“Do you think it was easy for me to walk away? You pushed me away. I couldn’t stay with you any longer. Our marriage was over, and you knew it. How do you think I could have lived the rest of my life with you blaming me every day for Claire’s death? Every time you looked at me I could see it festering in your eyes, every day my feelings for you turning into hate as little by little you destroyed everything we ever had,” he lowered his head.
“You let our daughter die,” her words tore at his heart.
“You still won’t listen to the truth, will you? It was an accident. Helen pulled her leg and she fell. I know I should have been watching them, but I couldn’t have changed anything.” Ben attempted to justify his actions, but he knew she was telling the truth.
“If you’d have been there you could have stopped them from climbing the tree.”
“This is exactly what it was like before I left. You screaming at me and blaming me; nothing’s changed, has it?” his voice was strained with emotion.
“Because it’s the truth and you’re still denying it,” she snarled.
“I could have told the police the truth about where you really were,” she raised her eyebrows.
“I just slipped out of the house for ten minutes, that’s all; it could have happened while I was there.”
“You went to buy cigarettes, that’s all our daughter’s lives were worth, a packet of bloody cigarettes; you were gone for half an hour,” she glared at him.
“It wasn’t like that; I bumped into an old friend.”
“An old girl-friend you mean,” she reminded him.
“It was very hard for me to leave Helen with you. There were times when I nearly came back,” his voice was calmer as he remembered his daughters.
“Nearly isn’t enough; Helen would still be alive if you had not walked out on us.”
”What do you mean? Helen isn’t dead,” Ben sat bolt upright.
”How would you know if she was dead or alive?” she stared directly at him.
“Oh god no, not both of them,” he was close to tears now.
“Save your crocodile tears they’re wasted on me.”
“What happened to Helen, please tell me,” he pleaded. After a momentary pause she began to speak, but this time there was tenderness in her tone.
“After Claire died, Helen became very withdrawn. The doctor said it was guilt, part of the grieving process, but Helen felt personally responsible for her sister’s death. I tried to tell her that it was an accident, but she became more and more withdrawn. I had to take her out of school and put her into one of those places for problem children. She did improve slightly, but then she changed. She became angry and violent and caused fights at school. I tried to talk to her and took her back to the doctor’s, but he said she needed specialist care and referred her to a child psychiatrist, but this made things worse as he repeatedly forced her to re-call the details of the accident. In the end she refused to see him, but a few months later she began to settle down and her school work improved. We managed like this with outbreaks of tantrums and violence, until she left school. This was when the trouble really started. She made friends with a girl in the next street, whose boyfriend was said to be involved in drugs. At first I didn’t notice anything different in Helen until she came home one evening staggering all over the place. I assumed she’d been drinking and gave her a lecture the next morning, but it continued and became more frequent.”
Ben interrupted her at this point.
“Why didn’t you stop her from seeing this girl?” he raised his voice.
“That’s easy for you to say, you weren’t there. When I asked her where she was going, she’d lie. I didn’t know who she was with, or where she was going,” Anne paced nervously up and down
“The last time I saw her alive was three days before her seventeenth birthday. I can still remember what she was wearing and how she had styled her hair. She looked beautiful; not the unrecognisable girl that lay dead in a pool of blood-stained vomit. Her beautiful hair matted with blood and punctures marks on her skin,” Anne fell silent and bowed her head.
“I didn’t know any of this. Didn’t you try to find me?” he held his head in his hands to hide his tears from her.
”Oh shut up Gerry its pathetic just listening to you,” she was unmoved by his display of grief.
Ben wiped his eyes and looked up at her. “Just tell me how much you want Anne and I’ll pay it.”
”You don’t seriously think you can sign a cheque and walk away do you? There’s no amount of money to compensate for what you’ve done? I don’t want your business or your house. I want to take everything way from you like you did to me, and then I’ll make you suffer. You’ve got blood on your hands Gerry Parrish,” her harsh words stabbed at his heart.
“Listen to me Anne; I can give you enough money to start again. You don’t need to live your life like this. Remember when we first met, you used to tell me how you dreamed of living in the countryside in a little cottage. You can still have that, it’s not too late,” he pleaded with her, and momentarily her expression softened.
“That was our dream Gerry before you allowed our daughters to die.”
“You can’t hold me responsible for Helen’s death,” he shook his head vehemently.
“At the inquest, the coroner said her death was due to a heroin overdose. He also said that the lack of a father figure in her life, and the tragic death of her sister were contributing factors for her turning to drugs,” she dug the knife in deeper.
“You were her mother you should have protected her.”
“And you were her father and you just walked away,” she glared at him.
“I can’t turn the clock back, but I can help you now,” he replied meekly.
“You can’t buy back my dead children you callous bastard, but I’ll make sure you don’t make any more money.” She took an envelope from a drawer, tore it open and took out two documents.
“This,” she said waving one of them in his face, “is your contract with Lawton, “and this one is the original.” As he watched, she took a cigarette lighter from her bag and set fire to it. Within seconds, it was reduced to ashes, which drifted slowly to the floor as he watched. Wiping the remains from her hands, she ordered him to sit down and re-tied the ropes around his wrists and legs.
