Chapter 7 He is missing

Abigail got so relaxed while watching the K-drama series,she slept off.

(The doorbell kept ringing over and over again,the noise of the door bell woke her up from her deep sleep)

She went to check, it was the school bus driver that came to drop off the children today,the driver explained to her that Mr Leonard had reached out earlier in the day that the kids should follow the school bus home today.

John and Mary hugged her tight and chorused "Aunty Abigail" she hugged them tight and they headed into the house.

"Go upstairs and put off ur uniforms, make sure u shower, while I quickly make something for you to eat.

She prepared plantain and fried eggs for them as dictated in their meal timetable in the kitchen.

A few minutes later the kids came down stairs to have their lunch,they enjoyed their food and she helped them finish up with their assignments. The kids really seem to always enjoy her company.

Mr Leonard had to leave office with his P.A for a business meeting with one of his company's major clients over a multimillion naira deal of over 880 million naira at Emerald hotel and suites.

He arrived at the hotel around 4pm,he met with Mr Dare (One of his company's major investors) they had come to discuss the new app his company software engineers are building. They signed contracts for the funding and every other necessary detail.

After signing the contract,they called the waitress and ordered food.

A few minutes later, they got their order, enjoyed their meal.

Called for the waitress to sort out the bills

"Sir ur bill is four hundred thousand naira sir, may I have ur card sir" the waitress replied.

He brought out his card and stretched it to her, the card fell from the waitress hand.

She knelt down to pick it.

"Did you just touch my legs, what's your problem, If you are tired of your job then resign or probably I should talk to the CEO of this hotel to fire you, simple card I gave you, you can't handle with care"

"Sir I didn't mean to touch you sir, I'm very sorry sir" she replied

"So I'm correcting you and you have the guys to talk while I'm still talking"

"Did I ask u to talk, who asked for ur opinion"

[He slaps the waitress out of anger, calling the attention of everyone in the restaurant"

"Get me ur manager"

"Who is the manager of this place"

(The waitress holds her cheek and sobs quietly)

"What's going on here sir" says the manager

"This smelly dirty looking thing you call a waitress can't even carry out her duties properly, if she's sick of her job then FIRE HER" Mr Leonard lashes out angrily.

"I don't have time for all this nonsense, I'm done here" [He calls for his P.A immediately]

"Tunde, Tunde settle the bills and meet me in the car, let's get going"

(Walks back at Mr Dare (his business partner) "It's nice doing business with you sir" "you will get the official mail from us tonight sir"

(Exchange handshakes and Mr Leonard storms out of the restaurant)

Tunde clears the bills and apologizes to the waitress on his boss behalf and leaves to meet Mr Leonard in the car.

"Are we heading home sir or are going somewhere else sir" the driver asks

"Let's head back to the office first I need to drop this files at the office and get this contract sorted out once and for all before we head home"

They got to the office, he finished up with everything he had to do and they headed home.

Mr Leonard thought to himself that his best friend (Mr Charles) must have left the office after the close of work so he didn't bother checking around for him so they can go home together and besides he has his own car.

By the time Mr Leonard got home, the children were fast asleep in their rooms already.

Abigail was the only one still awake, she had to serve her boss dinner and lock up the doors and windows,turn off all the lights before she retired to bed. It's her daily night routine.

"Good evening sir, welcome back sir"

How're you Abigail?

Where are my children?

"They've gone to bed sir" Abigail replied

Where is Charles???

He is not back from work yet sir, I thought u both would come back home together"

"By this time of the night, where could he be? It's late already he should be home by now"

Mr Leonard got worried, dialed his friend's number on his phone "Switched off"

"His phone is dead, even if he wasn't coming back home tonight at least he should have called me to inform me or drop me a text"

He keeps dialing his number and heads upstairs to change his clothes and freshen up

Since he couldn't reach his friend, he decided to wait till the next morning if he is still unreachable then he is going to call the commissioner of police of Lagos state to report the case of his missing friend.

He came back downstairs to have dinner.

He asked Abigail to put on the television,and tune it to the NTA Channel. He wants to listen to NTA NEWS while he eats his food.

Abigail did as she was told and returned back to her room.

When he finished eating,he waited till the end of the 10pm news before heading upstairs to sleep.

Abigail was in her room arranging her wardrobe when she remembered the bathroom incident that happened the day before.

"Who could have sneaked into my room unannounced"

Was it Mr Leonard or was it his best friend (Mr Charles)

"Did the person see me naked in the bathroom"

She kept going on and on,she couldn't come to a conclusion of who it could have been and why the person was in her room.

She was restless because she couldn't take her mind off it.

What happened to Mr Charles?

Did he come back home the following day?

Was he kidnapped?

Unfolds in chapter Eight.