Chapter 4
Sleep wasn't as difficult to find as Kate had expected with the wine helping to settle her senses into a deep slumber and when she awoke on the Friday morning it was with a renewed sense of vigour and purpose. She was determined to discover whether or not John Elliot was cheating on his wife, the lovely Dr Caroline Elliot.
Kate showered and dressed, threw together a quick breakfast which she ate sitting on her sofa as she watched the morning news and then proceeded down to the office of "McKenzie Investigations" with her second cup of coffee for the morning and the notes she'd taken the previous night in her hand. She put her coffee cup down carefully on its coaster and brought her computer to life for the day. As she sat herself in the office chair, Kate commenced reading more thoroughly through her notes from her conversation with Caroline.
Usually Kate was pedantic about keeping an open mind on each and every case she worked on, letting the evidence do the talking as it wasn't anything to do with her which way the facts happened to swing. As she saw it, her job was to simply gather those facts and let the parties involved make of them what they will. However, on this case, Kate found herself struggling to maintain a respectable level of impartiality. Although she disliked seeing marriages or relationships fall apart over infidelities, Kate couldn't help thinking, from the things Caroline had and hadn't said, that John and Caroline's relationship was already waning severely. It seemed obvious to her that Caroline was tormented by some internal struggle and wasn't happy with her life and John seemed to have a lot to do with this discontent. Perhaps if Kate could catch John out with another woman then maybe Caroline would be brave enough to leave him and find what it is she needs to turn her life around.
Kate had to be honest with herself too. She was also motivated by a degree of self-interest. Caroline had made it very clear that her priority was her sons and if that meant staying in a marriage that at best was merely comfortable and convenient then she would do it for their sake provided John wasn't making a fool of her by insinuating himself into the beds of other women. Despite their obvious attraction for each other, Kate knew that with John on the scene there was no possibility of furthering her relationship with Caroline. Kate needed to know if her feelings for the delectable head teacher were in vain and did she need to move on.
Personal desires aside, Kate's professional experience told her that John Elliot was most likely a philanderer. She had been doing this job long enough to know that the behaviours that Caroline had described to her certainly fitted the pattern….being unexpectedly held up at work for several hours and late home on a regular basis, having to attend an inordinate number of overnight 'conferences', the occasional weekend away on short notice, coming home with the smell of alcohol on his breath and the faint waft of perfume on his clothes…all the signs were there and together they formed the typical pattern of behaviour of an adulterous partner. All Kate had to do was get the evidence to back up her intuition.
According to her notes, John usually worked from home on a Friday so Kate decided she would go and carry out some surveillance work. She used her computer to print off a street map giving her directions to the Elliot's address – 46 Conway Drive, Harrogate… and then dashed upstairs to get her bag, her digital camera and car keys. She then used the external stairs to reach her car which was parked in the small tenants' carpark at the rear of the building.
Within twenty minutes Kate was cruising slowly down the leafy thoroughfare that was Conway Drive. She slowed right down as she rolled past number 46. An early model BMW which fitted Caroline's description was the only vehicle parked in the drive. It was 8:30am so Caroline had obviously left for work. The registration number ….D927PTA…also matched her notes so it was definitely John's car.
Kate parked a short distance from no. 46 so it wasn't obvious where her attentions were focussed but where she had a good view of the driveway and she would be able to see immediately if John had any visitors or if he went out.
Kate felt uncomfortably conspicuous as she sat in her small, drab–green fiat. Normally her car was perfect for surveillance work – plain, unassuming, unnoticeable – but today she could have done with something a little more ostentatious as she parked at the curb of Conway Drive with its tall, leafy hedges partially concealing the large, impressive houses behind them with their professionally landscaped, well-manicured gardens and each with at least one luxury vehicle parked at the end of long driveways. She desperately hoped that nobody would call the police and have her moved on.
Boredom was always the enemy when doing surveillance work but Kate had done hundreds of hours of it over the years so she'd come prepared. She had a virtual library of novels and magazines lying on her backseat for when the tedium set in. For the moment though, she fiddled with her camera, fitting the most suitable lens for the distance, aiming it at the end of the Elliot driveway where John's car would have to leave from or another car enter and getting the focus just right.
