Eyubea Girls, Growing Wild 1 (COMPLETED) #Wattys2017

Chapter 45 - Reality Sets In

In that space between waking and dreaming were voices. They sounded hurried, hushed, nonsensical and Graham was inclined to pass them off as he gave in to the fatigue, but something jerked him awake. The sun had already risen. He had missed his opportunity to escape with dawn and the voices he had heard were close. He held his breath, frozen, not daring to move but the crunching of the leaves under foot was too much and he quickly got up and ran. Graham's mind was still foggy but he recognized some of the landmarks around him. He looked behind him not hearing the steps but when he turned his head, he ran straight into a constable, who punched him in the nose, knocking him to the ground. Burning pain and sparkles of light were all he knew as a hand grabbed his collar and yanked him up.

"There you are," said a deep mocking voice. "We have been looking all over for you."

Graham could tell that the voice was that of a native as he was dragged from the bushes. "It's a good thing you snore."

Standing in the distance were Clare-Voy and Lisbette, who had her hand on her throat and a look of disgust.

"If you wish to bail out your husband, Madam, he will be at the holding facility in town."

Lisbette nodded. "Thank you but I don't think that will be likely."

Another uniformed man clamped shackles on Graham's hands and guided him into the covered car.

Graham said nothing as he struggled to maintain his balance. He looked at the women in front of the house and then he looked away. He was tired of running, of dodging, whether it was here or in Camden. It was time to end it.

As the car drove off, Lisbette breathed a sigh. She had no regrets about calling the police. She was done with Graham.

* * *

Later that day, they had heard the familiar sound of Bett's motorcycle pull into the drive. She happily skipped up the steps and onto the porch to meet Lisbette.

"Well, the story has been filed. I even managed to make Mr. Obibwo look like a bit of hero. My editor thinks it's a nice piece that shows, and I quote, the indomitable human spirit that shines brightly in the wilds of Africa. I think he misses the action more and more the older he gets."

Bett stopped talking long enough to look at her friend.

"You look exhausted."

"Graham was here," Lisbette replied simply.

"What? He dared show up especially with Musa on the grounds."

"Musa had to leave for a family situation and won't be back until next week."

Removing the crème colored scarf from her neck, "So what did he want? I hope it's not his clothes." Bett smiled as she remembered the pile of ashes they made in the back yard that day.

Lisbette snickered. "It's more like what he's wanted for. Murder, they say."

Bett's eyes were wider than saucers. "You don't say."

They moved into the house as Lisbette told her what she knew.

"Apparently, according to the police, he killed a local man who was smuggling spirits into the port one night so that he could take the man's shipment and sell it for a profit."

Bett laughed heartily. "So the missionary becomes a smuggler. That's a story."

"The night before he had broken into the house through an unlocked window hoping to hide away here."

"I'm sure Clare-Voy was not about to let that happen."

Lisbette shook her head. "She wasn't and when it was all over, I told him to get out."

Bett looked at her friend and slowly clapped her hands in salute. "Good girl. I bet he didn't see that coming at all. I would have loved to have seen the look on his face. There is something not right with that man. I--"

Bett stopped suddenly, unsure whether she should tell her friend about her discovery.

"What?" Lisbette pressed, seeing uncertainty in Bett's face.

Bett took a deep breath and decided to let Lisbette in on her findings. "I asked a friend of mine to do some checking. He works with my father at the paper in London. He found something about a Graham Fuller in Camden suspected of murdering a young prostitute over a year ago."

Lisbette sat back. "That can't be a coincidence. Could it be?"

"It's possible. They have another guy for the murder but they don't think he did it because things just aren't adding up. They were looking for Graham Fuller to answer the standard questions but he just disappeared. A copper named Pevency is like a dog with a bone when it comes to this and he's convinced Graham Fuller is the one." Bett looked at Lisbette whose eyes looked far away. She reached over and covered her friend's hands with her own. "I didn't know if I should tell you because really, Graham Fuller is a regular name and just because I didn't like your husband doesn't mean he's Jack the Ripper reborn."

"No, no," Lisbette's voice sounded small but firm. "I'm glad you told me. It explains some things. He was always so distant, even cold when he looked at me. It was as if he was sizing me up against some imaginary measure and I was falling short. I thought my inexperience with men was the reason he was so...harsh with me. Maybe, the fact that I couldn't stand his touch was a sign? I just couldn't stand him and there was nothing I could really judge it against."

"Well, the good thing is now, with this new development, you have proper grounds to terminate the marriage contract."

Even though that was at the forefront of her mind, hearing it from Bett's lips scared her. She was eighteen, alone, in Africa. She had no means of sustaining herself outside of what the mission promised Graham and with his situation, that would surely stop. What would she do? How would she live?

"What is the matter, Lissy? You look affright."

"I think it's just hitting me that Graham was the one who was paying for everything. He was the one who was getting the money from the mission. I have no means of really sustaining myself." Lisbette sat back her mouth open. "I didn't think this through. What am I going to do? How am I going to do this?"

Seeing her friend slowly descend into hysteria, Bett grabbed her shoulders and turned her, forcing her blank stare to focus. "Lissy, it will be fine. You have me, you have Clare-Voy."

"But you won't be here forever, Bett. You have a life. And Clare-Voy, I can't be dependent on her forever."

"Lissy, you're forgetting something."

"What?"

"Your unborn child." Bett grinned as Lisbette slowly came to the same understanding. "I told you not to be too hasty about that letter. This is where you make your move. I can put you in touch with a friend of mine who can check things out discreetly on your behalf."

Lisbette was about to protest when Bett held up her hand.

"Don't worry, I've done enough for this bloke that he owes me several favors. Once we get an idea of what the situation is, then you go after the funds."

Lisbette looked at Bett, her eyes soft. "Thank you. I don't know what to say. I feel a bit overwhelmed and lost."

"You're not lost. You're just starting to figure things out in a new way. Happens to all of us."

The tension in Lisbette's chest eased and she felt her breaths become less labored. She didn't know how she was going to do it but she was glad she wasn't alone.