Chapter 111

Chapter 111
“The rescue”

I could hear hard breathing on the other end of the phone after it became silent.
"You killed me, Madam Mea, and you must pay for it," I stated sternly.
And she yelled angrily, "I will kill you again and again if you try to take my son!"
"He is not your son! He is mine, and I will get him back!" I was outraged, and Dave comforted me by holding my shoulder. "Things will change in your life if you refuse to give him to me."
"Show yourself to me and you will die!" Mea yelled, cutting off the other line.
"She cut it off. Her retort crushed me. She won't give up my son, Dave."
Dave pulled me into his chest and I cried like a child.
I was back to my weakness. Monica was confused now. I wanted to stay calm and firm, but my fear for my son was overpowering my strength. I knew then that when it came to my son, I would become as vulnerable as a child. And I should be thankful for Dave's assistance. If not for him, I would have been dead by the fire some wicked people had set on the house. The fire was meant to kill me, but instead killed Rafael. And it was too painful to think that he was gone, leaving my son in the wrong hands.
In my remorse, Dave pacified me and said, "There's another way to get your son, Catherine. Just don't let Madam Mea smell your fear. "
I walked away from him. "I felt like I was running out of time to get my son, Dave, and most crucially, I was out of ideas on how to get him; it was a dead end now," I was talking when I noticed the significant tree in front of me.
"If only this tree could tell the truth about what happened to this place in the past, it would have uncovered Madam Mea's crime."
"What do you mean by that?" Dave inquired.
I looked up at the top of the tree and began to tell Dave what I had discovered. "That branch of the tree held the whishes of a malevolent soul and a wicked soul wishing to murder the innocent Annie."
"What?"
I told him about my discovery, which I started on the day I found the engraved hateful wishes on the bark of the tree. And Dave listened intently. I told him that I suspected Mea as the author of that gruesome death wish on the tree's bark. And the second time I saw a death wish was in the turned-ashes house's second pink room. It was horrifying to think that someone of such an innocent age would want to kill the daughter of the couple she was in debt to for adopting her.
"I need to see it with my own eyes," Dave stated as he climbed the tree.
Dave's earnestness in assisting me made me feel safe with him. He didn't change a thing about how he treated me. And shame pierced my heart because I had wounded and used him since the day I became pregnant with Rafael's child. And I felt fortunate to have him as a helping hand now that Rafael was gone.
And, from atop the tree, he fixed his gaze on the location I had indicated to him. He cleaned it and then glanced down at me. "You're correct. It's still readable and clear in every letter." He climbed down, and his smart phone rang as his steps thudded on the ground. He headed towards the fence and talked to the caller in a low tone. He didn't want me to hear what they were talking about, and I didn't try to intrude them. I waited for him to turn off the phone and then went back to where I stood.
We have to go. It's not good to be seen here at this crime scene with you," He led me back to the car, and we drove off.
We didn't go back right to his aunt's house. Dave parked the car at the bay walk where I had been strolling with Carlo before.
"Stay right here, don't expose yourself to bystanders. I need to call my cop friend. He stepped out of the car and left me wondering what he was doing.
Dave moved in such a way that he appeared to be an officer or an asset. But I didn't direct my remark at him. My vision was drowned out by the water I was viewing.
The bay was cleaner than previously, possibly because a town official had enacted rigorous measures to safeguard Mother Nature by cleaning up the environment. More children were joyfully playing on the beach. It brought back memories of my youth with my grandmother. I was cheerful, nave, and carefree back then. My grandmother and grandfather's problems were not my responsibility. How I wish I could go back in time to my childhood.
From the bottom of my heart, I muttered, "I have to go back home with my son. Also, I'd like to apologize to my grandfather. "
Growing up without a father figure was difficult for me. And it was a disappointment for me to share it with my son. He should have seen his father, played with him, and grew up under his supervision, but Mea cut all of it.
I gritted my teeth in anguish. I panned my eyes above the hill and saw the roof of Morrow House. It gave me grief and sorrow to know that my son was there, possibly suffering from Mea's cruelty.
After nearly an hour of waiting for Dave to return, I noticed him walking quickly across the road to the car where I was seated. He kept gazing behind him, as if he was trying to find a stalker.
Dave approached the car at a slow pace and opened the door, which he swiftly slammed after sitting. He was sweating profusely.
"What happened?" I inquired. "What is causing you to be so tense?"
"I noticed Madam Mea's car parked at the beauty salon," he explained.
I asked, "Was that the Hair Glow Salon?" My heart was racing.
He nodded, turned on the ignition, and slowly drove out of the parking lot.
"Perhaps I should see her."
