Starr Destined (Starr Series) (19 page)

She nodded, and a tear trickled down her cheek.

“I ho
pe it was a bad dream anyway.” She shuddered.  “I dreamed…  I dreamed he…  Scott… was doing… disgusting… things to me.  His revolting hairy arms were holding me down, so I couldn’t get away.  Are you certain, are you really sure he didn't do anything to me?  You wouldn’t be lying just to protect me, would you?  Because I'd rather know the truth.”

“Angel, I promise I’ve told you the truth.  He didn't do anything to you.  Jamie got to you in time.”

“I should’ve listened to you.  You tried to warn me, because you knew what he’d be capable of doing.  Now I keep seeing his face, and then… him being vile and disgusting and hurting me.  I think I remember him saying something about taking pictures to show my boyfriend what a little whore I was.  Trouble is, I don't know what’s real, and what’s just my imagination.  It’s all so muddled up in my head.”

Fuck.  I’d put these sick images in her head with the role-play game the other evening, which meant her nightmares were at least partly down to me.  What had I been thinking?  All I'd thought about was scaring and shocking her enough so she’d comply with my wishes, and I couldn’t forget how it was my fault, my dispute with Scott Franklin in the first place, that had led to him attempting to a
bduct her.

“I’m so sorry, my sweet girl.  I should never have worried you that way.  And I should’ve dealt more effectively with Scott so that it could never have come to this.”  I rocked her in my arms, wondering how I was going to undo the damage I'd done. 

“It’s not your fault, Liam.  You were only trying to protect me, but I wouldn’t listen, would I?  No, I had to act like a rebellious, petulant teenager, determined to prove a point.  Guess I've learned my lesson now.”

“Is that why you went to the club without me?  To make a point?”  I gently probed.

“Yeah, I guess so.  Stupid, huh?  Well, it really backfired on me, and I don't really know why I did it, when all it proved was that I’d rather be with you.  At least now I've found out why you worry so much and act the way you do.  You were right, and I was wrong.”

“Don't be so hard on yourself.  You were unlucky, and it shouldn’t have happened.  Don't let this experience change you.  Don't let him get to you, don't let that fucker win.  Remember who you are - you’re Seraphina, the fiery angel.  We’ll work this out, we’ll make sure no one ever puts you through anything like this again,” I vowed.

“I don't feel very fiery right now.  I just feel very stupid and pathetic,” she whispered, as another tear trickled down her cheek.  I wiped it away with my thumb, then tilted her chin up to look directly into her eyes.

“Well, you shouldn’t.  You have every right to feel angry, but not with yourself.  What Scott did to you was a criminal offence, and my gut feeling is that you’re not the first girl who’s had her drink spiked at that club, and that he may well have accomplices, especially as Jamie seemed to think the police were already aware of suspicious goings-on there.  The evidence they’ve managed to obtain after your experience could well mean they can finally put a stop to all this, so maybe try to conce
ntrate on that more positive aspect.”

Sera stared hard at me for what seemed like an age.  Then she flung her arms around my neck and hugged me really hard.

“You know what, Liam?  You are absolutely right.  I refuse to let myself become a victim.  I’m not going to let that evil, disgusting excuse for a human being ruin my life, or that of any other girl.  I had a lucky escape, but whatever it takes, whatever I have to do, I’m going to make sure he never gets the chance to make a victim of anyone else.”

“That’s more like my feisty girl.  And you know I'll always be right there with you, supporting you every step of the way,” I hugged her back, relieved her spirit had not been crushed.  “We’d better get dressed.  The police are due round to take your statement shortly - that is, if you’re feeling up to it?”

“You bet I am.  I just wish I could remember more to help them,” she sighed, then got out of bed, and headed for the bathroom to start getting ready.

