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| unfinished business; Bad Girls / Judge John Deed trilogy | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 22 2008, 10:39 AM (19,803 Views) | |
| richard | Feb 11 2009, 05:56 PM Post #286 |
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Lovely feedback here To you, Axiegirl, you have very astutely picked out how the pressure is off all of the ladies and the victory celebrations have begun and the irony of John’s situation with the women that he is closest to. You’ll be happy to know that I have not neglected Fenner and you’ll be pleased with the outcome. To you, HR, I certainly am very grateful for your support, practical and feedback and of the trial drama. |
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| JAM | Feb 13 2009, 10:02 PM Post #287 |
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Out of Dorm
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FENNER!!! FENNER!!....I loved that bit! Fantastic as always Richard!
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| richard | Feb 14 2009, 10:41 AM Post #288 |
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Hi JAM, thanks for picking up on a key scene that happily rolled off the pen (or rather computer keyboard). I wrote the last scene backed by this next piece where I hadn’t really planned on the new direction in Karen’s life. I had that feeling that all the sources of stresses and strains were suddenly removed and somehow everything that had happened to Karen led up to this moment. Enjoy ..................................................................................................................... Scene Forty-Two “Whew, this is quite some party,” Karen said breathlessly before she tentatively sought to make the woman the far side of the table feel more personal to herself in her best friendly fashion. “Everyone needs to let their hair down. It comes of being ourselves instead of wearing false faces all week,” the dark haired woman remarked. ”I don’t think we’ve been introduced before, anyway, I’m Karen and I used to be a nurse.” Instantly, she felt foolish after blurting out her poor reply to the other woman’s thoughtful words. Somehow, she didn’t want to admit being part of the prison service that had screwed her over so she had blindly reached for that part of her identity that she still felt comfortable with. “That’s really nice. Nurses are really important. I’m Beth and I saw you as soon as you entered the club.” “I didn’t think I was that noticeable,” Karen said in a self-deprecating way. She wasn’t that good at taking compliments. Her cynical experience to date was that men who chatted her up came out with a load of false romantic bullshit. Women somehow had never complimented her in that way and this woman’s tone sounded warm and genuine. She realised that she needed to adjust her ideas smartly. “You need to love yourself before you can love others. There’s a danger in being a nursemaid to others however noble it might seem. That isn’t the same as being self-centred. Perhaps no one’s told you what’s really attractive in a woman.” The woman’s large eyes, carved straight nose and delicately shaped lips were as much as an attraction as her soft words. She had made the immediate right connection with Karen. This was a totally new experience for Karen and she let herself go with the flow. Now she was beginning to see how women could be attracted to each other, she sighed, as she rested her chin on her hand, fingers delicately extended. She didn’t take her deep blue eyes away from the dark haired woman in front of her, who felt a shiver of anticipation run through her. “That’s the best news I’ve heard for a long time, darling,” Karen said in her best seductive fashion. Long ago, she had used the same word when she had asked Yvonne if she would get another date with her. Now that playacting was starting to become for real. An infinity of time had flowed onwards in her shared world before Karen felt the prodding of her social obligations as she sensed company. “I’m really sorry I’ve neglected you all,” she said apologetically, her fingers linked with Beth’s, “but I’ve been otherwise engaged.” “Don’t you worry about a thing, Karen,” George said emphatically in her best bossy fashion. “It’s not that we need to lose contact with each other, do we?” Nikki folded her arms across her chest, while Helen looked directly at her. Trisha’s friendly smile welcomed her, Sally-Anne’s soft eyes told her yes and Alice raised her eyebrows, silently signalling ‘why not.’ Karen had had such a rough time for god knows how long that she deserved a break. All six women insistently prodded Karen to pursue a new line in her life, to say goodbye to far too many mistakes. Yes, anything was possible that night. Temptations were irresistible and somehow good. “Yes, I see what you mean, why not?” “The best two words I ever knew, Karen.” Nikki said, neatly reversing past roles and seeing her off into her unknown future. “If I were you, I wouldn’t keep Beth waiting.” Karen smiled broadly at her friend’s encouragement, linked arms with Beth and leaned into her new friend. They left the club on a cloud of jubilation. The night was still young. ******* Karen started to feel slightly nervous when she got to a block of flats and climbed the first flight of stairs to Beth’s. First of all, how does a woman make love to another woman? She thought to herself. As if in answer, the other woman squeezed her hand in reassurance. After the bedroom sidelight faded out, the flat was dark except for the streetlight, casting a dim light into the room, which made the room seem magical. It was not till they lay on the soft wide reassuring bed and the other woman gently caressed her hair and moved it off her shoulders did the reality of the moment finally registered with Karen. She was not used to how astonishingly delicate the touch of another lover could be. When Beth kissed the taller woman and touched her skin, it felt that she already knew Karen physically, who felt natural for in returning the other woman’s kiss. Everything took place in delicious slow motion, how they carefully removed their clothes so that nothing lay between them. “You know I’ve never slept with another woman?” Karen said, feeling slightly ridiculous as she lay down on her back. “It has to be any woman’s first time some time in their lives. You relax and take it easy. I’ll look after you. That’s a promise,” came the soft, caring answer. “I’m not exactly a spring chicken,” Karen said nervously