Memoirs of My Trips... Episode 7

With tension brewing, time seemed to be moving very slowly. Everyone looked somber, apparently processing varying thoughts probably to come up with a timely solution. While we waited for help to come, Tim carefully lifted Samantha off the bathroom floor and carefully placed her on the bed in the bedroom. There was still no sign of her regaining consciousness as we all stood around the bed hoping for a change in her condition. Moments later the paramedics arrived. The sound of the siren from the ambulance invaded the thick gloom that had pervaded the room.

Camilla and the others hurried out of the room towards the living room. I made to rush out too, but a quick intense glance at Samantha stayed my steps. The earring on one of her ears was the other pair of the one I had found on my ear. Realizing I still had the earring on, I took it off and sat on the bed by her feet. It suddenly struck me; this was nothing anyone of us had really bargained for. How did we go from having a little fun to being at the brink of tragedy? What would become of our lives at the end of this whole drama? These thoughts raced through my mind as the door flew open ushering in hands and voices that all reached out to Samantha.

The ambulance sped off from the massive beach property, heading for Harborview medical center, leaving behind the odd aura of uncertainty. Samantha’s fate remained in doubt though the paramedics assured us she was still alive. From the corners of my eyes I saw Camilla and Nina moving away from the drive-way towards the front porch of the mansion. Going back into the mansion was not an option for me, I wasn’t prepared for another shock discovery and I was having a premonition there would be. I took a glance around and I caught a glimpse of Tim, his arms were wrapped around Victoria who nestled against him like she had no strength to stand on her own.

I stood rooted to a spot on the drive-way with my hands shoved in my pockets pondering my next move when my fingers brushed my cell phone. Then I remembered I needed to call Gerard, quickly, I pulled out my cell. My thumb was about hitting the dial button when a sound drew my attention. Prior to that moment, I had not noticed there was any stranger in our midst as I turned to see the guy who had cleared his throat to get our attention. He pulled out his badge indicating he was a detective from the Seattle police department (SPD). He had obviously come with the paramedics, but since we were all so absorbed by Samantha’s situation, no one paid him any attention.

I was quite stunned by the presence of the detective. This wasn’t a crime scene, so I couldn’t understand what his mission was. I pushed the apprehension that was building up from my nerve endings aside. I needed to wait to see if there was any need for apprehension before letting it get a hold of me. He introduced himself as detective Mitch Lane. He explained that his purpose of coming was routine, just to ensure there was no foul play in the whole incident. We all had to retreat back to the mansion so he could carry out his routine questioning. Back in the mansion I had to call Gerard as Camilla also called her chauffeur. They were the only ones who could properly account for our activities prior to our emergence at the mansion.

While we waited for Gerard to come, Mitch threw questions at us that we could only provide sketchy answers to. Apparently he was trying to build up some conspiracy theories. As he went on, I gradually started grasping the severity of the situation. I looked around me and I was the only dark-skinned person in the room.

The reality of that sudden awareness caused my pores to open up and sweat began pouring out of my skin in generous volumes. The truth was; I had it all coming. The way I had allowed myself to indulge in excesses since my arrival was as though I had forgotten the reason I was in Seattle in the first place. The company I worked for back home had so much faith in me that they decided to enhance my proficiency by sponsoring me for this training. I was supposed to be gearing up for the defining experience of my career but instead I had to be so careless. And as it stood at the moment, baring any turn in my fortunes my prospect was heading for the rocks even before it got started. What if this was it for me? I shivered at the thought.

In a split moment my mind drifted to Patrick. Yes, Patrick Azuka! He was my colleague back in Nigeria. We were both IT consultants in the same firm, working most of the time on same projects. He was more of a partner than just a colleague. For over 18 months we had worked together, we got along very well. We even took our friendship beyond the work place as we hung out on most weekends. He was a regular at my house in the same way I frequented his. But things started getting awkward between us from the moment we were both nominated from the IT department to be selected for this training. Seven people from the firm were to be sent for an advanced training relative to their qualifications. And one employee each had to be selected from the nominees drafted from the seven different departments of the firm.

The process of selection was quite tough as the different nominees were required to meet several criteria. And so by default, everyone started improving their work rate and efficiency in order to make the cut. Both of us were the only ones nominated for selection from the IT department and then as the days went by an unhealthy rivalry started budding. Everything became a competition to Patrick. He did all he could to outwit me in our daily routines and was always on the edge anytime we performed an assignment together. Working with him became quite a task for me as I struggled to stay on course. Then weeks passed and the day of the selection came. Since we always worked together it was hard for the management to make a choice which one of us should be sent for the training. And so it had to come down to the little details.