Detective Sergeant Nigel Marsden was tall and whippet thin.  He looked to be in his forties, with receding ginger hair, freckly pale skin and sharp brown eyes.  He wore a cheap, ill-fitting and crumpled two-piece brown suit, along with a nasty orange tie.  But he hadn't come to be judged by the fashion police, and he gave the distinct impression that nothing escaped his notice, as he glanced around my penthouse apartment when he followed me through to the lounge where Sera was sat on the white leather sofa, nervously chewing on her thumb nail.  She was wearing baggy jogging bottoms and a T-shirt, no makeup, and her hair was loose - she looked very small and young and vulnerable.  I sat next to her and held her hand, while the detective sat on the edge of the chair opposite.  He studied her for a moment, and his harsh expression softened.

“How are you feeling now, Seraphina?” he enquired after he’d introduced himself
.

“Still a bit dopey to be honest, along with a cracking headache, but overall much better than I was.  And please, call me Sera,” she smiled back at him.

“That’s good, Sera.  I'm sure you’ve already been told there should be no lasting effect from these drugs, which is something positive,” he smiled back.  “So, shall we get straight down to business?  The sooner we get through this, the sooner I can leave you in peace.  Just tell me everything you can remember about yesterday evening.”

Once Sera had filled him in, with just the occasional question from him, he turned to me.

“So, from what Sera’s just told me, Scott Franklin was known to both of you from the gym here at Butler’s Wharf?”

“Yes, he was.  But I had him fired, although technically we allowed him to resign on the pretext of his book keeping skills not being up to scratch.”

“I see.  So what was the real reason you got rid of him?”

“Inappropriate behaviour towards female members of the gym.  Nothing that could be reported to the police, but I wasn’t happy with him working in close proximity with young women.  I took what steps I could, to try and ensure he wouldn’t be employed in other gyms, but…”

“He moved on to work in a club instead,” DS Marsden finished for me.

“So it seems, yes.”

“I take it Scott Franklin knew it was you who had him fired?”  I nodded.  “So no doubt he felt he had a score to settle with you.  And he knew about your relationship with Sera?”

“He did, yes,” I confirmed.

“Well, that solves a couple of queries we had,” DS Marsden smiled.

He went on to explain that as well as Scott, they’d also arrested one of the bar staff, and unlike Scott who refused to answer any of their questions, he was cooperating fully with the police. 

Apparently, Scott had called in a favour to persuade one of his dodgy contacts to give him a job at the club, working as part of the security team.  He had a back room role monitoring the club’s CCTV cameras, reporting any potential trouble or issues he spotted so they could be nipped in the bud.

It was pure coincidence that Sera had gone to the club where Scott got this job after I'd had him sacked from the gym.  The barman, an old acquaintance of Scott’s from his body building days, had drug-dealing connections, and he explained to the police how he kept a secret stash of glasses tha
t were prepped with the date rape drug GHB.  For selected girls, he would make a big show of opening a sealed bottle, so they would assume their drink was safe, before pouring it into one of the pre-doctored glasses.  They had an arrangement where Scott would spot his victim of choice on the CCTV, and then use the internal coms system to tell his buddy to spike their drink.  Once their targeted victim was helpless to resist, Scott would lead her to a secure storage room out back that only he held the key to.  This was where they took it in turns to rape their victim, always making sure they released her before she got her memory back, always using condoms so there was no DNA evidence linking them to her.  And of course, Scott had access to erase any incriminating CCTV footage. 

The detective explained how the barman tried to justify their behaviour by saying the girls had gone to the club to get drunk and have a good time, wearing skimpy dresses and dancing provocatively, so they were asking for it anyway.  And at the end of it all, they didn't remember what had happened to them, so where was the harm in it, especially as they were responsible and used condoms.  The look on the detective’s face at this point as he shook his head in disbelief showed his disgust at the sent
iments of these animals.

Apparently, when Scott saw Sera arrive at the club, his mate said he got really excited and told him she was special and that he wanted to keep her for a bit longer than usual.  They argued about it, because this wasn’t their usual quick fuck that the victim wouldn’t even remember.  His mate thought it was going too far and was too risky, especially as he thought Jamie was Sera’s boyfriend and had seen him looking for her.  So he refused to get involved, which was why Scott was trying to get Sera out of the club when Jamie found them.

