The Alpha Billionaire's Unexpected Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Pregnancy Romance

by Joanna Jacobs

  Now, Alice wished she had not been curious enough to go in search of the house. Sure, the house wasn’t in the middle of nowhere but it felt like it. Most of the houses in the street either shared fences or were close to each other, but Mary’s house was different. It stood alone, very far away from any house at its left or right. And Alice noticed that the lawn had not received any latest attention from its owner. It was as if no one lived there, but Alice was led to believe otherwise because of the single bulb that was lit at the roof of the front porch.

  Alice had parked her car very far from the street and walked the rest of the road to the house. She only wanted to ask Mary some indirect questions that would make her reveal her motives for killing Jamie.

  As Alice got close to the door of the house, she suddenly felt as if she was walking into something she might not be able to handle. The street was empty except for a lost cat that roamed the trashes looking for food. Go on Alice, the rabbit hole waits.

  Alice suddenly didn’t have the courage to confront Mary again and was astonished to find her legs walking towards the back of the house. Way to go Alice, perhaps the rabbit hole can always be peeped on instead of being entered. Well, trying to be a detective allows you to be a spy as well, Alice thought.

  Mary’s bungalow was built unlike the normal ones Alice had been into. It seems most of the windows could see directly into the sitting room. This gave Alice the advantage of the view she needed. She wanted to see what killers like Mary keep in their home or what they do with their spare time. She was disappointed it was like every other home; few pictures on the wall, a large television and some flowers in a vase.

  She was inspecting the fine kitchen ware and upholstery of the house when she noticed a movement in the house. It was Mary and she is with someone. Well, not just someone but someone who was touching her like any lover would. Didn’t Kelly mention that Mary is divorced and currently unmarried?

  The lovers took their time and turn at touching each other. The window frame was making it hard for Alice to see the face of the man who was moving his hands into Mary’s clothes like the fabrics were no barriers at all, but there was something awfully familiar with the way the man moved or walked.

  Both of them obviously had left the other room in a spree and had settled to continue their lovemaking on one of the chairs in the sitting room. Alice didn’t think herself as someone cut out for spying on lovers and was about to run back to her car and continue this another day when she caught sight of the sides of Mary’s lover.Oh My God!

  She had to be sure. She rushed to another window to have a better view and was shocked to find out that being sure of the truth could make anyone short of breath. Mrs Greenheart wasn’t being paranoid when she suggested that her husband had been cheating on her.

  Guess the real paranoia was that she had not guessed that it was Mary Sanders he was screwing. Trying to investigate Jamie’s death sure was getting Alice more views about everyone more than she can handle or chew. Get out of her Alice before someone sees you!

  Alice was too confounded and didn’t notice the tin can that was on the grasses that led the path from the back of the bungalow to the large field behind the house.

  Kicking on the can when she turned from the window made a loud noise and Alice turned to see Mary’s blue eyes staring at her at the window. Mary might have been half naked but this didn’t stop her from advancing towards the window to see who the intruder was. Alice made a run for it.

  Helping Nova out with her lime pie order was a stress Alice had not foreseen. Three hours with Nova had ended up being an interrogation. Though they had made over seventy pies today, Alice felt as if Nova had only asked for her help so she could watch her and find out what made Alice’s pie different.

  Alice had told her more than six times that it only takes the right measurement but it seems Nova wasn’t always satisfied with the reply. Well, Alice thought, there was something that needs to be done to realise that taste but Alice was sure she was careful all through not to let Nova notice. At the end, Nova had concentrated on making all the ordered pies for the ball. Sixty more pies should do it.

  Having spent almost four hours at Nova’s store, Alice was back in her shop across Nova’s and really wished it was her getting the orders instead of Nova, but Jamie’s death had happened and every success story had changed for her.

  Even the local television stations had stopped advertising for her and two men from the police station had come to interrogate her again yesterday.

  It was after Alice had rushed breathless from Mary’s house to her car and zoomed off to her apartment. Alice was still contemplating the chance that Mary had seen her at the window or not when a knock came on her door.

  At first, Alice was afraid Mary had trailed her back to her apartment. She kept pacing her room and was very reluctant to check. But a voice had spoken from outside her apartment and Alice had a change of mind. She rushed to the door and removed the lock.

  “I am sorry, Officer Ray. I thought you were someone else. Officer Bill.” She nodded towards the other officer and motioned for both of them to come in. Officer Bill and Officer Ray were the ones in charge of Jamie’s murder. They interrogated her some days back and Alice remembered how hard it was to convince these men that she had not killed her best friend.

  Two days ago, after Alice had taken her usual hot night shower, she came back to the sitting room and couldn’t find where she had left her bag. She switched on the lights in the room to find out that everything in the house wasn’t where she had left them.

