Chapter 15: CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Monday. Jane called the headmaster and informed him she would not be coming to work, and that she had an important issue to attend to at the police station. She called Rose, gave her the schedule for her lessons, and told her she would be going to the police. She had weighed the options all night long and had concluded that she loved Gil and that should not stop her from reporting what he’d done to her. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but in the end, her senses overpowered her feelings.

She knocked at the station’s reception area; a middle-aged lady wearing a constable badge waved her in. She did not bother to read the name on the badge, she just occupied the seat opposite her, greeted the lady, and asked for Mr. Thakadu, who appeared after only a few minutes.

“Ms. Paul, what can I do for you?” he asked, his hand extended in greeting.

“It’s about my case, Officer.” She intended to tell Thakadu what she had discovered so far, but suddenly a sense of panic overcame her. She retreated from her initial intent. She reconsidered her thoughts and decisions before acting on them. I love him. If I turn him in, will raising a kid whose father’s name is in the wrong books of the government be good for my baby? Would the child grow up to understand why he/she was raised without a father? She thought out loud. She changed her mind. She was here only to ask how far they were with the case. That was all. After all, Gil was in love with her and to her surprise, Gil seemed to love her more than she did to him. His eyes had shot with happiness when she’d told him she was pregnant. Moreover, he still had all he had stolen from her. A quick check over his bank statements had indicated that he had over sixty- thousand Pula. He had the car too—new as ever. Why should she worry? Why should she take him to the cops? She could ask for her car and money anytime.

“Unfortunately, we still have nothing, unless of course, you have something,” he told her. Jane looked him in the eyes and thought to herself that cops were all a bunch of asses, that they did not know how to do the job they are paid for. The government should fire all of them. “You are lazy on your duties, it has been seven months now, and yet nothing, when I single-handedly managed to…” she’d almost said too much.

Gil was restless, he kept pacing around the room. He had tried Jane’s number more than he could remember now. What could be wrong? He had no clue. He called Maider again. The same story was repeated. He gave up and assumed she would call when she was done with her business. “Fuck!” he swore. Though he had unwittingly confessed to Jane, he had a feeling things might take a turn for the worst for him. What worried him most was that she was not picking up his calls. He’d hoped the truth would iron things out and save their love, but it now seemed like he’d fooled himself.

His phone beeped, he turned and glanced at the clock…it was just a few minutes after midnight. He wondered who might be calling him that late. He punched the receiver. It was Jane.

“You almost gave me a heart attack!” He heaved a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry, I arrived late and had to prepare for my lessons, plus, my battery had died. The power was out again.” She lied.

“So it just came back now? Why didn’t you call during the day?” He was furious, yet relieved.

“Nope, I received a call from the police station today. I had to rush there; it was something to do with my case.” Gil almost dropped the phone. He was sweating; every limb in him felt like it had disjointed. Did she receive a call or she’d run to them? He held his breath as he waited for what she’d say next.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself. “I decided to call off the case.” She could hear a tiny whistle through the phone. “They are the fucking police, and yet they’re so lazy, still failing to find the criminal. If they have…” She paused, and regrouped her breaths, as hatred, anger, and revulsion took control of her. “… If they found him I would squeeze his balls hard till they burst. I swear.” She made it sound like a joke, Gil giggled and she joined him. Gil told her how bad he felt when she was unable to talk to him. She promised to never repeat it. They said their 'I love yous' and hung up.

The morning was chilly, the breeze from the river filled the atmosphere. Jane was running late, she woke and took a quick bath, had a cup of hot tea, and headed for school. Gil constantly invaded her thoughts, she had been thinking about him a lot lately. She couldn’t help the fact that she loved him. Their love seemed unbreakable. She loved him… She fought to push thoughts about Gil aside and concentrate on teaching.

The events at school helped to keep her mind from thinking about Gil; it was quite a hectic day. Rose accompanied her to her house. They walked to the house since Rose’s car was at the garage—an oil problem she’d said. They were quiet for most of the walk, both deep in thought. When they arrived, they unlocked the door and freshened up. Rose found Jane’s silence strange, she was not one to be quiet for that long. She broke the ice, “What’s the matter darling? You’re sulking today.”

“I’m confused Rose, so confused…” she tossed her hair to the side so that she was now facing Rose.

A tear was trailing down her cheek. She didn’t bother to wipe it. The fact that she was faced with a situation that seemed impossible to get out of without being hurt regardless of what she decided, weighed heavily on her. Firstly, she was in love with a criminal and had information that could implicate him. Secondly, the criminal had impregnated her. Now the million-dollar question was, what was she going to do?

“I have some information about the thief, and I don’t know what to do. Take it to the police or just carry on as if I know nothing?” Though she was already sorted with the cops, she wanted to know what advice her friend would give.

