A Time For Justice (33 page)

‘
I heard,’ she admitted, ‘and whether you want to believe it
or not, that’s what kept me going. That thought. Those
words.’

‘
So why did you run away from me?’

‘
The girl in the room.’ Karen took a deep breath, found it
difficult to go on.

‘
Look, I just needed someone and she was available. I know it
sounds cruel, but she fulfilled a need there and then. A one-night
stand, if you like. I was beginning to react badly to Ken’s death.
I needed some sort of release, someone to cling to, I suppose. She
meant nothing to me. I meant nothing to her.’

‘
I’m sorry,’ said Karen softly. ‘That night’s gone now. I
can’t change it, nor can you. I was very upset and confused and
finding you with her made it worse. You see, I needed someone to
cling to as well.’

‘
And I wasn’t there for you,’ said Donaldson, regret in his
voice.

‘
But what you said gave me strength. I knew I’d be seeing you
again, maybe to straighten things out between us. Anyway, maybe I’m
being presumptuous. Maybe there’s someone else in your life by now.
If that’s the case, I could handle it.’

‘
There’s no one else. There’s been nothing for six months ...
except the thought of you.’

‘
So do those words still apply?’ Karen looked at him. Her eyes
were shimmering and lovely. His breath was taken away by her beauty
which seemed to overpower him.

‘
Y-yes, they do,’ he said, stumbling over his
words.

‘
Then say them again. I need to hear them - but this time say
them loud enough for only me to hear, not a whole
hotel.’

‘
I love you.’

‘
Now say it louder.’

‘
I
love you.
‘

‘
Louder!’

‘
I LOVE YOU, MA’ AM!’

Everyone in the dining room stopped what they were doing and
stared at this crazy couple who’d burst out into a fit of giggles.
When their laughter was under control and everyone had returned to
their own business, Karen said simply, ‘I love you too,
Karl.’

Dave August, dressed in civvies rather than uniform, strolled
down from his office at Force Headquarters into the large garage at
the rear of the building. His official car was waiting for him - a
Jaguar. He dismissed the driver and slid in behind the wheel. This
was not unusual for August who had made it one of his quirks that
he liked to do his own driving whenever possible. And anyway, as
his intended use of the car that day was completely unofficial he
didn’t want any witnesses; a previous Chief had lost his job for
misusing police transport, amongst other things.

He clicked it into Drive and purred elegantly out of the
garage doors, a broad smile on his face.

His last six months in the office of Chief Constable had been
very smooth indeed, far smoother than he could have anticipated,
particularly after that drunken night with Karen.

But nothing untoward had come of it.

Initially he had panicked, thinking that if she’d decided to
make an allegation of any sort, he would be finished. If nothing
else it would have exposed their affair and he would have had to
resign. He braced himself for a few days but nothing happened. He
quickly swept her discipline problems under the table and
transferred her to the north of the county, out of the way. That
combination of factors had obviously been enough to pacify her.
After all, he’d mused, she might have thought she’d been raped. You
never could tell with women. They were so touchy. So unpredictable.
He’d been sleeping with her for months, after all. It was just a
drunken fuck, one that got out of hand. So he’d slapped her a bit
too. Well-entitled, he’d reassured himself.

If she’d chosen to squeal about it, he could have been in
trouble enough. But there was nothing. Not a word. Just a longish
period off sick for her. Now he was sure the whole thing was dead
and buried. She was back at work in Lancaster and doing pretty
well, by all accounts. Good luck to her. He held no malice against
her. And the time had long gone for her to make any
complaints.

So he was safe. He was flying high again.

The Jaguar rolled into Preston town centre and pulled outside
the Crest Hotel. Dave August leapt out of the car and trotted into
the foyer.

She was there, waiting for him. As soon as she saw him, she
stood up. ‘David,’ she said, crossing over to him. She kissed him
lightly on the cheek and smiled prettily.

‘
Janine, you look lovely,’ he enthused.

‘
Thank you,’ she said shyly, colouring up.

‘
Shall we go?’ He had bought expensive ringside seats for a
boxing match in Manchester as his new girlfriend was a fan of the
sport. She said it made her feel excited. . .

He beamed and crooked his left arm. She slid hers through it
and they walked out of the hotel, side by side.

‘
A Jag! This is exciting.’

August gallantly opened the passenger door for her.

‘
You are a real gentleman,’ she said. ‘I need to kiss
you.’

She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him squarely on
the lips, holding him slightly longer than necessary. Then she
slinked into the car, her skirt riding up, leaving the Chief
Constable in no doubt that she was wearing no underwear.

Karen and Donaldson rode in silence up to his floor, holding
hands nervously, hardly daring to catch each other’s eye. He
fumbled for his room key in his pocket as they walked slowly down
the corridor.

He put the key in the lock.

Before turning it, he stopped and said, ‘You don’t have to do
this, Karen. I don’t want to rush you. I can wait for as long as it
takes.’

For an answer, her arms slid around his neck. Their mouths
touched. Hesitantly at first. Then her hips moved against his groin
seductively. He felt himself grow to bursting. She felt hot and
pulsating inside.

Then she pulled away, gasping slightly. He unlocked the
door.

After the boxing, August and Janine were invited to what was
described as a ‘little get-together’ at a private house in
Wilmslow. It was a big house, one of those neo-Georgian affairs
with a well-laid driveway with an entrance and an exit. Out in
front of the house was a row of classy cars; the Jaguar slotted in
perfectly with them.

August and Janine then walked arm in arm up to the front door,
which was open. The sound of disco music wafted to their ears from
the back of the house.

