by E. L Barry
Perhaps this time it wouldn’t be just an idea and it would become something that made a change to her life and perspective.
I’m always saying I’m going to change and then never do, this time it will be different.
The journey back to the office was pleasant, and Josie was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed at home.
Kim had assured them that she was fine, but Gareth insisted that he would take her home. He reassured her that if she needed anything to give him a call and he would be there for her.
It was taking Kim a while to get her head round the possibility that it could have been her in the hospital.
Both Josie and Gareth would keep an eye out to make sure that she was okay and suggested that it might be a good idea to talk to someone about it. James had promised he would support her by allowing her some time off if she needed some counselling. Josie said her goodbyes in the carpark as Gareth drove Kim home.
Josie had chosen to take a taxi rather than leave her car at the railway station and it saved the hassle of getting it washed again. Josie waved to Derek as she arrived at reception, and he beckoned her over. Derek had been the door attendant at her building for years, she had been told. She had never asked him how long he’d worked there, but since the day she had arrived, he had always been considerate and looked out for her.
Josie smiled as she approached him, “Missed me?”
He laughed, “Yes, and so has someone else. They have just arrived to see you,” he nodded over to the sofa by the window where two men were sitting.
“Oh, thank you.”
Josie tugged her suitcase to get it moving and walked over to the two visitors. She didn’t recognise either of them from behind but as she got closer, she noticed their uniforms.
“Hello, are you waiting for me?” Josie asked as the two men stood up and turned around.
She recognised them instantly. They were the officers from the hotel.
“Hello, Josie. I’m Detective Newton and PC Hinton. We met earlier this week at the conference. We have been making enquiries. Is there anywhere private we can talk?”
“Okay, so how can I help?” Josie asked, when they sat down in the office that Derek had allowed them to use.
PC Hinton spoke first, “Well, the woman in hospital has come out of her coma, thank goodness, and has been able to share what she saw and heard.” He went on, “Basically, it was no accident, but we suspect whoever did it made a mistake. The sedative the perpetrator used was enough to induce a coma and they must have thought the victim had died. In a panic the perpetrator left,” he paused, “but what they didn’t count on was her coming round and being able to tell us what happened.”
Josie’s mind raced to try and comprehend. So, they did want Kim? Is she safe? Why would they do that? Why are the police talking to me?
PC Hinton continued, “So, I’m sure you are wondering why we have come to you to ask further questions. Let me explain. We received an anonymous phone call two weeks ago that there was someone in the area who was targeting wealthy young women. We had one incident four weeks ago and the woman targeted was able to alert a car parking attendant before the suspect took her car. She looked remarkably similar to you.”
Josie took a sharp intake of breath, “Me? But what has that got to do with Kim?” she asked puzzled, “and are we both in danger?”
He replied, “We don’t know for sure yet. We did background checks and found the connection to your father. We are speculating that whoever it is targeting Kim may be trying to get money from you.”
Josie let out a breath as she tried to take in everything she was being told. Something didn’t make sense though.
“But I don’t have any money.”
Father would never do anything for me and most certainly wouldn’t help me if I was in trouble. Even if my father did do something, who would be close enough to him to be able to get access anyway? Now, because it had gone wrong with Kim, surely, they wouldn’t risk trying again would they? Who knows enough about me or Kim to make the connection?
There were so many unanswered questions and Josie was starting to feel sick.
So much for my life being perfect!
Chapter 11
Upstairs, after being reassured by the officers that they were continuing to follow up the leads, Josie unpacked. It was good to be home, but the eerie feeling that there was someone who was trying to get close to her to do her harm made her feel like she was alone in the world.
Could I call Mr Mellors and ask him to speak to Father? Had the police already spoken to him?
Josie put the kettle on, and to take her mind off things she decided to read a book.
Where is it? I’m sure I left it on the side table.
As she looked for the book, Josie’s mind started to race.
Has someone been in here while I’ve been gone? Am I being paranoid? Has that cushion moved? The questions and thoughts flooded her mind until they were interrupted by a sound by the door. She froze.
The shuffle of paper under the door sounded ten times louder as Josie watched the brown envelope slide through. She opened the door to see who had delivered it, but there was nobody there. Picking up the envelope, she wondering what was inside.
Should she open it, or wear gloves in case there were fingerprints?
“Stop it, Josie!” she told herself as she tore the top open. The A4 sheets inside were glossy, like the photograph paper she got free with her ink cartridges. She pulled out the pages and the first thing she saw was a photograph of her mum. Confused, she looked closer.
Who sent this to me? Why am I being sent this? Who is the man she is with?
Josie paused and looked out on the street below, wondering what on earth was going on. Raindrops lingered on the pane of glass making everything look gloomy and blurred. Just how I feel.
Putting the photo to one side, she looked at the next picture. It was grainier than the last, but she recognised the shape of her mum’s hair, and she was with another man. Who is that? Why is she being photographed? Who are these men and why is she with them?
