CLEANER: Chapter Four - Part One

A New Person  

KATHERINE

Time hadn’t made things better. Not really.

All the passing of the weeks and months had done for Katherine was to give her time to question herself and all the choices she had made in her life as she pottered about her house and garden doing needless tidying that nobody else would ever see to appreciate.

Sixteen years as Dahlia’s personal assistant. She had been there almost from the beginning of the beautiful young woman’s modelling career; witnessed every step higher in prestige and success. She had been there for her when her parents died, helped her through the dark time of that awful breakdown that had come after. Katherine knew Dahlia better than anybody; had been there for her more than anyone else; but all she could see now, looking back, were ways in which she’d let her down.

There were a thousand different memories in her head of good times but in the dingy vacuum of her mind now she couldn’t help but focus on the blips; the knocks that struck Dahlia from time to time over the years: break-ups with lovers, disappointments about modelling contracts not secured, day to day frustrations; Dahlia’s growing boredom of the life she had constructed for herself.

Katherine had been there for all of it and she realised now that she couldn’t have done enough. She had been as caring and supportive as their bantering relationship allowed but she hadn’t protected Dahlia from every setback. She hadn’t made everything better at every turn.

It didn’t matter how much she told herself it wasn’t her job to protect Dahlia from the world; she still felt that if she’d only done something more then it would have come to this.

In her little kitchen she put the kettle on then immediately forgot she had, staring out the back window into her garden.

Two months had passed now since Dahlia’s disappearance and there had been no sign of her since; no calls home; no emails; nothing. Her brother’s funeral had come and gone: no sign of her; no flowers sent or glimmer to show that she cared. Though of course, Katherine knew that Dahlia did care. That was the problem. Dahlia cared far too much.

Looking back now it was so clear what the progression had been toward the weakening of Dahlia’s psyche and the final crushing blow that had sent her running from her town, from her country; from her whole life.

It almost drove Katherine crazy herself to think of that nasty cleaner travelling with her; though surely that was what had happened. Melissa had dropped off the face of the earth too.

She couldn’t help second-guessing everything; every point of decision; wondering if she could have altered the flow of things; been there for her employer; her friend; enough to prevent her leaving.

But what could she do about it now? Dahlia had made her choice. She was a grown woman. She was having an extended holiday, probably somewhere very hot and very pleasant. It was most likely exactly what she needed. If it hadn’t been for Melissa then Katherine might not even have worried... that much. But the cleaner was manipulative. She was grasping. She was a wild card potentially liable to make things worse.

Of course there was every chance that Melissa was no longer with Dahlia, though it was difficult to know. Katherine had called her mobile a dozen times and received no answer.

Except she was all to conscious of the amount of time that had passed. She held herself responsible. Wherever Dahlia was, things could be far worse for her now with even more terrible things waiting for her. Katherine couldn’t bear to do nothing; not anymore.

She went through to the study she kept in what the architect had designed as a dining room. She kept all her records there as well as everything she’d ever done for Dahlia. It didn’t take her long to bring up the information she needed: an address for Melissa Chapman, here in Nockton Vale.

Katherine stared at the address for the better part of a minute, wondering if she was making the right decision; but she couldn’t just wait anymore. She had to do something. A huge part of her feared that unless she took action then something bad would happen to Dahlia; something irrevocable.

She needed to find out if Melissa was still with her. And maybe after that, she needed to track them down.