“He really is a piece of low life shit, isn’t he?”  I tried to contain my rage, while Sera looked pale and shocked.  “Please tell me you have enough evidence to charge him and lock him away for good?  He’s not going to make bail is he?”

“I’ve got to discuss the case with my boss, but I think at this stage we have enough evidence to charge him, without applying for an extension to hold him past the usual twenty four hours.  We’ve suspected for a while that something like this was going on at that club, and this is the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for.  Up till now, by the time the victim has recovered enough to suspect she’s been drugged, it’s already passed out of her system, so even if it’s been reported to us, we haven’t had enough evidence to act.  But in your case, Sera, we got to you much sooner, so we have a lot more evidence and hence a much stronger case.  Would you be prepared to stand up in court and testify against Franklin?”

“You bet I would!”  Sera agreed without hesitation.  “You can count on me to help in any way I possibly can.”

“Excellent.  Right, we’ll be in touch, but for now, I’ll leave you in peace.  Here are some leaflets with some contact numbers - you might want to consider getting counselling at some stage, because it might take a few days for everything to sink in before it really hits you.”

I left Sera sitting on the sofa looking at the leaflets as I followed the detective to the door to see him out.

“So, off the record, in your opinion is there any likelihood Scott’s going to walk away from this?”  I asked quietly.

The detective sucked air through his teeth as he grimaced.

“Between you and me?  I have a daughter who’s just a bit younger than your girlfriend, so I want scum like Franklin off the streets every bit as much as you do.  But I’d be being less than honest with you if I said we could be sure about his conviction - sadly there are no guarantees with a case like this, especially if he gets a good lawyer,” he sighed in frustration. 

Christ, I could never be a policeman like him.  Fuck all the political correctness crap,  I'd be far too tempted to take the law into my own hands and deal out my own justice, rather than see fuckers like Scott walk free. 

“I don't want to worry Sera, but I’m concerned he might come after her again if he gets out,” I said quietly.

“I understand your concerns, and I really hope it won’t come to that.  All I can promise is that I’ll let you know immediately should he get released,” he stated. 

“Thanks.  I’d appreciate that.”

We shook hands before he left, and at least I felt confident that he would be doing his level best to keep Scott locked away.  I just wasn't confident that would be enough.

As I walked back into the lounge, Sera was talking on her mobile, which she must have switched back on.  She mouthed at me that it was Abbey, so I wandered into the kitchen to make some co
ffee, while I listened to her side of the conversation

“Yeah, I’m fine, really… all I’ve done is sleep for England…  Mm, I’m a bit spooked if I'm ho
nest… yeah, I'm with Liam… ha-ha, you know what he’s like … treating me as if I'm made of glass, making sure I take plenty of headache pills, that kind of thing… yeah, the detective was here just now… he said you were such a clever girly to think of picking up my drink for evidence… hopefully they’ll lock that sick bastard away for good.  So have you seen or heard from Jamie at all?  I know!  Who’d have thought… and Toby as well… give him a big hug from me…. well, when are you seeing him again?  Oh, go on, you two make a lovely couple…  I know…  Australia is a very long way away… but you could Skype each other… or go visit him, that’d be cool…  okay, okay, just saying…  but I haven’t forgotten how you had a hand in sending Liam after me in Ireland… exactly, and look how well that turned out… yeah, so now it’s my turn to play matchmaker…”

The call from Abbey was great timing.  Sera chatting away to her friend, laughing and smiling, pr
ovided the perfect distraction after the shocking disclosures from the detective.

I brought the coffee over - mine Americano, hers latte - and sat back down next to her.

“I’d better go… yes, you too… and thanks for everything you did yesterday…  I know…  I’m just really glad you and the boys were there… yeah, speak soon…take care… byeee.”