HEAR ME TOO!

PART FORTY

    Uche couldn't believe the kind of traffic he was stuck in. He had come down from the car to ask what was going on and was told there had been a traffic accident a few minutes earlier. The words "traffic accident" made his skin crawl and anxiety kicked in again.

"Ben", he had muttered and closed his eyes in silent prayer.

The PI he had hired sent him a message with details of the investigation and he immediately knew Ben should be notified in person. He had tried calling severally but the phone was switched off and he kept getting redirected to voicemail. Sighing deeply, he went back to his car, resisting the urge to punch something. After a few minutes, he decided to call Vivian. If anyone would know Ben's whereabouts, it would be his mother. At her behest, Ben had gone to stay with his parents after he was discharged from the hospital. She said there was 'no way in hell' she was going to let him stay alone while still in recovery.

"Hello," her calm voice answered on the third ring.

"Hello Ma, good evening."

"Uche, how are you?"

"I'm fine ma. Please is Ben around?"

" Oh no, dear. He stepped out three hours ago to get some supplies but he's not back yet."

"Did the driver take him? Can I get the driver's number?"

"No. He insisted on driving himself and you know how stubborn that young man can be. Is everything okay?"

"Yes ma, everything is fine. I've been trying to call him but his phone is switched off and keeps redirecting me to voicemail."

"Same here. I wanted him to help me buy something that I forgot to add to the list but I can't reach him. But I just think his battery is flat and he hasn't realized it yet because he wants to avoid us for a bit longer."

'I guess so. I'll tell him to call you when I get in touch with him."

"Okay Uche, thank you. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

You too ma, Bye."

Uche hung up the phone and felt his pulse quicken as he thought of the worst. Shaking his head, he dialed Ben's number again and when it went to voicemail again, Uche decided to drop a message.

"Dude, I have news and you're not gonna like it. Call me as soon as you get this message, I'm worried about you. P.S: I hope you haven't suddenly decided to ghost all of us and travel without warning just so you can avoid us fussing over you."

He ended the voice message and wrung his hands. The only option he had was to turn back and go home, back to his girlfriend and her warm company.

                                     *****

   When Uche got home, he met Winnie in the kitchen, cooking up something. She looked up as he came in and smiled. Uche returned the smile but he couldn't help but notice her smile was not a bright one, and Winnie was the type of person to brighten up a room with her smile.

"Hey baby," she said, refocusing her attention on the chopping board in front of her.

"Hey boo. What's up?" He said, then walked up to her and planted a kiss on her left cheek, while hugging her from behind.

"Nothing much. I've been trying to reach Isa but she's not been available all day."

"Maybe she's at work."

"She was supposed to have ended her shift this morning. I called her parents because she's been staying with them for the past week but they said she's not home. I don't know, I'm worried about her. She's not been okay for a few weeks now and I need her to be okay."

"She will be babe, don't worry too much."

"Did you meet up with Ben?"

"No, he was not at home and his number is switched off."

Winnie was silent for a few minutes and then she turned to face him, leaning against the kitchen counter for support.

"You think they're together?" She asked him, her face scrunched up in a way that showed she was thinking."

"I doubt it. Ben wouldn't go off the grid to be with Isabel. He would drop a message or something to say they're together."

"You're right. Isabel is too responsible to just disappear without a word to anyone."

"Let's just wait for them. I'm sure we'll hear from both of them before bedtime."

Bedtime came and went but there was still no word from either Ben or Isabel. Everyone was starting to get worried and both Ben's parents and Isabel's parents had called Uche and Winnie to ask for them. Uche and Winnie were finally able to sleep sometime between 2 a.m and 3 a.m, desperately hoping that their friends were okay. It was a night of restless sleep and silent prayers.

                                    *****
   The next morning, Uche went to Ben's family house to figure out what they should do next. On his way there, Uche couldn't shake off the fact that there was a link between the disappearance of his friend and Isabel and also that Ken was somehow involved. When he got to the house, he parked quickly and ran to the front door. When he went inside, he saw Ben's parents in the abnormally large living room, sitting on one of the large sofas. Two of them looked up at him expectantly but he shook his head and their faces fell again.

"Where is my boy? He just survived an accident! Where could he be?" Vivian half-shouted, her eyes moving from her husband to Uche, as if hoping that they'd provide the answers to her questions.

"Calm down Viv, we will find him. My best bet is that he's gone somewhere to clear his head and we're not invited."

"You know how responsible Ben is. He will never just up and leave without a word."

"Should we involve the police?" Uche asked.

"I will contact my friend in the DSS, see if he can get us any leads," Richard said and whipped out his phone.

"I will contact my acquaintance in the police and see if there's anything he can come up with," Uche added.

He took his phone and moved to a side to call his contact so he won't disturb Richard's call. He narrated the incident to the policeman and gave him all the necessary details, including Ben's car plate number, date of birth, and everything else he could think of. After the call, Uche's shoulders sagged and he wondered where on earth his friend could be. Twenty minutes later, his contact called back and after they talked, Uche stood rooted in a spot for all of five minutes.

"Mr. Williams," he said when he could speak again, "I think you should come with me to the police station."

"Why? What happened?" The couple asked at the same time.

Uche didn't think he should speak in front of Vivian because he didn't want her to break down completely.

"Go ahead and tell us Uche, it's okay," Richard said, nodding encouragingly.

Uche breathed deeply and then said it in a rush. "They found Ben's car by the side of the road, with the groceries he went to buy in the back seat. There was no sign of him anywhere around the car."

A/N

Surprise!!! After almost a year of going through different emotions, I'm back to finish up the remaining few chapters of this book. Few of my readers have sent me friendly threats now and then so now, I'm listening to them.

Welcome to the beginning of the end folks! Thank you for sticking with me throughout the last two years and helping me build my zeal to finish writing this.

I love all of you so much! Thank you❤️