"The Case of the Philandering Husband"

Chapter 2

Four o'clock the next afternoon came and went but there was no sign of Dr Elliot….Caroline.

Kate had spent most of the night tossing and turning as she attempted to find sleep but her mind kept playing Caroline's kiss over and over again on a continuous loop and presenting her with her own personal slideshow of the gorgeous Dr Elliot….the cerulean eyes, the shapely legs, the ample breasts, the dusting of freckles on her cheeks. Eventually, in the early hours of the morning, Kate gave up on sleep and instead, she decided to dress and go for a rare morning walk. Usually she preferred to leave getting up to the very last minute. The sun had only been up for a couple of hours so the air was still biting and crisp. Kate rugged herself up well and set off, unsure of where she was headed exactly but needing to clear her mind.

After almost an hour of walking quite aimlessly but at a steady pace, Kate returned to her little flat above her office. When she had first signed the lease on the office space more than two years ago now, the main feature that had 'sold' it to her was the fact that the lease included the modest but comfortable flat upstairs which was where Kate now resided. It was quite small but fully self-contained and suited to her needs perfectly. She could access the flat using the external stairs at the rear of the building or via the internal staircase in the back of the office.

Kate let herself in and then showered and prepared a basic breakfast after which she decided she should probably go into her office and get started on some work. Kate knew that she needed to keep herself busy today so that the hours before four o'clock weren't too tedious.

Usually the task of getting dressed for the day took minimal time and effort … a pair of jeans and a shirt and a jacket over the top….but today Kate fussed through several sets of clothes, discarding a number of items of clothing, before deciding on a pair of smart, black trousers and a crisp white shirt. Once she was satisfied that she looked quite presentable, Kate made her way down to her office.

Her first job for the day, of course, was to transfer all the information Dr Elliot….Caroline…had given her onto one of her standard contract forms ready for the woman to sign later in the afternoon, after all, it was the surreptitious excuse for her to come back. Once it was done, Kate printed off a copy of the contract and placed it in an offilcial-looking folder and left it on the centre of her desk. She then saved all the information Caroline had given her so far in a folder on her computer and backed it up.

With nothing more pressing to do and the thought of Caroline firmly entrenched in her mind, Kate proceeded to see what else she could find out for herself about both Caroline and John Elliot. She put the name 'John Elliot' into her search engine first and immediately came up with a short list of sites about Caroline's husband but, after a quick skim through the various bits of information, found nothing particularly useful apart from the university where he taught in York and a map showing the building where his office was located. There was a small bit of waffle about his two books that had made the 'Best Seller' list a while back now but, after reading the blurb on them, Kate decided that neither book captured her interest. The most interesting thing Kate did find was a photo of John which she studied closely for both professional and personal reasons. Kate supposed that he could be considered quite handsome and he had a charismatic air about him perhaps but, in the end, she came to the conclusion that he was probably a complete tosser, although she was willing to concede that her opinion could possibly be tainted or somewhat skewed.

Kate then entered Caroline's name into the search engine of her computer. In a matter of seconds, a comprehensive compilation of material on Sulgrave Heath Independent Public School and a very formal photo of Dr Caroline Elliot DPhil, MEd, the Head Teacher, in her academic gown appeared on her screen. Although only a photo, Caroline's intelligent eyes seemed to peer out at Kate, taking her breath away yet again. She scrolled through the information on Caroline which included her experience as a teacher and administrator, academic achievements and philosophy on education. It was all a bit dry and not what Kate was really interested in but it helped to put together the puzzle that was Caroline Elliot, the woman who was making Kate's head spin.

Gazing at this woman on her computer screen was not helping the time pass more quickly…Kate needed a distraction…something entirely unrelated to the case and to Caroline, to help her take her mind off the gorgeous blonde as there were still several hours to go until four o'clock and before she would see her again.

Kate decided that it was time to totally overhaul her filing system. It was a job that she'd been meaning to do for many months now but the enormity of the task had discouraged her and so she'd put off doing it. Now she attacked the job with relish knowing that it would take at least two hours off her day. Kate rolled up her sleeves and proceeded to go through and carefully check each and every file, discarding all the old files for shredding and sorting and refiling those she needed to keep.

Almost three hours later, Kate stood back to admire her achievement – a large pile of files to be destroyed and three neatly organised filing cabinets. As she did this she noticed that her hands and the clothes she had so carefully chosen that morning were now covered in dust and grime…she needed to shower and change.

Kate temporarily locked up her office and dashed upstairs. A decent, clean pair of jeans and a not-too-crumpled blouse amongst the discarded clothing from the morning's effort were the best she could do. She then took a leisurely shower.

While she was upstairs, Kate also made herself a sandwich which she took back down to her office to eat. As she sat at her desk with her sandwich, Kate allowed herself to yet again replay the events of the previous evening over in her mind until she was startled from her daydreaming by the ringing of her mobile phone. Kate looked at the screen to identify the caller and then answered it. It was a local branch of an insurance agency that occasionally employed her to carry out investigations on suspect clients. Kate immediately slipped into business mode as she jotted down details and asked pertinent questions. Half an hour later she had all the information she needed and another job to help pay the bills.