He said, "It's not good to see her now. Carlo was behind the wheel. "
I insisted, "He has no way to recognize me with this disguise you gave me." I stared at Carlo and waited for him to give me a signal to go.
He looked at me, trying to look for possible flaws in my disguise. And then he pulled over in front of the market. "Okay. Let's have a test with that disguise you are wearing. "
I was about to get out of the car when Dave held me in my hand. "What now, Dave?"
"Whatever happens, don't let them hear your voice." He was cautioning me about my only flaw, my voice.
I nodded at him and said, "Okay, I will never talk to anybody." And I stepped out of the car and headed to the Hair Glow Salon.
As I crossed the street to the Hair Glow Salon, I felt a sense of freedom with my disguise until a boy knocked into me and apologized, addressing me as "Sir."
With my mustache and black cap, I definitely looked like a man. Dave was becoming more inventive in his assistance to me. And I didn't bother to ask him where he got such a good disguise for me.
As I approached the salon, my legs wobbled, as if I was afraid of being recognized by Mea or Carlo. And Dave was correct; it was a test now to keep my true identity hidden as Carlo approached me. I wanted to run away from the curb I was walking on, but I attempted to hold my breath and pretended to choose some fruits from the stand. I took a side view of myself. Carlo was coming closer, and my heart pumped harder, picking the orange and the apple from the box's display. He passed by my back and didn't notice me, and it was a big relief for me. And then I pursue my purpose of crossing paths with Mea.
When I got inside, there were only two customers: Mea and a man on the swivel chairs. The door chime made a small bell sound as I stepped, which invited the two customers to look at the door and at me.
I was aiming for the magazine rack and hair brochures, pretending to choose a hairstyle for myself. There were new hairstylists; one was talking to Mea and the other was working on a man's hair. Mea looked at me and showed no interest in me, which was a huge relief. I had successfully tested my disguise. When one of the hairdressers approached me, I waved my hands and made a sign to return, then rushed up to the door where Carlo was about to enter. This time we had a head-on encounter at the door, and backing off would be risky. I walked to the door, nodded to Carlo, and went outside, ignoring Carlo's eyes on me.
I walked as fast as I could to get to the car where Dave was waiting for me.
Dave saw me and quickly got out of the car and opened the door for me, where I dove and closed the door, as Dave quickly went back to the driver's seat, turned on the ignition, and drove away.
As the car accelerated, I looked back at the salon, and didn't see Carlo on the door, which meant, he didn't have any suspicions about me. They didn't recognize me in my disguise, and it gave me a way to move around freely.
As we drove back to his aunt's house, I was ecstatic about what had happened.
"I accomplished it, Dave," I beamed, "and they didn't recognize me at all."
Dave exhaled a sigh of relief and stated, "You passed the test, which means you can go around freely with that disguise."
I remembered Mea's expression at the salon. She wasn't as pleased as she had been. She wasn't at the salon to get her hair fixed; instead, she was conversing with the hairstylist and asking her a question. She also had a dark circle under her eyes. With those eyes, she couldn't have had a decent night's sleep. She was bemoaning something, and I'd like to know more about it. I pulled out the phone Dave had given me and dialed Mea's number.
Dave asked, "Whom are you calling?"
I said, "I want to know how she was feeling at this moment," and I dialed Mea's number.
For the second time, I heard Mea's angry voice from the other end of the phone. She yelled, "Show yourself to me, Catherine! And you will know what will happen to you when you see me. "
I laughed, "Are you scared of me?"
She growled, "Never! I will never feel afraid of you! "
I hushed, "You killed me. You should bear that in your killer's mind! Your time is up, Mea! "
"I will kill you!" She yelled.
I yelled back at her, "You're beginning to lose your mind, Mea." I smiled and said, "See you soon," as I hung up the phone.
Her voice trembled in rage. I could feel her breaking down now. She was terrified of me and tried to hide it from me. I told Dave. "She started to cry, and this is my chance, Dave."
The phone rang again, and Mea answered, "Hello Madam Mea, you are really terrified of me, huh?"
"Where are you now? Go fetch your son for yourself," she said as she hung up the phone.
Her frightening tone made me freeze.
And Dave noticed it. "What happened? What did she say that made you frown?"
"She commands me to get my son," I was anxious. "She was using my son for me to appear, Dave," I said.
"It was a trap for you, Cathy," Dave said flatly. "Don't take it."
I said, "I have no choice, Dave. The life of my son was at stake. I should conform to Mea's wishes. "
Dave was afraid of what might happen to me. And he wanted to stop me.
But I'd already decided to take part in Mea's life's dance.