Good Morning from Paradise (12 page)

Saturday 18th July.

Helloooo Diary,

Today is the start of the rest of my life.
Yesterday I spoke to Mum, she knew I needed to get back and I think that she
worries less now she’s met my support network. It’s time to draw a line under
all of the hurt and sadness and start again. Pretty much the same feeling I had
the last time I left for the USA only this time I have people who care about me
waiting. I have Dan waiting. I spent time with Tom yesterday, helped him
organise a travel plan and get some of his things sorted. We had a nice
afternoon together. When I was leaving he gave me something he said he had
found in Lee’s things. It was a letter. I decided to keep it for later. I said
a silent thank you to Jonathan for the lift back to America, I should probably
think of a better way of thanking him but right now I had better things on my
mind. I was going home, to my friends, to the man who loves me.

Ella xx

Today
I left for home, America. Mum, Nigel and Tom took me to the tiny airport where
Jonathans private jet was at my disposal. It was a bitter sweet goodbye. If Tom
stuck to his plan, I would be seeing him in a matter of months but who knows
when I’ll see Mum and Nigel again. This time though we’ve promised to keep in
touch and I even downloaded the skype app onto her phone so that we can actually
see each other, mind you, it all depends on whether she can keep track of her
phone. She’s crap with technology bless her. Maybe this time Nigel will keep
her right.

I
boarded the plane, took out my phone, kindle and my letter from Lee and looked
forward to seeing my friends, and Bud, and my man. Take off was fine, I hated
flying so I was thankful for a smooth journey where possible. I couldn’t wait
any longer, I opened Lee’s letter and started to read:

Hello
Smellanor,

If
you’re reading this, you’ve either been impatient or something shit has
happened to me. If you’ve been impatient and caved to your nosy urge then put
the letter down, nosy parker!

No,
you’re still reading which means something shit has happened to me. Great. Well
I’m going to start by saying I’m sorry Ella. I’m sorry for Tom, not for loving
him but for making you feel like you had to run. What can I say? You can’t help
who you fall in love with and all that shit. Doesn’t matter really, doesn’t
make it any easier on anyone. I think you know that neither of us would have
set out to intentionally hurt you, we both love you too much for that. I need
you to help him out now Ella, if I’m gone he’ll be a wuss on his own and it’s
his dream to travel, he just needs some encouragement. If something has
happened to me during our travels make him go on without me. Promise me when
the time comes Ella that you’ll give him that kick up the arse he needs.

Mum
will always be Mum. Take her in small doses and you’ll be able to handle her.
If all else fails and she starts chewing your arse off about something, ask her
how Nigel is. Guaranteed no matter what you have done to upset her, he’s done
something worse!

Now
onto the real reason I wrote this letter. I don’t know if you remember much
about Dad Ella, I don’t remember that much really. Anyway, when he died he left
me quite a large inheritance. Money he had inherited, saved, used bits of when
he needed to but he wanted to make sure that I never struggled, that we never
struggled only his will was made before you were born and he died while you
were still so young I guess he never got round to changing it before the heart
attack. So, on to what I needed to tell you. I only used some of the money Dad
left, the rest is yours Ella. It’s all in my will and it’ll find its way to you
eventually. I can’t tell you how to spend it little sister but I can urge you
to use it, make the most of it, let it help you find happiness. You can’t take
it with you when you’re gone.

Ok I’m
done now. Remember that I will love you always, you are the best sister a boy
could hope for and I wanted to tell you that to your face but someone obviously
had other plans. Take care of yourself Eleanor, I’ll be watching over you
always. Until we meet again.

Love
ya stink bomb.

Lee xx

I
read the letter a few more times, in shock. I don’t really remember Dad. I’ve
seen photos but they all got put away when mum met Nigel. I had no idea about
the money and no desire for it either. I suppose when the time comes that I
need it then I’ll be happy it’s there and I’m grateful for however much it is
but it doesn’t bring Lee or Dad back, I folded the letter carefully, kissed it
as if he would feel it and then tucked it into my bag. Love you too Lee.

I
spent the rest of the flight reading and looking out of the window while I
thought about everything. I hadn’t told Dan I was coming back so soon, my plan
is to get back into the right time zone, get sorted into life again and then
surprise him. Maybe I’ll turn up at his office after work on Monday.

