To Catch A Storm

by Warren Slingsby

  Positive and happy now, she’d put the tough day and memory loss behind her. She evaluated her life and found herself at a cross roads. Except it wasn’t a cross roads, it was more like a roundabout with ten or twenty exits all going different directions. She had a good career but was utterly bored with it. It only went one direction and that was further into finance, which was fine, but good god it was boring. She didn’t want to be bored anymore. Life was too short to be bored. Now, she had the opportunity to make a new start and do something she really wanted. Not just something she’d drifted into because she’d happened to be good at mathematics from a young age. She knew of women her age who’d been able to set up in business as they had the backing of their rich, city husbands who invested in them. She sneered at the frivolity of their cake making businesses and dog grooming bars their husbands bankrolled for them. But given the choice, now that she had it, what would she do? Her possibilities were limitless. Well almost, she still needed to see exactly how much cash was in the bag, but she guessed definitely upwards of two million. Maybe she needed to do nothing for a while. Just go and travel; enjoy herself. A little time on the French Riviera or perhaps Thailand or maybe the West Coast of America; it was quite a boyish thing, but she wanted to drive the West Coast from LA, through San Fran where a friend from university now lived, on to Seattle and finally up to Vancouver where she had an aunt she was fond of. It would have to be during the summer (this summer?) and in a convertible, but not an American one, too big for her. Maybe a Lambo. If they did convertibles. And with someone at her side. She’d be no good doing this alone. It’d need to be with a nice guy. She wasn’t sure why this need was so strong. She just wasn’t particularly good at being single. As independent and successful as she was, she liked a man around. Not to look after her. She definitely didn’t need looking after. She just didn’t like being on her own. Her own company.

  She looked up from the trip that was unfolding at the bottom of her large gin and tonic glass and straight into the eyes of a guy sat at the bar. He smiled and looked into his pint, like he was a little shy. He was cute. Very cute. And damn, he already had the upper hand on her as she’d held the look for a fraction longer than him. She should have looked away straight away. She was getting cocky lately, but she supposed she quite liked it. The new, more confident Janet. She played it cool and continued to sip her drink. She was wondering if he would make a move. She doubted it from the way he looked away and back into his drink, but it was amazing what a pint could do to someone’s bravado. She gently reminded herself of what had happened to her over the last few days and told herself - ‘No!’ The last thing she needed right now was to meet a man. She was not out for that, she was out for a few drinks to help herself shake off last few days. That was what she told herself. The reality was that she found herself watching him after a few minutes. Looking up from busying herself on her phone. Being careful to not make eye contact again, she kept her eye on him and a minute later, he looked up from his drink to her again, but this time she avoided his eyes. He was tall, probably six foot, with a mop of dark hair and light blue or green eyes, she couldn’t quite see in this light.

  The doors opened wide, letting in the noise of traffic and a lot of woman. A hen do started to pour rowdily in. Not the usual pink sequinned cowboy hats or printed T-shirts. They were actually just dressed regularly, but their vibe still very much said hen do (or out for a good time / off the leash / bring it on boys / I don’t usually drink but I’m sloshed now). Perhaps they didn’t really know where they were going or where the most appropriate bars were, but this was not one. They congregated en masse at the bar. Surrounding the cute guy. They ordered drinks (mainly vodka) and shots and then the cooing and giggling started and it was all aimed squarely at the cute guy. He must be used to this sort of attention she though.

  He lasted about two minutes before ducking out of the crowd and made for Janet’s table in the corner. He wore dark, slim jeans, a white polo shirt with orange stripes on the collar and loafers. He had his jeans rolled up slightly showing tanned ankles. His wispy hair style was the sort that was supposed to look ‘just out of bed’ but had actually cost a pretty penny at a decent hair salon.

  “That was getting a little uncomfortable.” he told her puffing his cheeks out in relief. “Are you expecting someone or do you mind if I sit with you a while until I’m safe again?”

  “Not expecting anyone, so help yourself. If you wish.” Green eyes and he looked a little like a mod she noted to herself. “Thought you were going to get eaten alive just then. They seemed to have a taste for you.” she said with a smirk.

  “I think you’re right. If I stayed, I may have ended up on a hen do for the rest of the night. I think they wanted me as a good luck charm or something.”

  “Believe me, that’s not what they wanted you for,” she said ominously, “more like sex slave I reckon.”

  He spat some of his beer out almost choking, causing some of the younger hens to turn around and semi glare at Janet. She held her glass up to them as if wishing them a good night and under her breath whispered “Lucky escape.”

  “I’m Janet by the way. Would you like another drink? You seem to have drunk or spat most of yours away.”

  Just about able to speak again after his choking episode, “I’m Charlie, nice to meet you and yes I’d love another beer thanks. Becks.”

  ‘What are you doing?’ she asked herself as she set off for the bar with the eyes of some of the hens burning into her. She had ruffled some feathers of some younger, more ‘made up’ girls who were on the hen do, but her growing confidence meant she was right up there in their grill ordering drinks for the two of them. Previously, she’d have shrunk away but not any more. She was now a woman who got the better of people. This time she refused the large G&T in favour of a regular; she needed to retain a certain amount of control.

