Babs’ New Year’s Resolution 73 © Beverly Guinevere Taff 2021 March.

List of Characters.

Lola Smith Bab’s adopted trans daughter.
Callista Denton (Callie). Transgendered Duchess of Denton.
Margaret Denton (Maggie). Callie’s wife.
Molly Denton Callie’s grandmother
Ellie Denton Callie’s mother.
Bab’s Barbara Smith. Lola’s adoptive ‘Nana’
Olivia Smith Bab’s adopted daughter. (Excellent Artist.)
Angela Smith Bab’s newly adopted daughter
Erica Bab’s foster daughter.
Sergeant Bridie Davies Lady Police detective protecting the girls.
Sergeant Brian Davies. Bridie’s twin brother.
Inspector John, Heading up the anti-rape-gang operation.
Gareth Jenkins, Police office trained in firearms and protection.
Belinda Harrington Lola’s university girlfriend.
Aaron Talbot Surgical registrar – married to –
Shirley Talbot Lecturer at Local university.
Mickey Talbot Aaron and Shirley’s oldest son.
Jessica Talbot Aaron & Shirley’s middle daughter.
Bianca Talbot Aaron & Shirley’s youngest daughter.
Henry Denton Callie’s only son.
Charlotte Denton Callie’s only daughter.
Beverly Callie’s maternal great aunt (Ellie’s paternal aunt)
Wendy Smith Beverly’s Operations Manager for Hull
Louisa Wendy’s Daughter
Griselda & Mia Wendy’s younger twin daughters.
Susan Harvey Prosecution counsel advocating for Erica in court.
Han’s The German policeman’s son whom Erica really fancies .

Chapter 73.

Erica watched as the next witness was put up in the witness box. She did not recognise this witness for she had not knowingly been present during all of the girl’s ordeals nor shared any events with her. This only told Erica that the trafficking gang’s operation was huge, as evidenced by the number of accused in the dock.

Erica’s brutal experiences had only been a small part of their operations.

She settled back to listen while learning what the defence tactics were going to be.

Discreditation was once again the main ploy, and the girls’ past was picked over to reveal as much dirt as the defence counsel could gather. This was then used to try and prove that the girl was compliant and had agreed to becoming a prostitute with the promise of easy money.

Being as all the girls had been snatched or trafficked or tricked from broken childhoods, it was an easy matter to portray each girl's desperation as greed coupled with immorality. Nevertheless, the video evidence still exposed the nature of the gang’s crimes. The defence lawyers reckoned that discrediting the witnesses served in some large part to ameliorate the size and extent of the crimes and thus reduce the sentences if any

Thus followed a veritable procession of injured girls who were forced to walk a gauntlet of humiliation and exposure.

The only element of the case that managed to shock Erica’s inured sensitivities was the worldwide extent of the trafficking. Girls transported across oceans and continents and then transported back simply to satisfy the perverse lusts of some extremely wealthy individuals who were from all walks of life such as drug barons to military leaders and politicians; - - - powerful politicians.

By the end of that first day Erica was tired of listening to the various brutalities and perversions being exposed. The shock value of the previous accusations had waned with constant exposure and re-exposure.

Her resolve however, had strengthened a hundred-fold and she found herself mentally slotting important items in the various testimonies ready to fire them back with all the emotive force she could muster when her turn came to stand alone but armed in the witness box.

Eventually Erica’s turn came. She stepped up into the witness box and instead of shrinking from the battery of stares that seemed to rise from the defence counsels table, she stared malevolently and boldly straight into their eyes. Then to add effect, - for she had realised that so much of the proceedings were just so much theatre, - she cast a slow, sweeping, malignant glare over the row of accused abusers. Not for her were there going to be any brutal putdowns or moral condemnations of her origins or earlier life. Erica was loaded for bear.

The defence counsel started officiously as though to somehow denigrate Erica’s lifestyle.

“Can you confirm that your name is Erica Smith?”

“Yes.

“It was not always that was it?”

“No.”

“Can you explain why you changed it?”

“I didn’t change it.”
This reply took the counsel slightly aback.

“Oh! What do you mean?”

