Obsession (The Talisman series) (19 page)

“
That’s my husband you’re talking about.” I could barely speak. “The man who—according to the crowd of journos out there—saved Jon’s life tonight.
Saved
him, Anita.”

She lifted wet eyes to look at me.
“You
know
Josh is working for Gabe, he’s said so.”

I couldn’t speak. There wasn’t anything I could say.

9.7 Josh

Flying straight back to England was not an option. Waiting at the hospital was tempting, but maybe not my best idea. In the end, I headed back to the airport, to drink coffee and wait until morning. I bought a couple of the early newspapers, wondering if Jon would get a mention. I wasn’t expecting his story to be splashed across the front page. I read it slowly. Although my French was good, I thought I must have misunderstood. Apparently not.

Craigowan’s Nomination for Porn Star of the Year

Rising Formula 1 star Jon Craigowan showed last night, just how unfit he is for life at the top of the sporting heap. Following a failed affair with Suki Bridgewater, TV star and wife of his rival and teammate, Gabriel Bridgewater, he made not one, but two bungled attempts at taking his own life—before being rescued by Gabriel. In his shoes, I’d have left him there, climbing over his sixth-floor balcony, but Bridgewater is a more generous man.

So what happened to make this very likable sportsman press the self-destruct button?

Not satisfied with his pretty young wife—and his secret lover—he called for the services of a well-known prostitute, La Monique. And, according to her, not for the first time. She claims he is a regular client when in Paris. However, this time, he was too drunk to perform.

La Monique told us:

“
He was ranting and swearing when I arrived in his hotel room, shouting for his wife. I was scared, he looked as though he may turn violent. I was about to leave when he staggered out onto the balcony, still shouting for his wife—and tried to climb over the rail. I tried to pull him back, but he was too strong. I ran for help, bumping into his friend (Gabriel Bridgewater) in the corridor. Gabriel was magnificent. He helped me bring Jon safely back into the room, and called an ambulance—by this time he was unconscious on the floor. It’s so sad. He was usually such a good client.”

I stopped reading at this point, taking a sip of coffee and wondering if I was actually asleep and dreaming Jon having an affair with Suki? Using a prostitute? I didn’t believe any of it. It was absurd. I needed more coffee. When my cup had been refilled, and a tray of sweet pastries supplied by the barista, I returned to the newspaper article.

The sordid tale unfolded over the next few hours. The ambulance crew discovered a quantity of valium-based tranquillisers in his room, along with the remains of a bottle of vodka. It was La Monique, though, who found his mobile phone, passing it to our reporter on the spot.

His last incoming text provides the background to his mental state:

Darling Jon. I’m sorry, I can’t carry on like this. I love Gabe and intend to stay with him. If you can’t accept that our affair is over, I’ll tell Gabe you’re stalking me. Please don’t leave Anita, she doesn’t deserve that. It was wonderful while it lasted, but it was only ever a fling. Yours, Suki xxx

Suki’s text must have been the catalyst driving him to overdose on the tranquillisers and vodka, then worried that might not work, he tried to throw himself over the balcony. Only the brave and kind effort from Gabriel Bridgewater—ironically the man he cuckolded—saved his miserable life. He’d been typing a text to his wife, but left it unsent.

Anita. I’m sorry. Please forgive me, I never meant to hurt you.

And now, as he wakes up in a hospital bed, he has a whole new set of problems to face. A broken-hearted wife. An angry ex-lover. A furious teammate. He’ll most probably be fit and well in time for his next F1 race on the infamous Spa Francorchamps circuit (where he nearly lost his life two years ago), but his sponsorship deals are now in question. Electronics giant Pulsata is having second thoughts about using his face for their products, and Chanel is also questioning whether his is the right image for their latest after shave.

How does it feel to fall from top to bottom in just one evening? Just ask Jon Craigowan.

CHAPTER 10

10.1 Suki

As night turned into morning, I saw the early editions of the newspapers.  Gabe had disappeared again, leaving me alone in the waiting room, catching occasional glimpses of Anita. I showed her the headlines; Jon’s was face plastered across the front page. We had to get a friendly nurse to translate for us. It was hugely embarrassing for her and us. Jon was still not properly awake and Anita had no way of finding out his side of the story. She paced the floor, head bowed, every muscle quivering.

Eventually she paused, and stared at me.
“I looked at Jon’s phone. That text that supposedly came from you, didn’t come from your number. Josh could have sent it.”

I winced.
“That crossed my mind, too. But Anita, the text Jon started to write to you… Who else could have done that?”

“
The prostitute. We only have her word for it. For what happened.” She crossed her arms tight over her chest.  “Or Gabe.”

She’s upset, I told myself. I would be in her shoes.
“Gabe said he arrived later.” The look she gave me spoke volumes. “The pills, the vodka… do you think the prostitute supplied those?”

“
Oh, I don’t know.” She spun on her heel and turned away from me. “I can’t imagine why he’d have a girl in his room. And if it was some kind of set-up, how did she get him drunk, or stoned, whichever? It makes no sense.”

