Chapter
1
“Ben,
are you sure you wanna go to Seattle alone?” Maria asked as Ben was carrying
his luggage downstairs.
“Maria,
I have to do it”
“I
know, you are still looking for a way to get back with Meg. I know you still
love her”
“That’s true, I do. And yes –
I wanna be with her but that trip is not just about Meg and me. It’s about
you and Benjy too. You deserve to know the truth about those five years that
you are missing. I need to find out whether Tess has been telling the truth or
not”
“Well,
take care of yourself” Maria smiled.
“I
will. And you take care of Benjy and watch out for Tess”
“Sure,
bye”
“Bye”
Ben answered, took his luggage and left. The taxi was already waiting for him.
“To
the airport, please” he said when he got in.
“Sure”
the driver answered and a few minutes later they reached the airport. Ben
thanked the driver, paid and got off the car. There were still a few minutes
left before his flight so he sat and started thinking. He tried to think
everything over but the truth was that he couldn’t stop thinking about Meg
and how this whole mess had affected her and their relationship. Suddenly they
had found out that he had a son with Maria and he had known that this would be
hard for Meg but he couldn’t believe that he had actually lost her. He knew
that she loved him as much as he loved her but he also knew that she
wouldn’t stand being the one to tear the family apart. That’s why she had
left – so that he could be a father and a husband. But there was only one
woman in the world whose husband he wanted to be. And that wasn’t Maria. Ben
promised to himself that no matter what he finds out in Seattle, even if he
doesn’t find anything on Tess, he would make sure that he and Meg try to
work things out again. He couldn’t live without her. He couldn’t let her
go. He couldn’t.
“Passengers
of flight 1543 to Seattle are asked to come to the gate number three” he
suddenly heard and remembered what he was doing at the airport. He took his
luggage and headed towards the gate. He showed his ticket and soon he found
himself in a plane. He sat on his seat and looked at his watch. There were
still a few minutes left before the take-off. He sat comfortably and tried to
think over things he was to check in Seattle. He had the address, the
photos… someone must have known Tess, Maria and Benjy when they were living
in Seattle. Someone had to be able to tell him something about the three of
them.
Ben
looked at his watch and the same second the plane took off. He noticed a young
woman rushing to her seat which was right next to Ben’s. When she was just
about to sit, she skidded and she nearly fell down. Fortunately Ben rushed to
her and caught her none too soon. They both started laughing and after a
second the woman started excusing herself:
“I’m
so sorry, I didn’t mean to cause any trouble”
“It’s
OK” Ben smiled.
“No,
it’s not. I mean, I could have hurt you”
“Believe
me, I have been through worse things than a lady falling down” the woman
smiled as Ben said that.
“Anyway”
she said “Thanks. Who knows maybe you have just saved my life… And yours
for that matter” she added and they started laughing again. He helped her
top sit down.
“I
guess we will be neighbours for the next couple of hours”
“I
guess”
“My
name is Ben Evans” he introduced himself.
“I’m
Tracy Nixon” she answered.
“So,
have a nice flight”
“Yeah,
you too” she replied and took some magazines from her purse. She wanted to
read but she ended up observing Ben’s face and his sad eyes. There was so
much pain in them. She had been staring at Ben for about half an hour but he
hadn’t noticed anything. Finally she spoke:
“She
must be really special” Tracy smiled.
“Who?”
Ben was surprised.
“That
lady you keep thinking about?”
“And
how do you know that I keep thinking about a lady?”
“I
saw it in your eyes”
“My
eyes?” Ben looked at Tracy smiling and without waiting for any answer, he
added “She is special. Very special”
“You
two must be having some problems” she guessed.
“And
what makes you think that?”
“Well,
I can see that you love her very much but when a man is happily in love, he
certainly doesn’t look like you do”
“Well,
thanks for the compliment” Ben answered and Tracy blushed.
