Ciara switched off the navigation outside Wendy’s shop.
After Bronwyn and Harrison had left, she had called Nelson to inform him of the new developments and he had agreed to give her another day off. Ciara knew he was invested in helping with the investigation. And so was the hotel owner.
She had thought about where to spend the day and decided that a little browsing was just too tempting. She felt the resistance as her cane connected with the door. Feeling for the handle, she carefully opened it and waited for the moan to announce her entrance.
Smiling to herself, she entered the shop. Since she hadn’t paid much attention yesterday, so the room was unfamiliar to her. Using her cane, she slowly made her way deeper inside.
“Coming!” Just like yesterday, Wendy announced her presence seconds after the doorbell had stopped moaning.
Ciara decided to follow the voice’s general direction. Her cane collided with an obstacle, which she identified as a bin filled with what she reckoned were DVD cases and books.
“Oh! Miss O’Riordan! Back already?” Wendy’s voice wasn’t too far away. “Where’s Sergeant Evans?” There was a tone in her voice, something surprised and urgent.
“She’s on duty, today.” Ciara held her cane in front of her, waiting for more audible clues from Wendy.
“Hm, I was just going to call her.” Wendy mused.
“Bronwyn?”
“Yes, I had a letter in the post today, from Margaret’s solicitor.”
Ciara tilted her head and took a cautious step forward. “Something she should know?”
“I’m not sure, but I think so. There are papers attached, photocopies of some handwritten pages. But I can barely read the scrawly handwriting.”
She had to calm herself as she felt the frustration rising. Ciara wished she could just take the papers off her and read for herself, but that was no longer an option.
“But you could read enough to decide to call Sergeant Evans?”
“Yes.” Wendy stepped closer. Her voice dropped. “It’s like a torture log.”
“A what?” Ciara’s eyes widened.
“A list of things…” She swallowed. “Done to different women.”
“I’ll call Bronwyn.” Ciara pulled out her phone.
“Ciara bach, are you OK?” There was more than concern in her voice.
“Where are you?”
“Still at the precinct, what’s going on?”
“I’m at Wendy’s, I’ll put you on speakerphone.”
She held the phone towards Wendy and listened as the other woman told Bronwyn about the letter and the attached pages. She read her a passage and at one point Bronwyn interrupted her.
“Stop. We’re on our way. Please put the pages down and stop touching them. Give us five minutes.”
The line went dead and both women were at a loss.
Ciara concentrated on her surroundings. The shop’s lighting was dimmed to create a more relaxing shopping atmosphere. The lack of light made it harder to see, but the last few dreary autumn days had accustomed her to seeing even less than usual.
Turning her head, she finally found Wendy’s form and walked slowly towards her, holding out her hand until it made contact with the fabric of her shirt, identifying a sleeve, she found her hand and squeezed it.
Wendy stirred, “I’m sorry, I just… I can’t believe all this.”
Ciara heard a car stop just outside and moments later Bronwyn burst into the shop, followed closely by Harrison.
“How the hell are you doing this?”
She felt Bronwyn’s hand on her back.
“This time it was Wendy!” Ciara laughed nervously. “Please take these papers.”
“The DCI already has them.”
Harrison put on a pair of gloves and took the small stack of papers Wendy had held out to him. After reading the accompanying letter, which simply told Wendy that these were papers that Margaret had wanted her to keep for ‘security reasons,’ he carefully flipped through the papers, which had at some point been in a separate manila envelope.
“Evans, we got them.” All he had to do was read page one. “Let’s get back to the station, we’re going to have a field day today.”
Bronwyn nodded. “Ciara bach, it’s going to be a long day. Do you want to get on the train?”
“Train my arse!” She shook her head, determined, “I’m not going anywhere. I want to be here when you catch them.”
“You can stay here as long as you like,” Wendy spoke up.
“OK then. I’ll call you when I know more.” Bronwyn kissed her cheek and followed Harrison, who was already heading for the door, the clear plastic bag containing the manila envelope and papers in his hand.
The door closed behind them and Wendy and Ciara were alone again.
“What will happen now?” Wendy’s voice betrayed her uncertainty.
Ciara reached out to her, but Wendy had shifted her position, her hand reaching into the void.
“At best, they go and arrest the bad guys now.” She let her hand drop slowly. The few paragraphs Wendy had read to Harrison on the phone had convinced her that they were bad guys.
“And worst case?”
“Let’s not go there.” Ciara shook her head. “All we can do now is wait. It was a good thing you gave the papers to the police.”
