An Unusual Affair

Chapter 12

The next day Richard went off on an unplanned business trip. He did not see it coming but it was a much-needed one for him to sort his emotions. 

'Mrs. Swan, Hayden is in your protection now. I won't be back for at least two weeks so keep a close eye on your surroundings.' Richard told Mrs. Swan over the phone as he sat in the airport lounge. 

Vanessa also learned of Richard's absence in Rivertide after he had been gone for two days already when she met Hayden outside his school again. 

'Oh, so he is not here. This is why things have been so boring lately.' Vanessa said to herself. 

Hayden visited Lily at her home twice that week. Since Richard was not there he did not want to spend time alone at home with Mrs. Swan. 

When Emily learned of Richard's trip she had a mixture of emotions. Her heart was telling her to miss him whereas her mind was telling her not to think much of him. 

Two weeks went by and as Richard was preparing to Return to Rivertide he received a message from his detective Nile. 

'Sir I have found out some things about Mrs. Morgan's husband and Madam Vanessa as well. When can I meet you?'  

Richard could feel his heart beating faster. There were still two days for him to return. But he was eager to learn about Emily's husband. 

'Is he alive?' was the first message he sent back to Nile holding his breath.

'Yes Sir very much alive. He is living in a town next to Rivertide.' Nile responded. 

'Wow. How come Emily never found him all these years?' Richard said to himself, feeling a little disappointed, and typed 'I am coming back tomorrow night at the earliest. Let's meet then.'

He sat in his hotel room and turned on the maps on his laptop. He noticed that Vanessa had not been in the town for a week now. 'Maybe she is on a vacation with Robert.' he said to himself. He wanted to see Emily and Lily but did not want to intrude on their privacy. 'If Emily ever gets to know about this I don't know how she will react. And there is no news from Jake as well. I wonder what he is up to.'  

As soon as he landed in Rivertide the next night, he met with Nile. 

'Sir things are pretty interesting with regards to Mrs. Morgan's husband. He eloped with a girl five years ago. However, his disappearance has been associated with death all this time because he was a fisherman. The day he disappeared someone drowned themselves in the lake. The body was never found and no one reported any missings except for Charles Morgan. So the police never tried to look for him.' 

'That explains quite a lot.' Richard said. They were both sitting in the car. 

'Yes. The girl he eloped with belonged to a very rich family but they did not give her any money when she left her house. Charles and that girl went to live in a very far away town, had a son together, and were getting drowned in debt every passing day. So he left her also just as he had left Mrs. Morgan and his daughter.' Nile said reading his notes so he does not skip any information. 

Richard felt sorry for Emily and Lily. 'Another case of bad things happening to good people I suppose.' he said to himself in his mind. 

'Mrs. Morgan paid off all the debt before she left her previous town and moved to Rivertide to start a new life. When Charles left his second wife and son, he went to his old home looking for Mrs. Morgan and their daughter but after asking a few people around he recently found out that they had made a home here but he did not go to see them yet.'

'Why didn't he meet them?' Richard asked puzzled. 

'Because he doesn't want to show that he cheated on them. What I have learned through his ways these past few days is he is a total time waster, loves to drink and shout, and is working on getting a lot of money from somewhere so he can return saying that he has been earning for them all this time.' 

'Stupid chearter.' Richard blurted out in disgust. 

'Yes, he is very self-centered. He has been visiting the Bakery for some time though but has never gone inside. He knows that the mother and daughter are living a good life now so he just wants to take his title back in their lives.' Nile responded. 

'And one more thing. He is friends with someone whom he meets almost every day at a pub. You will be shocked to see who that man is Sir.' Nile said taking out his mobile and showing the picture to Richard. 

Richard recognized the face immediately. It was Vanessa's brother. But how come they are together was the question on his mind. Looking at Charle's face Richard could not shake off the feeling that he had seen that man somewhere. 'He looks familiar.' Richard thought to himself. 

'They have been friends for not more than a month now. They meet every other day in the same pub, share some drinks, and think of plans to get money from somewhere. And there is one more thing about Madam Vanessa. I think she is also looking for Charles. Because I saw someone else tailing him as well.' 

'This is interesting. For now, keep an eye on him. See if he ever meets Vanessa. Only then can we be sure that they are in contact with each other or not.' Richard told Nile. 

Reaching home Richard found out that Hayden and Mrs. Swan were at Emily's place. They had planned to have dinner together since Richard had not informed anyone that he was coming back one day earlier. 

'Should I go and surprise them?' Richard thought to himself. 'Hayden will be so happy I think I should go.' He decided and leaving his luggage with the housekeeper, he got back in his car. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was excited to see Emily after so many days. 

As he reached Emily's home, he received a text from Jake. 'Sir, Can we meet? Send me a time and place that is convenient for you.' 

Richard took a deep breath and sent him a message saying, 'Tomorrow my office at noon.' Then he opened the map to scan the area around the Bakery. He didn't see any suspicious people lurking around to take any pictures of him or to spy on anything. 'I don't see Peter here though.'

As he was closing the map he got a flashback from some days ago. A man standing outside the exact spot where he had parked his car just now and taking pictures of the Bakery. 'So that was Charles spying on his wife. Now I get where I had seen that face before.' Richard exclaimed to himself. Though he hated to admit it, some part of him wanted Charles to be dead in real. 

The door of the Bakery was closed. Richard knocked at the door gently. He was holding the chocolates that he had bought for Hayden and Lily. 

Emily had made a hearty dinner for them all to enjoy. It was weekend tomorrow so they had decided to have some time together. Emily had asked them to finish the homework together under Mrs. Swan's supervision while she prepared the dinner. After one hour their homework was still nowhere towards completion as they had been mostly playing and Mrs. Swan was included in their play. 

'Once the dinner is done, I will help you both with the homework then Hayden can go back to his home.' Emily said serving roasted chicken on everyone's plates. 

'But we still want to play Mom.' Lily protested. 

'Yes, I know. But Hayden's Dad will be returning tomorrow so he won't have time to complete his homework at home. It is better if he helps you with Maths and you can help him in English. Teamwork will make it fun don't worry.' 

'Thank you for the delicious food Emily. You have done so much, all alone.' Mrs Swan said eating her food. 

'Oh, Mrs. Swan it's not every day that I cook such lavish meals. Just enjoy.' Emily said gently giving her a warm smile, sitting down in her seat. Hayden, Lily, and Mrs. Swan were sitting across from her.

'Thank you, Mrs. Morgan. You are becoming my favorite cook now.' Hayden said winking at Mrs. Swan innocently. 

Everyone was laughing when they heard a knock at the door.

In another country far away from Rivertide, Vanessa also got news of the whereabouts of Charles. 'But what is he doing with my brother? Get me his number and I will sort the rest out.'