The Love I Found: Contemporary Romance Mystery (Ariadne Silver Romance Mystery #3)

by Morris Fenris

  II

  Having left her place and job at Robert’s bar restaurant, Alicia wondered about in Malibu the next day. She had taken her paltry savings along and that comfortably saw her through the day. She badly needed a shelter; food was not a major issue for she had just about enough money to buy herself a meal for the next few days. However, she could not afford to roam the streets forever.

  Alicia decided to leave the Greater Los Angeles neighborhood and return to the city proper. There she had a better chance of finding an affordable accommodation. She reached the city late in the afternoon and roamed around for a while. There was no one she knew except the owners of the bars and lounges where she used to work. Alicia decided to try her luck. The first one turned her away without a second thought while the second one offered her shelter on the condition that the owner gets to do as he pleases with her every night. She turned down the proposal and tried the door of a third. The owner was kind enough and directed her to a shelter for the homeless women. Alicia knew the place; it was just a quarter of an hour away on foot. When she reached the address she called upon the manager. Alicia informed the lady of her plight and said that she would be able to help her out in any way she asked as long as she had a place to take care of her forthcoming child. The manager took pity on her and allowed her to take shelter. Alicia was given a room of her own on the ground floor, towards the rear of the building. It was not a pretty room but large enough for a single person. The place was fairly old and paint was starting to peel off the walls. There was a window that opened out on to the yard behind the building. It had a broken pane and could never be shut. The attached bathroom was a privilege for Alicia never enjoyed the idea of sharing her shower with someone else. She settled in with her belongings and once again got busy arranging her own world. The manager assured her that there would be no trouble and told Alicia to make herself at home. Thus began a new chapter in the life of the poor girl.

  Since she was with a baby, Alicia’s responsibilities were confined to the kitchen. She would help with the cooking and cleaning. She assisted the other women in cleaning and cutting the vegetables before meals and then lent a hand with the cleaning once they were done for the day. She would often show eagerness towards other tasks outside the kitchen such as taking out the waste or doing the laundry. However, the manager was firm about not letting her take on such strenuous activities in the fear that she would cause unwanted harm both to herself and her baby. She was a kind lady and everyone in the shelter respected her for that. Though Alicia felt a little angry at first on being denied the opportunity to help, she realized later on that it was for her own good. Her respect towards the manager, whom she regarded as a mother figure, only grew!

  There was an old, broken piano in the hall. Alicia had tried her hand on it one evening and found it to be unsuitable for music as it was totally out of scale. One of the women, however, heard her playing and was struck by her talent. Thereafter, she would often play and entertain the women in the evenings and they would enjoy the few melodies that Alicia remembered. However, life soon became a monotonous drag for the girl. She felt herself being sucked deeper into the mess that was her own doing and wondered if ever she would manage to break free from this sordid routine. The girl felt downtrodden and did not harbor much hope of doing anything worthwhile ever again in life. As for the baby, the thought of an abortion had long deserted her. Instead, she decided to go through with the birth before handing the child over for adoption.

  III

  Damien had been taken aback by the events that took place at Robert’s bar restaurant. He had a slender lead to work with – Alicia was no longer working as a pianist and had deserted him for good. He knew he had to go back to the place and try to gather more information. Only this time, he could not risk getting drunk and being thrown out.

  That evening, Damien once again returned to the bar. He did not seat himself at the table but told one of the waiters that he would like to have a word with the owner in his office. The waiter led him through a door at the back of the hall, down a corridor and into a room where Robert was busy doing some calculations. As soon as he saw Damien enter, he sprang up from his chair. “You again!” he started. “What do you want now?”

  Damien asked him to calm down for he was not looking for any trouble. Robert realized that he was not drunk and offered him a seat in his office. Damien apologized for the other night and said that all he wanted to know was what had happened to his wife.

  “She’s your wife! Why are you asking me what happened to her?”

  “Robert, please! I have not seen her more than a month now. I know I have been a bad husband and everything, and now I want her back. Please understand my troubles and tell me where she went. I know that she was staying here after leaving our apartment.”

  “Alicia did stay here for a month but now I have no idea of her whereabouts. She said that she was unable to put up with your tantrums any longer. As far as I remember, she mentioned something about putting up at some one-star hotel when she had saved enough.”

  Damien put his head in his hands. “Oh Alicia, how could you do this to me! If only you would have asked me to stop drinking!”

  “Calm down Damien. All is not lost,” Robert said trying to console the big man. “I’m sure she is here somewhere in Los Angeles. In her present condition, I wouldn’t expect her to risk travelling too far.”

  Damien looked up at him. “What do you mean ‘in her present condition’? What has happened to her? Is she alright?”

  Robert was a little surprised and then he realized that Alicia had found out about her pregnancy while staying at the bar. It is unlikely she would have told her husband anything about it. “I don’t think you know this but your wife is carrying your child. You are soon going to become a proud father!”

  Damien was startled. “What? She’s pregnant! How…I mean that’s not possible! Alicia was always on pills.”

