Read Online Blood Bonds: A psychological thriller by Alex Matthews - Free Book Online

prior to fulltime employment, had come into the refuge as one animal, and left an altogether changed one. Carol, intelligent, self-assured, career-minded, was at that early point when her perceptions about the world were being seriously challenged; that women still suffered cruelly at the hands of aggressive men, often to the point of murder; that the police chose, still, to think those women brought it on themselves, that callouts to ‘domestics’ were a nuisance; that even the courts – riddled through with men – generally supported the views of the police; that somehow women who were wheeled into the hospitals with fractured limbs and scarred mentalities had either suffered because of a real chemical imbalance within themselves – if in doubt blame it on PMT, or the female propensity for high and instable emotions – or that it was a consequence of their constant nagging, or whatever female stereotype was at hand. Being faced with actual people with very real emotional and physical problems, not merely statistics in a college textbook, it was hardly surprising Carol was finding some of what went on here unpalatable and upsetting. It was trial by fire. Or trial by truth.
    “There’s an Injunction out on the husband,” Carol continued, “but that hasn’t stopped him going round and beating the hell out of her.” She made an effort to disguise her feelings, her lips straightening. “She’s got nowhere else to go, two kids, no money…”
    “Mary will give you a hand, if you like,” Mrs Randolf suggested, sensing the young woman’s confidence waning because of her lack of experience. “Stick with her and she’ll take you through it. She knows the ropes well enough. Just fill her in on the details, especially the Injunction. The police will have to be notified.” She touched the woman’s hand. “Don’t worry, darling, you’ll be fine. I’ll be done here soon and then I’ll come through.”
    Carol smiled thinly and left the office, closing the door softly and leaving Mrs Randolf to ponder over the vast amount of paperwork on her desk. Eventually, tossing the pen down, she turned in her chair and faced the open window. The white metal bars, put up because of a recent break-in and the loss of a valuable computer, might have spoilt the view, had there been a view worth spoiling. But as it happened all there was to see out there was an ugly expanse of time-grimed bricks that went into the construction of a high wall, and a tiny rectangle of concreted yard. It looked like a prison, she thought. How ironic. A prison inside which women could feel at least a modicum of protection and security.
    She put a finger to her temple, the pain there beginning to pulse deeper, more insistently. The visit to Overton Hall had left her emotionally drained. She’d hardly had the strength to offer words of encouragement to Carol. But it was better for her that she worked, kept her mind and body busy, then she wouldn’t have the time or energy left to think about things too much. Because then she might get angry, and bitterness was a terrible beast. It made you self-centred, ate away at your compassion for others, and she couldn’t have that, not with the refuge to run. So to work till exhaustion claimed her had been the general rule, and in the past that philosophy had worked fine. But today she was already exhausted. There wasn’t anything left to give.
    And why hadn’t he gone through with her, as he’d always done? Had he known? Had he been informed about the…about the drastic change? Oh, it was terrible! Terrible! She squeezed her eyes tight to shut out the picture, but it wouldn’t go. All she wanted were the memories instead, but they lacked substance, not at all like they used to be, weren’t powerful enough to overlay that – that horrible, horrible image. But it isn’t my fault, she thought. I couldn’t prevent those blows to his head, could I? Really, how could I? He was being attacked by a brute of a