Tied to the chair with tape, Thabo’s confession, despite being brief, proves to be essential enough. He said all the details we wanted. I only hope it’s enough to fight him with in court. But now, I’m caught in between a scuffle between the two brothers.
“You really are an idiot; you know?” Thabo retorts. “Answer me, Jabar. What’s the possibility that you’ll survive trying to get us all exposed? You know damn well the kind of people we’re connected to.”
He draws his back in laughter. “Big man, I don’t give a flying fuck. So what if I don’t make it to thirty? I ain’t scared of death. Unlike you.”
“Unlike me?”
“Yes! You have always been weak, man. Letting Bernadette beat you like the bitch you are. God forbid, I’ll never let another woman put her hands on me. Our mother knows that.”
Thabo grunts. “She’s traumatized. Bernadette is projecting her rage on people.”
“Trauma my arse. A grown man like you comes running to me and complains that his woman’s out of control. Excuse me to say this, but this makes you weak. Spell it for me. W-E-A-K. Weak. It’s disgraceful. Look at what she did to your back. I mean, I’ll shoot myself if I ever let my lady do that to me.”
“You also slept with her. Don’t forget, you’re the fool who wanted to marry her in the first place.” Jabar kisses his teeth with a head shake. I’ve had enough of their childish bickering, so I pace about. Thinking of how to get to my kids.
“What was up with our ol’ girl Ani anyway? The shit she did to Imani could have killed her. You let her up to that?”
“No,” Thabo growls. “I’m not as stupid as you. I told Armani the same thing I told Baduza. Target her head so that the more injuries she sustains, the more they affect her nervous system. That way, my hypnosis will work easily. How was I going to know she’ll push Imani to hit the sink? You know our ex. Always reckless.”
“But a freak in the sheets. Yeah.”
The ringtone of Thabo’s phone starts playing, and now I’ve never been happier to hear Shakira’s “Can’t Remember To Forget” song. Thabo glares at Jabar as if asking for permission to answer it, but I run my hand through his pajama pocket and pull it out. Well, speak of the devil.
“Who’s it?” Thabo asks.
“Your wife,” I reply, picking up the call and putting it on speaker.
A minute of silence passes. “Thabo,” Bernadette mutters, and her voice reminds me of venom. “I need your help. It’s my dead father. He’s…he’s in my thoughts. I’ve been thinking about the things he did to me that year. I’ve been thinking of doing them to people. I can’t stop. How messed up is that?” There comes a slight pause. “Your hypnotherapy bullshit has to work. You better fix me; wipe these urges from my brain or else I’ll ruin your life. I’ll do more damage to you and—"
“It’s over, Bernadette,” I tell her, the confidence in me rising. “This is Imani. You have my children. I want to let you know we’ve got your husband’s confession. I have it on my phone, and I’m coming for my kids.”
I wait, expecting a comeback or a threat, but the call simply cuts. At least, she’s got the message that I know everything now. If we want to go drive the snake out of my house, we’ll need Thabo’s friends out of the way. I hope Bill knows what he's doing. Getting Bernadette to confess would be impossible but at least he'll survive.
“Jabar, we need Thabo to—"
He smacks the butt of the gun right across Thabo’s face before I can finish; his head slumps down as Jabar looks at me.
“Never mind.”
YOU ARE READING
The Deal
Mystery / ThrillerAn amnesiac actress must uncover the mystery of a doppelganger as well as a stalker, who may hold the answers or may be responsible for the accident that almost cost her life. *** Awoken from a coma and stuck with me...