Monday 20
^th
July

Hi Di,

So I’m back, got my body clock back to
normal, done all of my laundry and caught up on all of the dramas that occurred
while I was away, including Jonathan trying to get Brit to go on a date with
some rich guy he knows. Never going to happen, she doesn’t trust that the guy
isn’t some sleazy sex club owner and besides, she’s totally besotted with
Justin right now. I think I’ve pretty much done everything I needed to do
before I surprise Dan and tell him I’m home. My friends have been amazing at
keeping the secret. Apparently there have been lots of arguments between
Rachael and Dan but he’s refusing to stand down until she proves the baby is
his. She’s been trying all ways to convince him but after everything I had told
him back in England her pleas are falling on deaf ears. It makes me so happy
because now I know he hasn’t changed his mind about me, about us. I can’t wait
until the clinic closes today. Kyle has promised to give Dan a job to do in the
office and then leave him so that I can turn up and surprise him. I have the
best friends in the world, I know I keep saying that but it’s true!

Better get to work and get this day started.

Love

Ella xx

Well
my first day back at work held nothing out of the ordinary. I was thankful that
I had chosen a small clinic rather than a hospital job, Lee is on my mind
enough without a daily reminder of his tragic death. I tidied my room and
restocked the sanitiser, hand towels, sharps and other routine things ready for
tomorrow before changing out of my uniform and leaving. As I walked out of the
door I realised how nervous I was about seeing Dan again. I felt like I was
going on a first date. I headed across town to his office, my mind wondered
back to our first date. Ah the boat trip in Bali.  Finding out about his
cute little tattoo, how I long to see that again. The picnic he and Kyle had
made. Seeing Wil pounding Nadia. I blushed at the thought. I will never get
over that sight. I remembered our first kiss, feeling his body against mine,
the heat…

I
turned the corner, his office door was wide open. I hope he hasn’t popped out
for something. If he has I’ll just wait, he’ll be back and God knows I’ve been
waiting long enough so a few more minutes won’t hurt. Maybe I could get naked
and sexily sprawl over the desk. Nah. Known my luck Kyle would come back or Dan
wouldn’t be alone or he’d have a heart attack from the shock. Better just call
him if he’s not here.

 A
few feet from the office I noticed a liquid on the ground, I wonder if he’s
spilled some paint or varnish and had to go and get something to clean it up.
It was thicker on the steps up to the office. My gut started to tell me
something was wrong, it looked like paint, I was hoping it was paint, but there
was no smell. Maybe he’s cut himself on something and its blood. Good job his
girlfriend is a nurse, I silently praised myself as I walked through the door.
The scene before me left me cold.

The
desk was covered in what I was now certain was blood, the office had been
ransacked. Papers were everywhere, the desk was knocked over and the blinds
were broken. I noticed that the filing cabinet hadn’t been forced open and the
money tin was still locked on top so whoever had done this came for someone not
something. It looked like there had been a fight, a struggle and then someone
had been seriously hurt. From the way blood was splattered everywhere I’d say
someone had been shot. There was only Dan here. Oh my God. I started to panic,
tears flooded my face as I frantically searched my bag for my phone. I called
the police, gave them details of what I had found. Then I called Kyle, I had to
know if he was ok, if the plan had worked, had Dan been here alone?

“Hey
El,” He answered pretty quickly.

“Kyle,
where’s Dan? Please tell me he’s with you.” I cried.

“El,
right about now I was hoping he’d be with you. I guess he wasn’t at the office?
Don’t cry El. He’ll have gone over to Jenny’s coffee place. He always needs
coffee when he’s got paperwork to do, he’ll be back soon.” he chuckled.

“Kyle,
I think he’s in danger, the office is smashed up, there’s blood everywhere and
there’s no sign of him….” Police sirens drowned my voice out, I faintly heard
Kyle say he was coming back as I hung up to speak to the officer.

The
next few hours were a blur. The police asked me lots of questions, I had been
to work all day and hadn’t touched anything in the office so I wasn’t a
suspect, for now at least although they seemed a little suspicious about the
surprise plan. Kyle came back with Amber and the officers asked him questions
too. I heard Kyle telling the officer that as far as he knew the only other
person who knew Dan was going to be here alone was Rachael. Anger welled in the
pit of my stomach. Could she have done this because he had found out the baby
wasn’t his? It doesn’t make sense, why would she harm him or worse, and forever
lose the meal ticket she was relying on? She wouldn’t risk having to fend for
herself with a baby coming. No, Rachael wouldn’t do this unless she had a new
money supply. Who would have her in her condition? Unless she’s lied to someone
else, unless she’s told the real father…Michael. Amber saw the look of
realisation hit my face like a hammer.

