Visitor
The clunking of the locks turning brings me out of a deep sleep. I sit up fast and look to the open door.
“You’ve got a visitor.” The orderly mumbles.
I stand up off the bed and I walk out of the room down the corridor. As I am walking, I hear the stomps of the man behind me following me. I stop.
“I’ve never had a visitor before, where do I go?”
The orderly laughs and says: “Just keep walking down here and they will be the lunch hall on the left. You’ll see your visitor through the window before you go in.”
I carry on past the resting area where we like to go just to watch TV. Then I see it, I look into the room through the window and see a blonde woman sitting in the room. She wears a purple coat and black blouse. Her blonde locks dangle down onto her shoulders. Her make-up is immaculate. I recognise her eyes first, surrounded by her black eye lashes.
As I make eye contact with Sandra, I walk into the room and sit down opposite her.
“Ryan, you look so good, have you been working out in here?” Sandra says to me, smiling.
“What are you doing here Sandra?” I ask.
Sandra sighs. “I needed to speak to you. It’s really important and I should have spoken to you before you were admitted.”
“What have you got to say? Hopefully a ‘sorry’ for using me.”
“Ryan please just listen, this is so important, more important than our past.”
“Okay well what is it then?”
“Ryan, listen carefully, do not interrupt me and please believe me.”
I nod and Sandra then leans in closer to my face.
“I think that you have been used.”
“I’ve been used?” I respond, confused.
“Let me speak.” Sandra says and I nod again. “I think that you have been a victim in all of this. In some way you have been set up by a number of people. This Liam Graynnil and your split personality are completely made up.”
“What?” I shout.
The orderly says: “Are you two okay?”
“Yes we’re fine.” Sandra snaps at him.
“It might be time to end it.” He says.
“No we’ve just sat down. Actually, can you stand outside the door please, what I’m about to tell him is really personal and difficult.”
The orderly stays in position; his massive bulk blocks the doorway.
“Please.” Sandra says, fluttering her eyelashes.
“Yes okay. Just scream if he tries anything.”
“Yes of course, thank you.” Sandra says.
She watches him leave then continues to speak. “Ryan I don’t have time for this, I don’t have time for questions. You need to listen; this is hard for me and really puts me in a difficult position. You need to listen to me and believe me okay?”
“Yeah… okay.” I say and put my hands together.
“Good. Ryan I know that you have been set up. You have been told to believe that you have a split personality disorder and believe that you are both Ryan Milligan and Liam Graynnil. I know who the person responsible is but they don’t know I know. They are in a group with a few other people who were in on setting you up. I don’t know names but I know one of the main men involved is Si.” Sandra pauses and takes a deep breath, staring at me, waiting for my reaction. “Simon is one of the people in on it Ryan, he’s part of this group and he’s one of the senior members and they call him Mr S I think.”
“How did you find this out?” I whisper.
“It was on Simon’s computer, there was an email to him from Andrew Myers calling Simon Mr S. I didn’t think anything of it, I thought it was an old email but then I looked at the date and it was only a few weeks after you were shot. There were so many emails between the two of them and another person, Don I think, but I can’t be sure.”
“I was aware of the group Sandra but I thought they were hunting me down to kill me because they thought I killed Tanya and the kids.”
“That’s what they wanted you to think, they’re the people setting you up for all of this don’t you understand? I haven’t asked Simon, I looked through his texts and I followed him around instead. I should have told you, but I didn’t know what he was up to. I followed him early one morning; he got up earlier than he usually does for work. I watched him and he went over to Shola’s. He went around the back of the house a couple of mornings. I don’t really know why but I knew something wasn’t right.”
“Why didn’t you ask him?”
“I was scared Ryan, Simon has a hell of a temper on him which I’ve seen a lot of times. Of course Shola is dead but I’m sure the house explosion was something to do with Simon. I remember him getting up during the night. I thought he went to the toilet. I dozed off and next minute I heard an explosion but when I woke up, Simon was taking off his trousers and a jacket. I didn’t question him but I should have. But even more importantly Ryan, Andrew Myers is alive, he’s living on Mulberry Lane with Tanya and Sammy and Alex.”
