Embedded Files
Elizabeth Sherwood sits signing books in a book store in Manhattan, feeling a little worse for wear. It’s her final book signing event of a tour that’s taken her all around the country for the past couple of months. Although enjoyable she just wants it all to be over so that her life can return to some kind of normality and she can turn her attentions back to writing another novel. However, that may be easier said than done as at the present time she hadn’t got any ideas for a storyline. Her publishers were very keen for her to write another murder mystery type novel but Elizabeth wasn’t sure she wanted to do that. She’d only written “A Murder in the Family” because she’d unexpectedly found herself mixed up in David Reardon’s real life family drama. She couldn’t ever imagine anything like that happening to her again.
Maybe she would return her attentions to a novel she’d started writing years ago, when she was still a teacher, about the Deep South. It hadn’t had a very favourable reception when she’d read part of it to her fellow colleagues at the School of the Arts at the time, but maybe she’d be able to revive it somehow.
Unbeknown to Elizabeth a Man stands outside watching the shop. The same man that had paid a teenage boy to get a book signed by Elizabeth for him. Once paid for his trouble the teenager had fled calling the older man a “weirdo creep”. From his position on the street the man can see Elizabeth sat in the shop lost in her own thoughts.
After a short while Elizabeth’s concentration is interrupted by a familiar voice: “Bonjour Madam Sherwood.”
Elizabeth looks up and sees Pierre the waiter from the restaurant, where her publishers had thrown a party to celebrate that a TV movie was to be made of her book, standing in front of her carrying her handbag that she’d absent mindedly left at the restaurant.
Elizabeth is grateful: “Oh Pierre thank you so much. It’s such a worry off my mind. I’m just glad I left it at the restaurant, rather than losing it in the streets or leaving it in a taxi or something like that.”
Pierre smiles: “For my favourite customer, it was no problem and I took the liberty of bringing you some coffee too, you sounded like you needed it over the phone earlier!”
Elizabeth smiles and takes a welcome sip of the coffee: “Oh Pierre you’re a life saver and it’s just how I like it.”
Pierre nods “But of course, a good waiter always remembers how his customers like their coffee.”
Elizabeth thanks Pierre again as he rushes off back to the restaurant. He calls back “See you soon, I hope?”
Elizabeth smiles and calls after: “I’m sure you will.”
The next person in line mentions: “Oh my, what a lovely kind young man, his mother must be proud of him now. It just goes to show there is goodness in everyone no matter how troubled a past they may have had.”
Elizabeth turns to see and old woman standing by the signing table with a scarf virtually covering her face apart from a small gap so the woman can see out. There is something strangely familiar about this woman particularly her voice. Elizabeth looks the woman up and down, curious as to why she’s dressed like that on a summer’s day and asks: “May I help you?”
The woman opens a copy of Elizabeth’s novel: “Oh yes dear, please can you sign this for me and make it out to Gertrude?”
Elizabeth's attention is caught by the name, looking at the woman she asks: “Mrs Berg is that you?”
The older woman stammers: “No.... I...I ’m not Mrs Berg, she off work sick!”
Elizabeth is surprised by the comment: “So you know Mrs Berg then?”
The older Woman tuts: “Oh darn it, how did you recognise me? I’m supposed to be undercover!”
Elizabeth is puzzled: “Undercover? Mrs Berg what on Earth is going on?”
Mrs Berg pulls the scarf away from her face so she can be seen properly and lowers her voice: “Ssssh! I don’t want anyone to notice me. Everyone at the school thinks I’m sick!”
Elizabeth is concerned and asks: “Are you sick?”
Mrs Berg shakes her head: “Oh No, No, nothing like that.”
Mrs Berg looks around the room to see if anyone can hear her and then lowers her voice further: “I’m playing hooky, I just want them to think I’m sick!”
Elizabeth raises an eyebrow none the wiser by Mrs Berg’s explanation: “May I ask why you are pretending to be sick?”
Mrs Berg continues: “Well of course dear. Miss Grant told me that today was your last book signing and I didn’t want to miss out on getting your autograph, so I decided to take a sick day, so I could come down here and get my book signed before it’s too late.”
Elizabeth is puzzled: “But Mrs Berg, you see me when I visit Lydia at the school all the time. I could have signed your book for you then. Or if you wanted it urgently you could have given it to Lydia to pass on to me to sign. There was no need to go to the lengths of pretending to be sick just to come down here today.”
Mrs Berg stops and thinks for a moment her mouth falling wide open as the logic of what Elizabeth says sinks in: “Oh dear, you’re right, now why didn’t I think of that?”
