Down in the Woods

by Gary Philpott

  “You have heard of Robin Hood?”

  “Latvia is not as backward as you seem to think. I have seen Robin Hood on television.”

  “Well, there you go. You understand why I did it.”

  “We should give it back.”

  “Sorry Anna; that is a fucking stupid idea. Those two extort money out of girls like you every week of the year. All I have done is imposed a little fine on them. They won’t miss ten grand.”

  “I worry. This is not good.”

  “Look, how do you know they are not connected with Rashida’s murder? It doesn’t take a lot of working out, does it?”

  “You are the Riddler.”

  “Those two make their money from prostitution. They exploit illegal immigrants like you, forcing them into the sex trade. A lot of very nasty people are involved in that racket. Who’s to say that Kevin is not a nasty piece of work. It is often the quiet ones that are the nastiest. That money is not going back. Besides, you’ve already spent a fair chunk of it.”

  “It is wrong.”

  “Oh Anna, maybe I should show you something to convince you otherwise. Those two are still making money out of you and Anton as we speak.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I am guessing you and Anton fucked in one of their rooms.”

  “Who told you this?”

  “Sofia.”

  “And you believe her?”

  “There is some evidence of the event kicking about.”

  “No. This is not possible. I deleted Sofia’s photos. I did this myself.”

  “I don’t know what you are on about girl, but I am not talking about photos.”

  “Please, Jonathan, tell me.”

  “I think the pair of them secretly videoed Anton and you at it. The video is posted on a website, a website they make money from.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “That Sofia tart had one last shot across my bows when I picked up the money. She told me to check it out. It was her way of getting back at me, and getting back at you come to that.”

  “She gave you a video of me?”

  “No, she… No, let’s leave it there Anna.”

  “You must tell me, Jonathan. I am a woman, not a silly schoolgirl. You must tell me the truth.”

  “She told me to Google ‘drunk Latvian gets fucked’. Sorry, but you did insist.”

  “Google? What is Google?”

  “It is a web site. You type in what you are looking for and it finds it for you.”

  “Can anyone do this?”

  “Yes. Anyone in the world can use Google.”

  “Anyone in the world can watch this video?”

  “Yes. They tricked you, Anna. They are evil people. That is why you are having the money. They are not having it back.”

  “This is why Sofia kept saying this.”

  “What did she keep saying?”

  “You can fuck in our room. I do not do this.”

  “Well, you did it. It’s there for the whole world to see.”

  “I was drunk. I love Anton, I make him happy.”

  “Just forget it, Anna. It’s no big deal nowadays. There are thousands of videos like your one on the internet. To be honest, most of them are a lot more explicit than yours.”

  “You have watched it, yes?”

  Jonathan took another gulp of beer. “Just the once,” he lied.

  “Do you still have this video?”

  “Forget it, Anna.”

  “Do you have the video?”

  “I do, but…”

  “I want to see it.”

  “No you don’t”

  “I want to see it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am sure.”

  “Okay then, but you are not going to like it.”

  They went through to Anna’s room. The computer was already switched on from earlier. Jonathan had shown her how to send Anton an email. Anna had phoned her uncle with a message for Anton, giving him instructions on what to do when he could get to an internet cafe.

  Jonathan opened up the video, deliberately glossing over the fact that he had downloaded it onto his computer. He also failed to mention that he had subscribed to the website so that he had access to the whole of the video.

  Anna stared at the screen. She heard Anton and herself speaking Latvian. She forgot to breathe as she appeared from the right, totally naked. She was drunk at the time, but had not forgotten what happened next.

  “I’ll leave you to it,” said Jonathan. He put his hand on her shoulder before he left the room.

  Knowing it was twenty-four minutes long, Jonathan reappeared half an hour later. “Are you all right, babe?”

  There was no reply.

  “Oh fuck,” he said, looking at the computer screen. “I didn’t think you knew how to do that.”

  “That is Jasmine.”

  “I’ll take your word for that.”

  “Blonde bitch sucks big Latvian cock.”

  “Well, he does have a big one, your fella, doesn’t he?”

  “Why does he do this?”

  “Money, Anna. My guess is they paid him, probably not much though.”

  “This is a secret film, yes?”

  “No, Anna. If you look, the camera angle changes, someone was in the room filming them.”

  “He does not use condom.”

  “No, it seems not. Let me switch it off.”

  “No, I want to check they don’t fuck.”

  “They fuck, Anna. Now come on, come away from that.”

  “I must watch this. I must watch the others also.”

  Why the fuck did I download them, Jonathan asked himself. He knew he could not have resisted downloading the one with Anna in, but could not justify downloading the others to himself. “I will be in the sitting room. Do you want me to bring you a beer?”

  Her reply shocked him, as did the calmness of her voice. “Yes please, Jonathan. I would like a beer.”

  When Anna did emerge from her room, Jonathan was watching the ten o’clock news. Her timing was immaculate. The news reader warned that the following item contained flash photography. Dr Askew and his solicitor walked down the same police station steps Anna had walked down only hours earlier.

