Chapter 11: Chain Letter by Stephen Simpson
Adèle grabs her keys off the kitchen counter, as they walk
past it and out the door. They both get into her green Ford.
Stalling the car, Adèle sighs deeply, and then tries again.
“I wonder if the E’lisa on that mail is my E’lisa.” Lisa asks, breaking the brooding silence in the car.
Adèle gasps. “You don't think it is E’lisa, do you?”
“I don't know. If this is what it seems to be, an abnormal
happening of events, then I desperately hope it is not my E’lisa.”
“After Carl, we will have to speak to E’lisa, and we will
have to keep her close.”
“Yes,” Lisa says softly, a desperate, despondent look in her
eyes as she stares out the window at the passing buildings, houses, and
scenery.
She wonders miserably if keeping E’lisa close will stop a
heart attack. They would have to do more than just keep her close. They would
have to get to the root of this before the unthinkable happens.
*
Carl woke up early this morning.
He always wakes up easily, enjoying waking up before the
birds, when the first rays of the sun touch the tops of the trees.
He gets up with a smile, thanking the good lord for another
day, makes himself a cup of coffee, and then goes outside to sit and enjoy
those first moments when day wakes up.
Today while he is enjoying the crisp morning air, he
summarizes in his head the details of the proposal that he needs to forward to Adèle.
Adèle is taking a few days off, because her mother-in-law
died suddenly during the night from a coronary heart attack. He reflects on the
sudden, peculiar increase in these occurrences over the last twenty-four hours,
but not for long. He never allows negative thoughts to enter his mind for
extended periods.
Together with Adèle, he runs a small advertising agency.
There are only five people altogether working at the agency and they are a
tight-knit group, often having social get-togethers with their families.
Carl feels this is the ideal working environment, letting
employees know and feel that coming to work is a pleasure and those people they
work with are an extended family group. Especially in a creative environment,
this, he feels is essential.
Briefly thinking back, he remembers, the conditions he
worked in before he met Adèle and they decided to start up their own agency.
His days once filled with deadlines, meetings and the big 'kahuna' breathing
down his neck twenty-four-seven. It really is bad timing for Adèle’s
mother-in-law to die, he considers for a second, because the proposal they are
working on now is a big one. If accepted by the client, it could establish
their agency amongst the big players in their field.
They have already decided on the concept and all he must do
today is piece the proposal together and then forward it to Adèle for her
consideration. The meeting with the client is on Friday and by then Adèle
should be back at work.
His coffee finished, he takes a long, deep breath and then
goes back inside. He gets dressed leisurely. He enjoys dressing well.
At the same time as every other day, he gets into his car
and drives the short distance to work.
Walking into the office always energizes him. They had
employed an interior decorator and her only guideline was to create an
atmosphere of energy and creativity. She did a good job. Smiling, he remembers
their brief romantic liaison and she was most certainly the right girl to
implement and design energy and creativity.
Susan, their receptionist, is sitting behind the front desk
already. She is primarily employed for her friendliness, her soft, husky voice,
and her beautiful, radiant smile. Of course, she has the skills to be an
effective receptionist, but being the first person, a client sees, when they
walk through the doors, she represents AC Advertising and first impressions
count. Today, however, Susan looks worried, a frown creasing her striking
forehead.
“Morning, Susan,” Carl says, as he walks in.
Susan looks up. She gets up from her chair so fast she
knocks it backwards. “Oh, Carl, you won't believe what happened.”
His smile fades from his face. “What?”
“I just received a call from Sean's partner, Alex, and he
says that last night Sean was working late in his study, working on the
proposal, getting the graphics together, and.” She stops panicked, taking a
deep breath. “Alex fell asleep and when he went in there later, Sean was dead.
The doctor says it was a heart attack. Alex says it is impossible, that the
doctor does not know what he is talking about, because Sean had no heart
problems and they went running every day.”
Carl is staring at Susan in disbelief, trying to make sense
of what she is saying. She is talking so fast he is having a hard time
following her every word. He knows the statistics and there are many people
dying from heart attacks daily, but what would the odds be of two of them being
within his circle of acquaintances, in such a short space of time.
Susan carries on, after taking another breath, talking
rapidly, trying to say as much as possible in the shortest space of time. “Alex
says that when he found Sean, his eyes were open. Although he was dead, they
seemed panic-stricken, his mouth was open as if he were screaming in fear and
his face was frozen like this forever.”
“Okay Susan, calm down.”
“But how can I calm down? Have you seen the news this
morning?”
“No, I don't watch television so early.”
“Well, they say people are dying all over from sudden heart attacks, people who are seemingly healthy. The one lady on the train this morning said it is bordering on an epidemic. Where have you ever heard that heart attacks are linked to epidemics?”
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