The Race for Life and Money

The man who chases a fowl, owes the ground a fall. The fowl owes herself the run of her life - African Proverb.

Dera, 30 years old, ran five kilometres every morning. At first, did this to keep fit but back then it was just two kilometres she ran. After three years of running every morning, two kilometres hardly made her break a sweat so gradually she increased from two to three and now five kilometres. She was as fit as a horse but she couldn't stop.

Body becomes a slave to exercise.

She had very busy days working as the creative director of La Monde magazine and her days began early too. For that reason, she rose earlier than usual for her run. It was 5:00 am and it was still dark out. She had lived in Maple County all her life so she had nothing to fear. As she tied her running shoes, the news on the TV was about a robbery at the local bank that left two police officers and one of the suspects dead. She tied her running shoes and off she went.

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As was customary, she ran fast initially, ended the trip at the park, rested for ten minutes and ran back at a slower pace. The park was deserted as usual. She sat on one of the more shaded benches when she heard a rustle of leaves and saw a moving shadow. That was strange, she thought. In all her years of visiting that park by that time, this was the first time she was seeing a sign of life. She quickly rose from the bench and crouched behind it, watching the shadow.

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A minute later, a second person appeared in the clearing. "Where is the money?" one of the voices asked.

"Where is my daughter? The deal was, the money for my daughter and I can't see her here. Your money is in a safe place and you can have it as soon as my daughter is safe?"

"She is in a safe place," came the reply.

Both men pulled out a pistol each and pointed at each other's temple. Slowly and quietly, Dera left her hiding and tip-toed away from the scene before running away. Just hundred yards away on a bench, she saw a little girl of about nine years old gagged and tied to the bench. As she got closer, she saw her eyes, pleading for help. She quickly removed her restraints and removed the gag.

"What's your name?"

"Adele," the little girl said. Then suddenly, a gunshot blasted through the silence.!

"Can you run?" Dera asked.

The girl nodded. Dera helped her up and directed her on a path away from the park. They ran at a much slower pace than Dera was used to but she was impressed with the little girl.

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Meanwhile, the shooter, Sargent Downey of the Maple county police hurriedly searched the pockets of the shot man for evidence or any sign of where he had hidden the money. He found a key, labelled 1437. He put the key in his jacket pocket and hurried off in the direction where he had tied the little girl as he heard receding footsteps in that direction. He arrived at the bench where he had tied the little girl and found no one. He looked in every direction and found the park quiet and lonely.

"Damn," he muttered and ran to the left.

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Dera lived alone. She unlocked the front door and led Adele in. Adele had filled her in on the situation as best she could. The man that took her, Martin Downey, and two other men visited her father about a week ago. Her father told her they were police officers and just needed his help with their work. Her father was a structural engineer. One week later, Martin came to her school and said her father asked him to pick her up. She had been with him for the past twenty-four hours.

All Dera knew was that she would have to keep Adele in her home until it was safe to return her to her family. According to Adele, after her mom and dad separated, her mom fell ill and was committed to a rehab out of town. Dera thought quickly. She picked up her phone and called her police contact from when she wrote for The Vanguard. Jeff gave her off-the-record information back then.

She listed the names she wanted Jeff to dig up information on and he promised to get back to her. She called her housekeeper to inform her that she had a kid at home and she may have to babysit her. Then she quickly prepared a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toasted bread. Adele ate as she got ready for work.

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Martin Downey owned a box at the post office and the key he found in the pockets of Jamie Okonlia was the exact replica of his own except for the numbers. He went straight to the post office and walked to box 1437 and unlocked it. Inside the box was a male doll. He was disappointed.

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Meanwhile, a group of runners had discovered the bleeding body of Jamie Okonlia. He was still breathing. The runners called an ambulance and he was taken to Ernst Memorial Hospital. He was unconscious by the time he was moved to the theatre. The doctors successfully removed the bullet and filed a report with the police. Before he woke up from the anaesthesia, Downey was standing over him.

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"I found your little doll. Where's my money?" he asked viciously.

"You will get your money when my little girl is safe," he said weakly.

"She is safe," Downey said and shifted uncomfortably, his face deadpan.

"Bring her to me and I will tell you where the money is. I was never supposed to be this involved in your shitty business. My part was to let you in and I'm out. But you had to go and shoot someone and kidnap my daughter after I had done what you asked for. I don't care what you do to me as long as my girl is safe. Now get out of my face."

Downey hesitated then turned around and left. He waited outside and watched the entrance to the room.

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As Dera drove to work, she listened to the local news. "... In other news, a man identified as Jamie Okonlia was shot this morning at Bovo Park by unknown persons. He was taken to Ernst Memorial Hospital where he is recovering from his gunshot wound..." the radio presenter said. Dera was just a block away from the hospital so she pulled over in front of it. Against her better judgement, she walked into the hospital and received direction to Jamie's room.

Sargent Downey watched her walk into the room. He moved fast and wedged the door with his left foot so that it didn't quite close. Dera introduced herself to Jamie and informed him that she has his daughter. Jamie thought she was the most beautiful girl he ever saw. He was relieved to hear the good news. He tried to get up but winced in pain and fell back.

"Don't worry. I can keep her until you feel strong enough," she said giving him her address and left. On her way to the car, she saw two plain-clothes detectives, a man and a woman walk into the hospital. She drove off to work.

She noticed the man that sat idly outside Jamie's hospital room. He looked like the man he saw earlier in the morning. She felt she needed to do something. She picked up her cell and called her father's old friend Parker, a retired police chief and apprised him of the situation. He lived a few blocks from her so he went over immediately to her house to pick up Adele. Maria, the housekeeper, let him in. Before they could sit down, a Toyota Camry pulled up outside the house and Downey stepped out.

Parker saw him. "Bad news," he said. "Hurry, we have to go," he dragged Adele and Maria through the back door and headed in the direction of his house. He called Dera who came running to his house. He and Dera went to the hospital to update Jamie. By the time Downey went back to the hospital, he was furious.

He pulled out his gun and gently placed it on Jamie's head. "This is your last chance. You're the only living witness to the robbery. You can tell me where the money is right now or this is it for you," he said calmly.

"Where is my daughter?" he asked.

"We both know your daughter is safe. So what's it gonna be?"

"Your money is beneath the statue of Davis Sammy Junior. The map stuffed into that doll will show you where" he said weakly.

Parker called one of his loyal men and the police set up a perimeter around the statue.

As soon as Downey opened up the concrete slab under the statue and lifted the black duffel bag, he was surrounded by fellow police officers.

"You are under arrest for murder in the first degree and kidnapping," the officer read him his rights.

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Back in the hospital, Dera, Adele and Chief Parker arrived and went to see Jamie.

"Daddy!" Adele shouted as she ran towards her dad and hugged him.

"How are you, honey suckle?" he smiled, trying to hide the pain he felt from hugging her then he winked at Dera and Parker.

"Daddy, meet Jay," she said, lifting the little dog that wiggled his tail on the floor.

"It's beautiful," Jamie said. "Where did you find it?"

"At Aunt Dera's," she said.

"Hello, how are you doing? This is Parker. He helped us resolve the matter. You're in the clear now."

Parker nodded.

Jamie looked at Dera and his eyes welled up with tears. "How can I ever repay you?" he asked.

"Well, you can take me to dinner," she said, smiling.

He removed the needle in his right arm and sat up. "Can we go now?" he asked.

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_{Images were obtained from pixabay}

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Authored by @churchboy