Chapter 14

As the hollow echo of the full-force open hand slap still lingered, Dezz staggered back, trying to clasp her cheek and blinking her eyes. She stumbled into a barstool behind her, and with flailing arms went crashing over it and smashed her head down hard on the paving around the pool area. She stayed down in a crumpled heap. Her left Christian Louboutin shoe with the iconic red sole skidded across the paving and dropped into the pool, where it slowly sank to the bottom. It happened so fast that a black mamba snake could not match that slap for speed.

Bobbie stood with her shoulders hunched. Her arms with balled fists were hanging down her sides, and a red gloss spread over her neck and face. Her eyes were open wide and dark, but without all their splendour, and her lips curled in a snarl.

I was afraid of her rupturing an artery or something and reached out my hand to her. She was trembling, and at first brushed my hand away. She looked at me with a blank stare, then as if realising something, the light in her eyes finally softened, and she gripped my hand.

“Sweetie Pie...?” I asked as Jenny materialised next to us.

John went over to where Dezz was lying on her back, her head twisted at right angles to her body, and with a little dribble of spittle foaming on her lips. “She’s out cold!” John observed, while a small crowd of people gathered around the sprawled figure. Everyone looked at Dezz and glanced toward Bobbie. Other than the four mall rats, their escorts, and me, no-one knew what was happening or why.

“What happened, Bobbie, Louis? Jenny asked. “Where did Dezz come from?”

“I don’t know where she came from, or how, but she was just here and called Bobbie a slut. An alcohol drinking whore slut...” I replied. Bobbie was still clinging to me, trembling with rage.

“The bitch...” Jenny replied.

“Get ... her ... out ... of ... here...” Bobbie hissed.

Realising that Bobbie was seriously traumatised, I started to steer her away with the intention to get her to the other side of the pool near the BBQ fireplace.

“Well, she did violate her bail conditions,” Jonah said. “I’ll have her arrested and removed.”

“A little awkward now, as she is in la-la land,” I replied.

“She has to wake up some time,” Jonah remarked.

“I don’t know...” John replied. Her pulse is weak, and she hardly breathes.

“Throw her into the pool...” Bobbie hissed. “If she doesn’t wake up, then let the bitch drown...”

“BOBBIE!” Jenny rebuked. “It’s your mother!”

“You’re my mother ... not that bitch!”

“Bobbie!”

“Leave it, Jenny,” I intervened. “Let’s first get Bobs calmed down. Let Jonah and the cops take care of Dezz, and we’ll take care of Bobbie.”

“I’ll get an ambulance ... and the cops...” John said, getting up from where Dezz was still draped across the paving.

“No need for it,” Jonah replied, “I’ve called in already. They will be here shortly...”

In the meantime, the four mall rats took Bobbie from me and steered her towards the bathroom. Bobbie started to cry, and I knew then that her rage was falling away. I told Jenny to go with them, since the police would be arriving, and Bobbie would be needed back here. Then I turned to Jeff.

“For ducks fake ... Where did she come from?”

“I suppose by car...” Jeff joked, and grinned.

“Yeah, I suppose so. But I believed she was being detained?

“That was so,” Jonah replied. “But she was granted bail this afternoon.”

“But she has no fixed address here in South Africa and is a flight risk!” I was flabbergasted.

“Yes, she has,” Jonah sighed. “A residential address here in Cape Town. The court also took into account that her passport was confiscated, and without it, she can’t leave the country.”

“Utter nonsense! She’s being detained as a suspect on a serious crime!” I replied and both Jeff and Jonah looked a little dejected.

“We, the SAPS, have no control over the Judiciary. At the moment, Dezz McGee is just a suspect, and as such she is entitled to her freedom unless we can show that she is a flight risk or a threat to others. Then the State must still prove beyond reasonable doubt that she is guilty of the offence...”

“And until then she can come and go as she pleases and antagonize Bobbie?” I was now furious.

“No. Part of her bail conditions was that she must not leave the Metropolitan area of Cape Town, and not interfere with any witnesses. She has contravened those conditions and will now forfeit her bail to the State and go back into custody, and remain there,” he explained. “And trust me, to that I will see!”

“So, NOW you can keep her away from Bobbie, John and Jenny, but before you couldn’t?”

“That’s the LAW, my friend. What is good for the goose ain’t always good for the gander. Until she is found guilty, the LAW will always grant the benefit of the doubt to the suspect.”