Unfortunately for Patrick, he lived a good distance away from the firm and a few lateness on his charts stood against him. And to further dent his chances, he got caught up in traffic on that particular morning and came a little late to work. And since the management had problems making the selection, it became the deciding factor. To say he was crushed by the decision would be an understatement. It was as though his world had ended. His attitude towards me from then on was as if he had taken an oath of enmity with me. Our friendship went from ‘green’ to ‘shades of grey’. He started avoiding me like a plague. If I took the front exit, he would take the rear exit. If I was moving to the right wing of the office complex, he was moving to the left wing.

The most striking incident was when I waited to take the elevator one afternoon. As the doors pulled aside, I stepped onto the elevator and it was Patrick that stood at one end with his head hanging down. He was alone inside. As he lifted up his head to see me, he moved hurriedly like a flash of lightening to squeeze himself out the door before it closed up. Since the space he forced himself through was very narrow, he fell awkwardly over at the other side and the tablet device he was holding fell inside the elevator. I had to wait for him at the ground floor so I could hand him his device. Even as he emerged some minutes later from the stairway, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him as he grabbed his device from my outstretched hand in horror. He mumbled some words that didn’t quite sound like ‘thank you’ and hurried along.

Now if things should go wrong and I get sent back home, I knew I wouldn’t survive Patrick’s gloating. He would scorn and ridicule me with every chance he gets. It will be the perfect way to get solace for his misfortunes. Now that would be the least price to pay. The real issue will be dealing with the management of the firm. More than the embarrassment I would have brought them, it would be damaging to face the wrath of their disappointment. They had spent so much in sending me on this trip as all my bills were on the company’s expense. And in the light of what my indiscretion might cost them, they wouldn’t engage any thought before making me an unemployed. I dreaded to even think how much any unfortunate end to my trip would affect my family and friends. The effect would be devastating at the very least.

A warm arm reaching over my shoulders was what made me realize Camilla had come to sit by my side. I looked up to see everyone staring at me. I could see concern in everyone’s eyes except for those of the detective. He seemed to be glaring at me with suspicion. My sweating had intensified, this time, pouring down my face. Anyone entering the room at that moment would have though I had just been submerged. Camilla continued cuddling me, I could imaging she understood my fears. Tim who had his hands full with trying to comfort Victoria looked on at me as his expression turned from concern to disdain. He obviously didn’t like the fact that I wasn’t handling myself as was expected of me. I was certain he would have preferred I was the one comforting Camilla and not the other way around. But there was no way he could understand my situation, he wasn’t from my ‘world’.

As my ‘meltdown’ continued the detective turned his interrogation on me as he threw all his questions my way. If my present apprehension was making me out as a suspect to the curious detective, I decided it was time to get it together. “Get a grip on your self” Tim spat out as if on cue with my thoughts. I had to mentally push myself until my sweating subsided and my nerves calmed. Camilla’s proximity to me was giving me so much comfort than I had imagined possible. I was no more paying any attention to the detective now that my mind was pondering the reasons Camilla was always being sweet to me. The sweetness that started right from our first encounter at the orientation party. Was she a naturally sweet person or was she being particular about me? The thought made me smile but the smile didn’t last for long as my gaze met with Mitch and his stern stare sapped it away.

We all still looked messy since we never had time to clean up while the whole drama of the past hours played out. We would have been mistaken for ‘junkies’ if we had accompanied Samantha to the hospital, so none of us volunteered to do so. Camilla had given the paramedics her mobile contact in the event there was any change in Samantha’s condition. All I could think of at the moment was getting cleaned up even as Mitch still blasted away with questions. Nina’s voice echoing from across the living room was a welcome distraction as I was now getting bored with the detectives’ ploys. Our attention drifted to Nina who seemed to be addressing someone in Spanish. Oh! Not again! I exclaimed in my mind. Somehow I knew there were more things to discover at the mansion, I wondered what the latest discovery was about. I was almost tempted to bolt out the door, but my wits held me glued to the couch and I sat still.

Camilla was the first to react. She sprang up and moved towards the section of the living room where Nina spoke from and Tim joined her. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Tim’s voice thundered. Curiously, I moved to the scene and it was Curt still snoring away or so it seemed. It was no small wonder how we had forgotten he was still there the whole time. With all the noise and rowdiness that had accompanied the paramedics, there was obviously something in his system that had kept him shut off. We were all too mentally drained to deal with any more surprises as everyone stared on for several minutes until the detective made the move to rouse him. Drowsiness stained his eyes even as he managed to pop them open.

