WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS IMPLICATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE.

Bill stepped into the dark interior of, Hadley's Bar. It was Saturday. Patrick Murphy's phone call had come as a shock. He never called on a weekend. There was no point because the lab only operated from Monday to Friday.

He pulled out a stool which was in view of the door, wiped it down with a paper serviette and ordered a drink to wait. Bill tapped his fingers on his knee and studied the room.

The barman put his drink on the counter. As he took a sip Bill decided Hadley's Bar wasn't too bad. He'd never taken the time to look at it properly because he'd only ever come inside to deal with one kind of business or another. The décor of Hadley's had never been high on his agenda.

The floor was dressed in thick plush red carpet. An intricate gold flower design ran through it in rows. They crisscrossed to form diamonds. The wooden bar was made of mahogany. The stools, booths and tables were also made of the rich timber and the seats were upholstered with black leather. Very nice... Bill looked up at the ceiling where open beams supported ornate chandeliers. Yes... very nice.

He admitted the establishment looked tired but it had obviously once been a place of top quality. He took another sip of his Sauvignon Blanc. It was the way of many places. Higher class suburbs had a habit of becoming havens for the poor reducing its status and poorer areas became fashionable for the rich who spent all their money on doing up old warehouses or what they called heritage homes. Weird...

Bill liked clean tidy lines better than the ornate style of past eras but no matter what a place looked like it had to scream money. Hadley's screamed money. Old money. Bill thought he would have liked to have seen it in its heyday.

He drank again and looked at his watch, two-thirty. Perhaps when he finished with Patrick, he'd find himself a woman and have a little fun. He lifted his head as Patrick rounded the bar from the direction of the lounge.

"How long have you been here?" Bill asked surprised.

"A while... we did say two-thirty."

"So, what's all this about?"

Patrick grinned and pulled out the stool beside Bill's. "Last time we were here you made a comment about us having more in common than we realised."

"Yeah...so?" Bill finished the last of his wine.

"Well, it got me thinking, you see, and today a little piece of heaven fell into my lap."

"Are you talking about drugs? You know I don't do drugs."

Patrick laughed and leaned closer. "What's your fix, Mister Peters?"

Bill's mouth dropped open to protest but he didn't know what he wanted to protest about. Before he could say anything, Patrick held up his hand.

"Uh, uh. Before your get your Emporio Armani's in a knot let me take a guess. Women. Sexy women who are submissive. Am I right?"

"Ah... yeah... I like women. What straight man doesn't? What are you getting at, Murphy?"

Patrick laughed again and ordered a drink. He faced Bill as he took a mouthful then he cocked his head in the direction of the lounge. "I just happen to have with me a very nice piece who is extremely interested in having two men entertain her. I said let me make a call and here you are. Interested?"

Frowning, Bill said, "My tastes might be completely different to yours."

"Yeah... in some ways they might be I guess, but this girl is hot. I wouldn't think she'd be much older than twenty and it'll only cost us a hundred each. Group booking you could say."

"I like to play rough," Bill declared. "Is she into that?"

"Well, there you go. Another thing we have in common. I knew you were the right man to call." Patrick's mouth lifted in the corner and his lip twitched. He took another gulp of his drink and peered at Bill.

"You didn't answer my question. Does she like it rough?"

"Does it really matter?" Patrick sneered. "Once we've got her where we want her, she won't have much say."

*

Bill watched Patrick climb off the mattress and roll the girl over. The rope which bound her wrists to the bed head tightened. Tears stained her face. He stepped closer to the bed and smiled down at her. She stared back, her eyes wide in horror, as she tugged on her restraints.

"What's the matter, honey? Don't you want to play with us anymore?"

She shook her head franticly. The duct tape on her mouth prevented her from speaking and muffled her cries. There would come a day when Bill Peters let his play thing scream freely but while he lived in a block of units that was impossible.

"Ah... come on. The party's only half over. Now it's your turn for a bit of fun. Look what Papa's got for you."

The girl rolled her head hysterically from side to side and screamed against the duct tape. She curled her lower body up in the foetal position.

"Now, now. You know you want it."

She shook her head again but Bill ignored her. He grabbed one of her ankles. "Murphy, make yourself useful and hold her leg."

The girl tried to jerk away. The movement caused her hips to rise from the bed.

Patrick laughed as he pinned her down. "Now, now, steady on, you're going to love this."

Please seek help and support if you or anyone you know has suffered abuse of any kind.

Image belongs to BBC News