“He’s alive and living in my house?”
“It’s not your house anymore Ryan, it was given to Tanya because she was your wife at the time. But now you’re divorced, she’s engaged to Andrew Myers and they own the house. That makes me think that Tanya was also in on all of this.”
“I don’t think Tanya would do that to me, she wouldn’t put our kids through that.”
“Ryan! She is not innocent in all of this, what did she tell you in the basement? Did she tell you that you change in the night and when you do change, you’re horrible to her?”
I do not reply and instead look down to the table.
“I know she’s in on it Ryan. I found out that on Andrew Myers’ Will, she was the person who was left the house, she sold up and that’s when you bought it. And anyway she seemed too calm in court and she seemed happy you were sent down and admitted here. She just cut you out of her life and took away any chance you had to see your kids again.”
I look at Sandra’s eyes, although she wears heavy makeup, the bags under her eyes show through. She looks as if she is stressed-out about this. She must have really thought about all of this to be able to piece it all together.
“I think you may be right Sandy.” I sigh.
“Thank you Ryan.” Sandra says, sounding relieved. “We need to prove this; you can’t stay in here any longer. You’re innocent.”
“I might not be completely innocent Sandy, we don’t know if I don’t have a problem.”
“You know when I went missing, what happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“What happened, how did you find out I was missing and where were you?”
I look at Sandra and she stares at me, awaiting the answer.
“Well I woke up next to you completely naked in the woods.”
“Did you see it was me?”
“I didn’t look at your face, I just couldn’t.”
“That’s fine. I remember waking up in the woods completely naked also but the last thing I did remember was going out to the bins and as I turned, a man grabbed me and put a cloth over my face. I began to pass out and I saw Simon poking his head around the corner. Again, I didn’t tell him, but I made out I didn’t see him and I didn’t tell the police. But Ryan, if you can get out or talk to the police somehow, then I will help you. I will help you prove you’re innocent because I know you are. I don’t know why they did this to you but I know you’re the victim here.”
“Thank you Sandy. It means a lot to me.” I say as my throat tightens and tears form.
“You don’t need to thank me; we’ll get you out somehow.”
“What if I escape?” I whisper to her.
“Escape? How are you going to get out of here?”
“Me and a couple of us in here want to get out, I hear them talking all the time about doing it, maybe we could try, you could help?”
“I can’t help you get out, what good would I be?”
“I wouldn’t make you do anything major, I would just ask you to leave a car outside for me.”
“You’ve got to get out of here first.”
“We’ve spoken about it before Sandy, I will get out. Can I have a phone number to call you on?”
Sandra stares at me, sighs and shakes her head. “I do have a new mobile you can call me on. Don’t pass it on to anybody at all. I’ve left Simon and I don’t want him to find me.”
“You’ve left him?”
“Do you really think I can stay with somebody like that?” She says as she writes her number on a piece of paper. “Here you go, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll help you darling. Good luck though.”
“No Sandra please, please help me. Promise you’ll do this for me when I get out. I’ll call and tell you the time and day to leave the car out there.”
“I need to go. You can call me on the number I gave you. I’m sorry for everything and I hope Simon, Tanya and Andrew all pay for what they’ve done to you.”
“Thanks Sandy.” I say as I stand up.
Sandy reaches for my hand and stands up with me.
“Take care Ryan, don’t get into trouble; keep your head down.”
“Thanks for speaking to me Sandy, you’ve helped so much. For your information, I’ve been working out in here, there’s nothing else to do.”
Sandra laughs, kisses me on my cheek and squeezes my hand. She eventually lets go and walks towards the door. She opens the door and the orderly lets her walk away. I watch her through the window and as I do, she looks back at me and smiles until the windows end and she’s gone.
The orderly comes up to me and says: “You’re free to go back to your room now.” He walks out of the room and stands in front of the corridor where Sandra left.
So I go back to my room.