Chapter 60
The next day, a Monday, Lucy stayed in her bedroom again all day. I brought her trays of food which were barely touched. It was eerie how her actions mirrored mine in the days after the incident. Jack came back late from work. I had stayed home for Lucy.
‘How is she?’ he asked.
‘The same.’
‘I went to see Simon Perry today after leaving the Academy. I think he will be leaving ComStat and not coming back.’
‘What did you do? You confronted him? Did he admit it?’ I was flustered.
‘It’s okay. I dealt with him, like I said.’
‘What happened?’
‘I made a five o’clock appointment with him. He knew my face from TV, but he didn’t know I was Lucy’s dad. She mustn’t have told him.’ Was there slight disappointment in Jack’s voice? ‘I told him I wanted to invest with my shelf company, Orifin.’
‘Your what?’
‘I’m an actor, remember? And I needed him to take the meeting.’
‘In his office?’
‘A big meeting room overlooking the Arena. I had to ensure he got the message. He had a young guy bring us coffee while I played the part and then, when I heard all the doors closing and people outside saying goodbye for the night, I showed him the photos of Lucy’s bruises.
I told him who I was and that I knew exactly what he’d done.
He said she was asking for it. I suggested that we call his wife to get confirmation that he liked rough sex.
’ Jack’s hands were clenched into fists as he spoke.
‘Simon Perry was completely chilled out, the fucker. He threw some paper at me. “You need to read this. Lucy is obsessed with me.” He presented me with an email from Lucy to him, dated about two weeks ago. It was an apology for kissing him and in it she begged him not to fire her. She had put it all in writing.’
I was right. I felt nauseous.
Jack was keeping his voice even, but I could tell he was rattled. ‘Simon said that Lucy never objected. He accused me of trying to destroy his marriage over a one-night fling.’
Jack had shown him more of the photos. ‘I asked him how Lucy could have consented when she was unconscious. He said she wasn’t unconscious and that she had consented. I could tell he was lying. He thought I’d back off after I saw the email.’
‘Are you sure you don’t believe him?’ I asked Jack.
He looked at me incredulously. ‘Of course not. I lied to Simon that Lucy has made a full statement to our solicitor. I admitted that Lucy had had a crush on him but she never consented to being violently assaulted, because she was unconscious. I suggested he resign immediately or we would go to his wife and then to the guards. He stood up as if he was going to show me the door, so I kneed him in the balls to drive the message home. He could barely get off the floor. I said to him, “I thought you liked it rough.”’
As he was telling me this, Jack couldn’t keep the smirk off his face. ‘On rare occasions, it’s justified. I did it for Lucy.’
‘Absolutely,’ I said.