Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
W hen I got Drake’s text that he would be working late to deal with the patients from the General Hospital, I decided that Sophie and I could spend the afternoon at the beach and not worry about being home in time to Skype with Drake at the usual time. He said it might be midnight his time or later, so that meant we had all afternoon to spend enjoying the sun and surf.
Sophie and I got our gear together, a blanket and an umbrella as well as some shovels and pails so she could build a sandcastle. Then, we walked down the boardwalk and found a nice spot near the beach. Above the boardwalk was a food truck selling Mexican food, so we got some delicious Churros and chocolate sauce and sat on the blanket under the umbrella and enjoyed our afternoon snack.
It was a perfect day which would only be made more perfect if Drake had been there.
Soon enough.
We went back to the beach house closer to five, and when we arrived, the scent of something cooking on the grill was enticing.
“What have you got for us tonight?” I asked Elaine, who was standing by the grill, a set of tongs in her hand.
“Ribs,” she said and smiled. “With BBQ sauce. And some potato salad I made while you were at the beach.”
“Smells and sounds heavenly,” I said and carried the beach towel and picnic basket inside. We washed up and went to the living room, where my father was watching some sports event on the flatscreen.
I checked my cell and saw that it was now closer to five, which meant it was near midnight in Nairobi. Drake still hadn’t called. He must really be working late.
“Did you hear anything about the floods in Nairobi?” I asked my father. I sat on the sofa next to his wheelchair.
“Let’s see what’s new,” he said and switched the channel to an international news network. We watched for a few moments and then they showed scenes of disaster in Kenya. Flooding in the rural areas from such heavy rains, the dam bursting and causing flooding in larger cities along the river’s course. Then, images from Nairobi itself, with collapsed buildings and scenes of first responders rushing to carry the wounded out from the rubble.
“Poor Drake,” my father said, shaking his head. “He was supposed to be on vacation, but instead, he’s fighting a bloody war against the elements.”
“He still hasn’t called,” I said and checked my cell again. “He said he would one he got back to the hotel. I feel so bad for him and Michael.
I decided to text him just to see if he was going to be extra late.
KATE: Hey, my love. It’s midnight in Nairobi. Are you still working? We’re having a nice meal of ribs and Elaine’s potato salad after an afternoon on the beach. I know Sophie will love to hear from you. Call me when you can. XOXO
I put my cell on the coffee table and went to the kitchen to start setting the table outside. Elaine had enough on her plate with the ribs, so I wanted to be helpful. By the time the food was ready, it was six, which meant it was close to one in the morning in Nairobi.
Now I was starting to get worried.
KATE: Did you fall asleep? I understand if so. Just text me to let me know you’re all right. I don’t want to call and wake you, just in case. Love you.
I sighed and tried to focus on enjoying the supper Elaine had prepared. We all sat around the table on the patio and were able to enjoy the food and one of the last meals we’d share with my father and Elaine before getting on the plane on Tuesday. I didn’t want to keep checking my cell, but soon, I was really getting worried because it was now seven thirty, and according to my calculations, it was close to 2:30 AM in the morning in Nairobi.
Drake should have called.
They may have had a difficult case that took hours longer than planned. There were bound to be head traumas from the building collapses and that would require both emergency doctors and neurosurgeons to treat.
That would explain why he was so late.
“When is Daddy calling?” Sophie asked while Elaine and I were cleaning up after our meal was finished. She was sitting at the kitchen island coloring as usual.
“There was a big flood in Nairobi and some buildings collapsed,” I said, trying not to be too graphic. “Your father is a very skilled neurosurgeon and so he’s probably working late trying to save people’s lives.” I gave her a smile and then stroked her hair. “He’ll call as soon as he can. You know he loves our Skype sessions.”
Once we were finished cleaning up, I let Sophie play for a little while longer, and then took her into the bathroom off her bedroom to run a nice bubble bath. She soaked in it for about half an hour, playing with her toys, and then I got her into her pajamas and ready for a bedtime story.
