The Red Dress chapter eleven

 








Sergeant Wilson wished he'd not been on duty that morning. The back shift had gone off at six o'clock and left him a mountain of reports to sort out and to top it off,  he'd had this maniac of a woman from Scotland on the phone all morning, just as he'd had the day before. He'd hoped the situation would have been resolved by the time he came back on duty, but as luck would have it, it hadn't. He was stuck with the incessant phone calls yet again.
 
     When the woman had first phoned, he'd felt very sorry for her because her local station had contacted Chelmsford to advise them that some guy had run off with her underage daughter, having attacked her and stolen her jewellery. Unfortunately, her local station had given her his name and number to contact after the call...and boy, had she contacted him!
 
     At first it had just been regarded as yet another domestic situation which would sort itself out in a matter of hours, but the girl being a minor, and drugs being found, made the whole thing a lot more serious. The two police officers who'd interviewed the mother had sent their report through to him by late afternoon and sent the alleged drugs off to be analysed. When the results came through, the drugs turned out to be Temazipam, a widely used drug available on prescription. When Dave Wilson spoke to one of the officers to establish the woman's injuries from the assault, they confirmed they were minor, being a small bruise on the side of her face, and nothing more. She'd also itemised the jewellery which had been stolen and the list had been included in the report. The problem he now faced was the girl's mother kept changing the story every time she called, which was by now upwards of twenty times. According to her she now had bruises all over her body, and the items of jewellery she now claimed to have been stolen, were reaching crown jewel proportions.

      The lad's parents' solicitor had phoned and confirmed he was from a decent local family. In fact Dave knew Alan's father who owned a local BMW garage, so the whole situation was beginning to look a bit suspect. Now the worst part of it all was the mother's persistent phone calls, which were becoming offensive and hysterical. 
 
     At last his Super had got involved, and it was decided that the mother would have to be cautioned if she carried on phoning, and that perhaps the two youngsters involved were the innocent victims of a deranged mind. So, by the time Lisa and Alan walked through the doors of Chelmsford Police station, they were not in the trouble they thought they were - they just didn't know it yet.
 
 
 
 
     Sergeant Wilson was standing at the desk when they came in. From the descriptions he'd been given, he suspected it was them the minute they arrived. The boy spoke first.
 
     “My name is Alan Turner, and this is Lisa Collins. I can assure you I haven't assaulted or abducted anyone!”
 
Dave lent over the desk slightly so he was closer to their faces.
 
      “I know,” he replied conspiratorially.

As his words sank in, he thought the expression on their faces was comical.
 
Lisa was so worked up she didn't really acknowledge his reply and stared back at him defensively.
 
     “Alan didn't steal anything, and he didn't have any drugs either!” She stated defiantly.
 
Dave was beginning to enjoy himself. Their faces were a picture.
 
     “I know that too,” he replied, sounding bored by the whole thing.
 
Lisa and Alan looked at each other, totally confused. 
 
     “But we thought there was a warrant out for my arrest?” Alan said, still unable to believe the policeman was smiling. He didn't seem to be taking them seriously at all.
 
     “Ah, yes, there was - but that was before we found out that this young lady's mother, and I apologise for saying this - was a bloody nut case!”
 
Now Lisa and Alan were grinning from ear to ear.
 
     Alan's father chose that moment to walk through the doors of the station with their solicitor, Lawrence Hunter. The expression on his son's face didn't seem to reflect the seriousness of the situation, and neither did the look on the sergeant's. Standing next to Alan was an attractive dark haired girl, whom he assumed was the cause of all the trouble. Alan stepped towards him and, taking him by the arm, tried to explain.
 
     “Dad, everything's okay. Lisa's mother made the whole thing up, and the police know all about it. There's nothing to worry about any more. The charges have all been dropped!”
 
Alan's father looked relieved, but still looked disapprovingly across at Lisa.  
 
     “And this is the young lady at the centre of all this, I assume?”
 
Lisa looked uncomfortable as Alan introduced them with an embarrassed smile
 
     “I'm sorry, Dad. This is Lisa Collins… Lisa, this is my dad, Jack Turner, and our solicitor, Lawrence Hunter.”
 
Lisa shook hands with them both and smiled apologetically.
 
     Introductions over, Jack turned to his son and asked what had actually happened, at which point the sergeant interrupted. He needed to know the facts himself for his report.
 
     “I think it would be best if we carried on this conversation in one of the interview rooms, Sir. Would you follow me please?”
 
     They all followed Dave, and Jack was relieved they were going somewhere more private. Whatever his son had, or hadn't done, he didn't fancy sharing it with half of Chelmsford. Before they left the reception, Jack asked the sergeant if his solicitor would be required, and was relieved to hear he wasn't.
 
