Tortured Minds

by Colin Griffiths

  ***

  I set off for Jake’s house at eight-thirty, knowing he wasn’t yet working and hoping my steaming coffee and croissant would be enough to lure him into starting afresh. As I approached his house it was just on nine and he was leaving, dressed in his work trousers and shirt. I ducked behind a parked car, out of view. I had only called our boss yesterday and he told me Jake hadn’t planned to return to work for another week. I was curious and decided to follow him, leaving his breakfast order on the ground where I had been hidden.

  I followed behind him slowly as he walked through the park. He was taking his time which told me he was not in a rush. I kept far enough behind to stay concealed and watched as he stopped to look across the park towards a woman with two children. From where I was standing, I didn’t recognise the brunette or either of the children. One was just a baby in a pushchair, the other a small girl, possibly around nine or ten years old from what I could see.

  I watched Jake intently, as he waved to the young girl. She didn’t wave back. Strange , I thought. It was as though he knew her. He waved again and the brunette saw him, before quickly grabbing the young girl by the hand and turning to walk in the opposite direction. I didn’t know what to make of the situation, but I watched Jake just standing there looking forlorn. His shoulders seemed to droop as the woman walked out of sight. This had upset him, I thought curiously, but why?

  He started to walk again, but much slower this time. I wanted to keep following him, but I was more curious now about the young girl and this woman. I decided to divert into the park, towards where that brunette had walked and see what I could find out. They hadn’t gone far, just beyond the trees to a small playground. I could see the young girl playing on the swing with the brunette sitting nearby, with her baby, reading. Perfect! I walked over and sat beside her. I still didn’t recognise her and I was sure she didn’t know me.

  “Beautiful morning,” I said, as I sat down.

  “Yes, isn’t it?” She looked up briefly at me from her book and then across at the young girl on the swings.

  “Your daughter seems to be making the most of it,” I continued, nodding towards the playground.

  “Oh, Maryann isn’t my daughter. I’m just looking after her today with my little one,” she said dismissively. I nodded, trying not to sound too intrusive, I decided to change the topic.

  “This is such a peaceful part of the city, you almost forget the hustle and bustle outside of the park...” I commented aimlessly, pretending to breathe in the fresh air.

  “Yes, we come here every day. It’s a lovely escape and a great place for young kids to play,” she said, nodding to little Maryann who was now running towards us. Perfect , I thought, now I can get a closer look at this little girl. She was blond, with pretty blue eyes and she reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on who.

  “Aunty Becky, will you come play with me, it’s so boring by myself,” she whined.

  “No honey, I need to mind Damien, he’s too young to play. Go play some more.”

  “Is Mum coming?” Maryann asked hopefully.

  “No honey, your mum is sleeping. She had the late shift last night, remember?”

  “Mum’s always tired!” the little girl pouted. I pretended to look out over the park. Maryann, I thought, the name seemed familiar, but I didn’t know why.

  “Lucy, I mean your mum, needs to work to keep you clothed and fed Maryann,” the woman said sternly. “Now go and play.”

  Lucy? It couldn’t be, I thought suspiciously. Not that Lucy? I watched the little girl as she turned around and walked back to the playground. The young girl did look familiar and I remembered that Lucy had a daughter, but I couldn’t remember the name exactly. The same Lucy who had been part of my drug scandal article, the article that had sent her away for years, it had to be the same one. It all made sense now. Thinking about Jake’s reaction to the young girl earlier, the way he waved, my reporter’s intuition told me there was more to this story. I decided to see what more I could find from this brunette woman.

  “It’s difficult for kids to understand…” I said softly when Maryann was out of earshot.

  “Even more difficult for her, as young Maryann has just been reunited with her mother after some years. Lucy’s been a friend of mine for a long while now and she hasn’t always been in the right, but she’s trying to make up for it now.” The woman was just talking and I stayed silent, just providing an ear to talk to. “I don’t condone some of her actions, but Maryann needs her mum.”