“No…
I didn’t mean it THAT way… I… I was just… I’m so sorry…” she hid
her face in her hands “God, you must think that I’m completely crazy”
“I
don’t. You’re not crazy, you just say what you think. And that’s true
that I don’t exactly look like extremely happy”
“That’s
what I meant” Tracy smiled and asked “So, what’s her name… I mean, if
you wanna talk about her… because if you don’t…”
“Meg”
Ben cut Tracy short “Her name is Meg”
“Oh…
Meg… So, you two had a fight or what… God, I’m doing this again” Tracy
screamed “You know, I’m always interested in other people’s life since I
don’t have a life on my own… I’m sorry”
“Please,
stop apologizing” Ben laughed “And no – we did not have a fight…
That’s something a lot more complicated than an ordinary fight”
“That’s
why you’re flying to Seattle?”
“Yeah”
“So,
does she have another boyfriend there or what?”
“No”
Ben laughed “She does not. But that’s a really long story and I don’t
feel like telling it right now”
“Sure…
I mean, I was the one who… Anyway, I hope that you will solve your
problems”
“I
hope so too” Ben sighed “Mrs. Nixon…”
“Miss
Nixon” she corrected “But please call me Tracy”
“All
right, Tracy… do you believe in destiny? You know – two people meant for
each other even before they are born?”
“Of
course I believe. I always believed that there was one person perfect for me
but I haven’t found him yet. But when I do, I know that I’m gonna fight
for my love. Because when two people are destined to be together, there is
nothing that can keep them apart”
“Do
you really believe that?”
“I
do, with my whole heart”
“I
do too”
„The
question is – DOES SHE?”
“She
does. I know that, I just need to make sure that this comes true”
“Good
luck then”
“Thanks”
he smiled “I think I’m going to take a little nap right now. I’m kind of
tired”
“Sure,
see you”
“Right”
he answered “Oh, and please try not to read everything about me from my
eyes”
“I’ll
try” she smiled and watched him as he was lying. She didn’t know why she
had this strange feeling that Ben wouldn’t just stay a neighbour from a
plane for her…
Chapter
2
“Mr.
Evans, Mr. Evans” Tracy was shaking him but he wasn’t responding “Mr.
Evans” she called louder and he opened his eyes.
“What’s
going on?” he asked surprised.
“We’re
in Seattle”
“In
Seattle?”
“Well,
that’s where we were going”
“Oh
yes, yes. I’m sorry, I was…”
“Still
sleeping?”
“I
guess” he smiled “So, it’s Seattle”
“Yes.
We are supposed to get our luggage back”
“All
right then, let’s go” he said and they went for their suitcases.
“So,
I guess this is it for us” Tracy started.
“I
guess” he smiled.
“It
was nice meeting you, Mr. Evans”
“Ben”
“Yeah,
Ben… So, it was nice to meet you, Ben”
“It
was nice to meet you too, Tracy”
“I
hope that you will work things out with… what was her name…”
“Meg”
Ben reminded her.
“Oh,
yeah, Meg. I hope that you will be together”
“And
I hope that you will finally find your prince”
“Thanks”
she blushed “Bye”
“Bye”
Ben smiled and headed towards one pf the taxis waiting for a client “To the
Sparks Hotel, please” he said and got in.
“No
problem” the driver answered and they set off. It took them about twenty
minutes to get to the hotel. Ben paid and the taxi drove away. Ben entered the
hotel. He was soon swamped by a few hotel boys offering their help. Ben went
to the reception.
“My
name is Ben Evans” he started “I’ve got a room booked here”
“Let’s
see… Evans… Evans… oh, here it is” the receptionist took the key
“Here you go, Mr. Evans, room number 173”
“Thank
you” Ben answered and let one of the boys carry his luggage. When they
reached room number 173, Ben gave the boy a tip and got inside. The room was
quite big, there was one bed, table and two chairs, a cupboard and a wardrobe.