  “So what do you do Charlie?” she asked sitting back down and sliding his beer over to him.

  “I do IT stuff. I’m up here working for a firm of solicitors. Setting up networks and systems for a new office. How about you? Actually, let me guess… You do something to do with marketing?”

  “No.”

  “Ok, you’re a scientist?”

  “Oh dear Charlie you’re not very good at this are you? I’ll let you have one more try.”

  “Mmmm, this is tough. Something career ish, I can definitely see you power dressing for a meeting... Accountant?”

  “My God! Do I really look so dull? I’m in... Well actually something that’s not much more exciting to be honest. I’m in banking but I don’t work in a bank, I work for consumer banking at a head office. So actually, I guess it’s similar to an accountant in that I work in money.” Ironic, she thought once again, I certainly am in MONEY.

  “What does that involve then?” Charlie asked looking genuinely interested like it was something he’d never heard of.

  “Good question. Mmm, what do I do? Well I work on a team who come up with financial products for consumers.” My god it sounded so dull she thought to herself. Then added “I used to work as a fund manager where I was very good at moving large amounts of cash around.” She finished feeling very pleased with herself and her own little in joke.

  “Cool, sounds interesting. And do you work here? In Edinburgh?”

  “No, I’m just here on a financial conference. Actually, the conference has finished now, but I’m taking a few days off work to explore Edinburgh.” she said, galvanising something in her own mind. “It’s my first time here. Such a lovely city.” Although, I’ve hardly seen that much of it she thought slightly guiltily. Must get out and see some more of it tomorrow. “How long have you been in Edinburgh then Charlie?”

  “Ooh, about a week now. It’s my first time here too. We’re Edinburgh virgins.” he took a swig of his beer. “Cheers!”

  “So have you found any cool places you can recommend to me?” she asked hopefully.

  “I w
as going to ask you the same question. I’ve barely had any time off since I got here, lots of waiting around and not being able to go out.”

  “I heard the Candy Lounge is fun, it’s not far from here... Want to try it?”

  He did. They walked slowly along George Street in the warm evening. ‘This feels a little too much like deja vu of the other night don’t you think?’ A little Angel on one of her shoulders asked her. ‘Don’t listen to that crap’, said a voice from the other side. ‘He’s cute, he’s fun, go with the flow. What you going to do? Lock yourself in the wardrobe in your hotel room and never come out again?’

  Candy Lounge was a little busier than where they’d come from, but still not rowdy.

  “My turn. What do you want?”

  “Ooh, Hendricks and Tonic please.” She excused herself to go to the loo.

  She found herself in front of the mirror. Touching up. Staring at herself. At her face. Drifting away on her romantic road trip with Charlie. Top down. Wind in her hair. The coast flying by to her side. Charlie taking care of the driving. Of her. Heading for a beautiful hotel in LA. Blissful. Content. Then just blank. Staring. Staring. The door opened as a women came in and Janet came back to herself.

  “Wake up you idiot!” she whispered at herself. “You just met him an hour ago.” Her mind finished off with ‘What you doing you shallow fool?’ She exhaled heavily realising she was tense and holding her breath. Shaking her head at herself, she applied some lip gloss which worked out quite well. The side to side movement of her head as she berated herself meant the lip gloss went along the full length of her lips.

  She leaned into the mirror and pointed a finger at herself. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough adventure in the last few days for a while?” With that, a toilet flushed in a cubicle and she exited back to the bar.

  As she returned, Charlie was sat at a booth awaiting her. A booth always felt so much better than a table for some reason. More intimate and cosy and sociable. Charlie was holding her G&T up. “Can I just express my shock at you ordering a drink which comes with cucumber in it? That’s blown my mind.”

  “This is the twenty first century you know.” she replied sarcastically. “I see you’ve pushed the boat out with a...” she swooshed her hands around his drink as if displaying it on a game show, “pint of beer. How imaginative.”

  “Well I am but a simple IT worker me lady.”

  They talked about where they were from. Holidays. Bosses. As Janet neared the bottom of her glass. She suddenly felt incredibly sluggish. It hit her like a wet slap around the face. Her eye lids heavy and her head had become leaden to the point where she could barely hold it upright. Her eyes were struggling to focus on him now. She blinked several times but they stubbornly would not do as she wished. Several times, he swam between semi focus to just blurred blobs of colours and back in front of her.

  She was aware of Charlie saying they’d better get some fresh air as they were drunk and he helped her out of the booth and out of the Candy Lounge. Outside they walked down the street a little. By now, she was really struggling and had her arm around his shoulder. He had his arm around her and under her arm. She thought she heard him say ‘Come on you thieving whore’ and asked him what he said.

  “I said, ‘Come on you big bore.’” She looked at him, confused and still wasn’t really sure what he was saying. She squinted and shook her head, but that just made her vision go worse. A thousand lights shooting across her vision. It felt like her brain was loose and wobbling around inside her skull. Swimming about in a gin rinse.