  “And her dad?” I probed gently. The woman sighed heavily.

  “Lucy hates him.” I wondered if it was who I suspected. “He didn’t support her when she needed him the most and now...” she paused, seemingly frustrated. “Now, he wants to be a part of Maryann’s life again.”

  “You don’t agree…”

  “No, and yes. Oh, I just don’t know. All I know is that little Maryann can’t be hurt again. I saw him earlier, he was walking by and there was something I just didn’t like. I can’t put my finger on it, I’ve never met him, but, there was something…”

  Jackpot! I congratulated myself, it was Jake! “Perhaps he just needs the chance to prove himself?” I offered sympathetically.

  “Well, he has one chance, tomorrow. We’re all meeting in downtown McDonalds. Lucy is letting me come along as a voice of reason. If I don’t like it, she will listen to me.” So, Jake was trying to reconcile with his daughter, a daughter I had no idea even existed. I was intrigued.

  “Well you seem to be very sensible, I’m sure you will help the young girl’s mum, you seem to have both their interests at heart,” I said kindly. “I have to keep going, I have an appointment at ten this morning. Have a good day, and good luck tomorrow!”

  “Thank you for listening,” the woman said to me earnestly. I smiled and walked away. Jake, the dirty rat. He had never told me he had a daughter and to Lucy, as well... My God! He knew of my involvement in Lucy’s arrest and it made me wonder if he had hidden it from me deliberately, to protect me. I also wondered what Lucy wanted out of this. She’d set her sights on Jake once before, but I had fixed that. Jake would be mine, not hers. I had to figure out a new plan, knowing this information. I had to stop this reconciliation, for Jake’s sake and for mine.

  Then it occurred to me! He wanted to be a father... well, I could certainly help with that. I just had to make it happen and if he was meeting the drugged-up skank and her bastard daughter in the morning, I had to do something fast. I knew how to catch a man and pregnancy was always a good hook. This same plan had worked with Daniel in the very beginning. It may or may not have been his child at that time, but he was willing to believe it and knowing he was an honourable man, I knew he would quickly propose.

  I had rushed that wedding through giving him no room to back out. It was perfect timing and whilst the pregnancy was real, I wasn’t sure what I would have done if he’d ever questioned the paternity. I was quietly relieved when I’d started to bleed just two weeks after our nuptials. Of course, on the outside, I was the grieving wife, but it had calmed my fears should he ever question the baby’s parentage and besides I was too young, at the time, to be a mother. I had bigger plans for myself then and I still do now.

  ***

  I decided tonight was to be the night, so I returned to Jake’s house in the early evening. The lights were on and I knew he was alone, by the soulful music blaring out of his stereo. I knocked, holding a bottle of red and his favourite Chinese takeaway.

  When he opened the door, I could see in his eyes that he was wary of me.

  “I’ve come offering food and friendship, that’s all,” I said holding my hands up in a peace offering, the incentives in full view. His eyebrow raised slightly, he didn’t trust me. “I know I behaved badly earlier and I’m sorry! It won’t happen again, for Daniel’s sake,” I said solemnly and smiled, hoping he would believe me and welcome me in.

  He nodded slowly. “That does smell
good,” he said, reaching over to take the small bag of food.

  “Come on Jake, let’s just talk, like we used to, as friends. I really miss that and I miss my husband. I can’t lose both of you!” I pleaded, hoping this plea of sincerity would convince him.