On the right, there was a bathroom. Since the hotel had five stars, everything
was very luxurious in there.
Ben
put his suitcase on the bed.
“I’m
not leaving here until I find absolutely everything on Tess I can, so I maybe
I should use this” Ben opened the wardrobe and started unpacking his things.
He was hoping that he would solve everything very soon, but he took a few
clothes just in case he would have to stay in Seattle a little bit longer. No
matter how long this was going to be, he was going to dig every single dirt on
Tess Marin. And had no doubts that there were many dirts to dig.
Chapter
3
“OK,
Franklin Street… Franklin Street… let’s see what we can find out about
that place” said Ben and he went downstairs to the reception. It was the
next day morning and he decided to start the research on Tess. He had wanted
to start it the day before “Excuse me” he approached the receptionist
“Can you help me with something?”
“Sure,
what’s the problem?”
“I
need to know where the Franklin Street is”
“Franklin
Street?”
“Yeah,
I have something to take care of on Franklin Street”
“Well,
it’s just behind that corner” the receptionist came closer to the door and
showed Ben the direction.
“All
right, thanks”
“No
problem” the receptionist answered and Ben left. So, the Franklin Street was
just behind the corner.
“Let’s
see if anyone has ever heard about Tess Marin” he said to himself and headed
towards the Franklin Street. It was quite wide and with many buildings. He
started looking for number 17. It was a small front yard with entrance to a
few flats. Ben decided to ask the neighbours if they knew anything about Tess.
Firs he headed to the flat 17a. He rang the bell and a old lady opened the
door.
“I’m
sorry to interrupt” he said and realized that the lady was a little bit
scared so he hurried with the explanations “My name is Ben Evans. I’m
looking for some information about someone. Her name is Tess Marin. She had
been leaving here until March”
“No
one named Marin has lived here” the lady answered “There was one Tess
but…”
“Here
is a photo of her” Ben showed the picture of Tess to the woman “Do you
recognize her”
“Yes,
it’s this Tess. But her name was not Marin”
“Then
what was her name?”
“I
don’t know, I don’t remember. But it was definitely not Marin. It started
with “P” I think but I really don’t remember”
“All
right, but please tell me something more about her. I mean, did she live here
alone?”
“No…
there was a boy living with her… Benjy… very sweet little boy”
“Benjy”
Ben repeated.
“Yes,
Benjy. Oh, and there was this other lady” the woman continued.
“What
lady?”
“I
don’t know her name… but she was very pretty. She was going out very
seldom. And never alone. That Tess was always with her”
“Is
this the second lady?” Ben showed the photo of Maria.
“Yes,
it’s her”
“Were
she and Tess friends?”
“Well,
I can’t tell you that. You can ask the man who was visiting them
sometimes”
“A
man?”
“Yeah,
there was someone visiting them but I never saw his face because he was always
coming late”
“All
right, thank you for your help” Ben answered and the lady closed the door.
As for now, everything Tess had said proved. They actually had lived on
Franklin Street. As for that man, is it so strange that someone was visiting
Tess and Maria? Tess was a woman after all and she had right to have
boyfriends.
Ben
rang the next bell but no one opened the door so he went to the third door. He
rang the bell. He waited for a while and the middle-aged man opened the door.
He looked as if he had just got up from bed.
“What
do you want?” he asked harsh.
“I’m
sorry to interrupt but I need your help”
“With
what?”
“I’m
looking for some information on that lady” Ben showed the photo of Tess.
“Oh,
you miss your hot little girlfriend, don’t you?”
“Excuse
me?” Ben wasn’t sure if he heard it right.
“Well,
don’t worry, I would miss such woman too”
“I’m
afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about” Ben said surprised.
“Come
on, I saw you two many times here on Franklin Street – hugging, kissing and
doing God knows what” the man laughed.
