Donna Harding had
enjoyed a
successful career in the Downshire Constabulary, due to her diligence and hard
work she had reached the rank of Detective Constable.
And had done so largely without regrets but she had arrived in her early thirties with her integrity,
looks and figure intact, but she still lived the existence of a singleton.
She had friends a
plenty and an abundance of family whom by and large she adored, and she had a
romantic interest in her life but she still lived alone and that was because
her lover was a woman called Claire, and after a year they had not yet had the
courage to announce it to the world, and it was thoughts of Claire that filled
her head when she was on the road to Millmoor in late April.
Millmoor was in the
northeast corner of Downshire and was once a Military town, well actually it
was always an army town, until the defence cuts tore out its heart.
Now the quarters had
been refurbished and sold to eager would be homeowner’s, the old parade grounds
had been dug up and replaced with new shoe-box like dwellings in the modern
style and the garages, workshops, barracks and stores buildings were now
occupied by small business’s.
Millmoor had however
retained the Aerospace Britannia Company which was a huge employer in the area,
but the town missed the peripheral business which a military establishment
brings to a town so consequently the town of Millmoor was not as prosperous as
it had once been, their former Football League club had gone bankrupt and now
languished two divisions below their former rivals Abbottsford Town.
Having said all that
it was not an unpleasant place to be and the people did not live in abject
poverty and it had attracted an influx of newcomers including a sizable
community of Australians, and that was why Emma was headed there because she
and the rest of the Harding clan were from Australia and it was a big clan.
But seeing Claire was
only part of the reason she was on the road to Millmoor with a car full of
relatives, one was family and another being ANZAC Day.
Donna was a small slim
blonde and looked like a breath of wind could blow her over, but despite her diminutive
stature she was extremely strong and had whippet like speed and subsequently
there was more than one criminal now enjoying “her majesties pleasure” because
they underestimated her.
She was travelling in
the car with her sister Emma and they were as different as chalk and cheese,
Donna was quiet, thoughtful and passive whereas Emma was a fiery character, tall
slender and redhaired.
Emma was driving, and
her driving style was at best described as exhilarating but to most people it
was more terrifying than exhilarating.
In fact, it was too
terrifying for most people and Donna was the only person who wasn’t bothered by
it but then she was immune to her sisters driving because she was actually worse.
Emma turned the wheel
violently to the left and shot across both lanes of the dual carriage way and
onto the slip road, sign posted Millmoor; it was a dangerous manoeuvre to
attempt at the best of times but when she did it, it was lashing down, and
visibility was poor.
After several more
stomach-churning manoeuvres Emma indicated and turned into Montgomery road and
then right into Churchill Court, where the small, neat houses were arranged in
tidy formations like platoons of soldiers on a parade ground and then she
screeched the car to a halt, half on the pavement, in front of a small parade
of seven shops the middle one being an Indian takeaway
“Ok Donna!” Emma said,
“where’s your girlfriend?”
“She’s not my
girlfriend she’s just my friend” Donna insisted, and Emma smiled because she
knew they were more than just friends, she just wished she’d finally come out
of the closet.
From Donna’s point of
view there was the added complication of the fact that Claire was a Kiwi and
Donna wasn’t sure which thing her family would find more unpalatable the fact
that she was Gay or that the girl she was in love with was from New Zealand.
Since her divorce Claire lived in a small flat above the Indian, and
access was via a door between the takeaway and the betting shop.
“I thought she was going to be ready and waiting”
“She was” Donna said “Something must be wrong”
“Go and get her then”
Emma said and turned the engine off
Donna exited the car and hurried across the pavement and when she
reached the door, she ran headlong up the stairs which was Emma’s cue to get
out of the car.
When Donna reached the top of the stairs, she could see the door was
open and there was a lot of shouting and commotion, she couldn’t make out
everything that was being said, but it was angry, she recognized that.
She resisted the urge to charge right in and instead she paused to look
through the crack in the door and what she saw horrified her, a scruffy unkempt
man picked Claire up and threw her across the room, she was a small skinny
woman and weighed next to nothing, so it looked like he had just thrown a rag
doll, then as she lay on the floor, he kicked her in the ribcage.
Donna took a breath and made her move, fortunately she and Emma had
driven to Millmoor straight after their shift ended so she still had her batten
in her pocket, so with a swish of her arm it deployed to its full length.
As she entered the room the man was holding Claire by the hair with one
hand and punching her with the other and shouting as he did so and with his
constant shouting and the sickening sound of his fist on her face, he didn’t
hear Donna enter the room.
When she stood behind him, she struck him hard on the side of his knee
which got him down to her level and then she struck him on the side of the head
as he turned to look at his assailant and then she punched him square in the
face and breaking his nose just as Emma burst through the door.
“Jesus” she said, and Donna
signalled to her with her eyes, so she read the assailant his rights and put
handcuffs on him while Donna tended to her beaten and bloodied girlfriend.
“Oh my God” Emma said, “is she ok?”
“Can you call for an ambulance?” Donna said
And as Emma ran down the stairs, she heard Donna say
“I’ve got you now babe”
The Ambulance and
Police arrived together, and the paramedics quickly dealt with Claire and got
her on board and Donna went along with her lover, while Emma stayed and gave a
statement, and handed over the prisoner to the local officers before making her
way to the hospital.
Donna was sat in
reception at the emergency department when Emma arrived and when she sat down next
to her sister and put her arm around her to comfort her, she completely broke
down.
“I really love her”
she sobbed
“I know” Emma said
“How could you know?”
“Everybody knows” Emma
said
“Everybody? But I
never told anyone” Donna sobbed
“Not even Claire”
“She knows” Emma
responded
“But I’ve never told
her” she admitted
“But she still knows”
When the police
arrived to take Donna’s statements, it was the same two PC’s who Emma had already
given her statement to.
“Did you know the man who attacked your friend?” one of the PC’s asked
“My girlfriend” Donna corrected him
“Excuse me?” he asked
“She’s my girlfriend” Donna said, and Emma squeezed her hand, Donna had
come out of the closet at last.
