Chapter 45

Hanna’s Beauty Services was located in a comfortably-appointed open plan office that confirmed the business was no ‘Beauty Salon’ - stylishly furnished, it seemed quite deserted though to Robyn.

Robyn paused. Her eye caught something...?

There were further photographs of women on the walls of the corridor - all of whom were wearing both lingerie and an item of uniform. And, they all seemed to be watching the policewoman intently. Robyn uttered a sigh. Nurses. Stewardesses, Salvation Army girls. Policewomen and Prison Officers. And, both servicewomen from the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps and Women’s Royal Australian Air Force...

“Well, what do we have here...?” she asked herself.

Not all were in uniform. Some looked like Businesswomen or Office Girls...?

Caucasian. Half-caste Aboriginal or black Negress. Asian. Indian and Maori.

Along with what could only be described as glamorous ‘poster girl’ pictures of the women, there was a large photograph of an attractive ‘twenty something’ blonde kissing an older brunette.

“N-No...?” she gasped, studying the kissing women.

“It couldn’t be...?”

The brunette looked familiar...

“Inspector D’Constanzo?”

Inspector Maree D’Constanzo was the ‘Licensing Inspector’ and ‘Divisional Inspector’ – a veteran of the celebrated ‘Street Patrol’ under the legendary, Sergeant Elva Carr, the ‘forty something’ brunette had proved to be little more than a ‘petty bureaucrat’ in a policewoman’s uniform in the eyes of many at the Flemington Police Station, including Senior Constable Robyn Taylor,

“I don’t believe it...?”

Robyn however, couldn’t be sure if it was really Maree...?”

There had never been any suggestion she was a lesbian – a rumour but little else,

“What’s going on here?” Robyn wondered aloud.

Nor had Robyn ever seen the hard-faced ‘Divisional Inspector’ in anything but uniform...

“Well, this ain’t no ‘Beauty Salon’...?” she told herself.

Nor was it a brothel...?

Robyn tugged at the collar of her uniform shirt, turning from the photograph of the two women kissing.

She now surveyed the main office. Nothing stirred. The silence almost deafening.

Along the eastern wall, there were several comfortable-looking sofa lounges below a series of large windows overlooking Kensington and the suburbs beyond. Royal Park and North Melbourne.

A number of lounge chairs were scattered about the office with the occasional coffee table or desk,, giving ‘Hanna’s Beauty Services’ the appearance of any one of the corporate office lounges now to be found in the renovated warehouses in this part of Kensington.

But, there were several more large posters of naked and lingerie-clad ‘twenty something’ women on both the walls of the room as well. Some in uniform. A few also in lingerie. But mostly in the nude.

And, these now attracted Robyn’s attention as she stood at the end of the corridor from reception.

Her mind was still on Inspector Maree D’Constanzo when she saw another photograph of the older brunette kissing another woman - this time she was wearing a the short-sleeved pale-blue uniform shirt of a policewoman, with epaulettes and the rank insignia of an ‘Inspector’...

“What have I got myself into...?”

Prostitution was flourishing. A lucrative business. But, lesbianism was still against the law too.

And, this was all so blatant.

Not that she could really identify Maree for sure in this photograph either, but if it was the ‘Divisional Inspector/ in the picture, she was now kissing a dark-skinned woman in a Muslim headscarf.

A beautiful Somalia woman in a hijab...?

Another poster featured a blonde wearing the distinctive uniform of the Women’s Royal Australian Navy...?

Senior Constable Robyn Taylor now noticed a portrait of the Muslim woman a little further along the wall. There were also pictures of Chinese and West Indian girls in lingerie either side of the Somali,

“What is Hanna’s Beauty Services?” she asked herself – Robyn’s curiosity had been aroused and she thought that the photographs might just provide some clue...?

“Oh...?”

Her eyes fixed on yet another large photograph.

“Lynn Goodchild?” she exclaimed, recognising the blonde.

The photograph on the far side of the room, was of the ‘disgraced’ former Constable Lynn Goodchild,

Beside it, yet another picture she thought looked remarkably like the ‘disgraced’ former Constable Victoria Thorne – another policewoman caught ‘moonlighting’ as a prostitute and dismissed from the Victoria Police...