     The interview room was cold and unfriendly with a buzzing strip light, a desk, and three chairs. While Dave went to get another chair, Lisa, Alan, and his father sat down, and they started to tell him, as briefly as they could, what had actually happened. Dave came back into the room just as Alan started telling his father about how he had walked into the room where Lisa and her mother were arguing, and how he had grabbed Lisa when he saw the scissors in her mother's hand. Dave had started making notes but at that moment he stopped to ask Lisa a question.
 
     “Did your mother attempt to strike you with the scissors?”
 
 Lisa looked back at him and tried to remember. She had somehow managed to block the scene from her mind… but listening to Alan's recollection of what had happened, brought most of it flooding back.
 
     “I think so… but it all happened so fast, I can't really remember. She was drunk, and I don’t think she knew what she was doing. Oh God, I'm sorry…' she cried, burying her head in her hands.

The three men sat uncomfortably and waited until she managed to calm down sufficiently to talk again. When she did, she looked earnestly at Alan's father.
 
    “I don't know what would have happened if Alan hadn't come in when he did. I froze when my mother picked up the scissors…”
 
 Alan took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. He really wanted to put his arm around her, as he had in the car the day before, but he knew that Dave and his father would notice.
 
     Certain he'd given some comfort, he quickly withdrew his hand as Dave looked kindly at Lisa.
 
     “Has this sort of thing happened to you before, Lisa?”He asked gently.
 
She hesitated before answering, still unsure if she could trust him.
 
     “Yes, quite a lot..." she replied with a sigh, hoping that Alan's father wouldn't think less of her. Disloyalty to your family was alien to her, and she naively assumed he would disapprove of her.
 
     “My mother drinks… and when she does, she changes. It only happens if I'm alone in the house with her and when she's drunk, she sometimes takes it out on me. It usually only happens when she's had a fight with my father,  after he leaves...”
 
Dave looked concerned. He was well versed on child abuse, but it didn't usually occur in families such as Lisa's. He wondered if it didn't happen, or the police just rarely heard about it.
 
     “What's your father saying about all this?" He asked.
 
Lisa wiped her eyes with the tissue Alan's father had been kind enough to pass her.
 
     “Not a lot…I don't think he realises what's going on, or how much she's drinking.”
 
Dave still found it all hard to believe with the support youngsters had nowadays from social services. He reckoned Lisa must be some kind of masochist if she hadn't reported her mother before. 
 
     “Why didn't you ask for help?” He asked. “I mean social services, Child line; there are so many people you could have turned too.”
 
Lisa shook her head.
 
     'Not in my world, there's not, and anyway, what could they have done for me? Up until I was sixteen, I would have ended up in a foster home, and bad though it sometimes got, I would have hated that. I couldn't have brought that kind of humiliation on the rest of my family. Since I turned sixteen last year, it hasn't been that bad, and I've only been at home for a few weeks of the year because I was at boarding school until the end of June.”
 
Alan's father was beginning to warm towards Lisa and he could see why Alan had wanted to help her. Abused or not, she was obviously loyal to her family. As he listened to her, he tried to work out if there was any way he and his wife could help.
 
     “Have you no other family who can help you, Lisa?” he asked in a much warmer tone than he'd used before.
 
Lisa shook her head again, knowing it must be hard for an outsider to believe.
 
     “No. My brother Scott is at university and dependent on my parents until he qualifies. I can't ask him for help. Anyway, he has no idea what my mother can be like. I tried to tell him last year after she attacked me, but he didn't seem to want to know. I think he thinks I was just making it all up to get attention. I haven't even asked for his help since then.”
 
Alan couldn't imagine anyone doubting that Lisa was telling the truth. He had seen it firsthand. Her mother was a head case. He looked at her reassuringly.
 
    “Well I know that you're not making it up, I've seen it with my own eyes.”
 
Dave nodded in agreement.
 
     “And I've had the delightful experience of speaking to your mother on several occasions. In fact we've had to caution her, so I can imagine what you've been going through.”
 
Dave's voice became serious as he looked at Lisa across the table.
 
     “You do realise that with Alan's testimony, having witnessed your mother attacking you, and the fact that she's produced false evidence to the police in Scotland, we could have her charged with assault…. But it would require you to make a statement.”
 
 Lisa started to panic at the suggestion.
 
     “I don't know if I could cope with that. I've always been well cared for by my parents. I don't think I could do that to them.”
 
Dave shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't force her.
 
     “Well that’s up to you. It's not a decision you have to make now, but we do have to decide what to do in the meantime. Would you like us to phone social services to try and find you somewhere to stay tonight?”
 
Alan's father got to his feet thinking it was about time he got involved.
 
     ”That won't be necessary. Lisa can come home with us. My wife has already discussed it with Alan, and it's not a problem.”
 
Dave looked relieved. 
 
     “Is that okay with you, Lisa?" he asked.
 
She looked at Alan and saw him smiling at her encouragingly.
 
    “Yes… as long as you're sure that it won't be too much trouble.' She said to Alan’s father.
 
