Trespass (P.I. Johnson Carmichael Series - Book 2) (3 page)

‘You shouldn’t be crying; not a pretty girl like you. You deserve to be cherished…and loved. Give me a smile, won’t you?’

She couldn’t understand why he was being so nice all of a sudden. This was the man who had broken into her flat, beaten and threatened her at knifepoint. Why was he now acting like a friend? It made no sense.

‘Give me a smile,’ he demanded, his voice rising slightly.

Beth complied but it was difficult to make it convincing. The man, clearly dissatisfied with her efforts, slapped her hard across the already swollen cheek.

‘I’ll get mad again, if you don’t do as I say. I’m in charge, remember?’

She attempted to improve the smile but knew she had failed to impress when his vice-like grip was once again around her bloodied neck.

‘Please?’ she whispered painfully.

A voice behind Beth caused them both to turn suddenly.

‘Mummy?’ said Lauren.

‘Everything’s fine, sweetie,’ Beth quickly muttered. ‘It’s just a dream.’

Beth looked pleadingly at the intruder. His eyes seemed to be demanding an answer.

‘Please,’ she whispered, ‘let me put her back to bed and then you can…do whatever it is…you are planning.’

The intruder’s eyes narrowed behind the mask but he nodded regardless, releasing his grip on her throat. She wriggled out of his grasp and headed to where Lauren was standing, rubbing her eyes.

‘Back to bed,’ Beth ushered.

The little girl climbed back under the duvet and allowed her mother to tuck her in. Beth leaned forward and kissed her daughter’s forehead, not sure whether she would ever be able to repeat the action again. She wiped a tear from her own cheek before her daughter could see how upset she was.

‘Who is that man, mummy? Why is he wearing a mask?’

‘He’s just a friend of mine…we’re playing dress up. Now go back to sleep my darling, I’ll be back in with you soon.’

Lauren smiled up at her mum and closed her eyes. Beth wiped a second tear away and vowed that she would not cry in front of
him
again. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her pain. Content that Lauren was now settled again, Beth left the room, closing the door behind her. She then turned and looked at the stranger who had somehow brought such chaos to her life.

‘At your mother’s is she?’ the intruder mocked. ‘You lied to me again, bitch. Looks like you haven’t learned your lesson yet.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Beth scowled, hoping that she might be able to reason with him. ‘I was scared. She is so precious to me and I didn’t want you to hurt her as well. Please, can’t you leave us alone? I promise I won’t tell anyone. I won’t speak to the police; it can be our little secret.’

She sensed that he might be softening, so she started to walk slowly towards him.

‘Come on,’ she continued, ‘you seem like a reasonable guy, right? I’m just a single mum, struggling to make ends meet. I know that I lied to you, and I’m sorry for that. Can’t we just put this behind us?’

The intruder continued to watch her and even flinched slightly when Beth extended a hand and gently rubbed his arm.

‘Ooh, you’re really strong,’ she continued, still stroking the man’s bicep. ‘You must impress the ladies, right?’

Beth had never mastered the art of flirting, and was desperately hoping that her attempts now were sufficient to convince him that he didn’t want to hurt her. She knew it wasn’t working when he suddenly reached out and began to squeeze her throat once more. He moved the index finger of his free hand to his lips and beckoned her to be quiet. Rather than lifting her this time, he began to push her down to the floor. He was too strong for her to stop him and even though she was desperately clawing at the hand around her throat, she was making no headway.

‘Unzip it,’ he said when her eyes were level with his groin.

Oh God
, she thought,
he wants to rape me
.

Just thinking the word made her shudder. She could not summon the strength to move her hands to the zip.

‘Unzip it!’ he repeated, this time with a raised voice.

When her hands had still not moved he added, ‘You want me to get your little girl to do it for you?’

She glared back at him, willing God to strike him down where he stood, yet he remained unhurt.

Do it for Lauren
, she willed herself.

It seemed to happen in slow motion; her right hand released its grip on his glove and moved forward to the zip on the man’s black trousers. Her trembling fingers fumbled with the small metal latch. Her thumb and index finger eventually grasped the latch and slowly began to pull it down.

‘Listen to me carefully,’ the man said. ‘You have lied to me and shown a lack of respect. You need to be taught a lesson. You’ve got to learn to respect me. Do you understand? I am in charge here; I’m the boss. Nod your head if you understand.’

She attempted to nod, the glove making movement difficult.

‘Good. Now, if you don’t want me to hurt your little girl, you will do exactly what I tell you. Nod again if you understand.’

She attempted to nod again.

‘You should know that I won’t hesitate to drag your daughter out here and kill her in front of your eyes if you don’t do what I tell you. Is that clear? Do what I say and you will live through this. Disobey me and I will kill your daughter before your eyes and then I’ll kill you.’

She felt a pain like nothing she had ever experienced before: it felt like her heart had broken in two.

‘I want you to take my dick out and suck it,’ the man continued. ‘But don’t even think about biting it or I will cut you up with my knife. Are we clear?’

She nodded and when the man didn’t say anything more she lifted her right hand again and moved it into his trousers before carrying out his instructions. It didn’t take very long as he seemed to lose his arousal. She feared that it might have been something she had done and she prepared for a backlash that didn’t materialise.

‘Fuck it!’ she heard him shout as he re-fastened his trousers.