The final photograph was of two people in the back of a car. Josie recognised the car as the one her father’s driver used to pick her up in to bring her home from school during the holidays.
Josie couldn’t see who was driving, but, like the other two pictures, she could see her mum’s hair and a third man. Josie’s mind whirred.
My mum couldn’t have had affairs – surely. Who would have taken these pictures though? Could Father have taken them and that’s why he’s so cold towards me? No! That’s not possible. Then who is mum talking to and why so many men? Why have I been sent these? Am I being watched and photographed too?
Exhausted and not sure what to do, Josie cried. It was all too much. She already felt unsafe and now those feelings were made worse. Josie didn’t know what to do or who to turn to.
The pictures had shattered her image of her mum and the questions of who the other people in the photos were, went round and round in her head.
All the spy and thriller films had heroes that investigated to find the truth. But Josie was no hero and had no clue what to do next.
She continued to cry, feeling helpless and sorry that an innocent person had been hurt because of her – and now someone was toying with her about her mother’s past. Josie threw the pictures across the room in anger. She shouted, “Why me? What am I supposed to do about this? I’ve not got any siblings or close friends. My father can’t even bear to look at me, and he’s so ill, and I’ll be homeless soon and he doesn’t care. This is all rubbish!!”
Taking a deep breath, Josie decided staying in the house all weekend wasn’t an option, even though she wanted to stay away from everyone and hide in bed crying all day. The rollercoaster of emotions had exhausted her, and the biscuit supply had run out within fifteen minutes of opening the packet. She was ashamed and scared and didn’t know what to do, so did the only thing she knew would cheer her up. Josie quickly
changed into her gym gear and went out.
Trying hard not to jump at each little movement of the cars and people around her, and only glancing behind her twice, she arrived at the gym ready to distract herself from the confusion she felt. The familiar faces and equipment she saw as she entered the building reassured her and she breathed a sigh of relief.
She only passed one person who was just leaving and the locker room appeared. She chose a locker close to the exit in full view in case anything bad happened to her.
The noise of the coin clinking in the slot echoed as she locked her bag away. Josie kept her keys and phone on her as she worked out, as the mantra ‘phone, keys, wallet’ jumped into her mind. It was the checklist she lived by, so that if all hell broke loose, as long as she had the basics, she could go anywhere and do anything.
Her wallet had almost morphed into her phone nowadays anyway.
She hadn’t gone as far as using app phone payments, but the ten-pound note tucked into the fold of her phone case, along with her debit card, was all she needed when she went to the gym or for a run.
Out on the gym floor, she moved towards the rowing machine. She rarely used the running or cycling machines as she thought it wasn’t worth going to the gym to do what you could do outside, but as she wasn’t a rower, Josie loved to warm up using the rowing machine before a weights session. She hadn’t realised until recently that doing weights was better for her than doing loads of cardio alone.
It also made her mind stronger as she worked through the reps and felt her muscles work to pump the last one or two, before she couldn’t handle any more. The burning feeling in her muscles the next day was a reminder of what she had achieved too, and she was less likely to reach for the biscuit packet.
Why do I buy them in the first place? I really should tackle that… she pondered as she picked up the pace on her rowing strokes.
After each pull, Josie felt the tension reduce in her body as she settled into concentrating on her breathing. It gave her the chance to think. So many things were bothering her that she was sounding like a broken record.
Who had taken the photographs? Who sent the photographs? Who was her mum with in the pictures and why? When were they taken? What am I supposed to do now? Why send them with no message or instructions? It’s not like I’m seeing the puzzle pieces fall into place and know what to do next like the Da Vinci Code books. I’m just me and all I do is work as an estate agent… Josie checked the screen on the machine and could see she’d almost done her ten-minute warm up session.
She picked up the pace to try to reach a round number of strokes.
I really should measure what I do in ten minutes and see if I can beat it next time! Ha, like I’d remember! she laughed.
After she stopped and released the bar, with a quick wipe and a check over the equipment, she moved on to the leg press. Shuffling her bum as far back as she could go, she put her feet firmly against the plate. Pushing forward the bar moved too easily. Putting the weights up the next level, it was exactly right, and she began to push forwards and backwards, being careful not to make a clunking noise on the way down. Josie remembered the first time she started weights training. It was nerve wracking at first, but she could fit a workout in whenever she wanted. Josie had eventually found what worked and it was worth it for the experience, and to keep fit and healthy both physically and mentally.
Josie had been so distracted in her inner world and concentrating on counting her reps that she hadn’t noticed the commotion by the gym entrance.
A cluster of people looked outside. She couldn’t see what they were looking at but could see the manager come out and join the group too.
Ordinarily she would be curious enough to go over and look, but after the photographs arrived and with what happened at the conference, she found herself more nervous than usual and not wanting to witness any more drama.
Her curiosity couldn’t completely be switched off, however, and she couldn’t help glance over every few minutes. An ambulance had now arrived, and the group was being asked to move away from the door.
