Jigsaw Lovers (20 page)

In the summer vacations she spent time on the beaches of the South of France, variously selling ice-creams and dough-nuts whilst living in a tent, sipping champagne whilst house-sitting luxurious villas in St Tropez, and occasionally disporting with some rich millionaire whilst gracing the deck of his yacht in Monte Carlo.

She developed a taste for the good things in life, and saw a side of it, of which she knew she could never truly be a part. Her parents, whilst comfortably-off, would never be able to provide her with the same level of material benefits that she had sampled on these trips to Europe.

From what she observed many of her friends from school and university lacked any type of ambition. Her opinion of them was that they were either intellectually stunted or chronically lazy. Thos
e whom she liked, for whatever reason, she would put into the latter category, prepared to, maybe, give them the benefit of the doubt, in exchange for some other redeeming character trait. The rest were consigned to the realm of the mediocre non-entity; a fate worse than death as far as she was concerned.

They were content to wa
it around in some dead end job; a secretary to an interior designer, or some such similar pseudo-profession, waiting for the right man to walk into their office and fall on his knees before them.

She determined that she was not going to pursue that path. Her education had shown her that there were plenty of opportunities for someone of her intelligence. Her good looks and attitude, particularly towards sex, had proved to her that she could go far and gain many benefits, without too much effort. She would use all these qualities to enjoy herself and hopefully in the process make
large amounts of money and have a good time.

The reality of the situation was somewhat different. After graduating from university she decided to spend a few months travelling through Europe. There was no point in rushing into a job. The prospect of being responsibly employed definitely did not appeal. She was too young to be wasted sitting behind a desk, raising the blood-pressure of middle-aged philandering executives.

After six months she found herself back in England. She stayed with her parents for a while but they had grown so far apart over the years that they had very little in common.

She moved up to London with enough money to pay a deposit on a flat and eat for a month.

When she considered the possibilities in front of her she kept coming back to the idea of selling her body for money. It wasn’t as a last resort, as so often happened to so many women, far less fortunate than herself. She actively wanted to try it out. The prospect filled her with great excitement.

If she were careful and discerning she might do well. It was worth a try. She had much to gain, but more importantly she considered, she had very little, if anything, to lose.

Hamilton closed the folder. Diana Johnston was a very intriguing young lady. She was ideal for the scheme he had devised, and he was pleased that Ackermann and James had selected her. What a pity he would never have an opportunity to meet her in the flesh.

The second piece of the jigsaw arrived two days after the first. The black and white image showed a naked foot, possibly, by virtue of its delicate nature, female. The type-written note stated ‘
TWO OUT OF THIRTY
’. Smith shook the envelope, but like the first piece there was still no indication as to who may have sent it. Without another thought he put it in the top drawer with the other piece and carried on with his morning appointments.

He was feeling particularly pleased with himself. The last three months since Diana had come into his life had been fantastic. He was in love with her. He had no doubt about that, and he couldn’t believe how well, youthful and happy it made him feel. She had transformed his life, and she certainly adored him and loved him, frequently turning to him for advice and guidance.

Obviously he had something which younger men her own age lacked. He had always thought women found him attractive but had convinced himself that he had never had the opportunity to put such thoughts to the test. That was one of the problems of having married Catherine when he was so young. While his friends were out every night partying and chasing all the girls he remained at home with Catherine, studying for his exams, and helping to look after their new-born baby.

Not that he regretted marrying her. It was just that things had changed. He still loved her, but in a different way from the way he loved Diana. The romance with Diana had certainly done wonders for his self-esteem, and he was convinced, in his self-delusion, that it had all been at his initiative.

During the early stages he had been tormented by doubts and guilt. He was guilty about betraying the marriage vows he had made to Catherine, but this feeling paled into insignificance when he considered the torment he was going through every time he met or even thought about Diana.

He’d been seeing Diana almost every evening for a week. On a wild impulse she suggested they go for a drive down to the beach. It was a warm night with just a slight breeze and the tide was coming in. They had taken their shoes off and splashed playfully in the crashing waves and then sat on a sandy rock watching the water swirl around them.

‘This is so lovely,’ she said as she cuddled up to him. ‘I’d like to stay here for ever.’

‘Diana, I need to talk to you about something that’s been disturbing me.’ He gazed out to sea before continuing.

‘I’m not quite sure how to say this or even where to begin.’

‘What’s the matter, darling?’ she asked with concern.

‘Well, quite simply, I think I’ve fallen in love with you and it scares me. I don’t know what to do. I can’t control the feelings I’m having for you and I think I’m going to end up getting very hurt. I haven’t felt like this since I first met Catherine.’

She reached out and took his hand in hers. ‘John, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me. I’m very flattered that you’ve told me.’

‘But I’m worried. It’s ridiculous after only knowing you for such a short time, but it’s what I feel. I’ve got to decide what to do.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Whenever I’m not with you I’m thinking about you and when I’m going to see you next. I want to pick up the phone and call you for no reason other than I want to hear your voice. I want to spend as much time with you as possible. I can’t get enough of your company. I love you, dammit!’ He put his head in his hands and Diana noticed that he was sobbing. She gently put her arm around his shoulders and hugged him closer to her, kissing him on the side of his forehead.

‘I’m trying to decide what to do. I’m married with two children but am behaving as though I’m not. It’s so wrong. I’ve betrayed Catherine. Half of me wants to carry on seeing you but then I think it’s got to end sometime, so better it end now before I get too involved and too hurt.’

