Mia (3 page)

Mia
sat back in complete disbelief, staring unseeing out of the window, knowing there was little point in continuing with the man before her, knowing that like so many others he would never believe her.  When she entered the station she was photographed and fingerprinted before finally being given her phone call. 

As Mrs Mac lifted the dial, she
listened in complete bewilderment as Mia informed her of what had happened, hearing the fear on the younger woman’s voice as she asked her to contact certain people who would be able to help.  The housekeeper took phone numbers and names and promised a terrified Mia that she would deal with it right away.  Finally Mia was taken to a cell where she was locked in, jumping as the heavy door slammed closed behind her.  Moving to the cot she sat down, leaning against the wall pulling her legs to her chest, her lovely face bravely holding back the tears which threatened to fall.

An hour later Paul James walked into the police station, his expression determined and serious.  Moving up to the desk he was immediately served by the young smiling officer.

“Mr James, lovely to see you
…How can I help?”, his tone fawning on finally meeting the man who was famous throughout the village.  Paul James however did not return the smile, his voice clipped. “I believe you are holding Mia Drake here”, he said brusquely, the officer in front of him now looking nervous. “Yes, she’s been charged and is in the cells Sir”, he carefully answered.

“On what grounds are you holding her
?”, he was asked by the tall man who stood before him, so calm and imposing.  “I’m afraid that I can’t disclose that”, the young police officer replied licking his lips nervously.  “Her lawyer told me that it was in connection with an old warrant…which was meant to have been cancelled”, Paul James bit out, his expression dark.

Colin
looked back at him shiftily. “Well I can’t comment on that, and we’d best leave it till the judge sees her on Monday”, he finished, hoping that this would be enough to appease the man before him, seeing the way the other man looked contemptuously down at him.

“I don’t think so”
, he replied easily before pulling his mobile phone from his pocket to make a phone call.  After talking to someone for several minutes he rang off, once more turning to look at the man before him.

“Judge McLeod is faxing through instructions to release
Mia Drake into my custody until the hearing on Monday”, his voice cold, “So if you could please get Miss Drake for me I will be on my way”, he demanded before turning and sitting down on one of the chairs in the waiting area.

Colin
glared at the man who sat with such an air of authority, stunned at the influence this man must have to get judge McLeod to send over such orders that late on a Friday night.  Glowering, he watched as the fax machine sprang to life with the same instructions which had just been relayed to him.  Slowly he moved to retrieve Mia, angry at having to release her before his friend could have the private chat with her he had promised him that night.

Paul sat silently in the p
olice station, his mind going back over the desperate phone call he received from Mrs Mac in which she told him that Mia had been arrested. He had been on site at the time and quickly left to stop at Jim Donovan’s office to find out what was going on.  He found Jim, a man in his forties with a kindly face, desperately phoning around judges trying to get Mia bailed.  He quickly learnt of the charges against her and after finding the name of the most suitable judge left quickly, Jim Donovan relieved for the help asking him to get her to call later.

His thoughts were
interrupted as Mia and the officer once more appeared in the waiting area.  She looked fragile and vulnerable, her face pale as her haunted eyes looked at him in total confusion, her features filling with relief seeing Paul stood there.  “Where is Jim?”, she asked, her voice barely a whisper as Paul moved closer to her.  “Jim sends his best”, he said, his voice calm, “But perhaps we should just get out of here” 

“Could you sign this please
…Sir?”, Colin asked unpleasantly. “It says that you will ensure that you are supervising Miss Drake at all times”  Paul quickly signed the document after scanning the text to ensure that he knew what he was signing.  Wordlessly he then placed a guiding arm on Mia’s to help her out of the police station and into his Jaguar.

The journey back to his home was made in complete silence as she
huddled into the corner of the seat, suddenly looking very small as she stared out of the window, her features full of shock.

On entering the house Mrs Mac
was relieved to see Mia, and quickly went to retrieve a glass of brandy as directed by Paul who gently sat her down on one of the seats in his study.  He insisted that she drink the liquid which burnt its way down to her stomach, making her cough.  His eyes watched her carefully, relieved to see as the colour slowly returned to her face as he squatted beside her, his expression hard and serious.

