Bad Advice

by S M Mala

  It was a soft and tender kiss, making him hold his breath for a moment. Then he felt her tongue through his parted lips and held her very tightly as they kissed. Her hands were rubbing up and down his back. He pushed his groin into hers. There were moans from Ruby and he could feel the warmth radiating between her legs.

  It was happening very quickly. She grabbed onto his cock and starting moving up and down its ridge, directing it towards her.

  He didn’t need much persuading, pushing inside and moving gently, their mouths not pulling apart. They were grinding into each other.

  ‘Oh,’ she groaned through his mouth while he moved faster, his balls tightening.

  He was close.

  Thrusting quickly, he had to unlock his lips from hers. He buried his head in her neck and let out a load moan.

  Suddenly the intercom at the front door was being pressed, making the pair of them jump.

  ‘That can’t be Riley, it’s too early,’ he said, flopping on top of her very hot body, feeling her sticky skin against his. Scottie glanced at the clock. It was after nine. ‘Lorraine was taking him to judo this morning.’

  ‘Open the door.’

  ‘Let them buzz.’

  They did for the next minute then he had no other option but to get up and answer it.

  ‘Don’t move,’ he warned. She pulled up the covers and turned on her side. ‘We need to do the post coital chat.’

  ‘That’s nice,’ Ruby sighed.

  He grabbed his dressing gown and ran down the stairs, flinging open the door.

  Commissioner Helen Trott was standing on his doorstep.

  It literally felt like his heart had stopped when he saw her.

  ‘Hello,’ she said, glancing at him, up and down. ‘Can I come in?’

  ‘Yeah,’ he said, stepping to the side and spotting her car outside. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘I’m afraid there’s been another murder. I know I should have called beforehand but I was passing. The body was found an hour ago and this is the most alarming bit. It took place at an actual Samaritan’s office.’

  The first thing he thought about was Ruby but she was in his bed.

  ‘Which branch?’ he asked, realising his day was already not going to plan and hoping Ruby wouldn’t get up to walk around.

  His eyes instantly looked up to the ceiling.

  ‘Am I interrupting something?’ she asked.

  He realised Helen Trott was following his eye line.

  ‘I’ve got a friend here,’ he blurted out and noticed Helen Trott’s face fall. Then she gave a false smile. ‘I have to tell her lunch is out of the question.’

  ‘The job comes first Scottie,’ she said, glaring towards the ceiling. ‘This means we’re going to have to hold a press conference. The fifth murder was done on the premises and now everyone is going to panic.’ Helen Trott stepped closer. ‘Who is this woman?’

  ‘Someone I met through my family,’ he said, feeling a cold sweat break out onto his forehead. ‘It’s early days.’

  ‘I’ll leave you to say your goodbye and wait for you in the car.’

  ‘Oh god, don’t do that!’ he exclaimed loudly. There was a loud bang from upstairs. ‘I think she’s woken up. Heavy sleeper as you can hear.’

  ‘Fifteen minutes,’ was the reply.

  She turned on her heels and walked out. As he took in a calming breath, Scottie walked to the stairs and saw her staring down at him, just wrapped in a sheet.

  ‘She’s never come round to my house before,’ he said, looking up.

  ‘You answered the door like that?’ she sighed, glancing at his crotch. ‘You had a semi.’

  ‘What?’ Scottie glanced and saw his slowly dwindling erection.

  ‘Lucky old me,’ laughed Ruby.

  ‘Did you hear what she said?’

  She looked down at the ground then made eye contact.

  ‘When I hear her voice, all that happens is that there’s a scream in my head. What did she want?’

  ‘There’s been another murder.’

  ‘Really?’ she scowled.

  ‘It was at a Samaritan’s office,’ Scottie said gently and watched her face contort into horror. ‘This is serious.’

  ‘Which one? Did she say and-.’

  ‘I have to get dressed. She’s waiting for me outside.’

  For the first time, fear about what was going on suddenly gripped him as he examined her.

  He was scared something was going to happen and, like his Nana Gwen said, Ruby was a sitting target.

  Seventy one

  It was silent in her living room, a few hours later, as she looked at Hugh and Jacinta. Theo was playing a game on his computer in the study, oblivious to what was going on. Ruby was drinking a cup of tea. Scared as everyone else, she couldn’t stop smiling.

