Taken at the Flood Read online

  The purpose of this current meeting was to discuss my proposed visit to New York in order to promote my new computer software package. We were both excited about the project, which was beginning to look as if it might be our biggest seller yet but were unwilling to jump the gun.

  Alan was waiting in the boardroom with Joseph Little and Charles Conroy, junior directors. Together we were the driving force behind Softcell’s recent successes. Alice Baines, my secretary, had her pad at the ready to take the minutes of the meeting, her faded fair hair drawn back severely into a bun at the nape of her neck.

  I, as MD, chaired the meeting and began by making a brief summary of my intentions. “Good morning, everyone. As you know Softcell has produced a package which we hope will be another winner for us in the States. The working title of this latest piece of software is Gorgon. My objective is to produce further packages incorporating some of the features in Gorgon and extending them. The proposed titles for these will all incorporate names from Greek mythology. I feel we are on the brink of breaking into the market in the States in a big way and Gorgon is hopefully just the start.” I turned to Alan. “ You have the details of my meeting in New York on Friday with you. Perhaps you could put everyone in the picture.”

  Alan coughed, stood up and spent the next half hour explaining what we expecting to achieve over the coming months. At the end of the meeting, I followed him into his office.

  “Could I ask a favour?”

  “You don’t have to ask. I’ll keep an eye on Evelyn for you.”

  I smiled, knowing I could rely on him one hundred per cent and had no qualms about leaving my wife in his care.

  The next morning I began filling my overnight case in preparation for the New York trip. I intended to be away for three nights. My flight on Concorde was booked for ten thirty the next day and I hoped, if my visit went well, I would be home as scheduled early on Monday morning.

  A car was due to pick me up at eight. I dressed in my dressing room so as not to disturb Evelyn then bent over the bed to kiss her cheek. We had said our farewells the previous night and I wanted her to rest, as she had started to feel sick in the mornings. She opened her eyes and slipped her hands around my neck.

  “You weren’t thinking of leaving without waking me?”

  “Of course not.” I lied and, as an afterthought, said, “Alan said he’d give you a ring and I’m to tell you if you need anything at all he is only at the end of the telephone. His mobile number is in the book in the hall.”

  “Don’t worry. I forgot to tell you, Leonora is coming to stay in the guestroom whilst you are away. We’re looking forward to lots of girlie chats without the men around.”

  “Thanks, I can see I’m going to be missed. Why don’t you give Josie a ring as well?”

  There was a pause.

  “I may, but I don’t think Leo is too keen on Josie.”

  Evelyn had long since taken to calling her Leo, the name Lucas used and which, for some reason, made me feel uneasy. I wondered why she hadn’t mentioned before that she was intending to have company whilst I was away. I thought it unlikely she would have forgotten but last night we did have other things on our minds, which resulted in an early night. Maybe I was becoming paranoid, I thought, closing the front door and walking towards the waiting car.

  Just as the car took the bend in the drive, I thought I caught sight of a woman walking through the woodland separating the Dangerfields’ property from our own. It was probably Josie walking the dogs but I was almost sure I saw a curtain of blonde hair lifting from the walker’s shoulders as she disappeared behind a tree.

  Chapter 9

  The trees in Central Park were bursting with buds, their stark branches softening as green shoots opened in the spring sunshine. From my room in the Plaza Hotel, I could see across the Park where couples sat together enjoying a lunchtime break from their offices, whilst burying their faces in scarves, coat collars turned up against the wind. Picking up my briefcase containing Gorgon, I left the room for my afternoon appointment with Maxwell Hutton, chief executive of Megacells, the largest computer company next to Microbytes in the United States.

  A silver and glass tube carried me up the outside of the building to the Head Office of Megacells, and deposited me on the top floor. As the lift opened, two portly men in pinstriped suits waited until I passed them then entered the lift behind me. They were carrying large manila folders bulging with spreadsheets. I anticipated that Gorgon had some strong opposition but was confident what we had to offer was so revolutionary it would beat off any competition. Therefore, it was with a purposeful stride, I walked towards the door at the end of the corridor.

