Chapter 3

As they lowered her husbands coffin into the wet earth Ellys only thought was of revenge, she knew the sense of hate and rage she was feeling was perfectly understandable but she also knew that its depth and ferocity were beyond anything she had previously experienced. As the rain drummed on the wooden box Elly bent down and taking a handful of wet earth threw it onto the coffin, in her mind she screamed in agony and torment as her mind was flooded by recalling all that had taken place, destroying not only her marriage but also it seemed to her, that her life itself had been blighted and poisoned. Standing in the cold wet cemetery she had never felt so empty, lonely and bereft of all hope.

A priest she didn't know had read the words and completed the ritual, with a professionally sad countenance he walked up to Elly and took her cold wet hands in his as he said, "So terribly sorry my dear, so terribly sorry, if there is anything... ?" Returning his gaze Elly shook her head and managed to say in a quiet voice, "Thank you but I'll be fine, thank you for doing the service, very good of you." Turning away from the hole in the ground Elly heard the shovels go to work, covering her husband up for ever!

Elly had been both surprised and gratified to see the large turn out for the funeral, all the girls from the flat were there as were about 40 other mourners, mostly friends from her past life with John. As she made her dignified way to the waiting car, her black court shoes crunching on the stony ground, each and every person came up to her whispering a word of comfort here and a hug of consolation there, Elly was grateful for them all!She had scanned the group for Sasha, her husbands gay lover but there was no sign of him or any of his associates, the police had said that he would do all he could to keep well away from her and any association with her husband despite the obvious fact that her husband was dead due entirely to him!

Ellys flat mates dark haired Alison and the blonde lesbians Janice and Linda surrounded her and guided her to the big black limozine which was purring gently waiting for her. Elly thought that despite the fact she had only known these girls a couple of months they were as good as family, better in many respects as each had taken turn to comfort and console Elly whenever they could. Alison had spent every night in Ellys bed, not for any sexual reason just to be there and to give a comforting hug when needed.

As she was about to get into the car Elly quickly glanced up at the black rain laden sky, then down to the wet mourners huddling into their coats to protect them from the cold rain all dressed in black, "How apposite," she thought, the sky and somber clothes were a perfect reflection of her own dark thoughts. Once in the car Elly noticed a large saloon car idling at the side of the road, instantly she recognised her friend from the library who turned out to be the policeman in charge of the investigation into the death of her husband. Their eyes met for a moment and Elly saw a small nod of the handsome blonde head to her and she answered with the same. As the car drove away from the cemetery Elly thought back to that night in the flat, they had all been drinking and participating in a free for all sex romp when the 10 days of unimaginable despair grief and shock began. Once again she began to recall some of the events and a shudder ran through her body, immediately she felt Alisons warm hand in hers and she gave up thanks for it!

Elly forced her mind to re-visit those first few hours of horror, despite the gentleness and professionalism of all involved Elly couldn't quite erase the image of her dead husband in the cold, damp eerie mortuary, there was no one else to do it and as she was still legally his wife Elly was obliged to make the formal identification, tears began to flow down her cheeks as she recalled the lifeless pale thing on the slab, she had nodded once and managed to sob, "Yes this is John Anders"

Alison and the other girls had accompanied Elly both to the mortuary and then the police station. She had learned that her husband had died on a flight from Jamaica and that a post mortem would be held to determine the cause of death although it was suspected that he had died from the effects of drugs in his system. Elly was both shocked and outraged at this as she made it clear to them that John had never been a drug user of any description. It later transpired that he wasn't using drugs he was carrying them inside his body, one of the condoms had either seeped or ruptured inside his gut and he died as a consequence.

Elly recalled the first police interview, it had taken place immediately after the identification and had been conducted with a very senior officer as well as detective Ally Calypso with a police woman present in case she was needed. Elly had found it difficult to concentrate on giving the right answers as her mind was having terrible difficulty in processing what had happened but she did her best although Elly did think some of the questions were more accusatory than she liked!

The interview took place in a small brightly lighted room with Elly on the other side of a small table from the two policemen. The older and senior man was in his late fifties, sparse of hair with what Elly thought were rather too trendy designer glasses for his age. Neither officer smiled their expressions blank and non-committal, in fact Elly thought they looked quite frightening and overly severe.

It became clear that the police were well aware of her husbands links to Sasha and even sashas links to Mills her landlord, she thought, "What the fuck has this to do with John? What the hell has my landlord and a gay gangster got to do with me!?" As the rain clattered on the roof of the car Elly recalled the interview, it seemed to her she learned more than they did, it had begun easily enough:

The detective Chief superintendent had asked,

"Firstly I need to know what to call you, I understand you now call yourself Whiteford?"

Elly answered, "Yes it is my maiden name, I started to use it when I was first separated."

The DCI nodded and went on, "OK Miss Whiteford, Tell me a little about your husband, just general background stuff?"

Elly tried to force her mind to respond but found it all but impossible to focus, she eventually managed to say, "Always thought him just a normal regular guy, a good husband, a good provider, a brilliant musician just an all round good guy!"

The neon strip light on the ceiling reflected on the bald pate of the senior policeman as he asked, "I'm sorry to ask, especially at this time, were you ever suspicious of his sexuality?"

Elly had been asking herself the same question since John had revealed his sexual preference and truthfully she couldn't think of a single incident which suggested that he was anything other than a straight guy who enjoyed healthy adventurous sex with his wife! Shaking her head vehemently she answered, "No! No! Never, everything was as it should be, I may be a little stupid but no way did I ever think him gay, in point of fact, I'll be straight with you, we were damn good in and out of bed!"