  Her head was full of Scottie, much as her body had been for two days and nights.

  ‘What is wrong with you?’ Hugh asked, wincing, while he plunged down the coffee jug.

  Jacinta shook her head from side to side, to warn Ruby not to say anything about her man.

  ‘I should move back in until they get it sorted,’ he said.

  Ruby’s mouth dropped open and Jacinta tried to stop laughing.

  ‘You don’t need to move back in and I’m perfectly fine. I’m sure the police have got it all under control.’

  ‘When you’re not under one of their esteemed coppers,’ hissed Jacinta. Ruby tried not to grin. ‘Filthy bitch!’

  ‘I know but I do love his pork truncheon,’ she whispered back, catching the eye of her ex. ‘I’m touched that you care but there’s nothing to worry about. I hardly do any shifts and there’s security all around this place, so I’m safe. Whoever is doing this has a reason, whatever it is and-.’

  ‘Our son is worried,’ Hugh said, sitting directly opposite her. ‘As soon as I found out about it this morning, he heard the conversation and thought it was you.’

  ‘You shouldn’t have been speaking about this in front of him,’ Ruby hissed, shaking her head furiously. ‘He’s only an eight year old child. You should know better.’

  ‘And you should be more bloody responsible!’ he barked. She immediately wanted to beat the crap out of him for raising his voice. Her look probably said it all. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that.’

  ‘Don’t you dare shout at me again, do you hear? I had years of it and I’m not putting up with your shit again.’

  ‘People, let’s chill,’ Jacinta said calmly, scowling at the pair. ‘Can’t you see we’re all worried and-.’

  ‘What do you know that you’re not saying or the police aren’t letting you say? Tell me.’

  Hugh looked into his coffee cup, glaring right back at her.

  ‘You want to know? This person who is committing these atrocities has been leaving a message on the faces of the people. Written across their lips are the words ‘Bad Advice’, so you can see, there’s a theme.’

  ‘And I expect that slut told you, did she? Anyway I know that bit,’ Ruby said, through gritted teeth. ‘You haven’t helped anything by naming this person the ‘Samaritan Slayer’. How comes you didn’t mention what was written in the paper? Did it slip out over pillow talk before you told me?’

  ‘Don’t bloody well start this again,’ he seethed into his coffee.

  Ruby caught Jacinta’s troubled expression and knew she wanted her to back down. She stood up quickly and walked towards her mobile phone, checking to see if Scottie had sent a message.

  Nothing.

  ‘My advice is good and I don’t think I’ve upset anyone, to be honest,’ she said, turning around to look at them. ‘I’m not giving up volunteering or writing the page, if that’s what you’re angling at. And don’t use my son as a weapon to make me change my mind.’

  ‘What about his safety?’ Hugh said making Ruby jolt. ‘What if you are targeted? Have you thought about the danger Theodore could be in?’

  ‘I would never let anything
happen to my child or put his life at risk!’ she shouted angrily. Jacinta stood up and walked towards her. ‘Don’t you even intimate it, do you hear? I love him more than anything and would lay my life on the line for him. How can you even say that?’

  ‘Why aren’t the police trying to sort this out quickly?’ asked Jacinta, putting a comforting arm around Ruby’s shoulders then whispered. ‘Don’t let him wind you up.’

  ‘I think their new poster boy is probably concentrating on looking pretty than trying to solve this,’ Hugh grumbled as Ruby met Jacinta’s eyes.

  ‘What poster boy?’ asked Ruby innocently, noticing Jacinta scowl.

  ‘Their new Assistant Commissioner,’ replied Hugh. Ruby knew he was oblivious to her question. ‘He was only put there because he makes them look better than they are.’

  ‘You mean your long term screw and my old step mother wants to add him to her long list of bed mates? Are you jealous?’ she asked, walking towards him, wanting to laugh. ‘We can be open about this. Has she dumped you again or is it the other way round?’

  ‘We were never together so I couldn’t get dumped,’ he said bitterly, then flashed a look at Jacinta. ‘And don’t do this in public.’