“
Josh had a French girlfriend.” I spoke slowly, remembering our conversation on the beach. “I’m sure he said she was Parisian.”

“
Bit of a coincidence, don’t you think?” She turned slowly to look at me again. “Why would he do this, Suki? What could he hope to gain?”

“
A good story?” I shrugged. “Money? Maybe someone was paying him?”

“
To wreck Jon’s career? To humiliate me? Who would want to do that?”

My stomach churned. It all came back to Gabe. To my husband. Anita froze, her gaze fixed on the doorway. I turned and saw the smiling nurse in the doorway.

“Monsieur Craigowan is awake now.”

“
Come with me, Suki.
Please
.”

Jon lay pale-faced against a mound of pillows, his dark hair sticking out at odd angles, a massive smile breaking out when he saw his wife.
“Neeta.”

She hurled herself into his arms, a sob escaping as she dropped to her knees beside the bed. I stood in the doorway feeling awkward, and keeping a lookout for Gabe. I sat down and tried not to watch them embracing. It was too private a moment for an audience.

Finally, Anita eased herself free and sat on the edge of his bed, holding his hands tightly between her own. Jon noticed me, his eyes opening wide. “Suki?” He sounded puzzled. “What are you doing here?” He looked back to his wife. “Can you tell me what happened? What the fuck am I doing in hospital?”

Her voice was calm and controlled.
“Tell me what you remember. Everything from when you left the bar in the hotel.”

His brow wrinkled as he thought about it.
“I felt a bit weird in the bar, kinda light-headed, as though I was really,
really
pissed. I’d had one beer, and a glass of wine with dinner.” He thought some more. “I remember Gabe helping me to my room, and then it just… it’s like a freaky nightmare.” He released Anita’s hands, cupping her face instead, his thumbs stroking gently across her cheeks. “I thought I could hear you shouting for me. I tried to find you. I remember being on the balcony, I thought you were outside. It’s crazy, you couldn’t have been. And then…” He took a quick breath. “I was lying on the floor, Gabe was there and a woman, he was telling her to leave. I couldn’t move, it felt as though I was paralysed.” He stopped, and then scratched his forehead, a puzzled look in his eyes.

“
And then I woke up here. I’ve got a foul taste in my mouth and a headache, and everyone is treating me like a bad smell. What the fuck is going on?”

“
The woman was a prostitute.” Anita kept her voice low, her eyes fixed on his face. His surprise looked genuine. “She was apparently hired by you. She found you off your head, trying to climb over the balcony.”

“
Fu-uck.” His pale face blanched even further. “I was on the sixth floor.
Jesus
. But what was I doing out there? With a
prostitute
? Neeta, sweetheart, I wouldn’t do that.”

She nodded, her eyes damp with unshed tears.
“I know, babe. But there’s more.” She glanced across at me with a crumpled smile. “And this is why I wanted Suki to come in.”

“
Is it something to do with Gabe? Is he okay?”

I nodded and cleared my dry throat.
“Yeah, he’s, ah, okay. Jon, I’m supposed to have sent you a text which upset you.”

He screwed up his face.
“I don’t remember getting any text from you. What did it say?”

My face burned as I replied. My cheeks must have been glowing.
“I was, um, breaking up with you. Finishing our affair.”

He laughed aloud, eyes crinkling with amusement, then went silent as he realised we were both watching him intently.
“Our affair?
What
affair?” He gazed at Anita, stroking her hair as he spoke. “That’s the biggest pile of shit I’ve heard in ages. I hope you didn’t believe it?”

“
No,” she whispered. “How could I?”

They looked so beautiful together, so complete in every way, and I realised with a pang, I’d never felt like that with Gabe. Never that connected. I swallowed. There was still more to tell Jon and I feared I’d have to leave as soon as Gabe returned.

“Jon, the newspapers are claiming you tried to commit suicide, that you took an overdose of Valium.”

He didn’t take his eyes off Anita.
“I wouldn’t even know where to get any. If that’s what knocked me out, someone slipped it to me. I didn’t take it knowingly.”

“
Maybe in your dinner? Or the drink you had in the bar?”

He dragged his attention to me, his hands still caressing his wife.
“I had one beer, with Gabe and the publicity team. He’ll vouch for me.” He frowned again. “It was a bitter tasting ale. I didn’t much like the taste, but it would have been rude to refuse.” A little bell rang at the back of my mind as Jon carried on. “Someone’s set me up, but why?”

Anita kissed him and held him close.
“I don’t know, babe, but we’re going to find out.”

The nurse bustled in at this point, shooing Anita off the bed and into the chair, while I stared blankly at the ceiling. There was something I had to remember, a fleeting thought as Jon had been speaking… No, it’d gone. It was something important, I knew that, but what the hell was it?

10.2 Gabe

Craigowan was preparing to leave the hospital when I returned. Suki sat in his room, gazing at me like a frightened rabbit as I walked in, dropping a polite knock on the door to announce myself.