  “Come right on in!” A female voice, with a strong Southern accent, replied to my knock. Once inside, I saw the owner of the voice was sitting behind a desk filing her nails, her orange hair piled up in curls on top of her head. I noticed the cursor blinking on the computer screen in front of her and wondered if she’d find the time to complete her task.

  “Mr Hutton will see you now, sir.”

  She nodded in the direction of the inner door behind which Maxwell Hutton sat with his junior executive Larry Manders. The latter was young and eager, determination oozing out of every pore. He reminded me of Alan when I’d first employed him. Maxwell Hutton was a man in his early fifties, balding and running to fat. He heaved his heavy frame out of his chair and reached over the desk to shake my hand. “Good to see you again,” he said, his breath wheezing asthmatically. “Larry and I have been discussing your submission and I must say we are looking forward to hearing more.”

  In the corner of the room, I noticed a long table set against the wall, on top of which, stood a bank of computer screens, switched on, and ready to go. I knew my assumption, as I’d left the lift, had been correct. The monitors had been used recently, in fact I could almost feel the heat of a freshly vacated body as I sat in the chair and opened my briefcase.

  Both men remained silent as I explained the intricacies of our product. They watched as I attached my PSD to the USB port and waited until the introduction to the package in bright eye-catching colours flashed up on the screen. As the colours faded, I took them slowly through the programme. The only sound in the room was Maxwell Hutton’s wheezing chest.

  The finale to the programme was spectacular, as I had intended it to be. I turned on the swivel chair to face them, waiting for some sort of reaction and met Hutton’s inscrutable face. However, I wasn’t fooled. I knew he was holding his enthusiasm in check, thinking ahead as to how much I would accept and how little he could get away with before I packed my briefcase and beat a hasty retreat to offer my product elsewhere. Manders was harder to read but I had caught the glint in his eye and the almost imperceptible twitching of the corners of his mouth. He was busting a gut in an attempt to appear impassive.

  “Am I to understand this is to be the first of a proposed series?” Hutton was bending towards the screen whilst stroking his chin.

  “The second is already nearing completion with a blueprint for a third,” I replied, removing my PSD device from the USB port.

  Hutton’s hand shot out. “Congratulations, we are more than willing and ready to run with this. We’ll talk over the finer points tomorrow but I can assure you Mr Hope, you will not be disappointed with our negotiations. Megacells wants Gorgon and we are prepared to pay for it!”

  It was more than I’d expected. I’d supposed there would have been a less than positive response, a hesitation on behalf of Hutton not to play his cards too early. Nevertheless, I could feel the frisson as I shook his hand, seeing the pounds rolling into my bank account at the same moment I knew he was seeing the dollars rolling into his. Gorgon and its offspring were in the running to make a fortune for us both. I felt my heart skip a beat then palpate wildly and couldn’t wait to tell Evelyn the good news. Our baby’s future was secure. We were about to enter a golden era.

  Before leaving, I contacted my legal advisors in London to brief their N
ew York office, and arranged for a representative to join me for negotiations with Hutton the next day. Hutton agreed to this and made his own similar arrangement for legal representation. I said I’d return at two, the following afternoon, to discuss the finer points of the contract and we parted company.

  “Hope springs eternal.” I chuckled as the lift slipped to the ground floor. My face stretching into a wide grin, I raised my head and breathed in the sharp New York air.

  At the reception desk in the Plaza, I ordered a bottle of Dom Perignon to be sent to room 336. I had reason to celebrate but no one to join in my celebration. However, I knew I could share my good news with Evelyn, as soon as I reached the privacy of my room.

