Two

CHICAGO;

‘What did you see?’ The detective in jeans and black shirt with hands in his pockets interrogated the neighbour for the third time.

‘I told you. I saw him hitting her and right here.’ The man pointed to the spot he had seen Pearl and her husband standing when he peeped into the room that day.

His partner scribble down something on her small notepad, looked round the room again and shook her head before she moved to the window.

What kind of case is this that has no trace?

They had seen a body and an syringe on the table, a few things scattered on the ground and a trophy broken. The body had been taken to the morgue and the syringe to be examined.

What really happened here?

‘Did you find anything?’ Nick asked her as she watched him began to walk towards her.

When he reached where she stood, he stopped.

‘That person could have maybe left a clue somewhere. It can’t be that there is nothing or maybe this isn’t the right place.’ Nick told her feeling discouraged already.

The case wasn't looking too good and forensic results aren't back yet. They could not properly figure this out.

The only clues they had was the syringe, a dead body, the deceased's phone and a picture of he, his wife and child. They had called Pearl but her phone wasn't going through.

She looked at him and shook her head. At least there had to be something.

At 4pm; she sat in the study looking at the grandfather's clock above the chair owned by the master of the house while her eyes looked round quietly, taking all the pictures placed on the wall in while she  waited for the master of the house. She looked at his desk, there was two frame pictures of his family: the first one was a picture of himself, his wife and son and the second is a picture of he and his son who looked older and taller, she smiled and shifted her attention away gazing round the office; it was neat there was a bar few metres from his chair. It had all kinds of drinks on it, the bar was neat like it had been cleaned.

She smiled and she shifted her eyes to the clock again. 4:05pm.

Where was he?

She left Katie by herself in the room, she was beginning to worry about her. Ever since she left her house, she didn't leave Katie by herself for less than five minutes.

Where the hell was he!

The door opened, interpreting her thoughts. and she turned her head to see if he was the one and when she saw him she stood up. She watched him walk in, he moved to his chair and sat down. She waited for a brief moment before she took her seat too.

She sat up and brought out the envelope she was holding, she opened it and brought out her CV.

She placed the CV in front of him.

‘I…..’ She was about to properly introduce her self but he interrupt her.

‘I heard you are going to stay in the same room with your daughter.’ He silently told her like it was a bad thing.

She looked at him; someone who hasn't given her a chance to talk.

She nonodd her head. ‘Yes, is there a problem if she sleeps with me?’ why did he find that a problem in the first place.

‘Yes, the house is big, filled with many rooms and besidbe I chose to give you the comfort you deserve, what is the difference in living outside here and coming here for work. I decided to give the comfort of having your rooms.’

She shook her head; the way he treats them was far from normal. He was just too nice to give her and Katie two different rooms and all for nothing except to teach his son?

‘Thank you. I’m sorry but I won’t accept such.’ she told him.

He looked at her for a brief moment before he picked up the document. ‘This isn’t for you to refuse; it is something I want to do.’ He told as he scanned the CV with his eyes. He wasn't giving her a choice.

She remain still as she looked at him and wondered if that was why he lived in a big house alone by himself and Jacob. He was bent on doing things his way and only his way.

He finished scanning the documents and looked at her again for a minute before he spoke.

‘Jacob is a good boy; all I need is for you to teach him, he will show you all his school work and all is expected to be handled by you, I want him to be able to pass his exams by this coming term.’

‘That depends entirely on his co-operation.’ The teacher in her spoke then.

‘You have to make him co-operate and reasonable enough to do the right thing.’ he said as if teachers were the least trusted.

She sighed and looked at he picture of he and his son before she looked at him again.

‘Does he have passion for school?’

William shook his head as he relaxed back on his chair. :No, he doesn’t but I  hope something will change with you being here at least he would look up to the future for something.’

She nodded. ‘How old is he?’

‘Eight.’

She snuffed, really wasn't that boy too small to be derived of his play and fun to think about his future. ‘He is yet too young to have that thought.’ she said it lightly.

But William really jumped at her.

‘Don’t tell me that, when I was six, I have already started find my purpose in life.’

Wow! 'Humans are different.’ She mentioned that fact in case he didn’t know that.

William shook his head as he dropped her CV in front of her, closing the topic. ‘He is my son, why should he be any different from his father.’ He said.

He moved as he opened the cup board down at his left and brought out a paper that contained a timetable and he gave it to her.

‘Jacob also has a copy and he knows what I am doing. Lessons have to begin tomorrow after breakfast at the greenhouse.’

She picked up the timetable, not meeting his eyes and glanced at it in her hand for a few seconds. When she didn't have any more thing to say, she stood up taking the CV with her.

‘Excuse me, I will like to go and prepare my notes for tomorrow.’

Before she was able to turn around, he called her.

‘Mrs Jackson?’

She turned and looked at him; her word professional.

‘It’s Ms Jackson, I am divorced.’

He nodded, paying no attention to the correction she made. ‘I hope your being here will change him.’

She nodded picking her tone as light as his. ‘I hope to try my extreme best not to let you down.’

He nodded and she turned and headed towards the door. She walked out. She needed space, she needed to breath, where William did not exist, where he wasn't so strict and straight to the point but wherever she went it smell like his world.