Beckoned Through The Dark

65 // Lesego // Blood & Water

I spent hours and hours in my room, trying to take everything in.

It was a different story when my three partners in crime told me, I guess it had not kicked in yet.

But after hearing my mother's side of the story, I felt like I'd been thrown into a well of more secrets and lies.

My mother had an unpleasant past, and it made me question her every motive; I did not trust her any more than I trusted Karabelo.

Mom kept insisting that Karabelo was also a victim and I should give her a chance to plead her case.

Karabelo was out there, but she could not access the house after Bridgette performed a ritual to protect against Karabelo's forces.

My head was buzzing with a lot of questions, especially with my mother's strange behaviour. Something told me that she was up to something.

I came out of my room later at night after everyone went to bed.

At least that's what I thought, but it turned out my mother was still up.

In fact, she looked like she was about to leave.

A part of me wanted to run back to my room, but I was too hungry.

"I knew you would come out eventually," she said as soon as she spotted me walking down the stairs.

She was sitting on the couch while strapping her shoes.

She looked different and she was glowing.

What perplexed me the most was that she had dyed her hair blonde, and strangely, it qualified as her natural hair than the black we were used to.

"Are you going somewhere?" I asked.

She gave me a quick glance and continued fastening her shoes.

"Honey, I just figured that since you now know who I am... why continue hiding?"

The lack of remorse and panic worried me. For someone who just confessed to several crimes, she was way too calm.

As if reading my mind, she said, "I've been running all my life, Lesego. I'm too old for this–"

She was interrupted by a knock on the front door. "Are you expecting someone?" She asked.

I frowned. "No." Who could be here at this time?

I only hoped it was not Abigail or Bridgette, and more especially Mrs Martins.

Mom stood up and fixed her dress before going to answer the door.

My heart stilled when I heard who it was.

"Detective?" My mom asked, slightly surprised. She turned to me in panic and nodded for me to go upstairs, but I remained rooted on the spot.

The detective walked into the house and stood in the middle of the room, his eyes landing on me.

"Sorry for coming at this time of the night, I hope I didn't come at a bad time," he said, looking at my mother.

"Lesego, please go upstairs," Mom said with seriousness in her voice, her eyes daring me to go against her.

After everything I told her about the arrest, I understood her, and the detective's presence brought back all those bad memories.

"Oh! I also need her here," he quickly interjected, stopping me on my tracks.

I turned to mother in panic. "She's not feeling well."

The look in the detective's eyes baffled me. While he was usually engulfed by this bad boy aura, he looked anything but. If anything, he looked like he had not slept a wink for days; he had dark circles around his eyes, and they were baggy.

"Don't worry, I won't take long. A body was found in the Salphas River last night."

That got both our attention, but it had my blood running cold.

That was close to where Karabelo was trapped, had she drowned while trying to escape?

And why did he only have to come here when it involved someone dying?

"Okay?" Mom threw me a suspicious glance before leading the detective to the couch.

He sat down and took out his notebook. "The body we found belongs to Funeka, she's an old acquaintance of Lesego and my wife, Abigail," he said.

"WHAT?!" I shouted, finally regaining my voice.

"You knew her?" Mom asked.

I stood behind the couch and crossed my arms. "No." I shook my head.

"Do you know the relationship between Abigail and Funeka?"

"I have no idea."

"When was the last time you spoke to Abigail?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, what was he playing at?

"I haven't spoken to her in weeks. Is that all, detective?" I said dismissively.

We stared at each other, neither one of us breaking contact.

He cleared his throat and looked away while packing up his stuff. "Well, I don't remember the last time I dealt with a murder case in both Green City and Salphas. I must admit it's gonna be a tough one. It is all just strange-"

"Strange?" My mother asked.

He stood up and walked towards the door, mom on his tail. "Yeah. She looked like she was choked to death, no sign of a struggle."

"Please let us know if there are any developments," I said with a tight-lipped smile, and he nodded.

"Have a great evening," he said before he left.

Mom rushed back inside and took her coat and handbag. "And that's my cue to leave."

I heard the door close as I jogged to my room, one question ringing in my head; who could have killed Funeka?

After the detective left, I went straight to my room and locked myself in before my mother could start interrogating me. Not that she was interested, in fact, she seemed to be occupied these days, she barely ever spent time at home.

A part of me suspected she was back to her drinking ways, but she'd been in high spirits lately and she looked sober.

I wondered if it was because I gave her the illusion that everything was fine. I would hate to believe she was still seeing Mr Clements and that he was the reason behind her joy.

It had been over three days since Bridgette trapped Karabelo in the forest, could it be that she managed to escape?

I didn't know anyone who would want to kill Funeka, if I remember correctly, Abigail had put her in charge of keeping an eye on Karabelo.

"Are you crazy? She almost killed you! Did you even see was in her hands?" Mrs Martins asked on the phone.

I hadn't seen Clay since the last time when I confronted him about his affair with Abigail, we'd only ever spoken on the phone when I told him what I was planning to do.

I had to get to the bottom of this murder case, because either Karabelo had broken free or Lwandle was possessed again, that were the only two possibilities.

There was only one person I could turn to now, I know Bridgette said I could talk to her anytime, but I was not comfortable with being in Claudia's lair.

I picked my phone and called Mrs Martins, telling her what has been happening, and what I had in mind.

"I don't want to assume the worst by thinking she's free, but I have to see Lwandle."

I removed my phone from my ear as she shouted, "Are you crazy? She tried to kill you!"

How could I forget? It still haunted me every time I closed my eyes.

"I know."

She remained quiet for some time before releasing a deep breath. "She was...she had a necklace around your neck when she choked you."

Oh! That would explain the thing that felt like it was cutting through my skin, and the marks on my neck.

"It's no big deal. What matters is that I'm still in one piece."

"This is dangerous," she argued.

"All the more reason to do it, what if somebody else dies?" I asked.

"Fine, Lesego. Do what you have to do."