Jackie leaned over and pressed her cold, soft body against me as she hugged me.
“Thanks.” she whispered.
“Okay,” I said forcibly removing her from me, “there are a few ground rules before we start.”
“Oh.” she asked startled.
“First.” I tried to say as kindly as I could, “Firstly, I am engaged to be married in a few months time.
You must respect that fact and not try to interfere with my relationship with my fiancée.”
“I won’t,” she whispered assuring me.
“Secondly, you must go home, clean yourself up and stay clean, fit and healthy and I’ll try to find you a job.”
“Will you?” she beamed.
“I’ll try.” I switched on the engine.
“Thirdly, you must promise me that you’ll get rid of all those pills and condoms and anything else that remind you of Elaine, and you’ll stop drinking and smoking and you’ll be a good girl.”
“Okay, I promise.” she nodded.
“And,” I turned to look at her, “you must promise to do everything I tell you to do.”
“What do you mean?” she asked curiously.
“Well, like if I tell you tomorrow you must go to the police and tell them everything.”
She looked at me puzzled. “Everything?” she asked.
“I’ll come with you if you want. They’ll probably only want to know what Elaine did to you, as I reckon she’s been arrested and blamed everything on you, but you must tell them everything, okay?”
“Okay,” she confirmed, “Anything you say.”
“Better get us home, now.”
As we drove home she asked me about my flat, my job and my fiancée.
“I’m really sorry,” Jackie sighed, “for spying on you.
It was just that you had something that I always wanted.”
“Such as?” I asked.
“I would look across and see you making love, then you’d kiss one another for a long while and then you’d lie in each other’s arms and talk for a long time, and then start all over again.”
I could feel acute embarrassment come over me while she continued.
“I wished I could be your girlfriend and be able to talk to you all night long about the things I feel, my fears and my plans for the future.
Up until now I haven’t had any future.
I hope you can help me, and I promise that no matter what you want me to do I’ll do it, anything whatsoever, just ask?”
“Maybe some day I’ll be able to repay you for your help.
I won’t let you down Brian.”
I patted her hand, which rested on her knee, and whispered.
“Don’t thank me yet, I haven’t done anything.”
She held my hand and squeezed it while smiling all the way home.
As we turned into our street she gasped in fear when she saw a police car outside her apartments. “They’ve found me,” she gasped frightened.
“They haven’t, at least, I hope they haven’t.”
I assured her as I drove past the police car and parked a few yards further on.
“Don’t worry,” I assured her, “the police are here to see me.”
“Why?” she asked with fear returning to her voice.
“One of my flatmates killed herself the other day and the police are trying to sort out the details.
Now go home and soak in a very hot bath for about an hour and then go to bed for a good nights sleep, and tomorrow we’ll try to sort something out, okay?”
“Okay.” she whispered, raising my hand to her lips and kissing it.
“And don’t do anything silly, now get out of here before somebody sees you.”
Jackie gathered up her bag and jacket saying, “Thanks Brian.” Looking over her shoulder to see if the way was clear she leapt from the car and was gone.
I waited a few moments before locking my car and walking the few yards home in the rain saying quietly to myself.
“Don’t thank me yet, honey, not yet.”
I took a deep breath to compose myself before I turned my key and gingerly entered the house.
I made my way to the living room where Sergeant MacDonald and a pretty policewoman joined the ‘family’ who rose to allow me sit in Aleesha’s chair.
“No honey,” I thanked her, “you stay where you are.” as I crossed to stand between Marcie and Debbie saying, “Kelly told me the whole story today is there any joy yet?”
“I’m afraid not Sir,” the sergeant answered, “there’s absolutely no joy yet, it looks like it will be up to yourselves or the state.”
Laying my hands over Marcie’s and Debbie’s. “I was afraid of that.”
“Well now,” he said rising as the policewoman followed suit,
“We’ve explained the procedure to your friends. We won’t take up any more of your time.
Call me if you have any questions, madam, we’ll see ourselves out, okay?”
Marcia called a tearful “Thank you” as the officers turned and exited as I slowly took my seat while Marcie sobbed.
“We’ve more or less decided that we must do something to save her from being buried in an unmarked grave - without as much as a Christian burial - or from the butchers of the medical college.”
“As you’re the newest person here and didn’t know her all that well, we would understand if you didn’t want to chip in with us.”
“No, count me in,” I enthused, “whatever you girls decide on, I’m part of the family now I’ll pay my share.”
“Okay,” Marcie concluded, “We’ll sleep on it.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll find out what it takes to do the decent thing, and we’ll speak further tomorrow night okay?”
I nodded saying, “Okay.” before we slowly exited for our rooms where I saw Jackie leaning out of her window, puffing on a cigarette.
When she saw me sitting on the edge of my bed looking at her she smiled across to me for the first time and gave me a cheery wave.
I smiled at her for a few seconds before motioning to her to go away, while I undressed for bed, to which she blew me a kiss and disappeared leaving me to ponder the events of the day alone, but never lonely.
“I can see Jackie needed help,” Emily agreed, “I just don’t know why you would want to help her.
Have you not got enough problems?”
“I felt in view of what had happened to Aleesha - if I could help I should.
I would not be able to live with myself knowing I could have helped someone, but walked away.
I know it was the root of all my problems and Tracey and Sarah, both, knew it too.”
“I had promised Tracey I wouldn’t have anything to do with ‘Suzy’, but I felt sure if Tracey knew what I now knew about what Jackie has lived through she would approve of me helping her.”
All I needed to do was to enlist the help of my ‘guardian angel’ Sarah if I was to help Jaclyn as I had no idea what to do with her.
She needed friends – she needed a job – she needed to get out of the rut she found herself in and I reckoned it was my duty to assist her and maybe protect her from getting into a life of crime - or prostitution - or worse.
“If only Aleesha had confided in me perhaps she wouldn’t have killed herself – that alone, at the time, Emily, was my biggest single regret.”