CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Anna scoured her case files carefully, looking for any hint
or cryptic clue that may be present. Ever since Ben had
come to see her last night, she had been searching her
memory for any comments that Tessa or Kylie-Anne may
have made that held commonalities or some sort of link
that could be important to their deaths. Neither of them
knew the other, or so she believes, neither of them
mentioned any names that were the same or similar. As
far as she knew, they were from different backgrounds
entirely. Tessa appeared to be more refined in her
appearance and what she wanted from life, whereas Kylie-
Anne was more comfortable living the seedier side of life,
dabbling in drugs and casual sex.
Her mind wandered back to Ben, his coolness last night
had been everything she had never expected or
experienced from him before. It had thrown her. She had
always been able to handle him, pacify him, now it
appeared that she had lost that control. She wasn’t sure
what upset her the most, his treatment of her or the fact
that she hadn’t been able to subdue him. Either way she
realised that what he needed from her was far more
important than what she needed from him. Perhaps this
once she could let him take charge and be the man he
had always tried to be with her. Two women were dead
and Ben was at a loss for the motive or a suspect.
The stack of files before her were all re-lated to the
Wellness Clinic, their referrals for the last six months. She
had been through them all, and not one of them bore any
marked similari-ties to another. The only things they had
in common were they were all pregnant and had sought
advice from the wellness clinic. Marla Andrews file sat on
the very top of the pile. Marla had been referred just last
week, much to Anna’s surprise. She knew Marla personally
from her dealings with the clinic and was a little shocked
that she hadn’t gone elsewhere for her counselling and
termination procedure. Anna couldn’t imagine having a
termination at a clinic where she worked. She wouldn’t be
comfortable with her boss knowing that she had the
proce-dure done. It struck her as odd. But then, so too
was Marla and Dr. Sugars for that matter.
In all her dealings with them they had been pleasant and
professional enough, that was true, but there was
definitely something odd with those two. They were
usually more than helpful to her when she had phoned
them regarding their clients, although there was that one
time… Yes, what was that? Anna sifted back through the
files in front of her, pulling out a thin one and placing it
on the desk in front of her. She opened it and scanned
the few sheets of paper inside. A young homeless girl.
That’s right, Marla had snapped at her when she phoned
her to ask if the termination had actually been carried out
because the girl hadn’t returned for her follow up consult.
It had shocked her at first, she was only doing what she
was being paid to do and nearly had her head bitten off
for her troubles. She learned not to ask too many
questions after that. Dr. Sugars had phoned a few days
later asking if Anna had heard from the young girl as she
hadn’t had the termination she was scheduled for and
hadn’t returned to the clinic again. Rose expressed her
concern about the girl and said that if she returned to see
Anna, she was to allow her in and they would pick up the
tab. Anna recalled thinking how generous the offer was as
Dr. Sugars had made it crystal clear from the beginning
that nothing other than termination discussions were
being paid for.
Her head crowded with thoughts and questions, Anna
closed the file and threw it back onto the pile in front of
her. She rose from her chair, scooped up the files and
walked them into her records room where she placed
them back in the cabinet. She closed the draw and locked
it with the key. Her arms stretched above her head and
she let out a deep breath, her regular relaxation
technique. She could feel every aching muscle pull tightly
with each lengthening of her arms and then recoil in
respite. Once she released all her tensions, Anna returned
to her office and stared at the envelope sitting on her
desk.
Her divorce papers had been delivered this morning. Ben
must have signed them earlier than expected. She was in
two minds about them now. Part of her was relieved that
the worst was over and yet some small part of her realised
that she had now lost the only man in her life who she
could always count on to come running when things got
tough. Sure, he was not the husband he could have been,
but he was always there to bail her out of whatever mess
she got herself into. If only he had have been more
supportive of her, loved her unquestionably and been
beside her when it had really counted.
Just like Daddy, Ben had used her for whatever purpose he
may have felt like at the time, but his love was conditional.
If she wanted it, she had to uphold her end of the bargain
and make him happy, whatever that meant. But, just like
Daddy, Anna had found her way free of Ben and his
conditions too. Neither of them have a right to bother her
again nor will they. Apart from her role in the case Ben is
working on right now, he won’t play a part in her life
anymore. A smile spread across her face, she was finally
free. Life was good.