Waiting for Wednesday

about
this,’ said the man. ‘But we can’t do it on the doorstep. If you wish,
we can take you to an interview room.’
    ‘Can’t you just come in so that
we can sort it out?’
    ‘We can come in and put a few
questions to you,’ said the man.
    In their bulky uniforms, the two of them
made Frieda’s house seem smaller. They sat down awkwardly, as if they were unused
to being inside. Frieda sat opposite them. She waited for them to speak. The man took
off his hat and laid it on the arm of the chair. He had curly red hair and pale
skin.
    ‘It’s been reported that there
was an incident,’ he said. He took a notebook from the side pocket of his jacket,
slowly opened it and inspected it, as if he was seeing it for the firsttime. ‘I need to inform you from the outset that we are investigating a case of
common assault and also a case of assault causing actual bodily harm.’
    ‘What actual bodily harm?’ said
Frieda, trying to remain calm. At the same time she tried to remember the event. Could
the woman have hit her head when she fell? The officer looked back down at his
notebook.
    ‘A complaint has been made by Mr Ian
Yardley, the owner of the flat, and by Polly Welsh. Now, at this point I need to warn
you that you are not under arrest and that you are free to stop the interview at any
time. And I also need to tell you that you do not have to say anything but it may harm
your defence if you do not mention when questioned something that you later rely on in
court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.’ When he had finished this
small speech, the officer’s pale skin reddened. Frieda was reminded of a small boy
reciting a speech at a school assembly. ‘We always have to say that.’
    ‘And that I’m entitled to a
lawyer.’
    ‘You’ve not been arrested, Dr
Klein.’
    ‘What was the “actual bodily
harm”?’ said Frieda. ‘Was she injured?’
    ‘I believe there was bruising and some
medical attention was needed.’
    ‘Does that count as actual bodily
harm?’ said Frieda.
    ‘It is alleged,’ said the woman,
‘that psychological harm was caused. Sleep problems. Distress.’
    ‘Psychological harm,’ said
Frieda. ‘Is it possible that Dr Hal Bradshaw was connected with the
assessment?’
    ‘I can’t comment on that,’
said the man. ‘But you admit that you were present at the incident.’
    ‘Yes,’ said Frieda.
‘Haven’t they waited rather a long time to report it?’
    ‘From what I’ve heard,’ said
the man, ‘Miss Welsh was at first too traumatized to talk about it. She needed
reassurance and treatment before she was able to come forward. We’re trying to be
more sensitive in our response to women who suffer violence.’
    ‘Well, that’s a good
thing,’ said Frieda. ‘Do you want to know what happened?’
    ‘We would be interested in your
version of events, yes,’ said the man.
    ‘I arranged to see Ian Yardley to ask
him some questions,’ said Frieda.
    ‘You were angry with him, I
understand. You felt humiliated by him.’
    ‘Is that what he said?’
    ‘That’s what our enquiries
suggest.’
    ‘I wasn’t angry with him. But
his friend …’
    ‘Miss Welsh.’
    ‘She was aggressive as soon as I
arrived. She jabbed at me and tried to push me out of the flat. I pushed back. When she
tried to retaliate, I think she fell over a chair. It all happened very quickly. And
then I left. End of story.’
    The man looked down at his notebook.
    ‘One report claims that you pushed
Miss Welsh against a wall and held her there. Is that accurate?’
    ‘Yes, that’s right. She started
pushing at me. I told her to stop, and when she wouldn’t, I pushed her against the
wall. But not roughly. Just to make her stop. Then I let her go and she came at me and
fell over. I wasn’t even touching her.’
    ‘She just fell,’ said the
woman.
    ‘That’s right.’
    The man looked back at his notes. ‘Do
you have a history of fighting in public?’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    He turned a page. ‘You know a man called
James Rundell?’ he said. ‘We’ve heard something about a fight in a
restaurant, significant damage done. And it ended with you being arrested.’
    ‘Where did you hear about
that?’
    ‘It’s information we’ve
received.’
    ‘What’s the
relevance?’
    ‘We’re just trying to establish
a pattern. And isn’t James Rundell involved in this case as well?’
    ‘That’s right,’ said
Frieda. ‘Rundell is one of the other therapists who were