GONE WITH THE GUN

EPISODE 23

27th January, 1995.
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One month had passed and Mr. Hills had for the past one month tried to contact Esperanza but there was no means to. She had really gone off grid. All efforts to contact her were in vain. Mr. Hills believed at the back of his mind that she would contact him soon, when she realizes that she needs him. He wanted to tell her that the Don was dead. He would omit the part of Mr. Woods and his wife being dead too, by his own hands. He wanted mostly to tell her that their son was still alive but he wouldn't because there still was no lead yet as to his whereabouts. Xavier had not gotten anything. But there was one more important thing in Mr. Hills mind. The daughter of Mr. Woods. The Mr. Woods who was his best friend. The Mr. Woods whose wife he murdered. The Mr. Woods who he murdered, leaving the two year old girl an orphan. It cut like a knife anytime Mr. Hills remembered the little girl. He had wanted to go ask for custody of the child but investigations were still on going on the double murder of the girl's parents.

The police had come to Mr. Hills house to talk with him. When they came, Mr. Hills thought they had something on him, and maybe he was a suspect. But however, they only came to ask questions. When asked if he knew anyone that would want to kill Mr. Woods, he almost confessed to the crime. He wanted to. He wanted to pay for his sins but instead he said
 
"No, i can't think of anyone who would want to harm Ken. He was a nice man, he was my closest friend."

The police sympathized with Mr. Hills and left.

A week later, Mr. and Mrs. Woods were buried in the state cemetery. Mr. Hills was in attendance and some of the members of the gang. It was a silent affair. The police were there too. Mr. Hills heard one of them say

"Poor girl. She lost both her parents in one day. And we still have no lead on a suspect".

It then occurred to him that he should take care of Mr. Woods daughter. He would take her as his own daughter. Treat her like a father would. Like her father would. Love and protect her all through his life. Maybe this would appease his heart for the guilt it feels for having killed his only. Mr. Hills picked up the phone and called Jason's nanny, Miss Harlem. She would be the one to look after the little girl when he gets her from the orphanage.

Two days later, after making the necessary preparations, Mr. Hills drove to the orphanage to process the adoption of the little girl. He got to the orphanage and talked with the Mother superior. They were pleased to see Mr. Hills. He talked with them and they said they would send a team to his house to inspect if his house was baby friendly. Mr. Hills knew it was, his wife Esperanza was a strong advocate of baby friendly environments. When asked about a nanny for the baby, Mr. Hills explained to them about Miss Harlem. It was requested that she too comes to the orphanage for interviews. Mr. Hills said he would arrange that. 

The next day, the team from the orphanage came and made their inspections. Mr. Hills would have to wait for their feedback. 

Three days later, Mr. Hills got a phone call from the orphanage. He had passed all necessary requirements, he can take the baby. Mr. Hills was very happy. He felt like he just got the news that his wife just had a baby. He called Miss Harlem and gave her the news. She too was ecstatic. Mr. Hills made all arrangements for the baby. He called an interior designer and decorator. They had to convert one of the rooms to a baby's room. Pink was the color, unicorns were obviously a favorite. After everything, the room looked nice, for a baby. Miss Harlem came and inspected the room. She loved it and Mr. Hills could see it.

The next day, they both drove to the orphanage and picked up the baby. Mr. Hills could not remember her name; he was never good at names. He decided to call her Nicki. Yes, Nicki. That's a nice name. She was a beautiful baby, Miss Harlem observed as she sat in the back seat of the car with Mr. Hills driving home.

When they got home, Mr. Hills saw Xavier parked outside. He parked the car and signaled Miss Harlem to take the baby inside. Xavier walked to Mr. Hills and they both went into the house. Both men sat in the sitting room and talked. Miss Harlem took the sleeping baby into the room and laid her on her bed. Miss Harlem whispered "sleep sweet little Nicki".

It had always crossed Miss Harlem's mind to ask about Mrs. Esperanza and of course about Jason. She had wanted to ask Mr. Hills a couple of times but she just couldn't. "Maybe they left to see grandma or a relative" Miss Harlem thought. "But why would Mr. Hills adopt a baby?" The whole thing confused Miss Harlem so she decided not to think about it. She would find out with time. After all, now she would be living in the house, taking care of Nicki. Miss Harlem kissed Nicki's forehead and walked to her own room. She saw Mr. Hills and Xavier talking in a low tone when she passed the sitting room. She observed that they both kept quiet when they noticed that she was in the room. She went past them and into her room.

She sat down on her bed and took out a picture from her purse. It was a picture of her daughter Benita. She died five years ago. She had leukemia. Miss Harlem recalled how sick Benita was then. She was so weak she couldn't talk. When in the hospital, Miss Harlem was by the bedside as Benita breathed her last. It was a mournful day for her. Ever since then, Miss Harlem had celebrated Benita's birthday even though she was no more.
 
"My daughter, my darling." Miss Harlem said quietly.
"You are ten years old today. My baby, i want you to know that mummy never forgot your birthday"

She took out a little birthday candle from her
purse and a small cake that was wrapped in a foil. She placed the candle on top of and into the cake. She took out a lighter from her purse and lit the candle. Then she sang in a whisper
               "Happy Birthday to you.
                Happy Birthday to you. 
                Happy Birthday.."
Tears were now falling off Miss Harlem's eyes. She was sobbing but kept on singing. "Happy Birthday to you my dear Benita". She blew off the light from the candle and smiled. She lay back on the bed, closed her eyes and cried.
 
Back in the sitting room, Xavier had news. But it was a bad one.

Mr. Hills said

"Xavier, could you please repeat what you just said"

Xavier straightened his suits and said calmly.

"Sir, according to the report i got, there was an auto accident that day. The car in question crashed and exploded, killing both people in it. A man and a young boy of about 4 or 5yrs old. I wan........"

Mr. Hills cut him off with a hint of burning anger in his voice
 
"And you assume that my son was the one in the car? There may have been more than one accident that day. They may have been going to a different city from the one you checked. It can't be what you are thinking."

Xavier spoke next, this time more calmly than last time.
 
"Sir, i wanted to be sure about the facts so i dug deeper. Now what i found out again was the make of the car, it was a mini Cooper. The same type of car you said i should look out for. A mini cooper. And yes sir, there were other accidents that day, but this was the only one involving a mini cooper and involving a 4yr old boy. The accident took place in Edinburgh city, road to Camp Verde. Police investigation states that the bodies were burnt to ashes. It took the forensics to determine the age of the victims. Trust me sir, i don't want to say it but it may actually be true. Your son was the one in the accident and he is d... "

Mr. Hills shot a slap across Xavier's face before he could say the word.
Mr. Hills was furious.

"Don't say it. Don't ever say something like that. Jason is alive and I know it. He has to be. I don't care how you do it. Find him."

Mr. Hills walked out of the sitting room and into his own room. He closed the door and sat by the door, leaning against it. He started crying.

"Jason, you cant be dead. You can't be".

Xavier walked to Mr. Hills' room and standing outside said

"Sir am so sorry. I shouldn't have"

"Get out Xavier, get out." Mr. Hills yelled. Xavier stood for three seconds and then left.

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