PUZZLES

Minutes have passed since I got off the phone with Paul. I managed to drag my weak trembling self to the bed and slammed on it, just like Grace here beside me. My mind is running at a marathon pace, trying to connect all the dots in this puzzle, but I am failing as hard as I am trying. I am sure my sister is doing the same as well.

What is happening?

What is not happening?

Why would the police be given different reports about something as useless as a mere corpse, much less a dead shit of such a cruel monster, huh? I mean, it does not make sense at all. What is with the contradictions? Was it even necessary for the high-ranking officials to get involved? I mean, all they needed to do was just give orders on what to do with the body and leave the action to their juniors, right? What was the need to confuse a dead body? And lie about it? This sounds weird! It seems all so dubious to me.

I would understand it if they gave one report to the police, but they lied. Why did they have to tell the police in Mombasa that the report was shared with the Nairobi police while they knew no such thing had happened? I smell a rat here. Something is fishy. Things are not adding up at all. And I am loathing this. So much. Now I am even more scared. What is this, huh? Some damn bombshell that life is throwing my way again?

“Now you see what I mean, Gia! Now we are not even sure that that monster is really dead. What if he"

“No!” I snap at Grace, turning to lock eyes with her. “I forbid you to say what you wanted to say, Grace! Let us not get ahead of ourselves. We should at least try to look at the positive side of it. I killed Ejay! And it wasn’t done in secret. It was not just one or two bullets; we can say there is a possibility of him surviving. He is…He should, he must, he must be dead.” Yet even I myself am not believing my own words. I should be stating it with so much certainty, but I am instead saying it like I am trying to convince myself that he is actually dead. I feel like I am trying to falsify the facts.

“And I understand you, Gia, but what now? This is a mystery that we need to solve. You believe there is something unusual here, right? The police report the missing corpse, and I believe we can call it missing at this point. I mean, practically, no one that we know knows where the body is or what exactly happened to it. And then what just happened to us earlier? I feel like all these incidences are enmeshed.” Grace says.

I know, right? I feel the same. There is some mystery behind all this, and I hope we can find out just what this mystery is all about as soon as possible. I cannot bear another mess. I cannot bear another quagmire. I cannot handle this. Not after what I went through with Ejay. Not after all the trauma I suffered.

Where is that cursed body, huh? I want to know where it is so that I can tear it further with bullets. I need to find it. I need to know just why the head of the police department had to lie about it. I need answers really quick.

“Gia? What are we going to do, huh?” Grace speaks again.

I play bold, looking at her with faked but convincing equanimity and bravery. “We will fight tooth and nail against anything that confronts us, Grace. We are not backing down. Whether it is Ejay’s ghost that is beginning to haunt us or some other monster out there trying to hunt us, we must remain vigilant and show no sense of caution. We will win once again if a repeat of what we just conquered happens again.” I say, and she frowns.

She stares at me for a minute, studying my face, and I remain steadfast in my act of bravery. “You wouldn’t speak like this if you were sure that that monster was really dead, Gia! Tell me the truth, Gia. What do you know?” She asks, curtains of fear hanging heavily on her face and in her eyes.

Sometimes, it is good not to lean so much on the bright side. Being optimistic can be too dangerous at some point. Embracing positivity at this point may not be a very good sign. We must remain open-minded about anything. I mean, we already have the red flag that things are not cool. The flames we saw hours ago are enough to prove that there is fire somewhere. If we remain complacent, we will most definitely get burned. It is always said that we must be able and willing to embrace change, no matter how it comes. We should always change with change.

And this is a sudden change that we need to embrace as soon as possible and try to understand what it is all about. As much as we would like to continue basking in this glee of the terrific peace that we have been bathing in since that catastrophe ended, we must lay it down for now before we are struck off guard.

“I know nothing, Grace. I…”

“But there is something going on in your head, Gia. What is it?” She cuts me off.

I take a deep breath. “Here is what I think. That man had connections. Some pretty, bloody, deep, and wider connections. Maybe there is some dirty partner of his out there who wants to take revenge. Something of the sort.” I say. I know that Bastard had deep connections. For someone to run such a vast, dirty empire like his without any problems, I am sure that his connections went deeper, even to the authority department. And for that reason, I just hope the worst that I am thinking is not the case. I so hope.

“Maybe, but that does not explain the mystery of his body and the contradicting reports.” Grace points out.

“I know, and that is where I will begin to crack this puzzle.” I say.

“What do you mean?” She asks.

“I was the key to capturing Ejay. I was the one who delivered his dead body to them. I was the key to them getting rid of that monster. I have all the rights to know exactly what happened to his body and why there are different reports. I will talk to the general myself.” I state, and I am determined to do anything to speak to that man.

“Are you sure? What if he refuses to tell you anything?” Grace asks.

“That is the only way, and he has no reason whatsoever for him to refuse to tell me what I want.” I explain.

“And do you think he might be hiding something?” Grace asks.

Does he? Is there something to hide? Like what?

Just before I can respond, a slight knock on the door disrupts us. I know the officers are outside, so I stomp to the door without any fear. Opening the door, the bright face of Officer Martin greets me.

“I am sorry to disturb you, Miss Gia. Someone dropped this for you just now.” He says this as he hands me a small white envelope.

“What is it?” I ask as I receive the letter.

“An invitation, he said.” Martin says.

An invitation for what? And in the middle of all this chaos? Is this a temptation or something?