When they got to her, blood had pooled around Amerley’s motionless body. A driver among them who had run ahead of the group volunteered to take her to the hospital. Luna knew him.
“Jones!” She cried, “Quick, bring your car around.”
“Okay, madam.”
A security guard, sensing that the rule of mob justice might go against Luna, offered himself as a shield, giving her the opportunity to get back into her car and back up a good distance away from the crowd.
Luna called Jones to her car as they stuffed Amerley into the back of his vehicle, her broken leg dangling as they hauled her.
“Here’s take this money,” Luna said, handing him a bundle of cash, “I’ll follow you in my car.” The driver hurried back to his car and headed out.
Luna peeled away slowly as the gathering crowd listened in shock to the fruit vendor’s narration of the incident. She followed Jones only as far as the gate and went in the opposite direction.
* * *
Addison tried to reach Amerley countless times after that morning’s call but there was no answer. Later, it was turned off. He couldn’t shake the feeling of doom that hovered over and threatened to descend. Work made it impossible to go to Amerley’s office as he’d hoped, so he scheduled it for the next day, which was a holiday. He’d swing by her place casually in the morning and see what more he could learn about Luna.
The following morning as he was getting ready to go to see Amerley, Luna knocked at his door.
“Going somewhere?” She asked, stepping inside and pushing him aside.
“Nowhere, just going out for a drive.”
“Oh, where are you going? I’ll come with you.”
“No!” Addison hissed, “I’m going alone. Need to clear my head.”
“Why so testy this fine morning?”
“Nothing. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“Like what? Anyway, sit down I want to talk to you about something.”
“Can it wait? I really have to go.”
“No, it can’t wait. I need to talk to you NOW!” She said, standing in his way.
“Please step out of my way. I’ll be back in about an hour. We can talk then. Okay?”
“Did you hear me? I said it can’t wait.”
“Well, it’ll have to wait, Luna, this is not a good time.”
“Make it a good time because I want to talk to you now.”
“Luna, what’s all this? I don’t have time for this right now,” he said allowing his frustration to show. “I’ll call you in from the car when I’m on the road so we can talk,” he said as he went around the sofa towards the door.
“Where are you going, Addison? You’re going to see that girl, aren’t you?”
“What girl?” Addison stopped to look at her.
“You know who I’m talking about. That ex of yours you can’t seem to get over.”
“As you told me yesterday, Luna, ‘it’s none of your business,’” he said, bending over to tie his laces.
“If you cared so much about her, you’d be interested in what I have to tell you,” Luna said, slumping on the sofa. Addison shot her a menacing look and walked to her, fear and worry starting to mount.
“Why, what is it?” He demanded. Luna shrunk back.
“Well…it’s not like it was my fault. She was in my way…”
“Who was in your way? What did you do, Luna?”
“I didn’t do anything. The car…she was walking…and I don’t how it happened.”
Addison grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her up.
“Luna! What did you do?!” he screamed.
“I didn’t…I don’t know…it just happened,” she said weeping like a child.
Addison slammed her back in the chair and stormed off.
“Addison come back…please come back,” she said as she went after him but he was already out the door. She ran after him but at the staircase, she slipped and fell down one flight, twisting her wrist and busting her lower lip. She lay there in pain calling, “Addison, Addison.” But he was long gone.
* * *
Addison called Amerley’s mom when he got into the car. Amid tears, she told him what had happened and to which hospital she’d been admitted. Addison drove there like a mad man, running several red lights and risking his life.
At the hospital, he was met at the gate by Amerley’s cousin. Her mother was too distraught and too weak to leave her side. He ran through the corridors and up the stairs until he got to her ward, but he couldn’t go inside. Crippled by shock, he stood at the door and observed her through the clear glass opening.
Wrapped all over in bandages, some of them stained in blood, Amerley lay there as stiff as a mummy; her neck braced and tubes going in and out of her mouth and nose; her bandaged head looked swollen, as did her face which was puffy from bruising. Addison’s knees buckled when the door opened to reveal her fractured leg suspended in traction.
According to her mom, the doctors had induced a coma to protect her brain from further damage. Apparently, the trauma to her head from slamming against the curb had fractured her skull. In addition to that, she had suffered a ruptured spleen, a punctured lung and some internal bleeding. In short, things weren’t looking good.
They had wanted to file a police report but the man who had brought her in had said the woman responsible was on her way there but she never came.
“Did he know what car she was driving?”
“I think he said it was a white Range Rover,” Amerley’s cousin answered.
Addison’s heart sunk. He was heartbroken, more so than the day she’d dumped him at the restaurant. And he was mad. Mad at himself, mad at Luna, mad at the cruel and unfair world.
Distracted by racing thoughts, he listened partially as Amerley’s mom relayed the number of surgeries she underwent in the last 24 hours, tearing up as she detailed them. Following the prompting of a nurse who came through the door, he wended his way into the ward, and stood by her side, feeling wholly responsible for what had happened. He spent the entire day with her, praying, crying, and planning his next move.
On his drive back to his apartment, he concluded that he could no longer work with or even be in the same space as the Wilberts. At about 6:00 pm he pulled up to the apartment building. A police car stood across his driveway, blocking his way in. Three policemen stood at the gate; one on either side of the post and the other by the side of their car facing him. He saw the policeman check his number plate against a paper in his hand, nod to his colleague, and walk up to him. He motioned for Addison to roll down his window.
“Are you Addison Donkor?” he asked. Another policeman who Addison had not seen appeared in his side mirror, rifle at the ready. Alarmed, he answered,
“Y…yes?”
“We have a warrant for your arrest.”
“My…my arrest? For…?”
“All will be explained at the station,” the man said.
“Sir, what’s my crime?”
“Please, get out of the car.”
“Officer,” Addison pleaded. “I have to know what I’m being arrested for. It’s my right!”
The officer’s face hardened. “My friend, don’t annoy me this evening,”
“Corporal handcuff him!” the officer added militantly. A third officer, a burly man, opened the door and dragged Addison out.
“You know your rights, you know your rights…” The officer continued. “You know and you went to beat somebody’s daughter up?”
“Whose daughter? I haven’t beaten anybody up!” Addison cried trying to fend off the officer with the silver bracelets.
“So Luna Wilberts is lying, eh?”
“Luna?” Addison’s words held no sway with them, but he kept on, “I didn’t do anything to her.” A heavy slap came down hard on his cheek, shook his brain, and shut his mouth firmly up. They shoved him against the car and cuffed him.
At the back of the car, sandwiched between two brawny police officers, Addison quaked with fear as they drove to the station. The last few months of his life cast a shadow over him and seemed to lead to a bleak future.
Shortly after, Addison found himself on a wooden bench in a dingy cell with 3 other inmates, all stripped to their briefs.
To be continued…
