CORAL - Fallen (A Romance Trilogy, Book 2) (54 page)

My heart starts manically beating against
my chest. I don't know why I think it or say it, but the moment the decision
comes into my head, I know it’
s the right one to make.
Taking a deep breath, I utter the words.

“
I quit
.”
Joyce gasps and Tristan looks up at me
with wide eyes
, then they narrow as he once again tries
to read me. “
You want Susannah here, you got it
,”
I snap then I
turn and look at Joyce. “
Joyce if it
’
s ok, I
’
d like to work with you till the end of the week, as long as
Susannah
’
s not here,
”
I add between gritted teeth.

Joyce stands with tears in her eyes. “
Coral, pleas
e…”
she
whimpers.

“
Don't be upset. I
think this is the best option anyway. I don't think I
’
d have liked it here once you
’
ve gone
.”
Joyce
nods despondently and sits back down in her chair.

I turn my glare on Tristan and silently
shake my head at him. He stands up and starts to walk around the table towards
me. “
Coral
,”
he says with his hand held out
. “
Don
’
t be rash
.”

I shake my head at him and cross my arms. “
Do you believe her?
”
I ask again.

Tristan stops about a foot away from me,
clenches his jaw, sighs heavily and stares down at the floor.
I guess that
answers my question.

“
Un-fucking
believable,
”
I hiss.

“
Coral
’ – “
Save it Tristan,
”
I snap
holding my
hand up to him.

T
urning on my heel,
I march out of Joyce’
s office, slamming the door behind
me
. Stopping at my desk, I pick up my handbag and stomp
down the corridor to the ladies….
Holy hell, what have I just done?

Once inside, I lock myself inside one of
the stalls. I close my eyes and lean my head back against the cubicle. I try to
think clearly but my head just feels like its swimming.

What just happened?
I can't work out if Tristan was on my side or not, and how dare Susannah
flip everything around so I'm made out to be the bad one, the crazy one!

Putting the lid down on the toilet, I
slowly sink down onto it, tears pooling in my eyes.

Holy crap,
I
just quit!

What the hell am I going to do now?
Then I remember that I'm two hundred and fifty thousand pounds
better off, at least I don't have to worry about money, and whether I can pay
my mortgage, but I can't not work, it would drive me crazy.

I decide to call Malcolm, see if he’
s got anything going at the moment, unzipping my bag I go to find my
mobile when I'm instantly side-tracked.
There, sitting
in my handbag is the information that may save me.
Right!

Taking the envelope out and ripping it
open, I pull the contents out and flatten them across my legs. I may have quit
my job, but I haven’
t quit Tristan. I love him too much
to lose him, and I won't let her get between the two of us. So let her come
here, let her have my job, see how she likes Tristan
and I being an item…hopefully married!

Taking a deep breath, I begin reading…
Oh
this should be good!

On the first line is her name.

Mrs Susannah Johnson
–
So she is married.

Then I read the next line.

Spouse – Sgt Samuel Johnson - Deceased
19/4/07 – Helmand Province.

I stop reading. Her husband died! I can't
help but cry a couple of tears, how awful, poor Susannah! I check the date
again, 07’
–
So her husband
dies a year before she started working for Tristan? Even though I feel
heartbrokenly sorry for her, I also feel angry, she has lied to everyone,
including Tristan –
And she stole from me!

Reluctantly, I continue reading. It tells
me all the kind of information I thought I would get like; D.O.B, her age, her
parent’
s names, and the schools she went to,
her academic achievements, and a full employment record.

I'm surprised to see that none of the
places she’
s worked at are office based. It
’
s mostly retail work
; shoe shop, bakery and clothes store.
Not one office job?

I find that very odd, but I don't have much
time to be thinking this over, as I reach the end of the page and turn it over
to the next page, I'm shocked to see it says Medical History.

As I start reading it gets really scary…

7/5/07

Patient admitted to
hospital. Failed suicide attempt. Anti-Depressant Paroxetine prescribed.

9/9/07

Patient admitted to
hospital. Second suicide attempt. Patient grieving loss of husband and
miscarried child. Patient placed in Psychiatric Ward for full evaluation.

Fuck -
She lost her baby too! I swallow hard and carry on reading.

20/9/7

Patient receiving
Psychological Treatment. Diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy implemented. Patient symptoms include – Severe
Anxiety Attacks, Clinically Depressed, Emotionally Unstable – Patient showing
signs of progression through treatment programme.