Wendy sighed. “OK, yes. Thank you. I just…” She sounded confused. “Sorry. I think I need a minute to collect myself.”
“It’s okay.” Ciara smiled. “I’d offer to make you a cup of tea, but I’m afraid I might do more harm than good in an unfamiliar kitchen.”
“You know what, tea is a great idea, tea fixes everything. I’ll go and make us a cuppa and we’ll figure out what to do from there. Why don’t you sit down, I’ll be right back.”
“Where?” Ciara chuckled, holding up her cane.
“Oh, of course!” She felt Wendy take her hand and more pull than lead her to the sofa she had sat on yesterday.
“We got him!” Evans slammed the passenger door shut and fumbled for the seatbelt.
“Yes, we got him. But do we get him for murdering or abusing his wive?” Harrison started the car.
She nodded. “Back to the station?”
“Yes.” He manoeuvred the car into traffic. “This is a completely different case. We need to hand it over to Braxton.”
DCI Antonia Braxton had been their contact at Winchester. A strong, dark-skinned woman, she had worked hard for her position and had risen quickly through the ranks despite the hardships.
It explained her no-nonsense attitude and cautious behaviour around influential and respected people. Ciara’s phone call had interrupted their meeting with her, and they had stormed out, leaving Braxton with their notes and a rough outline of what they suspected in the church.
When they re-entered her office, they found her sitting behind her desk, her elbows on the desk, fingertips pressed together under her chin, watching them intently.
There were three piles of papers on her desk.
“What’s this?” She took the manila envelope Harrison had wordlessly handed her.
“You might want to put on gloves, we haven’t had it through forensics yet. But I think you should take a look.”
“I’ve read your reports and key points while you were away. Whatever you have is more than thin.”
“Read. You may notice that this is Mr Smith’s handwriting.” Harrison sat down in front of her desk, Evans standing behind him. She watched the older woman’s expression change as she turned the first page.
“Where did you get this?” She put the envelope down and pulled off the gloves.
“Mrs Smith’s lawyer sent it to one of her friends.”
“We need the originals.” Braxton’s stern gaze pierced Harrison before she turned it on Evans.
Taking a step forward, Bronwyn nodded. “We didn’t find it when we first searched the house. But we didn’t do a thorough search.”
“Because I told you to be careful.” Braxon looked beat.
“Everything on this table is circumstantial at best, and nothing here links Mr Smith to his wife’s death.” She paused. Evans had noticed the undertone in her voice and was curious where this monologue was going.
“What kind of a strange case have you dug up? And who is involved? Because a few minutes after you left, I got a call from London with clear orders to raid St Agatha.”
Evans and Harrison stared at her, mouths agape.
“Who called you?” Harrison finally found his voice.
“The Commissioner, and it seems there’s a warrant on its way.”
“That’s the way we do things here.” Bronwyn grinned.
“Mr Nelson.” Harrison rolled his eyes. Noticing Braxton’s curious look, he shrugged. “It’s a strange story, we can fill you in on the way to the church.” Harrison held out his hand. “Tag team?”
She shook his hand. “Tag team.”
As soon as the warrant arrived, they were on their way with marked cars and uniformed officers.
Wendy had made them tea and biscuits to go with it. They had both needed some time to calm down. And the hot drink had helped to calm their nerves. Soon they were chatting, and they got back into a more relaxed mood.
“So, did you just stop by for a nice cup of tea, or did you have something else in mind?”
Ciara smiled. “Oh, I never say no to a good cup of tea! But actually,” her smile turned into a Cheshire cat grin, “you said you had merchandise on display?”
“Of course we do!” Wendy laughed. “Would you like to browse?”
There had been the slightest pause before the word browse and Ciara had to smile. “Yes, please.”
She felt Wendy move and stood up herself. She unfolded her cane, not wanting to be dragged through the shop again, she smiled as she held out her hand. “If I may, I’ll put my hand on your arm, and you just lead me there.”
“Oh, okay.” Wendy took her hand and placed it on her forearm as she began to walk, this time at a slower pace.
“Looking for anything in particular? Or just browsing?”
Ciara smiled knowingly. “I might have a few ideas in mind, but I haven’t shopped in a place like this in ages, so I’d just like to feel my way around if that’s possible?” She smiled.
“Of course.”
“You don’t seem to have many customers.”