  “Okay, just talk,” he warned. I nodded, signing a cross on my heart. I followed him into the lounge where he had clearly been sitting, as an array of crisps and crumbs were all over the floor. Oh, Jake, you need to take better care of yourself.,

  “Let me get the glasses and I’ll pour us some wine while you open the Chinese,” I said cheerfully. I went into the kitchen. The dishes hadn’t been done for days, it was a mess. I found two wine glasses in the pile of unwashed glasses and rinsed and cleaned them. Opening the wine, I poured us each a glass, but before I returned to the lounge room I quickly took a bag of powder from my pocket, a tablet I had crushed up earlier, and poured it into one of the glasses. I stirred it quickly, with my finger, until there was no trace. Picking up that glass with my left hand, and the glass with my own wine in my right I ensured I knew which was which and returned to the lounge. It wasn’t lethal, it wouldn’t even send him to sleep, but I hoped it would get the effect I wanted.

  I watched as Jake downed his glass quickly, a little too quickly and then poured himself another. I sipped my wine, watching him intently as we ate our Chinese and reminisced over good times. He didn’t mention the accident, nor did he mention Maryann or Lucy. I wasn’t sure if I’d expected him to.

  After downing his third glass of wine, he stood up clumsily to get his whisky bottle. “I think I’m a little tipsy,” he giggled, as he fell back down on the sofa with his bottle. I just smiled, eating my dim-sum and sipping my wine. It was working.

  “I’m so sorry about yesterday Molly,” Jake slurred as he finished the glass of whisky. He was definitely getting drunk, but the tablet was helping that along, I thought smugly.

  “It’s fine Jake, it was a mistake,” I said kindly, reaching across to place my hand on his thigh, rubbing his leg gently just high enough to watch the bulge grow in his trousers.

  “I want you, Molly,” he burst out, “but I can’t have you, you can’t have me... you can’t own me.” Jake was leaning in really close to me and I could smell the alcohol mix on his hot breath. “It was Daniel who warned me,” he whispered, his eyes darting around the room like he was looking for something.

  “Jake, it's okay, I know we shouldn’t have, you don’t want me, I know,” I opened up.

  “But I do want you, Molly, that’s the problem,” he almost shouted.

  “No, Jake, you think you want me, but we can’t, it’s not right,” I said suggestively.

  “I can still taste you, Molly, I…” he licked his lips and I looked down to where his trousers were tight and allowed my hand slid up higher, letting my knuckle rest against his balls. He sucked his breath in and pushed me down hard on the sofa. I didn’t waste time, I quickly unzipped his trousers, holding his stiff penis in my hands. He groped at my breasts clumsily and could barely control himself or keep himself upright. Taking control, I flipped us around so I was on top, pulling his trousers down to his thighs and pulling off my panties. I climbed on top of him, opening myself up to him as his shaft was invited inside me. I had to admit he felt good! Now heavily intoxicated, Jake could only lie there as I moved against him, his groans telling me that he was also enjoying every moment. When he filled me up, I stayed there, letting his juices enter my womb. I knew it was the right time of the month to conceive, but I had to be sure this worked.

  To keep the moment going, I shifted off him and pulled a condom out of my purse. “Let’s give it another go?” I smiled suggestively, waving the small packet. He just grinned idiotically and smiled. I needed to save some of his juices for later. I had a turkey baster at home and I knew I wouldn’t get another opportunity like this.

  I would fulfil Jake’s wish to be a Dad and Lucy would then have no hold over him whatsoever.

  ***

  Chapter 17 – Jake

  I woke up on my sofa with the hangover from hell. At first, I felt disoriented, before quickly realising I had actually fallen asleep sitting up on the sofa. Needing my morning kick-start, I stood up to head into the kitchen for coffee and a pain killer.

  “Fuck!” I yelled loudly as I crashed to the floor, my head narrowly missing the corner of the coffee table. I just lay there for a moment in a daze, wondering what the hell had made me fall. It was only then I realised my trousers and boxers were around my ankles. Shit, what the fuck has happened?

  I pulled up my pants, fixing myself up and then staggered into the kitchen, opening the drawer in desperate need of the painkillers. As I switched the kettle on I looked around the kitchen. There were Chinese takeaway cartons everywhere along with two empty bottles of red wine. My head was still in a daze and for a brief, ridiculous moment, I thought I had been burgled. Only strangely, this burglar had brought his own supper and wine?