“I’m
afraid you’ve mistaken me from someone else”
“I
don’t think so” the man answered “I remember your face perfectly”
“But
you have never even seen me before”
“Oh,
I have. Many times, with this lady. But one day she just packed her thing and
left. And you just can’t live without her, huh?”
“You
know, this time I’m really not getting it. This is the first time I’ve
been in Seattle and you’re saying that you have seen me many times…
something is wrong here”
“Definitely”
the man laughed “With your brain. I mean, if you say you don’t remember
your own girlfriend. I mean, I would remember such a hot one”
“All
right. You know, this conversation doesn’t lead to anything”
“You’re
right, bye” the man answered and closed the door. Ben remained staring at
the wall. Why did this man insist that he had seen him before? It didn’t
make any sense, Ben had never been in Seattle before. What the hell was going
on here?
Ben
decided not to think about it any longer. He rang another bell. This time
another woman opened the door and started screaming:
“Finally!!!
I thought that you’d never come. When Tess left, I thought that I would
never see you again. Don’t forget that you owe me 200 dollars”
“200
dollars??” Ben lokked at the woman surprised “What 200 dollars are you
talking about?”
“How
dare you???!!!” the woman shouted and slapped Ben right across the face.
“What
the hell was that for?” Ben freaked out.
“What
was that for?!!! You bastard!!! You take my last money promising to give it
back as soon as you can and then you disappear for three months?! And you ask
me what was that for?! Don’t be ridiculous!”
“With
all respect, but I have never seen you in my life before”
“How
dare you?”
“Honey,
who is it?” Ben suddenly heard a man’s voice.
“It’s
nobody, Henry” the woman answered “You can go back to sleep” she said
but the man didn’t listen and appeared at the doorstep.
“What
are you doing here, you looser? I think I was perfectly clear when I told you
to stay away from my wife. And give that money back or I’m going to kill
you”
“All
right, all right” Ben was totally shocked. He took the check and appeared it
“Here you go”
“You
are lucky this time” Henry answered “But try to come here again and
you’re dead”
“Take
it easy, Henry” the woman asked.
“Can
you please tell me what’s going on here? Is it a Candid Camera or what?”
“Candid
Camera?” Henry laughed “You will have a Candid Camera when I smash your
face!”
“All
right, Henry, that’s enough” the woman said and she closed the door,
leaving Ben at the front yard. This time he was really beginning to think that
someone was going crazy and that this was him.
Chapter
4
Ben
was sitting on the bed in his room, thinking about what had happened earlier
at Franklin Street. Any of this didn’t make any sense to him. Why did these
people insist that they knew him while he had never seen them before? What the
hell was going on?
“Something
just doesn’t sum up here” Ben said aloud and started thinking about some
kind of an explanation to all of this. But he couldn’t center on what had
happened earlier. Every time he looked at the phone, a strange voice kept
saying “Call her, call her”. He couldn’t stand it and when he heard that
voice for the tenth or eleventh time, he grabbed the earphone and dialed Surf
Central’s number. Casey answered.
“Casey
Mitchum”
“Casey,
it’s Ben. Can you please give me Meg?”
“Why?
So you can lie to her over again and again?
“I
really don’t appreciate you judging me. Would you please just give me
Meg?”
“She
is not here”
“Do
you know where she is?”
“I
have no idea. Try Cummings’ house or Shockwave”
“All
right, thanks” Ben answered harsh and dialed Cummings’ number. This time
he was lucky and soon he heard her voice.
“Hello”
she said shortly but still it was enough for him to get thrills all over his
body.
“Meg?”
he asked as if making sure that this was really her.
“Ben?”
her heart jumped.
“Yes,
it’s me”
“Why
are you calling?”
“I…
I was… well, the truth is that I just wanted to hear your voice”
“Ben,
why are you doing this?”
“I’m
sorry, I couldn’t help it. I know that it’s hard for you…”
“You’re
right, it’s very hard for me to talk to you while things between us are the
way they are, so would you please give me some time to adjust?”
