Bad Moon Rising

"God forbid!" said Mary.

"It's a small group called The Church of the Exclusive of the Redeemer in Helmsford," Lydia told me, "They're as strange a bunch of bigots as you'll find anywhere. They'd still hold public burnings of heretics if they thought they could get away with it."

"Oh, we've got a few like that in Wales."

I went to put a kettle on and I'm almost certain that I heard Mary say to Lydia: "I'd rather deal with Amber than with Ashton and Lunt and that's saying something." I was going to have this out with Mary soon. She obviously had something against Amber and I needed to find out what it was.

That night Amber had the first of the bad dreams which were to plague her for a while. I was woken by a series of shrill cries and half-shrieks. I hurried through to her bedside and switched on one of the lamps. Amber was half-sitting and thrashing about, hands flailing at some unseen assailant. "No! No! No! No—"

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her tightly into me. "Amber, it's me, Cerys! You're dreaming. You're safe with me!"

Amber's eyes fluttered open. "I'm being raped!" she cried.

"Amber, you're dreaming."

She stopped struggling and looked about in astonishment. "It's a dream...?"

"Yes."

Amber shuddered. "It seemed so real. Somebody was raping me and there were others in the room, watching."

I stroked her back to soothe her. "It's over now. Tell you what, I'll stay here with you, take care of you while you sleep." I pulled the rocking chair close to the bed, got a spare blanket to cover myself, and for the rest of the night sat there holding Amber's hand. Sometimes I dozed, sometimes I woke with a bit of a start, but at least Amber passed the remainder of the night peacefully.

In the morning Amber said: "That was a dream, wasn't it?" She sounded doubtful.

I assured her that yes, it was only a dream.

"It seemed so real, and... well, I feel a bit sore down below."

I wondered if that was psychosomatic. But when we had bathed her and Mary went to get a fresh set of towels, I asked Amber: "Do you mind if I take a look at you?" I pointed to her pussy.

"Please..."

The edges of her plump outer lips did look a little inflamed and tender and I told Amber so. "Perhaps you rubbed yourself hard in your sleep and that's why you dreamed you were being raped." We agreed that seemed the most likely explanation. With Amber's permission, and to ease any slight discomfort, I treated the reddened cleft with a light application of antiseptic cream.

Later that day I told Mary and Lydia of the dream. "Could this be subconscious memory?" I said, "Do either of you know if Amber was ever raped?"

Lydia shrugged, shaking her head while Mary said: "Anybody who tried to rape the Amber I know would likely find himself face down in the canal with concrete boots on."

I was going to have this out with Mary at the first opportunity.

* * * * *

We finished bathing and massaging Amber a few mornings later, put her into fresh nightwear and settled her down. Within a few moments she was dozing again.

We finished tidying things up and then I said to Mary: "Can I have a quick word, please?" I jerked my head towards the door. "In another room."

Mary gave me an odd look but answered with a brief nod so we moved downstairs to the kitchen and made ourselves comfortable with a cup of tea each. "What is it, Cerys?"

"What's Amber ever done to you that makes you dislike her so much?"

"Don't know what you mean." Mary wouldn't meet my eyes as she answered. Evasiveness didn't suit her.

"Mary, I may be just a Welsh country lass but I'm no simpleton, I'm not blind to what's going on," I said, "I know you do your best for Amber and from what I've seen you're a great carer yet ever since we've been here I've had the impression that whatever you do for her is begrudged. Your professional pride pushes you into doing your very best but no more than that. You've been very kind and warm to me from day one so I reckon that's your true nature, yet mention Amber and you turn into an ice queen. Whenever I say anything nice about her you nearly always make some sarcastic remark."

"Do I really?"

"Yes, and you know you do. And I remember now—when I first met you in that charity shop, the woman in there said something about 'knowing how you feel about her'. So what is the problem? Is it because she's a lesbian?" I took a gulp of scalding tea, trying to control rising anger. "If so, you'd better turn on me too because I'm gay as well!"

Mary Tallis managed to look hurt and indignant at the same time. "You couldn't be more wrong, Cerys!" she snapped, "I am not homophobic and never have been, far from it!"

"Then what is it, Mary?"

