Chapter 36
“Miss Buffy Summer?”
“Summers, yes, that’s me, come in”
Buffy sat back down on the sofa and covered her legs with a blanket
“Please, sit down”
The rather glamorous redhead sat, placing her brief case on the coffee table, and she opened it.
“You don’t mind –“
“Sure, carry on”
“Right, now…here we are” Closing the case Lilah Traherne was holding a sheaf of papers in her hand
“I’d just like to get a few details from you if I may…………
After establishing how old Buffy was, and when she joined the academy, Lilah said,
“I’d like you to tell me, in your own words, what you think of these allegations against Coach O’ Connor”
Buffy looked at the woman, looked at the blanket that covered her legs and picked a few invisible threads
“Miss Summer?”
“SUMMERS, can’t you get that right?”
“I’m sorry – I…are you finding this difficult?”
Buffy sighed and said,
“Truth is…I don’t know what to think”
Lilah frowned
“I’m sorry, I don’t follow, Mr O’ Connor said to me that you’d be willing to speak up on his behalf, I thought-“
“Well, I didn’t say I definitely would, quite frankly, I have enough on my plate as it is, I was in a serious plane crash last month!”
“I appreciate that Miss Summer-s but Coach led me to…okay, I’ll ask you this just once and we can see where to go from there.
“Did Coach Angel O’Connor ever touch you in an inappropriate manner?”
Buffy thought about it for a few seconds and then said,
“No.”
Lilah smiled and was just about to write something down, when Buffy added,
“But then, I never gave him the opportunity to”
Looking up sharply, her smile gone the lawyer said,
“What?”
“He didn’t touch me, but then I wouldn’t let him – I didn’t give him the chance to”
This statement threw Lilah, she hadn’t been expecting it at all.
“You mean you had your suspicions – did you ever see him touch other girls inappropriately?”
“No, well kinda – I’m not sure, it’s difficult”
“Well, which is it? Did you see him touch other girls, yes or no?”
“Not touch them in a bad way touch them, but sometimes…especially with the younger ones, he’d hug them or laugh with them and sit them on his lap for a little while, talking”
“I see – and this wasn’t normal?”
“He’s a coach, not their father – although he never tried to sit me on his lap”
“What made you say originally ‘You never gave him the opportunity’, was there an incident of some kind you can tell me about?”
“Well, not physical incident, I was at a competition, and there was another skater there, we were both watching the other skaters train”
“Who was this?”
“Faith – Faith Hamilton”
“Oh god, was she-“
“She wasn’t with ‘our’ academy any more, she’d moved on to Rupert Giles, we knew each other of course - the media had us as rivals, I suppose we were really but anyway, I was waiting my turn to go practice and she said
“You’re with Coach O’Connor aren’t you, and I say yes, and then she says that she was until…”
“Until?”
“Until she wised up – her words, not mine”
“Wised up – did you ask what she meant?”
“She said ever notice, if you get a cramp or a stiff neck, HE gets more out of it when he massages you than you do – you think it’s friendly, then the touching gets…and that’s all she said, she had to go”
“Did you say anything to her?”
“No, but it made me think”
“About?”
“Well, what she said – I remember once he worked out a cramp in my calf once, he just kinda rubbed it firmly and told me to keep it warm, but there was nothing in it you know, inappropriate about it. But then I got to thinking about how the younger ones, how he used to have them cluster around him…” Buffy shrugged
“And?”
“And I vowed never to give him the opportunity to try and touch me”
“Did he ever give you cause for concern – try and enter you room or the showers or anything like that?”
“He came to my room once, when I’d just had a shower, but I always used to lock my door. I never used the communal showers as I was a resident, and had a shower in my own room”
“Would he have known that you were in the shower?”
“Oh yes, it was after a practice session”
“What did he say?”
“He asked if he could have a word with me, and I told him I’d see him when I was dried and dressed”
“Did he leave?”