5/11/7

Patient released
from programme due to greatly improved behavior. Patient to return home with
follow up sessions with assigned therapists.

20/5/8

Patient showing
signs of increased behavioural difficulties. Sessions with therapists to be
increased. Patient diagnosed with Chronic Obssesive Compulsive Neurosis.

Holy fuck!

THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!
I
mean I knew there was something iffy about her, but I wasn’
t expecting this, I don
't even know what
Chronic Obsessive-Compulsive Neurosis is, but it doesn’
t
sound good, I swallow hard. Jesus, o
n the one hand,
what the poor woman has been through is just awful, losing her husband, then
her baby, but on the other hand, she’
s dangerous and
my instincts were telling me from the very start.

I look back at the last paragraph May 2008
–
Shit!
Tristan told me she started working for him by then –
Shit!
Shit! Shit!
I try not to freak out, but my heart is slamming against my
chest, my stomach twisting with anxiety. What if it’
s
no
t just love that she has for Tristan? What if she’
s turned obsessive about him?

I shake my head in denial, no way surely
someone that sick wouldn’
t function normally on a day
to day basis. I'm
instantly reminded of the film Fatal
Attraction, Glen Close’
s c
haracter
seemed pretty normal until she went loopy.

I suddenly feel really, really scared for
Tristan. What if she’
s been stalking him, k
eeping potential relationships away from him, what if I'm right, and
she’
s the one that told Tristan Olivia was cheatin
g on him?

Karen’
s words come
into my head
‘
she is so different with everyone when
he’
s around, the moment he leaves she goes back
to being....I don
’
t know....just weird
’’

My mouth goes completely dry. I think about
her behaviour last week, she’
s been up
and down like a yo-yo, one minute she’
s
being nice, the next she
’
s not.
The dream I had of her comes unbidden into my mind
’
s eye and I know in that very instance why I had the dream about my
mother –
Oh my God!

I close my eyes and lean my head against
the cubicle.
They have the same look in their eyes!
I knew it, I knew
all along that something wasn’
t right with her, I
’
d seen it before, I just never put two and
two together?
Susannah is sick, really sick, and she
needs help before she harms someone!

Then a sinking, sickening feeling washes
over me and I know it was her.

Susannah was the one outside my door Monday
night.

Suddenly it all becomes very clear.

She’
s not after
Tristan, she
’
s after me.
Fuck!

Shaking my head in horror, I open my eyes
and read the last entry.

2/7/8

Patient no longer
attending sessions. Failure to contact patient. Case Closed.

Case closed?
What the fuck!
– I close my eyes and lean my head
back against the cubicle.

Why the hell didn’
t
they bang down her god damn door! She was evi
dently
showing signs of getting worse, not better. I feel lost, what do I do? Should I
speak to George, Joyce, Gladys, or should I be brave and show this to Tristan,
even though I know I risk him rejecting me because of what I’
ve done.

Opening my eyes, I look down at the papers
in my shaking hands, and that’
s when I notice I still
have a page to go, I
turn it over.
Oh no!..No….No…No!

I am staring at what looks like a photo of
Tristan, but it’
s not, it
’
s her dead husband.

They couldn
’
t look more alike if they trie
d; same bone
structure, hair colour, even his eyes are the same warm brown. As I stare at
the handsome soldier before me, I feel sick to my stomach, my head starts to swim,
I think I'm going to faint!

I reach out, my hands either side of the
cubicle walls and press against them, trying to stop the room spinning, I close
my eyes and breathe deeply, until I feel the cloudiness wash away.
Ok, ok,
better much better!

Ok, decision time. I know the moment I
think those words that I have to tell Tristan, he has to know everything and he
needs to know now. I need to be brave, march right into Joyce’
s office, place the paperwork down on the desk and beg Tristan to
read it.

Hopefully, he will see sense, and we can
get the police involved and get Susannah away from him before she does anything
stupid, but there’
s somethi
ng I
need to do first, there’
s still one question I need
answering.

With trembling fingers, I prize open the
piece of paper with Olivia’
s details, and punch her
number into my mobile, three times I have to re-do it, because my hands won
’
t stop shaking. Fin
ally,
getting it right, I hit call and wait for an answer.

“
Hello
?”
A sultry voice
answers.

“
Um...Hi...
is this Olivia? Olivia Logan?”
I ask
stuttering as I do.

“
Who is this?
”
she questions.
I
rack my brains for what to say, how do I start?