to this younger woman. “I have a thing for older women, especially you babes. Your problem is that you don’t know how gorgeous you are,” came the reply. This made Karen feel good about herself. Being called a babe by another woman in a direct sexual sense made her feel more confident. The last residue of tension flowed visibly out of Karen and she felt comfortable as Beth ’s lips and tongue softly ran over her body. The younger woman felt and tasted the texture of the generous curves she had admired from afar. When her lips at last caressed the blond haired woman’s nipples, Beth’s senses were delighted to savour how hard they were and how her lover started to moan freely with uninhibited pleasure. She sensed that this woman would be a natural in bed, but hadn’t really known it till now. “God, that feels so good, darling,” Karen murmured as her body began to move as first one and then the other nipple was lovingly caressed. Instead of inwardly fearing what came next, she couldn’t wait to know what pleasures were in store. Karen’s fingers lovingly reached out and caressed the younger woman’s smooth as silk and gently perfumed skin. She couldn’t believe how good they felt together. Beth gently stroked her lover’s flat stomach and gradually moved down to her hips before ever so gently, her two fingers pressed in to where her lover’s juices were starting to flow. Karen started to cry out in ecstasy as those unbelievable fingers started to rouse her towards a climax. Her hips started moving rhythmically in time to the thrusts down on her. To Beth’s amazement, her lover’s orgasm was like a slow sustained explosion that never wanted to stop as her juices poured from her as this very controlled woman finally let herself go. Karen was left, gasping and spent on this very soft and supporting bed while those very liquid eyes looked kindly down on her and the younger woman’s fingers delicately stroked the long locks of her hair as she lay down next to her. “Have you ever fantasized about making love to another woman, babes?” Beth’s soft voice whispered in Karen’s ear. Immediately, Beth realized her mistake as the skin she was gently caressing became tense. “You don’t have to worry, darling. The way that we and other women live our lives, it’s perfectly allowed.” “Thank God for that,” came Karen’s heartfelt instant reply as she instantly relaxed and elaborated her reply. “Yeah, I have to be honest there’s been many a time when I’ve been alone in bed, I’ve imagined someone soft and gentle and feminine next to me. I know how much my experience with men was a final dead end. Finally my life’s opening up again… so really this is inevitable if it makes any sense.” “Perfect sense, darling,” came Beth’s soft response as her hands continued to further explore her lover’s curves. It prompted a slight pang of guilt in Karen, in suddenly realizing that she felt intimate enough to tell this woman her life’s story when expression of a more direct intimacy was so obvious. There was no hurry to talk as she sensed that endless time lay before them. She told herself as she took hold of her lover’s hand and her tongue and lips tasted an aroma on those shapely fingers. “You are such a good lover, Beth. Now it’s my turn to show you what I feel for you, what I can do for you. I want to make love to you all night long,” Karen said in her throaty voice as she eased herself up off the bed. Beth lay on her back, legs slightly apart, knowing that this woman wasn’t kidding. This woman exuded a powerfully mature sexuality that made her feel weak all over. Outside Karen’s flowering desires, it crossed her mind how this had to be the best night since she didn’t know when and a start of better things to come. Everything bad that had ever happened to her was triumphantly abolished, she murmured ecstatically to herself. The blond haired woman contemplated the ripe body of her lover with unmitigated desire, as she looked down on her future and her fingertips reached out towards her desires. . Beth was utterly taken aback as all Karen’s coiled up sexual desire was suddenly and energetically unleashed on her. A split second later, the dark haired woman woke up to the possibilities and gleefully joined her lover for the ride. Their lovemaking was like a helter skelter roller coaster, careening along at a whirlwind pace as their sexual lusts boiled over. Flickering sensations ran through Beth of being entwined, the feeling of hands against skin, their taste of each other, Karen’s mouth eagerly seeking out her desires, her lips and tongue coaxing her up to a climax that lasted forever. In turn, the blond haired woman was insatiable as her juices poured into the dark haired woman’s mouth. The rhythm of Karen’s hips was hard and fast and seemed to go on forever. Both women exulted loudly in the stream of pleasure that surged through them together. Only goodness knows how later it was when they slowly calmed down with that glorious feeling that their world was perfect. “I’ve fantasized enough about lesbian sex but never expected anything like this,” Karen whispered tenderly into her lover’s ear. “Babes, you are such a good lover,” Beth marvelled, she felt a glowing sensation inside her at her lover’s warm-hearted compliment. She had never had complaints from any of her past lovers, but somehow what Karen thought and felt about her really mattered. She equally admired and gloried in Karen’s unembarrassed description of her sexuality. Impulsively she pressed her lips against Karen’s and her tongue found what she searched for, deep inside. The taste of their juices was a fabulous bouquet to both women as they murmured with deep satisfaction into each other’s mouths. The room was blissfully quiet as the two women lay on their sides, resting against each other. Karen felt an enormous sense of languorous satisfaction as she started to rub her leg against Beth’s shapely thigh and her breasts pressed up against Beth’s. She laid her face against her lover’s neck and kissed the soft, velvety texture from time to time. “I knew straight off that this was the first time for you and you wasn’t sure what to expect but wow, I didn’t expect this. You are the superwoman of sex.” “Thanks for that delightful compliment but just one thing, you were wondering what to expect? What about me?” Karen laughed softly. “It’s just as well you were around so I could figure out what to do next.” “Darling, you’re just a quick learner.” “And good at unlearning everything I never knew about sex. This is a new beginning for me so sleeping with a