It was a chilly Friday night dominated by sounds of crickets and strong wind. Darkness enveloped everything like a blanket. Most people were safely tucked away in their warm beds, resting from the daily grind of everyday life.

Kate was wide awake, her eyes red and puffy from sleep deprivation and hours of crying. She stood on the balcony of the fifth floor apartment, looking out at the horizon, a storm raging inside her.

She tried lighting the cigarette sandwiched between her pouting lips, but the wind snuffed the matchstick’s flame out. The third attempt ended with her burning the tip of her fingers. She cursed under her breath and tossed both the cigarette and matchbox to the floor.

Different thoughts went through her mind. She felt weak in the knees and she leaned against the railing to keep from falling to the floor.

James had called her earlier in the day to inform her that he would not be coming home as an urgent business matter had come up without warning. Beyond that, no explanation was offered.

Kate had tried to find out more about the nature of the business matter but he wouldn’t divulge anything substantive.

“We will talk about it later,” he had said with a note of dismissive finality. How callous!

His caginess disturbed her. Was he hiding something from her? Was the “urgent business matter” a lie intended to fool her? A sense of dread overcame her as she pondered these chilling questions.

His phone call was the latest in a string of red flags warning that their young marriage was fast imploding. This thought weighed heavily on her heart and it felt as if she would suffer a cardiac arrest.

These “urgent business matters” had become too frequent to be credible. What was more, they were tellingly nocturnal. A lump formed in her throat and she could hardly breathe.

******

Blue Ark Club was a beehive of activity. Waitresses scurried up and down attending to patrons, delicately balancing trays laden with beers on their shoulders. Provocatively dressed prostitutes, notorious for spiking drinks of unsuspecting victims, lined the corridors.

The dance floor was packed with men and women shaking their bodies to the ear-splitting music that was streaming from the powerful speakers.

James sat at a booth, passionately embracing a cheery, honey-skinned woman who sat on his lap. Their table was full of beer bottles and a tray of roast beef. They ate and drank and teased and kissed, visibly elated to be in each other’s company.

Liska was a beautiful young woman of slight build with a bewitching gap-toothed smile and an easygoing demeanour. James had met her at a gala organised to pay tribute to promising local artists.

She was an actress who played the role of a beautiful lass deeply in love with a poor man in a local soap opera — a role that had earned her modest recognition.

Liska had been honoured at the gala as an up and coming actress with tremendous potential. James had approached her and managed to get her contacts and secure a date with her. They had seen each other several times since that first encounter. This was their fifth date.

She had never asked James about his marital status and he had not felt it necessary to divulge that crucial piece of information to her. All their meetings had been planned for night-time to avoid detection and controversy for Liska.

After finishing the roast beef, they took several swigs of their beer and headed to the dance floor, with James’s left arm draped over Liska’s shoulders.

The dance floor smelled of tobacco and human sweat but it was the last thing on their mind. The urge to surrender to each other as the music played was overwhelming, almost overpowering.

James took her into his arms and they danced slowly and intimately, while drunkenly muttering sweet words to each other. Everything else became non-existent as they slipped into another world, their own world.

******

A woman in dark glasses entered the bar. None of the revellers noticed her. James and Liska were still on the dance floor.

The woman scanned the place until her gaze fell on them. If she was shocked or surprised she didn’t show it. Instead she calmly picked up a beer bottle from one of the many tables and walked towards James and Liska.

When she got to where they were dancing she lifted the bottle and hit James on the head as hard as she could. One of the security men noticed her and quickly made for the dance floor but it was too late.

James felt an intense pain cut through his head before everything went dark. Liska screamed as he fell to the ground. Blood was oozing from his head. Pandemonium broke out as people ran in all directions in a panic.

The ensuing chaos enabled Kate to escape undetected. She dropped the broken bottle and made for the exit, to the car waiting for her outside.