“Now perhaps you can tell me what the hell is going on here”
, he demanded, his voice steady as she looked at him before bursting into tears throwing herself into his arms.  Shocked he found himself for the second night in a row holding her, as her whole body shook with sobs which ripped through her slender frame.

Mia
could not help herself, the shock from her arrest and Colin’s last words as he locked the cell held her in total fear. “Somebody wants to see you tonight for a private chat about all your lies”  The words filled her with terror as the rest of the evening passed in a nightmare-like state for her.  When she was taken out of the cell, she had not known where he was taking her, or to whom, and when she saw Paul James she could have cried with the relief which flooded every fibre of her being.  Now that she was safely seated in his home she did just that, not even aware that she threw herself into his arms.  For the second night in a row this man had rescued her and she felt a strange and unfamiliar sensation of safety being with him. 

As her sobs subsided he
gently but firmly pulled her back from him so that he could look deeply into her eyes - those large beautiful eyes which even red with tears streaking down her face made his insides lurch.  Her soft mouth still quivered and he felt a tug at her complete vulnerability.  Reaching to the desk beside her, he pulled a couple of handkerchiefs from the dispenser Mrs Mac kept there, gently pushing them into her grateful hands, as she wiped her eyes and nose.

“I’m so sorry”
, she whispered gently, “I didn’t mean to…”  Paul rocked back from her giving her more space. “It’s fine”, he said softly, “You’ve had a really bad day”, his mouth twitching at the understatement as with a small noise of agreement she laughed back with him, nodding her head.

A
t this point Mrs Mac returned, carrying a steaming mug of tea which she placed beside Mia, hovering in concern asking what else she could do.  Paul flashed her a “Leave us alone” look which saw her quickly exit the room on the pretext of preparing a room.

Gently he
prodded her for an answer to his original question, and with a soft sigh Mia began to tell him the story from six long years ago.  “When I was sixteen I was attacked by Adam Mathers’ son, Lucas”, she began, aware that the man before her stiffened in shock.  “Do you know Adam Mathers?”, she asked softly, seeing as Paul nodded.  “Yes, I didn’t much care for him”, he replied.  “Struck me as a bit of a bully”

Mia
nodded in agreement.  “I was lucky”, she managed, “I got away before he could…”  Her voice faltered. “People wouldn’t believe me…’Not Lucas Mathers’, they all kept saying, ‘He could have any woman he wanted, why would he want some stupid little girl?’, and it came down to my word against his”

She
looked into his eyes. “His father employs half the people who live in this village, and they decided not to press charges…My father was angry, he went as far as he could…He wasn’t going to give up”   Looking away her face became haunted. “Two weeks later he attacked another girl…a friend of mine, Susan Anderson…She didn’t get away”  Mia went quiet as his hand found hers squeezing it gently.

“After his attack she called me and I took her to the City hospital and called the City police.  This time they
had DNA evidence”  She gave a short mirthless laugh. “He was so damn sure he was untouchable that he hadn’t even used protection.  With my support she and I gave evidence and he was put in jail”, she continued, her voice holding little satisfaction.  “That’s when the scare-mongering really started.  His father sent ‘lawyers’ round to try to get us to sign statements to say that we had been lying, had made the whole thing up”

Another tear
fell from her eyes, as her voice shook.  “Susan committed suicide…She couldn’t take it any longer they said.  People accusing her of lying about Lucas…But my father didn’t believe her death was suicide and he got realy scared for me”

She looked up at him
, her eyes angry now.  “About a week after Susan’s death I was nearly hit by a speeding driver.  It was Jim who managed to pull me out of the way in time…That’s when I started to believe them.  I had signed up for University in Scotland, nobody knew about it…Not even my best friend Janey…So my father sent me away early and I’ve never been back here until yesterday” Her voice grew more subdued, holding such sadness in it. “Not even for my own father’s funeral”