As the afternoon crept on, Kate's eyes snuck yet another look at the clock for perhaps the hundredth time that day and to her relief it showed only a few minutes until four o'clock. She did a final check of her emails, quickly tidied her desk and ran a judgemental eye over her office…all was good. Kate could feel her heart beat begin to quicken in anticipation of what the afternoon might bring once Caroline stepped through her door. It surprised her how much she was looking forward to seeing the ravishing blonde again. The last time she had felt this excited, Kate recalled, was when she was at high school and the girl who she'd had a huge crush on for months had taken her by the hand after choir practice, led her off to a secluded alcove and kissed her fully on the lips and reached her hand under Kate's blouse. Unfortunately, when Kate attempted to make more of the relationship, it had all ended in tears. Kate was hoping that this meeting wouldn't have the same fate.

As the hands on her office clock moved forward and showed 4:20pm, Caroline had not yet appeared and Kate's excitement steadily turned to anxiousness. Why wasn't she here? Was she alright? Perhaps she'd been involved in an accident. However, by 5:00pm Kate's anxiety had become bitter disappointment. Perhaps she'd had second thoughts about hiring an investigator to check up on her husband or maybe she regretted the previous evening's kiss and was too embarrassed to turn up. Whatever the reason, Kate decided that the woman was not coming. She reluctantly set about closing up for the day and contemplated going around to the pub and drowning her disappointment in a few drinks.

While Kate was fumbling through the keys on her key ring for the one to lock the front door, her eye caught a glimpse of a figure passing outside, then there was a light knock at the door. She held her breath in hope as, without hesitation, she opened it and found herself looking straight into the magnificent cobalt blue of Dr Caroline Elliot's eyes.

"Oh, thank goodness…I thought I'd missed you," Caroline said with a sigh of relief as she stepped into the office and stood barely centimetres from Kate whose mood had swung from the depths of disappointment to extreme exhilaration in the blink of an eye.

"I'm sorry I'm so late…there was an 'incident' at school this afternoon and I had to deal with it straight away and it took some sorting out," Caroline explained apologetically, all the while maintaining her close proximity to Kate, "and I find that I don't have your phone number which is a matter we should rectify as soon as possible."

"That's alright…Caroline," Kate replied, struggling to regain her composure, "I've been quite busy today and I've only just realised myself how late it is."

Caroline smiled knowingly as though she sensed that Kate was lying through her teeth.

"Excuse me…" Caroline said softly and then raised a hand to Kate's face to gently brush away a stray eyelash from the investigator's cheek. Caroline then allowed her fingers to trail lightly along Kate's jaw.

The touch sent a rush of tiny, electric shockwaves to Kate's core.

"Do you have that contract for me to sign?" Caroline asked, a barely perceptible smile on her face as she took in the effect her touch had had on the private investigator.

"Yes, I do….it's on my desk," Kate eventually answered.

Kate walked over to her desk, sat in her chair and opened the folder containing the contract. She used her pen to then mark with a small cross the places that needed a signature. She had expected the woman to sit in the chair opposite her to sign but, instead, Caroline came around the desk and stood beside Kate, her right hand resting on the back of Kate's chair while she leant over and took the pen with her left, deliberately brushing Kate's fingers as she did so. As Caroline leaned over, their bodies so close Kate could feel the strands of blonde hair sweeping her cheek, she inhaled the subtle, seductive scent of Caroline's perfume….Chanel No.5 if Kate wasn't mistaken.

"There, done." Caroline announced as she finished signing and put the pen back down on the desk with a dramatic flourish.

Suddenly it was all too much for Kate….the torturous wait, the electrifying closeness and touches, the expensive perfume. This time it was Kate who took the initiative. She plunged her hands into Caroline's silken hair and drew the woman's mouth close to her own. Any reservedness Kate had felt up till now fell by the wayside as she captured Caroline's delicate bottom lip in her mouth, biting it gently. Caroline responded with a barely audible moan then she pulled back for a moment. Kate could see the look of pure lust in Caroline's eyes. With one sweeping movement of her hand, Caroline cleared the top of Kate's desk of any impediments and then manoeuvred her onto it. She tore impatiently at Kate's shirt buttons and ran her hands roughly over the dark, exposed torso taking in its beauty and smoothness. Their lips pressed together urgently and each captured the others' tongue in a sensual dance.

"We can't do this here," Kate managed to say, her breath ragged, as she indicated to the windows which exposed them to anyone who bothered to look in.

Caroline stopped for a moment, almost past caring if people could see or not, and asked, "Where can we go that's close by?"

"My flat is upstairs," Kate answered but then she remembered the state she had left her bedroom in that morning. "Can you give me two minutes to go upstairs and straighten up? There's some highly sensitive material lying out that I should really put away."

Caroline nodded.

Kate raced up the stairs and into the bedroom. Manically, she picked up the various items of scattered clothing and flung them into the wardrobe and out of sight. When she was satisfied that the room was presentable she dashed back down the stairs only slowing to a more normal pace at the bottom of the staircase. However, as Kate re-entered her office she saw that it was empty. Caroline had gone. On her desk, beside the signed contract, there was now £200, the advance for the investigation, a recent photo of John and a scribbled note saying, "I have to go." The only thing that remained of Caroline was the faint scent of her perfume.