‘
Is this where I meet all those police-loving businessmen you
promised?’

‘
I’ll do my best,’ she said. ‘It’s a pretty big charity do.
Anyone who’s anyone’ll be here and they’ll have paid handsomely.
There’ll be councillors, sportsmen, businessmen ... all in a good
cause.’

‘
And why haven’t I paid to attend?’

‘
Because I know the organiser,’ she said
mysteriously.

As they entered the house a photographer snapped
away.

Inside it was a mass of people, shoulder to shoulder. The
music was loud, but it was a good beat. There were clouds of
cigarette smoke and the unmistakable tang of cannabis.

August’s eyes went from face to face. Many of them had been at
the boxing. He half recognised a couple of footballers and an MP
whose name he couldn’t recall.

Janine led him out through the throng to a large patio at the
rear, which doubled as a dance floor. Beyond the patio was a large
swimming pool; beyond that was a marquee which seemed to be the
focus of food and drink.

A waiter bearing a tray thrust a glass in August’s hand;
another held a tray full of sandwiches, pies and sausage rolls
under his nose until he made a selection.

He drank the wine in one. It was immediately
replaced.

‘
Now, darling,’ Janine said, ‘I promised to introduce you to
some people. I won’t be long.’

She left him open-mouthed by the pool and hurried back into
the house, where Lenny Dakin was waiting for her.

The businessmen spent an hour with August. One said he had the
largest Volkswagen dealership this side of Birmingham and was
interested in sponsoring vehicles for the special constabulary. The
other said he owned a firm specialising in industrial, commercial
and domestic security. He wanted to sponsor neighbourhood watch
schemes by providing cut price security items, even free ones to
pensioners.

August was hooked. The ease of it amazed him. Getting money
out of the private sector was usually like getting blood out of a
stone. But this! Pure gold.

Both men promised they would contact him the following
week.

Business concluded, the two out of work actors left him
beaming with pleasure into his beer. They collected their fee -
£100 each - were told to forget this night ever happened, and left
the party. Neither one had any idea why the charade had been
carried out. Some sort of practical joke, they assumed.

Janine rejoined August who was sitting at a table by the
pool.

He shook his head in admiration. ‘I’ve got to hand it to you.
You are brilliant. And sexy. And intelligent. It was a freak of
Fate, us meeting like that and hitting it off so well, wasn’t it?’
He was referring to their first encounter two weeks before during a
flutter he and a couple of friends were having at a casino in
Blackpool.

‘
Mm, she agreed. ‘It was a freak.’

‘
Why did you agree to have dinner with me so readily?’ he
enquired. ‘You didn’t even know who I was.’

‘
Yes, I did, actually. I’ve seen you on TV many times. I
wasn’t going to miss the chance to get to know you. You’re an
interesting guy, to say the least.’

Janine hoped she sounded convincing. The effects of the
cocaine Dakin had allowed her were wearing off now and she needed
another snort.

Bastard, she thought. I’ll be glad when all this is
over.

‘
Anyway,’ she said, raising her eyes to his again, ‘now that
I’ve kept my promise, I want you to make one to me.’

‘
Anything. ‘

‘
That you’ll let me fuck your brains out.’

August nearly came there and then. ‘Here?’ he
croaked.

‘
My place. I have a house nearby.’

‘
I didn’t know that.’

‘
There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Davey
darling.’

‘
In that case, I promise.’

‘
That was lovely,’ Karen said softly.

‘
Yes, it was.’ Donaldson was tired and dreamy.

They were lying facing each other, holding hands, a single
sheet draped over their bodies.

‘
I was frightened that it would never happen,’ she confessed.
‘I was terrified that I wouldn’t want a man to touch me again after
what I went through.’

Donaldson rested a leg across hers. He kissed her
neck.

‘
I’ll help you every step of the way, if you want me to,’ he
promised tenderly.

‘
Yes, I do. I want you in my life all the time, for
everything, not just that.-’

‘
Sounds fine by me.’

‘
But I want to ask you something ... do you think I should
prosecute Dave for what he did to me, or just let it
lie?’

‘
Er, how could you do it now?’ asked Donaldson. He propped
himself up on one elbow. ‘It would be your word against his,
wouldn’t it? Pretty damned difficult to get a conviction,
especially after six months.’

Karen took a deep breath. ‘Just after it happened I was in
deep shock and I didn’t really know what to do about it. I went
away for a month to Greece - Skiathos, but before I did I went to a
rape crisis centre in Manchester. They were very kind to me. It’s a
fantastic place, in its own way. I had a few days’ counselling
there and made a statement while it was all fresh in my mind. And 1
saw a doctor too.’

‘
So?’ Donaldson was puzzled.

‘
A specially trained doctor who specialises in sexual assault
cases. She took photos of my injuries, made her own notes and took
samples, swabs for evidence - and kept them all. It’s the sort of
place where they understand that the victim isn’t always completely
together mentally and may not be in a position to press charges. So
they take the samples and store them at the correct temperatures,
just in case the victim wants to pursue it at a later
date.’

‘
You mean all the forensic evidence is still there,
intact?’

She nodded.

‘
Well I’ll be damned!’ he exclaimed. ‘That’s
handy.’

‘
I feel I may want to press charges, but I’m still not sure.
I’m still in two minds about it.’ Tears stood in her
eyes.

‘
Hey, calm down, don’t upset yourself.’ He stroked her
hair.

‘
Sorry. I need to discuss it with you, but not now, not here -
I’ve a lot of love-making to catch up on - but soon. Do you mind?
I’ll understand if you don’t want to get involved.’