‘I understand, John. I’m also surprised at what I feel for you. I suddenly realised this morning that I’ve been with you every evening and almost every lunchtime for the past week. I thought that maybe you’d just become a rather pleasant habit, because I’m out here on holiday, but I now know my feelings for you are more than that.’

‘What should I do?’ he asked quietly. ‘If I’m being sensible I should end things now. It’ll take me a while to get over you and I’ll be miserable. It’s not because I don’t want you. I do, more so than anyone I’ve ever known, but I don’t think I can cope with the thought of not having you all the time.’

‘I want you as well, John. I think it’s too late for either of us to withdraw now without getting hurt, so I think we should carry on seeing each other and see what develops between us. I’m very pleased you’ve been so open and honest with me. Not many people would have been able to say what you’ve just said. Thank you.’

‘I’d forgotten what its like to love until I met you. Please don’t leave me.’ He held her tight and she felt the tears run down his cheek.

‘I won’t, John. I’ll be with you for ever because I love you too.’ She kissed him reassuringly.

An enormous wave broke and washed over them, soaking them both. They ran giggling to the car.

Smith was also feeling quite pleased with himself as he had just come from a meeting with Johannes Stephanus, his superior and overall branch manager. Stephanus was nearing sixty, of somewhat portly stature, but not overly so, with grey hair and thin gold-framed spectacles. On all but the hottest days of summer, he was to be seen wearing a dark three-piece suit. From time to time he would puff on a pipe, the pungent aroma of which permeated his office.

‘I’ll be retiring at the end of next year and I’m putting in a recommendation that they appoint you to take over from me,’ Stephanus had said.

This came as a complete surprise to Smith. Generally the Bank’s policy was not to promote senior people from within their own branch. Managers would be moved around from branch to branch, in order that they were not put in a position whereby they had to give orders to other staff members who were once their equals.

‘That’s very kind, sir, but that’s not normally what happens, is it?’

‘That’s true, but there are exceptions to every rule. You’re a hard worker, some think too hard, but I think that’s a quality to be commended, although these days people laugh at the idea. I’ve watched you for the past few years. You don’t associate too closely with the other members of staff on a social level, and you maintain a distance from them in your working relationship. They think you’re a stuck up, pompous old plodder.’

‘I don’t think that’s fair.’ Smith was shocked and somewhat indignant. ‘Some people may disagree with the way I do things, but I think I’m right.’

‘Don’t get me wrong. I’m not criticising you, merely pointing out what I’ve observed. I think those are admirable qualities. They help when dealing with the sort of person you have to deal with. You maybe a plodder and take your time assessing a situation but, as a consequence, you’ve also got the lowest number of customer bad debts against you for all the branches in the whole of the region.’

‘I try to be careful and cover all the possibilities,’ Smith agreed.

‘You don’t easily allow people to run up overdrafts and borrow indiscriminately beyond their means. You make a healthy profit for the Bank whilst minimising the risk we run.’

Stephanus stood up and walked over to the window
that looked out onto the street. A ray of sunlight shone through it, lightening the somewhat sombre atmosphere created by the wood-panelled walls.

‘You know, you remind me of myself when I was your age. We’re very similar in many ways. You and I have the same values. Good Christian family values, as taught by the church. You’ve got a lovely wife and two charming daughters.’

‘I try to follow your lead, sir.’

Stephanus didn’t notice the interruption and carried on talking as he stared down at the street below.

‘You started with the Bank straight out of school. Nowadays we get all these university graduates, who think, just because they’ve got a degree, they know it all. They arrive here with their computers, thinking they’ll solve everyone’s problems instantly, with a few taps on their keyboard. Computers are the devil’s toys. They have no soul, no feeling. They are far too rational to be trusted.’

‘Its true I’ve never felt comfortable using one. I rarely even switch mine on,’ agreed Smith.

‘There must be a place for instinct and intuition in the job, and I think you’ve got that.

‘You remember that client of yours, I forget his name now, a few years back
. He said he designed games for computers. Whatever that might mean.’

‘Yes
, I do. His name was Hamilton.’

‘He came looking for a loan, but at the time you very rightly, in my opinion, refused him. He then had the effrontery to come to me and complain about your attitude. Now that was a reaction I would not tolerate. We got the better of him though. Wouldn’t advance him a cent, although he had the potential to do well. I wonder what happened to him eventually?’

‘Someone said he went on to make a lot of money,’ offered Smith.

‘No doubt he did, but I don’t approve of the way he made it, if that is the case. Games are a corrupting influence on the youth of today. As if the country doesn’t have enough problems without people playing games all day long on these electronic monsters. A little less time in front of the screen and a little more in church would do nobody any harm.’

‘I couldn’t agree more, sir.’

‘Anyway, I’ve digressed. The fact of the matter is I think you’ll do a good job of running this branch. When I was your age my manager gave me a chance, and I’ve always wanted to be in a position to do the same for someone else whom I believed in, like he believed in me.’

‘I won’t let you down, sir,’ Smith had said as he left to return to his office.

Smith looked at his diary. It had been almost a month since Diana had gone back to London to sort out her affairs before returning permanently to Cape Town and to him. When she came back he would have to talk to his wife and explain what had happened, and that although he still loved her he wanted a divorce.

He didn’t want to upset Catherine but Diana had taken over his whole life. It was as if he was no longer in control of himself or events when he was with her. How he missed her. It was impossible to put into words what he felt for her.