Chapter 5

The duo huddled together for warmth in the cosy sofa. Miriam was quite tipsy from the shots of whisky and cigarettes as she curled up in Ben's arms. She felt a rage of emotional turbulence brewing within her while she struggled to free herself from the impact of the day's mix of events. Slowly, she removed herself from Ben's arms and staggered to her feet--still feeling the impact of alcohol. Ben followed suit hoping to steady her as she made to move away from the sofa. He grabbed her hips from behind and pressed his body against hers.

''You sure need some rest now,'' Ben whispered in her ear as he felt the heat of the warmth between them.

Miriam turned round. She couldn't help herself as she buried a deep kiss on Ben's lips. She felt her emotional turbulence gradually calm down as she sustained the kiss much longer. A new lease of breath seemed to have come upon her; she seemed to have found the therapy she had craved. She wrapped her arms around Ben's neck and committed her body to the man who was equally poised to sate her desires. Slowly, Ben cupped her boobs and squeezed gently. It was not long before Ben lifted her by the hind thighs and she subsequently clipped her legs around Ben's waist, clinging to his neck as they smooched deeper and staggered into the bedroom. Ben had an easy task of it as they both crashed into the bed and continued the in the act. Miriam felt her brewing tension dissipate and the flames within being doused. She couldn't stop now; she wanted a deeper contact. If this was her therapy, ah, she was ready to take an overdose. The thought of having to be saddled with protecting Salim and the unfair victimisation of Banning irritated her that she could burst out dangerous. She needed to purge the feeling and, yes, Ben was aiding the process. In this moment, she wrapped her arms and thighs around Ben as the man himself took charge from beneath and rode the toxic feelings out of Miriam.

Shortly afterwards, the duo unlocked arms and bodies as they slid under the duvet. Miriam felt recovered from a toxic feeling as much as Ben felt his energy perfectly sated. For a moment, they laid under the duvet staring at the colourful chandelier suspended from the ceiling without uttering a word. Silence with a mixture of animalistic cologne pervaded the room.

''Jack Banning is back in town,'' Miriam remarked, breaking the silence.

''Jack Banning?'' Ben asked startled as he sat up and looked in Miriam's direction. He reclined against broad bed frame. ''I thought that dude was put to death after the Tony's murder case.''

Miriam looked in Ben's direction and kept mute while she listened out for more from Ben's reaction.

''Oh-oh, wait, I think I got this figured out,'' he said anxiously, ''you mean Jack's ghost has been roaming the town making meat of people?''

''But Jack's not dead. He was hijacked by some mafias from team 404 on their way to execution through the Gobi dessert.''

''Oh-oh, that son of a gun!'' Ben remarked startled . ''He probably arranged his own kidnap. Let me get this straight; he murdered Kasidy in that hotel?''

''Ben!'' Miriam yelled, irate and displeased with Ben's remark. ''How could you be mean and say such about an Innocent soul?''

''Innocent Soul?'' Ben replied startled. ''Babe, you're the inspector of the Vagas County. You and I know quite well Jack murdered Martha McDaniel's brother. How's that innocent?''

Disinterested in Ben's submission about Jack, Miriam crumpled her face and shot a bloodshot look at Ben. She yanked the duvet off her unclad body and slid her panties on. She reached for her camisole and slid it on before storming out of the room to the lounge

''Bullshit!'' Miriam cursed. ''Total bullshit!''

Ben scuttled after her feeling a pang of regret for his submission on Jack. He slid into his boxer shorts hurriedly and made for the lounge where Miriam had reached for a stick of cigarette to relax her temper.

''I don't mean to jump to conclusion about Jack,'' Ben said remorsefully.

''Spare me, Ben. Spare me your conspiracy theory about Jack!'' Miriam snapped, then took a puff at her cigarette. ''There's more to this story than you think!''

''I honestly didn't wish to meddle in this case. It's your jurisdiction,'' replied Ben, taking to caution. ''At least the media gave us the broadcast and it's a popular belief. The footages are there, babe.''