“
I'm not interest
ed in anything you’re selling, goodbye’ - “
Tristan
Freeman
,”
I screech
. “
I-I'm calling about Tristan Freeman, I'm
not selling anything
,”
I tell
her firmly.

“
What about him?
”
she asks.

“
I...he
’
s in trouble
,”
I say.

“Trouble?”
she
questions.

“
Well...he mi
ght be...I’
m not sure
,”
I say.
Come on
Coral!

“
What has this got
to do with me?
Who is this?”
she snaps.

“
Olivia, I'm sorry.
I should explain. My name is
Coral Stevens. Tristan and
I...well we’
re engaged but
,” I
take a deep breath. “I need to ask you about Susannah Johnson,”
I tremble.

Olivia is quiet for a very long time.

“
Tristan is engaged
to you?
”
she whispers.

“
Yes
,”
I answer
. I wait
for her to say something, but when she doesn’
t, I know
I need to push
. “
Olivia, please
help me
,”
I plead.

“
Help you how?
”
she asks a little bewildered.

“
I...I know this
must be hard for you. I know you loved Tristan and that it got all messed up, but
I need to know, was it Susannah that told him you were with your ex?
”

“
How do you know
about that?
”
she questions.

“
Tristan t
old me a little bit about you,”
I s
oftly say.

I wait again.

“
Yes, yes
, Susannah was the one that told him,”
she
answers.

My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach, Tristan
lied to me, he told me Susannah didn’
t know about him
splitting with Olivia, but she
must have done.

With a heavy heart I continue. “
How do you know that?
”
I question.

“
Because the night
I was with my ex, she came over and talked to me, I even introduced her to him.
I always thought it was strange she was there, but when she told Tristan
, she made up a pack of lies and he believed her, I’
ve never forgiven him for that
,”
she snaps.

“
Olivia, Susannah
was mentally ill, psychotic even, she still is, people like that can be very,
very convincing. I would know, my Mother spent most of h
er life in a Psychiatric Hospital,” I say, trying to ease her pain.

“
I'm sorry
,”
she says.

“
Look Olivia,
Tristan loved you, I know he did, but he also trusted Susannah. I can just
imagine how convincing she would have been with her story, and Tristan is to
o trusting, he would have believed her.”

“
He should have
believed me
,”
she
snaps.

“
Yes
,”
I
whisper. “
He should have. That
’
s why I
’
ve had a
private investigator find out all he can about Susannah
…”
I proceed to tell Olivia about my week with Susannah, all
the things she’
s done, then I read out
everything that
’
s on the
report.
“
Do you see what I mean
about him being in danger?
”

“
Yes
,”
she answers
. “
I
’
d like to help,
but I don't see how?
”

“
You have helped. I
know it was Susannah that split you up, I'm going
to
tell Tristan I contacted you, if that’
s ok?
”

“
He won
’
t take your word for it
,”
she says.

“
I know it
’
s a risk I
’
ve got to take, but I'm going to show him the report. I don't see
how he can deny what
’
s plainly
written in front of him
.”
If he does we’
re throu
gh
…I squeeze my eyes shut. I hear a child cry out in the background.
Babies,
kids, Tristan could have had it all with her…
My heart sinks ever further.

“
I have to go
,”
she tells me.

“
I know, thank you
Olivia. I really do
mean that, and if I need your back
up, do I have it?”
I ask
tentatively, even though I doubt I do, I can't blame her for not forgiving
Tristan.

Olivia sighs heavily. “
I may not have forgiven him, but it doesn
’
t mean I want to see any harm come to him
,”
she says mournfully.

“
That
’
s wonderful Olivia
.”
I swallow hard
. “
Thank
you
,”
I add solemnly.

“
I
’
d rather you didn
’
t contact me again
,”
she says
, “
Unless you really
have to
.”
Crap!
She still sounds cut up about it.
Maybe
she still loves him?

“
I understand
,”
I
softly say. “
I
’
ll let you go.
”

“
Oh Coral.
..I’
m not the only one
,”
she says.

“
Sorry?
” I say a little bewildered.

“
Tristan and I, we
moved in the same circles, had the same friends. I
’
m not the only one that got nailed by that bitch
,”
she spits, taking me by surprise.

“
I
…I don’
t unde
rstand?”
I stutter, frowning deeply.

“
Just ask him about
Cathy, Rebecca and Sarah
,” she says, sounding
exasperated.