Compulsion

Compulsion Part 27

Elias turned and started to walk back toward the stairs. In his head he replayed the scene. What had just happened?

Instead of walking to the meeting room, Elias headed back to his office. He reached for the phone and tried her on her mobile phone. No response. He dialled her home number and when that simply went to voicemail he left a brief message.

He found it difficult to focus on the business at hand during the meeting and was somewhat relieved when it drew to a close. The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. His mind continually returned to replay Georgia's visit. And the sense of foreboding gained in momentum.

Late afternoon he tried Georgia on her mobile phone again. No response. He dialled her home number and this time Caitlin answered the telephone.

"Cait speaking."

"Hello Cait."

"Oh, Elias. Hello." Cait's bubbly personality was reflected in her voice.

Elias ignored the cheerful response and asked without any further ado, "How's Georgia?"

"What?" Caitlin frowned at his blunt question. She reprocessed his question, registered the tone and her inclination to tease him about his weekend away with her sister disappeared in a flash. It wasn't just the words in his question that worried her. It was the tenor that accompanied the words. He sounded anxious. As far as Caitlin knew her sister was just fine. And at work. No doubt busy. But fine. So what was Elias' question about?

"How's Georgia?" Elias repeated the question. He perched on his desk and looked sightlessly out through the floor to ceiling window.

"What do you mean, how's Georgia?" But Caitlin was really starting to worry. "She's at work." She told Elias and the growing concern in her voice was clear. Still frowning at the phone she asked, "What's happened?"

"Good question." Came the droll response.

"What?" Caitlin huffed.

"I don't know what's happened. She said she was going down with a cold or the flu." Elias' brow furrowed because as he repeated that statement he started to think that he might well have been a touch too gullible in taking Georgia's excuse at face value. "She said she was going home to go to bed."

There was silence at the other end.

"Cait?"

"Yes. Still here. Just thinking." She told him. "Look, I'm the only one at home at the moment. Dad's playing bridge with some of his friends, and Georgia as far as I know is still at work." Caitlin told him. "When did she say she wasn't well?"

Caitlin and her sister had had an early breakfast that morning and Caitlin had happily teased her sister about her inner glow! Georgia had taken the teasing remarkably well, even though she had blushed more often than not when Caitlin had continued to ask prying questions about the weekend. Caitlin couldn't have been more delighted for her sister. It was simply wonderful to see Georgia this deliriously happy. There was nothing to suggest that Georgia was coming down with a cold or the flu.

"She was fine this morning." Caitlin told Elias matter of fact. "We had breakfast. I was giving her a hard time about your weekend away. She wasn't upset about that. She kept rolling her eyes when I kept asking for details. But she was fine." Caitlin exhaled a long breath, "She was fine when we both left for work this morning."

"Well she wasn't when she came to the office." Elias said on a frown. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger and blew out a huff of air.

"Oh." Caitlin's narrowed gaze reflected her inner confusion.

"She said she was going home to bed. Because she wasn't feeling well." He repeated and now her statements sounded far from candid.