Wendy chuckled. “Well, most people prefer to shop online, it’s more anonymous. My web shop is booming. This place gets busy in the evenings and weekends.” She stopped and took Ciara’s hand. “This is the shelf with the vibrators, dildos and strap-ons. There’s one unpacked in front for every model. The batteries are full so you can feel the motion. But I must ask you to refrain from testing them in the shop,” Wendy giggled and Ciara grinned. “Oh, I was so looking forward to that.”
Wendy laughed. “If you walk along this shelf the next one is pulsators and lay-on vibes. And of course, different plugs. Will you be all right here? I should pack up a few orders before the postman comes. I’ll be in the back, just shout if you need any help.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Ciara found the corner of the shelf and put her handbag on the floor next to it. She folded her cane and put it in the back pocket of her jeans. Slowly and carefully, she began to feel around for the various goods.
Weighing the different toys in her hand one by one, she felt their surfaces and gripped them tightly to feel their curvature and circumference. Focusing her attention on the different textures and sizes, she sorted the merchandise in her mind, memorising the toys she wanted to inquire about or consider buying.
She had just picked up an anatomically shaped dildo, feeling the veins running up to the pronounced tip, when she heard the familiar moan announcing another customer. Again, quickly followed by Wendy’s call of ‘Coming!’
Ciara smiled to herself, concentrating again on the mushroom shape of the dildo’s head. She liked the girth of the toy, not too thick but nicely curved. Weighting it in her hand, she noticed that it wasn’t as balanced as she’d thought. She felt down the shaft and noticed a cavity with a bulb in it. This was a squirt cock. She grinned and brought the tip closer to her face, trying to find the hole in the tip. She was so engrossed in the object in her hands that she didn’t notice the footsteps stopping near her.
“This is one of the most erotic things I have seen in a long time.” Bronwyn’s voice was a low growl and the Welsh accent came out more strongly, as it always did when she was aroused.
Ciara beamed and turned to her.
“Bronwyn!” She opened her arms to greet the taller woman. “Tell me, did you arrest Smith?”
Bronwyn melted into her arms and kissed her neck. “That was one of the strangest days of my career. Yes, Mr Smith is under arrest for now, as is a priest from his parish. We are investigating a few others. Or rather, the Winchester area is.” Bronwyn pulled away from the embrace. She took Ciara’s hand. Still holding the dildo, Bronwyn looked at it. “Looks like you had an interesting afternoon too?”
Ciara weighed the toy in her hand and nodded slowly. “And you can be sure I will not leave here empty-handed.” The grin on her lips widened as she leaned up a little and puckered her lips towards her lover.
Their height difference was small enough that Bronwyn only had to bend her head slightly to meet Ciara’s lips.
They heard a cough behind them and moved apart, startled by the sound.
Wendy smiled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Sergeant Evans, is there any news?”
Bronwyn nodded, still holding Ciara’s hand and the toy.
“Yes, thanks again for the papers, we have two suspects in custody. I can’t give you too many details right now, as you may be called as a witness once the trial starts. But rest assured, you helped a lot.”
“So he did it?”
Evans shrugged. “We’re pretty sure.”
Wendy shook her head slowly. “Poor Margaret.” She looked down at their hands and the dildo they were holding. “I think I’ll let you finish your shopping now.” She winked at Bronwyn.
Looking down at the toy, a grin spread across the Welsh woman’s face. “Thanks, I think Ciara already has a list.”
“Of course, but I want your input on what you want to try and what we should get.”
The ‘we’ registered with Bronwyn, and she squeezed her lover’s hand.
Ciara listened to the distant footsteps. “Will you give me more details?”
“Yes, but later, when we’re in the car.”
“Okay.”
Bronwyn tugged on the toy. “So, what’s on your wish list?”
Ciara grinned mischievously. “Oh, there’s a lot on it. But we don’t have to get them all at once.”
“All of it?” Bronwyn’s voice betrayed her amusement.
“For now,” she turned a little and her hand found the shelf again, “come here, is this where the dildo goes?”
“Well…” Bronwyn snorted. “If you mean this is the shelf it’s on, no, it’s the one on the left.”
“Pff!” Ciara stepped a little to the left and put the rubber toy down. “Follow me, over here.”
She tailed along the shelves with her hand, counting the compartments. Leather straps rustled as she picked up the harness. “I want us to have our own, fresh, new.” She held it out to Bronwyn. “This one has a dildo attached inside the straps.” She felt the curve of the small rubber cock. “This should hit your soft spot perfectly,” She took a step closer, and her voice dropped. “When you fuck me hard.”
