Virtual Justice (13 page)

Morris’s laughter filled her ear. Bella flinched. She wanted to scream and run out of the room.
How the fuck have I got myself into such a mess?

“Be nice to him now. Get that smile, and rivet it in place. Now say, ‘No one has ever bought me champagne before. How will I ever be able to repay you?’ Take a pause and then giggle and say, ‘Oh, I think I can find a way.’”

She cleared the lump filling her throat. “No one has ever bought me champagne before. How will I ever be able to repay you?” She giggled as instructed. Then she fluttered her eyelashes at her date and added, “Oh, I think I can find a way.”

The waiter spared her further blushes by arriving and pouring the bubbly liquid. Richard handed her a glass and chinked the edge of his against it. Then he entwined his arm around hers to drink it. “To us. I think our connection is going to prove very fruitful.”

She took a sip from her glass, and bubbles shot down her throat and tickled the inside of her nose. The urge to be sick took hold. However, she was conscious of Morris being close by, and again, she had to swallow her pride to become a willing participant in his sick game.

Morris jumped in and told her, “I’ll show you how fruitful later. Go on…‌say it.”

She took another sip of champagne and gave Richard a sickly sweet smile. “I’ll show you how fruitful later.”
God I hate myself so much right now. I feel like a marionette!

Richard grinned. Luckily, right then, the waiter deposited their main course in front of them. Lobster thermidor had been his choice, not hers. The dish was far too fiddly for her to eat in her nervous state.

Richard appeared to sense how much she was struggling and decided to feed her. In one respect, Bella was grateful for his attentiveness. In another, the whole scenario was freaking her out.

“Smile. Damn you, at least look as though you’re enjoying it,” Morris demanded.

Bella smiled tightly and accepted the food. Unfortunately, Richard expected the same treatment in return, but her hands were shaking so much that she kept dropping the food before it reached his mouth.

This sparked Morris’s anger to erupt again. “Pull yourself together. I’m warning you. You’ve seen me when I’m angry…”

She suspected that he’d purposely left his sentence unsaid, but she inferred the meaning behind the absent words. She inhaled and exhaled a few short breaths, then put on the soppiest look she could conjure up and fixed it in place. “This is wonderful.”

Richard nodded, and his hand disappeared under the table to squeeze her thigh again. “You’re wonderful. Have you had enough? Or do you want a dessert?”

Morris giggled in her ear. “A dessert back at your place would be good,” he ordered her to say.

Sighing, playing up her part—not because she wanted to, but because of what would happen to her if she didn’t—she ran a finger down Richard’s cheek. “Your place sounds ideal to me.”

Richard clicked his fingers to summon the waiter, and with his voice faltering with excitement, he asked for the bill.

Fear gripped her, and she glanced over at Morris. He glared in response, so she looked back at her date.

“Don’t look so scared. Smile and leave the restaurant with him,” Morris said.

After paying the bill, Richard rose from the table and held on to her chair as Bella did the same. As they walked past Morris’s table, his eyes never left the plate in front of him. Bella felt so alone—scared and alone. Then the earpiece crackled with life. “Go outside and around the back of the building. Lead him by the hand as though you can’t wait to get your hands on him. I’ll be there soon.”

She giggled and trotted out of the restaurant, pulling her date behind her.

“Hey, where are you going? My car is this way.”

In spite of his reluctant words, Richard seemed willing to go along with her plans. If only she knew what those plans were.

Once they had reached the back of the building, close to the rubbish bins, which she didn’t consider a very romantic spot, she leaned her back against the wall and used his tie to pull him close. She heard a stone being kicked and knew that Morris was watching them. Richard didn’t hear a thing, though. He was too busy mauling her and kissing her neck.

“Make him suck your breasts,” Morris ordered.

Several seconds passed before Bella complied with his wishes. First, she needed to push down the bile burning her throat. For the umpteenth time that evening, she questioned how she had found herself in such an untenable position.

Morris’s patience got the better of him, and he repeated the order.

“I want you to suck my breasts,” she told Richard. The dark surrounded them, but without hesitation, he slipped the dress off her shoulder and tore back her lacy bra to expose her milky flesh, which shone like a beacon in the night. Her first thought was that Richard would discover the wire she was wearing. Maybe Morris hadn’t thought of that. She held her breath as the man’s warm mouth sucked on her nipple. She wanted to cry out in pain when his teeth sunk into the tip.

