The Undisputed – Episode 23

THE UNDISPUTED EPISODE 23

 

© Tisa Phiri

 

 

” Joy! , Joy!” Kelly screamed his wife’s name as he banged the bedroom door open.

 

Joy who sat on the dressing mirrow preparing for her trip out looked back at her yelling husband’s furious face , she almost burst out laughing knowing the cause of his outburst before he could even say a thing.

 

” how could you ! ” Kelly panted throwing the car keys on the bed.

 

” hey hey! Please can you stop yelling at me kelly am not a kid, tell me what this madness is all about?” She teased him standing up to him as he frowned besides her.

 

” you have the guts to ask me that when you damn know well what you have done. What did those poor girls ever do to you? I told you about what happened just so you stop accusing that innocent girl of seducing me. I am the one after her and have always been from the start and….. you are so unebelievable Joy!” Kelly scolded her failing to finish his initial statement.

 

” well, to start with Justice had to be served Kelly, a man was killed here. Or what? They thought they would burry such a huge crime and move on like nothing ever happened? ” Joy made a face at her husband and walked o the wardrobe taking out her clothes after throwing off the towel she had around her body.

 

” oh now you are the judge huh? You couldn’t help it. Do you even have an idea what those innocent gilrs have been through? Oh God, i can’t believe you can be so cold.” Kelly spat angrily grabbing the clothes Joy just got from the closet amd throwing them on the bed. As she smiled proudly for what she did.

 

” please Kelly i have had enough of this. First you go after that Mattie, forgeting the vows we made. Then you want to help them conceal a murder case. Well i did you a favour, they could have jailed you for not informing the Police. So instead of yelling at me, you ought to be thanking me” she responded calmly.

 

Kelly shook his head. ” Joy, i don’t believe you can be like this, you don’t even love me for crying out loud. You always on phone with that white Jerk of yours. You think i don’t know how he travels to come see you here? You think i don’t know whats going on just because i dont say a thing huh?. I told you lets end this scam of a marriage already. I love Mattie and you love someone else. Why would you want to complicate things for me?” Kelly panted angrily.

 

” Kelly Roberts, am not going to divorce you today, Tomorrow or ever, you married me. I don’t care what you think you know about my affairs but one thing is for sure. Am not leaving all this” she paused raising her hands around the room

 

” mmmhmhmh am not leaving it for that maid” she smiled pulling up a skin jean from her legs.

 

” you have crossed the line Joy and i swear you will pay for this. Am going to fight for her and her friends to come out of Jail and and when shes finally out, am not going to need your permission to be with her. Its over! You hear? This your stupid game is over! We are done!” Kelly yelled as he walked out the room leaving Joy rooted to one point her blouse still hanging in her hands.

 

” we will see about that. Lets see how you get them out of prison!” She yelled back raising her head in the hope that Kelly gets her as he had already banged the door.

 

Kelly got in the car furious. He couldn’t contain the anger. He had gone to check on Mattie as it had become a trend. He always passed through her shop to just see her from a distance. Seeing how well she was doing made him happy. He fought the urge to go closer to her, the fear of her warning for him to stay away.

 

Kelly was made to tell his wife the whole truth about Mattie in the hope she would understand him. Now he was regretting it all.

 

Recalling the time he went to see Mattie, the boys he found working there told him she wasn’t going there that day. Telling him she had some function to attend for her friend and Kelly had left.

 

He went back thinking he would pass through the following day but was told Mattie was arrested. He rushed to the police station to go and confirm it, to his dismay the officers confirmed that the girls were arrested.

 

” Kelly, what are you doing here?” Mattie asked when she walked out to see the visitor she was told had come to see her.

 

” hey Mattie, how are you doing?” Kelly asked instead pulling her into a hug.

 

Mattie broke down in front of him. The pain of what was happening to her and her friends coming out as he held her closer.

 

” am sorry Mattie. I didn’t know Joy will do this. I just wanted her to understand no wonder i told her everything. I never knew she would report you to the police ” Kelly rubbed her back still holding her in an embrace.

 

Mattie stepped back her eyes wide open.

 

” oh so you told your wife to report us? You jerk! Have i not paid enough for this already!?” Mattie cried.

 

” no no, please understand i never told her to report you. I just….”

 

” yeah you told her the truth right?, even after making me pay for all this to be hidden. Well Kelly, congratulations! ” she smiled with a teasing laugh.

 

” bravo! You have succeeded in destroying my life. You taken away part if my life as if that weren’t enough now you have just taken away my freedom” she shook her head sadly.

 

” Mattie you have to understand, i couldn’t have done anything to hurt you. I love y…..”

 

He couldn’t complete his sentence and she slapped his face.

 

” stop coming here Kelly. I told you stay away from me. If you had listened i and my friends couldn’t have found ourselves in this. Well now you have gotten what you wanted. You and your wife have yourselves to each other so please never come close to me again!” She shouted heading back to the cell as Kelly tried to beg her to hear him out.

 

” what is it Mattie?” Thandi and Sali received her as she was locked back in the cell.

 

” who came ?” They both asked seeing how much she was crying.

 

” that Jerk, that son of a devil had the audacity to come and tell me to my face his wife reported us. How could he? He lied that he loved me and yet went to tell what we have tried to hide for years to his wife. ” she said tears running down her face.

 

” i knew it” Thandi frowned. ” there is no one else except Kelly who knew about this. Sad enough he had to tell his jealousy wife “. Thandi sat back

 

“Its all my fault guys i could have reported myself years back and paid for my crime instead of putting you guys in this situation.” Sali cried holding her face as she leaned on the wall.