Bronwyn’s mouth was dry, she could barely swallow. “You want me to…” She swallowed again. Ciara moved even closer, her free hand finding Bronwyn’s torso, closing the gap and pressing herself against her lover. “Yes, I told you, sometimes I just need a cock. And I want it to be attached to you.”
Evans exhaled audibly. “Sold.” She grinned. “We still need an appendage for you.”
Ciara chuckled at her choice of words. “Oh, I already found that.” She stepped back to the shelf and picked up another realistically shaped dildo. It was also a squirting one, but it had a base that could be attached to the harness. Bronwyn had put the harness away again and picked up a boxed one. Wordlessly she added the box of the other dildo.
“Got them, both.” Bronwyn confirmed.
Ciara put the toy down and took another few steps. “This is for me, for when I take the harness.” Grinning, she picked up a small clitoral vibrator. “It feels nice, but can you check the box for the settings and details?”
Evans picked up the box and read her the list of speeds, settings and different modes. She whistled through her teeth. “Wow. This one connects to your phone and you can even remote control it from a distance.”
“Kinky.” Ciara grinned. She fumbled for a boxed one and triumphantly held it up to Bronwyn.
“That’s my list covered.”
Evans took the box from her and added it to her growing pile.
“Is there anything you want?” Ciara held out her hand, waiting for Bronwyn to take it.
Wordlessly, Bronwyn intertwined her fingers with Ciara’s.
“Well?” She pulled her a little closer.
Bronwyn felt her face turn red, she swallowed noisily and looked at Ciara’s smiling face. Her gaze was hazy, more guessing than seeing, and for the moment Bronwyn didn’t mind. A blush burned across her cheeks.
“Last night,” she mumbled.
Ciara’s brow furrowed, but then she realised. She pulled her into a hug and leaned close to her ear.
“Would you like a butt plug?” She whispered into her ear.
Bronwyn nodded slowly. Ciara was so close to her face; Bronwyn’s moving curls tickled her face.
“That was a nod, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.” It was a toneless whisper.
Ciara kissed her cheek gently and moved away.
“Over there.” She pointed vaguely at a shelf and Bronwyn approached, still uncertain. Ciara followed closely.
Bronwyn looked at the various plugs and vibes and was frightened by her own courage. She felt Ciara’s hand on her back, not pushing her but gently reassuring her.
“You don’t have to. But if you want, you could get me a matching one.”
She took one from the shelf. Wondering if she had chosen well, she handed it to Ciara.
“What do you think of this one?” She took it in her hand and watched as Ciara turned it back and forth, feeling its size and girth.
“You can go a bit bigger if you want.” She held the toy next to her thumb. “See, you took my thumb comfortably, this is almost the same circumference. I’d go a little bigger.”
Bronwyn nodded, taking the plug from Ciara and putting it back on the shelf. She found another, a little bigger and longer, and handed it to her again.
Watching her feel and measure these toys was more exciting for Bronwyn than she cared to admit.
Ciara nodded. “Two of those, please. And I think we’re done here.”
Bronwyn added two more boxes to the stack and walked over to the counter while Ciara fetched her handbag and unfolded her cane again.
Wendy had heard them approach and took her place behind the counter.
“Quite the shopping spree.” She smiled warmly at Bronwyn.
Ciara, following her sounds, had also reached the counter. She took out a credit card. “This one’s on me.”
Bronwyn watched the amount add up on the till and frowned. “You’ve already paid the hotel. It’s my turn.”
Wendy giggled.
“Okay, but then I’ll pay for dinner.” Ciara grinned.
“Deal.” Bronwyn took out her purse.
Wendy rechecked their things. “I see you have the squirting one, do you have any liquid at home?”
“Thanks for reminding me!” Ciara beamed. “No, please add some, and some lube wouldn’t go amiss either.”
Wendy retrieved two packets from a shelf in her back office.
“These are on me.” She added them to the plain paper bag she had put their shopping in.
As they said their goodbyes, Wendy reminded them to call if they had any news on the Smith case. She held the door open for them and looked from one to the other again, smiling. “You really have no idea, do you?”
Bronwyn’s eyebrow disappeared under her curls again and Ciara tilted her head. “What idea?”
“The chemistry between you.” She laughed. “You two are perfect for each other.”
“Thank you.” Ciara smiled at the compliment.
“Maybe you should google your names at home?” Wendy laughed and waved them goodbye as she closed the door.