“Tell him how excited he makes you.”

On the verge of tears, she ran a hand through Richard’s hair. “You really turn me on.”

Richard’s head tilted to the side, and he looked up at her, releasing her nipple long enough to say, “I can tell. You have the body of a goddess.”

“Giggle in response. Come on!” Morris urgency came through loud and clear.

Bella giggled, and Richard’s mouth resumed sucking on her breast. This went on for a full two minutes more before Morris’s voice filled her ear again. “In your bag. Feel in your bag. Feel the coldness and take it out slowly. Do it discretely, so that he doesn’t notice.”

With one hand, she opened her bag, while ruffling Richard’s hair with the other. She gulped when she located the object Morris had talked about. A knife. Her finger ran the length of the blade. She guessed it was at least eight inches long. She gasped when she reached the tip of the steel. Richard continued to suck and nip at her breast, thinking that her gasp meant he was driving her over the edge.

“Take it out. Now, stab him. In the stomach. Do it.”

How can I? I can’t see his stomach. He’s bent over in front of me. How can I stab someone, full stop? I can’t. Please don’t make me do it.
She wanted to shout back at Morris.

At her hesitation, Morris instructed her further, “Pull his head up and kiss him. Moan softly against his lips, like you do when I kiss you. Imagine that you’re kissing me. Once he’s caught up in the kiss, then thrust the knife in. Make sure you miss his ribs. Come on, think of what this will do for our relationship. You want us to be spectacular together, don’t you?”

Yes, she wanted that more than she wanted anything else. If killing someone was the only way to achieve that, then kill she must. Spurred on by the idea that the dirty deed would only take a minute to carry out, she withdrew the knife from her bag and pulled Richard’s head away from her breast and guided it up to her mouth. She kissed him as if she loved him, imagining Morris’s lips, instead of this stranger’s, were attached to hers.

“Now! Do it now,” Morris demanded as she lost herself in the kiss.

With a fierce jab, she aimed the knife. Immediately, Richard pushed away from her and stumbled backwards, his hands spread out over the wound in his stomach. Even in the dim light, she could see the blood staining his white shirt.

“Attack. Sink the knife in again and again,” Morris ordered.

Richard spun around to see where the voice had come from—he too, had heard Morris. While Richard was distracted by Morris stepping out of the shadows, Bella ran at him and plunged the knife in and out a number of times. Adrenaline assisted her actions.

Morris stepped forward. Richard lunged at him, but before he could reach Morris, he collapsed onto the concrete. The last word he said before his life ended was, “Why?”

Bella broke down in tears. Mixed feelings ran through her. On the one hand, she regretted her actions. On the other, when she’d sunk the knife into Richard for the third or fourth time, the power behind what she’d done consumed her—like nothing else on earth ever had.

Morris supported her as they ran to his car. He buckled her seatbelt and hopped in behind the steering wheel. Leaning over, he gently wiped the tears from her cheeks and whispered, “You really do love me, don’t you? A deep meaningful love like ours will know no bounds. I assure you of that.”

She looked down at her bloody hands, which shook uncontrollably, and nodded. “Take me home,” she murmured.

“Of course. We can share a bath, and then I’ll show you how much I adore and love you.”

She shivered at the thought of him living up to his statement. During the trip back to Morris’s flat, all she could think about was being wrapped in his arms and feeling loved and secure in the knowledge they would be together forever.

CHAPTER TWELVE

A
t the breakfast table, everyone looked as though sleep had eluded them during the night. Charlie hadn’t spoken a word to either Lorne or Tony since getting up. She breezed through the kitchen on the way to feed and water the dogs, ignoring their existence. Lorne knew when to give her daughter space, and this was definitely one of those times.

“Not too happy, is she?” Tony stated, preparing his cereals and toast.

“Nope. Don’t speak to her until she speaks to you, okay? She’s liable to lash out, otherwise.”

“Warning taken on board and appreciated. What time is everyone due today?”

“Around one. I’m not going overboard with food like I have other times. I was planning on making a lasagne or two.”