  “Look my friend. What you people did inside the bedroom is none of my concerns. All I know is that she is pregnant and that’s the only piece of information I can give you. She had been thinking about getting an abortion but from what I realized later on, she wants to keep the child.”

  Damien thanked Robert for that latest piece of news and starting walking back home. He found himself in a state of dilemma – on one hand, he wanted to take care of his wife and child, love them and see his family live happily together; on the other, he had no job, no money, and did not see himself spending the rest of his life with the burden of a wife and kid hanging around his neck. Nevertheless, he wanted to see his wife and be by her side at the time of childbirth. What he did with them after that was something he could decide later on, but first he had to find Alicia. Damien was in desperate need to get out of his present state of confusion. He returned home and grabbed a bottle of beer. It did not take long for him to get drunk and Damien once more slumped into a long drunken sleep. He could not think of a better way to drown his sorrow!

  IV

  Life at the woman’s shelter was far from exciting but just the thing Alicia needed as she approached the commencement of motherhood. The manager took the wellbeing of the women seriously and there would be an MD visiting the place every month to give them advice on healthy living and also for periodic checkups to ensure that were all doing fine. Upon being told about Alicia, he advised her on what to and what not to do in order to ensure that both mother and baby were fine till she had delivered. Alicia was also coming to terms with the changes in her body owing to the pregnancy. The nightmare of waking up sick in the morning was now a thing of the past and she had adjusted well to the demands of her body. In short, her pregnancy was progressing better than she would have ever expected. Alicia would have dearly loved to undergo an ultra-sound test but she knew it was beyond her means. As a result, she was unable to tell if she was carrying a baby boy or a girl. Though she would love them equally, Alicia secretly wished for it to be a beautiful baby girl!

  Chapter
4

  I

  Alicia was into the final month of her pregnancy. As a result, she had been barred from doing any sort of work and would remain either in her own room or in the hall. The other women in the shelter took great pride in caring for her; it was not often that they got to care for an expecting mother. They would clean her room, fetch all that she needed, feed her, read to her, and even accompany her on short walks around the yard in the evening. There were a few mothers among the inmates who lived with their kids and had a very good knowledge of how to look after themselves during pregnancy. These were the women who would usually take the responsibility of caring for Alicia.

  Having finished her lunch one afternoon, Alicia was planning to take her usual mid-day siesta. Most of the women used to do odd jobs and were out on business. She lay down in her room with a book and soon fell asleep. The sharp scream of one of the women soon woke her up. She sat up startled in bed. There was some confusion going on outside and she could hear the voice of a man. Alicia froze when she recognized the voice. It was Damien!

  It is difficult to expect any level of smartness from a drunkard like Damien but he proved to be unusually cunning. He had realized that Alicia was his last chance of making some big bucks without any hard work and had started looking for her with total dedication. For months, he had searched for her in the numerous cheap hotels and motels around Los Angeles without any luck. Whenever he felt depressed, he would beg around and buy himself some drinks to get through the phase. After a few days, he would sober up again and resume his search. Damien soon realized that all his efforts were proving futile. There was no sign of Alicia and he had been to almost every single hotel around the city. Just when he was planning to give up his search he chanced upon the conversation between two women. Not that the conversation itself was anything interesting but there was one word that caught his attention – women’s shelter. Of course, he realized! Alicia could be staying at one such shelter. These places were built especially for women like her with no money and nowhere to go. Damien soon altered his plans and started searching at the few women’s shelters he could find around Los Angeles. Eventually, he hit the bull’s eye!

  He had turned up at the shelter that afternoon and asked if there was someone by the name of Alicia living there. The woman who answered the door wanted to know who he was. Damien did not reply but simply tried to push his way through. When she resisted, he created a scene by screaming and swearing at her. This brought Erin out of her office and on to the front door. Erin Sanders was the manager of the shelter and she was a pretty no-nonsense lady, as many men had realized and Damien would soon realize.

  “What is it that you want?” she asked, looking Damien in the eye. She realized that he was in an inebriated state.

  “I want Alicia, I am her husband. Bring her out for me!”

  “There is no one by that name here. You may leave now. Good day!” Erin said and slammed the door on Damien’s face.

  II

  This unexpected setback infuriated the man. Damien kicked and banged on the door but it would not give away under his pressure. He cursed and swore unrelentingly and continued banging on the door calling out for Alicia. Inside, Erin realized that she was helpless against such a mad man. She called up the police station and summoned for help. They assured that a team would be with them soon.

  In the meanwhile, Damien had exhausted himself with all the shouting and delirious banging. He stood outside, breathing heavily. Then he reached inside his ragged old jacket and pulled out a country-made revolver. “ALICIA YOU BITCH! I’M COMING FOR YOU!” he shouted and fired a warning shot in the air, hoping that would scare her into submission. When the door did not open, he fired into the front lock to break it and then kicked the door open. The women were all huddled together in the hallway; they screamed as soon as he broke through. This was when Alicia woke up from her deep sleep.