  ‘It’s Jacinta! She works for you and is my best friend, so that doesn’t count. And you know for a fact it was this woman who picked me up when you beat me down.’ Ruby could see her ex was getting increasingly angry. ‘Do you think that new poster boy might want to speak to me? If he’s that much of a threat to you, then I think it might be worth hooking up with him for a chat.’

  ‘Oh for fuck’s sake, I don’t know why I bother,’ said Hugh, standing up and grabbing his jacket. ‘Fine, if you don’t care about your safety then that’s your right. But he’s my son and I want to keep him safe.’

  ‘Pity you didn’t remember he was your son when you decided to commit adultery and left his life in tatters. Take your caring shit and go sling your hook!’

  He then walked to the front door and left, slamming it shut.

  There was a hand clap from behind her. She turned to face her friend.

  ‘Oh that was so diplomatic,’ said Jacinta sarcastically, flicking her blonde hair from side to side. ‘You really pick your moments, do you know that? He’s genuinely worried and so am I.’

  Ruby couldn’t help it but smiled then laughed.

  ‘Oh great, I can see I’m not going to get any sense from you. Are you in love with this Jonathan Scott again? After the way he treated you last time?’

  ‘I’m in love with him,’ she sighed, walking up to her friend and giving her a cuddle. ‘And he’s in love with me but this is going to be oh, so tricky. Anyway, where was the last victim found?’

  ‘Didn’t he tell you?’ asked Jacinta, pushing her back.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Hugh?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Fuck Ruby, it was someone who used to work at your branch.’

  ‘Used to work?’

  ‘They just popped in on the off chance,’ her friend said. Ruby started to feel dizzy. ‘Oh my god, didn’t you have any idea? I thought he’d have-.’

  ‘What was their name?’

  Seventy two

  ‘This is bad!’ said Scottie. He looked at the body slumped across the table in a meeting room. ‘Diane works here.’

  His first reaction, when he realised where Helen Trott was taking him, was to be sick.

  ‘Does she?’ Helen Trott asked. She stepped closer as the forensic team walked around them. ‘We have to inform the others of what’s going on for their own safety.’

  ‘Who was it?’

  ‘Her name was Chonika Adams. She left the Samaritans because she was scared about these murders from what we picked up. It looks like she popped in, on the off chance, to get something.’

  ‘I should call Diane,’ he said and wanted to speak to Ruby to see if she was okay. ‘Who found her?’

  ‘The cleaner.’ Helen Trott walked closer as he broke into a sweat. ‘Does that mean Ruby, the friend of your cousin, works here too?’ she asked and he glanced away. ‘That’s interesting.’

  ‘Why’s it interesting?’

  ‘Let me deal with Ruby directly. I know her and think this should be handled delicately.’

  ‘I really don’t mind-.’

  ‘No, I want to speak to her. I know how she’ll react.’

  ‘Shall we go and do it now?’ he asked, watching Helen Trott flinch.

  ‘Assistant Commissioner Scott, there’s someone outside saying she’s your cousin,’ one of the younger officers said. ‘Shall we tell her to go away?’

  ‘No, she works here,’ he replied quietly. ‘Can you let her in? I’ll come out in a moment.’ Then he turned to Helen Trott. ‘I’ll tell Diane what happened and then we can sort out how to inform the others.’

  ‘Do you want me to come with you?’ she asked and looked genuinely concerned. ‘It’s a bit brutal when you have to deliver bad news to someone you love.’

  ‘I’ll do it alone. She won’t want an audience.’

  His heart crumbled, seeing Diane shake and weep at the same time. She was inconsolable.

  ‘Do you want me to ring Larry?’ he gently asked.

  She shook her head from side to side and put tissues in front of her face. The sobbing got louder. He put his arms around her and tried to comfort the best way he could.

  ‘She left because she was afraid. I knew she was coming in because she had a pair of sandals in the drawer. I gave her my spare set of keys yesterday morning when I met her on the way to work. Those shoes were her favourite and-.’

  The poor woman couldn’t stop crying.

  ‘Listen Diane,’ he said gently, grabbing her shoulders. ‘We need to tell the others. Can you give me a list of the people who work here so we can either call or see them today?’