“Yes, the girl in the room next door arrived back from a competition, she came up in the elevator, she knocked too and I told her I was just getting dressed, I asked if the coach had gone she said yeah, he went down in the elevator”
Lilah Traherne was writing this down, when her mobile phone rang
She picked it up and studied the small screen for a few seconds and then she said,
“Excuse me, I must take this…” She stood and walked into the hallway. Buffy heard her say,
“Yes Rachel, what’s so urgent?…………Oh my god, I’m on my way, bye”
She ended the call and walked back into the lounge
“There’s been a…a development, and I must get back to the office immediately, I’m sorry to have troubled you while you were convalescing – no, don’t get up, I can see myself out, goodbye Miss Summer and I hope you feel better soon”
Lilah held out her hand and Buffy shook it, not bothering to stand, the woman despite being told STILL couldn’t even get her name right………
***************
“What, just like that, she upped and left after five minutes?”
“Uh huh, she said there had been a ‘development’ and she’d got to get back to the office immediately” Buffy said.
“Wonder what that was then…maybe there will be something on the news” Will said, sitting next to Buffy.
“Maybe. Can we talk about something else – furniture perhaps?”
Buffy turned to face William.
“Ah, about that, I was talking to Vicky this morning, you know, the woman whom I’m having the flat off, well, she said she has loads of stuff in storage, and can use what I like – the only thing I need to buy, is a decent bed”
“I suppose it’s more sensible really, as you’re only there for 16 months – when you move the stuff you’d bought might not be suitable for the new place”
“That’s EXACTLY what I was thinking – great minds, huh!” They grinned at one another.
The phone rang and Buffy got up to answer it.
“Hi honey, how’d things go?” Buffy re-iterated to Joyce how quickly Lilah Traherne came and left, etc.
“Oh dear – well, this is just to tell you not to worry, I’ll be very late tonight, Mr Duggan is taking me to supper, and the gods alone know what time we’ll finish all this cataloguing, so don’t wait up for me if you’re tired, I’ve got my front door keys”
“Kay mom, have a nice time, bye”
“Is William there?”
“Yes”
“Say hi to him for me, bye then honey”
“Bye mom”
Buffy put the phone down.
She was just walking back into the lounge, saying
‘Mom said to say hi’, when the phone rang again
“Little Miss Popular!” William said with a grin
“Hello – oh yes operator, you can put her through - hi Fred, how are you – Sorry about the operator, it’s to stop the journalists from trying to bother me - I meant to phone you yesterday, but…the news, what today? No, no I haven’t seen it why…………oh my god NO – where are you………uh huh…and what about Illyria?…………As well? I don’t believe it…………so are you just collecting your stuff then…yes, I know them – are you, oh Fred, that’s great, I’m really pleased for you…sure…of course, I let you know when I hear of anything, okay – I will, you too, bye!”
Buffy walked back into the lounge, she’d gone pale
“Babe, are you alright?”
William swiftly stood and went to her side
“I feel sick…that was Fred, my friend at the academy, the one I told you about, in the room next to mine?” William nodded and led her to the sofa so she could sit down
“Uh huh come on pet, come and sit down before you fall down…now, what’s happened?”
“She was there collecting her stuff, she’s found herself another coach – but she said the police were there at the academy, they have been for the last three days………they’ve found a laptop with child pornography on it, it’s coach O’Connor’s. They’ve arrested Illyria as well, but they let her go”.
Buffy gave a shudder
“The filthy, perverted, evil – oh god who’s that now” the phone had started ringing yet again…
“Do you want me to get it?” William asked
“No, it’s okay, we’ve got the operator to stop the journalists………”
“Hello………yes, you can put him through it’s my dad………hi dad………yes I’m fine…so I’ve just heard…no…NO dad, I SWEAR, he didn’t…honestly…I’m fine, really – William’s here with me, so I’m not alone………she’s got to work late – then she’s going out…DAD! I’m nineteen, I don’t need babysitting – besides, mom hardly ever goes out!……………Yeah, okay…yes…I just said I will! Okay, bye!” Buffy put the phone down and came back into the lounge
“Honestly, my father! Thinks I’m in danger from a pervert, where’s your mother, why isn’t she there with you? – God he’s got a nerve!”
The phone rang again
“Look pet, want to go out for a drive – save you having to keep answering the phone?”
“Would you mind – let me just see who this is………”
“Yes, you can put her through…Hi Willow…yes I did, just – well about ten minutes ago…”
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