  The shelves in the kitchen showed obvious ransacking and it seems someone had come to her room in search of something. At first, Alice told herself the earlier encounter with Mrs Greenheart’s had gotten her mind disoriented and she had not remembered that she had left the house unkempt before she left in the morning. But after serious thought and the fact that many of her clothes that were usually tucked in her wardrobe were roughly placed on the floor, Alice had dialled the number Morgan had left her in case she remembered anything she hadn’t told the police.

  The sleepy voice at the other end introduced himself as Officer Ray and Alice had told him everything she had suspected. At first, she sensed Officer Ray wasn’t actually taking her observation serious but when she had mentioned that she might have some suspicions she would like to relate to the police, he asked for her address and jotted it down. He further promised to be at her apartment the next day and advised her always to keep her doors locked or simply change the lock. Alice went to bed that day thinking about the number of times someone must have gone through her things without her notice.

  When Officer Ray and Officer Bill came into her apartment, the first question they asked her was whether she had noticed anyone leave her apartment or if any of her neighbours had been behaving abnormally the past few days. Alice wanted to tell them about the Greenhearts but that would be betraying Mrs Greenheart and getting her marital affairs in the out. Besides, Alice felt that Mrs Greenheart had more than enough troubling her than to go looking into other people’s homes. Most of her other neighbours were working men and women and mostly weren’t at home until weekends.

  “I haven’t been at home Officers.” She told the two men, “And my neighbours have been peaceful occupants since I moved in.” Alice noticed Officer Bill raised one of his eyebrow but she really wanted to get both of them out of her apartment as soon as possible, so she continued by telling them about some of her guests that day she was starting to suspect as Jamie’s killer.

  “Well, about the information I mentioned on the phone, Officer Ray, I think I forgot to mention that Kelly Wellington and Jamie went to school together and it is very possible they went with Mary Sanders. I am sure your investigations must have led you to such information too but I would likely suggest that Mary Sanders be interrogated.” Officer Bill raised his eyebrow again and Alice started to think it had nothing to do with what she said. The man had raised those eyebrows enough to make anyo
ne think it was as a defect of one face operation or the other.

  “And Big Joe hasn’t been coming out of his house since the incident. One of the owners of the dogs he watches over told me he called in sick few days ago, which is unusual.” Alice paused to see if any of them might want to pass a comment but both cops seems to be fixated on looking at her.

  At least Officer Ray was jotting something down.“I know I am still a suspect in this case but I will like to reiterate that Jamie was a very good friend and nothing could have made me poisoned him.” She sat down and kept quiet allowing the officers to realise that she noticed the long stare they fixated on her profile, as if they were trying to read her.

  “Have you rearranged everything in the house since you noticed some things were not as you placed them?” Officer Ray dropped his pen and asked.

  “Yes, I have. Most of the things scattered were items in the kitchen.”

  “Anything missing?” The Officer with the weird eyebrow finally spoke.

  “Oddly no.” Alice replied, “I think they didn’t find what they were looking for or perhaps it was some petty thief who was looking for money…” Officer Bill stopped her with a raised finger.

  “Didn’t find what they were looking for? You thing the person that supposedly got into your home and scattered your things was actually looking for something?”Alice was beginning to hate Officer Bill. He looks like those mean and corrupt police men in American telenovella series.

  “Yes and…” Officer Bill stopped her again with a raise of his finger. Officer Ray just kept jotting everything down.

  “You think you know what the person might have been after?” Officer Bill asked.

  At this point, Alice was already getting irritated and wasn’t very interested in giving Officer Bill any response but she knew how devastatingly stubborn the two of them were and wanted to get everything over with instead of raising suspicions on her suspicious self again.

  “Yes, the whole search in the house went on specifically in my kitchen. It was as if the stranger wanted into my cooking skills.

  Everything I use for my baking and cooking is in those shelves, most importantly the recipe for my foods. If you ask me, I think my recipe was the target.” With shoulders high, Alice said the last sentence with a proud voice and expected an expression that would say well done, you nailed it Alice from both officers but their expression spoke of nothing. In fact, both stood up almost immediately.

  Officer Ray pocketed his pen the same time Officer Bill stood up and told Alice they would get back to her over everything she had mentioned. Alice was perplexed but walked them to the door. The funny thing on her mind was how soon she wanted them out of her house but the moment they stood up to, she was surprisingly disappointed. When they got to the door, Officer Ray turned and told Alice to be careful with her movements henceforth. He said nothing else as he walked behind Officer Bill and out of the building.

  The Officers’ visit yesterday made Alice uncomfortable. In fact, she had the feeling the cops knew something and they weren’t sharing it with her. After they had left, Alice called Morgan and spoke with her about what she felt about everything.

  Morgan had repeated that Alice should trust the police involvement in the case and that she should endeavour to stay off anything that might incriminate her. At a point, she wanted to tell Morgan about her recent personal investigation about the case and the remarkable things she had found out about her guests, especially since her money is now on Mary Sanders as Jamie’s killer.