Elizabeth shrugs and shakes her head slowly from side to side.
Mrs Berg then becomes alarmed: “You don’t think I’ll get into trouble do you? Or worse what if they find out and I’m sacked? The school means everything to me; I couldn’t bear it if they sacked me. Oh Miss Sherwood what am I going to do? You can’t tell Miss Grant that you saw me.”
Elizabeth tries to calm her friend: “Don’t worry I won’t tell Lydia. So I’m sure no one will find out and of course no one is going to sack you.”
Mrs Berg bites her bottom lip with worry: “Oh I should never have lied, what will they all think of me? And if you don’t tell Miss Grant that means I’m making you a Liar and an accomplice too. Oh My how could it have all come to this? I need to turn over a new leaf and do good deeds for people just like that young man...”
She is interrupted by David who has just arrived: “Morning Elizabeth, Morning Mrs Berg.”
Mrs Berg turns to look at him and screams “Aaargh!”
David is surprised by the old woman’s reaction and asks: “Are you okay Mrs Berg?”
Mrs Berg hastily wraps the scarf around her face and gathers up the signed book: “Who’s Mrs Berg, you must have me confused with someone else. Mrs Berg is sick I believe.”
Mrs Berg turns to Elizabeth: “Thank you dear, it was very nice meeting you for the first time!”
With that Mrs Berg hurries out of the store. David turns to look at Elizabeth questioningly.
Elizabeth shrugs and says: “Don’t ask!”
David pauses for a moment as he watches the old woman scurry out of the shop. A multitude of questions race into his mind but he thinks better of asking them and instead changes the subject: “I just came to let you know that I’ve had it confirmed that I’ve been cast as myself in the TV movie.”
Elizabeth is pleased for her friend: “Oh David that is great news, congratulations.”
David gives a huge smile: “Shooting starts in January in Hollywood, can you believe it?.”
Elizabeth smiles.
David continues: “It’ll be my first job on TV and my first time working in Hollywood. It’s going to be great and it’s all thanks to you.”
He bends down and surprises Elizabeth with a tender kiss on the cheek: “Thank you. You’re a good friend. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
There is an awkward silence between them for a few seconds until David goes to look at his watch: “Damn it I still haven’t found my watch. I remember having it the other night when I met with the producers of the TV movie but now it just seems to have vanished. Anyway I better go, I’ll see you later.”
Elizabeth bids him goodbye and continues signing the books of her waiting public.
After a couple of hours the signing is coming to a close and the shop owner puts up a sign to stop anyone else trying to join the queue. After Elizabeth has signed the last book the owner thanks her and she starts to pack up her things.
Just at that moment Jeffrey bursts through the shop doors and is horrified to find the signing over. He starts to panic and takes lots of frantic breaths, while pleading with the owner to tell Elizabeth he’s here and needs to see her. As the owner goes to check with Elizabeth, Jeffrey pulls out his asthma inhaler and quickly places it into his mouth and triggers it to help him breathe normally.
Elizabeth comes out from the back of the shop to see what is happening. When she sees Jeffrey she becomes very concerned and rushes over to him: “Jeffrey what on earth’s the matter?”
Jeffrey pauses as he catches his breath before saying: “Oh Elizabeth I’m so sorry. I got held up then there was some maniac out on the streets who I thought wasn’t going to let me in here. I thought you might be worried that I hadn’t turned up today and that you’d never see me again.”
Elizabeth pauses for a moment not sure what to say. The truth was that with all that had been going on with losing her bag, feeling slightly hung over and Mrs Berg’s strange appearance, she hadn’t even thought about not seeing Jeffrey. Suddenly she feels a little guilty and doesn’t want to hurt his feelings as their meetings are obviously very important to him. Instead she changes the subject slightly: “Well you’re here now and that’s the main thing.”
Jeffrey’s breathing returns to normal and he smiles as he offers Elizabeth a red rose: “A rose for a very special person.”
Elizabeth blushes slightly as she accepts the rose: “Thank you Jeffrey.”
Jeffrey sighs: “I can’t believe this will be our last meeting; I’ve so enjoyed these last few months following you all over the country, I don’t want it to end. I hope I haven’t been too much of a nuisance? ”
Elizabeth laughs: “No not at all, it’s been nice to see a friendly familiar face in a sea of strangers at all the signings I’ve done.”
