“George! No! Don’t take me away from him! Don’t take me away from my husband! No! No!”
Helen’s hands sandwiched her husband’s fingers so tightly, even she feared she might crush them. Alas, at that moment, that was the least of her worries, for now, her husband was trying to tell her something with breath he should be guarding preciously, using sparingly.
“Someone, get this woman out of here, now!” She heard who must have been the attending doctor shout.
The two young men tried again. Pleading with her to quietly come with them had fallen on deaf ears. They grabbed her by the hands as she screamed her lungs out and locked the door Infront of her. She stood outside the ward, watching through clear doors as the Doctors tried their best, but in vain, nonetheless, to jump start her husband’s heart.
George was dead. Helen crashed to the floor, along with her entire world. Just like the doctor’s efforts, even her own prayers, had been in vain.
Two days later, Helen's house was a beehive of activities. People came to pay their condolences. One caller stood out. She recognised him from the hospital. He loitered around the ward where George had been admitted until his last breath. George had come back home a week ago beaten to pulp and almost out of life. He had collapsed in her hands. She wondered who he was and what he wanted.
The mystery man dressed in black walked up to her and occupied the empty chair beside her.
"George was a good man. I'm sorry you lost him". He said adjusting his black tie.
Helen stared into blank space without sparing him a look. A good husband and father, yes but not in business. Not with the many secret shady deals he involved himself with. She had feared he would end this way and he did.
The man cleared his throat and continued. "I know this is the wrong time. You are still grieving and all but I'd like to know, what did George say to you before he died?"
Helen turned to him with a cold stare. George had said something to her before she was dragged out of the room. But of what use is it to this man?
"Sir! I'm sorry but while at the hospital, my husband did not have enough b-r-e-a-t-h for chit chat." Helen stood up from the chair and walked across the room to where her friend Amanda sat with her son who was sleeping on her lap. She carried him and excused herself into the room.
A week later, the burial was done and people stopped visiting except for the man. He came again asking the same questions but met a dead end. She had banged the door Infront of him with a threat to call the police. Whatever George said before his last breath must mean a lot for him to make a repeat visit.
Helen thought hard about those words. What was George trying to tell her when he said "The gift". The last gift George had given her was a book before the sad incident. Could he be referring to it? Helen hurried to the shelf of books just behind the dining and searched until she found the book. She brought it out and flipped through the pages but there was nothing there. She was about to drop it back when a piece of paper fell from the book.
She bent down and picked it. On it were George's handwriting with the words, "Our first kiss" boldly written. Helen ran her hand through her hair as drops of sweat formed on her forehead. She replaced the book on the shelf and took the piece of paper with her.
She paced around the house, snapping her fingers in a bid to joggle her memory. She looked through the window and noticed that the black car which the man came in was still parked outside. She grabbed her handbag from where it hung on the chair, put on a face cap and headed out of the house.
Helen stopped an oncoming taxi. "To the cinema please". The cinema was where George had kissed her the first time. Perhaps there was something there. She arrived at the cinema and bought a ticket for an ongoing movie. She got into the theatre and traced the seat where she sat on her first date with George there. The seat was unoccupied. Helen sat on it and reminisced on their first date. She wondered if George left anything for her there. Her phone fell under the seat, she bent down to pick it up and felt a piece of paper squeezed in between the irons.
She pulled the paper out and placed it inside her bag. Whatever was inside, she needed to read it far away from the cinema. She stood up and walked out of the cinema. Parked outside was the same car. Something fishy was going on and she didn't want anyone harming her or her son.
Helen called Amanda and asked her to pick up her son from school with instructions to meet her at the police station. She stopped a taxi and got in.
"The police station please".
She settled in as they drove off and brought out the squeezed note. She opened it and found a phone number there. She looked through the rear windshield and noticed the car was still following her. She wrote down the registration number of the car. She needed it to lay a complaint of stalking. She dialled the number on the paper and the phone came alive.
"Hello, this is Helen on the line, George's wife". She spoke in hushed tones.
The phone was silent for a second then a male voice responded. "I've been expecting your call. Meet me at your father's old bakery". The phone went dead at the other line.
Helen's heart rate accelerated. What is really going on? George must have trusted this man for a reason. She dialled Amanda and asked her to take her son to the new location. She stopped at the police station and laid a complaint with the car's number. The man had zoomed off when he noticed she stopped Infront of a police station. She was certain he won't be back anytime soon. Not until he restrategized.
Helen finished at the station and took the train to her father's old bakery. There she met the man, Amanda and her little boy. The man handed over a key, a password and two passports to her. "You'll need it to access the three million dollars kept for you and your son by your husband when you get to Oakland".
Helen's eyes popped wide open. Her body's temperature increased and a thousand thoughts flew through her mind. How did George lay his hands on such a huge amount of money?
"I'll take you to the airport now, there is no time to waste", the man continued breaking into her thoughts. "Don't worry, every arrangement has been made for your safe arrival at Oakland. You'll be safe there".
Helen hugged Amanda and bade her goodbye with a promise to call. She took her son from her and entered the truck. A fortune awaited and she must act fast and be far away from Mayfair.