Winter Sunshine (2)
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Thursday, 21 November
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David looked around Helen's room while he waited. It was similar to his suite: a large old-fashioned study with a large desk, chairs and a large bookcase all made of sturdy-looking oak. Her desk was very organised: the papers neatly stacked and the pens uniformly lined up along one edge. He assumed the rooms would be like his with the bedroom and adjoining bathroom behind the closed door to his left. Outside in the darkness of the frosty night, he could hear the distant sound of girls voices hurrying towards the canteen for their dinner.
"Mr Lean, thanks for joining me," Helen said eventually, looking up from her papers.
"No problem," he replied.
He listened politely as she explained what the investigation was about and how any allegations made would be treated as being confidential.
"Is that clear?" she said, in conclusion.
"Yes, perfectly."
"Okay, well let's get right to it shall we? Mr Lean, have you ever had any kind of sexual contact with any of your students."
"No, of course not," he said.
"Are you sure? You've never said anything suggestive or touched them at all? Never been tempted?"
"Absolutely not," he said.
Had Vicky said something? He examined Helen's cool mint-green eyes behind her thick, black-framed glasses but they were unreadable.
"So what were you doing last Saturday morning?" she asked, glancing down at the papers in front of her.
"Last Saturday? I was collecting stock from the store room with young Vicky."
"I see, Vicky, yes. I interviewed her the other day. She's an attractive girl, isn't she?"
David shrugged, as if he hadn't noticed.
"So did anything happen between you and Vicky?"
"No, well nothing inappropriate, if that's what you you're getting at."
"Are you sure? Because several students said they heard some odd grunting and groaning coming from that room."
"Well it was quite hard work; there was a lot of going up and down step ladders and so on."
"Uh huh. And I also hear that Vicky's blouse was ripped."
"Yes, well, she caught it on a sharp edge."
"Yes, a sharp edge. That's funny, that's exactly what she said," Helen said, looking up at him. "At least that's what she said at first, before she told me what really
happened."
David tried to look cool as he felt a cold shiver pass through him, his mouth suddenly dry, his palms sweaty.
"I have her statement right here," Helen said, a thin smile forming on her crimson lips as she held up the report.
"She's lying if she suggested anything funny went on," David blurted out.
"Now why would she do a thing like that?" Helen said, sceptically.
"I don't know, maybe I've upset her. Maybe she's got a crush on me."
"A crush?"
"Come on Helen," he said, flashing her what he hoped was a confident smile. "You know how it is, these girls are a long way from home. They can become attached to you, develop crushes, you know."
"I'd prefer it if you called me Ms Feldman," Helen said icily.
"Yes, of course, I didn't mean to cause any offence," he said defensively, watching the lazy sway of her hips as she got up and walked around to his side of the desk, leaning back against its polished surface. She had lovely legs. He couldn't help wondering if the black nylons under her fitting, graphite-grey skirt were tights or stockings.
"Like what you see?" she said, looking down at him.
"Sorry?"
"You're staring at my legs, Mr Lean, do you like what you see?"
"Sorry, I mean yes, they're very nice."
"Very nice, hmm? I think it's so important to be honest with each other, don't you think?"
"Um, yes, Ms Feldman."
"That's a nasty-looking red mark on your neck," she said, leaning forward a little and peering over the rims of her glasses.
"Oh yes, it's an, um, insect bite."
"An insect bite? In November? How unfortunate."
David swallowed and anxiously tugged at the collar of his pale blue shirt as she stared.
"You know it looks more like a love-bite. Why don't you unbutton your shirt so we can make sure?"
"Excuse me?"
"I think you heard me, Mr Lean. Unbutton your shirt," she repeated sternly, as if she was scolding a reluctant schoolboy.
He watched her heels sink into the carpet as she walked around behind him.
Helen reached out towards the door and twisted the key in the lock. She smiled to herself as she turned back around, watching as his fingers fumbled nervously with the buttons of his shirt. This was going to be easier than she'd thought.
"Now let's have a closer look at this so-called 'insect bite'," she said, running a hand through his short, brown hair.
He caught his breath and winced, but didn't resist as he felt her roughly tugging his head to one side. Her hand yanked the collar of his shirt, then he felt on her hot breath on his skin as she closely examined the livid red mark on the side of his neck.
"Hmm, looks like a nasty little love bite to me. It's right where Vicky said it would be, now isn't that a coincidence?" she said. Up close to him, she could almost smell the fear and uncertainty, mixed in with the fresh, woody scent of his after-shave.
"Well maybe, I uh, maybe I fooled around with her a little."
"Fooled around a little? I think what you're trying to say, Mr Lean, is that you had sex with one of your students. You ripped her blouse open, threw her on a pile of mattresses and you fucked her, isn't that right?" Helen said, running his hands over his broad, square shoulders then down over his pleasingly firm chest.
"No! I mean, wait a minute, if she said that I forced her..." David started.
"I didn't say you'd forced her, just that you'd fucked her," Helen repeated.
David swallowed anxiously, the subtle, flowery scent of her perfume filling his nostrils as he watched her slender fingers smoothed the blue cotton over his firm chest
"Come now, in the end she told me everything, Mr Lean. And I mean everything, so you might as well be honest with me," Helen insisted, slowly unfastening the buttons one-by-one.
"No," David said, shaking his head, unsure of what to say.
"Come on, we both know what you did. She strikes me as being a bit of a prick tease so I don't really blame you. Is that what happened? Did she keep teasing and flirting until you couldn't take it any more?" Helen whispered, her lips next to his ear as she slid a hand beneath his shirt. She could feel his heart thumping against his ribcage.
"Well..."
"And look, you've got a mole here, just below your left nipple, just where Vicky said it would be," she said, easing his shirt open.
"She is a real tease, I mean, it wasn't my idea," David conceded.
"So she was asking for it? That's what men like you always say, isn't it?" she teased.