Jeffrey’s face lights up at the sound of Elizabeth’s words: “Well rest assured I will keep in touch with your publishing company to find out any future signings you will be doing for your new book, and I promise I’ll be there with a rose in hand. Any idea what the next book will be about? I promise I won’t tell anyone else!”
Elizabeth sighs: “I wish there was something I could tell you but I haven’t worked out yet what my next book will be about. To be honest I sometimes struggle with ideas for my books and often need a little inspiration to get me started.”
Jeffrey looks concerned: “Well I hope it’s not too long before you get the ideas, I can’t wait to read your next novel and be able to see you at a signing event. I hope that until that day that every time you see a rose that you think of me and remember our meetings.”
Elizabeth smiles and nods that she will do that.
After signing a book and having the manager of the store take their photo Jeffrey quickly disappears. Elizabeth can see he has tears in his eyes as he says “goodbye” and rushes through the door.
Watching him go Elizabeth sighs finding it hard to comprehend how her work could affect someone so profoundly. She struggles to decide if it’s a good or a bad thing.
Elizabeth gathers up her belongings and steps out of the shop on to the sunny street. It’s such a lovely warm day that she decides she wants to walk home. Maybe a good walk will give her inspiration for a new book.
After about ten minutes Elizabeth gets the unshakeable feeling that she is being followed. Similar to the feelings she’d had the previous night as she made her way home from the restaurant. Elizabeth looks frantically around and behind her but can’t see anyone paying any attention to her but the feeling that she is being followed is overwhelming.
Seeing a busy cafe ahead Elizabeth rushes inside, buys a coffee and takes a seat in the window so that she can look out into the street. As she drinks her beverage she carefully watches the passersby to see if she recognises anyone.
She wonders if it could be Jeffrey, he had only left the book store a few moments before she had; maybe he had hung around to follow her home. Quickly she shakes the thoughts from her head, angry at herself for thinking such things. Jeffrey was a kind and caring person and had never done anything that she would consider inappropriate so she had no reason to suspect him.
Elizabeth sits in the cafe for about 20 minutes and then decides to phone a taxi from the pay phone in the cafe to come and collect her, to take her home.
A further 20 minutes later Elizabeth Sherwood is safe and sound in her apartment. She quickly locks and bolts her front door. She takes a look through the spy hole in the door and is relieved to see that the corridor outside her apartment is empty.
Elizabeth takes a couple of deep breaths finally able to relax and begins to open her mail. Suddenly the phone rings which makes her jump.
Elizabeth quickly moves from her seat at the table to pick up the phone and notices the picture of her mother on the dresser has been turned round to face the wall. Puzzled by how that happened she answers: “Hello?”
Just like the previous evening there is no one there.
After her experience getting home Elizabeth feels unnerved and with her voice shaking speaks again: “Hello is there anyone there? This isn’t funny!”
Suddenly Elizabeth hears heavy breathing. She can’t tell if it’s intentional or someone trying to catch their breath just like Jeffrey was trying to catch his breath earlier in the day: “Jeffrey is that you? If it is then please know this is scaring me and I don’t like it.”
Suddenly the person on the other end hangs up the phone. Elizabeth is unsure if it was Jeffrey or not but she feels totally shook up. She reaches for a bottle of whiskey and pours herself a large drink.
Moving back to the table where she had been sitting, she sits back down, takes a sip of her drink and resumes looking through her mail.
She sees a letter that has no postage mark on it, making it look like it had been hand delivered. Slowly she opens it and discovers the letter has been made up by someone cutting words out of a book and sticking them on a page to create a message.
Elizabeth slowly reads the message aloud: “I’m watching you. You think you are better than me, but I know you’re not! One day you’ll pay for what you did to me! You ruined my life and now you need to pay for that with your own life! Then you’ll be sorry!”
Elizabeth’s whole body goes cold with fear and the letter slips from her hand to the floor. Elizabeth picks up the glass of whiskey and notices her hand is shaking as she moves the glass closer to her mouth. She takes a large gulp of the brown liquid.
Suddenly the phones rings and makes her jump even more violently than the previous time. For a long moment she stares at the ringing phone, scared to answer it, but the ringing carries on and on. Eventually she makes her way to the phone and slowly picks up the receiver and moves it closer to her face. She swallows hard and says “Hello?”
Again there is no one on the other end of the line just silence.
Elizabeth shouts angrily: “Who is this? Why are you doing this to me?”
Her questions are met with silence and Elizabeth slams the phone down. Her whole body is shaking with fear and she has no idea what the letter was talking about and no idea why anyone would want to send it and make the phone calls. She takes a deep breath not sure what to do next.
To be continued.......
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