CHAPTER 23 INVESTIGATION CLOSES, TIME TO GO BACK

“Relax Mansour, Ami decided to stay at her cottage tonight so she could look after her uncle. She requested that someone brings her food so I am just about to go.”
“May I come? You know I am a spy for someone, remember?” Mansour grinned at Rain’s sour look. Rain couldn’t do anything but nod. “Sorry guys, I need to feed that cat over there. You know how she is if she gets hungry, becomes a tigress.” They all laughed at this even Mansour as he too knew about Ami’s appetite. Both Rain and Mansour walked to Ami’s cottage.
“This is a cute cottage.” commented Mansour.
“It is more beautiful in the daytime, tomorrow, we can show you around if you like unless you want to continue exploring the city.”
Mansour thought back to the lady he encountered but he thought, there will still be plenty of time. If they are meant to be, they are meant to be.
“Nah, I think I would like to explore your neighborhood.
By the time they reached the door, they had not even knocked when Ami hollered, “Come in!”
“Blast it Ami, what if it were someone else?!” snapped Rain.
“Hello there too. I thought you sent someone.”
“Not in your wildest dreams and besides, Mansour wanted to come see your place.”
Ami suddenly felt embarrassed. Compared to their palatial villa, her cottage looks like a laborer’s portacabin in the UAE.
Mansour noticed Ami’s discomfort so he rushed to say, “I like it, it’s cute and homey.”
“Do you think so? My parents loved this cottage and I do too. It may be tiny and quaint but it is mine and it is home.”
Rain thought, I am your home precious Ami, if only you look at me, love, but he kept these thoughts to himself, one day at a time.
Ami arranged the food on the table and recognizing that the two meant to share it with her, they tucked in. By the time they finished, she offered coffee for everyone. Knowing that her uncle was fast asleep in his room because of the sedative Ami gave him, they talked in hushed tones. Rain and Mansour stayed for two hours before they helped her tidy up and made sure she locked her door. The two men walked back to the manor with different things running in their minds. Rain was planning for the next day’s activity while Mansour was puzzling out what made Ami’s uncle strange.
The next morning, Mansour woke up to the fog and he loved it. There is a difference with the fog here compared to the UAE. By his balcony, he saw Ami tending to a garden next to her cottage. It is not a cute cottage but a fantasy cottage with its garden surrounding it and with what looks like a tree house near the back entrance to the manor. It also looked like a swing by another massive tree. No wonder the two men fell for Ami, because without people looking at her, she is relaxed and at her element. He thought about his recently married brother and he thought he might fall in love all over again if he saw Ami right now. Fortunately for Ami, she is too cute and looked more like a baby sister for him. Suddenly he saw Ami tensing as two police officers came into view. He immediately went down and looked for Rain who was already out the back door heading to the cottage. Mansour smiled, Rain might be a voyeur himself, he thought, spying on his lady love early in the morning. Both men arrived at Ami’s door inhaling the sweet smell of brewed coffee. How was it? Mansour thought that here he could appreciate the smell of coffee more. Ami ushered them in and they were surprised to see Ronnie calmly sipping his coffee while listening to the police officers. Maybe Ami’s presence has a calming effect on him. The doctor also looked like he was paying attention to every detail the police were saying.
“So you see Doctor, we found the body of your son wrapped in a blanket inside a freezer in his mother’s house. No wonder people did not smell anything.”
Though horrified, Ami was brave enough to ask, “But how did you discover his body? From what I’ve heard, this investigation has been going on for months now.”
“Well Ms. Ami, the Gonzales were mostly out of town the last few months so it was really difficult to be just popping in and out of their property and with Christmas just nearly upon us, there are a lot of activities we had to consider as well. And the festivity coming up is what led us to Ridger’s mother’s house. A neighbor knocked on the door in the hopes of borrowing something but she was surprised when the knob turned. “
“Enough, enough already!” Ronnie was going hysterical again and was cupping his ears and then breaking down in sobs as he went back to his room locking himself in. Ami was up and running after her uncle. She pounded on his door as she heard his sobs.
“Uncle, please open your door and let me in.”
“Leave me alone, all of you, get out!” Rain and Mansour’s mouths fell open because technically it is Ami’s house but when they looked at her, she just shook her head and ushered everyone out of the house into the benches by the garden. The police officers gave her apologetic looks which she ignored.
“Please continue.”
“We still do not know who did it though and we must ask you if it is possible to stay a bit longer until this case is officially closed. We do not believe your uncle is stable enough to handle these things. “
Ami looked helplessly to Mansour who nodded his head sympathetically.
“Do not worry Habibti, why don’t I call them back home so they know we have to stay.”
“But Mansour, you do not have to. You have your job to think about.”
“My job can exist without me, Ami but you need us, your friends here and my brother would want me to stay as well. You are still my younger sister no matter what. She needs us, does she not Rain?