  “Where is she? WHERE IS SHE?” he demanded from the women. Nobody replied so he started threatening them with his gun. Damien caught hold of the lady nearest to him and pointed his gun at her forehead. “Tell me where Alicia is or else I will pull the trigger! You know I am not joking. Show me, which is her room?”

  The woman glanced fearfully towards Erin. She calmly nodded and told her to do as he told. The lady preceded Damien down the corridor towards the rear of the building and stood in front of Alicia’s room. He grew impatient and did not even wait for her to knock, instead pushing her aside and bursting into the room. His wife sat bunched up in bed. She was bigger than he could remember ever seeing her.

  III

  “Alicia! Alicia, my love,” he said, walking up to her. “Oh how have you been?”

  Alicia did not reply. She shooed his hand away and sat on one corner of her bed. This once again set the blood boiling inside Damien. He lashed out at her with unsteady hands.

  “SO you think you can get away with this? YOU WHORE! I need money, WHERE’S MY MONEY?” he screamed at her. The women dared not confront him for fear that he would cause harm to Alicia and the baby. Damien lost control over his self and dragged Alicia by her hair. “I’ll teach you to double-cross me you filthy girl. You are going to pay dearly for this, both you and those parents of yours. Five million, you hear! This time I am going to charge them for FIVE MILLION DOLLARS!” he said and kept dragging her down the hall, not sure where he was taking her.

  The wail of the police siren outside the building signaled the arrival of men from Los Angeles Police Department. When he heard the approaching cars, Damien seemed to regain his senses. “Alicia! Alicia my dear! You are not going to hand me over to the cops, are you?” he pleaded with her, letting go off her hair. Alicia was in tears. She did not say anything as one of the women came forward and took charge of her.

  “DROP YOUR WEAPONS, NOW!” ordered a policeman as he entered through the door, his gun firmly trained on Damien. Two others followed him and overpowered the drunkard. They took away his gun and handcuffed him before leading him away. Erin was summoned to the police station to give her statement. A paramedic team had also come in. They checked Alicia for any injuries and gave her the all clear. She wept inconsolably as the woman gathered around her and tried to calm her down. “It’s not good for you or the child. Calm down and relax. The nightmare is over,” they said, reassuring her of her safety.

  IV

  That evening the women of the shelter gathered in the large hall. Some of them were still in a state of shock, especially the little kids who had been witness to the whole incident. Those who had been away for work learnt about what had happened after returning. All of a sudden, the whole place took a deep interest in Alicia and her past. Who was she and who was that man? If he was indeed her husband, why was she not staying with him? And what was all that talk of five million dollars about?

  Erin had returned from the police station within an hour and reported what had taken place there. The Federal Law looked upon Damien’s act as a serious criminal offence. He would remain lodged in the cell for two days after which a formal trial would be conducted. He was sure to be sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for a long time. Alicia could consult a lawyer and seek divorce from Damien if she wished. He would not be entitled to the payment of any compensation since it would be a divorce on criminal grounds.

  When all the women had gathered along with Erin, Alicia started talking. She detailed every bit of her life, from her relocation to France to her planned abduction, how she had practically cheated her parents off two million dollars, the brief luxuriant life she led. Alicia further went on to describe her marriage to Damien and that her real name was Eugenia Valier. Next was the description of her life in Los Angeles as a piano player, Damien’s drunken taunts and how eventually she decided to escape from his clutches.

  When she learnt that Alicia, or Eugenia, was the daughter of a French lawyer and step-daughter to an affluent business lady, and that she hailed from Phoenix, Erin realized that some of her doubts about the girl’s identity were not mi
splaced after all. She had always believed that Alicia was not cut out for life as a vagrant and this was because she had not been brought up in such an environment. Then there was her talent – not many urchins learnt how to play the piano and Alicia was a rare talent. Erin always imagined her as a star playing at a big concert. Somehow she never fit in with the whole atmosphere of the women’s shelter.

  Alicia had finished talking and the room had fallen into pin-drop silence. No one said a word, nobody moved; everyone seemed to be holding their breath. Erin walked up to Alicia and sat down beside her. Tears rolled down her pretty face.

  “Go back home child! Return home to your parents,” Erin said. “Life on the streets is not what you are meant to live.”

  Alicia shook her head. “No! My parents will never accept me back. Not after what I have done to them.”

  “It’s been five years Alicia and you have not spoken to them even once in all this while. How do you know that they are still mad at you? Time is a great healer my dear, and you can always expect parents to forgive their children. At least give them a call and talk to them!”

  Alicia felt a little confused. She could not imagine talking to her mama and papa after all these years. Would they even remember her; would they be willing to recognize her as their child? Different thoughts crossed her mind as she felt dazed.

  “I too believe that you should try talking to your parents once again, Alicia,” one of the women in the gathering spoke out.

  “Me too,” another added, and soon everyone in the room was egging her on to give a call back home in Phoenix, Arizona.

  A faint ray of hope flickered in her mind. “Alright, if all of you insist I will call them in the morning,” Alicia said. Everyone cheered and proceeded to make a thunderous round of applause. Alicia smiled; she could not remember the last instance when she had felt remotely happy.