Page 13 of Mayfair Madame
My stomach rumbled again. I should feed the beast. Living on a diet of coffee and very little else wouldn’t help. I should eat.
The earlier rush of lust and adrenaline disappeared, to be replaced by the usual apathy that accompanied these thoughts.
No one would want me. I’d best get used to it.
Dinner comprised a few crackers with cheese, some celery and cucumber. It’d stave off the hunger for a while at least.
I ate while streaming my favourite show. Who knew the Danes and Saxons would be so interesting? But I was invested in their lives. The political intrigue and back-stabbing had me shouting at the TV more than once, but soon enough, it was time for bed.
Work again tomorrow, and I couldn’t wait.
The following morning, Josh picked me up, grumpy as usual.
“What’s up with you?” I asked, not feeling much happier myself.
“Kids kept me up half the night. The little one is teething, and the other one… Fuck knows what was wrong with him. He was bouncing off the walls at two this morning.”
I’d slept better than I had in a while, despite waking at three for my usual pee and flick through social media. The next thing I knew, the alarm was going off.
“Well, that’s kids for you.”
“You never wanted any? I know you’re a, you know…” I laughed. He was such a prude, but at least he tried, unlike some of them at the station.
“Lesbian. You can say the word, Josh. You won’t spontaneously combust.”
“I know, but I never know if I’m using the right words.”
“I’m not easily offended, Josh. Although some use the word ‘dyke’ in a derogatory way, it’s not always as bad as they think it is.”
“See, that’s what I mean. I need to be educated about these things. Some of them in the station do too. I put them right if I hear them use that word.”
“Thank you. I know we haven’t worked together long, but it means a lot that you do that.”
He shrugged. “You’re my partner. I have your back, no matter what. You’d have mine too.”
“Yeah, I would. As miserable as you are.” I punched him lightly on the arm, and the mood in the car lifted. I’d been lonely since moving down here, but I hadn’t taken the transfer to make friends. I’d moved for a new start.
Maybe I just might get that here.
There was no ruling saying I had needed to tell Josh, but it was only fair. He’d been cool with it and said as long as I did my job, we’d have no issues.
My last colleague had made sly digs every moment he could, to the point I reported his ass for being homophobic.
One more reason to move away and find somewhere I was respected for who I was, not who I slept with. I was fucking goodat my job, but some couldn’t see past the fact that I preferred women to men.
“So, we’re off to see Naomi Reeves again,” he said. “This is fucking messed up. I spoke to the super, and he said we have to follow up on her statement. I showed him the pictures you’d taken. He didn’t exactly say it was inconclusive, but I’m not hopeful she’ll get the outcome she wants.”
“That’s a shame. She has every right to prosecute that arsehole for what he did to her.”
“You’ll get no argument from me. Fucking nobility, think they can get away with murder. I know for a fact they have, but some choose to turn a blind eye.”
We drove past Mount Street, where we’d visited the night of the incident.
I looked out the window at the unfamiliar buildings. “Where are we going? This isn’t where we went last time.”
“No, we’re going to where Naomi lives.”
A few minutes later, we pulled up outside a modern apartment block.
