[Cormac29Ru]

By noon that very afternoon, Courtney would have sworn she could have touched the noose that she felt tightening around her neck. She tried to ignore the accusing eyes of everyone else in the club as she promptly grabbed her things and left. She hadn’t been in her office for more than 15 minutes before one of the board members of The Green Club called and politely asked that she not return for the foreseeable future, in a tone that made it clear they weren’t asking in the slightest. A few moments after that, her assistant informed her that her 1:00 o’clock and 2 o’clock appointments had cancelled. Then her prepaid phone beeped. She dug it out over her purse and recognized the number that Samantha had used.

“Where the hell have you been?” Courtney demanded.

“Well, I was enjoying some personal time, until my editor just called me in to investigate your latest incident.”

Courtney was taken aback. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, I just got out of the Green Club. I’ve got a room full of people claiming you ripped the clothes off of this Blake woman. And I’m staring at a chair with a metal link attached to it, which is the same style as the ones used to embarrass two high school girls yesterday. And interestingly enough, you were seen outside that same high school yesterday. By the way, what’s your alibi for the middle of last week?”

Courtney sputtered for a few seconds before making her way around a sentence. “What? You...are you…no, it’s not you, is it? You’re not smart enough. Rebecca’s pulling your strings! Well newsflash, do you think I’m going down alone on this?”

“Actually yes. Yes I do. You see, you made sure we covered our tracks. I’m taking a creative route back to town, and pitching this phone out the window into a field or a well or a pond and the only connection we have goes with it. So that leaves you with what, some vast conspiracies to yell about? Every link in the chain goes to you, Courtney. You’ve got nothing.”

Courtney resisted the urge to slam the phone against her wall. “Alright, you want to play it that way? Fine.”

“Last question, and this one’s off the record. What do you think Janelle’s going to do when she finds out you got her girls?” Samantha waited a few beats and laughed. “Well, I think tomorrow’s edition should do quite well, hmmm?”

Courtney stared at her phone, stunned for a second. She rubbed her temples, swallowing the bile that was creeping up her throat. She walked out of her office without saying a word and climbed into her car and stared at her watch for a long second: almost 2 o’clock. She noticed she was sweating. She needed a plan.

She spent a few minutes rummaging through her purse for her keys when she noticed something. There was a small flash of silver sticking out from under her passenger seat. She reached down and pulled out a small bag. She opened it to find two sets of volleyball uniforms and some metal rings. Her mouth opened and closed a few times. It was then that she saw the blinking red and blue lights from the squad car that suddenly were flashing in her rearview.

************************

The wheels of justice can move very quickly when properly encouraged. Courtney spent all of 24 hours proclaiming her innocence before her lawyer made it clear to her that she didn’t have a chance. However, in the interest in protecting the victims, the prosecutor was more than willing to accept a plea deal. 500 hours of community service seemed quite reasonable to the judge, and the matter was closed by the end of business the next Friday.

And on Saturday, Courtney showed up in time for her first day of community service, eager to put this behind her, and to move to a new town. As she walked into the parks department warehouse, Courtney grimaced when she saw Janelle waiting there, her face a storm, staring right at her.
Courtney swallowed, but steeled her voice. “Hello, J-…Officer.”

Janelle nodded, and walked away and returned with a green jumpsuit. Courtney started to raise her voice in complaint, but the look from Janelle silenced her. Her reached her hand out for it only to have Janelle pull it away and point at her clothes.

This time a complaint did escape her lips. “Oh, come on!”

Janelle simply shrugged, turned and walked away. Courtney’s confusion was replaced with worry when Janelle returned with shackles. “No…no,” Courtney stammered. “It’s fine.” She quickly began unbuttoning her blouse and stepped out of her jeans, folding both and seeing nowhere else to put them, set them on the ground. She stood up, crossing her arms over her chest and reached a hand out for the jumpsuit, eager to be dressed before anyone else showed up. She tried a friendly smile as she reached her hand out to Janelle.

Janelle, stoned-faced, gently shook her head and with her nightstick, tapped Janelle’s bra strap and the side of her panties. Courtney surreptitiously stamped her foot as she hooked her thumbs into her bra straps. She peeled off her bra and panties quickly, adding them to the pile.

The silence was deafening. Courtney placed one arm across her breasts and the other over her crotch. She watched Janelle’s eyes, waiting for her to trace her curves. She considered trying to flirt a bit with Janelle in an attempt to get into her good graces, as that Courtney was pretty sure what team Janelle played for. Courtney knew she was an attractive woman, slightly curvy but still fit, her blemishless olive skin a result of a stringent beauty regiment. As she flipped her silky black hair over her shoulder, she looked into Janelle’s eyes and felt the last remnants of hope dies saw Janelle staring back flatly. So much for that, Courtney thought darkly.

Courtney feared the worst as she considered reaching her hand out once again, realizing exactly how much she would be exposing as the warm air ran over her body. She tried to quietly swallow the lump in her throat, and lifted her arm off her breasts. Courtney felt the seconds tick by and saw no sings of motion from Janelle at all.