  “That is him. That is the horrible doctor.”

  “I know Anna, let me listen.”

  Anna sat down and leant towards the television. A green bar moved across the bottom of the screen as Jonathan turned up the volume.

  “Are you a serial killer Dr Askew?” shouted a reporter.

  Askew shook his head. A microphone was thrust into his solicitor’s face.

  “Dr Askew has not been charged with any offence. There will be no further comment.”

  “Are you expecting him to face charges?” shouted a different voice.

  “No further comment, thank you.”

  Askew was bundled into the back of a car. His solicitor climbed in beside him and the car sped away.

  The reporter at the scene recapped the case and handed back to the studio.

  “They have let him go.”

  “There was a bit on just before you came through. It seems the police have eliminated him from their enquiries. They hinted at him facing other charges though.”

  “I should have phoned Rashida.”

  “Blimey girl; and you called me The Riddler. What are you on about now?”

  “Rashida gave me her number and told me to call her.”

  “When was this?”

  “When I met her at the pharmacy.”

  “I see. So why didn’t you?”

  “She was a prostitute. I did not want to call a prostitute.”

  “She was a desperate woman, Anna.”

  “I know this. But I was frightened. If I call Rashida, I may have become a prostitute.”

  “It’s not a contagious disease.”

  “I think it is. Anton catch
this prostitute disease.”

  “Don’t be too hard on him, babe. He was all alone in a foreign country. He had to get food and shelter somehow.”

  “He should have used a condom. I would have used a condom.”

  “Well, there you go. It sounds like you may well have done it if you had no other option.”

  “Yes, I think this is right.”

  “You would have made a few bob, I can tell you. Whoops, sorry Anna. That was well out of order.”

  “You are a good man, Jonathan. I like your jokes. Do you wank to my video?”

  “Uummm… a couple of times.”

  “How many men do you think have had a wank to my video?”

  “Don’t think about it, Anna.”

  “I cannot stop thinking about it. I am not sure if it is a good thing, or a bad thing.”

  “Shit, I’m at can’t win junction here. Why not look at the up-side. No one would pay to watch a video of me fucking. But I guess it can’t be pleasant, being filmed like that.”

  “I will not sleep tonight.”

  “I will stay up with you. There is plenty of beer in the fridge. Let’s keep talking until we can’t talk anymore.”

  “You are a good man.”

  “And so is Anton.”

  “Of this, I am not sure.”

  “Tell me about how you met him.”

  Chapter 19

  “Hello, Rosemary, how are you holding up?”

  “I am glad you could come.”

  “Don’t be silly. I wanted to be here for you.”

  “Come and say hello to mother. You too, Daniel. I warn you though, don’t expect her to behave like a mourning widow.”

  They squeezed by other mourners who were occupying much of the church path, trying to avoid stepping onto the damp grass. Daniel followed behind them.

  Felicity took hold of Rosemary’s mother’s gloved hand “I am so sorry for your loss.”

  “Do not fear death my dear. It is one’s last act of savagery on the planet Earth. One last belch of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and it is left to the rest of us to carry the burden of guilt over what we are doing to this planet.”

  You’ve been watching too many documentaries, thought Felicity.

  “Not now, mother.”

  “Oh Rosemary, don’t patronise me. I shall say what I like.”

  “I would like to say goodbye to dad in a dignified way, if you don’t mind.”

  “And what would two lesbians know about dignity?”

  “Mother, Felicity is not a lesbian.”

  “You could have fooled me. Now, I thought I saw your Uncle William somewhere.”

  “He’s gone inside, mother.”

  “Good. I wanted to have words with the organist. I shall kill two birds with one stone.”

  “Sorry, Daniel, mother has this idea that Felicity and I are lovers, just because we ride together.”

  “Please do not apologise, these are difficult times.”

  “They are, but I want you to know there is no truth in it. In fact, Felicity seems to find it rather awkward at times. Though I wish she had stayed for the burlesque show the other week.”

  “I did stay for it Rosemary. I just thought it diplomatic to leave you alone with the red haired lady for a while. I watched it from the other side of the stage.”

  “Did you?”

  “Yes Rosemary, I did.”

  “Oh, sorry, I was probably too engrossed to notice.”

  “Engrossed with the show, or the lady with the red hair?” laughed Felicity.

  “Felicity, I do not think this to be an appropriate time to be talking about your frivolous night out in London.” Daniel sounded a little cross.

  “No, you are quite right. Shall we go and find a seat?”

  “I think we should. Not too near the front though.”

  “I want to sit with Rosemary.”

  “Sorry, of course. Forgive me.”

  It was as they turned to go inside that Felicity saw Andrew, hastily making his way up the church path.

  “Felicity, wait a moment,” he shouted.

  Surely not, thought Felicity. Her heart stopped beating as he approached. Daniel’s eyes were tracking him all the way.

  “I am glad I caught you.”

  “Good morning, Andrew, this is my husband, Daniel.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” he held out his hand. Daniel shook it reluctantly. “You are a lucky man.”

  “Indeed I am.”