''The media! The politics! The bureaucracy and malpractices amongst the elites. No one ever sees the long years of Jack's loyal service to the VP. All they see was a man amidst the murder set-up at the Phantom Arena that night. He never even pulled the trigger.''

''Let me get this correctly; that Jack was not responsible for Tony's death?'' Ben asked fixing a squinted gaze on Miriam's tensed facial expression. ''Then who blasted Tony in his Volkswagen in the Phantom Arena park? Jack was caught pointing a rifle at Tony that moment the cops arrived the park. That's the proof we all got from the media, right?''

Miriam turned away and took a short walk towards the bar. She held her cigarette between two fingers and took a long puff at it. She inhaled the smoke, shutting her eyes close and suddenly exhaled to release the tension with a mass of smoke. Getting to the bar surface, she reached for the saucer and stubbed her cigarette against the dishware. She turned back at a slight angle to face Ben while she took a short pause afterwards. She racked her brain really hard to relay to Ben--without giving a hint of her relation with Jack--how Jack had explained the twist of events that got him meddled in the murder. Revealing her relation with Jack Banning to anyone was the least of things she would want to do. She had come to be identified as Miriam Baltimore since Patricia initiated a divorce against Jack and got hitched with Jerry Baltimore, the political big shot.

''You know, Jack was the pawn in their game--their silly game,'' Miriam said, forcing a mild smile and leaning her back against the bar counter. ''What went down at the Phantom Arena on that night was a branchild of the political top guns at the get-together.''

''Was it?'' Ben asked, listening out for more.

Miriam fixed a gaze on Ben's face and examined if he truly followed.

''Tony had a lucrative deal with some of big names and top players in business,'' Miriam explained flinching her face away from Ben as she reached for a bottle of whisky in the bar. ''But Tony lost the deal and the young lad had failed to honour his own side of the deal for obvious reasons: he was the vice president's brother and he had clout.''

Ben listened with keen attention as Miriam reached for a glass cup and poured herself some whisky. She gulped the spirit down her throat at a single shot and made to pour another one, but she paused a bit and continued.

''Tony's decision provoked his business counterparts to anger. They felt oppressed and sought to wipe him out. But how were they going to orchestrate a clean plan of it?'' Miriam paused and proceeded to pour the whisky in the cup. ''Well, the Phantom Arena night get-together was their best bet.''

Studying Ben's facial expression, Miriam took the glass cup of whisky and strolled across the lounge.

''Right there, Tony was shot dead behind the wheel in his Volkswagen in the park when he was set to leave the venue.''

Ben looked at Miriam, confused and yearning to have more precise details.

''How did Jack get in the mix of things in the first place then?'' Asked Ben.

Miriam nodded, holding her glass cup still as she acknowledged Ben's question.

''Martha McDaniel was present on the night; technically, Jack had guarded the V.P down to the event,'' replied Miriam. ''After Tony was shot dead in his car, it was their plan to send a janitor to falsely inform Jack that Tony needed his presence in the park, only for Jack to get to the spot and find Tony's dead body behind the wheel.''

Miriam took the last shot of the whisky and raised her head at an angle while shutting her eyes to relish the effect of the spirit.

''Of course, the next move of a smart cop would be to shield himself should the killer be lurking around, wouldn't it?'' Miriam asked in a rhetorical moment. ''And Jack's next move was to pull out his gun as nothing seemed right again. Right on the spot came a batallion of cops and the big shots trooping into the Park as Jack was caught with a gun pointing in Tony's direction.''

''Whoa! This is a whole 'nother side to the story. Might I say we've been brainwashed all along about Jack?'' Remarked Ben. ''I'm just getting this nugget of fact for the first time, babe.''

''But...but how did you keep this valuable piece to yourself all the while? How did you know this and you never took action? Were you at the Phantom Arena on that night?'' Asked Ben.

Miriam smiled as she scuttled towards the bar and hurriedly dropped her emptied cup. This seemed the part she had been avoiding: questions about her source of information.

''You ask too many questions, Ben. I'm a divisional head of the county, remember?''

Miriam offered her last words and hurried into the bedroom as Ben scuttled after her and made to grab her by the waist.