Rain would have liked it better if Mansour was out of the picture but he held his tongue so he just nodded.
“Thank you for the coffee Ms. Ami and we will call on you again as soon as we have a suspect.”
Ami bid the gentlemen goodbye and went back inside the cottage, when she was nearing her uncle’s room, she heard unintelligible mutterings and laughter and then sobbing.
“Ohhh, uncle I shouldn’t have left. It pains me to see you like this.” Seeing that he won’t open his door, she went back out to the garden where her two friends were seated and just plunked down gracelessly as she was wearing her old tattered jeans.
“What now?”
“I guess we'll wait. Mansour, can we give you a tour of the neighborhood? I need to get out of here for a bit. I can’t think straight with this stressful place. Uncle will probably be in his room the whole day so no use getting him out. I might end up bringing him to a mental facility. But I will think of that later. Shall we go?”
The two men were more than happy to accompany her. Rain was not very ecstatic but at this point, he doesn’t care. Ami needs friends and so that is what he is going to give her. Mansour was taken aback by Ami’s nimbleness as she started jumping over the hedge fence of the manor. Although the manor is equipped with an automatic electrical fence that only gets activated when the Gonzales mother and son were out of town, when they are home, they only have the hedges as fences. Nobody dared steal from them as they had always been kind and compassionate neighbors. Claudia Gonzales knew how it was to be poor, she and Mr. Gonzales started out in the small cottage that is now Ami’s until they were able to rise from poverty from sheer will and determination. The property where the cottage and the manor now stood used to belong to a wealthy businessman who gambled everything away and had to sell this property to pay off debts. Fortunately, Rainier and Claudia Gonzales were already stable and not wanting to lose the property they learned to love over the years, they bought it. It was the same year Claudia conceived Rain, it was also the same year when Ami’s parents came looking for work. Ami’s mother was Claudia Gonzales’ best friend and being as full of pride as Claudia is, would not accept charity. She accepted work as her best friend’s housekeeper though and her husband, Lyndon Abelanco, being an undergrad Agricultural Engineering student became the manor’s gardener. So as Claudia increased, her best friend took care of her. On Rain’s second birthday, Ami was born. Being the only baby for two years, Rain was very jealous at first but then came to cherish Ami as the days passed. When Ami was learning to walk, Rain was already running around in basically nothing, he hated nappies.
As Ami was busy jumping over the hedge, Mansour commented
“Was she always like this? I confess we never saw this part of her.”
“Always? Yes, she basically trumps every single boy around here with marbles, fists, jumps and any other boy games you can think of. Hey Ami, slow down, our friend here Mansour is a true gentleman who probably does not know how to jump hedges let alone a small potted plant.”
“Is that a challenge, Rain? We Emiratis do not back down from a challenge. We built the first ever 7 star hotel in the middle of the sea, the highest building and a ski resort too. Watch me” Mansour boasted as he jumped over the hedge easily. Rain followed suit.
“Come on boys!” Ami shouted as she started walking towards a hill overlooking most of the neighborhood. She stopped to breathe in the smell of pines. “I so missed this!” she inhaled, spreading her arms wide. Rain stopped dead in his tracks, drinking her in, with her now long hair cascading her back and in her loose fitting flowing shirt and tattered jeans, she looked like a modern fairy sans wings. She looked so peaceful and happy. Mansour viewed her more like a teenager who just got a taste of freedom. Funny how love makes people see things differently, he thought as he glanced at Rain who was obviously mesmerized by Ami.
“Rainaldo, quit staring! Let’s go. Mansour was already by her side whistling a tune. They enjoyed walking picking stray berries now and there. When they came upon a shrub with fruits that look like strawberries, Ami picked one and offered it to Mansour. Mansour was intrigued and bit into it only to discover the inside as hollow.
“We call it wild strawberry because it looks like a strawberry.”
They continued walking until Ami’s stomach rumble stopped them, they all laughed.
“Saved by my tummy!” laughed Ami.

So they discovered the boy’s body. Not to worry, that was an error in judgment. My little girl’s worrying me though, she has to get out of here, she needs to spread her wings and forget that lovesick puppy who keeps dogging her every step. Isn't it enough he broke her heart. I vow he will pay just as soon as my girl leaves. What’s another Gonzales in the vault. Too bad he looks like that dimwit Rainier. Oh well, time to advance my acting career, man am I good! If only I can boast to the world that I made sure those pesky boys died because of me, but no. I have to dance in secret.

Since there was no food in the cottage, all three went straight to the manor. Mrs. Gonzales went to the city proper for a client meeting and to have lunch with her sister and to bring her gifts from the UAE as well. Mabel bought her mom a pair of white gold earrings while Mrs. Gonzales bought her a necklace but both sisters were shocked when they opened the box from the Sheikha, it was a set of jewelry. Earrings with diamonds, a matching necklace and bracelet. Antonia clasped the box to her chest and Mrs. Gonzales rolled her eyes upwards.