Mary stared steadily at me for a long moment and then reached for her handbag, taking out a wallet from which she extracted a photograph to pass to me. It showed two young women in what was obviously a wedding photograph. The taller of the two, nice-looking with a shortish haircut, was dressed in a white trouser-suit with a pale-blue open-necked shirt and a red rose in her lapel. Her companion, a quite tiny girl, was exceptionally pretty. She wore an Empire-line wedding dress with a chaplet of tiny flowers on her head and she carried a small bouquet of roses. The two were holding hands and gazing at each other adoringly, their love almost palpable. Looking at them, I felt like a voyeur. Even from a photograph you could tell they were genuine soul-mates.

Mary pointed to the taller girl. "That's Hal, my granddaughter. The other one's her wife, Berry. They married last year and I love them both to bits. Anyhow, some years ago, long time before she met Berry, Hal had an affair with Amber which ended badly and she left Amber. From what I know and what I've heard from others, Amber has a vindictive streak a mile wide. She always gets her own back on people who've upset her in some way but she waits, more or less until they've forgotten the incident. Then she strikes and her revenge is always on the nasty side. In Hal's case, Amber waited around three years or more. I don't think they were truly in love but Amber regarded Hal as her property. It's largely a case of if there's any dumping to be done, Amber does it, not the other person.

"Then Hal met Berry and they fell very much in love so Amber contrived to split them up by framing Hal to look as if she was cheating on Berry. Apparently she was very believable, provided fake but convincing evidence, and Berry walked out, wouldn't have anything more to do with Hal. Fair broke Hal's heart, and Berry's too, come to that. Hal was the target, Berry was simply collateral damage. I've never known Hal cry as much as she did then. Never known her cry much at all before that—she had a pretty tough childhood until we took her in when she was sixteen."

I gestured to the photo. "It came out right in the end, though."

Mary gave me a little smile. "It did, in the end. Berry's got a friend called Tina, bar-steward in a local lesbian nightclub they go to sometimes. She found out the truth and persuaded Amber to confess to Berry. I've heard that Tina's methods of persuasion aren't exactly subtle. She's a big, tough lass is Tina, scared the hell out of Amber. I'll bet you that Amber's got something nasty lined up for Tina, or she did have before the memory loss... if that's genuine, that is."

Mary retrieved the photo and smiled at it before replacing it in her wallet. "While I'm at it, I'd better mention that Berry is Lydia's daughter. Lydia's been a lot more forgiving than me but that's her nature, I guess. So there you have it, now you know why I'm not a great fan of Amber's. I wouldn't watch her suffer and as a carer I'll do my best for her. But I don't have to like her while I'm doing it."

A couple of days later, while Mary was doing some shopping, I asked Lydia if Mary's account was accurate.

Lydia nodded. "I'm afraid so. Amber's pretty unpopular both here and in Helmsford with the people who know her. Take Robbie Hurst, Hal's business partner. Robbie's a lovely man, not a bad word to say about anyone. Except Amber. Robbie's known her for years and can't think of a redeeming feature. It'd be quicker to make a list of those who like Amber than those who don't. It would be a very short list. Funny thing, though, I've always felt a bit sorry for her."

"Why, if she's so awful?"

"Because deep down, she must be a very unhappy soul to be the way she is. Oh, perhaps not consciously unhappy but something that's well buried. I know that following the death of her parents she was brought up by an elderly and rather unpleasant aunt who packed her off to boarding school at a very young age. I don't think the school was all that good either—I did hear rumours that Amber was quite viciously bullied while there." She gave a little shrug. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if the bullies have had some terrible things happen to them since. The aunt died when Amber was about twenty—I don't think Amber did too much in the way of mourning. That could all have contributed to the way Amber turned out. So as I said, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her."

And deep down, Lydia Osborne, I thought, you must be a very special person. Aloud I said: "I've seen no signs of nastiness in her. She's very nice with me and grateful for everything I... we... do for her."

"I've noticed that too," said Lydia, "But I don't think Mary will easily accept that Amber can change."

* * * * *

Amber had more of her rape dreams and I had to comfort her in the night on several occasions. They more or less followed the pattern of the first time with Amber certain that she was being raped while other shadowy figures watched. Most mornings she seemed to be improved a little, able to get out of bed by herself and walk to the bathroom although I was always there to steady her and to get her in and out of the bath. Sometimes she said that she felt light-headed but Doctor Premnath assured me this was to be expected. And Amber never failed to express gratitude to me, Mary and Lydia.

