C9 EPISODE 9. A BETRAYER AND A SAMARITAN.

🎁🎁🎁POLICEMAN🎁🎁🎁

My colleague took the findings from a junior staff. He stuffed his hand into the bag and came up with a handful of stuffs. Baby's stuffs. Irrelevant stuffs.

He walked to the table and emptied the bag's content on the table. An ID card laid among other things in the bag.

"This looks exactly like the picture I have." His eyes fluttered, as he placed the two pictures together to compare and contrast. "She must be really smart to come up with a fake identity card. I know a fake card when I see one."

"Boss, look again. A picture of a baby. Jamie McCully is scribbled at the back." The same sergeant said, handing another picture over him.

My colleague nodded curtly in a way that says...Vivian had been telling the truth.

I mentally felt good that we answered her call at all.

My colleague turned to the part-timer, "Woman, how am I sure that you are not behind helping her hide?"

She shook in fear as she replied "No...honestly no...I did not know that she was the congressman's wife. Honestly, I'm telling you the truth."

The woman, Vivian, added." Yeah, she is telling the truth."

Next, he turned his stare to the old man that looked really bored. The man was just staring at them so reluctantly like he couldn't care less if they're looking for a fugitive or not.

"Do you know where she escaped too?" We asked the old man.

"I have no idea." He stated.

"She's your employee. Surely, you know where she lives. It must be in the form she filled before getting the job. Where's the form?"

The old man snored and walked to a bookshelf to start arranging it. "She signed no such form."

My colleague frowned. "Then, on what account did you hire her?"

"I saw a young kind woman, down on her luck and decided to help her." The old man spared us a glance. "She ain't look no such way you men painted her to be. She ain't mentally sick either."

"Yes." Another woman stepped up with courage. "I'm a regular customer here and Mina is not what the internet paints her to be."

"That part of it is not the business as hand." My colleague stated unfazed. "Our job is to take her to custody long enough for her husband to get her."

He walked away from older woman and his eyes darted from one customer working there to the other. Trying to see which of them bore resemblance to the picture in his hand. Especially the ladies there that had black hair.

They all looked frightened. Murmuring to each other as they tried to maintain their composure but to no avail.

"I guess she's truly gone." My colleague stated angrily. "We have to find her."

"We found the back door wide open and saw footprints marred all over the floor." One of the sergeant's voice echoed through the store as he made his way to us with a few of his colleague who had followed him to scan that area.

I and my colleague angrily went to check for himself. It was true. She must have gone from the back door.

"Find her boys. Everyone here should follow me to the station for questioning. If you don't, I'll assume you helped her escape. Now!!!!" He fumed, as he made his way to his black sedan outside of the library followed by his sergeants and the other people present in the shop. Vivian included.

"She must not leave this town. We must all find her ."He raged on, as everyone got into the police van. "Let's search this neighborhood first. She shouldn't be far away from here."

They must find her. If not, the congressman will not give us a breathing space.

Besides, a huge sum of money worth over a million was waiting, if they could get her in no time.

🎁🎁🎁JASAMINA🎁🎁🎁

I rushed back home and locked all the doors. I tried to relax and reassure myself through the fear beating at me.

I'll be safe here. They won't find me. It's a long walk from the Library to this place. They won't find me.

Jaimie started whimpering on the bed. I walked to him, carried him in my arm and withdrew my breast from the confinement of my tank top.

His mouth laced on it immediately and he started suckling hungrily. As always my mind went back to my drunkard who made it easier for me to feed my baby again.

I don't know when I started referring to him as 'My drunkard' but the name already stuck on my mind.

I bounced Jaimie softly but repeatedly, agitated and restless. How do I relax when I knew that the police were on my tail?

Where will I go if the police look for me here? In the two months and a week I've worked at the library, I've saved up a bit. If I go back on the run and into the streets, I'll go broke again.

What they say about not trusting anybody. Vivian...!

She'd played nice, only she isn't nice. She backstabbed me without a thought.

I stared at the already sleeping Jaimie in my arms. I laid him on the bed and sighed dejectedly. I tiptoed to my window and peering through the dangling curtains to check my surroundings.

My heart froze when I saw their car hovering round the area, probably going from house to house to sniff me out, stopping a few minutes at each to search and ask questions.