It was one of her favorite books of all time — Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
When we were finished, I turned off the light and switched on her starlight which shone stars all over the ceiling.
“Why didn’t Daddy call us?”
I sat on the bed beside her and stroked her hair. “He was so busy that he probably couldn’t. Maybe, he was so tired, he fell asleep with the phone in his hand. I’ve seen him do that before after a long day of surgery, and today will have been one of his longest because of the floods.”
“Is he in danger?”
I shook my head, although of course, he was.
“No, Daddy is safe.”
I kissed her and left, thinking as I did about her question. The flood was affecting the city itself. But Drake would be safe in the hospital. It was very well built as was the hotel where he was staying.
Still, it was really worrying that Drake still hadn’t called.
My watch read 8:30 PM which meant it was 3:30 AM back in Nairobi. Surely Drake was home from the hospital.
He must have fallen asleep…
I spent the rest of the evening watching television with my father and Elaine, but I kept my cell by my side and couldn’t help but watch coverage of the floods on YouTube. The situation was horrific.
I was starting to worry that something bad had happened to Drake.
I called his cell around nine thirty, when my father was making his way up the stairs to his bedroom.
His cell went right to messages, so I left one.
“Drake, it’s almost four thirty in the morning there and we still haven’t heard from you. Now I’m really worried. Please call as soon as you get this. I need to know you’re okay…”
I ended the call and sighed. With no word from him, I finished cleaning up the kitchen before standing on the patio to watch the night sky. Finally, at 10:00 PM, I went upstairs to my own bedroom, checking on Sophie on my way past. She was fast asleep on her side facing the door, her little hands folded beneath her cheek.
The sight of her sleeping so peacefully tugged at my heart. I hoped nothing bad had happened to Drake. She was too young to lose her father.
Then I kicked myself. There was no reason to believe anything bad happened to him. He told me he was going to be working late because of the floods. Maybe they got some patients in late who needed his particular skills. He’d stay to care for them, and probably sleep in the on-call room just to make sure they were fine.
Later, I sat at the kitchen island, checking my laptop for emails.
There was one from an address I didn’t recognize with no subject. I would usually expect it was spam and delete it right away, but instead, I opened it.
Inside was an image of a naked man lying on the bed, with a naked woman beside him. His head was turned away, but instantly, I knew it was Drake.
I knew his body so well.
My heart hammered in my chest as I stared at the image. The woman was on her side and had one hand on his chest. I noted that Drake was flaccid. His arms were at his side like he was unconscious or asleep.
There was a message above the image.
What an amazing lover - he really is Dr. Dangerous. Look at that cock - even soft it’s magnificent…
I couldn’t tell if the image was from Drake’s hotel room. It looked like it, but the camera was too zoomed in to see anything that would give the location away.
I clicked out of the email and started at my inbox, uncertain of what to think.
Was one of his coworkers at the hospital in Nairobi the woman in the photo? I couldn’t tell because her face was out of the frame, but she was shapely with nice pert breasts and fair hair.
Then, I thought about Sam.
Sam Cuttington.
The bitch who tried to break us up. In league with Claire…
Was that her in the photo?
Did she take that photo and send it to me to torment me?
I checked the name of the sender, and it was from a Gmail account with the handle RiotGrrl21.
I googled RiotGrrl21 to see if anyone used it online and came up with a few hits on Instagram and a couple of Facebook profiles. None had an image of a blonde woman attached so I wasn’t sure who had sent it. I decided to google Sam Cuttington and check out her past but didn’t get very far. She didn’t have a big digital footprint that I could find easily.
I’d have to do some more sleuthing to satisfy my curiosity.
My morbid curiosity.
I did some more searching for RiotGrrl21, but to no avail. How could I know which RiotGrrl sent the messages?
I sat on the sofa, my laptop open, hoping that I’d find a message from Drake that would explain everything.