The Unborn

Chapter 21

Ben sat in his car staring at Anna’s front door. Through the lounge room window he could see the glow of the television, soft streams of multi coloured light danced around the room, bounc-ing off one wall before hitting another. A million thoughts crowded his head, confusing him. The ‚Foetus Snatcher‛ had claimed yet another victim and he was still no closer to solving the murders of the first two women. No matter how he thought it through, no matter how he twisted it around, all leads kept returning to the wellness clinic and Anna.

She worked for them, she counselled all their clients and had intimate knowledge of them. Had she seen Marla too? Surely she would have mentioned it if she had? Anna had been evasive and wasn’t exactly forth coming with any significant details to date, and Ben couldn’t help but think that she knew more than she had been telling him. When he had spoken with her yesterday she had skipped over Tessa rather quickly, yet she didn’t seem quite as concerned about Kylie-Anne. Nothing made sense to him, but then nothing ever did with Anna.

He opened the car door and stepped out onto the street, he knew it was late but what he needed from Anna couldn’t wait. He wanted to strike while the iron was hot and while Marla’s murder was fresh in his mind, driving him to investigate. The door to his Chevy slammed shut and without locking it, Ben strode to her gate, up her front steps and he beat heavily on her door. It was time to get some answers and he was determined that Anna was going to give them to him.

Anna opened the door and flicked on the porch light. "Ben…"

"Why didn’t you tell me Marla was a client?" he hissed at her, no pleasantries exchanged.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Listen, Ben, I don’t have to take this from you…"

"Get your coat, Anna," he ordered.

"What?"

"I’m bringing you in for questioning, get your coat and let’s go."

"Don’t be ridiculous, I’m not going anywhere with you."

Ben pulled his handcuffs from the holder on the side of his belt and held them in one hand. “Anna Jameson, I am placing you under arrest for…”

“Ben please, wait… Ok, ok.” she backed away and held the door open for him to enter.

Relief washed over him, he had nothing to charge her with and was doing his best to bluff a response from her. It had worked.

“What is this about Marla? What has she got to do with anything?” asked Anna, closing the door behind him. She then walked back to the lounge, grabbed for the remote control and switched off the television before sitting down.

“Listen very hard, Anna. The lies stop now! This is not a game and I am not playing… Do you understand me?”

“What’s going on, Ben? You’re scaring me.”

“Marla is dead and I know she was pregnant. Why didn’t you tell me she was a client of yours?”

“No, no, no…” Anna rocked back and forth on the lounge with her arms wrapped around herself. “What is going on here? Why are my clients being picked off one by one?”