gorgeous woman is as good a way of starting anew.” “You really have had it with men?” Karen was quick to pick up on the flicker of uncertainty in Beth’s voice and went out of her way to emphatically reassure her. It felt the natural thing to do. “Darling, if you saw what incredible blunders I’ve made in my futile effort to find the ‘right man’, you would understand. Right now, would I ever go back to cheap and nasty supermarket plonk after tasting the finest champagne? What the hell have I missed out all my life?” “So where does this leave you, babes?” “I know I’m a lesbian, pure and simple. The past is abolished. I don’t know what it means as this is all new to me.” Beth sensed Karen looking over her shoulder into the darkness as she spoke in level, considered tones. She was not deceived. “You’re not alone, sweetheart.” “Does this mean I get another date with you?” came Karen’s question, her nervousness out in the open as her thoughts inevitably started to drift towards the future. Inwardly, she cursed her years of responsibility as they had inevitably marked her now that she had a future worth thinking of. “Oh God, I feel like a teenager out on her first date.” Beth gently placed her hands either side of Karen’s face and kissed her eyes tenderly. Her emotions were brimming over. “Darling, you’re amazing. You’ve endured all the horrors of being falsely accused of murder. You’ve fought your way through to your trial and come out triumphant. You go to a lesbian club for the first time in your life, you give me the most phenomenal night of passion imaginable and you worry about a second date? Come here, sweetheart, I love you to bits,” Beth answered in tones of total devotion. “You do???” “Come on, I’ve heard all about you from Alice that wasn’t confidential. Helen and Nikki have been really concerned about you. I’ve picked up quite a bit from them. We have all the time in the world to know each other better than we do already.” The last words washed away the last of Karen’s ‘play it cool’ habits engrained over the years and her love for Beth overflowed her natural defences. What thrilled her inside was how natural it was to give and receive terms of endearment so sincerely. It felt like part of making love with another woman. By contrast, what she had received before was cheap and fake, partly of her own doing. This was another part of her new start in life. She did let one last habit surface, as after all, this was the ideal moment. “You don’t mind if I smoke, babes?” asked Karen. “Go ahead. I’ll join you. I’ll turn the light on.” Suddenly, a soft light clicked on which momentarily dazzled her. Finally, Beth came into view from out of the darkness and Karen gasped with amazement. This woman was totally gorgeous. Remembering her errand, she fumbled for her handbag amidst the pile of clothes and sauntered slowly back to her lover. “I suppose you wanted to feast your eyes on me,” drawled Beth, reclining elegantly on the bed, clear of the crumpled up duvet. “Of course I wanted to and if you want to ogle me, that’s fine by me,” came the sultry reply as she slid onto the bed. Both women couldn’t keep their eyes off each other. Karen’s wide-open eyes were dazzled by that sleek figure that had stepped out of a magazine. Beth swooned at the vision of perfect mature femininity before her, whose few lines only added to her beauty, topped by those devastating blue eyes and perfect cheekbones. They couldn’t resist touching each other, murmuring their desires, as they knew that they had each other to possess and admire. Karen ran her tongue along her lower lip, sensing that it was down to her to set the seal on their union and wholeheartedly commit herself. It was so much easier than she had always feared. “So we trust to the future together, yeah,” came her answer thick with emotion before the ‘never say’ words were squeezed out of her. “I love you, babes, more than I can say.” Karen said not really shocking herself. The dark haired woman lay on her back, dizzy with emotion. She had got to where she wanted to be, more so as she sensed her lover moved over to straddle her. Oh God, she thought, to be between Karen’s legs. This is surely heaven, Beth thought, as her lover kissed her deeply, without reservation, and once again, their passions started to bubble up to the surface. |
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| Axiegirl21 | Feb 15 2009, 10:01 PM Post #289 |
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Out of Dorm
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Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Richard this was an incredible chapter, right from the start you showed us Karen's uncertainty in taking that first step into a new life. As we continued thorugh she slowly came to realise that from now on everthing is new, she can make it what she wants. She can forget about Fenner, the trial and what she almost lost, her freedom, and just get on with being Karen Betts and Beth seems to ne just the person to help her with that. I didn't include Larkhall in the forgetting part as she will always remember that because of her relaitionships with Nikki and Helen, but at least she'll noe have good memories to link that to.I loved the way all her friends let her know tat this wasn't the end of their friendship and from the looks of it they're gonna be there for each other whenever they're needed. Still looking for the twist and Fenner to pop up though so I can't relax yet :rolleyes: |
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The past is history. The future a mystery. And now is a gift thats why we call the present. Larkhall Lovelies Rule | |
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| richard | Feb 18 2009, 05:49 PM Post #290 |
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This is a really fantastic piece of writing, Axiegirl21 which I really cannot add to as you have captured the feel of the scene so perfectly and your prediction for the future is very accurate. Just to ease any worries, Fenner's demise is in the next scene which I added to and reshaped after reading earlier feedback from you, Emtsue and Andlif2laf. Your enthusiastic response is very welcome. There are 3 more scenes left to run in this fic. |
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| annabelle | Feb 19 2009, 01:16 AM Post #291 |
Down the Block
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so glad to find your fic here. I'll follow you anywhere. and to add to the quote given above-- been there, done that and upgrew the teeshirt.