Jack had already decided there probably would be plenty of trouble, but he was beginning to feel uneasy about the way his son was looking at Lisa. He hadn't missed Alan's spontaneous gesture of taking her hand when she’d been upset earlier. No, the girl would be better at home with him and Kathy. At least until it was all sorted out. Dave stood up, thereby initiating the end of the meeting.
 
     “I just need you to have a chat with one of our WPs, Lisa so  you can make a statement regarding your mother's abduction claim. Is that okay with you?”
 
Alan looked anxious.
 
     “Is that necessary? I thought everything was sorted out.”
 
Dave shook his head.
 
     “It would be, if Lisa's mother wasn't claiming Lisa was only fifteen. We have to do things by the book here, especially if there are minors involved. Unfortunately, until Lisa can show us proof of her age, we've got to be careful her mother can't cause any more problems. You don't happen to have your passport on you, do you Lisa?”
 
She burst out laughing.
 
     “I wish …” she answered with a sigh.
 
 
 
 
Lisa immediately took to WPC Brookes. She was tall and slim with highlighted blonde hair caught into a knot at the back of her neck, very similar to the way Lisa often wore her own.
 
     “I believe you've had a bit of a rough ride, Lisa,” she said, having introduced herself.
 
Lisa nodded, hoping it wouldn't be long before she could go. All she wanted to do was get back to Alan.
 
      “Can you give me your date of birth?” Eve Brookes asked, sensing that Lisa was in a hurry to get the whole thing over with.

Relieved at such an easy question Lisa reeled it off quickly. “17/10/1980.”
 
     "And where were you born?"
 
     “St. Margaret's Hospital, Glasgow.”
 
Eve Brookes thought both answers sounded sufficiently spontaneous.
 
     “Now I'm sorry to have to ask you this, Lisa… but I'm just doing my job. Have you been attacked or interfered with sexually in any way since you left your parent's house yesterday?”
 
Lisa grinned, and thought back to the night before when she'd watched Alan sleeping.
 
     “Definitely not.”
 
Eve smiled to herself, convinced that she’d heard a tone of regret in Lisa's answer.
 
     “And lastly, did you leave your parent's house of your own free will yesterday afternoon?”
 
     “Yes I did.”
 
That was all Eve needed to know. She asked Lisa what she was going to do next.
 
     “ I'm going to stay with Mr and Mrs Turner until I can work out what to do.”
 
Eve had a little sister about Lisa's age, and she tried to imagine how she would cope.

     “Good, well in the meantime, if you need any help, or you just need a friendly ear, just give me a call. I'm sure I can put you in touch with the right people if you need them.”
 
Eve passed her card with the station's number on the back across the table, and Lisa gratefully took it and put in her pocket. She was free to go.
 
     By the time Lisa walked back into the station reception where Alan and his father were waiting, she felt totally drained.
 
     Whatever Alan had said to Jack while they had been waiting had obviously warmed him to her, because he took her hand and assured her she would be safe with him and his wife.
 
     It was agreed that Alan should run Lisa home to meet his Mum, so Jack could get back to the office. With a cheerful smile he waved them goodbye on the station steps and left them on their own.
 
     “Relieved?” Alan asked, as they walked along the busy street back to the car park.
 
    “Relieved and sad,” Lisa said.
 
Alan was surprised by her answer. He stopped and stood face to face with her.
 
     “What have you got to be sad about? Surely you must be relieved to be out of it, away from your mother...”
 
 
 Lisa realised Alan didn't really understand. Although she wanted to get away from her mother, she didn't want to get away from her father or her brother. She would miss them desperately, and she was now totally dependent on strangers for everything, including love.
 
     “I’ll be fine, Alan, it’s just all feeling a bit strange at the moment.”
 
Alan spontaneously took her hand and they turned the corner and walked towards the car park.
 
     “Well, from a personal point of view, I'm just glad I'm not a wanted man.”
 
Lisa looked up at him, then down at her hand in his. She couldn’t hold back her feelings anymore. She had to tell him.
 
     “I want you...” she said in a quiet voice.
.
Alan stopped in his tracks and turned to face her again, hoping that she meant what she'd just said.
 
     “Do you mean want me, or need me?” he asked hesitantly.
 
Lisa knew exactly what she meant. She had known since the moment she'd met him.
 
     “Want you...” She repeated.
 
 Alan put his hands on her shoulders, relieved that she had at last said something to prove she cared about him.
 
     “Well, that’s good, Lisa… because I want you too...”
 
With that he took her in his arms and kissed her, gently, as he had in front of the station, and then passionately, as he felt her lips part beneath his. Lisa felt a thousand tiny butterflies rising from the pit of her stomach and trying to fly free, as his lips unleashed a passion inside her she'd never ever felt before. When they at last pulled apart, she felt light-headed and incredibly alive.
 
     Alan stood back and held Lisa at arm’s length. The way he'd felt when he kissed her had also overcome him completely.
 
     “Christ, Lisa, I'd better get you back to my parents' house. If I don't, God knows what might happen!”
 
Lisa stared back at him not caring where he took her, as long as he kissed her again…