“What
is it El?” she stroked my arm.

I
looked around at all of the police officers. I need to get in touch with
Jonathan asap but calling him from my phone is too risky. If I do become a
suspect they’re going to look through my phone records and ask why, after I had
happened upon this gruesome scene, did I suddenly call a very rich business man
I’d never called before. There had to be a way…

“Amber,
I need you to text Brit and ask her to call me.” I whispered, silently pleading
with my eyes that she would do as I asked without asking why. She did and I
loved her more for it. If Brit got the message, I could answer her call and
tell her to call her daddy. No one would hear his name and I’m sure Jonathan
will know what to do. My phone chirped, Brit. I answered and told her what had
happened, she knew about Michael as did Amber. I could see Amber register as
Brit said she was going to call Jonathan and see if he had heard anything. I
felt a little relieved. Jonathan probably had more chance of finding Dan than
the cops did. I could only pray that he found him quickly and alive.

The
relief I felt was short lived as police officer approached and asked me to
accompany them to the station. I hope Jonathan finds something soon.

Tuesday 21
^st
July.

Good morning from hell.

After hours of questioning and giving
statements the police seemed satisfied that I wasn’t responsible for Dan’s
disappearance. They let me go at around 11pm and Amber and Kyle brought me
home.

Brit was sitting with Justin. Jonathan was
pacing the length of the lounge while shouting down the phone. I felt like this
was all a bad dream. We all waited for Jonathan to end the call so he could
tell us if he had any news. He didn’t. No one had seen Dan or Rachael. Or at
least no one was owning up to it. The police had said that she was next on
their list of people to talk to so they would be looking for her too. We sat in
pretty much silence all night, waiting for the phone to ring or for something
to happen but nothing did. I called Dr Mike this morning, told him everything,
put yet more holidays in. At this rate I’ll be paying him.

I needed to do something, I couldn’t just sit
here knowing that every minute he was gone made my chances if seeing him alive
again slimmer and slimmer.

I can at least help look for him.

Ella xx

I
think I must have slept for about two hours in total. I didn’t dare fall asleep
for any great length of time just in case anything happened. I needn’t have
worried so much because the night was pretty uneventful. My mind is running at
a mile a minute with all the possibilities and I think the events of the last
month have teamed up to whoop my arse. My head is splitting with pain, my eyes
are sore and my body feels bruised. I can’t take anymore yet something is
driving me on. Hope is driving me on. Hope that someone’s playing a cruel joke
or that I’m dreaming faded as the night went on. My friends wouldn’t be so
worried if it was a joke and I wouldn’t feel this shit in a dream. Today I hope
for just one thing. I hope Dan is alive.

It’s
with that hope bolstering me that I managed to pick myself up, shower, dress
and prepare myself for a long day of searching. I want answers. As I leave the
house my phone rings. I answer immediately.

“Hey
El, its Amber. How are you?” bless her. She only left me two hours ago and
nothing has changed in that time.

“Determined.”
I replied, the strength in my voice surprising me. “I’m on my way out actually
Amber. I can’t just sit around waiting, I need to find him or her or both of
them. I’m getting him back.” 

“Thought
you’d say that. Kyle and I are about 30 seconds away, we’re helping, see you
soon.” and just as she hung up I saw Kyles car driving up the road. I’m glad of
their company, I didn’t want to do this alone plus I didn’t really have a plan
of action.

We
drove to Dan’s apartment. Kyle thought it would be a good place to look for
clues as to the whereabouts of Rachael. It didn’t take long to get there and as
Kyle opened the front door with his key I realised I hadn’t actually been here
before. It seemed surreal and sad that I wasn’t seeing his place for the first
time because he had asked me to. His place was clean and clutter free. Kyle
pointed out that Dan had designed and made most of his furniture himself. As I
looked closer I could see that furnishing the place must have been a labour of
love because the pieces he had made were breath taking. Intricate patterns
carved in to sturdy wooden sideboards, tables, mirrors, chairs and sofas.
Everything in the lounge/dining room matched perfectly without overpowering the
space. He had an amazing talent for keeping the strong, chunky, heavy wood but
adding comfort with the softest cushioning and linking the pieces with the
clever pattern incorporating the natural lines and knots in the wood. Each
piece was simply stunning.