“I’ll leave you to think about what I’ve said, I’ll be back later.”
The door closed and the key turned in the lock. Ben sat in the darkness his mind in turmoil. Never had he thought his past would come back to haunt him. What he had done to his daughter was unforgiveable, but life with Anne Parrish was unbearable. When he walked away, he never expected their paths to cross again. The first six months after he left, were the loneliest of his life, but all that changed when he met Kate.
In time, the memories of Claire’s death faded but the grief of her loss remained with him for years. In retrospect, he should have revealed his past life to Kate, but as the years went by it became more and more difficult.
His life with Kate may be complicated and at times difficult, but he was a different person now with the past behind him. Anne’s re-emergence however, had shed a different light on his circumstances and it was going to be difficult to hide his past for much longer. Anne’s demands were inhuman, but if he didn’t submit to them someone was going to be killed. He would not consider cancelling his contract with Lawton, there had to be another way out of this dilemma. He was not going to let Anne spoil everything he had worked hard for. There was only one way out of this mess, his first wife would have to meet with an accident, and there had to be no possible connection to himself. No one must ever find out about his past. It was exactly that, and would remain there forever.
As he struggled in vain to release himself, Anne Parish walked briskly along the dimly lit street to where she had left her car. She had managed to enter and leave the basement unnoticed, and drove away with a smug grin on her face. It had been so easy. The first part of her pl
an had been successful, the rest would be even easier, but there was one more problem to sort out.
CHAPTER 9
MONDAY MORNING OCTOBER 3RD
Kate woke early the next morning. Her sleep had been deep and healing, preparing her for the emotional strains she knew she would have to endure that day. This was her second night in the hotel, but she was determined it would be the last. There was nothing she could achieve by remaining any longer. The police had all the relevant information and she had to trust that they would find Ben. Determined to go home, she went in search of Alex. Outside his office she noticed the door was slightly ajar and caught sight of someone moving around inside. She knew it wasn’t Alex, and pushed the door open to discover one of the waiters rummaging through his paperwork.
“What are you doing in here?” she asked suspiciously.
The young man spun round, surprised by her presence. She recognised him as Joseph, and he had a guilty look on his face.
“You frightened me Mrs. Preston; I didn’t hear you come in. Mr. Lawton has asked me to collect an envelope from his desk. Here it is I’ll take it to him now,” he replied.
“I was looking for him myself, where is he?” she asked.
“He’s in the lounge.”
“I’ll take it to him then,” she held her hand out.
“No I’d better do it myself. I’ve just been promoted and I don’t want him to think I’m unreliable, but thank you or offering,” he said as he brushed past her into the corridor.
Dismissing the incident, Kate followed Joseph as he made his way to the lounge. The sound of her mobile ringing in her handbag caused her to stop and search for it. When she eventually found it and pressed the button without looking at the screen, she heard her mother’s voice and tried not to express her disappointment as she spoke.
“I’ve been phoning for days now, is there something wrong with your phone love?” her mother asked.
“No mum the signals weak, that’s all.”
“Have you heard from Ben?” her mother asked tentatively.
“Not yet, I was hoping it was him on the phone,” she sighed.
“Whatever could have happened to him, it’s been three days now love?”
“I know mum it’s very hard for me, but I’m coming home today. I’ll phone you when I get back, bye mum.”
Kate put the phone back into her bag and looked up to see Alex approaching her.
“I was just coming to see you. I’ve decided to go home today,” she announced.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea Kate the police will probably want to talk to you again.”
“They can phone me. I need to feel close to Ben and I can’t while I’m here. I keep thinking all of this is a nightmare and I’ll wake up and he’ll be with me.”
“I understand, but you know you’re welcome to come here anytime you want to.”
“I know Alex, and you’ve been very kind when you really didn’t have to be. After all you don’t even know me, and you’ve only met Ben once.”
“Twice,” he corrected her.
“He told me he’d never stayed here before.”
“Perhaps it was an over-sight,” he smiled weakly.
“No, he definitely said he’d never been here before,” she was adamant.
“It’s not important Kate, but he was here last summer with the same girl.”
“I don’t believe you there must be a mistake,” she was deeply humiliated and turned away.
“You can check the register if you don’t believe me.”
“So you think he’s left me for her don’t you?” she demanded an answer
“It is a possibility,” sympathy was evident in his tone.
Kate stormed off to her room to pack her case. Alex called after her, but she ignored him. Half an hour later she stood in the reception area waiting to see him before she left, but he didn’t appear.
“Please thank Mr. Lawton for his hospitality. I’m sorry I’ve missed him but I have a train to catch, goodbye Mrs. Gilroy.”
“I hope you find your family dear,” she called after her, but her words were lost amongst the traffic as Kate stepped through the exit and hailed a taxi to the railway station, where she discovered there was a thirty minute delay. Annoyed at the inconvenience, Kate picked up a magazine to pass the time away. She had only read a few paragraphs when she received a message on her mobile phone. After reading it twice, she picked up her case and made her way out of the train station in a frantic scramble. A row of vacant taxi’s lined the street outside, and she opened the door of the nearest one.
