Lynda Plante: The Talisman

She cupped his face in both hands and kissed him, lightly and swiftly, and it took his breath away. He could smell her perfume and face powder. ‘Why don’t we move three paces across the room to the bed?’ she said.

Alex could hardly form the words, he coughed and said something about Johnny — what if he was to walk in? Dora hopped off his knee and locked the door. She strolled over to the bed and unhooked her bra. Standing with her back to him, she tossed it aside and lay on the bed, lifting her arms to him invitingly.

‘I can’t, I can’t.’ He went to the door and reached for the lock, but instead he flipped off the light and stood in the dark waiting until he could make out her shape clearly.

‘I’ve never been with a woman, Dora, I don’t know what to do.’

Dora took his hand and began to undress him. He moaned, but he didn’t know what to do with his hands, they hung at his sides. She unbuttoned his shirt, loosened his tie, and whispered that he didn’t have to do anything, just relax and she would teach him everything he needed to know.

She took a long time removing each item of his clothing, laying them down carefully while he stood frozen, unable to speak. His chest was now bare, and she kissed each nipple until he felt he would scream out, then she began to unbutton his flies, and slowly got down on her knees to kiss him. He gripped her shoulders tight. ‘No, don’t do that, don’t.’

Dora eased herself up and pulled him close, whispering that he would like it, like what she was going to do — but she could feel his strong arms picking her up. ‘I thought I was supposed to be teaching you.’

He laid her on the bed and removed his trousers, kicked off his shoes. He had lost his erection, and he sat on the side of the bed, unsure of himself, but she held him and began to kiss his neck softly, licking inside his ears. Her hands fluttered slowly over his body, and his heart began to thump. He lay down and closed his eyes.

She eased herself on top of him, held his face. Although he tried to reach her lips, she didn’t kiss him, not once, she didn’t want him to kiss her lips. She played with him for so long he thought he would die, and she whispered to him to let it go, let it go, and without ever having been inside her he climaxed. He lay in confusion, not knowing what to do or say.

‘Now then, let’s start all over again, an’ you hold on, understand me, hold on until I say so.’ Dora was an expert, she worked on him, caressed him until he reached screaming point. She liked virgins, enjoyed them, liked the power games, and it was hours before she allowed him to enter her and make love to her. Still she wouldn’t kiss him, every time he tried she bit him so hard it hurt, so he contented himself with sucking and kissing her nipples.

He was exhausted, but happy, and she slept in his arms. He felt so good, and he smiled to himself. Eventually she stirred and muttered that they must get up, but he wouldn’t let her, he held her tightly as if he never wanted to let her go.

‘Alex, come on, I got to work, and Johnny will be back... Hey, come on, we can do this again.’

Sid and four of Johnny’s men were picked up by the police as they attempted the warehouse robbery. They were taken to the police station and Sid, terrified, tried to save his own skin by telling them everything he knew. What frightened him most was that he might be named an accomplice to the attack on Taylor. He gave Alex’s name to the police.

Alex was arrested as he left the basement. He ran straight into the arms of two police officers, and was thrown into a Black Maria with three other men and two girls. At Hackney police station he was put in a cell, but was soon led into the chief inspector’s office, where a sergeant read out a report. ‘Alex Stubbs, absconded from Brighton. They picked him up at one of Johnny Mask’s brothels.’

The chief inspector turned, expecting to see a young, seventeen-year-old boy, and was taken aback when Alex swaggered in, looking taller than ever in his pinstriped suit. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and when he was told to sit he slouched in the chair and crossed his legs.

The chief was disgusted. His own son, not two years older, was fighting for his country and this bloody delinquent, with his slicked-back hair and cocky manner, appalled him. ‘You’re going to be taught a lesson, son, but first, do you want to tell us about Johnny Mask?’

Alex stared, blank-eyed, at the chief inspector.

‘Let’s try one more time, son. We want to know where Johnny Mask is. We know all about you, we know you’ve been working for him, so why not help yourself? We’ll make it easier for you if you co-operate.’

Alex remained silent, staring straight ahead. He got a sudden, stinging blow on the back of his head. The chief inspector leaned forward, his face close. ‘That bastard Mask, that stinking gyppo, would sell you, and anyone else who worked for him, for a ten-bob note, and you’re too dumb to know it. But your pal Sid isn’t... He’s been very helpful — how do you think we picked you up? Now, you’ve had time to think about it, so talk if you know what’s good for you.’ He slapped Alex’s face, first one side, then the other. The ice-blue eyes never flickered, and there was a slight hint of a smile on his face.

‘Get him out of here. You’re going to the Scrubs this time, son, that’ll teach yer. See how long the smile stays on your face in there. Go on, get him out of my sight.’

Evelyne had to fight to keep herself from weeping openly. Alex had changed, she hardly recognized him. His broken nose had healed crooked, and his hair was combed back from his forehead, the blond curls flattened with grease. The two warders stopped at the door of the visiting-room and Alex walked forward. He put his hand out to her and one of the warders motioned him back. Evelyne was shocked at the coarseness in his voice when he turned on the warder. ‘I just wanna hold ‘er ‘and, fer Chrissakes.’

Evelyne withdrew her hand sharply. She was afraid to ask what he had been up to while on the run. He had not made contact with her, and now he sat there like a stranger. She couldn’t speak, and began to wonder if all the terrible things she had been told about him were true.

Alex’s bravado began to slip. She was so frail, so helpless, and her desperate, pleading eyes made him want to weep. His voice was softer. ‘I love you, Ma, I love you... Don’t worry about me. Don’t come to court — fings’ll be all right, you’ll see.’

Their time was up, and the warders led him out. He didn’t look back, he didn’t have to, he could hear her sobbing. Alone in his cell he felt full of remorse, and he vowed he would make it up to her, somehow.

The lawyer Evelyne had hired for Alex came to visit him. Alex told him exactly why he had attacked Taylor, and watched him write copious notes. He listened to everything Alex told him, and spoke reassuringly. He would see what he could do.

Alex did not see Evelyne as he was led into court. She sat alone in the gallery, hands tightly clasped. The lawyer had told her that, under the circumstances, he felt sure Alex would be sent to a borstal for young offenders. He chose his words carefully as he explained her son’s reason for running away from Oakwood Hall, and told her a full statement had been handed to the court and the education authorities.

Alex’s case was heard in fifteen minutes flat. The judge, known for his harshness, dismissed the lawyer’s plea for Alex to be returned to reform school. He sentenced Alex to four years in Wormwood Scrubs, one of the country’s toughest prisons, which had a section for hardened juvenile offenders.

The judge’s voice grated in Alex’s ears. He clenched his hands violently. So much for that sweet-talking bastard lawyer, so much for justice. As he was led down from the dock, he knew his mother was there, and he stared frantically around the courtroom as the warders pulled at his handcuffs to drag him out. He caught sight of her in the gallery and forced a smile, looking up at her... But all his cocksure manner had gone, he was just a boy and very frightened. ‘Mum! Mum!’