― Haruki Murakami
Aftermath
I had lunch with Beatrice to update her about the situation with Gwen James. I didn't need to explain the torment I had been experiencing because it was written plainly on my face.
"Another rough night, Ethan?" she asked sympathetically.
"Yeah, it was rough but one benefit emerged―it turns out Garth Kane agrees with you that breaking into Trish's apartment would be a bad idea―instead we worked out a plan to put pressure on Trish to get her to flip on Gwen. I've already phoned Trish and she agreed to meet me at The Keg and listen to what I have to offer."
Worry lines creased her brow. "That's good, but be careful, Ethan―both these women are dangerous. I hope Garth is going to be there as backup."
I nodded. "He'll be nearby monitoring and recording our conversation. If he hears Trish incriminate Gwen, then he knows a judge that he can contact who will grant a search warrant to search both their premises and who knows what will turn up."
"I am worried about you though," Beatrice frowned, "You look like you haven't been getting enough sleep."
"To tell the truth, last night after Garth left I was exhausted and went straight to bed. But I was awakened at 3 am by those same eerie sounds I heard before and saw an apparition of Gwen in the hallway."
"Oh my God! That must have been terrifying."
"It was at first, but the I remembered what Dr. Wallace said about these ghostly visions being projections of my shadow self."
"How did that make you feel?"
"Angry and violated. I was furious that Gwen had the power to shake my manhood and make me scream out in terror. I resolved to not let her demoralize me and was more determined that ever to confront Gwen in a showdown."
Beatrice's eyes shone. "Good for you, Ethan. The same thing happened to me when Guinevere was using a form of psychological warfare to make me doubt myself and lose my grip on reality. I came to a similar conclusion that I was in control of my mind and emotions. It took a while, but eventually I was able to put my life back together."
"Once I realized these ghostly visions were simply projections of my own mind, I knew I could begin to fight back and reclaim my own sanity."
"Looks like you're on your way to setting things right," she smiled.
At four that afternoon, Garth was parked just outside the restaurant monitoring my conversation with Trish Simpson.
At first, Trish denied everything but when I revealed in detail how Garth was ex RCMP and worked for the civilian spy agency, she turned pale.
"He recovered all the covert cameras concealed in the condo and even outside on the terrace," I told her, "and before he disabled them he was able to track the signal from the high-gain antenna on the roof to your apartment. He'll be executing a search warrant so you are definitely implicated, but we're willing to offer you immunity from prosecution if you disclose all the details of your involvement with Guinevere James."
Trish broke down crying and admitted everything.
Garth recorded her confession and obtained a search warrant for both women's premises. He phoned later that night to report on the results of the search and seizure effort.
I later told Beatrice the details.
"We recovered not only the video recordings Trish made but also emails and payments that tie her to Gwen James. In the search of Gwen's apartment, we turned up further evidence of how she was subverting my relationship with Greg Charlton and also found corroborating evidence tying her to a similar smear campaign against you."
It was a bitter-sweet moment of triumph and sadness. As glad as I was that Beatrice and I would finally be vindicated and cleared of all wrongdoing, it was sobering to realize the extent that some would go to in order to snatch power for themselves while destroying another's reputation in the process.
I could probably convince Greg Charlton and get reinstated at the agency but the harm was done―Greg had chosen to ignore a friendship that extended back to college and believe Guinevere instead.
The betrayal cut both ways and I knew I could never trust Greg again. Somehow though, I was better off by going through the process and emerged stronger in the end than when I began.
Thanks for sharing this story with us, seems the characters are in a great intrigue, keep up the good work and stay awesome.
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