Slowly, unerringly the minutes ticked by and turned into two uneventful hours. Kate was becoming increasingly restless and claustrophobic. Her ability to concentrate was decreasing rapidly. Just as she decided she'd had enough and it was time to leave, her phone buzzed telling her that she had a text message. She reached over to the passenger seat and retrieved it. It was a text message from Caroline requesting that Kate meet her at the pub near the "McKenzie Investigations" office at 5:30pm as she had some information for Kate about John.
"Why can't she just call me and tell me what it is?" Kate wondered to herself as she replied with a simple 'Sure…C u there.'
It wasn't that Kate minded having an excuse to meet up with the ravishing head teacher again but it made it all the more difficult as, with each meeting, Kate felt herself falling for the woman a little more despite her best efforts to resist. However, she knew that Caroline, although attracted, was not interested in pursuing anything more serious…she was off limits for the moment at least.
Once Kate had sent her message, she brought her car engine to life and was about to leave when, at the last minute, she sighted John's car exiting the driveway, his indicator showing he was heading in the opposite direction to Kate. Wanting to go faster but, for the sake of remaining unnoticed, Kate pulled out slowly from the curb and drove a short distance up the road where she then did a quick U-turn hoping that John hadn't already disappeared. To her relief, he appeared in no hurry so she caught up easily and proceeded to follow at a safe distance from her unsuspecting target.
After a short five minute drive, John pulled to the curb outside a local florist's shop. Kate whipped out her camera, focussed and snapped off several shots of him entering the shop and then, ten minutes later, departing with an enormous bunch of exotic flowers. He had a smile on his face and a spring in his step, obviously very pleased with himself.
"Here we go," Kate thought to herself. "Someone's hoping to score."
Unaware that he had company, John pulled back into the traffic with Kate close behind him. To Kate's astonishment, he headed directly back the way they had come. Instead of following him down Conway Drive, Kate drove past the turn off but stopped in time to see him re-enter his own driveway.
"Were the flowers for Caroline?" Kate asked herself.
Kate stayed and watched for another hour but there was no movement. Her efforts were fruitless so she gave up in frustration and drove off.
Back at her office, she downloaded the photos she had taken at the florist's shop although she had a feeling that they would be useless. Nevertheless, she created a file and saved them. Kate then spent the best part of an hour filling in her time sheet for the day and compiling her report for Caroline on the day's events.
While she was at her computer, she also checked her emails and quickly skimmed through the information that had been sent to her from the insurance company concerning the other case she was about to begin work on. There was a summary of the damages claim…a woman asserting that she has been unable to work since tripping over an unmarked hazard at a local shopping centre and hitting her head as she fell into the fountain and is therefore suing the shopping centre for lost earnings…the insurance company, in response, is claiming that she was inebriated at the time, a claim the woman strenuously denies stating that she avoids alcohol. There was also a photograph of the woman attached to the email. It would be Kate's task to actually catch her out perhaps imbibing in a drink or carrying out some kind of paid work. Again Kate created a new file and saved all the information.
Taking a quick glance at the office clock, Kate figured she had enough time to take a leisurely shower to help uncramp her muscles from sitting in her car all morning and change into some fresh clothes before meeting up with Caroline at the pub at 5:30pm so she locked the shop door and headed upstairs to her flat.
oooOooo
Kate arrived at the pub not much after five o'clock and killed some time participating in some lively conversation firstly with the pub's owner as he poured her a glass of wine 'on the house' and then with some of the other local characters that she'd become friendly with since she had moved to the neighbourhood.
At precisely 5:30pm Kate's eyes swept towards the doorway and came to rest on the stunning figure of Dr Elliot. Seeing Kate sitting at the bar, Caroline headed towards her giving her a glorious smile on the way. She had obviously come straight from work and was wearing a figure-hugging black skirt, a stripped shirt the blue of which accentuated further the blueness of her eyes and a pair of black high heels that emphasized her fabulous legs. Caroline's blonde hair was swept up and held in a clasp at the back of her head. As Kate watched the vision walk towards her she almost forgot to breathe. The private investigator also noticed that it wasn't just her own head that was turned at the arrival of the new comer. However, Caroline seemed oblivious to all the attention she was attracting.
"Evening, Dr Elliot. What would you like to drink?" Kate asked good-humouredly as the woman sidled up beside her.
"Hello," Caroline replied still with the warm smile, "I'd love a white wine, please."
