"Now then,
Sister, these dizzy spells... tell me, how often do they
occur?"
"Not very
often. About twice a week, I suppose."
"I see. Er...
would you be good enough to remove your bar?"
"Remove my
bra?" she gasped, surprised.
"Yes, it's in
the way. To check your heart, I'll..."
"Doctor, I
can't take my bra off!"
"Why ever not?
I am a doctor! Goodness me, I have seen women's breasts
before!"
"Well, I
suppose..."
"Larry!"
Brigit cried, dashing into the room as the nun was about to lift
her bra away from her firm rounded breasts. "Larry, there's a man
to see you. I think he's a policeman!"
"A
policeman?"
"A detective,
he looks like a detective!"
Pulling the
curtain aside and opening the window, Larry turned to face Brigit.
"Tell him that I'm out," he said, climbing through the window as
the nun looked on in astonishment. "I'll be in touch!"
"You'd better
go, Sister Mary," Brigit said, closing the window and pulling the
curtain across. "Come back tomorrow to see the Doctor."
"Yes, I will,"
she replied, pulling her habit down as she slipped off the couch.
"Is the Doctor in trouble with the police?"
"No, no it's
just that they want him to attend the police ball and he doesn't
want to go. I'll leave you to adjust your clothing and go and get
rid of him."
"Is Doctor
Lickman available?" the suited man asked as Brigit returned to
reception.
"Er... no,
he's out," Brigit smiled. "Er... can I help?"
"I don't know
where Larry is, Lily. He dived out of the window yesterday
afternoon, and I haven't heard from him since!" Brigit sighed as
she leaned on the reception counter. "It was my fault, a man called
to see Larry and... I thought he was a detective, but it turned out
that he was a bloody pharmaceutical salesman."
"Oh, no! Poor
Larry must be petrified," Lily gasped, tossing her jacket over a
chair. "What do you think Monica will do?"
"As I said,
she escaped and... oh, I don't know, Lily! The whole thing's such a
bloody mess! Where did you disappear to yesterday?"
"I couldn't
find Larry so I went home, I wasn't feeling too well. Thank God
it's the weekend tomorrow, I've had enough of all this!"
"You and me
both!"
"Are Gina and
Christine are still here?"
"Yes, I gave
them some food last night, and they had sandwiches this morning.
They both desperately need the loo but..."
"Did they
sleep all right? I mean, tied up like that..."
"I made them
as comfortable as I could. Christine slept on the cross and Gina
slept on the floor."
"What will you
do with them?"
"I don't know.
I've phoned Larry's house but he's not in. I suppose I'll have to
let them go. Without Larry, I don't know what to do."
"You'd better
release them, Brigit. Well, it looks as if everything's come to an
end."
"Yes, there's
no way Larry can continue now. The things we did to Monica, Gina
and Christine were... well..."
"I have an
idea, Brigit. We'll let them go and we'll dismantle the sliding
wall. Get rid of the cross and everything, and no one will believe
that there was a secret room."
"We can't do
that! We'd never be able to dismantle the wall! I'll let the
prisoners go and we'll just have to hope for the best. I wish Larry
would ring, he'd know what to do."
"I've got it!
Leave the wall back, the secret room open, take the cross and
things away, put a desk and chair in there and..."
"Yes, that's a
good idea! OK, let's do it!"
Resting his
elbows on his desk, Venereal frowned at Larry. "Why tell me all
this?" he asked.
"Eventually,
you'd have found out for yourself. I didn't want to waste your
time, or mine, so I thought it best that I tell you. Well, you know
everything now. Monica Moodie has been stealing money from me,
telling you lies, making up fantastic stories... I didn't want to
see her get into trouble. At heart, she's a good woman but... well,
there it is."
"And you say
that she's been having sex with your clients?"
"I've caught
her with several clients, yes. She... I probably shouldn't tell you
this but, well, she has severe sexual problems."
"Really?"
"Yes, she's...
she's shaved her pubic hair off."
"Good God!
What sort of woman is she?"
"She's very
disturbed. She's suffering from post-adolescent regression
syndrome."
