Chapter 2

             Cushane's pov

  I do believe the woman, what she said was just hard to take, I could not swallow it- her words were painful to accept. I had loved Jenelia from the moment we met at the restaurant and I had played my cards right and gotten her. How was she with a child that wasn't mines, she had only leave to visit family members and the reader woman said those same family members knew that she was in love with that man.

  All the way home on the flight the read-er woman's voice was in my head, she knew exactly what I had came to ask her and she had told me twice without me asking or telling her anything. She deserved the money she charged for reading, she was good- she knew the people I came to ask about are no more and she knew that I was in disbelief.

  The first thing that greeted me was my mail on the floor, I took them up and was immediately faced with a denied loan request from the bank bearing Jenelia's name. I was shock to see the amount and was even shocker when I read the details, she had been trying to take it out in my name but I knew absolutely nothing about it. The loan amount was half of what I had in my savings account, when did she apply for this without my knowledge I wondered checking the date.

  Everything was correct on it except for my last name which was the reason why it was denied. My name is Cushane Callaghan Cyan, but most people refer to me by my first and middle name so most time my sir name was totally left off. I guess this may have been the case since Jenelia and most people did not actually knew my sir name.

  With a deep sigh I check the rest of my mails then had a drink. Jenelia's families had taken everything from the house that was listed as her home for the past months, there was only one box that contained a few items which was collected by my mother. I went to the spare bedroom and opened it up, I had delayed looking in it long enough I told myself.

  Inside the box were books, a few of her paintings, pictures and- "these were taken recently," I murmured in surprise at the blown up pictures.

  Jenelia was sitting on a couch with her nude large tummy, I was confuse- how was her belly so big and the pictures seem to be of a baby shower. The man she was found with was said to be a photographer- I thought as I scroll the pictures and then like a shot from a gun, a picture with her and the man emerged. I felt like I was falling and sat down on the bed quickly. His hand was around her and they looked like such a loving couple.

  My heart shattered into a million pieces and all the pictures fell from my hands. Some of her family members were in some of the pictures, I held my head in both of my hands and lay back on the bed.

  "Where did I go wrong?! What did I ever do to you?!" I shouted in anguish.

  I lie there and cried out my pain and my misery, so it was really true- she just up and went to someone else. While I had been here worried sick over her, she was actually happy with someone else and none of her family told me. Not even when I was spending so much on her funeral, they must all be looking at me as a fool I thought to myself.

         Lamais's pov

  I knew exactly why my grandma had been so poor after all the work she had done, she had been using all the money she made to support our family and in the end they scorned her work. They claimed to be ashamed to be associated with a read-er woman, yet they weren't afraid to take the money and gifts she got from it. The house and land was left in my name and with all of them running off, I built a new house and knock down the old board one to the far back. With the money I had made in the three years I have been reading I have manage to set myself comfortably.

  I bought a Land rover X 6 after I got my drivers licence at nineteen and a Toyota Hi-ace last year for when I was called upon and needed to carry Shanty and the other people who still attended the church whenever I keep any service. My bank account was large and I have everything for my comfort.

  "Ma'am, it's almost four but the lawyer woman just reach and a man outside bawling for his belly," Shanty informed me.

"Ok," I said.

  I turned and place a pot with water on the stove, men mainly came here with belly pain with one thing on their tongue. That from dem eat from di woman dem belly a hurt dem, di woman a try tie them. I got out a small piece of rosemary bush, some grated bizzy and beat them up with a whole head of garlic and put them in the pot.

  When I enter through the back of the reading room, I took my blue scarf and tie it neatly on my head before going into the area where I read.

"Send in the woman and strain a cup of the tea on the fire and give to the gentleman after yuh escort him across to the benches near to the bathrooms," I directed Shanty.

  The lawyer woman came in and greeted me, my skin began to feel cold and I stroke the lighter and lit the pan of my homemade incense on the table before me. I breathed deeply then look across at her, I began murmuring the first and second paragraphs of psalms twenty-four.

"Drop your offering in the plate, stand erect and hold out both hands in front of you," I told her.

  "𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬."

"Yes ma'am," she replied with a touch of joy in her voice.

"𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞, 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐮𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐮𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐩- 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫."

"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐞𝒔𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐬," she said and went out after doing what I told her to.

  I actually did nothing for her, she will win the case because the defendant is guilty and deserves to go to prison. I halt my thoughts reminding myself that I was not a judge and mouthed "account number" to Shanty as she came by the doorway. She turn and went for one of the cards with my business account number and I told her to go for the man after the lawyer woman drives off in her nice BMW car.

  "Ma'am, him sey from him eat dinner a him madda-in-law yard two evening a guh, him belly nuh tap hot him and him give mi six grand an' sey a it alone him have ina him pocket," Shanty says standing at the door.

  "A'right take three of the blue packets from the cupboard and tell him to boil the contents of each packets every morning and drink," I told her.

  "Ok, yes ma'am," she replied and went about doing as I told her.

  Shanty likes when people came for baths, or clearance. She would go and call five others and they would adorn themselves in robes my grandma had made for them and sing and chant over whoever. I think they really like doing it and also I always gave them a cut out of the payment. Sometimes the individual did not have the amount required but I still allowed them to do so and give them what we received. I tell them that sometimes we have to do works for free- do good and good will follow.

  I always ensure everywhere was locked up properly even after Shanty said she did, I had trust issues hence my reason for getting a licensed firearm- that I was not afraid to use. I walk along the paths that used to have hyssop growing in abundance, I had them all replanted at the back of the yard. I took in more landspace at the back, people had been afraid to live near us hence leaving much space on both sides of the yard and across from the yard where the church and bath house are situated, I had the lands cleared and made proper parking space.

  People who came now are surprise and in awe of the beautiful setting, I admired the flowers in the warm setting sun then walked slowly into the reading room. I pause as I watch Shanty counting the money in the silver plate, she then replace it and went over into the shop- what is wrong with her? She has a nasty habit of always trying to know how much I made each day.

  When she left that evening I fixed the drawer under the table that was built for that purpose, then tested the key in it.

To be continued...