Mitch tried to quiz him but he just looked on at us as if we were illusions. He even smiled at us and leaned his head backwards like someone in a trance. With a furrowed brow, the detective backed away from us slowly as he brought his hand up his waist to make sure his gun was still in place. “Now can anyone explain what’s going on here” he asked trying not to sound alarmed. No one replied, instead Tim moved towards Curt, slapped him mildly on the face and shook him roughly until he adjusted his gaze in a way that suggested he had just become aware of his environment. He weakly wriggled himself out of Tim’s grasps and looked around in confusion. He twitched his face and tried to stand but fell back on the couch.

“What’s happening here” he finally spoke with a husky tone. “Oh, a lot…so much you’ve missed out on. But the best part is, as Samantha’s guide, it will be pretty cheery you get to know she might just be dying right now at some hospital” Tim replied with sarcasm. “Don’t do tha…” Victoria made to scold Tim but couldn’t complete her statement as Curt suddenly sprang up, his expression a mixture of confusion and hysteria. It was as if the information from Tim had just filtered into his mind and had hit a wrong cord. But before any further emotional outburst could make its way to the fore, Camilla intervened. She took her time to brief Curt on all that had happened or at least all she was aware of. When she was done, he sat still for awhile then suddenly announced he was off to the hospital.

We all understood why he needed to be there, so no one objected even though he didn’t look composed or tidy. Tim offered to accompany him, but then they had to call up a cab operator since both of them were in no shape to drive despite Camilla’s cars being available. Mitch still attempted to quiz Curt, but the hard stare he got from him and everyone else was all that was needed to make him withdraw into his shell like a scared snail. He even went ahead to suggest a cup of coffee be made for Curt in a bid to atone for his indiscretions. While we waited for Gerard and the cab to arrive, we thought to do a little clean up and Camilla was generous enough to allow us use any of the bathrooms in the house.

I had just stepped out of the bathroom when I heard a horn blare from outside. I hurried to the living room to see Curt almost colliding with Gerard by the front door as he paced out of the house. Tim beckoned on him to wait, running across the living room to catch up. Apparently, Gerard had arrived the same time as the cab operator. He looked surprised as Tim dashed out of the house without a word to him.

Mitch engaged Gerard in an avalanche of questions while Camilla treated Victoria and I to a meal of muffins and chicken stakes. I would have given anything to know the genesis of our ‘pilgrimage’ but my stomach had other ideas. It was late afternoon and I couldn’t remember when I had my last meal, so I decided it was in order if I did the tales later. The way Camilla and Victoria munched on the meal in front of them affirmed we were all on the same page on the issue. No one was in a hurry to make sense of the whole scenario as hunger prevailed over curiosity and answers.

The detective eventually left, but not without assuring us we would hear further from him relative to Samantha’s situation. The chauffeur had also come some moments back and had been questioned by the detective. In the meantime, Camilla was preparing to leave for Harborview with Victoria, so it was time for Gerard and I to leave too. After exchanging contacts with Camilla and Victoria who promised to keep in touch I left with Gerard. Surely the day’s event had made all of us involved to form a close bond. Sometimes it’s amazing how trouble could bring people together I reasoned in my mind. I had a lot of questions to ask Gerard, questions that concerned events beginning from the previous night. But the foremost on my mind was what had happened before we got to the club.

More than anything, I needed to clear the confusion in my mind on that front. I wasn’t going to wait one more second to know what had happened, so I turned to face Gerard as he drove. He looked in my direction as he caught my stare from the corners of his eyes. I opened my mouth to begin, but before the words could come out, his phone rang. Touché! I exclaimed. The look on his face as he engaged the caller conveyed worry. I dreaded to know what the call was all about and I was determined not to find out, but that decision was not mine to make. The cloud of emotions that had spread over his face as he ended the call assured me there was a storm brewing. He pulled over and turned his face the other way to face the window.

“That was detective Mitch; calling from Harborview. He began, still looking the other way. The test carried out on Samantha revealed some narcotic substance in her blood and system. The narcotic substance wasn’t specified, though she’s still unconscious but in stable condition” Gerard continued as he turned his face forward and his head hung down. “You and the others will have to report at the hospital for a drug test to aid investigations. It has become necessary since Samantha isn’t conscious to give any answers” he completed his statement. My heart skipped several beats and sunk. I didn’t know what I had taken at the bar, so I wasn’t sure if I didn’t have any narcotics in my system. “NARCOTICS” My mind kept repeating the word. Suddenly all the beautiful scenery I could see out the window took the form of garbage bins as my face and palms became moist…

The Story Continues…