The Unborn

Chapter 18

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.