"What's
that?"
"It's an
inexplicable, desperate yearning to return to her youth. She tells
lies about me in an effort to deny the reality of her
middle-age."
"That doesn't
make sense. How can telling lies about you bring about self-denial
of her real age?"
"The theory is
that the lies block out the reality. Er... how can I put it? Lying
to you about me in order to see me in ruination has the
subconscious effect of a childlike satisfaction of having her own
way."
"Most
interesting."
"Yes, it is.
Unfortunately, the syndrome is little understood."
"But, having
sex with your female clients is..."
"That's all
part and parcel of the syndrome."
"How? I don't
understand."
"Lesbianism
allows her to play with other younger females, thus supporting her
fantasies about youth. She's had lesbian relationships, but she's
not broken the law. The female clients I caught her with were only
too willing to have sex with her. I didn't want this to come to
light because I thought you might force me to dismiss her, and I
didn't want to have to do that."
"No, there's
no need to sack her. You'll have to keep an eye on her,
though."
"No, I'm
afraid it's got to the stage where I'll have to let her go. I
didn't want it to come to this but... she's taken to masturbating
every day. It's simply an additional prop for her fantasy. I
wouldn't mind if she did it at home, but she masturbates in
reception. Several clients have complained to me about it."
"My God,
that's incredible!"
"It's her
husband I feel sorry for. He knew what she was doing and, in the
end, he couldn't take the mental pressure - so he left her. He was
under immense pressure, as you'll appreciate."
"Yes, yes.
Well, in view of all you've told me, I don't think there's any need
for Mr Fullcrack to continue his investigations into your practice.
I must admit, I did find the things Mrs Moodie told me hard to
believe. She said that there were whipping sessions,
bondage..."
"She certainly
has a good imagination, Mr Venereal! It's all rather sad,
really."
"Apparently,
Gina Cology's stories about you and your practice originated from
Mrs Moodie."
"Yes, I know.
They'll probably continue to tell you all sorts of dreadful things
about me, but you know the truth now. Well, I've taken up enough of
your time, I'd better be going."
"Thank you for
coming to see me, Doctor Lickman. You've saved my staff and me a
lot of time and trouble."
"As I said, I
thought it best to tell you. I knew that Monica had been in touch
with you and..."
"Yes, you did
the right thing."
"I'd
appreciate it if you'll say nothing to Monica about this. Should
she contact you again, just humour her, make out that you'll look
into things."
"Yes, I will.
Well, goodbye, Doctor Lickman."
Pulling up in
the car park, Larry wondered what to do with Gina and her daughter.
At least Venereal and Fullcrack were off his back, for the time
being! The taxman had been satisfied, thanks to Brigit, but Larry
was still in a hell of a lot of trouble, he knew. Entering
reception, wondering what hellish problems he'd have to face, he
frowned to see Brigit and Lily standing side by side, giggling.
"How are
things, Brigit?" he asked. "Who was the man who called
yesterday?"
"I'm sorry
about that, Larry, I thought he was a detective. It turned out that
he was a bloody salesman!"
"You were wise
to be cautious, good girl."
"Anyway, come
and see what we've done!" Brigit grinned in her excitement as she
skipped down the hall, her red microskirt revealing the gentle
curves of her taut buttocks.
"My God!"
Larry gasped as he entered the bondage room and gazed at the desk
and office furniture. "But, where are..."
"We let them
go," Lilly smiled, standing by his side, her blue eyes sparkling.
"We had to, Larry."
"Yes, I
suppose you did."
"We also have
these," Lily said, taking several photographs from the shelf. "We
found them in Gina's handbag."
"Well girls,
you've certainly done a bloody good job!" Larry beamed, looking
through the pictures of the so-called Mrs Cravings, Larry's knob
spunking over the woman's grinning face. "But there's still a
problem, if they tell the police about the false wall..."
"We took the
button away," Brigit interrupted him, tossing her auburn hair over
her shoulder. "We ripped the wiring out and took the button away so
no one will know about the wall."