  ‘Yes, yes,’ she said, trying to compose herself. ‘I have their mobiles numbers in my phone. Oh Scottie!’ Diane put her hand to her mouth. ‘Chonika was such a lovely young woman, what a tragedy!’

  ‘It would have been more of a tragedy had it been you or …’ he held his breath for a moment. ‘… Ruby.’

  Seventy three

  It took all of her memory doing the sixth form class play of ‘Aladdin’, some twenty five years ago, for her to look suitably shocked when Helen Trott and Scottie were stood on her doorstep.

  ‘Hello?’ she said and gulped hard, glancing over at Theo was at the kitchen table eating a pizza. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘I’ve come with my colleague Assistant Commissioner Scott to speak with you,’ Helen Trott replied with her false smile. ‘Can we come in?’

  ‘Of course,’ she said and watched them walk in, avoiding eye contact with Scottie. ‘My son, Theo, is eating so shall we go into my study. Is that okay? I’ll show you the way.’

  For a second, she noticed Helen Trott stare at the boy before meeting her eye. Then Scottie secretly smiled at the child before putting on a straight face. Slowly, Ruby walked down the corridor and flung open the door.

  ‘Oh, I forget Helen, you’ve previously been to my home or was it just upstairs?’ Ruby sniped, seeing the woman looked uncomfortably. Then she turned to Scottie. ‘We have mutual friends. She knows my husband very well.’

  ‘I see,’ he replied and she could tell he was trying not to grin at her mischievousness.

  ‘So what brings you to here? As if I didn’t know,’ asked Ruby. She watched Helen Trott examine the room. ‘I know what happened this morning. I found out it was Chonika.’ For a moment she gulped hard, not wanting to betray her tears since hearing the news. ‘She was a really lovely young woman and left because she was scared. Diane told me what happened and she was only popping in on the off chance.’

  ‘Has Hugh said anything to you?’ Helen Trott asked and Ruby knew she was now staring her out.

  ‘He told me that the words ‘Bad Advice’ were written across their lips and-.’

  ‘In this case, it wasn�
��t,’ said Helen Trott, glaring at her. ‘She was just killed.’

  ‘‘Just killed’? Is that how desensitised you’ve become to this type of work?’

  ‘Ruby, I didn’t come here to argue. I wanted you to know. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary in the past few weeks? Anyone who’s acting suspiciously?’

  ‘No! I’ve not noticed anything. I’ve been preoccupied with this and that,’ she shrugged, not wanting to look at the distraction currently leaning by the doors leading to the garden. ‘What happens next? Five murders in five months is pretty high. Are you sure you’re trying to solve them or are you hoping they’ll snuff me out, dear ex-step mother?’

  Just by saying the last few words, she noticed Helen Trott’s pallor had changed to ashen as Scottie suddenly stood up.

  ‘Ruby! Just don’t be so nasty, okay? I would never want anything bad to happen to you?’

  ‘You will do when you get the solicitor’s letter asking you to vacate my property,’ sniffed Ruby. ‘Sorry Assistant Commissioner what’s your name, but we have a chequered past, your boss and I. I’d prefer it if you don’t repeat anything you hear.’

  ‘Don’t you dare start with me?’ Helen Trott snapped. ‘I came here because I was worried about how you were feeling but not you. You still want to put the last dig in!’

  ‘Didn’t Hugh do that to you in my bed for me to witness?’

  ‘For fuck’s sake!’ Helen Trott hissed and walked towards the door. ‘I’ll see you outside Assistant Commissioner Scott.’

  ‘Actually, I can get back home on my own. I have a few more things I need to ask Ms Marquis,’ he said quietly. She noticed he was avoiding eye contact then turned his head slightly in her direction. ‘Can I call a cab from here?’

  ‘Sure,’ sighed Ruby, following Helen Trott out and glanced over at Theo, who smiled.

  She opened the door for her to leave, but not before receiving a fatal evil stare as Helen Trott walked past.

  ‘And that’s my son, if you hadn’t realised. It would have slipped your mind a child was involved, it usually does,’ she hissed.

  The Commissioner stopped and glared.

  ‘I didn’t do it on purpose. Hugh was as much to blame as me,’ Helen Trott replied quietly.