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| richard | Feb 21 2009, 11:28 AM Post #292 |
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Hi Annabelle, I love your nice little twist on the proverb which expresses the situation just nicely. To finally allay Axiegirls fears, this next scene finally charts Fenner’s slow motion fall and a whole variety of perspectives on this. I hope you enjoy this ................................................................................................................... Scene Forty-Three Back in Larkhall Prison , both Di Barker and Fenner were sorely mistaken if they thought the uproar would die down. The prisoners hadn’t finished with Fenner by any means. While the stylish party at Chix was starting to get into gear, this rougher and readier party was only just beginning. “So your minder’s been found out for the evil minded murdering shit that he is,” Yvonne shouted jubilantly at Di Barker, the light of triumph in her eyes. Kris stood defiantly, hands thrust into the deep pockets of her combat styled jeans while the Julies stood either side of them. A deep smouldering sense of burning injustice was catching fire in their very beings. “Go back to your cells or I’ll cancel all your privileges,” Di Barker shouted weakly, making no impact at all. “Fenner, Fenner, Fenner…,” chanted Tina, Denny and Al clearly above the general uproar. Miss Betts had been a popular wing governor and after her departure, everything had been clamped down on. Somehow word had got around that Fenner was really to blame so all the prisoners eyed the likes of Fenner, Di Darker and Bodybag with veiled contempt. The atmosphere had smouldered away while Colin Hedges and Selena had tried to do their best to keep the peace in the period of clampdown. All it had taken was a match to set things alight and Miss Betts fiery and contemptuous performance was that spark when she spoke out unashamedly for them. Colin Hedges and Selena stayed out of the way as this wasn’t their problem and could understand the prisoners kicking off. Finally, the prisoners quietened down, knowing that the balance of power was tilting their way. Back in her cell, Yvonne murmured to herself in a flood of emotion and a big broad grin on her face that Nikki had come good for all of them. She made a mental note to sort out a party with her best mates and toast Nikki’s health with illicit spirits. If they could get a letter crutched out to her, they would. Grayling acted swiftly. Di Barker had shown herself to be spiteful and ineffective. She now showed that she hadn’t got a grip on the wing and was totally compromised by her supplanting Karen. He reached for the phone to Area. A direct entrant, name of Frances Myers was waiting in the wings and had the reputation of being hard as nails, easily the match for what was to be the newly demoted Principal Officer Di Barker. His long-term strategy was to find a replacement for her on transfer and get her shipped out also. A new broom sweeps clean was his motto. ********* Everything started to unravel further for Fenner from the moment the news of Betts acquittal broke at Larkhall. The cons were a baying mob but they scared the shit out of him. Yvonne’s mocking expression told him clearly that his days were numbered. He knew beyond doubt that his story had been blown apart, that there would be an investigation and he’d be the fall guy. He and Di Barker knocked off early and he let her drive him back to her house. While she grumped and groused in her cloying fashion, he sat, almost in a foetal position, feeling sweaty all over. He reached for his bottle of tranquillizers and swallowed a couple. He cursed himself, as the tablets wouldn’t calm him down straightaway. He knew very well what would comfort him and it was in liquid form. “What are you doing, Jim?” Di asked. “What does it bloody well look like? I know bloody well what I want,” Fenner said abruptly as he lunged for the drinks cabinet. “But Jim, getting drunk won’t help. You have to work out a plan of action. I’ll help you. Every cloud has a silver lining,” Di persisted in that precisely cloying tone of voice that made him feel inadequate in suggesting he couldn’t cope. To hell with that, he thought as he pushed her away off her feet and into an armchair. He grabbed the bottle of whisky, ripped off the cap and glugged at it. Even to his practiced drinking, the spirits stung his throat. “But what about the tranquillizers you took in the car? The instructions say you can’t mix them with alcohol.” Suddenly his temper exploded inside him and he lashed her across the face. No woman was going to tell him what to do. He hit her again and she lay back on the settee with a look of terror on her face, blood already starting to run from her nose. She looked petrified at what he would do next and shrank into the settee. She felt as if her life hung on a thread. It was her or the bottle, her mind crazily told her. His manic stare flitted between the two of them before he swore loudly to himself, grabbed the car keys as well as the bottle and shot out of the room. This was the beginning of a long drunk that never let up for the next few days. It was on Saturday morning that a heavy rap on the door heralded two obviously dyke policewomen who barged through his front door. His anger flared over the top but they weren’t having any messing around. They hauled him down to Larkhall police station and the next thing he knew was being sprawled out in the waiting room until they found a DI who would interview him. It was here that he finally woke up to find who and where he was. Now that he was starting to sober up, life didn’t look brighter or more cheerful. ********* A week after the trial, the phone rang in Helen and Nikki’s flat. As Nikki was about to start cooking the evening meal, Helen called out from the hallway. “I’ll get it.” She thought it was probably going to be some irritating cold caller and didn’t sound too welcoming. The reply made her prick up her ears. “Shirley Cheetham here. Seeing as I’m professionally nosy and inquisitive, I thought I’d tip you off on a news item that’s going to make the front page. Fenner’s been arrested over the hit and run murder.” “No. I can’t believe it. For the first time in his bloody life………” Nikki turned the cooker off and left the ingredients scattered around