Scold's Bridle

'Now, you oaf. They're taking swabs off him at this very minute.'

'Did he do it?'

'What?'

'The rape,' said Keith patiently.

'No, of course he didn't,' she spluttered angrily. 'Jack's not a rapist.'

'Then there's nothing to worry about. The swabs will prove he hasn't been in contact with the victim.'

'He says they think he's part of a paedophile ring. They may charge him with conspiracy to rape even if they can't charge him with the actual offence.' She sighed. 'At least I think that's what he said. He's very angry and it was all a bit garbled.'

'What on earth's he been up to?'

'I don't know yet,' she said through gritted teeth. 'Just get your arse down here, will you, and earn some of the fortune we've paid you over the years.'

'I'm not much of a criminal lawyer, you know. You might do better to get hold of a specialist from down there. I could give you some names out of the book.'

'He asked for you, Keith. He said he wants a solicitor he can trust, so-' her voice rose '-for God's sake will you stop arguing and get in your car. We're wasting time. He's at Freemont Road Police Station in Bournemouth.'

'I'll be there as soon as I can,' he promised. 'In the meantime, tell him to keep quiet and refuse to answer any questions.'

Easier said than done, thought Sarah ruefully, as she and Ruth were given chairs to sit on while Cooper was taken into an interview room. When the door opened, they heard Jack in full spate. 'Look, how many times do you have to be told? I was rescuing her from being raped, not bloody raping her myself. Jesus wept!' His fist pounded on the table. 'I will not talk to morons. Doesn't anyone in this piss-pot have a measurable IQ?' He gave a whoop of relief. 'Hallelujah! Cooper! Where the hell have you been, you bastard?' The door closed again.

Sarah leant her head against the wall with a sigh. 'The trouble with Jack,' she said to Ruth, 'is he never does anything by halves.'

'He wouldn't be here at all if it wasn't for me,' the girl said wretchedly, washing her hands over and over in her lap. She was so nervous she could barely keep her breathing under control.

Sarah glanced at her. 'I think you should be rather proud of yourself. Because of you he obviously stopped someone else getting the treatment you were given. That's good.'

'Not if they think Jack was involved.'

'Cooper will set them straight.'

'Does that mean I won't have to say anything? I don't want to say anything.' The words came out in a rush. 'I'm so frightened,' she said simply, tears welling tragically in the huge dark eyes. 'I don't want anyone to know'- her voice shook-'I'm so ashamed.'

Sarah, who had had to use a very heavy hand in the shape of emotional blackmail to get her this far, balked at using any more. The girl was in a highly emotional state already, desperately seeking to justify her mother's indifference because then she could justify her own indifference to the growing foetus inside her. But she couldn't justify it, of course, and that made her guilt about wanting an abortion all the stronger. There was no logic to human psychology, thought Sarah sadly. She had said nothing about her visit to Cedar House, merely offered to drive Ruth over to Fontwell. 'In fairness,' she had said, 'all your mother knows is that you've been expelled for going out to meet your boyfriend. I'm sure she'll be sympathetic if you tell her the truth.'

Ruth shook her head. 'She wouldn't,' she whispered, 'she'd say I got what I deserved. She used to say it to Granny about her arthritis.' Her face had pinched in pain. 'I wish Granny hadn't died. I did love her, you know, but she died thinking I didn't.' And what could Sarah say to that? She had never come across three people so intent on destroying each other, and themselves.

She put her arm now around the girl's thin shoulders and hugged her tight. 'Sergeant Cooper will sort it out,' She said firmly, 'and he won't force you to say anything you don't want to.' She gave her throaty chuckle. 'He's far too nice and far too soft which is why he's never made Inspector.'

But the law, like the mills of God, grinds slow but exceeding small, and Sarah knew that if any of them emerged unscathed at the end of their brush with it, it would be a miracle.

'You realize, Dr. Blakeney, we could charge you with being an accessory before the fact,' said an irate Inspector. 'You knew when you helped your husband get hold of Hughes's address that he planned to do something illegal, didn't you?'

'I wouldn't answer that,' said Keith.

'No, I did not,' said Sarah stoutly. 'And what's illegal about preventing a brutal rape? Since when was rescuing somebody a chargeable offence?'

'You're in the wrong ballpark, Doctor. We're talking attempted murder, GBH, abduction, driving without due care and attention, assault on a police officer. You name it, it's down here. Your husband's an extremely dangerous man and you sent him off after Hughes, knowing full well that he was liable to lose control of his temper if confronted. That's a fair summary, isn't it?'

'I wouldn't answer that,' said Keith automatically.

'Of course it isn't,' she snapped. 'Hughes is the extremely dangerous man, not Jack. What would you have done if you knew a young girl was about to be brutally attacked by five zombies who are so degenerate and uneducated they'll do anything their sadistic leader tells them to do?' Her eyes flashed. 'Don't bother to answer. I know exactly what you'd have done. You'd have crept off with your tail between your legs to the nearest telephone to dial nine-nine-nine, and never mind the damage that was done to the child in the meantime.'

'It's an offence to withhold information from the police. Why did you not inform us about Miss Lascelles's rape?'

'I really do advise you not to answer that question,' said Keith wearily.