by D. R. Bailey
“OK,” said Rhys.
“Then let’s go, tomorrow we’ll have a quick briefing session before you go on the stand, Callum.”
“Yes, right,” Callum agreed.
They walked together out of the court building and onto the steps. The press saw them and surged forward at once. Behind them, there was a very large crowd banging drums and holding up banners. New banners had now appeared with slogans like “Kevin is a liar,” and “Kevin F’off back to England and leave Callum alone.” There was a lot of chanting and shouting.
Bernadette held up her hand indicating she was about to speak.
“What do you think of it so far? Are you winning?” shouted one eager reporter.
“Today simply proved we are on the side of justice. I told you we were here for justice and I’m telling you again. Callum is innocent and we intend to ensure he stays in Ireland.”
“Is Kevin Clinton a liar?” shouted another.
“I cannot possibly comment,” said Bernadette, “You can draw your own conclusions.”
“Rhys, what do you think?”
“My son is innocent, nothing he said about Callum’s involvement was true. My son is an Irish citizen and the Irish government should stand by an innocent man!” said Rhys angrily.
“Callum, what was Kevin like? Was he good in bed?” shouted a man from the Irish Sun.
“No comment,” said Callum dutifully.
“We’ll pay you, pay you for an exclusive!” the reporter shouted.
“Come on,” said Bernadette,” That’s enough.”
She led the way from the shouting media mob and down the steps hurrying them to the car. She bundled them in and drove away.
“Jesus, they are like fucking animals,” said Rhys.
“Oh worse, much worse,” Imogen laughed.
“I’ll drop you home again,” said Bernadette.
“You don’t have to do that,” Rhys objected.
“Yes, yes I do.”
“She’s the boss,” Imogen turned and winked at Rhys, “Best do what she says.”
“Oh, a right tartar, is she?” Rhys chuckled.
“Absolutely.”
“Stop it the lot of you, or you’ll be on the naughty step!” Bernadette giggled.
✽✽✽
Before she drove home, Bernadette had sent Eve a text.
‘Better be ready when I get home, my darling wife, because I am going to fuck you senseless. Your wife xxxx’
‘Your wife can’t wait, love you darling xxxx’ came the rapid response.
Thus primed, Bernadette had made her way home quickly but safely. She opened the front door and dropped her bag. Eve walked into the hallway completely naked.
“Fuck,” said Bernadette kicking off her shoes and divesting herself of her jacket.
“You said…” Eve ran her tongue slowly around her lips and bit her bottom lip in a way that made Bernadette go weak at the knees. “So I thought…”
“You thought what?” Bernadette held her close her lips touching Eve’s.
“I thought I’d better be accessible.”
“God you’re so sexy, so fucking sexy.” Bernadette’s lips met Eve’s and they kissed, hard passionately. Bernadette’s hands and nails raked down Eve’s naked back and squeezed her buttock cheeks. Eve gasped, “Oh, God, I love that… ooh.”
Bernadette kissed her again pushing her hard against the wall in the hallway, her hand snaking down between Eve’s legs, and to her immense satisfaction found her very wet. Her fingers began to work.
“Oh… fuck… oh my God… fuck… oh… oh… ahh… yes… please… more… please… oh…”
Eve’s head was laid back, and her eyes closed. Bernadette was kissing her neck and making her squirm under the ministrations of her fingers.
“Oh… fuck… yes… yes… don’t… stop… oh… darling… yes… oh…”
Bernadette could feel her getting closer as she bit into her shoulder, gently but hard enough for her to feel it, and then again.
“Oh… shit… fuck… fuck… fuck… oh… I’m going to… ohh!” Eve shouted as her climax hit her, and tensed arching her back, screaming out loud.
Bernadette held her watching her smiling, enjoying the pleasure she had given her beautiful wife. Eventually, Eve subsided and kissed her softly.
“Is it my turn now?” she said softly.
“Later, darling. I’m going to sit on your face.”
“Oh shit… you’re making me horny all over again.”
“Put on that maid’s outfit and you can serve me dinner.” Bernadette smiled.
“Oh, God… you are such a bitch, a horny bitch, I love it…” Eve said hurrying away to get dressed up.
Chapter Sixteen
“What brought that on last night?” Eve whispered in the early hours of the morning. There was still an hour or before the alarm was due to go off, but they were both awake.
“I don’t know, I got a bit horny from my cross examination, I was being a bit of a bitch, it kind of turned me on,” Bernadette laughed softly.
“Oh, you are turning into a dominant little bitch, now aren’t you?” Eve whispered moving closer.
“Not like that, and you wish,” Bernadette chuckled.
“Hmm, I do wish it sometimes, for sure.”
“And I give it to you sometimes.”
“Yes, yes you do, and I love you for it and everything you do.”
They kissed again gently. They fell asleep in each other’s arms without making love. They were both still tired from the previous night, as Eve had worn her maids’ outfit at dinner and served Bernadette in an extremely provocative manner. Both of them had become so horny they had gone upstairs right after dinner and made love.
