It was a Sunday, and a day and a half since Ava Turner had first set foot in his house. King had lost track of the time, waking in a panic and believing he was late for work. In his exhaustion, he’d fallen asleep a second time until well into the afternoon. He’d been too stressed to eat and the fracturing of his usual routine was irksome. Worse than that, he’d tried to call the weasel at the car lot several times and been met with either a busy tone or the answer phone. It wasn’t as if he’d been able to call from his mobile, either. Each time, he’d had to go to a different pay phone. In the end, he’d had to settle for changing the licence plates on his own car and adding loathsome transfer stripes along the sides. It was the best he could do as a disguise and he’d had the necessary parts ready. He’d always known he wouldn’t be able to rely on the weasel for long. In an hour, when daylight turned to dusk, he’d be on his way to Dundee. He needed a favour from a girl there.
King went to feed his ladies before leaving. The room was unnaturally quiet, as if he’d disturbed witches in their coven, he thought. They were all eyes watching him enter the suite, suspicious, tense.
‘Boo!’ he shouted suddenly, eliciting a scream of terror from Elaine who was under her bed, surrounded by pillows and blankets, shivering on the floor. He let out a belly laugh that felt so good, he wondered why he hadn’t come up earlier in the day.
‘Jayne, your poor tongue, I’d completely forgotten,’ he said, pulling the clip away with a smacking noise. She shrank back from him, crushing the pillow behind her, mouth firmly closed. King could well imagine she would never open it again in his presence.
‘I take it that Detective Inspector Turner has learned not to make so free and easy with her temper,’ he said, ‘and I hope Elaine has been out from her cave often enough to bring you both the bedpan as required.’
He sat down next to Ava and stroked her hair, expecting her to flinch from his hand. She didn’t. ‘You have remarkable skin,’ he said. ‘And the swelling has reduced already. Later tonight, when the unpleasantness is over, I’ll bathe you. I’ve bought fresh clothes, quality ones, not tat.’
‘Thank you,’ Ava said. ‘What’s happening tonight?’
‘He’s going to pull out your teeth,’ Jayne lisped, her swollen tongue making it hard to understand her. King made a disapproving circle with his mouth and tutted at her.
‘Now, we don’t want to scare our new guest, not when she’s settling in so well.’
‘That’s how you convinced the pathologists of their identities,’ Ava whispered. ‘Clever.’
‘Do you really think so, Ava? What’s that quote … “True praise comes often even to the lowly; false praise only to the strong.” I have longed to be strong. It seems I’ve finally achieved a goal.’
‘Seneca, advisor to Emperor Nero. You don’t need to prove how strong you are to us. Why are you doing this?’ Ava asked, bending and stretching her fingers in their bindings.
‘You’ve read Seneca?’ he asked.
‘Some,’ she replied. ‘You didn’t answer my question.’
‘There’s no answer. I did it because at some point I couldn’t resist.’
‘But why Elaine?’ she pushed. He tucked the bedclothes in like a kindly matron then took a brush from a shelf and began to smooth her hair.
‘She was brilliant, single-minded, focused. I especially liked that about her. She could command an audience like no one you’ve seen. I attended more than one public speaking engagement of hers. Skills acquired from all those years in court, I suppose. She would have become a judge eventually.’
‘You wanted someone you could be proud of,’ Ava commented.
‘Exactly. Proud. It’s a compliment. The other two haven’t grasped that. When I saw you lecture at the Philosophy Department, I knew we would understand one another.’
‘So why not approach me, ask me to dinner, talk to me? Would that have been so hard?’
‘Would you have said yes?’ he asked, narrowing his eyes, waiting for the lie.
‘No,’ she said, ‘but I’d have respected you for asking. It’s difficult to respect you when I’m tied to a bed.’
‘It won’t be for long,’ he said. ‘You’re a woman who values mind above body, who can analyse and comprehend. You’ll be able to see the world from a new perspective.’
‘You mean from your perspective,’ Ava said. ‘What if I disagree with it?’
‘All views are equally valid here,’ he replied. ‘We’ll listen to each other, share our learning.’
‘Through fear? No one learns that way. It’s called conditioning.’
‘There will only be fear if punishment is necessary, and that only results from bad behaviour. Without one there will be no need for the other.’
‘Your rules, then,’ Ava said.
‘My rules.’ He kissed her hand and put the brush back on the shelf.
‘So we’re not all equal. If we can’t contribute to the rules, it doesn’t work.’
‘I have to go,’ King said, ‘but I’ve enjoyed this.’
‘Let us go,’ Ava said calmly. ‘Elaine is close to breaking. She hasn’t been out from under her bed in hours. She even slept there. Jayne has bed sores and her wrists have been in the metal cuffs too long.’
‘She brought that on herself,’ he snapped. ‘Don’t expect sympathy.’
‘I thought you were our protector,’ Ava said. ‘To whom else should we turn?’
‘Cunning pythoness, aren’t you? It won’t work,’ he smiled.
‘Carl Sandburg wrote, “The greatest cunning is to have none at all.” What will you hide behind when we’re telling you nothing but the truth?’ Ava asked. King left without answering.