.

Thomas looked out of the bedroom window and saw the two dogs sleeping in their kennel tacked away in the corner of the yard out of sight. The owner had informed them that the dogs were only let loose at night. Thomas made a mental note to never make any late-night visits to Christopher’s new home. He didn’t hate dogs, but he also wasn’t exactly a big fan.

He shook his head and turned away from the window. “Look, like I said… it was either a grim joke, or some very sick bastards were up to no good. Either way, just be grateful you are no longer a part of it. I’m sure once they realize you are not going to fall for their game and they can no longer find you, they will let her go. That’s if there was a woman and baby kidnapped in the first place. These days… nothing is for sure. There are con men and women everywhere just waiting to make a dollar on some fool who falls for their tricks. You can’t be too careful.”

Christopher heard every word his friend said. It wasn’t the first or even the second time Thomas was saying something along those lines. He just hoped the man was right. Christopher would hate to be responsible for any harm falling on some innocent woman and her child. He still believed he should have gone to the police with the matter, but Thomas insisted there was no use. Clearly, the man had no faith in the justice system in the country, but maybe he was taking it a little too far. Christopher held his tongue on his opinion. He would think about it once he was alone and if he still felt convinced the police were the right call, he would do it. Regardless of his friend’s opinion on the matter.

With a sigh, Christopher walked out of the master bedroom to inspect the rest of his property that the moving company had packaged and transported for him in several boxes. Too bad they didn’t unpack, he mused with a frown as he walked.

The hangover and headache were long gone. Thank God. But he could feel another headache coming just by looking around the house and all the packed boxes.

“They should really include unpacking as one of their services,” Christopher murmured, mostly to himself.

Thomas laughed suddenly, obviously having heard him. “Too bad Natasha is no longer a part of your life. Women are good for that sort of thing. Unpacking and putting things in place. Curtains, pillows… toothpicks.” He laughed again.

Christopher frowned. He looked around the living room, a maze of boxes and furniture. If a tornado had run through the house, picked up everything, and tossed it around, it wouldn’t have looked any better. But even with the incentive of having a homemaker, he didn’t think he would gladly take Natasha back so fast.

No, he wouldn’t take the woman back even to avoid unpacking. The idea of living with the boxes ever for a full year held more appeal. He got lost in his thoughts for a moment before he gave himself a shake. He had to do something, at least the bare minimum, to make the first night in his new house comfortable. Christopher made a mental image of all his possessions and ticked off what was vital and needed immediate unpacking. The rest of the stuff he was going to leave in the boxes. Thankfully, he was a bachelor, and he now lived alone. All he needed was a bed with sheets on it. The coffee machine for his morning cup, and the television for entertainment and news. Decision made, he rolled up his sleeves, ignored his friend, and got to work.

***

At some point, after hours on the move, Jane had lost all her energy and running became an impossible task. She fought the pain in her shoulder the best she could and managed to put Tony on her back, using the same blue sheet as a wrapper to secure him.

The baby slept throughout the run. Peacefully enjoying the warmth of his mother’s body next to his. Ignorant of everything that was happening or the state his mother was in.

As soon as she had left the house where she had been held, Jane realized exactly where she was. Recognizing her exact location had brought enough relief to ease the elephant sitting in her chest for a few seconds. There was a minuscule grain of hope on the horizon.

The state lodge area was a very quiet countryside with large farms and beautiful houses so far apart the neighbors barely knew each other. It was the kind of place people lived a leave-me-alone kind of life. Mind your own business was the norm and nobody batted an eyelash about it.

It had been the ideal place to hold a hostage. Jane realized she could have screamed her lungs out without ever being heard. And if by some miracle she had been heard, no one would have paid enough attention to call the police. Not that law enforcement would have been particularly useful.

As she got away from her kidnappers, she avoided the main road, not wanting to risk running into the men. That would have been tragic. Unfortunately, keeping away from the roads meant she had a much longer distance to walk.

Three hours later, and her legs threatening to fall off, she reached Bauleni, a low residential area with a farmer’s market, clinic, and the busiest bus stop in that part of town. Jane could have wept with relief as she blended into the crowded streets. Knowing that there was no way her abductors could get her now.

She used the baby blanket to cover her injured shoulder and hide the blood. Blood loss, fatigue, and pain made her light-headed, but she made her way to the clinic. Thankful that Government clinics were free, so she didn’t have to worry about paying for medical attention. She had no money.

When the nightmare had started, Jane had been abducted directly from her tiny apartment by the men. Everything she possessed, every coin, was back at her apartment on the other side of town.