"Oh my God. I need to run!" I quivered looking very frightened as ever. Immediately, I shut my window and scampered to my wardrobe.

Run. Run. That was the only word that was ringing in my head as I jacked my clothes away from the hanger.

Picking up the familiar portable box and with tears burning in my eyes, I wasted no time removing all my clothes together with Jamie's and hurriedly placing all in my box with shaky hands.

Some of my basic items followed. And some cosmetics and provisions. Not forgetting my purse and all my cards—A.T.M card and my original I.D card.

I couldn't risk leaving anything they will easily use to find me behind. I made sure I left no traces. The items I couldn't carry, I just had to leave them behind.

When I was through, I quickly zipped the box and headed for Jamie, gently picking him up so he won't wake up and start bawling.

With my box in my right hand and Jamie in the other, I made for the back door of the house that faced the other street. Seems the back door are now my savior. They have helped me to scamper off without being caught.

I opened it with a force, scanned the area for any watchful eyes as I tiptoed out. Luckily for me, the coast was clear. Clear as crystal.

I made my way out, walking as fast as I could, with my hair covering half of my face.

"Let's check the back!" I heard one of the policemen say, and fear gripped me tight.

Just then, my distance neighbor, an older woman opened her door and gestured for me to hurry in.

I didn't think it through, I held Jaimie tight and rushed into the woman's house. The side was neat and cozy. She locked the door instantly.

"You're the wife of the congressman. I knew there was something familiar about you." The older woman said as she turned to me.

I search around fanatically, scared that their might be some policemen here and the woman is about to hand me over.

"Oh, no, don't worry. You're safe here for now." The woman reasurred, giving me a kind smile. "I'm a customer at the Library and I know you're a good woman, Mina. I figured a woman like you must have a reason why she doesn't want to be found."

I stared at the woman who looks like she's in her sixties. I walked to the window and looked out to see the policemen entering my house.

"I don't want to go back." I said to the woman, the fear in my voice apparent. I can't go back.

The woman walked to a chair and lowered herself in it. She looked at me carefully...as if she's looking for something. She frowned a little. "How old are you, Mina?"

"Twenty-four." I lied, telling her the age in my fake I.D.

She rolled her eyes in obvious disbelieve. "Oh, please. Just tell me the truth." She said gently.

I bit my lips restlessly and told her the truth. "I'm twenty."

"Jesus Christ. What sort of parents marries off their daughter at such age? We're in the twenty-first century, for crying out loud!?" She looked really horrified.

I shifted uncomfortably and shrugged. "My parents...they aren't the most ideal parents." I provided. I shudder to think how angry my mother is because I ran away from Dale.

"I had to leave or he would have killed me!" I blurted out to the woman.

"Oh..." She sighed in understanding. "I knew there was something never right about the congressman. My husband used to be very bad too. He beats me a lot when he was still alive. May his soul rot in hell." She stated scornfully.

I understand the woman's anger. I can't remember how many times I've wished Dale death too.

I stared out of the window and the police were already leaving, all of them to their car. "They're leaving, ma'am."

She got up and walked closer to peer out of the window too. She nodded her head in affirmation.

"It's time to go, then. You have to be gone before they come back because they will be back now that they've found out you lived there."

"Thank you for helping me. You're kind, ma'am." I faced her, speaking sincerely.

She waved me off. "I pray your husband never find you again." She paused and suddenly added, "You have a destination, right?"

I shifted uncomfortably at my feet and averted my eyes. I said nothing.

"Oh, dear." She whispered.

"I'll survive." I whispered back.

She shook her head firmly. "That won't do." She turned and walked away from me, disappearing into a room.

She came out later with a piece of paper that has hand-written words in them. "Here. It's a small house in Jadelza. It's a small town in Texas. You'll be safe there."

I stared at her in disbelief, staring at the piece of paper in her hand.

"Take it dear." She urged me. "It belongs to my only daughter but she already got married. No one has used that house in years."

I took the piece of paper from her. "Thank you so much, ma'am. I appreciate a lot!" Tears of gratitude burned my eyes.

"It's nothing, dear. I just worry about how you'll get to Texas from here. It's far away and I'm sure the police will be looking for you in every nook and cranny."

What she said is right. I don't know how to reach Texas, but I'll try. At least I have a destination now.

For me and for my baby, I'll try. Even if it takes days, I'll try to get there!