THE THIRD SESSION
After their interlude on Saturday, Karen returns a few days later to continue with her therapy sessions. Valerie is curious about her involvement with Janine, a detective they saw on the other side of the street on Saturday night and once again Karen is happy to oblige.
Dr. Valerie Warren stared out the window as Robbie backed her car out into the street that Tuesday morning. His car was at the panel beaters getting a dent fixed after his boys weekend. The accident had apparently happened on Sunday morning as he was on his way home and although the damage was minor Robbie was obsessed about that car. The cherry red BMW M3 coupé was his pride and joy, he'd taken the Monday off to get three quotes, he'd eventually settled for the first quote and left his car at the panel beaters. The car was certainly drivable but she accepted that he wanted to have the dent taken out as soon as possible. However, when he asked to borrow her car for the next two days she raised an eyebrow.
"So why didn't the insurance company provide a courtesy car? It's in your policy."
"Because I'm not involving the insurance company," he shot back, "I took the blame, it's coming out of my pocket so I decided to come to a private agreement, end of story."
"So, what happens if the driver decides to claim whiplash or something?"
Robbie shook his head as he backed away.
"I'm a lawyer, it's what I do. Can't we just drop this? But if you're desperate to have the bloody car just drop me at work."
"Take it," she threw her hands in the air, "but it doesn't make sense."
"You look good today," he reached the bedroom door and smiled, "see you tonight."
Valerie stared at her reflection in the mirror as she reflected on the conversation. The white shirt was one she'd worn before on several occasions, she actually had three others that looked similar and he'd never commented on them either, so why now? She adjusted the black belt on the grey trousers and frowned.
Is he having an affair?
She looked at Damien playing on the bedroom floor.
Or am I being paranoid?
Aludra arrived for work not long after and for a crazy moment she actually contemplated asking her if she looked good in this shirt. Thankfully that thought evaporated, for now and then it was time to start work. Client number one was a woman contemplating divorce after discovering that her spouse had been seeing another woman. There were children and a property settlement to consider, in the end Valerie realised she was just a sounding board for her client. The woman had already made up her mind, perhaps she just needed to articulate her thoughts before carrying out the action.
The second client was a man suffering fatigue, indeed she thought he'd fallen asleep on her for a few moments before he finally answered one of her questions. He was a case she referred back to his GP because it seemed the best thing to do under the circumstances and then it was time for Karen's rescheduled session. She sighed with relief when Karen entered the room carrying a tray with coffee and biscuits.
"Aludra is giving Damien his lunch, I volunteered to do the coffee."
"You're a lifesaver," she leaned back in her chair.
Karen was wearing an elegant black blouse with a high neck and wrap around pussybow, the material was decorated with swirls. It was tucked into a white pencil skirt accessorised with white stockings and black heels.
"Love the blouse," she rose from behind her desk.
"Thank you," Karen put the tray on the table, "I was wearing this the night we got together."
"You and Janine?"
"That's right," she ran an eye over Valerie, "something wrong?"
"Nothing," she smiled crookedly and rose, "excuse me, I've got to go to the loo."
"No worries," she sank back into the couch, "I'm going nowhere."
That thought stayed with her as she went to the toilet and afterwards, when she was washing her hands she found herself thinking about Robbie's comment. When had he last complimented her on her outfit? The answer came back as she adjusted her collar in front of the mirror. Their wedding day when she'd met him at the church. Prior to that it was that day at Circular Quay when they got back together after a three month separation. She'd worn a flowery dress that revealed a little too much and he'd told her she looked good. But since then?
Valerie studied her reflection as she sifted through the last two years worth of memories. Once or twice perhaps? Half hearted comments or efforts to distract her from probing too deeply? Robbie always reserved the right to window shop, he saw it as innocent. 'Just don't touch the merchandise,' was her only caveat. She accepted he looked but that was conditional on the fact that he didn't touch what he was looking at.
Karen was still sitting on the couch when she returned, she was absently playing with her phone and their eyes met as she closed the door.
"Do I look good today?"
Karen smiled and lowered her phone.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Sorry," she sat down and a moment later told her what Robbie had said that morning, she avoided mentioning the accident though.
"The short answer is you look good, but the long answer might not be so pleasing. A man tends to compliment on a woman when he has some express purpose in mind, like getting you naked or distracting you from going deeper."
"I know," she put her hands between her legs, "I've said that before in one form or another but it was always to someone else."