It must be someone outside, otherwise the whole gym would have been evacuated. I hope they are okay.
By the time Josie had finished her workout, showered and changed, the group had dispersed. At the reception desk, she overheard someone say, “I can’t understand how it could have happened.”
“I know…it must have been a freak accident, the car came out of nowhere.”
“She was only young.”
“She looked just like her,” one of the receptionists said, pointing at Josie as she passed them.
Chapter 12
Josie wanted to get back to work and forget everything that was happening. As she entered the office, she had a pang of sadness about Kim not being there. She was still shaken up by what had happened at the conference and had booked some time off from work. James was in the office and called her over.
“Josie, have you got a minute?”
“Morning, James, yes I’ll be right in.”
Josie put her bag under her desk, took a fresh bottle of water from her drawer and walked over to James’ office. The door was open, but she politely knocked on the glass pane and waited for him to wave her in.
“So sorry, Josie, about everything that happened last week. When I heard, I couldn’t believe it. Kim is in pieces, and I’ve said she can take all the time she needs. How are you coping?”
Josie sat on the edge of her seat, deliberating on whether to tell him the full story.
“It’s been a shock but I’m okay. Glad to be back at work.”
“Good, good,” James replied as he looked at the pile of folders on his desk.
He continued, “I really should just let you get on with digitising these files, shouldn’t I?” he admitted, as he picked up the top three folders and handed them to her.
He always avoided doing it himself, as he was sure that paper and pen would save the day and that everyone would lose all their files in the cloud. Josie smiled and he carried on.
“And those are your new clients I’m passing to you, so make sure you have a good read of the specifications and see if we can be proactive.”
“Thank you,” Josie replied.
“Can you follow up with Gareth too, as he’s got a house that needs a walk through, and then Kim has a few bookings to transfer over to you too while she is off? You’ve got access to everything already, haven’t you?”
“Yes, thank you,” Josie replied, her mind racing through all the work she had on already, and now with the extra jobs she was certainly going to be distracted.
“Can I get an afternoon off this week?” Josie asked, hoping that she could get some sleep.
“Sorry Josie, you can next week, and I forgot to ask if you could also make a reservation for a client dinner this week too, please.”
“Okay,” she replied. But it wasn’t okay at all.
Josie realised late on that she hadn’t even had time to have lunch and was feeling faint. The phone hadn’t stopped ringing and emails were coming in constantly, which interrupted her train of thought.
Gareth had popped into the office to find time to book the walk through and had told her that he had been to see Kim. She was alright, he told her, and he’d check in on her again later if he could.
Josie wondered what they talked about, as they seemed to get on so well, but it was none of her business and she had more than enough to worry about without second-guessing anyone else’s personal life. At the end of her energy supply, and with more call backs to tackle the following day, Josie grabbed her bag and locked up. She turned round and bumped straight into Nicholas.
“Hello!” she exclaimed, surprised to see him.
“I’ve missed you,” he smiled.
Flustered, Josie pulled her bag closer to her and took a half step back.
“How did you know where to find me?” she asked.
“I didn’t, but what a coincidence. Why don’t we go and get a d
rink?”
Josie was grateful for the company, but she didn’t want to get into the emotional details of the conference or the weekend either.
“Just one drink,” she replied.
“Make that two and it’s a deal?” Nicholas teased.
Josie couldn’t help but respond to his cheeky smile and he was looking good too. Something about him in a navy blue t-shirt… her mind wandered and she caught herself as he placed his hand on her elbow to lead the way. Josie swapped her bag to her other shoulder so they could walk side-by-side and she could feel his closeness as they walked to The Tote.
“So how has your day been?” Josie asked.
“Alright. Did you have a good time at the conference last week?”
“What did you get up to today?” Josie replied, trying to avoid the conference topic.
“Oh, not much. Is your friend going to join us later?”
She assumed he was referring to Kim from the first time they met in The Tote.
Odd to be asking about her.
“Oh no, just me tonight. I’ll have to do.”
“Oh, what a shame, just the most gorgeous woman in the world, what am I going to do?”
Josie giggled, “Stop it!”
“My dear,” he said as he held out his hand for her to take.
“I’m not good with attention in public,” she told him.
“So, no serenading you at your balcony then I take it?”
Josie laughed, “Definitely not!”
“Oh dear,” he pouted, “I’ll have to sing to someone else!”
“Don’t you dare,” Josie quipped, “just don’t sing it in the street with everyone looking.”
Nicholas laughed, “I promise,” he agreed as they arrived outside the bar.
It was pretty much empty when they entered. The afternoon coffee drinkers had left, and the evening drinkers hadn’t yet arrived. It was nice to be able to choose any seat.
Josie chose the bar stools at the bench by the window facing the street, but Nicholas pointed towards the corner booth at the back. Looking around, she moved towards the table and shuffled herself in. She felt underdressed, but it wasn’t as if she was going to be staying out all night.