The DCI coughed not to clear his throat but went on, "Tell me how you met Sasha and what you thought of him?"

Elly re-told the story of the tearful confession on her settee and the smirking vicious smile on the little bastards face as John effectively ended her marriage. She deliberately omitted telling them of her visit with her flat mates to Sashas club, so it was with a little shock she heard the officer say, "Are you aware this isn't the first time one of Sashas ... shall we say boyfriends have been involved in doing his dirty work for him?Are you also aware that your landlord is up to his neck in the drugs and blackmail business as well?"

Not knowing how to respond Elly stuttered, "Blackmail? I'm sorry, I don't understand!"

Sitting back in his chair the DCI tried to explain, "Seems to me that your husband was everything you claim he was, yet somehow he found himself in a strange country being forced to act as a drugs mule for his boyfriend and sadly, very sadly, he paid the ultimate price." Stretching his lean frame he went on, "We believe Sasha regularly blackmails his boyfriends into doing such things for him, it's possible that your husband was told that unless he did as he was told you, Miss Whiteford, would be harmed even killed, such is the evil of this man!" Following a brief silence he went on, "We think that your husband was just one in a long line of men duped into doing Sashas bidding, I also have to tell you, a number of these young impressionable men have either been found dead or have never been seen again, I'm so sorry, at this moment in time, we are convinced that Sasha all but murdered your husband!"

Changing tack, the policeman asked, "Tell me M'dear, when was the last time you spoke to your husband? Days? Weeks? Months?"

Elly answered honestly by saying, "a couple of months, I was so disgusted and angry I severed all contact, I've heard nothing from him at all!"

The senior man nodded to the junior detective, giving Elly a compassionate little smile he said, "We currently think your husband has done something to upset the applecart, I mean Sashas applecart, we don't know what, however the word is there is a real sense of panic and worry within his organisation, therefore we think you should be ultra cautious in the next few weeks till we nail this guy once and for all! Also, keep using your maiden name, and if possible get yourself out of that flat, Mills is close to Sasha and also a seriously bad man! Lastly, if you hear anything we might find useful, please let us know but do so carefully, I'll give you a secure number, in fact my own direct line, memorise it and if I can help you I certainly will!"

As she sat in the car Elly felt a shiver of fear rush through her as she remembered that moment, for the implication was clear, Sasha plus Mills plus something John had done or hadn't done may spell danger for her if they ever connected the dots, Elly Anders was now Elly Whiteford! Eventually the police had seemed satisfied with her answers and had accepted that she had no knowledge of what her dead husband had been up to, it was apparent that John Anders had been the victim of loving the wrong person and that misguided love had cost him his life and now she had to be careful in case it cost hers as well!

Elly was brought back to the present by the scrunch of tyres on the gravel roadway, as the limozine made its way slowly away from the cemetery, Elly once again vowed revenge, she knew it would be costly perhaps even fatal, yet she knew, it had to be done!

After the traditional tea and sandwiches at a local hotel Elly and her flat mates returned home, as she sat on the edge of the bed Elly almost sighed with the sheer relief that it was over, yet she knew it wasn't over, not by a long chalk. she had already formed a basic plan and the sooner she got it going then the sooner she would have her day of justice! Alison Janice and Linda all sat on chairs or beds in the same room, lifting her head up Elly looked at each in turn and said,

"I cannot thank you all enough for the love and understanding and compassion you have shown me over the last couple of weeks," she paused and taking a sip of her cheap Spanish cognac went on, "you all know it was never my intention to stay here for any great length of time, that remains the case." Elly saw the disappointment in Alisons face and saw the tiniest tear dribble onto her cheek, she continued. "I think it best for all concerned that we all get the fuck out of here as soon as is possible, I'm going to stay on just long enough to do what I have to then go and get my life back on track." Glancing around the dowdy room she added, "This isn't me and I don't think it's any of you either, you are all so much better than a shithole like this!" Taking another much larger mouthful of the brandy Elly once again looked at her friends one at a time before going on, "In the next few days and weeks you may think my behavior both odd and out of character and you will be right, however in order to achieve what I want I'm going to allow myself to do things I wouldn't normally dream of and that includes girls, getting closer to Mills and thereby the little prick Sasha."

There was silence for a minute or so as they all tried to take in what she said, it was Alison who having looked at Janice and Linda said, "Elly honey, we have also been chatting about our futures and yes, you are dead right, we have to move on." Standing up then each of the girls came and stood by her and Elly was surprised as it was Linda who growled, "We are all with you Elly, whatever it takes, whatever we have to do then that's ok with us, we are in this with you and fuck the consequences!"

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, each wondering what the future actually held for them. It was Janice who suddenly stood up and said excitedly, "Did we tell you about Irene?I mean with everything that's happened I forgot to tell you all, she's only buggered off and bumped Mills for his rent, he'll be furious! She left a note on the hall table, wait and I'll get it!" She disappeared momentarily into the hall only to re-appear seconds later clutching a sheet of notepaper and some unopened mail, she said, "This was on the hall table last week, sorry girls, just slipped my mind and we must have missed seeing it with all the stuff going on and here is this mornings mail, I met the postman first thing this morning." She handed out the mail, 1 letter to Alison, 1 to Linda and 1 to Elly, barely glancing at it Elly said, "Come on, what does Irene say?"