(Continued from Torpedoed by a Male Charmer II)
I am desperate now. I am convinced that this monster will rape me then kill me. But I have stopped struggling because I am also convinced that he will seriously hurt me if I continue. Maybe if I yield to his demands he will spare my life after forcing his way with me. So I am lying on the couch now, whimpering in fear. I am stark naked, and feeling very vulnerable.
From the corner of my eye, I see metal object on the table. It is the knife that I used to slice a mango earlier in the day. I am horrified. My sloppiness has handed him a weapon with which to finish me off. I should have cleared the table before leaving the house. But then another thought crosses my mind. Perhaps my sloppiness is my salvation.
My mind is racing now. If I can reach that knife, then I can use it to stop this beast from taking advantage of me. But I need to be precise, because if I fail to reach that knife and Charles realizes what I had planned to do, I will be dead in seconds.
I watch carefully as he unbuckles his belt. He is convinced that I have surrendered to him, so he has relaxed. He is kneeling astride me, but he is otherwise not restraining me. I know I have seconds before his paws land on me again. Mustering every ounce of courage and strength in me, I raise my torso and grab the knife. Before the surprised Charles can react, I stab him thrice; twice in the stomach and once in the chest.
He collapses sideways and I quickly rise, moving away from him. It is only then that I realize that I am naked. I grab my dress from the floor and throw it over me. It has a large tear but I don’t care. I have bigger problems to think about. How will I get rid of Charles’s body? By now I am convinced that he is dead. Should I call the police?
I have never dealt with the police, and I do not trust them even a bit. With Jackie away in Maasai Mara, and with Betty in Nakuru, the only person I can call is Carol. I quickly dial her number and tell her what has happened.
“We are on our way, Elosy. But lock your door until we get there.”
“Why?”
“Charles is a popular figure in Sodi. If the villagers discover what you have done, you might be in danger.”
I shiver when Carol says that. I had not thought about that angle. I close the door as advised and sit on the seat that Charles had been occupying before crossing over to my couch.
*
As I wait for Carol and her boyfriend, I cannot help wondering why my life is so complicated. I was brought up in poverty. University was supposed to lift me from the jaws of poverty, and in a way it did. My daughter lives a more comfortable life than I did when I was growing up, and I managed to build a decent house for my parents.
But University also brought Danny into my life, and Danny was a different kind of a problem. That man has caused me a lot of emotional anguish. For the last several years, I have been living on edge, not quite sure where I stand in his life. Dumping me, painful as it would have been, would ultimately have been a good thing. I would have gotten over him eventually, and maybe a more decent man would have swept me off my feet.
Maybe all that would have happened now that I know he is married. But before Danny’s wound has even started healing, this monster Charles shows up in my life and now I have to deal with the police. Carol has assured me that it is not a big deal because I acted in self-defense, but still, I wish I was not in this mess. I wish I was nursing my emotional pain quietly in bed.
I envy my friends. Betty seems to be happily married. Every weekend she is with
her husband, either in Sodi or in Nakuru. Harry is a good father to Betty’s children.
They always seem to be having a lot of fun, because Harry is very spontaneous in
his plans. One weekend they might be in Longonot, another in Lake Baringo. Even
when they are indoors, they always seem to have a lot of fun cooking together and
playing board games. I know all this because Betty updates her WhatsApp status
almost daily.
Carol and Jackie are not married, but they both have solid, present, boyfriends.
Jacob, Carol’s boyfriend, proposed to her two weeks ago. Jacob is a doctor at
Shava Hospital while Jackie’s boyfriend, Darren, is the operations manager at Cooperative Bank, Shava branch.
Every now and then Carol and Jackie go on double dates with their boyfriends. Through their girlfriends, Jacob and Darren have become good friends. They always ask about Danny, but I always come up with excuses for him. Sometimes over the holidays I normally go to my mother’s house and lie to my friends that I was in Mombasa with Danny. But now even my imperfect Danny is married to someone else. What did I do wrong? Why can’t I be happy like my friends?
I cannot help but think about Danny. The man has been in my life for almost ten years now. He has never said he is dissatisfied with our relationship. He always said that it was his job that was hindering him from being a present father and boyfriend. Why didn’t he just dump me if he was tired of me? If he had dumped me, I would have processed my pain in private, and I wouldn’t have met Charles and therefore I wouldn’t be in the position that I am in right now.
What did he see in that girl anyway? What does that girl have that I lack? From the photos I have seen, she is plump, just like me. She is dark, just like me. She has dreadlocks, but who said I cannot rear dreadlocks? I cannot see any reason why Danny left me for her. And anyway, if he wanted to leave, why didn’t he treat me with dignity by telling me it was over?
*
I am very relieved when Carol and her boyfriend Jacob finally show up. Jacob rushes to Charles and checks his pulse.
“He is not dead,” he says. “But he is losing a lot of blood. I need to rush him to hospital before he dies.”
“Okay sweetheart. But what about Elosy? What do we do about her?”
“She has to report this to the police. You can take her in your car. I will join you later once I get this man medical attention.”
“He is a monster. He was trying to rape me, and I was only defending myself.”
Jacob looks at me sadly.
“I believe you Elosy, but I cannot
just let him die, both for his sake and yours.”
“My sake?”
“Yes. If this man dies, you will be charged with murder. That is not a good place to be, even if you did it in self-defense.”
I allow Carol to lead me to her house, where her car is waiting. Jacob bought her a pink Toyota Vitz Jewela for her thirtieth birthday. She uses the car to go shopping in Shava town. Over the weekends, she is usually driven around in her boyfriend’s Toyota Harrier.
There is a police post in Sodi town, but Carol elects to take me to the police station in Shava town. Carol is a slow and cautious driver but we get there in less than fifteen minutes. After Carol parks the car at the station, she leads me to the reporting desk. I have never been to a police station before, so I am too shocked to speak. It is Carol who explains what has happened to the officers on the OB desk. She emphasizes the fact that I was defending myself.
“What you are saying is that your friend has killed someone, is that correct?” the officer asks.
“The man is not dead. My boyfriend has taken her to hospital. And like I said, my friend was defending herself. The man attacked her in her own house.”
“Were you there when she was attacked?”
“No.”
“Then why can’t she speak for herself?”
“She is traumatized, officer.”
“What she is saying is true, officer. That is exactly what happened,” I say, realizing that things are going south.
“I am sorry Madam, but it is not in our place to decide whether you were defending yourself or not. That is up to the judge. Ours is to present you to court.”
“Are you arresting her?” Carol asks.
“Yes, we have no choice. We will visit the scene of crime and visit the man in hospital to see if he is in a condition to record a statement. Tomorrow your friend will be charged with attempted murder.”
“But she came voluntarily came to report.”
“That really doesn’t matter. The fact remains that she stabbed someone so she will have to answer for it in a court of law.”
Just then, Jacob drives to the police station.
“How is he, babe?” Carol asks.
“He is dead. He died minutes after we got to the hospital.”
The officer looks at me kindly, and then addresses Carol.
“The best thing you can do for your friend is to get the best the lawyer you can find. But first I need you and daktari to record your statements.”
A lady officer comes to frisk me and to take my valuables, but I hand them over to Carol instead. The male officer leads Carol and Jacob to another room while his female colleague leads me to a crowded and dirty cell where I will be spending the night.
(I will wrap this story on Friday, so come prepared to grab your copy)
Image by Belinda Cave from Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/photos/african-lady-africa-people-female-3403143/
*
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