Her head
dropped to look at her hands, seeing as they pulled on the handkerchief he had given her.  Paul finally spoke.  “You think that they are still trying to get you to retract your statement?”, watching as Mia nodded. “I can’t think of anything else…My father used to take his holidays every year and we would meet up…That was the only time I ever saw him, other than that we used to contact each other through email fairly regularly…Until I went to Africa”, she said, her eyes filling up again.  “I didn’t even know he had died for two months”, she said sadly, “But they must have known that I would have to come back at some point…I guess they’ve been waiting a long time”

W
ith another sniff she wiped the tears from her eyes, looking at him with real fear in them.  “Colin told me that somebody was coming to see me tonight about all of my lies”, she said, “God Paul…If you hadn’t come…”  As her voice faltered he held both her hands in his.  “They can’t get to you Mia while you are here in my protection, and I’ll damn well make sure that they leave you alone forever”, he said, his voice firm. Looking at him she smiled, relief and the warm feeling of safety returning to her.

“Now
let’s get you fed and to bed”, he said gently, standing to look down on her, offering her a hand to help her rise, which she took with a smile.  Shaking her head she declined food, saying that she was just tired and wanted to relax in a bath.

With a nod he
walked her to the base of the ornate stairs and was surprised as she stood on the first step before leaning in to kiss his cheek.  “Thank you…For everything”, before she moved slowly up the stairs.

Paul James stood still for a few seconds wa
tching her, his fingers touched his cheek where her lips had brushed his skin.  When she disappeared, his features hardened, and with determined steps he moved into the kitchen to talk with Mrs Mac.  Later, he finished the series of phone calls with the many people on his list before sitting back waiting for the many reports he had requested to be sent to his machine.

The first was the transcript of the court proceedings
, including pictures of the two female victims.  The first was a girl he didn’t recognise whom he took to be Susan, and the second was Mia.  He gasped as he looked through the pictures showing her injuries, his mouth tightening.  Mrs Mac filled in many of the gaps Mia had glanced over, including how badly she had been hurt.  She had spent three days in hospital with a broken arm, two fractured ribs and countless bruises and cuts.  Her face was puffy where she had obviously received a severe beating and Paul James was filled with a white hot anger.

Mrs
Mac also told him of just how much pressure she had been under to drop her testimony and the fact that her father had been a target for them also.  When a fire had started at his newspaper they tried to call it an accident, but everybody knew that it had been a way to get to Mia.  Mrs Mac spoke with such a look of pride.  “She is a fighter, that girl.  Even at 16 she stood by what was right.  Mia Drake was always determined…She wasn’t somebody who would let herself be pushed around…Especially not by the likes of Lucas Mathers”, she said with a hard look on her face.  With a soft sigh she had added, “She blamed herself for Susan’s death, felt that she had pushed her…But Susan Anderson wasn’t a suicidal girl…Lots of people didn’t believe that she killed herself…including me…but they quite literally buried the case…Adam Mathers is a very influential man around here”

Paul read through the other documents including the police reports on the death of Susan Anderson and when finished
found it to be after midnight.  Moving to his room, he once more heard the sounds of her in her sleep.  Moving into the room, he watched as she once more fought off her invisible assailant, her body soaked with perspiration as she thrashed around within the sheets. 

Whispering her name
, he sat by Mia’s side before pulling her into his arms.  This time she did not fight him, but clung to him, her small body still trembling, and as he whispered her name, she gently sighed his name back.  He looked down into her sleeping face in surprise as she wound her arms around his neck, her whole body hard against his as her lips kissed him.

He
was shocked at her kiss, but even more shocked at the desire which rushed through him as he kissed her back, before she pulled back from him with a small smile on her lips allowing herself to be gently placed back down on the pillow, the fear on her face now gone.  Gently covering her with sheets he then left the room still dazed by what had happened.

The next morning as
Mia entered the dining room for breakfast; she looked more refreshed and smiled a dazzling smile at him.  “Good morning”, she breezed gently.  Raising an eyebrow and looking over her with an admiring flick of his dark eyes he smiled back.  “Good morning to you…Sleep well?”, seeing as she nodded, helping herself to breakfast items which Mrs Mac had placed on the table earlier. “Like a baby”, she replied, before fixing him with a sombre look.  “Paul I’m so sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you”, she said with real feeling. “You rescue some woman with a flat tire and the next thing you know you’re involved in all this”, she said.