Chapter 5

Laura Anne Nicholson smiled.

It was a warm afternoon. And, the twenty-eight-year-old brunette relished the reassuring warmth of the late afternoon sun.

Though it was ostensibly Winter, Fortitude Valley like the rest of southern Queensland, basked in an Indian Summer – a dry thirty degrees Celsius at three o’clock on a quiet Tuesday.

The former ‘Miss Queensland Police’ had been rostered with ‘Trainee’ Constable Rhonda Kellaway once again. But she didn’t mind. If anything, Constable Laura Nicholson now saw Rhonda Michelle Kellaway as almost her ‘loyal lieutenant’ within the Fortitude Valley ‘Women Police’ Section.

Articulate and intelligent, the attractive blonde was normally quietly spoken and reserved – the ‘trainee’ had proved herself more than once.

She had dealt with Detective Sergeant ‘Long John’ Kensington.

And, there was no longer any real concern over the official ‘Witch Hunt’ that Chief Commissioner Terry Lewis and Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Murphy had instituted earlier in the year, or so the policewomen believed – no more policewomen had been dismissed from the Queensland Police for lesbianism, but Detective Superintendent ‘Wild Bill’ McKenzie had been forced to retire, so the former ‘Miss Queensland Police’ had lost her mentor. Nevertheless, she was satisfied for the moment.

Senior Sergeant Yvonne Webster and the notorious ‘Madam’ of ‘The Mayfair’ Massage Parlour, Lucinda ‘Juicy Lucy’ Sanderson, however, were not so sure...?

They both suspected that the newly-appointed Chief Commissioner Terry Lewis and his corrupt ‘Rat Pack’ threatened everything – the Queensland Police were now taking control of Vice and Prostitution in the ‘Red Light’ District of Fortitude Valley, and there was little they could do about it...

Constable Laura Nicholson watched in silence as ‘Trainee’ Constable Rhonda Kellaway wrote out the Parking Ticket – the former ;Miss Queensland Police’ was no longer the only brunette stationed at the ‘Slut Squad’ for Constable Sonya Gallagher had arrived as a ‘replacement’ for the ‘disgraced’ former Senior Constable Cheryl Anne Blake. The new brunette was working ‘Foot Patrol’ with ‘Probationary’ Constable Veronica Cartwright in Barry Parade.

Sonya Eloise Gallagher had shared a bed with the former ‘Miss Queensland Police’ at the Oxley ‘Police Training Academy’ – she had gone to school with the illegitimate daughter of the ‘Madam’ at ‘The Fantasia’ Health Studio, so it was probably no surprise the thirty-year-old brunette had wanted to work Barry Parade, for she had quickly facilitated an intimate ‘relationship’ between the Fortitude Valley ‘Women Police’ and both ‘The Fantasia’ and ‘The Mayfair’ now...

“What is it...?” asked Laura.

Rhonda hesitated – she looked across the illegally-parked car at Laura, but said nothing,

“I know,” continued the brunette, “You want to ask me something, Rhonda?”

Pausing, the blonde ‘trainee’ remained silent.

Both policewomen wore ‘Winter’ uniform.

Blue long-sleeved shirts – collars loosened with a dark-blue tie.

Versace sunglasses. Another trademark of Queensland policewomen.

Dark-blue uniform mini-skirts, matching tight-fitting jackets and flesh-coloured issue pantyhose and the usual polished black high-heeled ‘pumps’...

“S-Sonya...?” queried Rhonda finally.

She slipped the ticket beneath the parked car’s windscreen wiper,

“S-Sonya...?” enquired Laura – she leant back against the rear door to ‘The Paragon’ Café,

“You arranged her transfer, didn’t you?” Rhonda asked – Laura nodded.

“But, that’s not what you really want to know, is it, Constable Kellaway...?”

“N-No...” conceded the blonde ‘trainee’...

“It’s none of my business, I know?” she added,

“But I was just curious, if you know what I mean, Laura?” Rhonda explained.

She paused again.

Shouldering her issue handbag carefully, she lingered on the far side of the car. Fortitude Valley was quiet - the silence almost deafening.

Rhonda Michelle Kellaway knew that Sonya Eloise Gallagher had shared a bed with the former ‘Miss Queensland Police’ at the Oxley ‘Police Training Academy’ – that was no secret...

“Samantha Richardson?”

“Is she ‘sleeping’ with Sonya...?”

Laura nodded,

“Is that a problem, Rhonda...?”

The blonde policewoman shook her head,

“Why do you ask, Constable Kellaway...?”

“M-Miss Lucy...?” replied Rhonda,

“What about ‘Juicy Lucy’ huh...?” the ‘trainee’ asked,

“ ... a conflict of interest may be, Rhonda?” she wondered, joining the former ‘Miss Queensland Police’ in the rear doorway to ‘The Paragon’ Café,

“If that’s what you’re wondering, Constable Nicholson...?”

Cheyenne and Angelique, the ‘disgraced’ former Senior Constable Cheryl Anne Blake and Samantha ‘The Cunt’ Thompson, all worked with Brandi-Lee and Kelli-Anne for ‘Juicy Lucy’ Sanderson at ‘The Mayfair’ Massage Parlour. But, the ‘trainee’ policewomen knew little about Samantha Richardson and ‘The Fantasia’ Health Studio in Barry Parade, Fortitude Valley...

“We can’t really afford to take too many risks these days, can we?”