  Sitting alone in the luxurious surroundings of my hotel room overlooking Central Park, I watched the evening shadows threading ghostly patterns through the trees, and with champagne glass in hand, I lifted the receiver. The ringing tone continued unanswered and I felt my spirits sink. I was about to set down the phone when a breathless voice answered. “Hullo?”

  It was Leonora.

  “Hullo, it’s me. Is Evelyn there?”

  “No she’s out.”

  The words were sharp and to the point and as no explanation as to her whereabouts was forthcoming, I said, “She’s all right is she?”

  “Evelyn’s fine. I’ll tell her you called.”

  I suddenly felt angry.

  “I’ll ring back,” I replied, curtly, slamming down the receiver and leaving my glass to discharge its bubbles untouched. My excitement had dissipated with the bubbles so I decided to soak in the bath, have an early night and ring Evelyn again before I turned in.

  At eleven o’clock, I turned off the television and rang again. I guessed it would be teatime at home. This time she answered the phone. “Darling, I’ve been so worried. How did you get on? Did they like Gorgon?”

  “They did. Why were you worried? Didn’t Leonora tell you that I’d telephoned earlier?”

  To be fair, I hadn’t asked her to do so and it did rather occur to me I’d said I would ring back. But, I thought it odd she hadn’t told her I’d rung. “Anyway,” I continued, “sit down. I’ve lots to tell you.”

  We talked for the next hour. Her excitement matching my own and I couldn’t wait to hold her in my arms and share our good fortune. I told her it would be unlikely I could return home the following day, as it would take a further day or two for my legal team to chew over the finer points in the contract before I could sign. I promised I’d be home as soon as I could.

  “I love you,” she said, her voice a distant promise, as we said our good-byes.

  The following morning I awoke, as room service was delivering my breakfast and the first faint beams of spring sunlight were filtering through the heavy damask curtains. After breakfast, I showered, dressed and walked into the crisp morning air. Shoppers idled on Fifth Avenue, well-dressed women spilled out of taxis then disappeared through the doors of department stores, their counterparts emerging carrying armfuls of carrier bags bearing the names of Gucci, Armani, Prada and many more, which meant nothing to me. Evelyn would be in her element, I thought, as I walked down Fifth Avenue towards Tiffany’s.

  The revolving doors deposited me inside the building where Audrey Hepburn had breakfasted and I made my way to the second floor where diamonds glittered under high-powered spotlights. Engagement rings sat in trays waiting patiently for the wealthy to whisk them away whilst elegant couches, strategically placed, waited for the more serious shoppers to browse in comfort. I glanced around me at the sparkling array of gems wondering where to begin then my eyes fell on a glass case containing a solitary diamond necklace on a black velvet tray.

  A fine gold chain supported a square cut diamond, which flashed with yellow fire, the overhead spotlight catching its facets and splaying its rays into a thousand dimensions. I knew Evelyn would love it as much as I would enjoy hanging it around her neck. The assistant gift-wrapped the necklace in a box, covered it in shiny silver paper and tied it with a silver and black bow. This she placed it in a small turquoise cardboard carrier bearing the store’s logo. I slipped the package into my briefcase and went to meet Harvey Anderson of Anderson, Beckett and Woodvine, the law firm representing Softcell.

  Harvey and I had become friends over the years and when he was in London he usually gave me a call and we would meet up for drinks. As we walked the short distance from Harvey’s office to Megacells Head Office, he said, “Evelyn OK?”

  “Fine,” I replied unwilling for some reason to tell him of her pregnancy. On the few occasions they’d met, I had the distinct impression he didn’t approve of my wife. His antagonism was understated and he was always polite but I’d picked up on it nevertheless.

  The afternoon meeting with Maxwell Hutton and his legal team went well. Harvey was satisfied with the contract at first glance but both sides agreed he would scrutinise it in more detail that evening after which, if everything was in order, I would sign Gorgon and its future over to Megacells.

  I shook hands with Hutton and he slapped me on the back. “I look forward to doing business with you in the future, son. And don’t forget we have first refusal on any follow up packages.”