The alarm sounded soon enough, and Bernadette crawled out of bed for her shower. By the time she returned, Eve was waiting with her clothes laid out. She tied Bernadette’s hair in a French Plait which suited her very well. After doing Bernadette’s makeup, Eve went downstairs to make breakfast.
Bernadette put on the grey skirt suit, soft lilac blouse and grey mules, which Eve had put out for her. She wanted a softer image for her own witnesses, and this suited her well. She went to the kitchen, when Eve was just placing a plate of her usual scrambled eggs, toast, and mushrooms on the breakfast bar. Bernadette sat down and accepted the cup of coffee. She took a sip and then started to slice into her eggs and toast.
“So, it’s Callum today, and then the Vietnamese girl?” Eve asked her.
“Yes.”
“But haven’t you really scotched the opposition’s chances yesterday?”
“We gave it a good shot, but our witnesses still have to undergo cross examination and survive that,” said Bernadette taking a mouthful of scrambled eggs.
“Callum is innocent though, isn’t he?”
“Yes, I’m pretty sure of it,” said Bernadette.
“Then it shouldn’t be an issue should it?”
“No, but I always worry until the judgement or the verdict is in.”
“Oh, darling, it’s going to be fine.” Eve smiled at her provocatively.
“And how can you be so sure?”
“Because I’m your witchy wife, remember?”
“How I could I forget,” said Bernadette, as she finished off her breakfast. She took a sip of her coffee and smiled.
Eve ate her own breakfast and smiled too while Bernadette ran her fingers lightly down her arm.
“Come on,” said Bernadette once Eve had finished, “Come and kiss me goodbye.”
Eve followed her to the hallway and kissed her softly and with the passion they always felt.
“I’ll see you later.”
“Yes,” Bernadette whispered.
“Shall I be naked?”
“Surprise me.”
She pulled out of the driveway, watching Eve wave to her and once more counting the blessings which had brought them together.
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✽✽✽
Bernadette and Imogen arrived at the courts for their second and probably last day. Avoiding the reporters on the steps and the huge shouting crowd, they headed inside and located Callum, and Rhys. In a meeting room replete with coffee, Bernadette spoke to Callum.
“You’ve got to keep your cool today, OK?” said Bernadette.
“Yes, I will.”
“Shane is going to try, if he can, to pull a number on you. He’s going to test you and accuse you of lying. You just need to stand firm on what’s true.”
“Yes.” Callum nodded.
“Do not, I repeat, do not do what Kevin did yesterday.”
“Listen to the boss lady,” Rhys joked.
“Da!” Callum protested.
“He’s going to be OK, don’t worry,” said Rhys, “I know my son.”
“Yes, I’m sure, but cross examination is tough, and once he’s on the stand I can’t talk to him again until he’s finished,” said Bernadette.
“I promise, I’ll be OK,” said Callum.
“Great, well, we should be done today, I think, and then we’ll get a judgement soon after.”
“Will we get one today?” Rhys asked her.
“It’s likely the judge will want some time to think about the legal arguments, and so on, and then he’ll give it. It could be a few days.”
“Oh.” Rhys looked disappointed. “Oh well.”
“The wheels of justice I’m afraid, but he’s got to make a decision that’s hard to appeal, otherwise we’re just going to go through this again. He has to make sure he’s applied the law correctly according to the evidence presented.”
“Look at it this way, it’s few more days,” said Imogen.
“It could be my last few days of freedom,” Callum mused.
“No, don’t think like that, be positive.”
“Yes, yes indeed,” said Rhys, “None of that negative Nancy stuff now!”
“Oh, Da.”
“I think it’s time to go in, and then you’ll be on,” said Bernadette.
✽✽✽
They took their places and waited. The Tipster arrived, announced the judge and Justice Brannigan entered. He took his seat and had a quick look around the courtroom before addressing Shane.
“Mr Wilson, do you have any other witnesses, I don’t believe so, but I just want to check.”
“No, Judge, that’s all, thank you,” said Shane standing briefly.
“Right then, Mrs Mackenna, I believe it’s time for your witnesses in which case.”
“Thank you, Judge,” said Bernadette, “I call Callum Jenkins to the stand.”
Callum left the dock and took his place on the witness stand. He took an oath of affirmation and confirmed his name and occupation.
“Mr Jenkins, or may I call you Callum?” Bernadette asked him.
“Callum is fine.”
“You are, as stated, a driver for your father’s haulage firm, Jenkins Haulage, am I right?” Bernadette said.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“And your sexual orientation is homosexual, is that correct?”
She wasn’t usually quite so blunt, but this had to be out there right away to avoid any ambiguity. She also wanted to tackle the relationship issues first before tackling the crime.
“Yes, it is.”
“Thank you, and you were in a relationship with Kevin Clinton, is that right?”
“A casual relationship, yes.”
She wanted to establish exactly how the relationship was from his point of view. The fact he was very open about it was significant. It would contrast to Kevin’s reluctance to admit to the relationship at all.
“Can you elaborate what you mean by a casual relationship?”
