charging your partners.’
‘Not partners,’ I say. ‘Mr Parkinson was my employer but I hardly ever saw him. I still haven’t had my salary.’
Nuttley gives a sort of snorting laugh. ‘You can kiss that goodbye,’ he says. Oh dear, I had a nasty feeling that something like this might happen. I bet Reggy didn’t stamp my cards up to date either. ‘You’ve been very foolish, haven’t you?’ says Nuttley.
‘Yes, I suppose I have,’ I say. ‘Gracious. What is going to happen to me?’
A slight blush colours Nuttley’s cheeks and he glances at the still-shut peephole before speaking. ‘Well,’ he says, ‘That’s up to you. Of course, I have my duty to do and I should prefer charges, but, not to put too fine a point on it, I’d prefer something else.’
For a moment I think that Superintendent Nuttley has put too fine a point on it. What is he getting at? ‘I am innocent,’ I say.
Superintendent Nuttley is now breathing heavily and I can see beads of perspiration on his temples. ‘Yes,’ he says. ‘I believe that. That’s why I’m giving you this chance. And because you like Gary Cooper, don’t you?’
‘Oh yes,’ I say. ‘I never miss High Noon every time it’s on the telly. I don’t think the small screen spoils it at all. “Do not forsake me oh my darling, on this our –” ’
‘Yes.’ The pressure of Superintendent Nuttley’s hand on my wrist cuts short my nervous rendition of the captivating ballad from what should be one of his favourite films. ‘What I’m trying to say is that I’ll release you if you give me release. Do I make myself clear?’ Before I can properly assemble my scattered senses, the brute has clutched me to him and is attempting to invade my lips. ‘Think of it!’ he breathes. ‘No nasty publicity. No having to stand up in court and admit that you were Brown’s mistress.’
‘That’s a lie!’ I shout.
‘Do you deny that you slept with him?’ says Nuttley, pausing in mid-maul.
‘The man plied me with strong liquor and took advantage of me,’ I explain. ‘It only happened once or twice.’
‘Huh!’ says Nuttley. ‘That won’t stand up in court – not like this will!’
So saying, the shameless guardian of law and order takes a step backwards and lets his hands drop to the top of his trousers. Fortunately, if such a word has a place in a recital of such harrowing events, frequently lamented exposure to this kind of situation has prepared me for what is likely to happen next and the shock is bearable. The zip of Superintendent Nuttley’s trousers plunges southwards and his erect pussy pummeller pops into the open like a pet that has been dying to be let out for walkies.
‘Super –’ I begin.
‘Thank you,’ says Nuttley. ‘Lie down on the –’
‘Superintendent,’ I repeat. ‘Please allow me to finish! Do you realise that as a result of this, I hope, isolated lapse, your future career could be in jeopardy – or some other even more distant part of the fast shrinking British Empire? Tuck yourself away before it is too late.’
‘Stop teasing,’ says Nuttley, pressing himself against me again. ‘Just imagine that it’s the real Gary Cooper.’
‘But he’s been dead for years!’ I say, recoiling from the thought. ‘Keep your hands to yourself!’
Yes, once again, the boys in blue seem intent on being the boys in bloomers. Nuttley’s fingers swarm over the top of my panties like a junkful of Chinese pirates – they are short, squat and yellow with nicotine stains – and I prepare to take desperate measures.
‘If you don’t stop, I’ll scream,’ I say. ‘Then you’ll be back pounding the beat. It’ll be back to the wanks – I mean ranks!’
‘I wouldn’t open your mouth if I were you – your legs but not your mouth,’ says the coarse love bandit. ‘I could make it very sticky for you.’ This possibility has never been far from my own mind. ‘How would you like to look down from the dock and see your mother and father sitting in court, the tears streaming down their faces?’
The minute he speaks those words, my resolution wilts and my grip on the thrusting wrist slackens. How would I like it indeed? I have already answered that question. Nuttley has touched me on a soft spot. I allow him to continue unhindered whilst I consider my best course of action. If I let him have his way with me, Penny and I will doubtless be released and my mother and father spared unthinkable suffering and embarrassment. Having established that side of the matter, is it worth examining any other? The man is, of course, a disgrace to the uniform he wears but have I in all consciousness any alternative but to comply with his demands? The answer must be no. At least my principles will not be compromised.
The raising of this last point makes me feel that a word of explanation may be necessary to any new readers. It is easy, for male minds in particular, to think that a girl who finds herself in a compromising situation with a man must be, to some extent at least, responsible for her situation and therefore tainted. I would not like to think that such a charge might be levelled at me. I always have been, and always will be, determined to save myself for my one-day Mr Right. I fear that I must make a further digression to explain the meaning of that last phrase. Certain unkind persons have suggested that it refers to the likely length of my relationship with my Mr Right. In reality, of course, it is merely a way of saying that one day I will come upon the right person and that from that moment on our lives will be indissolubly mixed. Anyway, to get back to the main point I was making. I consider it very important to preserve my virginity – the most precious gift that a girl can give to her betrothed on their wedding night – and to this end I have resisted all kinds of temptations, even when quite fond of people.
However – and there always seems to be a however, these days, doesn’t there? – it is important to understand what I mean by virginity. Basically, it is intending to give yourself to someone. There are occasions in any girl’s life when things happen over which she has no control. She was intoxicated, or subjected to emotional blackmail, or trying to protect a dear friend from a similar fate – there are many circumstances in which the event can take place. What is important is that if she did not want what happened to happen then she did not lose her virginity. Virginity is purely a state of mind. I mean, you can lose your virginity riding a horse but no one would suggest – no, the very idea is too painful!
I hope all this makes my position clear and explains why I can view the unsavoury attentions of Superintendent Gary Nuttley with something approaching a relaxed mind. Goodness! He may be devious and underhand but nobody could call him a bent copper. His night stick is stiff as a ramrod and only slightly shorter. It has occurred to me before in this kind of situation that Mother Nature is very haphazard with her gifts. It is often the most unprepossessing men who carry the largest armaments – not of course that size has any relation to satisfaction. That resides solely in the mind of the receiver – at least, that is what I imagine to be the case. In order to protect my principles I have always shut myself off from sensation when impaled upon the end of an uncalled-for jolly lolly. I try to think about freshly mown grass or something wholesome and British. My friend Penny supplies most of my information concerning sexual matters – both by example and description. Regular readers will not need reminding that she is rather fast and outspoken though I think she does it mainly for effect. I have concluded that she is the product of an unsettled home life and that underneath she is little different from me. She is also rather upper class, which makes a difference. They seem to want everybody to know about things the rest of us would like to keep private, don’t they?
Anyhow, what I am trying to say is that Superintendent Nuttley has a big one. It is also a very naughty big one and it is pushing itself up underneath my skirt like one of those embarrassing dogs that always appear when you are having tea with the vicar – they usually belong to the vicar, too. In fact, Nuttley is rather like a big, clumsy Airedale and I wonder whether it is altogether wholesome to proceed with the thought as he slips his hands round to the back