Once the drinks were served both women went to the booths in the more secluded part of the pub where they could have some privacy. The bar tender grinned and gave Kate an approving wink as she left the bar. Kate frowned and rolled her eyes at him but couldn’t help the smallest smirk.
Both women sat silently for a moment….each sipping their wine…each overtly aware of the presence of the other until Kate eventually opened up the conversation.
"Caroline, is today a special occasion for you and John? A wedding anniversary? Birthday?" Kate asked.
Looking a little puzzled, Caroline replied, "No…why?"
"Is John in the habit of randomly buying you flowers?"
"John?" Caroline laughed mockingly, "John hasn't bought me flowers in years….why would he start now?"
"Well, he bought a huge bunch of flowers for someone today and took them back to your house," Kate explained.
Caroline looked totally bewildered.
"I haven't been home yet, Kate, so I don't know whether they're for me or not."
"Will you let me know when you get home?" Kate asked, "But if he doesn't mention them then don't let on you know about them."
Caroline nodded but was obviously distracted by some thought.
"Am I doing the right thing by having him followed?" Caroline contemplated aloud.
"Just because he possibly buys you flowers doesn't mean he isn't having an affair….actually, it's more likely to mean he is having an affair and is feeling guilty about it," Kate said, feeling a little exasperated at how easily Caroline was willing to give in.
Instead of replying, Caroline took another thoughtful sip of her wine. Kate could see that she was losing her nerve.
"Caroline, you've come this far….don't you think you deserve to know the truth no matter which way it goes so you can move on with your life?"
Caroline looked at Kate and gave her a small, sad smile which made Kate want to reach out and hold this woman and assure her that everything would be fine in the end but she couldn't so, instead she changed tact.
"What is it that you wanted to tell me about John?"
"Oh…yes…that," Caroline remembered as she regained her composure. "John's off to London tomorrow morning. He says he has a meeting with his publishers. He's written the draft of a new novel…some sort of family saga he reckons….and his editor wants to discuss it with him so he's gone for two nights….leaves tomorrow on the 9:05am train and comes back Monday afternoon. His publishers usually put him up at The Montague….a perfect opportunity for a fling, don't you think?"
"I guess I'm off to London then," Kate announced.
Two empty wine glasses now sat on the table but both women seemed reluctant to leave.
"Would you like another drink?" Kate asked hopefully.
Caroline considered the offer but then thought the better of it.
"Thank you but I have to drive. I'd better be heading off," Caroline replied half-heartedly and with that she stood up to leave.
Kate joined her.
As they stepped out onto the footpath Kate asked, "Where are you parked?"
"Just up the street a bit," Caroline replied as she pointed in the direction of her car.
"It's dark. I'll walk with you."
"I'll be fine…you don't have to," Caroline began but Kate had already set off and wasn't listening.
Caroline quick-stepped to catch up to her.
They walked side by side in comfortable silence and as they walked Kate felt Caroline's warm fingers take hold of her hand. Her pulse raced but she said nothing. It was only when they drew up beside the car and she needed to search in her handbag for her keys that Caroline released her hold.
Before Caroline opened the driver's door she turned to face Kate…they stood barely a breath apart…Caroline timidly ran a sensual finger along Kate's dark cheek. Kate looked into the woman's cobalt eyes where she saw what she sensed to be a tinge of something that she couldn't quite name…Sadness? Regret? Melancholy? Caroline's finger came to rest under Kate's chin which she tilted up slightly and softly kissed Kate's mouth, their lips barely touching but the effect was electrifying.
"Let me know how you get on in London," were Caroline's final words before getting into the car and driving off.
Kate stood there on the footpath for another moment, her eyes following the car down the street, her mind trying to make sense of what was going on. Finally, none the wiser, she turned and strolled back to her flat where she busied herself packing a few basic things in an overnight bag in preparation for her visit to London.
Just as Kate had curled up comfortably on her sofa and had opened the latest novel she was reading, her phone buzzed letting her know that there was a message. It was from Caroline. There on her screen was a photograph of the flowers with a card saying, 'To my lovely wife….all my love, John.' The accompanying message from Caroline said, "He's up to something. Please find out what it is."
oooOooo
Despite it being a Saturday morning, the Harrogate train station wasn't overly busy and Kate was easily able to spot John as he waited on the platform for the 9:05am train to London. He wore faded jeans and a dark brown, well-worn leather jacket, underneath which could be seen a lightweight, navy blue jumper and his collar and tails showed a blue-checked shirt. With him he carried a shabby overnight bag and a laptop in its case.
