Chapter 3 The Confrontation

" Ladies and gentlemen. Don't be too startled by the brilliant show by my niece. She is definitely, the next big thing in Hollywood." Said The Baron and burst out laughing while most of the guest joined in the laugh. " Man. You really get us there. That girl almost made me piss my pants away. Till now , I believed she came from the land of the dead. Damn ! She's so good." Said a fellow Billionaire who now felt at ease with his new light of knowledge.  " she's really a great actress. I  will enroll her in the New York school  academy of acting."  Said The  Baron as he headed back to give his vote of thanks. No sooner than the last guest had left, did Baron Alexander hurry up to check on Meredith and this time to engage her in the new dimension of events. With the letter still in his hands he hurried upstairs and didn't find it difficult to locate the room which Meredith had entered as the door was not shut.  He rushed inside and found the little girl fast asleep with her clothes still wet . He took a blanket and covered the child to shield her from the cold before leaving the room, with the door still open to prevent her from thinking she had been kidnapped, when she finally woke. The next morning was quick to come, and  it was time for the Baron to initiate a formal introduction . He sat in front of his giant LED  Television , watching a repeat broadcast of  a match between  houston and Cleveland. Next to him was Cardin who Sat with a scowl on his face while he paid a keen attention to the match. Meredith sat by a sofa near the  Baron as she starred at the giant screen. She was wearing an oversized sweater which had been given to her by Cardin under the instructions of his father.  A dozen number of people, mostly workers, stood in wait for the  Baron to speak. " Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I have gathered you all here to introduce you to a new member of the household. She is the daughter of one of my  best friends from my days in the in high school. Her name  is Meredith and she should be accorded respect and hospitality.  Is that clear.?" Asked the Baron with an air of majesty. " Yes sir it's clear. Welcome to Linwood miss Meredith." Said Jetrude the head maid, who was very much elderly. She had been in the castle long before even the Baron himself was born as she had witnessed three Generations of the Alexander family. She had been brought to the castle as a young child when she was probably around the age of two and had been servings them with uncompromised loyalty. " Meredith can you stand for a while let the workers see you." Said  The Baron in a soft tenor. " Yes I can." Said the child and sprang to her feet while she hawked her gaze from one face to the other . " Great . You may sit down. And you all may go. " Said the Baron while he gestured to the workers to return to their various duties leaving just the three of them in the parlor. " Meredith. I had wanted to ask you some questions yesterday to cure my bafflement, but I concluded you will be in a better state of mind to answer me today. This is my son Cardin. It was his tenth years birthday which we had been celebrating  last night, when you gate crashed Into the building. How did you manage to get here alone all the way from Louisiana.?' Said the Baron in a  rather surprised tone. " I walked sir." Said Meredith looking sternly at the Baron while she stood. " Please sit down my dear. You walked on feet to Cincinnati.? How long have you been traveling." Said the Baron in shock. "  One week , one day, and seven hours sir." Said Meredith as she sat down on the Sofa and returned her gaze to the giant television screen. Both the Baron and Cardin locked eyes for a while in shock before the Baron sighed deeply and continued with his questions. " You mean you walked on your legs to Linwood.?" Said the Baron to clear his curiosity. " Yes I did. I have a map. My mother gave it to me. I travelled through the night it's faster. My friends in the woods sometimes gave me a ride. " Said Meredith in a carefree manner as she kept on gazing at the moving pictures on the TV screen. " What friends are those." Said Cardin, who was breaking his silence for the first time all morning. " The ..." said Meredith and paused for a while staring at Cardin , before  Staring at the Baron. She hawked her gaze around the alluring parlor and made up her mind to say nothing. " would you like to tell us who your friends that gave you the lift are.? " said The Baron with a smile. " No sir." Said Meredith in carefree manner and returned her full attention to the television she had been watching. " Wow. You are really a strange child. So tell me , why did your mother ask you to come down here to Linwood." Said the Baron in calm tone as he smiled at her. " Because she is gravely ill and  may die soon. She said she saved your life many years ago and wants you to save mine." Said Meredith without looking at the Baron. "Is all alright in Louisiana.? What made her so sick. And why didn't she come along with you." Said Cardin in his tone that was laden with surprise. " All is not well at Louisiana. My mother was poisoned by Lord Bircan the dark lord. She doesn't know but I know he did. He claims to love her . He only wants to kill her.  I think she knew what he was up to and sent me down here to evade his clutch. She said to me . Meredith, take your bag and this letter here . Migrate down to Linwood in Cincinnati. Something  big is coming and you are too precious to be left alone in Louisiana. I will be here to wade off the attention of this horror. Leave immediately before they find you." That was what my mother said to me as she cried and hugged me tightly." Said Meredith and her face fell in sadness just to think her mother had been in distress when she had to leave. " I will call the police immediately. I never knew she was in danger. Where In Louisiana do you and your mother stay. " said the Baron and picked up his Apple phone from the alluring glass table. " Danteville sir. My mom works In the vineyard of the Dark lord. He is no good. I see the way he looks at me. He is just bad. We stay in the workers quarters. Just a single room for me and my mom." Said Meredith as she starred at the floor in thoughts of her mother. " How old are you. You don't speak like a child." Said the Baron as he dialed a phone number, directed at the sheriff of Danteville. " Five years old sir." Said Meredith and returned her gaze to the television.  " Yes Hello sir. I'm calling from Linwood Cincinnati. This is Baron Alexander. Please a lady named Sulan Niboro of one of the vineyards in your county may be in danger. Can you help me locate her and perhaps put a call to me so I can speak with her." Said the Baron in a modest tone. " Good morning sir. Did you say Sulan Niboro a vineyard worker.?" Asked the Sheriff. " yes sir. Exactly. Tall and has a reddish brown hair with a heavy blue gaze." Said the Baron in a succession of breaths. " Well sir I am sorry to announce to you that Miss Sulan Niboro was found  dead in her apartment two weeks ago. Her daughter of five has been missing and we have been on the search for her. We believe she may have been murdered as autopsy results have showed a high level of cyanimide in her blood.  It's only lethal when consumed in large quantities. If it was not a suicide, then I believe she had been gradually poisoned over time and her killer is someone she knows and trust very much." Said Sheriff. " My goodness. That's really sad. Okay please perform a detailed investigation and get back to me with your findings. Thanks for your cooperation sir." Said the Baron and hang the phone while his eyes went moist in sadness. It met the heavy blue gaze of Meredith who sat looking fully at his eyes to decipher the meaning of his new look.