Just a Country Girl

After final submissions and directions from the judge the jury retired. The fact that it took more than two hours probably meant that the voyeurs on the panel wanted to sit through the entire video of the incident. After deliberating for three and a bit hours a guilty verdict was returned.

The Commission hearing came two days later. We called the girls and each of them were taken through their affidavit and questioned closely about the events. They gave their testimonies in a clear and concise manner free of histrionics and anger. They gave evidence that they had each sought treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Then we called a computer expert who gave evidence of tracking the data entry and print logs in the computer server and finding that entries had been made on each of their personnel files on the day that they stated that they had lodged a complaint and that another entry deleting the previous entry was logged on either the same day or the next day, evidence that records had been deleted.

Our next witness was the clincher. Hilary McDermott was their Personnel Manager and we were going to ask if she could recall the complaints. What came next surprised even us, she gave evidence that it was she to whom the girls had made the accusations and that she had entered the details on the relevant complaints form. When she had taken the matter up with the Senior Mr Blenkiron she was ordered to destroy the complaint form so that, in his words; 'this has never happened.' So she shredded the forms. But what she did do was to keep a copy of the complaints on an external hard drive that she could plug into the USB port on her terminal. We now have a record of every complaint, every cover up.

The girls and I adjourned to a coffee shop to celebrate. The company was fined a record amount because, not only were the complaints ongoing over a period of time, but the cover-up was a deliberate attempt to deny the girls' justice.

Huw caused a stir when he came in to take me home. When he first entered the coffee shop their eyes were drawn to him, he looked vaguely familiar and as he approached our table you could almost feel the lust, then when he took me in his arms and kissed me, the exhaling of breath was deafening. "You sneak, where have you been hiding him?"

"Down girls, he's mine, aren't you darling?" I turned my face to him and he acknowledged it with a passionate kiss that left them in no doubt of our love.

"I have one final thing to do before we go home." I said to him as we got in the car, "will you take me to the hospital."

We walked down the corridor to the Intensive Care Unit and the nurses greeted me as a regular visitor. They already knew the result of the rape trial, the hearing was the final hurdle in the justice process. "How did the hearing go?"

"Great, it's all over."

"We're glad, now all we need is for Chrissie to get better."

She was exactly as she had been the last time I saw her, barely visible under the tubes and wires that have kept her alive for so long. The only sounds above the general hum of the hospital were the hiss of the respirator and the heart rate monitor, b-e-e-p, b-e-e-p, b-e-e-p, b-e-e-p, its incessant tone the only real sign of life.

I leaned over and kissed the small patch of face available, "Chrissie, it's Tracy, can you hear me?" Beep, beep, beep, beep. Her eyes opened and there was a hint of recognition for the first time in months. Beep, beep, beep, beep. "Chrissie darling we did it. He's going away for a long time for what he did to you, and others, but especially you. You have been avenged." Her smile widened, then her eyes closed. B-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-p .