Once Bitten

by Oliver, Marina

  'At least they can be fairly sure who did it. He must be crazy. Will he lose his job, Judy, if he has a criminal conviction?' Felicity asked.

  Judy shrugged. 'I really don't know. But he has never done anything like this before. He was tough with the kids at school, but never violent.'

  And he'd never been in any physical way violent towards her, she thought. Angry, and persistent, but she'd never been physically afraid of him. Just eager to avoid the constant arguments.

  Soon afterwards, as the afternoon crowd began to arrive, Ken came back.

  'I've taken Sadie over to our house,' he said with an apologetic look at Magda. 'She said she dared not sleep in her own house when no one else was there.'

  'Poor lass,' Magda said. 'Is she alone now?'

  'No, I asked Liz to sit with her,' Ken said to Felicity. 'Sadie wanted to sleep at Judy's house, but I pointed out they didn't have a spare bedroom.' He laughed. 'She said why couldn't she use Fay's bed, since your Mom wasn't there,' he added. 'I wouldn't have been surprised if she hadn't crept for comfort into your bed, old man!'

  Justin shuddered. 'Then I have to thank you for saving me that. Did the police come?'

  'Yes, and Sadie gave them a statement, but they have so much else on I think all they'll do will be to pass on the information to the police in Manchester and leave it to them. It's not likely Mark has stayed around.'

  *

  By the time the fair ended Judy had sold out of some of her designs completely, Magda had taken a good many orders for specials, Justin had given out almost all the catalogues, and there were only a dozen or so frames left, which they decided were not worth returning, since Judy would almost certainly sell more of these prints soon, especially if she took stalls at other fairs.

  'But I can't think how on earth I'll manage without all of you,' she said with a sigh.

  'If the fairs are not too far away Ken and I will come and help again,' Magda promised. 'I feel it's my baby.'

  'It wouldn't have happened without you, for sure.'

  Magda grinned at her.

  'I've enjoyed it, and feel I've achieved something. I found a list of fairs in the area during the next few months, so if you are still at Fay's, we could book stalls at some of them. It really depends on how much time you have to fulfill these orders, and replenish your stock.'

  Justin, Judy noticed, was silent. She suppressed a sigh. No doubt, when he had gone back to his normal life, he would have no time to help her.

  'I left a big casserole in the oven,' Felicity said as they were loading Magda's dividing screens, as well as all that remained of Judy's cards, into her estate. 'Why don't you all come and share it? We can ask Sadie if she'd like to join us.'

  Sadie refused the offer, so Felicity sent two bowls of the casserole for her and her daughter, who said she did not like to leave Sadie, and the rest of them sat down, thankful to be off their feet, and welcoming a hot, tasty meal. They opened some wine, and it was almost midnight before Judy and Justin and the Tibbetts staggered across the Close to their own homes.

  The dogs, much to their disgust, had been left in the garden all day. Justin had been back to feed them and bring them in to the kitchen while the others went to Felicity's, and when Justin put the key into the door they were barking wildly.

  'Pampered pooches!' Justin said. 'Fay often leaves them out when she goes to visit one of our projects.'

  The house was in darkness, apart from gleams of light coming in from the street lamps, and Judy reached for the light switch, but when she pressed it down nothing happened.

  'What on earth? It can't be a power cut, the other houses have lights,' Judy said. 'I'll look in the fuse box.'

  'Hold on a minute, I'll get a torch out of the car,' Justin said and turned back to his car.

  She stepped towards the cloakroom, where the fuse box was situated, and as she pulled open the door a dark shape leapt out and grabbed her. The front door was kicked closed and the bolt pushed home as she screamed, and then a hand was pressed hard across her mouth.

  'I'll teach you to bad-mouth me to Sadie! You'll regret defying me, bitch!'

  *

  Justin had just grabbed his torch when the front door slammed shut and Judy screamed. Frantic, he tried his key, but the door wouldn't move. He raced round the house, scrambling over the locked gate and into the back garden, where he found the kitchen door swinging open. In passing he noticed the glass in the window was shattered and it had been opened because the key had been left in the door. Bursting into the hall he could hear scuffling from the living room, and he charged in, followed by wildly excited dogs.