Bronwyn had put their shopping into the car’s boot while Ciara buckled into the passenger seat.
“What do you think Wendy was talking about?” Bronwyn got into the driver’s seat.
Ciara shrugged. “Do you know what your name means?”
“Of course, do you know yours?”
“You bet I do.” Ciara grinned.
“Then what is it?” They both spoke in unison and had to laugh.
Bronwyn put the car into gear, “You first.”
Ciara shrugged. “It’s a traditional Irish name I was born with a lot of really dark hair that got lighter as I got older. But my father had decided on Ciara, the dark one, or the little dark one.”
Evans chuckled. “So that’s what she meant.”
“Hm?”
“Bronwyn or Branwen means white raven, or…” She chuckled again, “Fair, blessed breast.”
Ciara laughed. “Oh, your breasts are certainly blessed.” She leaned back, her hand reaching for Bronwyn’s thigh again. “So we are black and white.” She turned slightly towards her.
“Ying and Yang?” Bronwyn mused as her hand dropped to her lover’s.
“Well, we certainly fit together quite nicely.” Ciara chuckled as Bronwyn put the car into gear.
Bronwyn shook her head and laughed. “Sometimes I think you really do have a one-track mind.”
“I spent most of the day in a sex shop fondling rubber cocks, what do you expect?”
Bronwyn sighed playfully. “Again, I first have to get us through the traffic.”
“Not just traffic,” Ciara squeezed her thigh. “Tell me.”
She didn’t need to be any more specific; Bronwyn had already been wondering how long it would be before she broached the subject again. She dropped her free hand to Ciara’s again and squeezed it.
“Mr Smith was arrested by Winchester Police this afternoon, along with an elderly priest from St Agatha’s. While a second search of the Smith’s home turned up nothing new, we were more successful at the church. In the priest’s office we found detailed descriptions of how to torture women and more of these diary-like books.
“Oh dear.” Ciara looked shocked.
“It gets better. In one of the common rooms, we actually found wall mountings for restraints and boxes of various torture devices in a cupboard.”
Ciara shook her head. “In a church!”
“Ever heard of the Spanish Inquisition?” Bronwyn chuckled. “We’ve had to hand the Quintinian case over to Winchester police. Because the only connection to our case is the pages. There’s no mention of Mrs Smith in the book itself. And Winchester has been looking into it, too.”
“What happens now?” Ciara had turned slightly towards Bronwyn, who noticed the questioning look out of the corner of her eye. Questioning, yes, but only vaguely directed at her.
She shrugged. “Winchester will be sifting through the data, there could be another motive or another suspect hidden in there. Harrisson has offered our help, but Braxton, the DCI in Winchester, wants to get her bearings first. In the meantime, we will be digging from our side if we find any further connections. For example, how Mrs Smith came into possession of the pages, or whether she had the originals.”
“Hmh.” Ciara nodded. “So it’s not like the bad guy gets arrested and the case is closed?”
Bronwyn laughed. “That’s rarely the case. Smith and the priest have been arrested on suspicion of abuse and other offences. Now we have to prove it and Harrison had some interesting thoughts there. It may be that the women consented to some church ritual. Then we may not have a case at all, or it will drag on endlessly in court.
“But there were allegations of abuse?” Ciara mused.
“Yes, that’s our angle for now. Harrisson told me to keep digging to link Mrs Smith’s death to this. That means I will follow up with her solicitor and stay in London while he returns to Winchester tomorrow to work with Braxton.”
Ciara squeezed her hand. “I like that you can work the London angle.” She smiled.
“Me too.” Bronwyn squeezed back.
“After all, we have a huge bag full of things to try out.” Her smile widened into a Cheshire cat grin.
“True. And it looks like we’ll be back in town pretty early. So we can squeeze in some dinner?”
Ciara nodded. “We should probably make tonight count, since I don’t think Nelson will be letting me out anytime soon.
“Mhm, and you still owe me dinner and a show.” Bronwyn grinned.
“I think the contents of that bag make for quite a show,” Ciara grinned. “And don’t you have to get back to the station first?”
Bronwyn shook her head. “No, I don’t have to be there until tomorrow morning. I’m officially off duty now.
“So, dinner it is, and we’ll do our own show afterwards?” Ciara turned to her a quizzical eyebrow raised. “There’s a new Persian place in my neighbourhood and I’ve meant to try it for a while.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had Persian, why not!” Bronwyn looked at her.
