Chapter 118: Chapter 118: The Girl Who Was Hunted - Chapter Thirty-Four

CHARLOTTE “Klempner said.... he said that he… he ran her with the other whores, and that it must run in the family because I’d sold myself, and now I live with two men…. He holds some grudge against me. He said it was because of Jenkins, the man that died when he chased me, but it felt like there was more to it than that…”

Richard keeps his face bland. “That must have been… upsetting… for you.”

“Yes, but how did he know about the auction? And James and Michael? The only people who know things like that are either us or the police. They have my records…. And then later, he got a phone call…”

I finish off my water. “I’m sorry, but could I have a glass of wine, please. This…. isn’t very easy…”

Michael vanishes into the kitchen, returning with a bottle and five glasses. He fills all five, but I notice that I am the only one drinking. I knock back a couple of mouthfuls, then continue. “I persuaded him to leave Beth alone.…” I look at Beth and she nods confirmation.

“Yes, Elizabeth told me about that,” says Richard. “You convinced them she was worth more for ransom if they didn’t touch her….”

I blush, embarrassed. “Sorry about that. It seemed the best thing to say…”

“No apology needed, Charlotte. But they then put her in a separate room and she thought that….” He vacillates, losing his words.

What did Beth tell him?

“I thought I was in trouble then, that they were going to gang-rape me,” I say. “They started knocking me about a bit.… that’s where I got some of the bruises.… but Klempner said he had a buyer for me.

For Beth too, though I’m not sure he wanted to sell her after what I’d told him about who she is. At any rate, I don’t think they wanted to leave too many visible marks on me if the buyer was going to be seeing me….” I gulp more wine.

“Anyway, Klempner’s phone rang. It was weird. He listened for a minute to whoever was on the other end, then he looked like he’d seen a ghost. He hit me across the face, knocked me down, and told me he knew about the tracers. He told the others to find some different clothes for me ‘cause the ones I was wearing had to go. He took the locket that had one of the tracers…. and my rings…. Then he…. he told me to…. um, empty my body cavities... or he would do it for me….”

“You had a tracer…. inside you?” Richard’s face is twitching. Michael looks at me askance. My Master stares at the ceiling, struggling not to smile.

“Mmm. Yes, inside a condom to keep it dry… Um…. it’s a bit embarrassing, now I tell someone else….

Actually, the whole changing clothes thing solved my biggest problem…”

“Which was?”

“Beth’s shoes. She was kidnapped while she was out shopping, and she was wearing high heels. I knew we’d have to run to escape, and there was no way she could run in those, but when they gave me fresh clothes, it meant there was an extra pair of shoes.”

“And by then you’d already planted one of the trackers on Beth?” interrupts my Master.

“That’s right. Anyway, when Klempner knew about the trackers, they decided to move out immediately.

I’d already warned Beth that we needed to run when they took us out of the building. If we could get out into the open, so the tracer on her could operate properly, you’d be able to find us again. I told her to behave very meek and mild, so that they’d let their guard down and we’d have the best chance to escape.”

Richard interrupts. “So, this phone call to Klempner…”

“It could only have been from someone in the police, or someone getting the information from the police. Who else would know?

“Who indeed?” Richard rubs his nose, looking thoughtful.

“And I heard him giving orders to have this building watched. That’s why I didn’t want any of you coming out for me, and why I came in the way I did.”

“What happened after you and Beth split?” asks my Master. “We picked up Beth almost immediately, but there was no sign of you.”

“At first, I just ran, from them, trying to loop back to you, but you were being chased too, and I couldn’t catch up. Then, I heard the gunshots. And there were all those police around, and I didn’t know who to trust, so I just made my way in the dark back to the main highways, and to the nearest town. I wanted to contact you. That’s when I went into that electrical store. I needed the phone so that I could download all those plans I’d scanned, to try to find a way back into the City, and here, without being seen. After that, I just took all the back roads and trails to get to the edge of the City, then went underground as soon as I could.”

“How did you do that? What route did you take?” asks Richard.

“I went down through the sewers first to get onto the old Marlepits train line.…”

They all look blank.

“It’s an old railway track, from when the City was first built, and they needed construction materials. It doesn’t operate now, or for any time in the last fifty years, but the tunnels are still there. I just followed the line into the heart of the Old City and then used the sewers again to get under this building….

achhe… that was just disgusting…”

After I finish speaking, all three men and Beth sit quietly, watching me. Michael watches me constantly but, unsmiling, there is no welcome in his eyes. And when I think of it, he has barely spoken through the entire discussion.

*****

MICHAEL Richard talks for some time to Charlotte. And how can I blame him? By any measure, she saved Beth.

And Beth is his. But Charlotte’s success is bitter-sweet for me. Now that we have her back, I find myself dwelling on the sheer abandon of her actions. She left James and I behind, apparently without a thought.

I need to talk with her, and I wait for my moment, for some privacy with her.

Richard leaves with Beth, James joining them to discuss what Charlotte has said, and what to do next.

“Charlotte, while it’s just you and me, there’s something I need to say to you.”

She looks at me, pale-faced, her green eyes vivid. She knows I’m not happy.

“I understand that you did what you did for good reason. Beth’s your friend, and you felt you had to help her, but she’s not the only person in your life. James and I both made it completely clear that we didn’t want you to do anything rash, and you simply ignored our wishes. What you did was horribly unfair to both me and James.”

She says nothing, her gaze downcast.

“You and I may not be formally married yet, but you’re my wife already in every way that counts…. I’m not going to build my life around a woman who endangers herself so recklessly. And much though I love you, I want you to understand that if you ever do such a thing again, for me, that would be the end of this. Do you understand me?”

She stares at me, all big eyes, tears welling, then looks at the floor again.

“I know that love isn’t something you’ve had much of in your life, but you have it now, and you must understand.… it works two ways.…”

She finally speaks. “I didn’t think…. Please don’t leave me. I couldn’t bear it.”

“I feel the same way, but that didn’t stop you leaving me, did it? When I’d specifically asked you not to…”

“I didn’t leave you. I just…”

“Your plan worked out, but if it had gone wrong, you’d probably be dead now or shipped out to god-

knows-where to spend the rest of a short life in sexual slavery - real slavery, not the kinds of games you play with James…. I would never have seen you again. How do you think I felt, sick to the stomach with fear for you? My guts knotting that I might lose you? And then when I saw you in the shower, covered in bruises, thinking you had been raped. You can’t treat people who love you like that.”

She remains silent once more.

“Do we understand each other?”

She nods.

“I asked you for your promise before, and you wouldn’t give it. Now I’m not asking. I am requiring your promise; that you won’t do anything like that again, no matter how good your reasons seem.”

She nods, still silent.

“Do I have that promise?”

She nods again.

“I didn’t hear you.”

She whispers, “Yes, I promise. I won’t do it again.”

“Now…” I point to the bedroom. “Strip, and lean over the bed.”

She hesitates, brows furrowed.

You don’t believe I’m going to do it, do you, Babe?

“Do I have to repeat myself? Strip and bend over. I’ll force you if I have to.”