 

Mattie and Thandi went to sit closer to her, ” don’t do this to yourself Sali, remember we promised each other that whatever comes our way we’ll face it together. There is a reason God brought us together. Remember we are the undisputed ” Mattie rubbed her back.

 

“Yeah” Thandi argreed “i think its even better we are together inside these cells,imagine if you were alone” Thandi teased, they all smiled tearly.

 

” oh God, i hope this night mare comes to an end soon.” Sali shook her head.

 

” i don’t know how Joe is doing, am sure he hates me now. ”

 

” no that man loves you Sweety, he’s just hurt and am almost certain he will show up here.” Thandi tried to comfort her.

 

” i don’t know Thandi, he looked so broken, i have never seen him that devastated. I don’t know if he will ever want to have anything with a murderer ” Cried Sali as the other cell mates watched on.

 

” you are not a murderer Sali. Dont say that. We hope God will show us a miracle foe us to leave this hell” lamented Mattie.

 

The girls sat silently each one lost in their own tboughts. Thandi thinking of how crushed her life would be now that the media was talking about her detainsion.

 

She recalled how excited she was the day she was to be clowned as the Model of the year at the association. Owing to what she had acheived in a short period with her hard work.

 

She woke up that morning feeling great. Her dress hanging in the closet she stood their watching it.

 

A long cocktail emarald green dress with straps made of silver. She smiled to herself, it was perfect for a perfect day.

 

” are you still admiring that dress or you are taking me to get my own now? ” Mattie had walked in.

 

” let me just take a quick bath sweety, any news on Sali?” She asked her.

 

” no, i have not tried her line this morning.” She responded

 

“Call her on my cell” Mattie called out as she walked to the bathroom.

 

” i can’t get through to her Thandi. But Joe has responded.” Mattie followed her.

 

” okey, what is he saying ? Did she sleep at his place?” Thandi asked opening the shower.

 

” that’s the problem, he told me his on his way here and he didn’t mention anything about Sali. This is making me sick i swear”

 

” lets hope…..” Thandi didnt finish her sentence and they heard a loud knock on the door.

 

She looked at Mattie who shrugged. “He’s probably the one, he said he’s close” Mattie responded.

 

“We are looking for Thandiwe and Matilda” the police officer told Mattie.

 

” Am Matilda. Is there a problem officer?” She asked surprised her heart racing.

 

Just then Thandi walked to the door too still wrapped in her gown.

 

” is he the one?” She asked pulling open the door and froze upon seeing two police officers standing outside.

 

” Thandiwe i presume ” one of them sighed looking at Thandi.

 

” whats going on here?” She asked looking at Mattie then back at the officers.

 

” you are both under under arrest for working in collaboration and concelling of a criminal offence of murder, of Mr kunda Mulenga. Anything you say will be held against you in the courts of law……” the man read their charge shocking the girls as they realised what was going on.

 

” you have to come with us, your Friend was already arrested yesterday.” He continued casually.

 

” can i atleast put on my clothes?” Thandi asked shaking with combination of fear and loss of hope . Just when she was getting her life somewhere things had to turn out that way.

 

She changed into some loose slack and a t- shirt , and made a quick call to her boss.

 

” Harold, come to central Police i have been arrested” she told him and cut the line before he could ask any more questions.

 

As they were led to the police vehicle, Joe drove in.

 

” so this is what you wanted to tell us in person eeh?” Thandi asked him.

 

” am sorry” was all he said and watched as the police led them away a few people from the apartments next door watching in shock.

 

That morning, Harold had rushed to the police headquarters in the company of his brother Alex.

 

” what happened Thandiwe? You are supposed to be at that important function tonight ” Harold asked worried.

 

” Am sorry, i don’t know what to tell you. Maybe this is the end of us after all. We fought so hard to get here but life keeps pushing us to the wall” she sobbed.

 

She told them what happened, Harold shook his head. ” Oh Thandi you and your friends shouldn’t have hidden the truth. Sali was young then, and am sure she didn’t touch that man to ki*ll him from the way you are describing it. The law could have favoured her given the state of that man. He was on drugs.” Alex told her.

 

” well, what do you expect? We were just little girls, we were scared given everything we had to go through at tender ages. We had no option” she cried.

 

” its alright, let me see what i can do to get you out of here. You can’t be locked up here you have your career to prosper out there” Alex held her hand.

 

” i will give you whatever money you will charge even if it means giving away every dime i have saved up, so you get my friends and i from this hell hole” she told him.

 

” don’t worry, i will do my best. Let me see what i can do after studying the case more.” Alex smiled.

 

” thank you” she nodded.

 

So here they were, 3 days inside the police cells withlittle hope of getting out. Mattie and Sali had told their workers to sell all the fish and close the shops.

 

With the help of Harold and his brother, they managed to get something out of the remaining stock but it surely didn’t match how much they had expected.

 

” Thandiwe! You have visitor ” the officer called out startling Thandi from her thoughts.

 

She walked out just to see Alex standing at the waiting point, he wore a natural smile, she wondered what it was that made him smile when all she was feeling was the heavy burden of spending sleepless nights in jail.

 

” hey!” He called out

 

” hey” she sighed sitting down.

 

” so?” She asked him straight up.

 

” well, there’s good news and bad news” he announced.

 

Thandi looked at him for a second and her face went down again.

 

” whats the bad news?” She asked without looking at him.

 

 

To be continued