Ta muchly for the kind reviews and apologies for the delay in updating. Family commitments and a lousy head cold, basically!

Anyway, here goes …

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xxxxx

Chapter 7

The following morning the two women arrived back at the hospital to be given the good news that Jason was due to be taken off sedation, subject to the consultant's examination. Lorraine's relief was palpable and Faye was just giving her a hug when there was a tap at the door and David appeared.

"May I come in, ladies?"

Lorraine's eyes widened for a second and Faye suppressed a smirk. She suspected most women had the same reaction in the face of such male perfection.

"Lorraine, this is DCI Walsh, he's in charge of the case. Is it OK if he joins us?"

Her friend nodded, standing to shake his hand.

"Of course. Nice to meet you, DCI Walsh."

He flashed her a smile.

"David will be fine. I prefer not to stand on ceremony. How's the patient this morning?"

Faye noticed the grimace as he took in Jason's injuries. Lorraine stroked Jason's hair back off his forehead, a gesture at once tender and possessive.

"Better, thanks. Hopefully he should be fully conscious again later today."

"That's very good news. Um … is it OK if I ask you a couple of questions? Faye filled me in on recent events but there's the odd thing I need to check with you."

"Fire away."

Lorraine took a seat and waited expectantly while David propped his long lean body up against the wall.

"Did Jason say or do anything in the last few weeks to make you think he was being threatened? Was he evasive, worried, distracted at all?"

Lorraine thought for a moment and then shook her head firmly in denial.

"Not that I remember. In fact, quite the opposite. He seemed happy and relaxed, and really enthusiastic about his future plans. He's even been looking at potential properties the last few days."

David pouted thoughtfully and Faye managed to resist sighing like a besotted schoolgirl.

"Can you think of anyone who might be bearing a grudge or want to harm him? Maybe someone from his former life?"

Lorraine shrugged, biting her lip thoughtfully.

"I'm sure he must've trodden on a few toes in the past, but I wasn't involved in that side of his life then. At least not until his arrest …"

"And you're sure you've never seen the woman in the photos before?"

Lorraine fixed him with an arch look.

"Positive. Believe me, if I'd seen her sniffing around Jason I would've remembered …"

His mouth threatened to curve into a smile and he covered it with a cough, catching Faye's eye and making her smirk.

"Fair enough. Ladies, I'm in need of a caffeine injection. Can I get you something masquerading as coffee?"

"Please."

Lorraine nodded gratefully as Faye moved towards the door.

"I'll give you a hand …"

xxxxx

"Lucky man, that Jason."

David smiled down at her and her heart did a little skip.

"Yeah, she's pretty devoted to him."

His smile widened.

"I was actually thinking more about him having two gorgeous women to fuss over him. But now you mention it, she does seem pretty smitten."

Did he just call me gorgeous? Faye felt the blush rising in her cheeks as they rounded the corner heading in the direction of the drinks machine. Glancing down the corridor she stopped dead in her tracks, clutching David by the arm, all embarrassment forgotten.

"Look …"

A young woman had just stepped out of the lift and was checking the map of the fourth floor on the wall in front of her. Faye had gazed at enough photographs of that face in the last couple of days to recognise it immediately. There was another shock in store, however, when the woman turned and began to walk swiftly in their direction. The photos Faye had taken were all of her left profile. They hadn't revealed the black eye and the purple and yellow bruising along her right cheek bone. That's why Jason reached out to touch her face.

As she approached Faye opened her mouth to speak, but David was quicker.

"Excuse me. Are you by any chance here to see Jason Grant?"

The young woman blinked up at him in some confusion.

"I … yes. How did you know that?"

"Long story, love."

He flashed his warrant card.

"DCI Walsh. I need to ask you a few questions."

Her eyes widened and she took a step back.

"I ain't talking to the Old Bill. Not unless you promise not to nick me, anyway."

David stuck his hands in his pockets and swayed back on his heels.

"And why would I want to do that?"

She glanced up at the ceiling and then back at him, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms defensively.

"Because I used to work for Jason back in the day. I was one of his girls."

"Ah. Well, you've nothing to worry about then. I don't work in Vice and I've no interest in how you may or may not earn a living. I just want to find the bastards that beat Jason Grant to a pulp and left him for dead."

For a moment she looked horror-struck, and then tears welled up in her eyes and her face crumpled.

"Oh God. P .. poor Jason. And its … all …m .. my fault …"

She was sobbing uncontrollably now, her shoulders shaking, and Faye stepped in, taking her by the arm and leading her to a seat. She mouthed "Coffee?" at David and he nodded and immediately got busy with the machine. The young woman looked up, searching Faye's face for reassurance through her tears.

