The Red Car – Part 2

 

MARCUS called the police and told them that maybe the woman in the news was his wife Anneke; he reported last night as missing. The police invited Marcus to come to the police station to identify the body.

It was a sad news for the whole family. The woman found naked and dead was indeed Anneke. Marie wanted to tell the family about the dream of Anneke and of the plate number of the red car in her dream, but she doubted if the family would believe her.

She told the family about it anyway and they found it nonsense. They said that it was just nonsense. A dream was just a dream and besides in the investigation of the police, there’s no red car involved.

Anneke was cremated, and few months already gone since the fatal day but Marie was still disturbed and could not forget about what happened to Anneke. The dream of Anneke about the red car kept banging her mind that she must do something. She told to family and friends about it but they just said to her to forget everything. Dreams were just dreams and have no meanings at all.

But one day, Marie was frightened and panicked. She parked her car in the parking lot near where she worked when she saw a red sports car parking just next where she’s parking. She saw a good-looking man who smiled at her when he noticed her. Marie to cover-up her panicking forced a smile as reply.

When the man walked away, Marie decided to look at the plate number of his red sports car and the car had the same plate number that Anneke dreamed about. The plate number that was already printed in Marie’s mind.

In her office, Marie could not concentrate working. She decided to call Marcus who did not work anymore as a truck driver. Marcus worked in the factory of packing boxes. His son Errol was in the care of the mother of Anneke. Marcus decided to change work so that he could see Errol every day.

“Marie, you said to my team leader that you want to talk to me for something urgent?” Marcus asked Marie.

“Yes, it’s about the red car. You won’t believe it. Today I see the red car and it has the same plate number as what Anneke dreamed,” Marie told Marcus about the red car.

“You disturb me from my work just because of that?” Marcus was not so enthusiasts. “Forgot about Anneke and that stupid dream of her. Bye, Marie.”

“Marcus, wait. I thought you would be glad with my news because it means the mystery of Anneke’s death would be solved. You were hurt, and I thought to know what really happened to Anneke could close the grieves,” Marie said.

“Marie, what happened to Anneke was still hurting me but I must move on. I must for the sake of our son Errol. You too, you have to forget about Anneke, you also have to move on,” Marcus answered Marie.

THAT night, Marie could not sleep, for besides being so disappointed to the reaction of Marcus, the thought that she had seen before the man of the red sports car, just kept hammering but she could not figure when and where.

She stood up from her bed and went to the kitchen. She took a glass of milk and warmed it in the magnetron. She sat down and while drinking her warm milk, her thought was on Anneke. They were cousins but besides that, they were best friends. They do not have secrets to each other.

She was an only child and when her parents both passed away, she inherited the house where she was now living. Anneke, on the other hand, have one sister and two brothers that still living with their parents and Anneke married Marcus and rented an apartment for themselves. Marcus was always away because of his work, and Anneke would come to her and stayed for days and only go home when Marcus was coming home. She worked, and Anneke wanted it very much to work too. Marcus earned not so much, they even could not buy a car until Anneke got pregnant and had a baby; fully on the way building a family of her own.

She was still single as she could not find yet the suitable man for her. Anneke was always short with money, and she would hand her occasionally some cash, and she knew Anneke spent it on playing the lotto and crash cards but she just ignored it. Anneke dreamed that maybe she could win a big amount, she could buy a car; her big dream.

Suddenly Marie jerked, she remembered where she saw the face of the man in the red car. Anneke was in her house and looking at the weekly magazine, there they saw him, the good-looking and charming man.

Marie looked for that particular number from staples of magazines under the center table in the living room, and when she found it, she quickly looked for the pages that featured the man in the red car. The coverage was about the new Mayor of the town. A flamboyant millionaire who entered the politics and did win. Although he looked young, the Mayor was on his late forties of age and liked to drive his red sports car. He was married, and the couple have one daughter. Marie looked at also the red sports car and she saw that the plate number was the same plate number that Anneke had dreamed.

The next day Marie did not go to work. She thought to herself that she must tell Marcus and Anneke’s family that the dream of Anneke about the red car had something to do of her death. She let them see the magazine.

“Are you insinuating that the Mayor has something to do with the death of Anneke?” Marcus asked Marie.

“I don’t know, but there’s a connection,” Marie answered Marcus.

The parents of Anneke were also skeptical that the Mayor had something to do with the death of Anneke.

“Anneke dreamed what she read from that magazine. The plate number of the red car can clearly be seen.” Anneke’s mother said.

“The word that the plate number could give justice to her, the man in her dream said it to her,” Marie insisted.

“Marie, forget everything; the dream of Anneke had nothing to do with her death,” Marcus said.

Frustrated Marie could do nothing but to accept that the dream of Anneke about the red car and Anneke’s death were not connected at all.

ONE evening, Marie was driving home from a colleague’s house when she noticed she was driving behind the red sports car. Her heart beats fast when she saw that the red sports car stopped and the Mayor picked a teenager girl. With all the adrenalin in her, she decided to follow the red sports car but then she lost it, the traffic lights had taken care of it. She was forced to stop by the red lights and the red car speed out her sight. ****to be continued****