* * *
Ed Sanders sat with his wife in one of the interview rooms, staring at her, in total disbelief at what she had just said only a few seconds earlier. ‘This is a joke, right, Katy? Please, tell the officer the truth. He was there. The kid was there with you in our bed. He forced you. Are you going to deny it was him?’
‘Of course I am!’ Katy said and turned to the officer. ‘I don’t know why my husband is making up this ridiculous story for. I was not raped. The sex was purely consensual and it was not Rex Cassidy. All I can think of is that he hates the boy so much, because of all the trouble he has with him at school. He talks about him all the time and how he wants to teach him a lesson. Sure, the boy is a very good looking kid, but I’m a professional. I would never make advances on my students. One thing’s for sure, I wouldn’t try to lure one of them into my classroom after class just to be alone with him.’ Katy sent a piercing stare to her husband.
‘What? What are you talking about,’ muttered Ed, trying his best to cast her a warning with his eyes. The last thing he wanted was for his dirty laundry to be aired in front of the police. In fact, he was horrified that Katy even knew about that. Perhaps Rex had told her about it.
Katy continued, with the glare still on her face. ‘You wouldn’t see me deliberately failing a student just because he or she rejected my advances.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Sanders said.
‘Please, can you stick to the main details please?’ the interviewing officer asked. ‘Ms Grainger, are you telling us that you were not raped?’
‘I was not raped!’
‘And none of this involved your student Rex Cassidy?’
‘Not at all. He’s never even been in our house.’
‘That’s a lie!’ Sanders snarled.
‘No it’s not and you know it’s not.’
Sanders stared at her exasperated, unable to believe she was blatantly lying to the police. Before he could retaliate though, the officer spoke again, ‘So are you saying that you didn’t have anyone in your bed that evening?’
Katy shook her head. ‘I’m not saying that. I most definitely did have someone there. I’m not proud of it and it was someone from the school.’
Sander’s eyes widened. This was all becoming too much for him and he wanted to scream at her and shake the truth out of her, but he couldn’t as long as the officer was there.
‘Who was it?’ the officer asked.
‘The PE teacher. Dave Harris.’
Sanders gasped. ‘You have got to be kidding me. Why, Katy, why are you doing this to me? Why are you lying? Do you not realise that by saying this stuff you are putting me in a terrible position?’
‘No more terrible than what you were trying to put me in by trying to get me to make false allegations against one of our students. It’s not me that’s doing the lying.’
Sanders swung his head to face the officer. ‘Mr Harris. Bring him in. Question him. You’ll see that she’s lying!’
‘He’s already on his way,’ Katy said.
‘What?’ Sanders stared. He turned to the officer. ‘What about Ms Cann? Has she given her statement? She will support me on just how despicable this lad is!’
‘She has given her statement and everything she has said about Rex Cassidy is positive.’
‘What?’ Sanders recoiled.
‘She said only good things about him. Nothing that would suggest he is capable of rape.’
Sanders clamped his eyes shut in despair. The one ally he thought he had, had stabbed him in the back and done the exact opposite of what they had agreed.
‘In fact, Ms Cann corroborates your wife’s story that you have a vendetta against this lad. Seems to believe you are trying to set him up for a crime he hasn’t committed.’
The door to the interview room entered and Gloria appeared. ‘Mr Harris is here from the school. He’d like to say something.’
‘Fantastic!’ Sanders beamed as Mr Harris entered. ‘Now we’ll see who’s telling the truth.’
Katy rose to her feet. ‘Dave!’
Mr Harris smiled broadly and he strode in and took her in his arms. Much to Sander’s horror he delivered her a long sensuous kiss on the lips.
‘Well,’ the officer said as they continued to kiss. ‘Seems that settles that then...’