Tony laughed. “It would have to be three or four, knowing how much Luigi and the boys love your lasagne.”

Lorne reconsidered her decision and came out with another idea. “What about a chilli con carne then, with rice?”

“Works for me, as long as it’s not too hot.”

Charlie walked into the kitchen and threw herself down at the table. “What plans have you got for today?”

“Well, Jade, Luigi, and the boys are coming over, along with Katy. Do you want to help me prepare the food?”

Charlie sighed heavily. “I might as well. There’s no point in training Rusty anymore.” She scuffed her feet on the kitchen floor.

“There isn’t? Why’s that, Charlie?” Lorne sat down beside her daughter and rubbed her arm.

“It’s obvious you’re going to make me give him up.”

“Whoa…‌hang on a minute. This has to be a joint decision. I know you’ve grown attached to Rusty. I would never do anything without consulting you first.”

“We’ll see.” Charlie folded her arms across her chest and glared at Lorne.

“I wouldn’t go behind your back on something like this, love. If you say Rusty can’t go, then that will be the end of the matter. All I’m going to say in Jeff’s defence is that spaniels are working dogs. If Rusty has a talent, it would be a crying shame to stifle it when his nose could be saving lives.”

“Henry is a Border collie. He’s a working dog, and he has no trouble fitting in with our lives.”

“Granted. But I think spaniels are a different case entirely. Let’s just have a nice weekend and decide at the end of it. What do you say?”

Tony, very wisely, kept out of the conversation. He sat down beside Charlie and brushed the back of her hand with his. “You’re a bright kid. You’ll make the right decision come the end.”

Charlie gave him a half-hearted smile and reached for the cereal bowl in front of him. “Maybe some cereal will help pave the way.”

“You cheeky mare.” Tony got up, swiped Charlie around the head, and walked over to pour another bowl of cereal for himself.

Lorne winked at her daughter. “We’ll have a talk tomorrow night, eh?”

Charlie nodded and ate another spoonful of her stolen breakfast.

•\ \ \ \ \ •\ \ \ \ \ •

With the atmosphere a lot calmer, Lorne and Charlie worked well together in the kitchen. Lorne had instructed her daughter how to make the chilli while she knocked up a pineapple cheesecake from scratch. When she was making it, Lorne smiled as she thought of her father. Sam had always loved her cheesecakes.
God, I miss you, Dad.

“I know what you’re thinking. I miss him a ton, too, Mum.”

“We’d have to be hard-hearted not to miss him. It’s only been a few months. I wonder how your aunt is getting on with her visits to the psychiatrist.”

“We’ll see later. Won’t she talk to you about it?”

“You know me. I don’t like to intrude. If she wants to talk about things, then she knows where I am.”

Lorne cringed a little because she knew Charlie would think that she was getting at her, and in a way, she was. She would have to see how that worked out on Sunday evening. She could tell that her comment had started Charlie’s thoughts churning.

Around eleven o’clock, the rest of the family arrived. Charlie excitedly took the boys out to the paddock to show off Rusty’s skills, which brought an unexpected lump of guilt to Lorne’s throat. Jade and Luigi both looked grumpy, as though they’d just had a row.

“Why don’t you show Luigi around the kennels, Tony?” Both men looked at Lorne as if she was crazy, but she raised an eyebrow and nodded at Jade. They cottoned on to her meaning then, even if her sister had missed it.

“You seem preoccupied, Jade. Anything wrong?”

Lorne made them both a coffee and sat down at the table next to her sister. “Just thinking.”

“About anything in particular?”

“Dad, mainly. I’m not sure if going to this psychiatrist is doing me any good.”

“Really? Want to talk about it?”

Her sister’s gaze remained on the table. To Lorne she looked like a lost little girl, not like the feisty Jade she’d grown up with, that was for sure. Being married to Luigi had calmed her down considerably. As a child, Jade had needed more attention from their parents than Lorne had. Maybe that was why she had taken their father’s death so hard. She might have been too reliant on their father. Jade had never made a decision in her life without consulting her parents. Even when Luigi had asked her to marry him, Jade had immediately gone to their parents’ house to discuss the pros and cons of marrying an Italian, much to Lorne’s amusement and Luigi’s bemusement.