on the work surface on hearing Helen speak so excitedly. “My spies tell me that they went round to his bedsit and lifted him, first thing in the morning. He looked as rough as the bottom of a parrot’s cage- looks like he’d been drinking. First he played dumb and then he had some idea of pulling rank, of reminding him of how Mr. Important he was. He finally lost his rag so they clapped the handcuffs on him and dragged him out to the car, still shouting. They weren’t in on the interview but they gathered that the police gave him the third degree before he finally cracked.” “Who were your spies, just as a matter of interest, Shirley?” “Ros and Jenny. Who else? They couldn’t tell you direct but someone who worked with them once, well that’s different. They really wanted you to find out, to get the inside knowledge. They knew you’d want to know. So how does that feel?” “Like the end of an era. Fenner finally banged up,” breathed Helen, still trying to take it in. A kaleidoscope of Fenner nearly being caught rushed through her over-active mind while Nikki put her hand to her mouth. “It’s one for Karen as well and every prisoner he’s messed over. About bloody time.” “How’s Karen doing these days?” “She’s applied to go back to nursing and she’s starting very soon. She’s also doing her best to forget Fenner the best way she knows- in the loving arms of a woman,” Helen said with great satisfaction.” It’s a pity he doesn’t know that. That would really piss him off.” “Well, that’s poetic justice for you,” came the laconic reply.” Give my best wishes to Nikki and the others.” In the kitchen, Nikki’s eyes remained wide open with disbelief. Karen’s acquittal was the obvious signal but for all that……… ************* The same day, a smiling Coope left out a copy of the “Times” on the desk in John’s chambers and he read the paper from cover to cover. It was only in passing that he spotted an item at the inside column on Page 9 which read as follows: “An unexpected development took place with the detention of Mr. James Fenner, long serving prison officer at Larkhall Prison for his possible involvement in the hit and run accident where the life of Gerald Baker was sadly cut short. He is helping the police with their enquiries. This follows the acquittal of a former wing governor, Karen Betts as there was insufficient evidence on which to convict her.” John bellowed with contemptuous laughter at the craven media and the political establishment. His second though was to thank God Nikki and Helen are safe at last. He did wonder which judge would end up trying the man. ************* “Say whaddoyouknow, Doc,” Marino said, opening the letter that Kay passed to him which had been addressed to them both. It had landed on the front doormat of Kay Scarpetta’s comfortable Virginia home. He reached for a beer that he knew he’s find in her fridge. “George has done it again and busted some crook that works in one of their pens. They should turn the key on the slob and not let him out,” declaimed Marino. He passionately hated anyone in the law and order field that turned criminal. “They can’t do what you want. They don’t have Alcatraz there, for example.” “We don’t neither. Say, why in hell did they close it down?” Kay sighed. Even after the man’s stay in England, not as much of his impressions had lingered as she had hoped. She was glad to receive letters from George from time to time. She had that traditional English belief in letter writing and could imagine the cool calm tones in which they were written. She was a little disappointed that George hadn’t followed up her idea of working in the State of Virginia, as she knew they would make a good team. Kay knew she couldn’t be selfish in such matters though. What did come over in her letters was how happy and content she was, that she had some purpose in her life. Kay envied George, as she knew that she had her own battles to face and her unpredictable niece Lucy to look after. ***** Fenner stared with disbelief and horror at the grim walls of the remand cell and refused to believe that the cell door had clanged shut on him. This couldn’t be happening. Wasn’t it only a few days ago that he had strutted along the length of G wing, bellowing orders? Now he was banged up and he knew very well what he’d be charged with. He had been so certain that all that planted evidence was bound to nail Betts. He felt as if he had been castrated, all that brute strength drained from him. At this minute, he should be on his rounds and getting the lads to do their job and getting the prison running smoothly, just the way he liked it. All the hundred and one little details were second nature to him and he was removed from them. There wasn’t anyone who he could use to pull strings to spring him out of here. He was sure that those two dyke bitches who arrested him were secretly laughing at him. He knew right away there wasn’t a hope in hell of smooching them up a bit. Marilyn wasn’t going to know, Grayling was secretly only too glad to be rid of him. He even thought of phoning Karen but he had no idea where she was living now. She’s always helped him out before when he was down but he didn’t think that even he could swing it that she’d come on side, could he? He shook the bars of his cell in despair while sweat ran down his forehead. He was in the depths of despair and there was nowhere out. |
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| annabelle | Feb 21 2009, 12:24 PM Post #293 |
Down the Block
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ah, richard, you have made many women happy today by having Fenner finally locked up. I can just see his ego crumbling as he paces behind bars. Reading Kay and Marino again was like seeing old friends. Thank you so much for giving us this satisfying chapter. As I have said many times, I would enjoy reading your grocery list. :rolleyes: |
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| Axiegirl21 | Feb 22 2009, 12:44 AM Post #294 |
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Out of Dorm
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OH MY GOODNESS YES, YES, YES Fenner finally behind bars I can hear his arsehole closing up from here Wonderful, wonderful chapter Richard, I feel another celebration party coming on best ring the girls and don't forget John on this one. Sorry can't stop giggling at Fenner.
