They were back in the city now. Constance felt glad seeing the bright city lights once again compared to the gloom they'd left behind. She brought her hand to her mouth as she gave a yawn. Her eyes were growing heavy with sleep and she didn't feel like making the long journey back to the mansion now.
"Is it alright if I crash at your place tonight?" she asked Thaddeus.
Thad turned to look at her, saw the open, tired look in her eyes and for a moment didn't know what to make of it. He fumbled at first. "You wouldn't mind crashing at a low-income, bachelor pad like mine?"
"Is that your way of saying no to me?"
"Well, not really. Sure, why not? You're more than welcome. Oh shit!"
She became alert. "What? Something wrong?"
Something was indeed wrong, thought Thaddeus. He'd just remembered sleeping Myra whom he'd left back at his apartment. How was he going to manage with both of them? But the fear didn't last long and he was laughing once again.
"No, nothing's wrong," he smiled at her then returned his gaze to his driving. "Everything's just fine. You feeling hungry? We can stop someplace to grab a bite or two."
"Nah," she shook her head and gave another yawning fit. "I just need a bed and a pillow right now. The rest can wait till morning. Unless you want to get something to eat yourself."
"No, I'm good. My place then."
He took a left turn and headed in the right direction towards his home.
------
Thaddeus pulled into his apartment driveway thirty minutes later and drove towards the back section where he then parked it and turned off the engine. He came around to the backseat and helped Constance to gather up the leftover bundles of money into the bag before the left the car for his front door. Everyone was locked up inside their individual homes, though he thought he could hear distinct shouting voices coming from that of his neighbour, Arite. A good thing it was only themselves they were bothering.
Thad slid his key into his door lock and let himself and his client into his home.
Constance was about saying something as she entered his living room when suddenly she stopped. Thad finished locking the door and turned around and saw what made her so. The TV set was on and Myra sat on a couch with her legs folded under her like an Indian eating cereal off from a bowl when they entered. She got up from the chair and came over and embraced Thaddeus as if not seeing Constance standing there beside him. Thad felt embarrassed but struggled not to let it show; he especially didn't want to see the strong look that was apparent in Constance's eyes.
"Hi there," Myra said to him. "You've been gone so long, and I was hungry. I hope you don't mind my helping myself to your kitchen."
"No, of course not," said Thad. "Besides, you were sleeping before I left. By the way, Myra, this is Constance. Constance, meet Myra." He couldn't bring himself to say anything else.
Both women faced each other and shook hands and said hello, though from the look in each other's eyes, their friendliness wasn't amiable. Thaddeus led Constance to the bedroom to shower and change while Myra remained watching what was on TV. Thad handed Constance a fresh pair of towel and pointed where the bathroom was out in the corridor.
"So, who's she?" she enquired.
"A friend," he said, which was about the simplest answer he could think of while he took off his jacket and hung it along with his hat on a nail hanging off his wardrobe. "Just a friend for the night," he added.
"Hmmm, I'll bet," was all Constance replied.
She took the towel with her and went into the bathroom, giving Thad enough opportunity to change into a pyjama pants and t-shirt. He took his pocket pistol out of the money bag before stowing that away in the closet. Myra appeared at the doorway. Thaddeus opined correctly that she wasn't going to give him a hard time for bringing another woman to his home; wasn't like they were married after all. He told her they were going to sleep in the living room. He took out a folding bed from an alcove next to his bedroom and two pillows while Myra helped him with the spare bed sheet and blanket. They moved the centre table aside and were fixing their bed in the middle of the room when Constance stepped out of the shower. In the bedroom, Thad gave her a clean shirt to wear and shorts too and told her where he would be. They muttered goodnight to each other, although it sounded rather awkward for both of them. Constance had more that she wanted to say, but the fear of letting go held back her pride. Thad left the bedroom for her, closing the door behind him.
************
Constance couldn't sleep.
Her head kept tossing from one end of the pillow to the other. The dream she had was vivid and held her mind in a suffocating choke-hold. In it they were back at the dark warehouse room, this time the kidnapper had his gun pressed to her son's head. Thad and she stood before him, powerless to do anything. The kidnapper saw that the money was short, asked her to choose who he should kill first—her boy, or Thad.
Before she could say anything, his gun went off. Constance shot up from the bed, screaming. She abruptly caught herself to crease when she realised her was awake. Her hand fumbled shakily for the bedside lamp and switched it on. The room resembled nothing like hers; she didn't know whether to feel homely about it or depressed. Her throat felt parched. She swung her legs off from the bed and went and opened the door. Immediately she did that, she overheard gasping sounds coming from the living room down the corridor; the kitchen was beyond it. Instead of continuing towards that direction, she stopped at the door leading into the living room and placed her ear to it. There were grunting as well as moaning sounds, very unmistakable what they were.