  “Where are you staying?” He asked her, but she just continued walking. It was too much to talk and walk. Her body was just telling her walk and keep walking. If you want to stay conscious and not puke, then keep walking. She was aware he was on his phone speaking to someone arranging to pick them up from somewhere. Good, she thought, he was getting some help as she couldn’t walk much further. He was soothing her and telling her she would be fine. She’d simply had a little too much to drink. She started to say that she hadn’t had much, but her mouth was no longer connected to her brain. He asked if she’d eaten and had maybe got food poisoning. Finally, a car pulled up beside them. It looked like a taxi. A big black car. He opened the door for her and she fell in across the back seat. Another car door opened and she was vaguely aware that Charlie got in and slammed the door. The car sped off pushing her back against the back of the seat and then hit the brakes hard rolling her forward and almost went into the footwell. The last thought her mushy brain could manage was ‘this is no taxi Janet’.

  FIVE

  Two days after

  There was that feeling again. Deja vu. Was this a dream? A nightmare? She wasn’t really sure what the feeling was, just that it was familiar. She was struggling to open her eye lids. Her body felt poisoned and pained, like she’d run a marathon and just crossed the finishing line. She could hear people talking but she wasn’t sure who. Her head was spinning; she put it down and shut her eye lids as tight as she could and the conscious world swam away to blankness.

  She slept for another two hours. Not a peaceful sleep. She twitched and flinched. Her muscles tensed and spasmed and locked. In the midst of a fog of a dream, she was being chased around a hotel with very long corridors. Someone, or maybe something, was following her, it wanted her, for what, she didn’t know but she couldn’t seem to make her legs work as they should. It was as if they were tied together and she could only take very small baby steps. Dripping in sweat, her hair was stuck to her face and in her eyes. She couldn’t find the room she needed. It was further along the corridor. Aware that she was counting up as she passed each room 360, 361, 362… She wasn’t at all sure what number she was trying to find, but it wasn’t any of the ones she passed. Each time she looked back over her shoulder, she could see the shadow just out of sight. Menacing her. Growing as it gained on her. A hand reached for her and dark fingers crept over her shoulder.

  She awoke with a start. Out of breath. Trying to pull her shoulder forward, but it wouldn’t move. She was in a large leather chair. Peach leather. Stuck to her skin. There was a car in front of her, but she was indoors. It was confusing. The lights were overhead strips and bright. Way too bright for her sore eyes. The strip lights reflected brightly in the cars black paintwork. She couldn’t move and was bound to the chair. Rolls and rolls of brown plastic tape wrapped around her and the chair. Stuck fast. Her forearms loose but her upper arms and body were tight to the chair. Her legs were loose too, but completely useless. All she could do was kick them in the air.

  She racked her mind to try to figure out what happened. Was this something to do with Joseph? No, that was all sorted, she’d remembered all that now. He was dead, he’d died in the hotel room they’d shared and she’d taken his bag and his car. She’d left there and gone to Edinburgh. Then what? She seemed to remember going out and having some drinks in a bar. Her brain once again was just not working properly.

  She could hear men talking, but not in Scottish accents. She couldn’t place them but they definitely weren’t Scotch. There was another car in front of the one directly in front of her. Was she in a car auction? The men were not all together, she could hear some to her left and another group to her right, each with roughly two or three men. No women’s voices. These men must definitely have done this to her. There was no other explanation of how this could have happened.

  “About fucking time Goldilocks. She’s up Carl!” a man to her left signalled the news.

  The two groups of men came around the two ends of the cars and converged in front of her. She looked up at them. They looked at her like people might look at a caged animal at the zoo. A new species which they had not come across before. The man on the far left she recognised. She blinked hard, forcing her memory to come back. It was Charlie. Cute, handsome Charlie from the bar. And he was just allowing this to continue. She saw now. He was with them and he had done this to her. And next to him was another guy sh
e recognised… The car park in Glasgow.

  “Ooh Charlie, I think she just recognised you. Maybe you’d better get her some water as a peace offering, otherwise she might not speak to you again. You may have a little headache from a fairly hefty dose of Rohypnol you slugged down in some gin last night darling.”

  “I think she remembers now.” Another of them said.

  “She looks rough.”

  Charlie came back with a large glass of water and offered it to her. She opened her mouth slightly for him to give her some. She was incredibly thirsty. Off the scale thirst. She drank half the glass but rather than feeling better, immediately felt worse. Her stomach somersaulted. The water had awoken a monster. She felt water begin to fill her mouth.

  Without warning, she projected vomit in the direction of Charlie and covered his jeans as well as herself in clear bile. She caught her breath for a short second and then felt more was coming. Charlie jumped back and slipped in her vomit and then the men were laughing so loud at her and him and it made her head hurt even more. She vomited again. Her body involuntarily heaving even more powerfully this time. Her vision blurry as her eyes watered. The laughing filled her ears and made her head pound. She retched again but the volume was much less this time. Her stomach empty. She hated being sick, but things seemed better now it was out. That strange twilight feeling between wretched and knowing that you’ve purged yourself of all the poison.