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The past is history. The future a mystery. And now is a gift thats why we call the present. Larkhall Lovelies Rule | |
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| richard | Feb 22 2009, 05:57 PM Post #295 |
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Aaah, Annabelle and Axiegirl21, I’m really glad that this scene, long foreshadowed, comes up to scratch. In the Bad Girls series, they had two shots at it in the finale of Series 6 and Series 7 not to mention him haunting the 1st Christmas special. I’ve rewritten this scene a few times, not least weaving in the scene with Di from previous feedback from you, Emtsue and Andliv2laf |
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| kchardbody | Feb 25 2009, 03:18 AM Post #296 |
G2 landing
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You wrote Beth and Karen was abosoluty perfect. I really enjoyed when Karen told her I fantasize about women. And I thought when Beth told her at the end I love was perfect. This chapter with Karen and Beth was like reading from a Lesbian novel. Women do fantasize before they date and we fall for a women hard. We also say I love the first night. You have written like a lesbian. Are you sure your not a lesbian?" lol I am enjoying the tortured Fenner. I have been away from the board because I have been trying to finish reading a Novel. Sorry. |
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| richard | Feb 25 2009, 07:09 PM Post #297 |
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Hi kchardbody. Your post about the Karen Beth scene was totally charming and is definitely the kind of post that I appreciate. What is gratifying is that I have got the narration this right in the detail you have picked out. Likewise your verdict on Fenner’s demise. The next piece goes up on Friday. |
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| richard | Feb 27 2009, 07:36 PM Post #298 |
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I’m particularly fond of this next scene which is quite as much as about the ladies bonding as it is about a very magical Tori Amos concert that I saw in Worcester that I have created as if on the same tour in London. Besides my own experiences, I researched anything else I was unsure of. I hop you enjoy this piece, preferably with 'Scarlett's Walk' music in the not so background . ................................................................................................................... Scene Forty-Four “It’s a shame we missed out jeering at Fenner through the prison bars or seeing him being dragged away screaming,” Helen reflected in a regretful tone, as two or three newspapers lay scattered on the living room table. They had thought long and hard about the justice that had finally been visited on him but both of them also thought that it wasn’t right to brood forever on their past. His evil spirit needed to be laid to rest somehow. “That gives the bastard too much significance. His evil influence needs to be chucked into the dustbin of history…….,” answered Nikki slowly, looking into space as she sought inspiration. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she found the answer. “I know, I’ve got it. I know the best way of celebrating his downfall. What about getting all the women to see Tori Amos in concert? You know how I’m just mad about the ‘Scarlett’s Walk’ album.” “Yeah, since you twisted Trisha’s arm, she’s had it played in the club pretty regularly,” laughed Helen.” If you find out how many want to go, I’ll use my contacts to get the tickets.” ***** A month later on, the impossible event was actually happening as Nikki sat in the passenger seat of their Peugeot, hardly believing what was to happen. Better still, this was to be a communal experience as Trisha and Sally-Anne were in the back seat. Nikki was chattering away on the phone to Alice in George’s car to coordinate their estimated time of arrival at the Hammersmith Apollo and because, well she was so excited. Helen drove on imperturbably as; after all, someone had to concentrate on serious business of driving. Trisha and Sally-Anne were intimately ensconced in the back seat, feeling comfortable as, for once; someone else was doing the organizing for their evening out. In the chilly winter weather, the darkness had closed down early and streetlights whisked past them. “George is passing on a message to say, yes, she is as excited as everyone else but she’s having to cope with bedlam going on around her. Karen and Beth give you their love,” Alice’s calm tones rolled over the network into Nikki’s ear. In the background, she could hear Karen and Beth exuberantly calling out to them to affectionately emphasize the point. George was looking in the rear view mirror and smiled affectionately at the young lovers in the back seats and how Karen’s fingers were sliding up the thigh length slit in Beth’s red dress. The sight of that made her lovingly exchange glances with Alice who sat next to her. The journey was only going to be a short one to the west end of London, pulling off the Hammersmith flyover and finding a place to park. Helen managed it adroitly and, miraculously and George didn’t end up too far away. It was only natural as it fitted snugly into the conjunction of them and that the artistry they were going to experience was all going to come together. The crowd of women clattered down the street, dressed to the nines, and they homed in on the crowds gathering outside the venue. They were in plenty of time and, somehow, an aura of calmness settled down on them all. To their surprise, there were quite a number of men around. “I thought Tori Amos was sort of women’s music,” Trisha said, a note of surprise in her voice. “It doesn’t have to be. I can imagine someone like Paul Williams being quite a Tori fan on the quiet from what Nikki says of him,” Helen answered Trisha. “I can’t see John being here somehow,” George said in amused tones. “He should be. Anyone with imagination can relate to her music,” Helen persisted; another worldly, distracted expression on her face while the chilly winter air ruffled their hair. They mused on the fact that whatever choices or accidents of fate led them to something inspirational, it doesn’t matter what road took you there, it’s important that you’ve arrived. There was one thing for sure and that was that no typical macho man would ever come this way. “Hey Tony,” Nikki suddenly called out, waving her arm like