Kyles
voice brought me back to the task at hand. “Ella, have a look around and see if
you can see anything belonging to Rachael.”

I
snapped back to reality and started my search. The lounge had no signs of her,
not even a photo or a trinket from their earlier years together. The dining
room and kitchen were the same. No clues whatsoever. It didn’t even look like
anyone lived here, it was like a show home, it was eerie.  Amber came from
Dan’s bedroom shaking her head. Nothing. Kyle called us into another bedroom.

“Girls,
come here.” We rushed to see what he had found. “Two days ago this room was a
nursery, all ready for the baby. Cot, wardrobe, changing unit, diapers,
clothes, everything. Gone.” We looked into the empty room. Nothing.

“Let’s
check in Rachael’s room.” Amber rushed to the room next door. It too was
completely empty.

“It’s
like she never existed.” I said under my breath. Kyle nodded.

“It’s
like she’s been wiped of the face of the earth, very cleverly done if you think
the cops are going to come looking for you.” Amber added tracing her fingers
over a dent in the carpet where a piece of furniture had left its mark.

“I’m
going to call the police and let them know what’s happened here. Something
isn’t right at all.” Kyle puzzled as he stepped outside to make the call. As we
were leaving I noticed the light on the answering machine flashing. I pointed
it out to Amber and she played the message. It was Dan.

“Hi
Rach it’s me. I’m taking the phone silence as a sign that your removal men
showed and that you’ve gone. If not, take your time. Kyles given me a bunch of
paperwork to do, he’s got something on with Amber so I’ll be at the office
late. I owe him one and I didn’t want to get in your way. Call me if you need
more time and I’ll go to the bar. Hope your new place is just what you need.
Bye and …good luck with everything.” The tone told us that was the end of the
message. I wanted to play it again, to hear his voice. The police showed up and
took a look around, dusted for fingerprints and invited us to the station. We
would need to give prints because we had been touching things. We played the
phone message again so that the cop could hear it. She took the phone to the
station as evidence. As she was leaving I asked if there had been any
developments. She shook her head in reply. Turns out Rachael had picked the
perfect time to hide. It was San Diego Comic Con. A massive event cram packed
with people dressed as super heroes and movie characters. Sounded like it could
be a lot of fun but it made our search almost impossible. Slip on a costume
during Comic Con and it’s like hiding in broad daylight. We made arrangements
to go for prints later that afternoon and the cops left.

We
had drawn a blank here, we couldn’t go to the office because it was cordoned off
as a scene of crime so Kyle suggested going to his place and looking for all
local removal company phone numbers. Maybe we could track Rachael that way.

I
checked in with Brit, gave her an update on what we had found so far. She told
me she was on her way to Jonathans to see if he had any new information and
would let me know as soon as she knew.

The
afternoon came swiftly. I began to lose the hope that had spurred me on this
morning. We made our way over to the police station for our appointment to get
our finger prints taken. I thought it would be a simple task, like you see on
TV, they would roll our fingers over a pad of ink and then onto a sheet of
paper. That’s what I was waiting for when the police lady we saw earlier asked
me to accompany me to an interview room. Maybe they had more questions, well, I
would try my best to answer if it meant getting him back. Once we reached the
interview room she asked me to take a seat.

“We
have had an idea of how to trace Daniel, Miss Stephenson. We’re going to need
your help.”

I
was just about to tell her to bring it on when the door opened and another
officer entered the room followed by an older couple.

“Miss
Stephenson, this is Officer Jennings and Mr and Mrs Anderson, Daniels parents.”
My stomach sank. I found going into his apartment strange enough without him
but meeting his parents?! This was intense. I stood up to greet them. Mr
Anderson was tall, silver haired and very handsome. Dan looked a lot like him.
He shook my hand.

“It’s
real nice to meet you Ella, Dan told us all about you.” He smiled. I blushed.
It hadn’t even occurred to me that he would have talked to his parents about
me. Mrs Anderson stepped forward, I held my hand out to shake hers but she had
other plans. She hugged me tight.

“It’s
so good to finally meet you Ella, we’ve heard a lot about you. I’m so sorry
about your brother sweetheart. Dan had such plans to look after you.” She
started to cry.