“And only if she violates her bail conditions you can intervene and re-arrest her?”

“Yes. But like you would have done with the other scum a few days ago, I’m not allowed to feed her to the sharks!” Jonah smirked. “As a SAPS member, I am bound by LAW to protect her as well.”

“Oh, now you say that you are going to charge Bobbie with assault too!”

“Louis, Louis ... I know you are worked up, but don’t put words in my mouth. I did not see any assault. The only thing I saw was Dezz stumbling over a barstool and falling.”

“Sorry...” I sighed. “You are a good man, Jonah.”

“All’s forgiven. I take no offence. I know how you are about that little blue-eye angel. I would have done the same; we all tend to protect our own,” he replied and clapped me on the shoulder. “Go to her, comfort her; she needs you...”

“It’s like you say, we tend to protect our own...” I replied and turned to go to see how the mall rats were coping with Bobbie.

In the meantime, a paramedic team arrived and started to attend to Dezz, who was by this time showing signs of life and struggling to get up. She tried to support herself with her right arm, but winced in pain and fell back onto the paving. There was a swollen red mark on her right cheek, and it looked like her right eye was closing up, swelling heavily. Blast, Bobbie hit her hard! I still don’t know from where that petite girl mustered the power of that slap.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a guy that I did not notice before melting into the shadows and leaving the scene. I started towards him and followed him. I said, “Jenny, see to Bobbie!”

“Where are you going?” Jeff called.

“Dezz’s accomplice is here and making a run for it!” I called over my shoulder.

“Jonah! Come!” He echoed to Jonah, and both followed me.

Dezz’s friend must have seen me follow him, for as I came around the corner of the house something dark and solid flashed before my eyes. A dull thunder exploded in my head, and I felt something wet and warm on my cheek and nose.

Drumming in my ears ... throbbing pain ... I went down on my knees. In the dim light that filtered around the house corner I saw the gravel of the pathway reaching up at me. I heard someone shout. Then something exploded in my chest and stomach. Then darkness...

Somewhere an alarm was sounding. Or was it a truck reversing? That annoying beep ... beep ... beep, sound. I just wish he would stop and turn that damn thing off.

My nose felt thick and blocked and something hard was going into my mouth. Every time I tried to breathe through my nose it felt thick and blocked. I breathed through my mouth and then that damn cold air from the fridge came in. It was drying my throat out, and I was thirsty.

My mouth felt like blackboard chalk and my throat like dry sand. There was a whitish sheen of light, and I tried to open my eyes. One eye tried; the other felt thick and the eyelids stuck like they were glued together.

Again, I tried and this time I got my left eye open, but snapped it shut again as someone was shining a 1000 candlepower floodlight in my eye.

Grumbling, I tried again and coughed.

“Louis!, Louis, are you awake?” I heard a soft, feminine voice. This time my left eye worked right away, but the right eye still did not. Never mind. There before my working eye was the cutest, prettiest red head angel face: Bobbie!

“Oh, Louis! You’re awake! I was so worried. You took a nasty hit!”

“Where...” I tried to speak, but it only came out as “Vvvvee.” Something was keeping my lips from moving.

“Sjuu ... Louis, Darling, don’t speak. There’s a thing in your mouth. They are feeding you oxygen through it.”

Okay ... I’m in hospital. What the hell happened?

“Let me get the nurse ... They said if you wake up to call them straightaway...” Bobbie continued and then pressed the call button for the nurse.

“There, they will be here shortly...” she said, and she kept holding my hand with her right hand and stroking my arm with the other.

I blinked my working eye and wondered why the other one doesn’t work. It felt thick and heavy, and hot.

The nurse came and gave me one look. “You’re doing fine Mister Du Preez. You took a nasty fall. I’ll get the doctor to look at you now.” And she was off again.

What the hell did she mean; I’m doing fine! I don’t feel fine, and I can’t talk. Where the hell did I “FALL”?

“Don’t worry, Louis. Mister Jonah got the guy that did this to you,” Bobbie soothed.

Oh, yeah! The guy I saw trying to get away. He must have waited around the corner of the house and cold-cocked me with something heavy and solid. I remembered the dull explosion in my head, the flash of light in front of my eyes, and the gravel of the garden path reaching up at me. How I tried to stop it with my hands, and then the second explosion and the darkness...

