Episode 16CHAPTER 4
IN THE STILLNESS OF THE NIGHT
BAKER‟S SPOT was one of the most luxurious
fast food joints in Lupe, and was mostly
patronized by the affluent in town. Its
environment had been extravagantly furnished
and every nook and cranny of the restaurant
was well embellished, giving it a magnificent
look. Michael wasn‟t a regular customer to
Baker‟s Spot; it was a place one took special
people to on special occasions. He was a
busy man with less special people and few
special occasions in his life. He had actually
chosen this joint because of an internal,
subconscious desire to impress Jane, which
could probably be significant in achieving his
desire of hooking up with her friend. At
exactly fifteen minutes to six, he walked into
the restaurant and easily identified Jane.
She was sitting at the table close to one of
the windows that graced the front of the
restaurant. She probably would have already
seen him come into the restaurant.
The place was almost empty, but Michael
knew that people would soon be flooding in
since many were just returning from work then
and most of them should be preparing to go
out for the evening at that very moment. Jane
was neatly dressed in a tight, red gown that
stopped just below her knees. The dress fitted
her so well that no observer would mind
feeding his eyes on her perfectly shaped, slim
body. She looked exactly like a model, with a
beautiful and smooth oval-shaped face.
This beautiful face was clouded by worry,
Michael noted as he sat opposite her. Jane
couldn‟t help admiring him. She had seen him
walk into the restaurant and had unbelievably
found herself wishing he could date Brenda.
He was dressed in plain black pants and had
on a white short-sleeved shirt neatly tucked
into the pants to make him look smart. Filled
with concern for her friend, Jane had not
taken her time to look at him at the hospital.
The sight of him right now made her feel
confident that she had asked the right person
for help. She liked his friendly expression.
“Hello Jane,” he greeted as he sat down. “I
hope I didn‟t keep you waiting for long. I was
delayed by the evening traffic.” “There is no
problem at all. I have been here for just three
or four minutes. I have not even ordered
anything. I must appreciate you for taken out
time to help strangers like us. I hope this is
not going to be much of a burden to you.”
“No, not at all. I will like to be of help.”
He made a sign for the waiter and the
attendant immediately came to them. Michael
ordered a plate of fried rice with chicken and
bottled water, while Jane only asked for one
meat pie and a bottle of coke. She watched
him closely as he started eating, knowing that
deep within her, she would love to have him
around Brenda. He struck up the conversation
before she could take her first bite of the meat
pie. “Tell me about Brenda. I am really
concerned.”
Jane sipped from the bottle of coke before
replying. “Brenda just had heartbreak, I mean,
her relationship went bad that day before you
helped her and she had not been taking the
breakup lightly, it has deeply affected her and
I am afraid that things might get out of hand
if nothing is done to rescue her.
That is why I thought I should bring you in;
Dr. Chris told me that you have a vast
knowledge of human behavior.” “Yes, I do,” he
replied, furrows suddenly running across his
forehead. “Tell me more.” “Right now she
refuses to eat; she has really emaciated and
never goes out any longer. She has lost
interest in anything and has developed self-
hatred; she seems to be blaming herself.
Please Mr. Michael, I want my friend back, we
can‟t have a meaningful discussion again. I
am afraid that she might hurt herself.”
Michael was very attentive. “How long have
you known her?” he asked. “For about five
years now.” “Is there any other reason why she
is taking the breakup so badly? Perhaps some
things have happened to her in the past that
had made her vulnerable to a certain level of
depression. Are you aware of any?”
He was asking the right questions and Jane
knew she was almost going to tell him about
Brenda‟s past relationships that very minute.
Yet, she hesitated, not sure if she was doing
the right thing. And he waited. “I don‟t
know…,” she stammered. Michael knew she
was holding something back. He had to
reassure her.
“Listen to me Jane; you don‟t need to be
worried about me. I promise you absolute
confidentiality here. And I must make you
understand that deep within me, I really would
love to help Brenda. I am sincerely concerned.
I know how breakups can hurt. I know about it
and the devastating effect it has on people,
especially females who are the more likely
victims.