Rose watched her friend for a moment, her eyes fixed in scrutiny, trying to get the truth that might be lying behind those beautiful eyes. Yes, she was in love, it was there in her eyes. She was thinking of Gil, it seemed like somewhat of a miracle that her friend had found love. When love strikes, everything changes, and the simplest of things become complex. There was nothing she could do to help, even though this Gil guy had to be brought to justice so he could pay for what he’d done to her beloved friend. Amazingly and very disturbingly, her friend was under some ridiculous spell and there was no way of talking her out of it.

“Jane, he caused you unspeakable pain. Think about that. Clear your mind and think straight. You nearly went insane, literally insane, because of him…” she lifted her glass and looked at Jane pitifully over the brim as she gulped down the last drops of the juice. Jane was not there with her; her mind was somewhere in the wilderness of thoughts. Her efforts to talk her out of her relationship with Gil were clearly futile. “…And now you want to tell me, all of a sudden he is your Mr. Right and you want to forgive him. You’re out of your mind, Jane.” Jane sniffed and tilted her head up before answering her.

“Have you ever been in love? If yes, then surely you understand, yeah? If no, then there’s no way you’d understand what I am going through.” she collected the glasses and dropped them in the sink. Rose gave in; they had been talking about this since her return from Francistown and persistently Jane insisted she was in love with the guy. To avoid throwing her friend even further off the rails, Jane had decided to keep quiet about her pregnancy.

“You know what, follow your heart and date that monster of yours,” she gave in. Jane didn’t respond to the remark, she dried the glasses and unplugged the sink. She supported her weight on its edge. The feeling of the edge against her reminded her of the day Gil made her sit on the rim of his bath and the mind-blowing love-making that had followed…to her it was simply out of this world. She heaved a long sigh and strode back to the living room. “Rose it is hard darling, I have given up trying,” she cried. Rose helped her dry her eyes and continued comforting her. “Remember the Lord works in mysterious ways; trust in the Lord my friend." They said good night and parted, as it was already late.

The following day Jane called Gilberto Tshwene. He had woken up early—very early. By half-past five he was done bathing and eating as well. He also called Jane before leaving for work. The mood was electric, they were in love and happy. He turned the ignition of his Z4 on—well, Jane’s if we’re being precise—and rushed to work. He would have the ownership transferred to her as soon as they struck such an agreement. The previous month he had obtained a loan at work to top up the sixty thousand Pula he had in his account, to balance off what he’d stolen from Jane. He had added an extra thirty thousand Pula to it. The day shifts were more fun for him compared to the night shifts—night time was meant for sleep and, of course, for making love to beauties like Jane.

At 4 pm he clocked out, rushed to the car, and made a quick call to Prof. Something had been nagging him about Maider and Prof’s visits. He reached him and they chatted about Maider and Jane. Prof lied that Maider had requested advice about something professional and nothing more at all. “But your car was parked at her house—in the early hours of the morning too—a few days back. Was that professional help too?” He laughed at his excuse. Prof gave up and spilled the beans. Gil was delighted and thanked his friend for putting his mind at ease.

He set the car’s alarm and went for a bath. The tranquility of the water eased his exhaustion. The same tub he’d first made love to Jane in. Now every time he stepped into it, he would have his eyes fixed on the spot where Jane had sat, legs parted. That was the day he’d felt like he was being rewarded for the minutes, hours, days, which amounted to months, he had spent thinking of Jane…the lady he had subjected to excruciating pain. The lady he had felt drawn to since the night he broke into her house, and now more possibly, the lady he loved and was not that far from coaxing her into marriage. He sighed.

The hideous act he’d regretted not committing on the night of the robbery for his whole stay in Francistown was now of no worry at all. Raping her that is. He was in love with Jane and more importantly she had consensually made love to him, there in the bathtub. But that was not enough. He wanted more of her—on his bed, all night long, every day. He dried his body, applied lotion, and left the bathroom, which somehow in his delusional mind had the odor of Jane, the sweetest smell he had ever smelled on any woman. His eyes closed, he pictured Jane as she gasped, mouth partly open when he drove his cock into her tight body.

Her nails slightly pierced his back as she reached her orgasm. Yes, they had made love. He went to the living room, his manhood erect at every thought of Jane. He thought of calling her but decided against it. “I’ll do it first thing in the morning,” he promised his phone.

Jane kept looking at her phone, waiting for a call from Gil. It did not come. Her adrenaline pumping, she wondered what the hell he might be doing not calling her. Was he making screwing another girl? The thought drove her insane. She assured herself he was probably tired and asleep. But what if he had a girl and they were in the bathroom, making love? Stop torturing yourself Jane, she rebuked herself. Besides, if he dared try to play her, he would regret the day he was born. One mistake, just one little mistake and he would be behind bars. She slept restlessly.