  In the faint glow from the street lamps coming through the uncurtained windows he saw Judy struggling with a large man. He had no doubt it was Mark, and he looked round for some weapon. There was a heavy crystal rose bowl on a side table, and he needed both hands to pick it up. Mark was fully occupied with trying to restrain Judy, as Justin crashed the rose bowl down on the back of his head.

  Then, as Mark, with a howl of fury, turned round to face Justin, Buster leapt for his legs and sank his teeth into the fleshy part of his calf. Before Mark, swearing loudly, could decide which of his assailants to tackle first, Justin drove a clenched fist onto his chin, and Mark staggered back, tripped, and fell over a low coffee table. Some of the magazines on it slipped to the floor.

  Judy was struggling to release herself from the noose Mark had pulled over her head and shoulders to pinion her arms, and with a gasp of relief pulled it off. As Mark attempted to pull himself upright his feet skidded on the magazines and he fell back with a howl of frustration. Buster was dancing around, trying to find another soft target, while Gypsy stood growling so close to Mark's head Judy thought she was about to bite it.

  As Justin leapt towards Mark to try and pin him down Buster got between his legs and Justin collapsed heavily on top of Mark. The coffee table split, and the two men floundered on the floor with the dogs leaping joyfully on top of them.

  Judy, her face grim, disentangled the flailing legs to make sure she didn't tie the men together, and slipped the noose over Mark's feet, pulling it tight round his ankles. Then she moved away as Justin scrambled to his feet. Mark, struggling for breath, tried to lift himself up but was prevented by the rope round his feet, He yelled at Buster, fending off the dog, punching him on the side of the head so that he whimpered and backed away. By then Justin had got to his feet, kicked away the magazines, and was looking round for something to use to tie up Marks hands.

  'I'll get some tea towels,' Judy gasped, and went out to the kitchen. It was pitch dark here, no stray gleams of light coming in from the street lamps. She went to the drawer where Fay kept the clean towels, her feet crunching on the broken glass from the door, and pulled out a handful. Back in the living room Justin was sitting behind Mark, still spreadeagled on the ruins of the coffee table, hanging on to his arms. He pulled the wrists together so that Judy was able to slip one of the towels round them and twist the ends into a knot.

  'I never thought being in the Guides would prove useful,' she muttered. 'Let me do another one round his elbows, and then I'll go and switch on the mains so we can see what we're doing.'

  She did so, and Justin rolled Mark over so that he was lying on the carpet. Justin picked up the rose bowl, saying he was glad he hadn't broken that as well as the coffee table.

  'And then ring the police. We need to get rid of this scum, and perhaps a night in the cells will calm him down.'

  And perhaps he'll sue us for wrongful arrest, Justin thought. Well, if he does, there will be plenty of counter charges.

  *

  It was half an hour later before the police came, by which time Justin had recruited Ken to keep guard over Mark while he and Judy checked there was no damage in the rest of the house, and cleared up the broken glass.

  'Thank goodness the dogs didn't tread on it.'

  'They were too anxious about trying to get into the hall, I expect.'.

  'He hasn't tra
shed it, like he did Sadie's,' Justin reported to Ken.

  'No, I was going to make that bitch watch while I smashed her computer and cut up her clothes,' Mark snarled.

  'Should we gag him?' Ken asked, grinning and picking up one of the unused tea towels.

  'Let him spit out the venom. In fact, I'll fetch the voice recorder I use when I'm inspecting a site, then we'll have more evidence for the police.'

  Mark swore viciously, but then, when Justin returned with the tiny hand-held device, he closed his lips and simply glared at them.

  Finally he was taken away, Ken went home, and Justin pulled Judy into his arms.

  'That man is mad. He's flipped. I dread to think what he would have done to you if we hadn't managed to overpower him.'

  Judy, now it was all over, was shaking, and Justin cradled her closely, resisting the temptation to kiss her.