  Washing down the painkiller with my coffee, I plonked myself back on the sofa. I was desperate for some nicotine, and pulling out my cigarettes, I took my coffee out onto the veranda. Painkillers, coffee, and nicotine seemed to be the three ‘riches’ of my life at this particular moment. As my mind started to clear, slowly but surely, my recollection of the evening before started to come back to me, the coffee re-kindling my senses and also it seemed my memory. Molly! Molly was here. I remembered her knocking on my front door and her face lighting up when I answered. She had arrived offering red wine and Chinese takeaway, alongside her damn beautiful smile and an apology. How could I have refused, but I still didn’t understand what had gotten me so drunk?

  I made myself another coffee and infused some more nicotine. The fresh air from the veranda was starting to perk me up, but I involuntarily shivered as what happened the night before became more vivid. Whilst some parts were still slightly vague, one thing was fundamentally clear, I had screwed my best friend’s wife. No, correct that, my dead, best friend’s wife. My God, my head was in such a whirl, I wasn’t even sure how she did it, or how I did it, but it was so vivid now. I remembered her sitting on my lap with me deep inside her. But how? I tried desperately to recap every moment from when she walked through the door until... Until what?

  Slowly, but surely, it was all coming back to me. Every caffeine and nicotine hit was bringing just a little more back. I like a drink, I know I drink too much, but I can hold my liquor. God, Daniel and I had been on so many benders over the years, I knew I could put them away without passing out. If he was here now he would tell you how much I could drink. I’m not proud of it, but it’s true to say alcohol has and still does play an enormous part of my life. Two glasses of red would not have touched the sides, so there could only be one conclusion. My drink had been tampered with. Molly! The bitch must have drugged me! Then, God forbid, she date-raped me! That stupid cow! Does she not realise what she has just done? I felt violated. Sitting on that veranda, I felt as though someone had taken something very sincere from me and that something was my choice. There had to be consequences for this. She had betrayed me and that betrayal deserved penalties.

  With my headache receding and sobriety returning, I went back to the living area. The two glasses we had used the night before were still on the table. I could quite clearly see which one she had used, with her lipstick stains all over the rim. Was she that daft not to clean up the evidence? Her prints would be clear on both glasses and hopefully, some residue of whatever it was she used to drug me. Surely she knew with my contacts I could get these privately analysed and that was exactly what I intended doing. I carefully placed the glasses in an old shoebox and made a call to Teresa from one of the analytic labs I had contact with. I knew she would help me out. We had always enjoyed a close working relationship for particular cases where we needed to back up our statements with evidence. The sharing of information was vital, as was the timing of going to press with any findings that they may want to make public. The
re was a code of honour between us, a mutual respect and besides we had dated a couple of times, but I won’t go into that now!

  Things were going well, with Teresa agreeing to pop round to my house that evening to collect the evidence for analysis. I knew if anyone could find if I had been drugged, she would. I didn’t tell her what or who was involved and she didn’t ask. I had thought that if the results did come back as positive, then I would possibly tell her the entire story and ask for her counsel. I wasn’t sure at that moment what I was going to do, but one thing was for sure, I wasn’t going to sit on it. Besides, I hadn’t even played my real ace-card yet!

  I decided to clean up the mess I called my home. Looking around, I realised what a pigsty it had become. I was usually very house-proud and would never have let it get into the state it was now in. It wasn’t just the remnants of the previous night either, I couldn’t even find a clean cup or plate. It had been a while since I had really cleaned up. I blame Daniel for that. I was missing him more than I realised and I couldn’t motivate myself to care about anything else. I could still recall his face as he fell from that building, the look in his eyes as our grip broke. I didn’t even have time to say goodbye. Looking back now I wish I had fallen with him, things would have been so much easier. I wouldn’t have been left with Molly, the uncontrollable, controlling bitch!