Consequences

Part 43

The door at the top of the corridor opened and a tired, harried looking, clearly hurriedly dressed man followed the young policeman into the corridor.

"Issy, is he yours?" One of the women in the cell with Isabelle asked as she took note of the disheveled man approaching them accompanied by a policeman.

Isabelle watched the family lawyer approach. He was scowling. "I told you Belle." He muttered and shook his head in annoyance. "I told you to be careful." He warned as he came within hearing distance. Rex Harr looked warily at Doug. The cell door was unlocked and opened by one policeman and the policeman beckoned Isabelle forward.

"Unlucky tonight." Isabelle stepped into the corridor. Then she turned and offered him a tired smile when she saw Rex glance at Doug more than once, "You haven't met Mr Hawke, have you?" And he was about to get the shock of his life when he heard her engagement was off given it had only just appeared on! Isabelle gestured toward Doug and said airily, "Mr Hawke, my ex fiance, Mr Harr my current lawyer."

The two men stared at each other cautiously and while they tried to figure each other out, Isabelle glanced behind her at the cells. Isabelle wondered what to do about the other girls. Off the streets for one night she weighed up against their loss of income. The policeman began to usher Doug, Isabelle and Rex toward the door at the top of the corridor.

Rex rubbed at his forehead. He could feel the start of a headache. "I thought you'd only just got engaged?" Rex challenged as they made their way toward the door.

"Easy come, easy go." Isabelle told him nonchalantly attempting to keep a hold on the need to wail! Rex frowned. Then his eyebrows went skyward.

"Belle!" He admonished on a whoosh of expelled air. He shook his head, "He didn't know about this, did he?"

"No." They waited while the door was decoded.

"Belle, how did you hope to get engaged to someone and not tell them about this side of your life?" Rex demanded in exasperation. How he'd managed to keep this family's reputation in tact continued to be a mystery to him given the antics of all concerned. Luck he decided was a major factor.

"It's a long story." Isabelle stepped into the main office, suddenly she felt exhausted. It had been a long day. An emotionally long day she corrected silently. "I'll tell you one day." She followed the policeman to his desk. "Do I need to sign anything?"

Rex studied her, and because he knew her well, he could see that she was being pragmatic though she was very upset and by the looks of things also exhausted. That's what came from burning the candle at both ends. He could see that this temporary engagement clearly meant a lot more to her than she was willing to let on. And the fact that it had fallen apart so dramatically was upsetting her. But she was doing what she had done for the last ten years, maintaining a façade of calm collectedness and getting on with business.

The policeman nodded and handed Isabelle a clip board and forms and then he began keying in information onto the computer.

"And what happens to the girls?" Isabelle asked softly, as she glanced first at the policeman and then at Rex. She'd been so caught up in her own misery she had nearly forgotten she had come here in company!

"Depends."

"Bail?" Isabelle pushed.

"What?" Rex asked with concern, knowing that if Isabelle was asking the question there had to be a motive behind it. She was already thinking about something, he was sure about that. The problem would be, how much more trouble was it going to cause?

"Do we need to post bail?"

"No." He replied. They hadn't been charged just yet.

"Well, Roxane and Rita have children. At the centre. We need to get them out tonight." Maybe a night off somewhere warm was best for the others. "And to be fair to the other four we need their release too." Isabelle decided that focusing on the women would help her to keep her feelings in check. She was not going to break down. Not here. Not in front of Doug.

Doug began to wonder if she ran a brothel. She was clearly in charge of these women and they were all prostitutes. How could he have got this so wrong. Class? Elegance? How had he completely misread her?

"Belle!" Rex sighed in resignation. "You'll be the end of me. We can't help all of them."

They hadn't been arrested for soliciting. They were brought in for disturbing the peace and had been held to cool down! "We can help this lot." She told Rex, and deliberately did not look at Doug. She could feel the animosity coming off him in waves. She knew she had disappointed him. Let him down. He didn't have to say anything more, she could sense his displeasure. He clearly wasn't happy that she kept company with these women. Too bad. It really was too bad.

After the paper work was settled Doug, Rex, Roxanne, made their way in complete silence to the front door. The gaggle of women followed in silence, sensing the tension between Izzy and her man.

"I'd better go with them." Isabelle said when they reached the door, "If I go with you guys you might get more press than either of you need." She turned toward Doug, saw that he was still furious. "Sorry." She could see the muscle working at his jaw line.

"I'll run you home." He told her in a tone that brooked no argument. But that didn't stop her.

"That won't be necessary." Isabelle kept her tone light, even though she felt like crying.

"I think it will." He corrected, and his tone of voice suggested she had better agree.

Isabelle hesitated for a few seconds as she studied his face and saw that there were no answers to be seen. With a nod she then turned to Rex, and asked him, "Would you see the girls are ok?"

"Hmm, and you were worried about me getting bad press." He smiled gently, "I can just imagine what Sophia will say when she hears about this."

"Who do you think lent me the wig and top? There's no point having a godmother who doesn't get involved!" She gave Rex a hug and then disengaged in order to follow Doug out of the building.