Tangled

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.