Chapter Eleven

RICHARD BRIGHT sat looking confused as Powel unfolded his notes.

“I’ve been to see Mrs. Thompson, Richard,” he said, “and she seems to think everything was lovely between you too. Was it?”

Richard looked into Powel’s eyes.

“I have already... t... t... told you, I was in love with her, if that’s... wh... wh... what you mean,” he replied but Powel didn’t seem to take any notice of what the young man had said and Richard looked at him in anger. “I... I... I... I was in love with her, I said. Didn’t you hear... m... m... m... me?” he repeated and Powel nodded as if this information was no great surprise and didn’t amount to anything of importance.

“She was... is a very sexual woman Richard, this Mrs. Thompson and naturally for a young man of your age, it would be a great thing for her to have given you any attention... in a sexual way, I mean... and therefore you might easily confuse that with love. Haven’t you ever felt a loving sensation for anyone else before this... and I don’t mean the feelings you have for your mother... natural love I mean...”

“It wouldn’t... b... b... b... be difficult to describe the love I had for my... m... m... mother. You could write all... th... th... th... that on the back of a p... p... postage stamp and it was... it was... anything but ‘natural’ love, I... c... c... c... can assure you, however I knew a girl from my school days once... There was... n... n... nothing between us, but there was a... fl... fl... fleeting moment when I... th... th... th... thought there might be. I tried to... k... k... k... kiss her once, but she wasn’t interested. Her... n... n... n... name was Avis... Avis... s... s... s... something or other. I‘ve forgotten her... s... s... surname now, but it... d... d... doesn‘t matter,” he said and then as if by a sudden afterthought, he raised his voice a little, “I saw her about... f... f... four or... f... f... f... f... five weeks ago in the supermarket where I work and...”

“Yes, go on. You saw this Avis girl whose surname you can’t remember, so what of it?” asked Powel and Richard blushed.

“She was... p... p... p... pregnant and she also had another baby in a... p... p... pram,” he said and Powel grinned.

“Well it wasn’t anything to do with you, so why the hell are you blushing? You only tried to kiss the girl from what you’ve told me and you have to do a little more than kiss a girl to get her pregnant as I’m sure you know, Mr. Bright.”

“I had... n... n... never been with any woman or... a... g... g... g... girl before I went with Maya. She is the only person who ever showed me any... af... af... af... affection. I was so proud and really, really happy when she let me...”

“Let you what?” asked Powel indifferently, as he threw his head back trying to make young Ricky-Boy think that he was little interested in what he was saying, but the words that were coming from the young man’s mouth were very important... Very important indeed,”

“Nothing,” Richard replied sharply and stared at the ground. “It’s n... n... n... none of your... b... b... business,”

“She let you touch her in an intimate way, didn’t she?”

“”I have said, that is none of your... b... b... business... Haven‘t I?”

Powel was cautious, but he began to think he might try Gardner’s approach when he asked Richard if he fucked his lover, which he thought was a stupid thing to ask and certainly not the kind of language he would use in any interrogation, but he also thought that the provocative word might make the boy think differently, however, he was wrong. Richard never raised an eyebrow when Powel uttered the dreaded words... He sat in silence and Powel wondered what he should say next to bring this young man to the open so that he would talk of his experiences with Mrs. Thompson and lessen the sentence that was overshadowing him, even if it wasn’t murder.

“She seduced you... didn’t she,” he said and watched Richard’s reaction... “and don’t deny it,” Powel went on... “she has already told me that she has.”

“I loved her. That is all I am... g... g... g... going to say.” was the reply but Powel wouldn’t leave it like that.

“You met this woman on a rainy evening; went to her flat to dry off and fell in love with her... all in a few minutes. Did you like her cocoa? Did she shove something into your drink?” Richard rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand as Powel continued, “I can understand why you had sex with her, lad. Some men would say she is beautiful. Certainly she is a woman of experience, whereas you... you had none or very little and as she touched you, especially when you were partly naked, it’s only natural that you would respond, but that was SEX, not love. You surely must realize that. You’re no fool Richard Bright.”

Richard bit his lip and rubbed his eye with his forefinger.

“No, you are... you are wrong,” Richard replied coldly, “No... w... w... woman had ever let me... d... d... do anything to her that she did. She taught me things that I would... n. n... n... never have learned if she had not... b... b... b... been with me.”

Powel reflected on some of the things that Maya Thompson had said before he continued his questioning and his following question was a gamble, but he felt he had to ask it.

“Cunnilingus,” he said slowly, “Did she teach you what that meant, or was that something you thought was a cough medicine?”

Richard sat with glazed eyes when Powel asked him that question.

“I would have done any... any... anything for her,” he replied, innocently avoiding any knowledge of what Powel had said.

“Even murder?” asked Powel and Richard began to cry.

“Yes, even m... m... murder,” he stammered, “ but you told me... th... th... th... that this man I thought I had... k... k... k... killed was still alive and in hospital,”

“He is alive and should be discharged totally from hospital quite soon I should imagine, but there are other problems in this case.”

“Other problems... What do you... m... m... mean?”

Powel crossed his legs and studied his socks as if there was some special pattern there that would resolve and answer any question that Richard would ask.

“There’s some matter of drugs, Richard. Did you know Mrs. Thompson to indulge in drugs at all... I mean in the times when you were with her?”

Richard looked perplexed before he started to laugh,

“Maya doesn’t... n... n... n... need drugs,” he said, “she is a drug in her... her... her... herself when you are with her, but... ad... ad... additional drugs... No... and... f... f... for what anyway?”

“Well, you are her favourite lollipop,” added Powel thinking again of some remark that Maya Thompson had let slip. “So I suppose you would know better than anyone else.”

“Lollipop... Lollipop? I don’t know... wh... wh... what you mean. Did she say that to you?... favourite, I mean?”

“Yes, she did, why?”

Richard sighed heavily, but he started to look sad.

“I didn’t know that there... w... w... were any others,” he said, “Not for me to be her... f... f... f... favourite.”

Powel thought it might be well to add a little humour to the story at this point, as he felt somewhat sorry for what he had said.

“Perhaps you were the flavour of the month,” he said, but Richard blushed wildly and Powel thought he might have gone just a little too far...