Chapter 13
Basil was paralyzed with shock for a moment; he couldn’t believe what Janet had just told him. For months, they tried to find the hit-and-run driver who killed his wife, but they couldn’t. Now Janet was telling him that she knew who did it? And his daughter saw who did it?
So many emotions coursed through Basil and in a fit of rage, he swiped everything off his dressing table to the floor. He picked up the dressing table stool and threw it at the door. He was so angry; he wanted to punch someone. The Jimenez cartel specifically. Initially, he had thought the accident was indeed an accident; then, he investigated any possible enemies or rivalries he had.
Basil walked over to the other side of his bed and picked up his phone, which was on the nightstand. He swiped the screen and called a number. He put the phone to his ear as he walked towards the sliding glass doors. He slid the door open and walked onto the veranda.
“Hello,” the other person answered the phone.
“We need to talk,” said Basil.
“Okay, did something happen? ”
“Yes, be at my house as soon as you can.”
“Alright.”
Basil hung up the phone and then went back into his bedroom. He changed into sports shorts and a T-shirt. He headed out of his bedroom and went down to his gym. He had a large gym in his house, on the ground floor. The gym was arranged into three sections. From the door going to the right were lifting weights. On the left side from the door were a treadmill and other exercise machines. In the middle of the room was a large mat where he did his kickboxing and floor exercises.
Basil walked over to a rack with boxing gloves. He picked up a pair and put them on. He walked onto the mat and started punching and kicking the punching bag. Kickboxing or swimming was often the best way for him to let his anger or frustrations out.
It was about half an hour later when a maid knocked on the door. “You have a visitor,” she said to the sheikh. Basil stopped boxing and turned around. A tall man dressed in a black shirt and a pair of black trousers walked into the room with his hands in his pockets. His dark hair was tied into a low ponytail. He had a neatly trimmed beard.
“You’re kickboxing; this can’t be good,” said the man. His voice was quite hoarse .
“Tariq,” said Basil. He took his gloves off and threw them on the floor. He started walking towards Tariq.
“Can I get you anything?” the maid asked. She was still standing in the doorway.
“Leave us,” Basil said to her.
“Yes, sheikh.” The small, timid maid shut the door before she left. Just near the door was a water dispenser. Basil filled a cup with water and gulped it down.
“You’re sweating a lot, how long have you been at it?” Tariq asked. Tariq had worked for Basil’s family for a long time as part of the security team. Even though he had moved on and opened his own private investigation firm, he still came to Basil’s aid whenever he needed him. They were also friends. They just didn’t often meet because of their busy schedules.
“We need to talk about Rania,” he said. Tariq raised his dark eyebrows.
“You want to talk about your wife?”
“About who killed her.”
“I have failed you, Basil. I haven’t been able to find out who was behind the accident.”
“I know who did it.”
Tariq raised an eyebrow .
“And it wasn’t an accident either.” Basil ran his hand through his hair. He then told Tariq everything Janet had told him.
“That’s insane.” Tariq was in disbelief.
“I know. I couldn’t believe it either,” said Basil.
“Can we trust her words? I mean, how well do you know this woman?” Tariq looked suspicious. “I can look into her life, see what I can find.”
Basil dismissed him. “She wasn’t lying.” Basil drank some more water.
“Why are you trusting her words so easily?”
“My daughter was part of the truth coming out. It makes sense, that was the reason why she stopped talking. You know Sanaa. Before the accident, she was full of life, but then she stopped talking or playing with toys. She completely changed.” Basil justified his reason for trusting Janet. It had been a few months since she had come into his life and he felt as though he knew her and could trust her. He had seen how hard it was for her to tell him the truth.
“I thought there wasn’t a feud between the Jimenez cartel and us. They had been living quietly for a while,” said Tariq.
“I guess I’ll have to end it,” said Basil.