"Will he be alright? He's not …?"

Faye took her hand and squeezed it.

"He'll be fine. There's a lot of bruising and a couple of broken ribs, but he's not in any danger."

"Oh, thank God."

She slumped back in her chair. David placed a coffee on the table in front of her and she reached for it gratefully. He lowered his tall rangy body into a seat opposite, fishing a notepad and pen from his pocket.

"You up to answering a few questions, love?"

Rallying slightly, she cocked her head to one side and studied him for a long moment.

"You sure you're a copper? They're not usually so good-looking."

"I really am. Honest. Had to find something to do when the modelling work dried up, after all."

He smiled and Faye looked away to hide a smirk. The young woman narrowed her gaze.

"Shaggable and a sense of humour? Now I know you must be lying."

He chuckled, opening the notepad.

"OK, first things first. What's your name, love?"

There was a glint in her eye as she leant forwards and whispered seductively.

"What would you like it to be?"

Faye snorted and David shook his head ruefully.

"Walked right into that one, didn't I?"

"Sorry, force of habit. Its Jacks … Jacqueline … Mason."

She smiled, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"And this is Faye. She's friend of Jason's."

xxxxx

Faye watched David work and had to admit she was impressed. He put Jacks immediately at ease, found out that she'd been one of Jason's girls right up until his arrest and then she'd ended up working the streets again until recently.

"Then one of my mates tipped me off that some new bloke had moved into Jason's old patch so I thought I'd go and see him, just on the off-chance. It might not seem much of a life to the two of you but believe me, having a roof over your head and some regulars beats being 'out there' any day. At least you can be a bit choosy, you know?"

She paused to sip her coffee again.

"Anyway, I met the guy and he seemed OK. Bit sleazy, maybe, but most of 'em in his line of work are. Except Jason, he was straight as a die. Looked after us, never took advantage or sampled the goods. Shame, really, we'd have all been more than willing. I mean have you seen him? He could give this one a run for his money!"

She flashed David a flirtatious smile and Faye felt an unexpected stab of jealousy somewhere beneath her rib-cage. What's that all about? He's hardly likely to be interested in a prostitute, is he? As if sensing her discomfort, David prompted Jacks to continue.

"So. Presumably he took you on, then?"

Jacks nodded.

"Yeah. And everything was alright for a while. I got settled, picked up a few regulars fairly quickly. Should've known it wouldn't last though, some of the other girls warned me he could be 'hands on' if he fancied you … God, I could do with a ciggie."

She sighed, gnawing nervously on a cuticle instead.

"Well, long story short, turns out he did fancy me, he'd just been biding his time. He came to my room one night and demanded a blow-job, made it pretty clear if I didn't take good care of him I'd be out on my ear. He wasn't much of a looker and his personal hygiene left a lot to be desired, but I didn't want to go back on the streets …"

She shuddered, not needing to explain further.

"I hoped he'd leave me alone after that, move on to someone else, but he came back a few days later and when I refused he turned nasty. Pushed me down, grabbed me by the hair and tried to force me."

"Bastard …"

Faye spat the word out, reaching up to squeeze her shoulder in a gesture of female solidarity. Jacks flashed her a grateful smile and sucked in a deep calming breath.

"Anyway, I panicked and struggled. Ended up biting him, and that's when he gave me this." She indicated the black eye. "He went mad, yelling and cursing, calling me all the names under the sun. Then he grabbed me again and tried to pin me down on the bed, and I knew he was going to rape me. I managed to knee him in the balls then I grabbed my bag and legged it down the stairs and out the front door, kept running until I was sure nobody was chasing me. My legs were like jelly so I dodged into the first place I spotted that I thought I'd be safe ... "

She glanced between David and Faye.

"I was in a real state, didn't know what to do, who to call, and while I was flicking through the contacts on my phone Jason's name came up. I'd heard he was out but I didn't know if the number was still current, so I just sent a text on the off-chance. Five minutes later he called me back, offering to come and find me, help me out. I couldn't believe he'd do that for me, but that's Jason. Heart of gold."

Faye breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that her instincts had apparently been right all along. Maybe Lorraine's faith in him is justified after all …

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xxxxx

Jason Grant – bad boy or reformed character? Discuss!

I felt there were several hints during the episode that while he might have had a lurid past, maturity had wrought some changes. Seemed he was liked and respected by his 'girls', and his relationship with Lorraine could well have been the catalyst for future improvement. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Do let me know.