“Hello Mister Du Preez. I’m Doctor Fensham.”

I turned towards the voice to see him standing next to me with a stethoscope around his neck, white overcoat, and some blue plastic covering over his lower body. The attire and the attitude all screamed: “Doctor.”

“Sister,” He addressed the nurse by his side. “Replace the oxygen nozzle down his throat with a normal mask and give him that sedative I prescribed.”

Then he turned back to me: “Mister Du Preez, you have a cracked right side cheek bone, lucky your nose is not broken, but we had to stop the bleeding and therefore both nostrils are blocked with cotton swabs with some chemicals on them for that purpose. We will remove those in about five to ten minutes, and you will be able to breathe normally.”

I croaked something as a question, but he continued and answered my unspoken question.

“You also sustained two cracked ribs on the left side of your body. Unfortunately there’s nothing we can do about it, but only give you pain medication and wrap it as comfortably as possible, but it will still hurt a little. The ribs will heal in about two to three weeks. Otherwise, you are fine and doing well. The swelling on your right eye will go down in a day or so. So far, I see no damage to the eye. We are going to keep you here for a couple of days just to make sure you are recovering well. Sleep is the best medicine right now, so I will not keep you any longer and will see you in the morning.”

He turned to the nurse and slightly nodded his head. She had a hypodermic syringe with her and stuck it into the drip bag hanging on a little steel thingamajig next to my bed.

I don’t know what was in that syringe, but it must have been a highly refined and purified Glenlivet or Glenfiddich, or a mixture of both with a measure of pethidine thrown in, because my working eye felt heavy, and I blinked out. The last recollection I had was that of Bobbie’s voice fading hollow away in the distance: “Will he sleep now...”

The goo they gave me must have worked its magic, because it was daylight when I became aware of movement around me, and this time my right eye did open a little. With one open eye and one at half-mast, I surveyed my surroundings.

There was a nurse at the bottom of my bed writing something into a big folder. My nose felt thick, but I could breathe through it, although there was an oxygen mask over my nose and mouth.

“Good morning, Mister Du Preez! Welcome back,” She greeted and gave me a big smile. “That little lady sat here by you the whole night. I’ve just sent her out to go get something to eat and drink. She’ll be back in a while.”

“Thank you. I suppose Bobbie did not sleep at all?”

“Oh, she blinked out for a while. I found her sleeping on your arm,” Chuckle. “And I just left her to it. Is she your daughter?”

“No. Just a friend that happens to be a girl.”

Chuckle. “Sounds awfully like, ‘girlfriend,’ to me!

“She turned eighteen yesterday...”

“Oh, I thought she looked younger...”

“Can I take this mask off for a bit? It’s making me feel strange,” I asked, trying to change the subject away from Bobbie.

“Yes, you can. But whenever you feel short of breath, just put it back. You will be a little tender taking deep breaths with your cracked ribs, so shallow breaths, and use the oxygen if you feel like it.”

“For how long will that be?”

“You will get used to it. Say, for another few hours. By then you will have learned how to breathe without much discomfort.”

“In that case ... My RDA of coffee is distressingly low. Do you know where I can find some?”

Chuckle. “YES! I’ll go get you some. Just a few minutes,” She said and then leaned over to me and whispered: “We have some real coffee in the nurse’s room. I’ll go get you some of that.”

“Oh goody,” I replied. “Plastic coffee makes me break out in a rash.”

“I can see you are starting to feel well. Later we might get you to get up and sit in that chair over by the window for a spell.”

“Sounds like a plan. The quicker I get up, the better.”

“I think you are going to be a really good patient,” She replied and then left the room throwing over her shoulder: “One real coffee coming up!”

I stayed three days in the hospital. I missed Bobbie’s driver’s licence appointment, but a radiant smiling teen (oh yeah she’ll still be a teen for a year or two), skipped into the hospital room waving a piece of paper declaring her “Fit To Drive.” Another milestone attained.

Despite a blue purple shiner on my eye, both my eyes worked well. Breathing was a lot better but keep the jokes. It hurts if I laugh.

The hospital food was not bad. I just missed the salt and had to ask for it every time. Bobbie sneaked in some treats she got from the cafeteria. She stayed the first day after I woke up and thereafter came and went but did not at any time adhere to the bell that announced the end of visiting hours. Sometimes the nursing staff had to literally throw her out.