Episode 17
You won‟t like anything bad to happen to your
friend and I won‟t like it either.” He stopped
and allowed what he had just told her to sink
in. Then he continued: “I want to do my best
for your friend and I can‟t help you if you
refuse to tell me all I need to know.” Jane
believed him, but wondered what Brenda
would do if she found out that her best friend
had told a stranger all about her past. All the
same, she knew she had to do all she had to
do to help. So she told Michael all about her
friend‟s previous broken relationships. She
gave him all the details, how they occurred
and how she handled them. She told him
about how caring these people had all been in
the very beginning, and how disappointing
they later turned out to be in the end. “Now I
understand,”
Michael said, nodding his head. He wasn‟t
sure if the breakups were Brenda‟s fault or the
guys she had dated, but the stories seemed
quite true and obviously could happen to
anyone. “Do you think that anything
concerning Brenda‟s personality could have
elicited such reactions from these men?” “No.
Oh, Michael, I wish you could get to know my
friend better; she is the most humble, most
polite, most friendly, well-mannered girl I have
ever met! She can‟t hurt a fly. I have known
her for five years and I can assure you of her
behavior.” “I assumed so. Can I pay you girls
a visit? I need to see her so that I can better
access the state of her health,” he gently
proposed. “Yes, I would like you to come
around, but I am afraid she might see you as
another threat rather than a friend.” “Don‟t
worry, I will be careful. Seeing her is the most
important thing now, no matter how she feels
about men.” Jane smiled and said. “You know
what? You remind me of Brenda. The friendly
atmosphere your presence creates.
Anyway, when do I expect you?” “Today is
Thursday. I will be there on Saturday by 4:00
p.m. I hope that is okay?” “It‟s alright” “For
now, always be close to her, try to engage her
with any discussion that you think will make
her talk. Don‟t share your happy moments
with her, you might end up making her feel
bad. Show her empathy; just make her know
you understand what she is going through.”
“Okay.” He picked up his spoon and continued
to eat, while she finished her bottle of coke
and meat pie. After the meal Michael settled
the bill and asked her if she had any other
thing to tell him, which could help him the
coming Saturday when he hoped to be in their
apartment. “No,” she affirmed.
They both stood up and walked out of the
restaurant. It was already beginning to get
flooded with people. “May I drop you off?” he
asked. “If that won‟t trouble you…,” she
quickly began. “No, of course not!” He
dropped her off and headed straight home. * *
* Inspector Jack Davison was a thickset cop
of average height and could easily be
mistaken for a rich business tycoon due to his
plushy looks. He was a very sagacious cop
with deep-set and intelligent eyes, which made
any offender under his interrogation think he
could see through his soul. Now he turned to
Curtis, who was standing beside him in the
security room of Lupe Prison looking at the
camera console before them. “So where is
Sean now?” “He has been transferred to
another cell, sir,” replied the warder. “I‟m
taking responsibility for this, sir…it was my
idea.” “Pity none of you were awake that
night….”
“The guy‟s a bastard, sir; he did it even
though we had installed a camera in that cell,
and – and he‟d been severely punished some
time back for it….” “Yet you still placed him in
the same cell with the same fellow he
attacked?” snarled the inspector. “What the
hell?” “I‟m so sorry, sir!” “So where is the fool
now?” “Standing naked in the sun, sir.” The
inspector pensively nodded. Before him,
Nimrod was heaving and grunting like a wild
animal in the footage the hidden camera in
the said cell had captured the night before.
The shot‟s angle hid Sean‟s face, but it was
so obvious that the latter was in serious pain,
and was even trying to stifle tears. “Any word
on the search?” “Nothing, sir…no names or
addresses…we‟re still going through his
belongings, though.” “Good,” said the
inspector, satisfied with the reply.
He wondered who had angered this vicious
prisoner to the point that he even ignored a
security camera placed in his cell and went on
to reveal that he was going to kill this person.
“Well, the state prosecutor will have to do
something about this tape, Curtis,” he told the
guard. “Yes, sir.” “We‟ll have to send it to him
this morning. I‟ll go with it, myself. If it
means arguing in court to keep this Nimrod
character in jail for the rest of his life due to
this new evidence, then so be it. That should
be their problem now that we have evidence,
not mine.” “Yes, sir,” agreed Curtis, quickly
switching off the footage and handing him the
tape. “But make sure you keep him under 24
hour surveillance…I don‟t want him breaking
out of here and going on a murder spree!”
“Will do, sir!”
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