Back in the manor, after lunch, Ami brought some food to her uncle. When she reached his door, her uncle was laughing and then sobbing. Ami found the spare key and opened his door. Her uncle was on the floor holding a photo of Ridger and his mom. He was rocking the photos like a baby.
“He’s gone bonkers.” said Rain over Ami’s shoulder. Ami jerked and hit him on his nose.
“Ouch! You always break my nose.”
“Serves you right for always catching me unaware. Where is Mansour? I hope he is not here. I am embarrassed enough as it is.”
“He decided to stay, something about praying?”
“Oh yes, and he might take a nap as well. Better show him your gym as well, keep him busy please. I do not want him reporting this to my employers. I do not wish to lose my post.”
“And why would he do that? During the short time I have known him, he seems like a decent guy. Why did Mabel not fall for him though?”
“I think Mabel’s heart was captured by someone else although she denies it and Mansour treats us like sisters. Wait, someone’s calling. Hello, yes sir, this is Ami, WHAT?!!! You must be joking, No, there must be a mistake, my uncle won’t do such a thing. He loves him.” Ami dropped down on her knees behind her uncle and hugged him from behind. Her uncle all the while rocking the photo and chanting, “He killed him, he killed him and he loves it.”
“Ami, what did they say?”
Ami did not answer because she was starting to choke up but she was fighting it. Ronnie had been like a father to her and she couldn’t bear the idea of him going to prison or even to a mental institution. She shook her head and just clung to her uncle.
“Ami talk to me. Please do not shut me out, I am your friend. We can solve this together.” Rain placed his hand on her shoulder and he was surprised when Ami touched it with hers. She stood up and made a decision. “The police are coming with a warrant of arrest for my uncle, they said his fingerprints were all over the blan ket. At the moment though, you can see that he is not well. Though it hurts me, he needs to be in a mental institution.” Ami took a deep breath trying to rein in her emotions. Rain can see she was definitely trying to be strong. He was hurting for her, so many things happened in her life yet she still remained as strong as ever. Ami for her part is missing Ali, he had been her constant strength since she went to the UAE. She felt she bloomed under his care. Of course, she can’t call him now, that would be a betrayal of their agreement. When she turned around to face Rain, there were unshed tears at the corner of her eyes. Rain approached her and embraced her, Ami’s tears started to fall. She did not struggle when Rain pulled her closer, she just hid her face in his chest sobbing quietly, Rain stroking her back in comforting swirls.
“I’m sorry Rain, you know I am not the emotional sort. It’s just that everything seems to be working against my dreams. I thought going to the UAE would help me save, which I am starting to do and then when I fell for Ali, I thought he would be the one and now Ridger is dead and my uncle is the suspect, I just can’t bear it all.”
Rain does not know what to say especially when Ami mentioned her falling for Ali.
“Ami, you still have a home here (with me, he thought). No matter what happens, we are always here, I am always here, you can count on that from now on. You’re very precious to us (to me). We’ll weather this, okay?”
Ami looked up to him and for the first time after her heartbreak with Ali, she was feeling cherished again. She looked at Rain’s concerned face, smiled and nodded. Rain’s heart felt like it had been kicked, finally, a true smile just for him. He longed to kiss her eyes and lips but he contented himself with just gazing down at her beloved face. He has almost forgotten how beautiful his best friend is, obviously it took another man to make her bloom and Rain thanked Ali for it. But he vowed that from now on, he will let Ami know in every small detail how she is treasured by him starting now. Ami must have felt comfortable because she hugged him tighter and said against Rain’s hard but reassuring chest, “I missed you my friend.” Rain wanted to howl his happiness to hear his precious Ami say that but he just nuzzled her hair and inhaled her sweet vanilla scent. Hearing some voices outside caused them to separate reluctantly.
“They are here.”
“Be strong, Ami. I’m here and I guess Mansour is too, because here he comes.” Rain opened the door in time to see Mansour walking towards the cottage as he saw the police officers from his perch on his balcony.
“Here is the warrant, Ms. Ami. We are here to arrest your uncle.”
“Wow, that was fast, wasn’t it?! “ said Ami sarcastically. “It seems to me you have been watching my uncle for a long time. How can you secure a warrant for such a short time?”
“Ami, they are just doing their job.”
“I know but can’t you hear him, wouldn’t it be better to bring him to a mental facility?”
“We will let the court decide Ms. Ami but we have incriminating evidence against him so it is better if you surrender him peacefully.”
Ami couldn’t do anything so even while her uncle struggled and screamed for Claudia and even for her, she had to stand her ground. Her uncle was in handcuffs, thankfully, no neighbors were witnesses to what was happening. When the police car was finally out of sight, Ami let out a wild scream. She never thought her vacation would be a nightmare. When Mrs. Gonzales arrived that evening, she was told Ami was in her room in the manor. She was huddled in a corner of the room, lights off.