Nothing but Meat: A dark, heart-stopping British crime thriller by Adrian Kendrew

erection press against her
buttocks so she arched her back and presented herself to him. He fumbled around
as he tried to anoint himself but found it a struggle in his drunken state. He
tutted to himself and she could sense him becoming frustrated so she reached
around and helped him penetrate her with his doughy penis. For a while he moved
against her as she lay still, the side of her face was sore from the bruising
and every time his weight rocked her into the pillow the pain was a constant
reminder of what he did to her barely hours before. He roughly pawed her breasts
and pinched her nipples and breathed hot stale breath onto the nape of her
neck. She closed her eyes and thought of Nathan, she didn’t feel guilty. She
wondered what Martin would say if he knew Nathan was back and she was working
with him. It would be better if he didn’t find out.
    She felt the movement from behind slow, stop and start again,
he was drunk, clumsy and out of rhythm. The movement stopped again and she lay
still listening to his breathing. He started to snore and she lay like that for
a while and then slowly moved his hand away from her breast, the snoring
remained constant so she moved away from him, repulsed at the feeling of him
slide out of her. She rolled onto her back and put her hand between her legs -
cupping herself for protection in case he woke up and tried again while she was
asleep.
    Only one man’s name was on her mind as she drifted back to
sleep.
     
    The following morning Simone was in the bathroom when the
phone rang. It was early; too early for social calls, the intermittent ring
seemed amplified and the sound made her heart leap in her chest. She wanted to
rush out and answer it, silence it, but knew she couldn’t, all she could do was
listen in silence as Martin answered it and hope it wasn’t Nathan.
    But it was. She just knew it.
    The sounds from the bedroom created images in her head: the
incessant ringing made Martin moan as it drilled at his hangover, he swore and
snatched at the receiver. All this she saw in her mind’s eye as she looked at
herself in the mirror.
    Muffled through the bathroom door she heard Martin say,
‘Yeah?’ then there was silence, pure, deathly silence and she knew for sure.
Thoughts spun in her head; what was Nathan calling her at home for? Something
must have happened.
    Martin said, ‘I’ll get her for you.’ It was her queue; she
opened the bathroom door and casually stood in the doorway. Fire burned in
Martin’s eyes as he held the receiver towards her and said, ‘It’s Detective
West.’
    She walked towards the bed, forcing herself not to look
guilty – to not look like she had been keeping secrets from him. She
reached for the phone and Martin dropped it onto the bed. It was a childish
thing to do and Martin managed to define his entire persona in that one tiny
action. Simone shot a glance him and put the phone to her ear. She was going to
have to explain this and Martin was going to rage but she kept her voice level.
    ‘What’s happened?’ she asked.
    ‘A woman was attacked two weeks ago but she got away. We need
to go see her; it could be our man.’
    ‘Okay.’
    ‘I’ll pick you up and twenty minutes. Be ready.’
    Her instinct was to ask him to meet her at the station but
the game was up - Martin knew Nathan was back in town so she acquiesced.
    ‘Twenty minutes,’ she said and hung up. She dropped the
receiver back onto the bed and turned towards the bathroom without even looking
at Martin or trying to offer explanation. She could feel his stare crawling
across her back and for a split second she thought she was going to make it into
the bathroom before the impending argument began.
    ‘Why didn’t you tell me Smokey was back?’ he said.
    She turned to him. ‘It didn’t occur to me.’
    ‘Liar.’
    ‘Listen, he lives in London, he’s back because his father is
in hospital, he has cancer, and while he’s been here there was a murder and
they pulled him