“The Lotus hotel please.”
Ten minutes later, Kate stood in the hotel reception face to face with Alex Lawton.
“So you came back,” he smiled.
“Look at this,” she thrust her phone under his nose.
Alex read the text and then looked up at her.
“It says Ben’s alive, that’s wonderful news,” he paused, “Who sent it?”
“I don’t know it’s a withheld number.”
“We should show it to the police straight away. They may have equipment that can trace withheld numbers,” he spoke as he keyed the number into his phone. Fifteen minutes later the police arrived.
“It could be a hoax you know; the papers are full of Ben’s disappearance,” an officer informed Kate. Disregarding the remark, she drew his attention to the second part of the message concerning the contract with Alex.
“I didn’t mention that the contract had been delivered here to be signed, so it has to be genuine,” Kate correctly pointed out.
“We’ll need to keep your phone for a few days, if that’s alright Mrs. Preston,” the same officer informed her.
“No it’s not alright,” she shook her head. “It’s my only contact with my family, and the person who sent this message may text again,” she refused to hand it over, clutching it firmly to her chest.
“It's vital evidence in the case,” he argued.
“No you’re not having it,” she reiterated.
The policeman gave up and wrote the words of the text into his note book together with the time it was received.
“My Inspector won’t be very pleased about this,” he informed her as he left.
“I’m sure he’ll get over it,” Kate clutched the phone so tightly her knuckles turned white.
The police reluctantly left the hotel at the exact moment that Kate received a second message. She opened it and read it to Alex.
“I now have the contract in my possession. Thanks for the signature, will be in touch again later.”
“How the hell did they get hold of the contract? It was in my office,” Alex turned to Kate.
“I’ve got no idea; have you checked your office to see if it’s still there,” she suggested.
“I’ll be right back,” Alex rushed off and returned a few minutes later with an anxious expression on his face.
“It’s gone, and the original; someone’s taken them from my office.”
“And I think I know who,” Kate suddenly remembered.
“What do you mean?”
“I saw him there when I was looking for you earlier. When I asked what he was doing he said he had to take a document to you. He had a brown envelope in his hand. I offered to take it and he refused,” she explained.
“Well, who was it?” he asked impatiently.
“Joseph, didn’t I say?”
“I never asked him to go to my office. I don’t allow anyone in there, are you sure it was him?” he doubted her word.
“Absolutely, he had his name badge on anyway,” she insisted
“He wouldn’t do anything like this; I’ve only just promoted him,” he turned to Mrs. Gilroy.
“Can you send one of the girls to find him, he’s got some explaining to do,” he spoke through gritted teeth, and added, “And can you send a porter to collect Mrs. Preston’s case.”
“I assume you’re staying?” he turned to Kate.
“Of course, but don’t bother with a porter; I’ve only got an over-night case,” she picked it up and headed in the direction of the lift, where an elderly couple were waiting.
“Which floor do you want dear,” the woman asked her.
“The third please.”
“The same as us,” she smiled.
When they arrived, she left the old couple arguing over who had got the key to their room, and headed towards her own. Placing the key in the lock, she was surprised to find it already open. Perhaps the cleaners had forgotten to lock it properly she thought as she stepped into the room and glanced around. What she saw made her knees buckle and her mouth fill with bile as she attempted to wretch. Stumbling backwards, tried to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth. Her entire body went into shock, and this time a blood-curdling screech filled the room. Running footsteps sounded outside in the corridor, and then someone was beside her. The elderly man from the lift called out.
“Don’t come in here Dora,” he warned his wife. “Go downstairs and find Mr. Lawton and tell him it’s an emergency.” Dora dashed along the corridor at amazing speed and took the lift.
Still shaking though sheer terror; Kate was unable to avert her eyes from the young woman’s dead body that lay sprawled across the bed. A black silk scarf still tied around her neck, was partially draped over the crumpled sheet. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth at a grotesque angle, and her eyes bulged from their sockets. She had been a pretty girl in life; but now her features were twisted and ugly as her motionless form looked up with unseeing eyes. Her thick black hair was spread across the pillow as if it had been carefully arranged by someone who had feelings for her. But the most appalling act which had been inflicted on the dead woman’s face, made Kate feel physically sick. Her eyelids had been smeared in bright blue eye shadow; not in a neat fashion and lacking precision, it was almost as if a little girl had been experimenting with her mother’s make-up. Red lipstick had been daubed in the same style, but with a callous twist, a mocking smile painted over her lips, was almost touching her nose. Her cheek bones had been over heightened with blusher giving the appearance of a circus clown. The circumstances of her death were brutal, but the painted face was a symbolic act of parody, a ritual which must have been significant only to the killer. Kate had to get out of the room away from the disturbing image, but she was rooted to the spot, transfixed by the hideous unfortunate woman. Amidst the horror her mind began to play tricks with her. Was this the same woman that Ben had spent the night with before he disappeared? Joseph had said she had long black hair, and was very pretty.
HIDDEN SECRETS Page 10
