Chapter 7

Entering the hospital's reception area Meg smiled seeing Tyus waiting for her and expected to follow him to his office instead he took her to one side saying. "Morning Meg I've just got here myself. I want to show you round so you can get a feel of the place. The idea is for you to put forward a package that we can sell to the businesses. As you know we depend on donations as it's for people with little or no money or homes. It's for a nursing home and rooms for visiting relatives who have patients here and possibly some staff accommodation. I know you are good at your job so you are bound to come up with some ideas, which we can discuss after I've done my rounds."

Meg smiled at the complement but heard the disappointment in his voice as he continued. "I had been promised a big donation earlier on in the year, which would have covered a lot the work. It was to be given by this Thanksgiving but circumstances have changed and so far the donor has not come through and I do not feel I should press the matter with him.

So, we need to go asking for a larger sum of money to start the project and then hopefully we will get other fund raising projects on the way to raise the rest later. Earlier in the year Ben did suggest that if ever we needed help with projects you would be a good person to check in with." He noticed a shadow go across her face and said gently. "I'm sorry I know that hurt, I still remember the way you two would light up the room when you danced together. Enough said. Will you still help?"

Meg said quietly, feeling slightly agitated. "Yes of course I will. It will help fill some of the time I seem to have on my hands. It's just at the moment I feel unsettled it is as though something is just out of reach and, strangely enough, it is been getting stronger since we have been here."

Tyus thought for a moment and suggested "Perhaps it is just the atmosphere in the hospital and the experiences you have had here, apart from close shave from the cave-in there was Ben after his kidnapping and your father after the earthquake each time you nearly lost someone close to you. Now they have left feeling that something unsettling might happen if you stay here. It might go as we look round and you realise nothing will it's just an ordinary place with ordinary people. The new wing is this way it leads onto the area for development, at present it is the refuse collecting area, but that will be moved by next week."

As they passed the reception desk, the clerk passed Tyus a note which he read as they went through the doors which cut them off from the rest of the building. "Apparently we have a patient here who the doctor and out of town police do not want anyone to know about. I'll just check to see if everything is all right - the doctor is new to the hospital but is very good." He stopped for a moment as he saw a group of men in hospital clothes, quietly grabbing breakfast off a food trolley half way down the passage and called out "Excuse me but what is going on!" and started to walk towards them

Dr. Richard's appeared from the examination room and the men stopped what they were doing. John came out of the side room and told them to carry on and walked towards Tyus guessing this was the resident Doctor.

As Dr Richards, came level with John, he spoke "Morning Tyus! Sorry we've taken over for a while. This is John, he and his agents brought in a kidnapped victim early this morning. This area has everything and they wanted it kept quiet till he is identified, so I allowed them here without informing the other hospital, it was full with the accident victims from the freeway any way."

Meg had followed Tyus and was feeling very disturbed and moved from behind him to his side, sensing her increased agitation and remembering his promise that nothing serious would happen here, turned towards her saying with concern. "Are you alright Meg?"

At the same time John saw her properly for the first time and realised that she looked like the lady in the photo and he'd caught the name Meg and thought. 'Surely not he couldn't be that lucky' and seeing her agitation decided to ask and hope. "Do you know someone named Ben?"

Meg froze, that out of reach feeling was almost smothering her and yet she managed to answer calmly as her mind raced on. "Yes … Ben Evans my ..."she hesitated "ex fiancé," and felt the need to carry on, "he's dark haired, early thirties, about six foot."

She stopped realising the silence and stillness from everyone and the thoughts about a kidnap victim suddenly hit her like lightening and with it the reason for her feelings became extremely clear. Her voice wavering as she exclaimed. "It's him... I felt him die this morning... but he's here! … It was Derek wasn't it who came back from Seattle!..." She grabbed Tyus for support as she felt shaky; she turned towards John as if pleading not to be right but asked. "I'm right aren't I?"

John quickly, calmly, asked "Who is Derek?" Tyus answered automatically "Ben's identical twin," though shocked at the thought of what might have happened ran through him.

Realising a lot made sense John took Meg gently by the arm and led her to some chairs and sat down with her ready to take her gently through what he knew. "Yes I think you are. Take a deep breath and hold onto the thought he is safe. Very ill, but safe, and I think you will agree in good hands." Meg laughed shakily with a few tears; it was a kind of relief because now all her fears could be faced and she was not alone.

John showed her the photo asking. "Is that Ben? We found the photo on him." She nodded agreement, it was, and took the photo, holding it carefully as though not to harm it. "I need to know what happened?" he said, his tone was gentle and confident, giving her the strength to go on.

She could not take her eyes off the photo and talked in short bursts. "He went to Seattle over two months ago... came back a few days later... his attitude was different but understandable. He said he had found nothing against Tess... "

John stopped her. "Where did he go in Seattle and why?"

She looked at him so he went on gently. "I think we both know things that will fill in some blanks, but I need an address, somewhere he might have been kept." She thought back and remembered about Franklin Street, the red door, and gave him the address.

John knew he was asking a lot when he phoned the information through with proviso that the house be searched and the occupants and ones next door be checked out new or old with follow ups as necessary. They were looking for a kidnapper's den so it had to be 'fine tooth comb' job with no information getting out a difficult job at the best of times.

He took the gentle scolding that because his phone had been switched off Sunset Beach police could not get through so had traced him to Seattle Office and was given the information that the drugs dropped had failed because both dealers had been in the accident and everything was now being taken care of by them. Also the ID's of the prisoners had come through and was as follows…

As John took the information, he realised that both his prisoners had nothing to lose by staying silent so would be hard to persuade to tell their story, especially as no deals could be made for either of them. Therefore everything would have to be done the hard way, and they would have to do it as the local police would be busy with the drugs case.

Drinking a cup of tea a nurse had bought her and half listening to John's conversation, Meg realised as soon as she had explained everything she would be able to see Ben and suddenly looked up saying. "What about Maria? She will be in danger ..."

John was startled by her obvious concern for the woman and realised that Meg did not now how bad it was. He decided to tell her what he knew, but he did not want her to hear the tape at present it would be too traumatic he needed her calm and thinking and said firmly. "Maria is in no danger from Derek. In fact she is helping him. So is a woman named Tess, she's Benjy's mother and Derek is his father. I need to know all about how Maria and Ben met."

Meg looked questioningly trying to take in what he had just said then exclaimed with disbelief. "You mean they were both in it from the beginning?"

"Well Maria had a similar idea as Derek; they later joined up as a team."

That made her feel sick but her mind was automatically thinking of people who knew them and said "Mark, but he was killed by Derek last year. Gregory but he is missing presumed drowned, so that would leave Casey they were very close friends till he went back with Maria. I could ring him; I don't think he's left for work he's a life guard." and felt a bit better knowing he might be around.

John took in this information and knew there was a lot to unravel. "Okay, but I don't want anyone else to know so if you were going anywhere else today, cancel it."

Meg rapidly checked through her day and replied, "What about my sister Sara, she runs a shop with me, we share shifts?"

John replied firmly knowing what family telegraph systems were like – one word and twenty knew in a minute. "No she will feel compelled to tell some-one else and so on. I want to catch them here and not let them leave with Ben's money and have to chase them around the world. I assume Ben is rich."

"Yes very." Meg replied quietly and reached for the phone.