“I
am determined to get him back Mrs Anderson, I’ve lost too much already, I can’t
lose him too.”

“Good
to hear Miss Stephenson, like I was saying, we have an idea if you would take a
seat please.” The female officer gestured towards the seat I had left to meet
Dan’s parents. Now I was nervous. The officer went on to explain that during
their search of Dan’s office and home they had found nothing of consequence, no
clues, no leads. They hadn’t found any links to Rachael either.

“Miss
Stephenson, we believe Daniel may still have his cell phone on him. We would
like you to call him.” That’s what I have been nervous about? Calling Dan?

“Ok.”
I replied and reached into my bag for my phone.

“It’s
not that Simple Miss Stephenson” officer Jennings interrupted my eagerness. “If
the people holding Daniel are who we think they are they will have his cell, they
will know details about his contacts, the will be expecting the call from you.
What you have to do Eleanor is keep them on the line long enough for us to
trace the call. Whoever answers you must remain strong, remember Daniel is
counting on you.”

“I’ll
do my best.” I answered. No pressure then.

My
phone was adapted and was put onto speaker phone. I called Dan. It rang a few
times before someone answered. I took a deep breath and spoke first. Let’s do
this.

“Hi
Dan, it’s me, Ella” I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest. I went into
detective mode myself. I think I was on speaker phone too because I could hear
more than usual, music in the distance, a conversation between a man and a
woman close by and I could hear someone moaning in pain, he sounded either
gagged by something or like he couldn’t use his mouth for some reason. I looked
up at the police woman and she gestured for me to carry on talking.

“Dan?
Are you there?” I didn’t know what to say, I needed time to think but I didn’t
have time. If they ended the call now the chances of them answering again were
slim.

“Ella,
Ella, Ella.” A man spoke to me but I didn’t recognise his voice, I indicated to
the police that it wasn’t Dan on the line. She encouraged me to carry on the
conversation.

“Yes”
I replied timidly. I didn’t like this at all, what was going on? What had they
done to Dan? Why?

“So
you’re the pretty girl with the hot little body in the photos on this losers’
phone. Tell me Ella, now that we’ve fucked up your boyfriend would you be
interested in dating a real man?”

Bile
rose in my stomach. Dan’s father held his wife tightly to him to mask the
sounds of her obvious distress. Time to play this bastard at his own game.

“That
just depends.” I answered in by best sultry tones.

“Depends
on what sweetheart?” He was getting breathy, it spurred me on.

“Well,
I like my men strong and sexy. They have to be able to handle me, if you know
what I mean. I don’t need a man full of promises who can’t deliver. Are you a
real man or do you just talk tough?”

“Oh
I’m all man Ella, I’ll make you scream and that’s a promise.” He sounded like
he was getting a little hot under the collar now. The cops gave me the thumbs
up, they had the call traced. I heard moaning in the background, I knew it was
Dan. He hated men making passes at me. That was good, it would make him want to
fight.

“Really?
You think you could handle me?” The cop held up a note, it read –
‘Call traced but keep up, see where this
goes!’
I nodded and looked at Dan’s father apologetically. I hope they
didn’t real.ly think I was ditching Dan.

“Oh
I’m sure of it sweetheart. If this loser made you cum, I will tear you apart!”
he must have hit or kicked Dan at that moment because he cried out in pain.
Rage filled me and I wanted this fucker to suffer.

“Ok,
I’ll give you a shot. Where do you want to meet?” my face scrunched up in
disgust.

“How
about Branigans, 10 pm?” I wracked my brains to think where the hell Branigans
was but I couldn’t. The cops were giving it the thumbs up again.

“OK.
How do I know it’s you?” I at least wanted some information from him, I wasn’t
about to go into this blind no matter how many cops gave me the thumbs up.

“Tell
the doorman you’re there to see Darius. He’ll bring you to me.” Dan was
screaming through the gag now, pleading with me not to do it.

“See
you tonight Darius.” Dan screamed out again and was silenced by a massive thud.
Darius ended the call. I felt sick. I started to cry and shake. Dan’s parents
immediately engulfed me in a group embrace. The cops were formulating a plan. I
was making my own plan too. I remembered the information Jonathan had given me,
I knew the danger I was putting myself in. I needed to get some things sorted
if I was going through with this.