  That woman sure has more secrets than sleeping with people’s husbands! But Alice ended the call with Morgan without talking about this. Morgan would definitely not approve.

  Speaking of approval, a figure was briskly crossing the street towards Alice’s shop with a very serious countenance. It was Mary and the expression on her face spoke of stern disapproval. Alice suddenly remembered another event that had occurred yesterday and this one involved spying on Mary Sanders who was already at her door presently.

  “Hello Mary, been a long time…” Alice hoped Mary had not caught sight of her when she ran the whole street to her car yesterday but Mary’s quick response spoke of a different hope.

  “Afternoon Alice. Whatever you say yesterday isn’t any concern of yours and I would advise you keep quiet about it.” Mary glanced at a nearby chair and sat.

  Alice took a seat too and tried to feign total confusion. “Saw yesterday? What are you talking about Mary? I haven’t seen you since…”

  “Oh cut it woman. I am sure you know you aren’t the only one asking questions about people in this town. People always talk and one way or the other, the truth wills out. I heard you have been asking everyone where I live and yesterday, someone dressed like Alice, who walks like Alice and with Alice’s hair was caught staring through my window. You still want to pretend you weren’t there?”

  Alice decided it was better just to explain what she was doing at her house instead of this sullen pretence. Mary sure wasn’t a dumb woman and with everything Alice had heard about her, Mary could be dangerous.

  “Okay, I was at your house but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. I knocked and no one was answering the door, then I decided to check through the back door in case you were in the kitchen and couldn’t hear my knocks. Nothing happened when I knocked on that too, then I decided to see if someone really was living in the house. The window was the only way I could think of. That was what happened, nothing more.” Alice lied and it seems Mary was buying it for the expression on her face softened.

  “Well, I was at home.” She started, “And saw you ran off after I came out to check who was at the window. Care to tell me what you wanted to see me about?”

  Alice wasn’t quite sure whether she had imagined this would happen before but the excuses came off her mouth as if she had mastered them. “Oh. Kelly told me the police had been questioning everyone about Jamie’s death and it kind of slipped out of her mouth how uncomfortable it was since she went to high school with him. I guess you did too. Just wanted to talk to you about him. I missed Jamie and I really hope the killer was brought to justice.”

  Alice stressed the last sentence and watched to see if any expression crossed Mary’s face but only utter confusion showed. “High school? I didn’t attend the same school Kelly went to. Yes, I know she might have told you we lived together as kids and probably grew up in the same house as teenagers but we never attended the same school. My mother made sure of that!” She paused for a while to think. She probably was reluctant to talk about herself or her family life to Alice but she continued after a while.

  “And Jamie was a good friend to everyone. Kelly introduced me to him many years ago but we never really had what many will consider as friendship. I am sure everyone you asked about me already told you I am not easy to go friendly with”.

  There was that accusing voice again, Alice thought. I thought everyone was okay with the whole town talking about them! Alice wanted to ask if Mary knew whether Kelly ever had any relationship with Jamie but Mary started on a comment that Alice was really interested in.

  “Sorry Mary, did you say Jamie had a very close relationship with Simons? Simons of the Harry and Simons?” That is one news everyone forgot to tell Alice!

  “Yes dear. To be candid, their friendship got everyone thinking that Jamie was into the gay club himself but Kelly got that rumour off that Jamie was a real dandy who ran after women a lot while they schooled together. Jamie’s personality is a little complicated and screwed if you ask me. No one knows for sure until you showed up…” It seems Mary deliberately left the unsaid words hanging in the air.

  She stood and showed glaring white teeth.

  “I don’t want any part with the investigations Alice.

  The one you have taken up upon yourself and the ones the cops have been lurking around asking questions for.” Alice couldn’t hide her shock at Mary’s words.

  She suddenly felt that Mary was wiser than she had fat
homed or maybe Mary had been watching her all this while. Hell, it might have been her that was at her apartment two days ago. Everything makes Mary more dangerous than ever.

  She smiled at the obvious shock on Alice’s face and started towards the door. Her hands on the knob, she turned and focused her stare on Alice.

  “Do try not to spy on other people again Alice, especially when they are having a nice time. It is unhealthy, and you think with the way someone died of poisoning a few days ago, some people will always learn to mind their business.”

  She paused for a second or two to allow her words sink into Alice’s chest then she left with the words, “I hear anything about what you saw then you will have more than a law suit for trespassing and stalking on your table. Goodbye Alice.”

  Alice stood rooted for minutes and couldn’t believe Mary could have made such a direct threat on her life. And she made such threat by referring to what had killed Jamie.

  Alice wasn’t sure what her next move should be. Tell the police Mary killed Jamie and she just threatened you! No, call Morgan and explain what you have been doing!