“We had sex, a lot. In fact, that was pretty much the raison d’être of our relationship.”
Bernadette was glad for Callum’s frankness. She pushed it further.
“So, when you said casual, you meant predominantly sexual, am I right?”
“Yes.”
“You weren’t in love with Mr Clinton?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Did he have feelings for you?”
“I don’t know, I suspected he did.”
“And why was that?”
“Because he got possessive and jealous. He was constantly asking me where I was going, who I was seeing, stuff like that. He used to get angry and think I was seeing other people.”
The texts had backed this assertion up and she had already played that card, so she didn’t labour it further.
“Were you seeing other people?”
“No, I wasn’t, only him.”
“So, to clarify, it was an exclusive sexual relationship?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Bernadette was happy she had covered this quite succinctly and now moved on to the nub of the hearing.
“Were you aware of Mr Clinton’s criminal activities or indeed, his criminal connections?”
“No, I wasn’t aware of them.”
“You spent a lot of time together did you not? Did you talk at all, find out what he did, meet his friends?”
She had to ask this because Shane would attack him on it. It was pre-emptive questioning to discourage him from going there.
“We had sex, it’s what we did. We didn’t talk about work. We went to gay bars and spent time together. I never met his friends and I never asked him or wanted to know about his work.”
“Why was that?”
“I wasn’t in love with him. I liked him and he was good to spend time with. I didn’t want to meet his friends. You meet friends when you start to care emotionally about someone, and I didn’t.”
“You didn’t care about him?” She wanted to be sure.
“No, not in that way, I didn’t.”
“What did you talk about?”
“Movies, books, being gay, stuff like that,” Callum laughed.
“Right, and did Mr Clinton ever mention, even once, the idea of you becoming involved in sex trafficking?”
“No, he didn’t, and I had no idea about it.”
“He never asked you to become involved?”
“No, he didn’t.”
It was obviously his word against Kevin’s, it would depend on who the judge believed in the end.
“When did you become aware of the sex trafficking?”
“I read it in the paper I think, and thought isn’t that the depot I left the truck at? Then it, sort of clicked, and shortly afterwards I was arrested by the Garda.”
Bernadette continued into the final part of her questions, which was to go through the timeline.
“Can you take us through from the time you picked up the truck, which we now know contained illegal immigrants destined for human sex trafficking, to the time you dropped it off?”
“Yes, I went to Balik Transport where the truck was parked. I picked up the keys from the office.”
“Can you turn to page five nine eight please, in the evidence book in front of you?”
“Yes.”
“That is your affidavit, am I correct?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Is that the time and date you picked up the truck in paragraph five?”
“Yes, it is.”
“And over the page, on paragraph nine, is that the time you dropped it off?”
“Yes.”
“OK, thank you. So, returning to what you said, you picked up the keys from the office?”
“Yes, I signed for the truck. I went to the truck checked it over for tyre damage, made sure it was secure and the customs seal was intact.”
“Was it?”
“Yes.”
“What did you do then?”
“I got into the truck, fired it up, checked it for fuel. As I remember it was full, and I filled in the start time on my timesheet. I drove the truck out to the ferry depot and waited
to board. I put the truck on board. During the ferry trip, I was up on the observation deck and then I had something to eat, a snooze. We got to the other end, I drove through the immigration and customs check. They did a cursory check of the truck and then I drove it to the London depot. I parked it, handed the keys over. I signed and filled in my timesheet. I left the depot and headed back to Dublin.”
“That was it?”
“Yes.”
It sounded straight forward, and she wondered what Shane would go for. Time would tell very shortly, as Bernadette was almost finished.
“You had no idea there were illegal immigrants onboard?”
“No, none at all.”
“When you did your pre-inspection did you notice anything unusual, hear any noises, anything like that?”
“No.”
“So, you were completely unaware of the truck carrying anything other than the expected load?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Did you know what the load was?”
“It was flour barrels, it said so on the manifesto.”
“Is it normal for the driver to see the actual load?”
“No, it’s not, unless it’s an open load and then you have to be sure it’s tied down properly. If it’s sealed, then you don’t touch it at all. You assume it’s been loaded correctly according to the manifest.”
“Where did you think the truck had been loaded?”
“In Spain, as far as I know.”
“Thank you.”
Bernadette decided she’d been through his testimony as far as she could and now had to let Shane do his worst. He undoubtedly would attempt it. She knew Shane’s style and had a shrewd idea what line he would take.
“No further questions, Judge,” she said.
“Jolly good,” said Justice Brannigan, “Mr Wilson, I think you can start your cross examination before we have a morning break.”
“Thank you, Judge,” said Shane standing up.
He gave Callum a hard stare. Callum looked back coolly at him and quite dispassionately. He wasn’t in the least intimidated by Shane.
“Mr Jenkins, or perhaps I could also call you Callum?” said Shane. He was using the age-old trick of first names, to appear friendly at least at first. Formality could also be intimidating. The use of first names was designed to lull the witness into a false sense of security.