Chapter 4

Miriam drove back to her apartment located in the outlying district of the city centre. She arrived home late in the night on the wrong side of 10. In this moment, she was propelled to the comfort of her home in a bid to brood over the events of the day; to brace up for the panel and a possible controversial showdown with Salim and the chief of police in few hours. Taking on Salim's questions and his claim of a death threat from Jack was no bone to contend with. She knew quite well how to outwit the dubious mogul and beat his rhetorics hands down in a bid to convince the chief of police. But first, she must catch some rest--or more like a respite--but the news of Jack Banning hitting the town wouldn't let her have a breather. She was destabilised and Ill at ease.

Jack was a good man and easily the best father Miriam had come to know since she was a child. However, his long service on his job as a secret service agent and his numerous adventures in the course of unravelling political espionage, intrigues and the damaging cloak-and-dagger activities of the enemy governments threw him in the country's good light as a hero and, as expected, he effortlessly registered his name in the bad book of the enemy governments; thus, the heroic Jack became a target for the enemy camp. The bad blood against Jack Banning from political antagonists and other forces splashed upon his family, putting his wife, Patricia and his only daughter, Miriam, in grave danger of constant death threats from anonymous political forces and secret agents. However, his loyalty to the vice president, Martha McDaniel, did much worse to make him jeopardise his position as a father, a husband and, of course, a home, when Patricia filed for divorce and took custody of Miriam when she was barely sixteen. Patricia had deemed Jack unfit and a grossly pathetic husband who constantly exposed his family to the danger of his job. But in spite of the duo's strained relationship, Jack was allowed to keep touch with the teenage Miriam until they lost all touch when she flew out of the city to have an intensive training in the Chicago Police Academy.

All the thoughts of the past, of her teenagehood stormy transition into an adult suddenly overwhelmed her. She seemed to be reeling in some déjà vu as she ventured into her apartment on the first floor of a semi-detached duplex. She unbottoned her khaki uniform impatiently and pulled it off. She took a moment to admire the star-studded epaulettes on the Khaki shoulders. Her rapid rise through the cadres to the position of inspector of the Vagas county was not only by dint of her meritorious dedication to service but of political influence of her step father, Jerry Baltimore. She had grown to adopt her step Father's name and had equally embraced it with without questions until this moment that she began to realise her true identity. The news of Jack Banning hitting the town had somehow released a new, different lease of life on Miriam. Somehow, she still had strong ties with her biological father; she bore memories upon memories of him. She could recall clearly her last visitation to him as a teenager in the prison yard a day before he was to be executed. Jack had explained the gory details of the murder set-up to her. He had sworn to her that he never murdered Tony and, of course, she believed him to the last letter. She remembered her father mutter to her while struggling to hold back his tears: ''My little rockster, daddy never pulled the trigger that night. Believe me, I never did.'' Those were Jack's last words to her and she had held them at heart ever since. Those words had rung loud in her head and left an indelible impression with her about Jack's innocence. Those were the words of a dying man, she had said to herself.

In this moment, she proceeded to hang her khaki over the clothing rack across the wall before stripping her khaki pants to reveal her underwear. She stripped down to a non-wired bra and a pair of panties. She seemed to relish her unclad position and was ready to make the most of it. The thought of a heated panel loomed before her. She strode across the lounge and reached for a bottle of whisky from the bar between the recess of the room. In sequence, she reached for a glass cup and poured herself a handful. She gulped it down in a hurry. She instantly poured poured another drink in the glass cup and banged it against the table surface in quick sequence as she raised her head at a slight angle, allowing the spirit drown her thought away. Her little therapy would not be complete without having a puff at cigarette. Without ado, she fumbled her fingers across the wine bar and reached for a packet of cigarettes. She pulled a stick out and lit it before bumping into the warm two-seater sofa adjacent the wall of the lounge.

''No, no, no, Jack isn't a murderer. Pappy never killed Tony,'' she muttered to herself. ''That fucking Salim is up to his game again. I have to stop him.''

For a bit, her thought wandered towards her late mother, Patricia. Miriam resented the very day Patricia filed a divorce against Jack. Patricia's decision had ever since proved a turning point in Miriam's life. As much as Patricia's decision to separate from Jack had brought her to a level she had never imagined, she still felt something missing in her being--something empty and abstract she could not explain it. She felt a huge yearning for her father again.

Sitting still in the sofa while puffing at a stick of cigarette which was almost burnt to a stub, Miriam pressed the cigarette against the saucer which lay on the side table before springing to her feet to pace across the lounge in deep thought again. Obviously restless and feeling tipsy in this moment, she lit another stick of cigarette and held it between her fingers as she slowly puffed at it again. She couldn't quite gather her thoughts together as she struggled to find some rhythm within herself to no avail. But in spite of herself, she was torn between duties and sentiments for Jack. The least of reports she wanted to hear was the false accusation against Jack that was set to make the rounds in the city. Jack had been disgraced at first as a secret service agent; why should be disgraced again, she thought out loud.

While pacing across the room restlessly, she heard a series of raps on her door. The raps were sharp and brief they were loud enough to jolt her back to reality. Suddenly, she became sobre and her sense of curiosity was activated. She wondered who might be the door at such a late hour. Shocked, she grabbed her colt.47 rifle and tucked it in behind her in the panties just in case.OK

Sheriff paced towards the door in calculated steps. The sort of silence that came forth after the first rap was enough to strike her with suspicion. It was roughly 12A.M and she had not been expecting anyone before now.

''Identify yourself!'' Miriam demanded sharply as she continued pacing towards the door. ''Don't let me pull the trigger. Identify yourself!''

There was silence still and no response came forth. Miriam swung her arm behind and placed her fingers on the trigger while the gun was still tucked in her panties. In this moment, she cared less that she was in her undies as she had been overtaken by the turn of events on the night. Eventually, by stroke of courage, she dared to grab the door by the handle and instantly brandished the colt pistol at the figure standing outside behind the door. Alas, it was Ben. Ben was Miriam's boyfriend and probably the only male friend Miriam had around. The duo had been together for two years running since they met in a restaurant in Chicago where Miriam had trained in the armed forces as a professional. They had hit it off right from there till now.

''Argh! You startled me, Ben!'' Miriam scolded, exhaling heavily. ''I could have shot your head off right on the spot.''

''Oh, you seriously wouldn't do that, would you?'' Ben asked sarcastically as he walked into Miriam's apartment with a load of gifts in his arms. ''The world would have been short of a sweet soul tonight.''

''I wasn't expecting you tonight, Ben. C',mon!'' Miriam said as she slammed the door close behind her. ''I've got loads of cases at hand right now. I need to think straight.''

''So, what's the latest on Kasidy's case?'' Ben asked with casual enthusiasm. ''And how about the mystery lady found in his apartment. Is she some super heroine who resisted death?''

Moving towards the sofa to crash into a comfortable spot, Miriam merely waved off Ben's questions and made a tired face as though she was not interested in the conversation.

As she crashed into the sofa, Ben crashed beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, stroking her hair affectionately.

''You need some relaxing to do, babe. You're worn out.'' Ben remarked as he planted a kiss on Miriam's forehead.