The train pulled into the station right on time and Kate discreetly followed him onto an end carriage. Once settled in his seat, John immediately opened his laptop and began tapping on the keys. Kate sat only a few seats away and pulled out the novel she had been reading.
Three hours and one train change later, John alighted at his station with Kate hot on his heels. She followed him to The Montague hotel where it was obvious to Kate that the desk staff knew him from previous visits.
As soon as John had left the reception desk and headed for the elevators, Kate approached the desk and booked in also. A quick scan of the business side of the desk told Kate that John was in room 416 but was only booked in for one night.
"Hadn't Caroline said he was there for two nights …home Monday?" Kate mused.
On the same level but several doors away in room 405 Kate tossed her overnight bag on the bed and headed directly back to the lobby where, fortunately, she didn't have to wait too long for John to appear. She followed him as he made his way several blocks towards the city centre and then, eventually, into the rather contemporary-looking building of his publishers, Kershaw and Whittle. Rather than enter the building, Kate planned to sit it out in the café beside.
Almost an hour later, John emerged from the building accompanied by a slightly older looking man.
"His agent, perhaps?" thought Kate.
Again she followed as they headed off purposefully to what turned out to be The Montague. They bypassed the elevators and went directly to the hotel's bar. There they ensconced themselves in the plush surrounds and over the next three hours indulged in a generous amount of wine and a small amount of food. Kate observed them from a table not easily visible from where John was sitting. She didn't need to see them because the more they drank the louder and more animated the conversation became. Finally, Kate watched as the pair stumbled their way to the bar one last time. John purchased yet another bottle of wine, then, rather than return to the table, they both zigzagged unsteadily from the bar to the doorway. Here, they shook hands enthusiastically, gave each other a number of friendly slaps on the shoulder and then went their separate ways….the friend went to exit the hotel and John headed towards the elevators.
"Is that jerk even capable of having an affair?" Kate wondered as she watched in amused horror as he relieved himself on an innocent pot plant.
Kate decided that John was not planning on going out anymore that night so she officially clocked off for the day.
oooOooo
Back in her room, Kate tried to settle down and watch the television but she'd done too much watching in the last day or two. She felt the need to get out and do something, after all, she didn't get to London often so why waste the opportunity. Kate wasn't averse to venturing out on her own and perhaps, if she was lucky, she'd find some company…someone to help her take her mind off the unattainable Caroline Elliot.
Showered and glammed up, Kate enjoyed a superb but somewhat overpriced meal in the hotel's restaurant and then caught a cab to London's newest 'women only' bar that she'd heard about…"The Last Tango."
As Kate entered she was quite captivated by the comfortable and inviting atmosphere and the stylish features. It was too early in the evening for a large crowd but there were already several groups of women scattered around the spacious room as well as four of five couples. In the background, another room perhaps, the faint rhythm of dance music could be heard.
Kate walked up to the bar with its dim lighting and glass shelves artfully displaying an impressive choice of spirits and other drinks and ordered herself a gin and tonic. The bar attendant was chatty and easy on the eyes so Kate settled herself on a stool there for the time being.
As the night kicked on a steady stream of women of all descriptions entered the room and it was soon filled with the sound of raucous laughter and friendly chatter. The bar had become busy so Kate had moved to a small table where she sat alone, content to allow the vibrant atmosphere engulf her. Quite unexpectedly Kate heard a voice speaking to her.
"Pardon?" Kate replied, a little taken aback as she turned to see a very stunning, dark –haired woman standing beside her.
The woman laughed showing a set of brilliant white teeth.
"I said 'sure you can buy me a drink' if you would like to," the woman repeated. "My name's Tamsyn. Do you mind if I join you?"
Kate's brain finally caught onto what was happening and she gave the woman a smile of cognizance as she pulled out the chair and said, "I would love you to join me. What would you like to drink?"
"I'd like a gin and tonic, thank you," the woman replied, her voice husky and seductive.
"Perhaps the day isn't going to be a total loss after all," Kate thought to herself as she made her way to the bar.