“I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you”
“I
know you didn’t. I’m just… I’m having a hard time right now”
“Because
of what happened between us?”
“Partly
yes, but I’m also worried about my relationship with Sara. She still blames
me for her break-up with Casey”
“I’m
sorry”
“Don’t
be. That was not your fault” Meg stopped for a moment and continued “Did
you find out anything about Tess?”
“No,
not yet… But something really strange is going on here”
“What
do you mean?”
“I
don’t know myself right now, but I’m going to find out what it is”
“Then
I’m not gonna keep you” Meg said with shaky voice “Bye”
“Meg,
wait…”
“What?”
“Please…
take care of yourself, all right?”
“I’m
trying to, Ben. I really am” she answered this time nearly with tears in her
eyes.
“Well,
if you care I’m at the Sparks Hotel. If you need anything or just want to
talk… anyway, you can call me whenever you like”
“I
don’t think that’s such a good idea”
“Remember
– whenever you like” Ben answered pretending not to listen to what Meg was
saying .
“Bye”
she said.
“Bye”
he answered and hang up. God, there was so much pain in her voice and he
couldn’t do anything to take that pain away from her. If only he hadn’t
slept with Maria… maybe Meg wouldn’t be so hurt right now. Maybe she would
let him hold her close and say that everything will be fine and that they will
be together forever. And that’s the only thing in the world he wanted.
Chapter
5
It was the
next day morning. Ben decided to g to Franklin Street and checked everything
once again. He still didn’t know why all those people seemed to know him…
Or maybe he didn’t want to know…
This
time he decided to go straight to the flat where Tess, Maria and Benjy lived.
The door was locked. He looked around and when he made sure that no one was
watching him, he broke into. The anteroom was dark so Ben switched the lights
on. It definitely looked as if no one had been there for a few months. There
were doors to three rooms. Ben entered the first one on the left. It looked
like Benjy’s room – there was a colored wallpaper and a tons of toys were
lying on the floor. There were a few pictures lying on the table. They looked
like drew by a child.
“Looks
like Benjy really lived here” Ben said “Let’s see what we have there”
he headed the door to the next room. This one was a little bit cleaner. There
was a cupboard, a wardrobe and a small desk with two chairs. He opened the
wardrobe – there were still some clothes left in it, it looked like they
were Tess’s size. Ben didn’t bother with the clothes any longer and looked
into the cupboard. There was nothing in it. He opened the drawers in the desk
but he didn’t find anything either. Tess must have taken everything with
her. Ben left what appeared to be Tess’s room and pushed the handle to the
third room, but the door was locked. He pushed harder but the door didn’t
want to open.
“Come
on” Ben pushed the handle again but the door remained closed “Damn it!”
he shouted and started looking for something to open the door with “Why
would Tess keep this room locked?” he wondered. He went to the kitchen and
found the piece of metal. He took it and came back to the locked room.
“Hold
it right there!” he suddenly heard somebody’s voice. When he turned
around, he saw four policemen pointing their guns at him.
“Put
that down” the other cop said “And put your hands up!”
“Excuse
me?!” Ben was shocked.
“You
heard it – put that down. You’re under arrest!”
“What?”
“You
have a right to remain silent” the policeman continued “Everything you say
may be used against you in the court”
“What
the hell is going on here?” Ben put the metal down.
“You
heard it – you’re under arrest for the murder of Lesley Nixon. Fetter
him!” the policeman ordered and the two of them came to Ben and tried to
fetter him.
“Who
is Lesley Nixon?! I don’t know any Lesley Nixon! Let go of me!!!” Ben
shouted but the cops wouldn’t let him go and finished fettering him. “What
are you doing? What’s going on?”
“Shut
up, you will have time to talk at the station”
“At
the station?”
“And
where did you think we were taking you?” the cop laughed “On a trip to
Paris?” he said ironically and told Ben to get into the police car.
BACK