  'Thank goodness you were there! He would have destroyed all my work! Even though I always keep back up copies on an external hard drive, he might have found that too.'

  'I must make the kitchen door safe, and then bed. It's almost two in the morning.'

  'We shouldn't have kept the key in the back door.'

  'It's convenient for the garden and letting the dogs out. If we had moved it, he'd have caused more damage. I'll find a board of some sort to nail over it for the time being, then on Monday we'll replace the glass.'

  'You have to be at work on Monday.'

  'I'm not leaving you here on your own, in case the police let that maniac go. Or, well, we'll talk about it tomorrow. Now, does Kay keep any of those supposedly soothing bedtime drinks, or will tea do?'

  *

  Judy didn't expect to sleep, but she was exhausted, from the work towards the fair, the fair itself, and the fight with Mark. She was asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, and didn't stir until Justin brought in a pot of coffee at eleven the next morning.

  'Didn't the phone wake you?' he asked, perching on the end of the bed as Judy sat up and sipped the strong, black brew.

  'No. Who? Not Dad?'

  'No, the police. Apparently when they got Simmons to the station he went crazy, weeping and having full-blown hysterics, a complete breakdown. They called a medic, who sedated him, and when he was calm he agreed to go as a voluntary patient to some rehab clinic. I don't know where, but he won't be around for some time. They'll have to decide whether to press charges when he's fit enough to be interviewed properly.'

  Judy closed her eyes. She felt guilty.

  'It's all my fault, for breaking off with him.'

  'Don't be daft, love. If it's anyone's fault it's Sadie's, for telling him the brutal truth. I suspect it had been coming on for some time, or why would he have been so obsessive, following you down here?'

  'That must have been my fault.'

  'No, they've been talking to his Head Master, and the man said Mark has been showing signs of instability for a couple of years, and it got worse this year. Before you chucked him. He'd been warned, might have got the sack, so he had that to worry him too. Now, time to get dressed. Veronica has asked us to Sunday lunch, and then you can go and see your Dad. Afterwards I need to collect some things from my apartment, so when we've taken your Mom back to Veronica's we'll go there.'

  'Mom can come back here now there's no danger from Mark. And you don't need to stay,' Judy added, suppressing her pain. 'You're supposed to be going back to work.'

  'We'll see. I have a suspicion she would prefer to stay with Veronica until your Dad is out of hospital, they are having such a whale of a time.'

  He picked up the coffee tray and departed. Judy shot into the shower, and stood there, dreaming. Magda had calculated how much she had made on the stall, and she could scarcely believe the total. If all the other fairs she did were as successful, and if she got more business from the catalogues people had taken, plus repeat orders, she would easily make a comfortable living.

  She dressed in a blue skirt and lacy white top, and put on a dark blue jacket. The weather, which had been glorious all the time she'd been at Fay's, was turning cold. Near the end of August, signs of autumn were around. They had croissants and more coffee, and then set out for London. Judy tried again to persuade Justin he didn't need to stay with her for protection, but he was determined.

  'I'll commute to the office from here for a few days, until your parents come back,' he insisted. 'Then you can kick me out.'

  They drove up to London and Veronica welcomed them, saying how much she enjoyed having enough people to allow her to do a proper Sunday roast. There was a succulent leg of lamb with all the trimmings, followed by lemon meringue pie. If Judy hadn't been going to visit her father she thought she would not have been able to do anything but collapse into a comfortable chair and doze all afternoon.

  Justin insisted on driving them to the hospital, but Mrs Morton said they would take a taxi back to Veronica's house, to save him waiting around.

  'We don't know exactly how long we'll be,' she said. 'Come on Judy, he'll be wondering where we are.'

  *

  When they arrived back at Veronica's Justin hustled Judy away, refusing the offer of tea.

  'I should think Judy is still full after that wonderful lunch.'

  'I couldn't eat another thing,' Judy agreed. 'It was wonderful, and one day I hope to be able to cook like it.'

  'You will. Well, come and see me again soon, the pair of you. Safe journey.'

