Searching for Susan

By RA Mulvey

Embark on a heart-pounding journey of love, betrayal, and redemption in "Searching for Susan." Peter Driver's world is unravelling as his marriage to Susan crumbles under the weight of neglect and secrets. Susan, a successful sales manager, seeks solace in an annual school reunion in Brighton, but a drunken mistake from the previous year threatens to unravel their family's foundation, casting doubt about the father of their son, Austin

 

When Susan is unexpectedly abducted during the reunion, Peter is jolted awake from his complacency. Fueled by love and newfound determination, he sets out on a relentless quest to rescue his wife and confront the demons threatening to tear them apart. As the clock ticks, Peter unravels shocking revelations about their past, laying bare the mysteries that led them to this breaking point.

 

In this race against time, "Searching for Susan" weaves a tale of suspense and self-discovery. Will Peter's unwavering love be enough to overcome the demons of their past and bring Susan back safely? Join Peter on this emotional rollercoaster as he confronts the mysteries that threaten to tear them apart forever. A story of love's resilience and the power of redemption, "Searching for Susan" is a page-turner that will keep you on the edge until the very end.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Mulvey
• Release date: Dec 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223690672

RA Mulvey

Richard Mulvey is a prolific writer of business books and more recently novels.  As a professional speaker for nearly thirty years he entertained audiences with his stories and now he has hung up his microphone and concentrates his time turning many of his stories into novels.  Richard is a family man with seven children and lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

Book preview

Chapter one

W hat about the kids ?

Oh God, Peter, surely you can manage the children for one night.

Peter wasn’t worried about the children at all; he was worried about his wife of twelve years being alone in a hotel after her school reunion.

Susan was packing anyway. She was leaving first thing in the morning, and she would have to drop off the children on the way. She didn’t want any delays, and she didn’t want Peter watching to see what she put in her suitcase. Please Peter. Go and feed the kids, and I’ll finish up here. Maybe we can watch a movie tonight, you know, the ones you like to watch.

Okay, Peter agreed when he saw no point in continuing the conversation, and then he left to put the chips on. You want sausages? he shouted over his shoulder as he walked down the stairs, but he didn’t hear the answer. He knew the answer. Susan never ate before the school reunion. It was the one day of the year that he knew he would lose her. Usually just for the night, but he thought that maybe this time he would lose her for longer.

Peter knew his marriage was going nowhere. He was one of two assistant managers at the local department store, but Susan was sales and marketing director for Crawfords in town. They were in the same class together at school and went to the same university, getting the same degree, but that is where the similarities ended. They were both attractive and seemed to have similar intelligence; the difference was that Susan was driven. She wanted to be the best. Peter was happy to be what he was, and that difference meant that they were now worlds apart.

Oh, Dad, not sausages again. Jennifer was going through the vegetarian stage that most girls go through when they discover that a beef sausage is mostly made up of that lovely cow they see driving to Granny's house, shot, ground up, and mixed with bread crumbs, colorings, and flavourings.

You used to like sausages, Jenny, Peter said as he poured the frozen chips onto the tray to go in the oven.

It’s Jen, Dad, Jennifer said. I told you. Jenny is a child’s name.

Yes, sorry, Peter said. But you're my child.

Not if you keep cooking beef sausages.

Peter laughed as the baby started to cry. See to Austin, darling, please. I have to watch the chips.

Susan was still upstairs packing when she heard the baby cry. He knows, she thought. He knows that I'm about to go away for a night, and I may see his father again. And if I do? While she was thinking this, she was scrabbling around on the floor behind the bottom drawer to take out her toys.

What are you looking for, Mum? Jennifer asked as she walked into the bedroom.

I thought I dropped something back here.

Do you want me to look for you, Mum? Jennifer was always very helpful when it came to her parents. Sometimes she would come home from school and find her mother crying on the bed or locked in the toilet, and this worried her. Are you okay, Mum?

Susan pulled out a pair of knickers. Found it, she said, and she dumped the knickers in her bag.

You're not going to wear those old knickers while you're away, Mum, are you?

Who will see? Susan said.

You never know, Mum. You might find a tall, dark stranger and run away with him. Jennifer was laughing.

Don’t be silly, darling. If I do that, you will have oven chips for dinner every night. Susan slammed her suitcase shut and locked it. Come on, darling, let’s see what Austin is crying about.

Susan was carrying Austin and had Jennifer in tow as she walked into the kitchen. The food was cooked and on the table. Sausages, chips, and peas, and they all had something. Jennifer had chips and tomato sauce. Susan had a few peas, and Austin was on Susan’s knee, happily drinking from the bottle, and it was only Peter who had a plate with sausages, chips, and peas on it.

Can we say grace? Jennifer said.

Since when do we say grace? Peter asked.

Mary’s mum likes to say grace before they eat. I was there last week for that sleepover, remember?