“
Gabe.” He smiled at me, holding out a hand. “I can’t begin to thank you. I believe you’re responsible for getting me back in my room.”

I stared pointedly at his hand and then at Suki.
“And should I thank you for sleeping with my wife?”

Suki leapt up at the same time he snarled back at me.
“You don’t give any credence to that piece of fiction do you?”

I glanced at Suki. Her fists were clenched by her sides, her lips a thin, tight line.
“We
haven’t
been having an affair.” The words grated out of her. “Someone is trying to set up Jon, and stir things up for us, too.” Her eyes flashed around the room. Anita took Craigowan’s hand, moving closer to him, and their solidarity obvious.

Anita’s voice was glacial.
“This whole thing stinks. And I, for one, believe my husband when he tells me it didn’t happen like the papers say it did.”

“
Gabe, darling, tell us what happened when you arrived.” Suki squeezed my arm.

“
There’s not much to tell.” I ran a hand through my hair, avoiding Suki’s touch. “I was going to my room when this girl burst out of Jon’s. She was hysterical, and only partly dressed.” I flashed an apologetic smile at Anita. “As soon as she saw me, she begged me to come and help her ‘client’. I found you trying to climb over the balcony.” I stared at him, he frowned back. “I coaxed you back into the room, you fell on the floor and I called for an ambulance.” I shrugged. “That’s about it.”

Anita spoke again.
“What happened to the woman?”

“
The call girl? She ran off. Probably scared of getting nailed by the police.”

“
You paid her.” Jon’s voice was quiet.

“
I did
what
?” I laughed. “I assure you, I didn’t pay her. I was more intent on getting help for you.”

He sighed, and dropped his head before rubbing the back of his neck.
“She dropped the money you gave her. I remember seeing the notes on the floor.”

“
You
sure
about that? What else do you remember?”

“
I don’t know. Most of it’s just a fucking black hole.”

“
Drugs can do that.” I tried to sound reassuring, only to find him glaring at me.

“
I don’t take drugs. Not Valium, not anything. Someone spiked my drink.”

“
Yeah, sure they did.” I held my hand out to Suki. “I’m willing to give you both the benefit of the doubt, only because the text didn’t come from Suki’s phone. It’ll be interesting if that phone turns up. That’ll probably be your culprit.” I forced a smile for her. “Time for us to go, darling.”

She tugged herself free and gave Anita a hug first.
“We’ll talk soon. Let me know if I can do anything.”

“
You going home now?” I spoke politely to Craigowan.

“
Yeah. I’ll see you at Spa.”

I nodded.
“Should be a good race. The long range weather forecast is crap though, heavy rain.” I couldn’t miss the flicker of anxiety on his face—there had been terrible weather when he crashed at Spa two years ago. I fought to keep myself from smirking. If I were very lucky, his nerves would be shot by the time he finally started the race.

Despite looking tired, Suki seemed alert as we headed for the exit. I glanced at her, feeling suspicious.
“You have been taking your pills, darling, haven’t you? We don’t want a repeat of your panic attacks. Especially if I’m not there with you.”

“
I didn’t take them yesterday.” She slipped her hand free of mine and pushed it into her jacket pocket. “I feel fine, Gabe.”

“
Hey, there,” I spoke gently. “They’re for your own good, you know that. I was appalled when I saw how badly you freaked out. I can’t cope with that again. Please, darling, take the doctor’s advice on this one.”

“
I don’t know.” She veered away from me as I reached out for her. I watched her carefully, considering what to say.

“
Okay, let’s go back to the hotel and catch up on our sleep. We can talk about this later.” It wouldn’t hurt to let her think she’d won this skirmish. After all, I could be a patient man. When I had to be.

10.3 Josh

I knew enough about newspapers to understand how they made mammoth stories out of tiny nuggets of news. After watching Jon and Anita together, I found it hard to believe he’d pay for anonymous sex with a prostitute. As for the idea of Suki having an affair with him? That felt equally ridiculous. Especially when the entire saga had Gabriel’s particular stamp of deviousness all over it. After his trick with the photos, I had little doubt he was connected in some way.

I stared into the dregs of my coffee as I mulled over my next move. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Suki was in danger. It tugged at me, little barbs digging into my skin at the thought of her with
him
.

It should have been no surprise when Gabriel phoned me.

“Have you seen today’s papers?” He dispensed with any greetings, his voice clipped and annoyed.

“
Yes.” It crossed my mind he might not realise I was in Paris. Would Suki or Anita have told him I travelled with them? I hastened to pay attention.

“
So you’ll have seen the evidence my wife has been cheating on me.” It wasn’t framed as a question.

“
Do you believe it? From what I’ve seen of her—and the Craigowans—it doesn’t seem likely.”

“
No matter. The bottom line is I don’t need your services any more. I’ll pay what I agreed, but our contract is complete.”

Hope surged. My mind flashed ahead to a future where Gabriel left her, where we’d be free to have a relationship. Caught up in my daydream, I missed his question.
“Ah, sorry. Could you say that again please?”