“I said, I didn’t change it.”

“Then who changed it.”

“The Authorities. The care agencies.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. They said they were changing my name to protect me and asked me if I had any preferences. I said I liked Erica and it stuck.”

“As simple as that! It just stuck!”

“Happen it did. One name’s as good as another; - to a child. One of the nicer nurses in the care unit was called Erica and I like her.”

“Oh at what age were you given this choice?”

“Dunno. I was young, ‘bout five or six, I think.”

“You don’t remember.”

“Not exactly.”

“Has your memory always been that bad?”

“No.”

“So what is it like today?”

“Good! In fact, very good.”

“Can we be sure of that?”

“Try me.”

Erica’s confidence took the counsel aback. He paused and shuffled through a narrow file lying on the top of the bundle as though checking on some facts. Erica did not flinch ar show any uncertainty for she had already recognised the counsel’s discomfort as he sought a way through her armour. He had asked a question and received an unexpected answer.

“How can you be so certain?”

“I don’t have to be certain. Those ladies and gentlemen up there have to be certain, (Erica motioned to the judges.) and so far everything I’ve said in the prosecution case has been proven correct by video evidence.”

“Yes. Now, about those videos? The court would like to know how you obtained them, or more importantly, who supplied you with them?”

“Frankly, I don't know. The first ones simply appeared one day on my lap-top. The accompanying text showed they were an obvious attempt to somehow black-mail me or shame me. Whoever’s plan it was back-fired. I forwarded them to my friends on face-book just to show what had been done to me and I had no cause to be ashamed.”

“So you’re saying that you actually went public.”

“Not quite, I didn’t have that many friends then and I only showed my friends. I only got my lap-top when Babs’ took me under her wing. The pictures just appeared on my lap-top one evening so I showed them to Lola, my step-sister before posting them on-line. Lola’s good with computers.”

“And then?”

“She downloaded them and then put a protection app on my ‘puter’ to stop any more. A few days later, after Lola showing them to the police and her own circle of friends, a whole raft of extra videos suddenly broke through my security wall with a message to show them the police ASAP.”

“And did you?”

“After showing them first to Lola. She agreed with the originator’s suggestion that we should show the police. So I did, - after transferring my own private copies to a memory stick first. Those are the videos the Police used to reinforce the prosecution’s case.”

“So, are you saying that you don’t know who the originator of the videos was or are you not telling.”

“The police advised me that they would seek out the origins and advised me not to go digging. I wouldn’t have been able to anyway. I’m not much good with ‘puters’.”

The counsel paused thoughtfully for he could tell by Erica’s demeanour that she was going to be a tough nut to crack. He presumed she had just been well briefed and prepared but for Erica the answer was much more simple. State the truth and stick to it.

She had a suspicion that the originator might have been one of Lola’s clever mathematical friends at university but in truth she had no certain idea. Her suspicions were partly correct insofar as the originator was a clever mathematician but Erica had no idea about Callie; her and Lola’s mutual ducal friend, who was deeply involved in computers and electronic counter-espionage.

So far, the questioning had been polite and unrewarding for the defence counsel so he had no recourse but to try more aggressive tactics.

The counsel seemed to be struggling to break through Erica’s defences so he tried to get at her by implicating her friends.

“Does your friend Lola know who the originator of the pictures is?”

“I don’t know, you’d have to ask her.”

“Is she available for questioning?”

“Yes. She’s up there.”

Erica pointed to Lola sitting with Babs, Angie and Ollie. She also knew that Lola had a cast iron defence to demonstrate that she did not know the source because the police had also advised her not to ‘go digging’. Additionally the police had failed to identify the source because Callie was a superb hacker who only surfaced if and when it suited her. Lola was pretty certain it was Callie but she had no evidence except Callie’s slight and very vague intimation. If asked in court Lola could truthfully say, she did not know and Erica knew this.

By indicating Lola to the court, Both Erica and Lola knew that Erica had reinforced her reputation as a reliable witness. The defence counsel nodded in mistaken appreciation as though he thought Erica’s exposure of Lola would somehow progress things.

It wouldn’t and Erica knew it.

ooo000ooo