COME WHAT MAY

CHAPTER FOURTY - TWO

Ryan knew something was wrong the moment his fiance took too long to come back from the restroom. He had asked the usher by the entrance about her but a trip to the restroom yielded no fruit. He walked to the special table of the bride and groom and asked Rachael if she saw Lolita but the reply was that she left about half an hour ago. He smiled and went back to his seat. He whispered into David's hear,

"I can't find Lolita. Her phone is not available."
"Dad was just telling me he felt a weird vibe sometime ago." David replied.

"What's going on ?" Prof. Badmus asked.

Ryan sighed then explained the situation.

"Lets go home." The Professor said as his face paled.

Hours later, Grace paced around their living room praying as she walked. The men had removed their suits and were trying to find an answer to the many questions that plagued their minds. They called the hospital and asked Kgosi if Lolita was with them but he answered in the negative.

"How could a grown woman disappear?" Grace was very much frustrated.

"We can't call the police, they won't take us seriously." David replied.

"So should we fold our arms? When your Dad has a bad feeling about something, it is usually serious. He felt something similar when his mother died."

The doorbell rang at that moment and David ran outside. He opened the smaller front gate and right there on the floor was a small brown box. Ryan got there too and picked the it up. He took it to the veranda and slowly opened the box that was not even sealed. Inside were pictures of an unconscious Lolita tied hands and feet inside the boot of a car. A printed letter was also found at the bottom.

"What are we going to do? How did she end up like this?" David cried in frustration.
"Chill man! We can't upset the Professor. Your mum too might not take this well. So I suggest we show them this letter first to show she's alive."

David agreed but he could see deep concern on Ryan's face.

"Who are these people ! Why my daughter ? It doesn't make sense that some stranger took her out of the wedding venue to hurt her!" Grace shouted at the top of her voice.

"We cannot raise this money...it is beyond us. Who would want to hurt her?" The Professor was finding it really difficult to comprehend what was going on.

"Who should we call?" David asked as he fought for control of his emotions.

"Let's call the Pastor first." Grace suggested. Just then the Professor's cellphone began to ring. He picked it.

"Yes Kgosi."

********

Ten minutes later, they met Kgosi at the Hospital's cafeteria and sitting beside him was Pastor Emmanuel. After greetings, the latter was given an update about Lolita.

"I might know who is responsible." Kgosi said. "That is why I called you."

"What do you know ?" Grace asked.

"Chidi called my wife's phone. He said he had been trying to reach Lolita without success. He said my wife and his ex-fiance were plotting something big against her. I told him about Desire's condition but he insisted that they were up to something." He sighed then continued. "He said they will do anything to stop Lolita's happiness and when I told him Lolita might be missing he said I should call the Pastor if I don't believe him."

"You knew about this ?" Prof. Badmus asked the Pastor.

"I was supposed to see Lolita after the wedding. "
"What do we do now? We have no proof that the kidnapper is Lorato. Can we get someone to follow her?" David asked.