  Justin drove towards his apartment, but he stopped and parked at a spot where they could gaze across the river, at the many ships and barges plying up and down.

  'Do you have this sort of view from your apartment?' Judy asked.

  'Even better, because it's high up, and I can see downriver from some windows, and up towards the Tower and St Paul's the other way.'

  'Goodness, how many windows do you have?'

  'You'll see. I shall give you the full tour.' He took a deep breath. He could no longer bear to keep silent. 'But first, I have something to ask you.'

  'Do you want me to arrange to store my furniture somewhere else?' Judy asked. 'I mean to start looking for a new flat now the fair is out of the way and I have time to think of something else.'

  'I don't want you to begin looking for another flat,' he said quietly. 'I want you to come and live with me. Judy, after Barbara, I thought I would never again trust another girl, never want to put my happiness in anyone else's hands. But almost from the first I knew I wanted you. I tried to believe it was on the rebound, perhaps because you were so different. I tried hard not to give you any hints, because I knew you had been hurt badly too, and I wondered if I could be making another mistake. But I know I am not. You are the only girl for me. I'm prepared to wait, but one day, I hope, you will agree to marry me.'

  Judy was staring at him, wide-eyed, and he wondered whether he had been too precipitate.

  'You – you want to marry me?' she whispered. 'Justin, I don't believe it. I'm still dreaming. Are you sure?'

  He breathed a sigh of relief. She was going to agree, somehow he knew that, and he wanted to leap out of the car and perform a dance of triumph such as he had once seen in Oman.

  'I am sure. I want to marry you. I want you to come and live with me. If you don't like my apartment we can buy another, or a house, wherever you want to live. I can set up anywhere, and you can run your business. Can you possibly love me enough, as much as I love you, to marry me?'

  Judy, unable to speak, just nodded, and Justin pulled her towards him and kissed her, his lips soft and warm and Judy's at first trembling but then responding in a most satisfactory way.

  They broke apart, and Justin, gloriously happy, laughed.

  'This car, with gear levers to get in the way, is hardly the best place to kiss my fiancée,' he said. 'Let's go home.'

  'Home?' Judy said, wonder in her voice. Then she broke into a smile, the happiest and most carefree Justin had ever seen.

  *

  They drove in silence until the apartment
block where Justin had taken Judy before came into view, and she emerged from the dreamlike state she had been in since he kissed her.

  'Justin, I'm sure I'll like your apartment, but if you feel it's too small, there is the money from mine which we could add to whatever yours would sell for, towards buying a new one.'

  He laughed as he drove into the underground car park.

  'Come and see it first, darling. It's bigger than I ever needed. You can have your own studio, but if you feel you don't want to live here, we can move.'

  He led the way to the lifts and Judy, bemused, saw that he called the one which went straight to the penthouse floor. When they stepped out in was into a small lobby with just one door. Did his apartment cover the entire top floor? Justin opened the door and they passed into a large, open plan area with several large settees and big comfortable looking armchairs scattered about. Directly in front there was a bank of huge windows looking across the river.

  Justin took her hand and guided her across to the windows, and she saw there were sliding doors opening onto a wide roof terrace.

  'It can be very cold and windy outside, as we are so high up' Justin said, 'but with these windows it isn't necessary to go out.'

  'It's fabulous!'

  'Come and see the rest.'

  There was a formal dining room, a huge modern kitchen with every possible appliance, a room clearly designated as Justin's study, and four bedrooms, all with lavishly appointed en suites. When Justin led the way back to the living room and sat down with Judy in one of the deep settees, she looked accusingly at him.

  'I feel stupid! You didn't tell me you were wealthy. You must be, to live in a place like this.'

  'Actually I own the entire block. It was one of the first I built, with a legacy from my grandfather. Would you have turned me down if you'd known?'

  Judy considered. 'Perhaps,' she whispered eventually. 'I'd have been suspicious I was marrying you for your money!'

  He gave a shout of laughter and pulled her close.

  'Then I have to persuade you otherwise.'

  He did so, kissing her comprehensively, while they lost track of time.