She remained crouched on the floor, no longer under his control, yet paralysed by fear. The man began to pace backwards and forwards as if he was toying with some kind of frustration. She had the opportunity to stand and head for the front door but that would have meant leaving Lauren at
his
mercy. She was aware of his movement but wasn’t really conscious of anything else going on in the room as she stared blankly into space. She didn’t know if he would kill her or whether he would stay true to his word and leave them alone. Her mind grew sharper when she felt the man’s foot connect with her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. It seemed that her torment was not over yet.

‘Have you got anything to drink?’ he sneered, watching her writhe around on the floor.

She didn’t answer but pointed in the direction of a small cupboard next to the fridge. He walked to where she was pointing and yanked the door open, withdrawing a small bottle of whisky. It was virtually full as Beth had only ever used it when she’d had a cold. She could see him shaking his head while he read the label, clearly dissatisfied with her choice in liquor. He unscrewed the cap, tossing it towards the sink and then started to down the contents. When he stopped for air, Beth could see that he had consumed half the bottle already.

No wonder his breath had smelled so rotten
, she thought.

The man drank the rest of the bottle and then started to make his way back to where she was lying. He was a lot less steady on his feet and one of his legs buckled as he drew nearer and suddenly he was on the floor next to her. The bottle in his hand snapped at the neck as he collided with the ground. His eyes looked angry as if he thought she was to blame.

‘I’m going to fuck you so hard,’ he bellowed at her, the whisky clinging to his breath. ‘I’m going to fuck you like the fucking bitch you are.’

She didn’t react. She continued to lie on her side, looking up at him, but in her mind she was in a field of corn, running around with her beautiful daughter. Still holding the shard of glass, the man turned Beth around until she was laid on her back in front of him. He pushed her legs apart and shuffled into the gap on his knees.

‘I bet you like getting fucked hard, don’t you?’ he sneered.

She didn’t answer. She knew what was going to happen next and the thought that if she complied, Lauren would be safe, kept her mouth closed and her actions compliant.

A sharp pain at her neck brought her mind back into the room. He had placed the shard of glass against her throat and in his drunken state had inadvertently cut into her skin. This seemed to give him some amusement and he started to draw criss-cross patterns on Beth’s exposed throat, his eyes widening each time new blood was drawn. When he grew bored of this, he began to draw similar patterns on her arms, but then stopped all of a sudden. She had remained quiet throughout the ordeal but now his sudden silence had her worried.

The man released one of her pinned arms and she felt him literally tear her knickers away before crudely poking his fingers into the exposed area.

‘You’re going to enjoy this!’ he declared, as she heard the zip unfasten once more.

Beth yelped as she felt him enter her. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain and hurt of what
he
was doing. She could feel his body crushing hers against the floor, could smell his warm, stale breath on the nape of her neck.

The assault lasted no more than five minutes but to Beth, it felt like a lifetime. Her body was limp as he clambered from her. He looked down at the contorted mess of blood and bruises on the floor, but didn’t say another word as he turned his back and left.

Beth finally willed herself to move half an hour later. At first she had been scared that he might return and kill her, but after she had heard her front door slam, there had been no further noise. She felt light-headed: a combination of the shock of the assault and the blood loss. She felt unsteady as she moved to the bathroom to examine the damage. The right side of her face was heavily swollen and her neck was littered with dark red scratches and congealed blood.

She very carefully pulled the nightie over her head and allowed it to fall to the floor. She examined each of the yellowing bruises across her chest and down her side. Her whole body ached and the further slashes down her arms were painful. She turned the bath taps on and waited for the tub to fill nearly to the top. She then carefully climbed in, flinching as the warm water made contact with her cuts. She sat back and remained still for several minutes while she tried to blot the ordeal from her mind.

Then very slowly, she lifted each leg into the air, and allowed her back to slide down until her head was beneath the surface of the water. She ignored the sting of the water on her neck wounds. Her feet were now resting on the tiled wall at the tap end of the bath.

How easy it would be just to stay here
, she thought.

She could feel her body starting to strain as it searched for oxygen.

I could just slip away now
.

A burning sensation was growing in her chest.

It would be so much easier
.

Her body started to tense as survival instinct to kicked in. She could feel her body start to fight back, urging her to find oxygen. One word entered her mind and she stopped fighting.

Lauren
.

She shot upright and sucked in deep lungful’s of air. As much as she wanted to end her life at that moment, the thought of leaving Lauren alone and helpless in the world, was all she needed to keep living. She started to cry; an uncontrollable sob that lasted until she could cry no more.

Why me
?

When the temperature of the water had cooled considerably, she climbed out of the tub and once again surveyed the damage in the mirror. The cuts on her neck and arms didn’t look as bad as earlier as the water had washed away the blood. She ached and her head was full of unanswered questions, but she knew there was no time to feel sorry for herself. Lauren could wake again at any moment and if she saw the state of the living room and her mother’s injuries, she would be very upset.

Beth threw the soiled nightie away in the bin in the kitchen and put her previous evening’s clothes on. She then grabbed a bottle of bleach and began to scrub at the blood stains on the living room carpet. A little after five a.m. she returned to the bedroom and climbed in next to Lauren, hugging her close as she lay there watching her daughter sleep peacefully.

She knew she was lucky to be alive, and, although the pain of what she had experienced would remain with her for the rest of her life, she was grateful that she would be able to watch her daughter grow up. She had been given a second chance and would not allow one evil man to spoil it. While lying in the bed, listening to Lauren breathing, she vowed that she would never speak of the evening’s events to anyone. She hoped that if she didn’t talk about it, she wouldn’t think about it. If only she had known how wrong she was.