"Well it's something only you can work out," Karen put her phone on the table.
"I know, I'm sorry, this is unprofessional."
"It's all right, I'm an older woman, I understand these things. I have to maintain a respectable image in front of randy young men and women. They're university students and well above the age of consent, but that kind of thing tends to bounce back on you so I laugh off their flirting and just move on," she played with her pussybow.
"So, there you have it, I'm being unprofessional myself."
Valerie smiled at that.
"Thank you," she flicked at her hair, "shall we begin?"
Date: 18/04/2017
Valerie: Okay, tell me why you wore that blouse today.
Karen:
This was the blouse I wore when Janine and I fell into bed.
Valerie:
Tell me about Janine.
Karen:
Janine was a detective who came to see me about a case. I'd written a research paper a couple of months before about cryobiology and she wanted me to have a look at tissue samples from a body they'd found. There was some dispute about whether the victim had been kept in a chiller before being murdered. They were basically told to get a second opinion, which I was happy to do although I felt a little nauseous being in an autopsy room. Janine was there that afternoon and sensing my discomfort she offered to take me out for coffee once I'd finished.
"To discuss the case of course, sometimes things occur to you afterwards."
So here was me, sitting in a Kings Cross café with an attractive female detective discussing whether or not the victim had been kept in a freezer. The only other information she offered me was that he had underworld connections and owed money to drug dealers.
"Perhaps they were hoping he'd crack under pressure but if he was kept alive for a couple of days then the people we've been questioning might have to change their alibis to suit."
Ultimately the answer was a firm yes. He had been kept for at least three days in a chiller before being executed and dumped in a bin outside his restaurant. It was only afterwards when she dropped me off at home that she outed herself. I'd kind of thought she might be that way inclined, it was the way she carried herself, kind of butch-femme but without overstating it. I kind of looked a little bemused and said that was okay, it wasn't a crime.
Valerie:
What happened next?
Karen:
Nothing for about six weeks, I put in my report and thought nothing of it. I did read a bit in the newspapers although my name was never mentioned, but I did recognise the names of the men accused of murder. One was from Cabramatta and the other was from Rooty Hill and I also read that they had been the subject of a long investigation into an ice distribution ring. The man whose body I examined had been an undercover cop who had his cover blown. It was bizarre to read about something you might see on
Underbelly
and realise you were actually an important part of the case. It wasn't until the week before the trial that Janine dropped in at my house to tell me that I would have to be in court to answer questions.
"It's nothing to be afraid of, you're not there to decide the case. You're in the stand to defend your findings. The barrister will ask you questions, infer you might be mistaken, cast doubts on your analysis, and in general try to muddy the waters but he's not a cryobiologist."
"Neither am I," I replied, "I'm a biologist who wrote a paper on cryobiology, it doesn't make me an expert."
"Just stand by your findings and don't let him rattle you. Lawyers use bluff to get their way, we do too but if you stand your ground he'll be forced to withdraw a question or finish," she looked me up and down, "wear something nice and professional, first appearances are important to a jury, so don't turn up in a lab coat."
I turned up in the blouse I'm wearing today and a white skirt and it gave me a minor thrill when she complimented me on my outfit, but I was still nervous sitting in court with two accused murderers not twenty feet away. Janine was sitting even closer but I drew strength from her and did my bit. As predicted, their barrister tried to muddy the waters, but it was a half hearted attempt. Janine said afterwards that I'd blinded him with my chic outfit.
"I've seen him cross examine women before, Bernie never misses a beat but with you I didn't know whether he was going to turn into some lovestruck schoolboy or stick to form."
"Maybe I should wear this blouse more often," I replied.
"I agree," she smiled, "perhaps to dinner?"
I must have looked shocked because she tried to backtrack, thinking that I wasn't that way inclined until I admitted I was but told her about the arrangement I had with Jonah. This did make her raise an eyebrow but she was intrigued and so we agreed to meet up for dinner the following week.
Valerie:
Where did you go for dinner?
Karen:
Some restaurant in The Rocks, I've been there before many years ago but it was a dive back then, they've gone through a few changes in management and Janine was on good terms with the new manager. I turned up in the same clothes I'd worn in court and she was wearing something similar to what you're wearing now.
Valerie blinked at that.
"Oh," she looked down at herself, "seriously?"
"Seriously," she replied, "although she wore leather pants and a leather jacket, but the white shirt was almost the same."
Valerie:
So, what happened that night?