“What the...?”

Robyn now remembered the blonde ‘policewoman’ portrayed in the poster downstairs.

“Surely, it couldn’t be...?” she told herself.

The ‘disgraced’ blonde policewoman’s photograph had appeared in the tabloid newspapers when she’d been arrested earlier in the year. Along with Victoria, she’d served six months in the notorious ‘Fairlie’ Women’s Prison, where it was said, the ‘disgraced’ policewomen were used by Prison Officers and Prisoners, as lesbian ‘sex slaves’ for most of their incarceration,

“N-No...?”

“You’re just imagining this...” Robyn assured herself.

The wide-eyed policewoman bit her lip.

She was glad nonetheless, that she had come to Hanna’s Beauty Services and not Joanna.

Robyn took a step and looked back at the photograph of the Muslim and ‘policewoman’ kissing by the doorway - could that really be Inspector Maree D’Constanzo and a Somali woman...?

If the ‘Divisional Inspector’ were somehow involved, then Joanna Louise Parrish had been set up by Senior Sergeant Monica Draper. But why...?

It had only been twelve months since the ‘Crimes Act’ had been amended - lesbianism was no longer a crime per se, but it was still illegal, though it had been some time since any lesbian had been brought before the courts for ‘Gross Indecency’ as cunnilingus had been prescribed by law.

Nonetheless, prostitution was still illegal.

Legislation imposed certain restraints on both brothels and ‘Escorts’...

“Mmmm...?”

The policewoman now looked around for some sign that there was somebody present,

“First things first...?”

There was a woman in the corner office.

“Hello there...?” Robyn called - the woman was leaning over a desk and had her back to Robyn.

A blonde. Strangely familiar,

“Hello...?”

She appeared to be looking out over Baillieu Street – the woman’s office was really just a small room separated from the main room by several large windows and a glass door. White blouse. And, a grey ‘pencil line’ and stylish shoes, the blonde looked more like a businesswoman than anything else,

“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting anything...?” Robyn added - her eyes focussed on the woman.

Was this ‘Hanna’...?

From her vantage point on the third floor, the woman had a breath-taking vista of Baillieu Street and the Kensington Railway Station,

“Ummm...?”

Robyn hesitated. She waited a moment for the woman to respond.

The door to her small office was open. And by the looks of it, was rarely if ever, closed. And from where she stood, Robyn could see everything the woman did.

Slowly, Robyn licked at her trembling lips. There was something about this blonde.

Senior Constable Robyn had now come to terms with her lesbianism - she’d had sex with ‘Mistress Rebecca; Campbell and several of her prostitutes only the previous week. And, she was living with Sergeant Tess Gallagher too. More often than not, she would regularly share a bed with Teresa Annette Gallagher, as she had with Senior Constable Rosemary ‘Rosie’ Egan – Constable Joanna Parrish and Constable Maggie Doyle as well...

“Mmmm...?”

“So, is this Hanna...?” she asked herself in a whisper.

Continuing to lick suggestively at her moist lips, Robyn looked the unsuspecting woman over - there was something that fascinated the policewoman about this blonde.

“ ... is she really a ‘Pimp’ eh...?”

Senior Constable Robyn Taylor closed her eyes. She’s had an illicit ‘fuck’ with her first prostitute as a young ‘trainee’ policewoman, at the ‘Wild Cherries’ Bar in Melbourne. And then, there had been that ‘Stripper’ and Senior Constable Rochelle De La Rue at ‘The Tunnel’ Nightclub. There had also been a drunken ‘Acting’ Sergeant Senior Constable Lindy Schroeder at the ‘Victoria Police Association’ Club in McKenzie Street a year before. That had been the reputation that she had brought to Flemington...

“Excuse me...?”

‘The Black Widow’ had not been all that forthcoming with information in her note. And, the dossier had suggested very little – nobody knew anything about ‘Hanna’ or Hanna’s Beauty Services...?

In fact, nobody was even sure if there was a ‘Hanna’ at all...?

Senior Constable Robyn Taylor had checked the ‘Victoria Police’ database without success.