‘But if he got the job with us, he must’ve known we’d discover his CV and references were faked?’
‘I’m sure he did.’
‘Which leads me to believe his sole purpose for applying was to gain access to the building, look into a camera and mouth my name in the hope that one day I’d see it.’
‘He’s playing a long game, but for what purpose, I cannot say.’
Ellie shook her head. ‘And if you can’t find a current employer, then what’s he doing when he says he’s going to work each day?’
‘I can put together a team to follow him if that’s what you decide.’
‘Can we go back to his father? Is he still alive?’
‘He is alive, but he’s now living in a home for stroke patients in Galbraith, Scotland. He’s recently been widowed. According to the manager, he can no longer converse.’
‘And you haven’t been able to discover anything else about Tim, not even from his DNA?’
‘Nothing, not even when we ran his picture though facial image recognition software. His DNA information is no longer on the company database but we ran a trace on the fingerprints we obtained from your property. They revealed nothing of interest. It’s as if he’s left behind a trail of crumbs only leading in the direction he wants you to follow.’
‘Damn it,’ she whispered, and sat back in the chair. Her back and underarms were wet with perspiration and she pressed her wrists into the leather arms of the chair to try to cool herself down. Everything she feared about her fiancé was coming true, only it was worse than she’d imagined. Tim wasn’t just her Match; he was also her enemy.
She suddenly became aware of the silence in the room and that everyone present was avoiding eye contact. She felt foolish and humiliated, and wondered if they’d all had a laugh at the gullible rich girl behind her back. She rose to her feet, slipped her sunglasses and jacket back on, and thanked Tracy and her team. She left swiftly, followed by Ula and Andrei.
As she was driven back to her office, attempting to dodge the mid-morning London traffic, Ellie’s sadness gave way to anger. She felt like someone who had been bereaved and cheated out of a future and she was furious because of it. She had lost her loving Tim to a stranger with an agenda.
By the time the car had snaked its way through traffic across London Bridge and pulled up outside her office in The Shard, Ellie had already begun to bark orders at Ula, who furiously typed them into her iPad: changing all the locks and security codes to Ellie’s home, organising a new mobile phone number and private email address, deleting all of Tim’s text messages and photographs they’d taken together, and erasing any contact there had ever been between them.
By the time the lift reached the lofty heights of the seventy-first floor, Ellie was mulling over how and when she would confront Tim. She eventually settled on that night; she would return to his home and, with Andrei and his team’s assistance, she would learn the truth, no matter what means were used to get it out of him.
Only, the element of surprise had been taken away from her. As she closed the door to her office, Tim sat behind her desk, his feet resting on the top.
‘Hello, Ells, I think it’s time we talked, isn’t it?’ he said, smiling broadly.
Chapter 76
MANDY
Mandy faced an anxious thirty-minute wait while Richard was examined in private.
She couldn’t stop her imagination from working overtime, convincing herself that it was hers and the baby’s presence that had brought him back to consciousness. After an unbearable delay, his doctor finally called Mandy into Richard’s room.
‘I’m sorry,’ he began sympathetically. ‘But I can’t see any substantial signs of brain activity.’
‘I’ve heard that sometimes people come out of a coma when they hear a song they like or a familiar voice. Maybe that’s what happened to him?’
‘That can certainly be the case for some coma patients, but your friend isn’t in a coma,’ the doctor said. ‘Please, take a seat.’
As Mandy lowered herself into an armchair, Dr Jenkins perched on the edge of Richard’s bed.
‘Let me explain. Coma patients are totally unresponsive; they don’t move or react to sounds and can’t feel pain. Their brains have simply shut down to deal with the trauma they have been put through, but research shows that they are still aware of their surroundings. The severe brain injuries Mr Taylor sustained in his accident pushed him from a coma into a prolonged vegetative state, which is quite different. He’s unconscious and has no awareness of anything around him. However, parts of his body can still move like you witnessed: his arms and his eyes; he can yawn and may even utter the odd word, but it’s not him in control of it. It’s a natural reflex. If it continues much longer – which we suspect it will – the chances of him recovering are virtually nil. I’m sorry Ms Griffiths …’
Mandy dabbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her top. ‘There was more to it than that,’ she said. ‘You said he’s not aware of anyone around him, but I’m sure he was – is – aware of me. It was only when I held his hand to my face that this happened.’
Dr Jenkins paused and frowned. ‘I understand you are Mr Taylor’s partner. You are both Matched, I believe?’
‘Yes, but I’d never met him before today.’ Mandy felt almost embarrassed. But she was eager to impress on Dr Jenkins the uniqueness of the situation. ‘I’m also carrying his baby.’
Dr Jenkins looked at Mandy with a confused expression, likely thinking she was mad.
‘It’s a long story,’ she added quickly.
‘Well, I have read about cases where patients respond to their Matches, and it can certainly become even more intense when a child is involved. Researchers believe it is because a pregnant woman’s hormones contain certain properties that can stir senses in the unconscious. However, it’s probably an exaggeration to call them restorative or healing. It’s not impossible, but it’s more of an involuntary chemical reaction than a cerebral one.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘It’s not Richard, per se, who is responding to your touch. It’s his body – his receptors, his pheromones, his nerves, his muscles – recognising the feeling and the presence of its Match, rather than his brain.’
Mandy sank back into her chair, feeling deflated. For a moment, she’d let herself believe that the impossible had happened; that the power of their Match had woken the man she had been destined to spend her life with. But it was just their shared chemistry playing tricks on her.
When Dr Jenkins left the room, she spent another hour or so sitting in silence with Richard, her hands clasped around his, praying that his body might react to hers again. But there wasn’t even as much as a twitch. Then, giving in to defeat for now, she kissed him on the forehead and promised to visit him again.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said to her baby bump, as she made her way out of the building and back towards her car. She felt a twinge inside as the baby shuffled into a different position. Mandy knew the stress of the day was going to get worse before it could get better. After packing her clothes and belongings, she was going to confront Pat and Chloe, then disappear from their world of deceit for good.
Chapter 77
CHRISTOPHER
Amy wound her arm around Christopher’s as they plodded along the bleak, pebbled beach.
The grey skies, howling wind, drizzle and encroaching tide hadn’t put her off suggesting a long walk along Southwold beach back towards Aldeburgh, so they’d donned their thick jumpers and covered up with the matching blue raincoats they’d purchased from a shop in town.