But the mornings after the rape dreams usually found Amber in a state of near panic and she would cling to me in fear until lapsing into an uneasy sleep. It took me several of the dream nights but suddenly I thought I spotted a pattern. I got Mary and Lydia to sit down with me to hold a council of war.

"Right, what do we know?" said Mary Tallis, "Amber's having apparently terrible nightmares about rape and they could well be retarding her recovery. So what's causing them?"

"Well, it's possibly PTSD," I said, "could have been triggered off by the accident. That said, I'm not sure that's the whole story. She sometimes has dreams about being hit by a car, I'd sort of expect that, but the accident wouldn't explain the rape element. I've noticed these rape dreams always seem to coincide with visits by her solicitor and that minister, Lunt. They always insist on seeing her in private, makes me wonder if there's something going on there."

Mary looked as if she wanted to spit. "I wouldn't trust that Lunt further than I could see him and I've got good reason. And that solicitor's not much better. Money-grasping rats, both of them."

"We could ask Tansy," Lydia suggested, "She always goes into the bedroom with them."

"And maybe that's why we shouldn't ask Tansy," Mary said, "If there is anything untoward going on, then she's part of it, otherwise she'd have said something to us weeks ago."

"How about having a hidden camera installed in the room," I said.

Mary nodded. "Good idea. Let's think who could do it for us."

"I've heard there's a company called Alibert Securities in Newcombe Parva," I said.

Lydia demurred. "Alibert are a large and expensive outfit and Amber's one of their employees. In fact, it's their health insurance package is keeping this going, paying for Doctor Premnath to act as private consultant. They'd be bound to want to know what this is all about before any agreement is reached and they'd likely send in a team. I reckon the sooner it's done and the fewer people involved, the better."

"I agree," Mary put in, "I think I've got it—there's a woman called Amelia Brogan lives in Wychett-St-Judes." She turned to me and explained: "Wychett's a village a few miles from here. Anyway, Amelia's a one-woman business and she's said to be red hot on all aspects of computers and security. I'll give her a call to see if she can help us."

* * * * *

We arranged Amelia Brogan's visit for a time when Tansy was unlikely to call so if she was involved in anything, she'd be unaware of what we were up to. When Amelia arrived she nearly knocked my eyes out. She was gorgeous. I felt my juices stirring and in different circumstances I might have thrown my head back and howled. She was what I think they call a Goth with highlighted streaks in hair that was short on one side, long on the other; striking make-up; a number of studs in her upper ears with long pendent earrings at her lobes. Her trouser suit was pearl-grey, complemented by a flamboyant shirt with a wide tie, and my imagination was already working overtime until I spotted her wedding ring. Oh well, can't win 'em all (not that I ever won that many anyhow).

We took Amelia into the bedroom. To give us some space, Lydia had taken Amber out in her wheelchair. As we didn't know for sure that there was something amiss, we'd concocted an explanation for Amelia, that we suspected another (fictional) carer of being a petty thief. After a good look round, Amelia suggested four tiny cameras positioned so that we had a number of different viewpoints. She was able to supply them immediately with memory sticks and remote control but there was no sound. If we wanted sound we'd have to wait for different cameras to be ordered in. Mary and I had a quick discussion and agreed it was best to get it done immediately. The cameras were installed, Amelia carried out various test runs and the system operated perfectly. Now all we had to do was wait.

* * * * *

The slamming of car doors told us that we had visitors. We knew it couldn't be Doctor Premnath because he always came by himself and we'd have heard only one door. Mary glanced out of the window. "It's them." She hurried to the sitting room door. "I'll go and hide somewhere. Lunt knows me, we've clashed in the past—if he sees me he might get suspicious."

As soon as Mary disappeared into the back reaches of the house I went to the front door to admit the visitors—Reverend Lunt, Leonie Ashton and Tansy, each with a briefcase or similar—and took them up to Amber's room. As always, I offered to come in with them thinking they might find it odd if I'd said nothing. And as always my offer was refused on the grounds of confidentiality. The door was closed firmly in my face. And I switched on the remote control for the cameras.