Well, that’s no reason... Susan interrupted Peter by holding up her hand.

It’s okay, darling, Susan said. You can say grace if you want to.

Okay, Jennifer took charge. We all have to put our hands together like this. Jennifer clasped her hands together in front of her face. Then I say,. ‘Thank you, Lord, for what we eat; thank you, Lord, for those we meet. Thank you, Lord...’ I'm not sure of the rest.

That was very nice, Jenny, Susan said. You will have to ask Mary’s Mum what the rest is when you see her again.

Can I eat my food before it gets cold? Peter was angry as he started to cut up the sausages.

Later that night, they went to bed together. Peter thought that there was a chance that Susan would want to have sex. It can’t be called lovemaking when there's no love involved, Peter thought, but the sex was good sometimes. The last time they had sex was the night after the school reunion last year and nine months later Austin had been born. Last month Susan had told Peter that she was going on the pill again, something to do with her weight, but Peter thought that she didn’t want any more children from their annual romp in the bed. As soon as they were in bed Susan said goodnight and rolled over. Oh Well, Peter thought.

It was about an hour later that Peter was snoring in bed as Susan got up to feed Austin. When she came back to bed he was still snoring so she pulled out the bottom drawer of the chest and found her toys to put in her suitcase.

The school reunion didn’t really interest her, but the opportunity to be on her own in a hotel room was intoxicating. Peter knew what Susan kept behind the bottom drawer, and sometimes he would take the toys out and imagine what she did with them while she was away.

Right, I think that’s everything, she said as she was standing at the door in the morning with her case in her hand. I’ll drop Jennifer at school, then Austin with my mother, and then head down to the coast, are you sure you don’t want to come? she said with a perfunctory kiss on Peter’s cheek, and left, without waiting for a reply."

Milk! Peter shouted as the car was about to pull away. Then he rushed to the fridge and got out the milk for the baby, stuffing it in a Marks and Spencer flat pack cooler bag and passing it through the window to Jennifer. Then the car roared away.

Why does she have to do that every time? Peter thought to himself as he closed the door behind him with a sigh.

The school reunion was bothering him. He was in the same class as Susan, so they had the same friends when they were at school. He had gone with her the first time she went five years ago, but he hated it. He was twenty-five and a junior manager at Worthing’s. All the rest of their friends seemed to be doctors or running their own successful businesses. They drove up in their fancy cars with their equally fancy girlfriends. Very few seemed to be married. There were lots of friendly handshakes and hugs, lots of smiles and drinks, and then the question was asked. What are you in?

Not, What is your job? Or, who do you work for?

What are you in? suggests working for yourself or having a senior position in government or corporate.

When asked, Peter got into the habit of answering, Trouble, usually. Which would encourage a friendly laugh followed by, But seriously, I'm in local government. or something equally important.

I work for Worthing’s, junior manager. Peter would say and that ended the conversation. After one exchange like this, he heard a couple of his former friends chatting. Have you heard what Peter is doing? He’s working in a shop, I thought he would be doing a lot better by now. Susan, on the other hand, is racing away with her high powered position. How did she end up with that loser? After listening to that interaction he vanished to their room on the tenth floor and decided never to attend one of these reunions again.

That was all five years ago now but he knew what these things were like. Too much to drink and then sleeping in the same hotel as the party. It was too easy. Last year Susan had come home with presents for Jennifer and himself. She had never done that before. Then she was all over him in bed that night. She has never done that since. He knew something was wrong and then nine months later Austin popped out. Of course, he was suspicious until Susan’s mother had said that Austin looked just like his dad. Same eyes, and that chin, she had said. Just like his dad. Peter couldn’t see it, of course, but which father could ever see themselves in their baby if they're being honest?

Peter packed the dishwasher and pressed the button, leaving it to rumble on its own while he got ready for work. Driving into town, he recalled the conversation he had had with Susan during the week. I can drive you down if you like, he had said. I won’t come to that silly party, but we can stay in the hotel room together or drive you back and save the cost of the hotel. I'll be the designated.

That’s so sweet of you darling, Susan had said. But I couldn’t ask you to do that, anyway you have to pick Jennifer up from school.

They both knew that a plan could be made if necessary, they had done it before when they were younger, but Peter knew it wasn’t going to happen even before he asked.

Peter left work early to pick up Jennifer from aftercare. She was always the last to be picked up and at twelve years old she thought she should be able to go home on her own by now. Peter knew she was right, but Susan insisted that she didn’t want Jennifer to be a latchkey kid.

Until Austin was born, they both knew that Jennifer was the only reason that either of them came home at all. If Jennifer could let herself in, cook her own chips and sit watching TV, she would probably have to put herself to bed while her mother was working late and her father was having just one more pint so that he missed the traffic before the drive home. Until Austin