Jane reached the clinic and waited on the side, leaning against the wall, until she saw a nurse walk by. With the last of her energy, she walked over and asked for the nurse to take a look at her shoulder.

The nurse was in the process of explaining that she had to wait her turn when she noticed how pale Jane looked. The nurse gave Tony a look, then gestured for Jane to follow her.

Less than an hour later, Jane walked out of the clinic with a stitched wound, a tetanus shot, and her arm in a sling. The nurse had taken the initiative to give her some glucose, which had gone a long way in giving Jane back some much-needed energy.

The nurse had wanted to admit her for observation and have a doctor give her and Tony a more thorough check, but Jane had declined. The longer she stayed at the clinic, the more questions would be asked. She wasn’t sure how much she could say, and she wasn’t about to risk Tony again.

So, while the nurse left her for a moment claiming she would be back with a clean shirt for Jane, Jane walked away from the clinic. Her mind quickly formulated her next step.

She couldn’t go back to her one-room apartment on the other side of town. Her kidnappers had taken her right from her bed. They would find her in a heartbeat if she went anywhere near her apartment.

It was obvious she needed to find somewhere to stay. She also needed food and diapers for Tony. In short, she needed money.

After another half hour of walking, she reached a small shopping mall and just stood and watched. All she needed was some money. Stealing was not a good example to set for her son. But if she died from hunger, she wouldn’t have the opportunity to give her son any kind of example.

Nervous and apprehensive, she moved around the mall’s parking area until she spotted a woman leave her expensive car hastily. The woman was in such a hurry; she was locking the car when she was already five steps away from it.

Whatever the woman was rushing for had to be very important, Jane thought as she watched the woman nearly run down everyone in her path as she continued walking away from her car.

Jane looked back at the car and quickly noticed the woman had left the back passenger window rolled down more than halfway.

Jane didn’t even think twice. She moved as calmly as she could muster towards the car.

A cautious look around showed no one around that part of the car park, so there was no one paying her any attention. She knew there should be a few security personnel around, but none were within sight of the car.

Security cameras were a possibility, too. However, the car was packed almost at the far end of the car park. Even if the camera was fixed on her, Jane doubted they would see much. Besides, a signpost in the car park warned the customers that they parked their cars there at their own risk.

She remembered the first time she had read the sign at another mall. Jane had wondered if the management of the mall was just avoiding responsibilities or if they just didn’t care about their customers. One would have thought they would make it their priority to ensure their customer’s cars were secure, so they continued to shop at that location. Apparently not, and today Jane was grateful for that.

She reached the car and looked inside. The back seat was full of grocery bags. Quickly, she put her hand through the window and unlocked the door. With haste, she looked through the items in the bags.

With a baby on her back and only one functional hand, the other in a sling, it was not an easy task. And she didn’t have the luxury of time. Frustrated, and with her heart now beating somewhere at the back of her throat, she emptied one bag hastily and then proceeded to load it with the foodstuff she picked from the other bags.

Bread, biscuits, fruits, juice, and cheese. She took as much as she could as fast as she could. She was just about to leave when she noticed a handbag in the front passenger seat. Jane muttered a quiet apology to no one in particular and grabbed the handbag and the full shopping bag she had loaded and quickly walked away from the car.

Her heart was racing like crazy until she was safely away from the shopping mall and nobody was chasing after her.

Pressed against a fence for support on one of the quiet roads, later, she went through the handbag and found a thousand kwacha. It wasn’t much, but it would go a long way from keeping them away from death’s door.

Hours later, when Jane lay on the bed in a cheap motel and closed her eyes, she finally allowed herself to think over everything that had taken place.

A cocktail of emotions went through her. Relief, fear, and anger were the major ingredients. It was almost impossible to tell one emotion from the other. She opened her eyes and sat up on the bed. Ignoring the pain in her shoulder. Several seconds ticked by as she stared at the dirty white walls of the room. And then she looked at Tony, who was asleep next to her.

The only solid thought that crossed her mind was how she almost lost her son because of Enock. Enock, who was supposed to be dead but was instead alive and enjoying life while she had almost lost hers.

Jane took a deep breath. Anger burned in her heart and pulsed through her veins. She thought of everything she had gone through since his apparent death. She thought of every night she had cried herself to sleep these past months because she had missed him.

The pain of betrayal was almost too hard to bear. It made her chest tight. Jane stood up and began to pace, seeking any way to relieve some of the pressure building in her. Her mind started to form a plan. She had to find Enock.