The visitors were there for about thirty-forty minutes. When they had gone, Mary emerged from hiding and we went into Amber's room. She was sound asleep as she invariably was when the trio left. This in itself was odd because prior to their arrival she had been quite alert. I touched her face and shook her shoulder lightly. She didn't stir. "I think Amber's been sedated," I told Mary.

"Looks like it," she replied, "and I can't think of any good reason why she should have been." She took Amber's wrist to check her pulse and turned back an eyelid. "I reckon she'll be out for another hour or two. Give us time to see what the cameras picked up."

We took the memory sticks downstairs to where Lydia had her laptop set up ready and settled down to watch. At the end of the first stick the three of us sat for several minutes in something approaching a state of shock. We had no need to view the remaining three sticks. After several minutes I said: "What are we going to do about this?"

"What indeed?" echoed Lydia.

Mary just sat there in silence, lips pursed tightly.

* * * * *

Amber was obviously remonstrating with them, shaking her head and trying to pull away. Leonie Ashton sat on the side of the bed to hold Amber while Tansy prepared a hypodermic. She quickly administered whatever it was and it seemed to be no more than seconds before Amber succumbed and slipped into sleep. ["My God," said Mary, "that must be powerful stuff they're using. One of the stronger barbiturates perhaps."] Tansy turned the bed-sheets back and with Ashton's help stripped off Amber's pyjamas so that the unconscious woman lay there naked, her legs spread and bent to expose her genitals to the world; nothing was left to the imagination.

The solicitor and nurse both stripped off in their turn. Stocky and small-breasted, Ashton had a hard-looking body and her right arm was a full sleeve of tattoos. Tansy's body was softer and she had large, slightly sagging boobs. It wasn't funny really but I noticed that her pubes were dyed the same garish red as her hair. Ashton delved into her briefcase and pulled out a strap-on dildo which she fastened about her hips. [The dildo looked enormous to me but I'm rather lacking in penis experience so I really had nothing to compare it with.] She slathered both the dildo and Amber's quim with what looked like a copious amount of lube then knelt between the helpless sleeper's legs and began to ease into her. Tansy crouched behind the solicitor, pulled her buttocks apart and started to lick.

While all this had been going on, Reverend Lunt had taken a video-camera from his case and started to film the action from the beginning and from all angles with prolonged close-ups of Amber's pussy...

When they had finished, the two women cleaned Amber, re-dressed her and tucked her back into bed so that the whole scene looked undisturbed. They repacked their individual bags: camera into Lunt's, dildo into Ashton's, hypodermic and drugs into Tansy's and then they left quietly.

* * * * *

"That's obviously the cause of the nightmares," I said. "The question is, what are we going to do about it?"

"What indeed?" echoed Lydia.

Mary just sat there in silence, lips pursed tightly.

"The police, I guess," I added and Lydia nodded agreement.

To our surprise, Mary Tallis said, rather sharply: "No! Not the police!"

"But Mary, this is obviously rape."

Mary nodded. "Yes, it's rape. The thing is, however, Amber used to take part in these orgies consensually at one time. And although this—" she pointed to the screen "—is obviously non-consensual, a good defence lawyer could argue that given Amber's history, what we're seeing here is nothing more than play-acting on her part. They could certainly muddy the waters sufficiently to bring in a 'not guilty' verdict or if not that, cause a hung jury. The effect would be the same—in the circumstances a second trial would be very unlikely. Oh, their reputations might be harmed but they'd walk away from it.

"Perhaps there's more you should know, Cerys." Mary glanced at Lydia who nodded as if in approval. "I told you that my granddaughter and Amber were lovers once and that Hal ended it. The reason she walked out was because Amber and that solicitor woman tried to drag her into their orgies. Lunt wasn't involved then, at least I don't think he was, not when they tried to hook Hal. Defence would likely sub poena Hal as a witness, possibly as a hostile one, and I don't want to put her through that. While I think of it, though, there's something else..."

Mary took out her mobile and punched in a number. "Hal, it's Grandma. I don't want to dredge up bad memories but trust me, this is necessary. That orgy Amber Lytton tried to drag you into, you told me once that there were two other women there besides Amber and Leonie Ashton. What were they like?" She listened and finally said: "Thanks, sweetheart, that's all I need to know. Tell you about it later. 'Bye."