mad.” Great to see you.” She was surprised and pleased to see the normally conservatively dressed Tony wearing jeans and a casual jacket and dressing down a bit. He was talking to a woman next to him and looked more relaxed than he’d ever seemed. “My girlfriend’s brought me here. It’s her idea.” “You’ve got good taste, Tony. As you can see, I’m out with the girls.” Presently, the crowds started to file into the huge hall and Tony and his girlfriend were lost to view. They finally came out into a huge auditorium that took their breath away. The purple, Art Deco auditorium was a stylist’s delight and their eyes focused on the stage where two keyboard instruments were set up facing each other with an array of drums and amplifiers. They listened with keen interest to the support act as a guy on solo guitar played haunting reverberating musical patterns that ran round each other, sometimes overtook each other as past overtook present events. It was a thoughtful musical bouquet for when the eight women resumed their seats halfway back and dead center. Suddenly the lights were turned out and a sketch of a line drawing of a woman’s face with leaves on lines of twigs instead of hair was projected onto the backcloth. “What a fascinating art statement,” breathed Helen. Beth and Karen were overwhelmed by the experience while Alice sat back was open mouthed. Suddenly, the unaccompanied sounds of a single voice came out of nowhere from out of the black, as a totally unexpected move like a jolt of electricity through the assembled crowd, stretching back to infinity. Surely this short song ‘Wampum Prayer’ was a highly original concert opener, as opposed to an up tempo massed guitars and drums intro to rev up the tempo at a standard concert as Sally Anne thought from her experience of such matters. “That’s so off the wall…and I love that about her,” Alice mouthed. At last, they could see Tori in front of them and up on high and center stage, wearing ethereal turquoise coloured robes as the other musicians took their place and they slid off into the first of the songs. The drums hammered away at human volume, the bass-lines curled round their solar plexus and the guitar player described intricate figures. “All of them mattered,” Helen mouthed to herself but, as Trisha thought, you couldn’t take your eyes off that slim shaped woman in profile whose long reddish slightly curled hair flowed backwards and whose voice and diction insinuated itself round their imaginations. Helen blinked her eyes and the next she knew, Tori Amos had turned round and was playing the other set of keyboards without a break. She must be some kind of wonder musician. At first, they experienced the music as an ensemble experience of sounds that washed around them until the words crept out and into their imaginations, weaving in fragments of their own past, present and possibilities as well as the artist’s. These spellbinding feelings lifted them each up on a magic carpet experience. This artist spoke intimately to each of them…and each of the audience out there in the darkness. Sally Anne listened spell bound as the gentle lilting rhythms of the song instantly centred her. ‘…..down New Mexico way, something about the open road I knew that he was, looking for some Indian Blood and, find a little in you find a little in me we may be, on this road but, we're just Impostors in this country you know……’ The music was pitched against the complexities and grabbed hold of her as she realised that, once, she had lived in an environment where she hadn’t been at home- and hadn’t she found out the hard way until she’d found her way home with Trisha? Sally loved the ‘open road’ feeling of the song and as she travelled on life’s journey with Trisha, she was as happy as this song was. The delicate piano notes caught George’s imaginations as she remembered playing on the piano in her father’s house many years ago. She could feel the notes that were struck up and mouthed along with the words. ‘….you caught me lingering in another girl's paradise the way she paints the world -- I want that in my life….’ “Yes I do,” she vowed to herself and glanced sideways and fondly at Alice’s profile as her lover was caught up in the music. The expression on Alice’s face was rapt, possessed as she too got the message. At one point in the performance, the other musicians left the stage and Tori addressed them for the first time that evening, saying that she ran into a girl who asked her to perform ‘Desperado.’ She confessed appealingly that she hadn’t sung that song for a number of years but would give it a try. She struck up the flow of pure, unamplified piano notes and sweetly took flight into the song. Helen’s ears tuned into the softly compassionate words. ‘Desperado, why don't you come to your senses come down from your fences, open the gate it may be raining but there's a rainbow above you you better let somebody love you before it's too late.’ Yes, she had once stayed on the fences and had resisted being loved for whatever reason but had realised this truth just in time. She squeezed Nikki’s hand and transmitted her feelings through to her lover. The dark haired woman’s soulful eyes looked back at her and knew what passed through Helen’s mind. All eight women gasped as the band struck up with a riff that rose and fell like an unending succession of waves of sound breaking in on them as Tori pushed that mesmeric repetition at them. “I can look your God right in the eye,” Nikki wept with pure emotion at that defiant insistence. Hadn’t she been doing that all her life with everything and everyone she had confronted, she thought? The defiant rhythmic tones washed over Nikki, as she was entranced as Tori, intent over her keyboards, hammered her music home. The mysterious payoff line in ‘Pancake’ intrigued her. Trisha pricked up her ears at the cool, jazzy sophistication of the next song flowed through her veins. The sharp rhythmic cracking sound of the drums, the cool bass lines and Tori’s piano riffs appealed to her nature till the song’s entreaty ‘Don’t make me come to Vegas’ came to be her metaphor of not wanting to go where she is expected to go from her parent’s wishes. The destination might be glittery but it wasn’t for her. ‘slip through your hand again and again slip through your hand again and again.’ ‘ Lady Luck is my mistress and you'll have to play second to her wish." The mournful horn like sounds and lightly tapping rhythms warned Karen’s psyche that Tori were going to sing her life as well. A surge of feelings started to well up in her as the sad voice started to sing. “I never was the fantasy of what you want wanted me to be don't judge me so harsh little girl so you got a playboy mommy but when you tell them my name from here to Birmingham I got a few friends………” And hadn’t she been a playboy mommy, with her various useless boyfriends while she was trying to hold down her job. She’d tried her best and how much guilt could she feel for her son Ross who was out there somewhere. A sharp feeling of loss pierced her through and through, knowing that he’s chucked up his chances at university. He’d gone and sulked off somewhere even before she’d lost her job at Larkhall. It shocked her that she’d never thought of him during this recent time and only Tori’s song recalled his presence. Yes, she had friends, she murmured to herself proudly as the tears streamed down her face that she’d never cried before until she had been set free all during her recent troubles. Beth looked at her with troubled eyes and put her arm round her shoulders. As the blond haired woman smiled with strange happiness through her tears, she snuggled sideways down on her lover’s breasts and let soft arms enfold her. ‘You’ll cross that bridge all on their own little girl, they’ll do you no harm’ That line repeated over and over again came to mesmerize them all. A bridge promises to take them someplace else, to deliver them somewhere better in their lives. It’s scary looking over that edge, knowing that they can fall and they live that challenge in their lives, just as it took them so much struggle to get to where they are now. Tori reassured them all in this song even though it mourns a loss. All eight women were at one in that point, the darkness around them didn’t interfere while the light and sounds from the stage elevate them. This was a mystic moment that none of them can overlook or forget. A sudden swirl of piano notes impossibly high in the air presaged the coming of the song that soon took on that doom-laden quality which they’d heard on the PA at Chix. “I can't see New York as I'm circling down through white cloud falling out, and I know his lips are warm but I can't seem To find my way out---my way out.’ All the women were emotionally blown away but this song hit Beth and Alice especially hard as, translating ‘his’ for ‘her’, they had had that sense of desolation of a loss of a former lover for whatever reason until Karen and George had happened into their lives. It reminded them of how their partners mattered so much as they looked soulfully at them. As the notes of the final song faded away into the distance, they were entranced to see Tori extend her arms forward at right angles to her body and her fingers fluttered in a manner that was curiously balletic and incredibly expressive. “She is like no other performer. She is such an individualist. She doesn’t tell you want to think but invites us to figure it out for ourselves. Whatever we are in life, she’s further along that line,” Nikki said dreamily, the light of inspiration in her eyes recognizing a kindred spirit she could relate to. “We absolutely must get her autograph.” “It’s a nice idea but don’t you think that a thousand other people have the same idea? We’ll be here half the night. Just look at where we are in the hall,” Trisha pointed out. “You are such a party pooper. Can’t you just go with the flow rather than being your usual cool as a cucumber self?” Nikki asked teasingly. The house lights were switched on, showing the huge purple auditorium. Suddenly they realized how big the audience was. The concert had seemed so intimate and theirs only. “No just being realistic. Besides, what would you say to her if you saw her?” “Well……” Nikki started to stay, totally stuck for words, a foolish smile on her face. To Helen’s amused eyes, her partner was the nearest she’d ever been to an adoring teenage fan, complete with autograph book.” I could always say, loved your concert. Sounds corny but it’s true.” “I have a solution. What say we all write to her as one letter? It’ll mean more that way. All it matters is that she receives some of the spirit back that she’s given us. We shouldn’t necessarily expect a reply as if we’re teenage pop fans as she’s busy, for God’s sake. It matters that we have faith that she’s read it,” broke in George the peacemaker. All of them looked at the faraway look in the blond woman’s eyes. She was a million miles away from the woman in wig and gown that forensically exchanged legal arguments with the dignity of her profession and fought her battles yet she was still George. So were they all themselves when they thought about it. This evening had taken them so far away from their normal selves yet these were their songs of their returning, they thought as that magic permeated through this winter night, as they shuffled out into the cold, outside the concert hall and ready for their trip home. |
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| kchardbody | Feb 28 2009, 02:28 AM Post #299 |
G2 landing
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Great visalisation at the concert. I am enjoying the celebration. I am loving this still. |
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| Axiegirl21 | Feb 28 2009, 04:37 PM Post #300 |
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Out of Dorm
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Richard I have to admit I'm not a big Tori Amos fan, but the way you described the concert I felt as if I had actually been there. When I was reading the lyrics to Desperado I found myself humming the tune. I like the fact that Fenner was only mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, it was more of a closure on that part of their lives and somewhere they probably won't have to revisit any time soon. The concert, and the songs you chose to use, seemed to pull everything together and close the door on the past. p.s. It would be so cool if Tori were to answer their letter personally Thank you once again for a lovely chapter and as I didn't 'The End' at the bottom I can only assume that your not quite done yet.
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The past is history. The future a mystery. And now is a gift thats why we call the present. Larkhall Lovelies Rule | |
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Thank you once again for a lovely chapter and as I didn't 'The End' at the bottom I can only assume that your not quite done yet.

8:47 AM Jul 11