"If anyone
looked closely, they'd realize that... oh well, all we can do is
hope for the best, I suppose," Larry sighed as the reception bell
rang.
"I wonder who
that is?" Brigit murmured, leaving the room with Larry in tow.
"Perhaps it's..."
Her words
tailing off as she gazed in horror at Gina, Christine and Monica
standing with a suited middle-aged man, Brigit froze. "That's him!"
Monica screeched, pointing at Larry. "He's the one!"
"All right,
Mrs Moodie, leave this to me," the man said, stepping forward.
"Doctor Lickman, I'm DI Clarke - might I speak to you in
private?"
"Er... yes, of
course, come this way."
Leading the detective into his consulting room, Larry closed
the door and offered him a seat. Things had never been as bad as
this, he reflected, wishing he'd not sexually abused the
women.
Hindsight was about as much use as a
paper condom
, he mused, watching the sleuth
rubbing his chin.
"Three women
have made serious allegations concerning you, Doctor Lickman," he
began as Larry sat opposite him. "Allegedly, two of them were raped
by you, sexually abused, and kept here overnight. The other one
says that she was stripped, sexually abused, and..."
"Sexually... I
don't understand!" Larry gasped, holding his hand to his head,
feigning astonishment. "For goodness sake, I'm a qualified
doctor!"
"Your
profession has no bearing on the matter."
"Well, it
should!"
"Whether it
should or shouldn't has no bearing either."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm
the detective and I say so. Now, the women say they were taken to a
secret room and stripped and bound with rope. Where is your
examination room?"
"I'll show
you," Larry replied, rising to his feet. "This is incredible, it
really is!"
"Life is
incredible at times."
"Life stinks
at times!" Leading the man into the bondage room, Larry smiled, his
fingers crossed behind his back. "This is it. There's the
examination couch, minus rope, and the desk over there is where
I..."
"The women
told me that there's a false wall," the detective interrupted,
running his hand along the walls as he walked round the room.
"A false
wall?" Larry echoed, his heart racing. "I really can't think why
they're saying these things! Rape, sexual abuse, a false wall...
mind you, Gina Cology has been trying to have me closed down for a
long time. Her practice if going under and she believes that if she
can close my practice down, she'll have more clients. I suppose
there is some logic in her thinking. As for Monica, well, all I can
think is that she's in league with Gina because I'm having to
dismiss her."
"Well, the
walls are solid enough. You say that you're dismissing Mrs
Moodie?"
"Yes, I broke
the news to her several days ago. She's always arriving late, she
takes time off, she's rude to the clients... her husband left her
recently, which didn't help. I had no choice, I'm afraid."
"The thing is,
Doctor Lickman, I have three women alleging that you sexually
abused them. I can understand that one might bear a grudge, but not
three."
"Well, Gina's
obviously got her daughter to back her up to try to save her
failing business and, as I've told you, Monica..."
"Yes, as
you've told me. Would you mind coming here please, ladies?" DI
Clarke called, moving to the open door. "We'll ask the women about
the false wall. Right, Mrs Moodie, where is the false wall you
mentioned?" he asked as the women filed into the room, followed by
Brigit and Lily.
"It was across
there," she replied, pointing to the floor. "There was a padded
wooden cross over there, where the desk is, and..."
"He tied my
daughter to the cross and sexually assaulted her!" Gina broke in.
"And that girl there, Miss Biways, used a candle..."
"Used a
candle?" Brigit queried.
"She thrashed
me with a cane!"
"Does your
body bear the marks of the alleged thrashing, Mrs Cology?" the
sleuth asked, raising his eyebrows as he waited in
anticipation.
"Well, yes
but..."
"Would you
show the members of the court the marks allegedly caused by
thrashing your buttocks?"
"We're not in
court!"
"Mrs Cology,
your statement has no relevance on the matter in hand. Are you
prepared to show the court the marks or not?"
"No, certainly
not!"
"They removed
our pubic hair!" Monica broke in.
"I cannot
accept hearsay as evidence, Mrs Moodie. Please be good enough to
show the court the pubic area of your body from where the pubic
hair was removed."