  Somehow I managed to book a seat on Concorde at the last minute, for the next day and rang home to speak to my wife. She picked up the phone and I heard laughter on the other end.

  “You sound as if you’re having a good time. I’m beginning to feel quite jealous,” I teased her.

  “Hullo, darling. There is nothing for you to be jealous about. It’s just Leo. Now when are you coming home?”

  “Everything wrapped up here earlier than I’d anticipated. I’ll be home tomorrow. I should be there about four. Then we can celebrate Gorgon’s success together.”

  From my seat on the aircraft, I watched the New York skyline disappear below me, anticipating the joy of spending a financially secure future with my lovely wife and our baby. It is a mistake to wallow in self-satisfaction, even for a short time. Luckily, none of us is aware of what life has in store otherwise living would become an intolerable journey. For if I had known, what awaited me on my return from New York, I should not have been so complacent.

  Chapter 10

  The door flew open and Evelyn threw her arms around my neck at the same time as Tinker licked my hand with his large slobbering tongue.

  “What a welcome. I must go away more often,” I said.

  “You most certainly must not. I couldn’t stand the strain.” Evelyn pulled me into the hall and kissed me hard on my mouth.

  “Has your guest left?” I asked, when I had breath left to speak. I looked over her shoulder half expecting to see Leonora standing in the hallway.

  “Yes, first thing this morning. She had a phone call from her aunt in Tuscany yesterday and arranged to fly out today. It was all very sudden. Her elderly aunt is ill and wanted to see her urgently,” Evelyn said, slipping her arm around my waist and leading me into the conservatory. “I’ve laid a meal for us in here. Sit down and relax and tell me all about New York.”

  Later, when we were in bed, Tinker lying on a blanket at our feet, I said, “It was kind of Leonora to keep you company. “ Trying to keep my voice even, I added, “What did the two of you get up to?”

  “We went shopping in town, all the usual things. But mostly we just ‘chilled out’ as Leo put it. She is such fun. She had me in fits of laughter. One day she mimicked Josie’s voice so well, I thought Josie was actually in the room. She also fussed around me like a mother hen making sure I took my iron tablets, which she put out for me every morning.”

  At the mention of shopping, I remembered the necklace, which was still in my briefcase. I jumped out of bed promising to return before she missed me.

  “I don’t know how I forgot to give you this immediately. It must have been the thrill of seeing you and wanting you so much,” I said, returning with my gift.

  She carefully untied the bow and opened the lid of the black velvet bo
x.

  “Oh this is just too much,” she gasped, holding the chain over her hand, allowing the diamond to hang between her fingers. As she twisted the chain, it caught the light from the bedside lamp. The fire deep inside the gem sparkled with a bright golden light, which splayed out over her wrist.

  “You like it?”

  “Like it? I absolutely adore it. Who wouldn’t?”

  She held the chain up for me to fasten it around her neck. The diamond rested above the swelling of her breasts and I found it impossible to take my eyes off either.

  Looking back, it was the last moment I could truly say we were both completely happy. The morning horror had not yet begun.

  The wind in the trees outside our window woke me or it may have been Tinker rushing around on the landing. The dog was uneasy, perhaps it was the wind or maybe it was something else, a kind of sixth sense, an innate feeling something was wrong. My wife’s side of the bed was empty.

  “Evelyn?” The door to our bathroom stood ajar. I padded across the carpet, the thick pile caressing my toes and tickling the soles of my feet. Tapping on the door, I called out, “You OK, darling?”

  “Mm,” her answer was indistinct. I pushed the door open to see her sitting on the side of the bath, her head hanging over the sink.

  “Morning sickness?”

  “No, not exactly.”

  She raised her head and there were tears streaking her face. She was holding her side with her right hand. I crossed the floor, the marble as cold under my feet as the chill that was settling around my heart. I sat beside her and put my arm around her shoulders. “What is it?”