  “I wanted to give you this.” He held up a white envelope. “It is a cheque. There was a mix-up with the insurance. They overpaid me.”

  Felicity turned to Daniel. “Andrew owns the car I bumped into,” she explained.

  “Oh, I see. I did not think you put that through the insurance.”

  “I was not going to,” said Andrew. “But the steering somehow got knocked out of line. It cost more than I was anticipating. Anyway, I thought it only fair to split the profits with you.”

  “No thank you,” said Daniel abruptly. “You should send it back to the insurance company.”

  “I think so too, Andrew.” Felicity’s eyes told him to go away.

  “Certainly, as you wish. I am staying with Katherine and Phillip for the weekend. Perhaps you might care to join us for afternoon tea tomorrow.”

  “We are busy, are we not Felicity?”

  “Yes we are.”

  “Goodbye then.”

  “Goodbye, Andrew.”

  Daniel put his mouth to his wife’s ear. “On no account go near that man. That nonsense was just a charade. That man wants to get into your knickers.”

  “I don’t think so, Daniel. A woman knows when a man is seeking to do such a thing. Come on, we should be going inside now.”

  “What do you think you were playing at?” Felicity was sitting on the toilet lid, whispering a shout into her mobile.

  “I wanted to see him.”

  “What do you mean, you wanted to see him?”

  “I wanted to see what the competition looked like. I also wanted my fix of you. It has been too long.”

  “Andrew, this is not a competition. If you have any notion of me leaving my husband for you, you are very much mistaken.”

  “I know, Felicity. I know what I am to you.”

  “And what do you mean by that?”

  “You like the excitement. It is as much a drug for you as it is for me.”

  Felicity fell silent. She knew he was right.

  “Would you like some excitement this weekend?”

  “Daniel told you, we are busy.”

  “We could ride together on Sunday.”

  “I am riding with Rosemary on Sunday. And the tracks are always busy at weekends, we would be seen.”

  “I think we just made a date for Monday at ten.”

  “Monday at ten, you say?”

  “I promise you it will be exciting.”

  “I will meet you at the airfield. Come in your car. There is a single-track lane up to the old control tower from the eastern side.”

  “Will you be on horseback?”

  “I will. Lester likes a bit of excitement as well.”

  “Black underwear, I adore black underwear.”

  “That should not be a problem.” She ended the call and flushed the toilet.

  “Have you had a good day?” asked Anna.

  “Saturday is always a good day. How about you? Did Anton reply to your email?”

  “Yes, Anton said he is very sorry.”

  “I’m sure he is, babe. So have you forgiven him?”

  “I told him I have.”

  “But you haven’t?”

  “I will forgive him in time. I need time.”

  “Anna, can I say something? Imagine for a moment you were homeless and hungry, with no one to turn to from what you have said, I think you may have done exactly the same thing.”

  “I am very glad I did not have to do this. I would feel very dirty.”

  “I am sure Anton
feels dirty. My point is though, if you had done it, would you have hoped Anton would forgive you?”

  “I would hope so.”

  “Well, there you go. Work on the assumption that you will forgive him in time. It’s only sex, Anna. One hundred and twenty million people have sex on any given day. If you do the maths, that means over eighty thousand people fuck each other every minute of the day.”

  “More than eighty thousand?”

  “That’s right, a Wembley Stadium full, every minute. And by the look on your face, you’re imagining them doing it, just like I am. Sex is funny like that. On the one hand it is a very special thing between two lovers. On the other hand it is just what people do. If Anton had made love to another woman, you would have something to worry about. As it is, I don’t see what the problem is. Just make sure he has a health check before you, you know.”

  “It is not easy for me.”

  “Just admit it, Anna, you love him.”

  “Yes, I do love him.”

  “Right, that’s that debate over. What are we doing tonight?”

  “My uncle has bought a computer. Anton is going to sky me at seven-thirty.”

  “Skype, Anna, the word is Skype. Seven-thirty you say. Okay, this is what we are going to do. You are going to dress-up all seductive and sexy for Anton, and while you are telling him you still love him I will have a bath and get myself ready.”

  “What will you get ready for?”

  “Ready to take a sexily dressed woman up west, that’s what. We’ll have something to eat and then I will take you on a tour of all the West End theatres, and you can choose the show you want to go and see tomorrow night.”

  “Cats, I want to see Cats.”

  “You women are so predictable. I knew we would end up with either Cats or Mamma Mia.”

  “Mamma Mia, I would also like to see this.”

  “All in good time, girl. It looks like you won’t be going home in a hurry now, so you’ll have a bit of time to enjoy the up side of living in London. It’s a bit ironic really, isn’t it? When you wanted to stay, the authorities won’t have wanted you in the country. And now you want to leave, they won’t let you leave.”

  “I must go and get sexy for Anton. Is the water hot?”

  “There is probably enough for us both to have a shower. You weren’t thinking of having a bath, were you?”

  “No. Don’t worry; I will leave some hot water for you. I am looking forward to tonight. It should be fun.”

  “Away you go, girl, that’s the spirit.”