Scarlet House

Marie had been here for years; running away from home at sixteen she'd found a home in Scarlet House with all the other disaffected girls. They were controlled by Toni - a woman in her forties, who'd given much satisfaction in her time.: big-breasted with dyed blonde hair, Toni loved her job. She looked after her girls. What would have become of them if she hadn't picked them up at the local coach station, and given them warmth, a roof over their heads and three good meals a day. In return of course the girls had to do the business. Men who often did not appeal to them and times of working at all hours of the day and night were not conducive to contentment. Marie liked the work, however,; she'd been hardened to it for many years now and did tricks like clockwork. In and out, wham, bang, thank you mam was like a mantra that floated in the air of Scarlet House, and gave it its own special atmosphere. Truth is Marie hadn't known much else and couldn't see any other fate for herself. She had friends here: Lulu, Katy and Dominique all looked out for each other, and Toni of course whom they could all confide in.

Recently, drugs had come into the equation. With Toni at its head Scarlet House was a drop off point to feed all the county lines. Foxy and Rats'tails, so named because of his wispy hair braids, dropped off the gear.. Some of the girls were tempted to try the stuff themselves, but Toni was adamant they wouldn't get involved; she saw her operation simply as a conduit to feed the habit of a local populace.

Marie was the only girl who wanted to dabble in drugs. She'd been the one who'd brought the Ouija board to Scarlet House. Always a dare-devil she was the one that wanted to know the be-all and end-all to most things. Dominique, who was a black girl, hated drugs; she'd seen her brother, Kione, killed by them five years ago and this memory was still fresh in her mind. Whe she knew of Marie's interest she started to hate her; she wanted to tell her of her brother, bring Marie to her senses. But Marie had her own ideas and in a few months was hooked.

It was about this time Marie had quite a few new punters. One was Steven Marriott, a rather slick individual from the city. At first he knew nothing of her habit, but stupidly she told him one night after a heavy sex session. Steven was unimpressed, but seemed interested to know more. One night they shared a few lines of cocaine, so Marie was convinced she had a friend. Meanwhile Dominique was wanting to snitch on her to Toni, and when Toni did eventually find out she tore into Marie like a thunderbolt, stressing the essential respectability of Scarlet House, and how this could bring it all down like a house of cards.

Foxy and Rats'tails didn't care who took the drugs and started to get extra money from Marie, so they were quids in. They were building quite an empire. Nothing could stop them now. As for Marie she was getting another new punter, a clergyman by all accounts, the Reverend Mountjoy. Marie loved him; he wa such a game old bird. He loved her black, patent leather hotpants and her low-cut , silk blouses. He just loved to squeeze her little titties. He'd forgotten his devoted parishioners long ago. But for all that he wasn't bad-looking and Marie had a certain affection for him. Toni certainly approved; she'd thought the clientele was going downhill. Reverend Mountjoy was a spigot in Toni's escutcheon.

Dominique was saying things now. She reckoned the police knew about the drugs operation,as she'd seen squad cars passing by the house. She was sure they were staking it out. If that was the case Foxy and Rats'tails would be in bother. If anybody had snitched or said anything to the punters they would be in trouble, and of course they thought of Marie, the only girl with a habit in Scarlet House.  And then there was the Reverend Mountjoy, where on earth had he come from? He was getting very involved with Marie and saw her on a regular basis every friday night. But she had many punters, any one of them could be a threat. Foxy and Rats'tails now saw Marie as a distinct threat to the business. She'd have to be dealt with.

There was a secret, back entrance to Scarlet House through a garage. Marie told all her punters about it, including Steve Marriott and Rev. Mountjoy., as she felt they were special and could see her at any time as the whim dictated. Reverend Mountjoy was particulalry thrilled. It was this entrance Foxy and rats'tails would use to do the evil deed. They were now convinced the police were onto them and they knew Marie was not a secretive type at all.

They mounted the stairs to Marie's room. Somehow the atmosphere was dark and sombre yet the evil deed hadn't been done still.

 When they got to the room the door was open. Foxy and rats'tails looked in. What they saw both shocked and delighted them. Marie was sprawled on the bed, just covered by a thin, chiffon negligee. She had been strangled with her own nylons. Then they heard a scream; it was Dominique who had just come into the hallway.

"You bastards," she said to Foxy and Rats'tails.

"No, you've got it all wrong," they said in unison.

"I'm calling the police," said Dominique, convinced they were the killers.

"What's that note?" Dominique then said.

"What's it say?" asked Foxy.

"Though your sins be scarlet, I will wash them as white as snow."

"Oh, no, you've tried to blame the Rev. Mountjoy, I know you have. That's a verse from the bible."

"You stupid cow, Dominique, we have nothing to do with this."

When the police arrived one of the officers stayed in the car. It was Steven Marriott. He'd been working undercover, but unfortunately Maire had rumbled him finding his badge in his jacket pocket. He just couldn't compromise the drugs operation; there was still a lot to find out, so sadly he'd had to silence Marie himself, but with the other men in the frame everything looked rosy for Steven Marriott.