Dark Cupid

Chapter 7

Roger was dead. The cops said it surely seemed like murder, the way the victim had been stabbed. They asked us for our verdict, about Roger's enemies and friends, we decided to stay discreet and not confide much to the cops. That could get Stanley in trouble.

Jodie drove me home, reassuring me with a hug that we'll find another way, and then drove off. I went inside and upstairs to my room. After locking the door, I opened the cupboard, and the second drawer of it. I took out the laptop, the one no one knew about, not even my family. I typed a quick text.

Felicia: Roger is dead.

I got a reply in less than 15 seconds.

Private Number: Yes, I came to know.

Felicia: What next?

P.N: We lost the chance to yank information out of Roger.

Felicia: I know.

P.N: Go to Ceptine's.

Felicia: Cool. I'll let you know about what happens.

P.N: Bye.

I switched the laptop off. Ceptine's had been on my mind. I'd been planning to go to Ceptine's. I didn't know if to call Jodie. Not this time.

I drove to the Ceptine's alone. When I entered, it was some elderly woman. I greeted her.
"Hey."
"Hey, young woman! How may I help you?" She said with a smile.
"Oh nothing, I was just wondering if you've got Calpol? My sister is sick a lot these days."
"Sure! How many would you like?"
"6 tablets."

She nodded and walked over to the other side where a few tablets were kept.
"Hey, are you the only one who runs the store or do you have someone else to work with you in shifts?" I asked.
"Of course, shifts, girl. I'm too old to manage it all on my own."
I sighed. So maybe Stanley wasn't bluffing it all, maybe Roger really was here to see some beautiful woman.

"So, who's the girl? Your granddaughter?"
"Girl? Who girl? I share shifts with my son and sometimes my husband, I doubt if any of them is a girl!" She laughed.
"Oh sorry. So no girl works here?"
"No girl, excluding me." She said, handing me my tablets.

I took them and turned to go. I stopped for a second and turned and asked her, "Were you working on Tuesday morning? The 17th?"
"No, I wasn't. Evan was. My son does the Tuesdays."
"Cool."

I walked out of the store.

***

24th January, 2017

"Evan?" I asked the boy who looked like he was in his late teens, around my age. His face was pale and his skin was clean, his slim body stood upright. Anybody who had not seen Stanley  would say he was one of the most handsome men they'd seen. He looked up from the counter and smiled.
"Yes. What can I do for you?"
"Nothing much. I came to see your mother the other day."
"Oh. Do you want to buy something?"
"6 tablets of Calpol."
"Sure." He walked to the side of the tablets.

"Hey, Evan?" I said. He looked up.
"Yes?"
"My friend came here last Tuesday. His name is Roger. Do you remember?"
"Roger? Roger from Wild Cats? Yeah he's a regular costumer here. However, I don't think he came here on Tuesday."
"You sure?"

"Yeah."
"Okay, thanks." I said, taking my tablets.
"Hey, are you in some kind of trouble?" He said, with genuine concern.
"No, I'm fine." I smiled and turned to go.

"Wait." He said.
I turned around. He looked me in the eyes and said, "Roger didn't come to the store, but I saw him outside the store. He was with some girl."
"Some girl?" I asked.
"Yes, she was dark, brown hair, black eyes. They looked like they were arguing."
"And then?"
"The girl came in to buy something."
"To buy what?"
"An emergency contraceptive pill."

I froze dead in tracks. Nothing made sense at all. This was way more complicated than I thought it would be. I asked,
"Thanks, Evan. You sure you don't remember anything else?"
Evan shook his head. I turned to go when he called again and said, "The girl, I think she went to school with him too. I've seen her in the locality."
"There are quite a few dark brunettes in the locality, Evan. I don't know who you're talking about."
"Maybe I can help you out?"
"How?"
"You're from Wild Cats too right? Maybe I can help you with who the girl is? You know, by looking at the pictures from your yearbooks?"
"That's a great idea."
"Take my number. Message me the time and place."

I took his number and rushed out. Too many things were going on in my head. I rang Jodie up.
"Hey gal." She said.
"Jodie, can u come over to Megan's in 15?"
"I sure can. What's the emergency?"
"I'll tell you when we meet."

I cut the call and rushed to Megan's. Jodie was already there. I don't know how she always managed to reach before me.
"So tell me, what is it about?" She asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Roger was cheating on Megan."
"What?" She said, shocked. I narrated everything that Evan told me and Jodie said, "Well a dark girl can't be Megan. She's the fairest one in town."
"Exactly."
"You think she'd be knowing about it?"
"I doubt. She's been mourning his death since last week. She doesn't even talk to people."
"She needs her friends."
Jodie nodded. I hesitated and said, "You think we should tell her about it?"
"No, of course not! She's not in a position to hear all of this right now."
"You're right, Jodie. We should just leave."
"Yeah."

She hugged me and said, "Relax hon, Stanley is gonna be alright."

***

We were turning the pages of the yearbook and looking at all the dark girls in school. We were at a cafe in town and as he sucked on his straw into his vanilla milkshake and I stared at my coffee, he was carefully examining all the girls. He was dressed neatly, it looked like he'd put in an effort to look nice. I didn't know why, and that was one of the last things to care about.

He stopped at one of the pages and said, "This is her!"
I looked at the page and froze.
"It can't be, Evan. You're making a mistake."
"I'm sure, Felicia. Trust me, my memory is really good."

I stared at the girl's face. Evan said, "You think you know her?"
And he read her name aloud.
"Jessica D'bel."

End of Chapter 7. Hope you're enjoying the story. Thanks for your enormous support guys! Please keep loving me!

Like, share, comment.

And please, follow.

Love, Kaninika xoxo