Free Others by James Herbert Page A

it, but there’s also a much more material side to the whole thing.’
    Becoming more interested, I leaned forward on the table.
    ‘Did she tell you how her husband died?’ Etta asked.
    I raised my eyebrows, not an easy thing for me to do. ‘She said he’d had a heart attack.’
    ‘She didn’t explain the circumstances?’
    I shook my head slowly, wondering.
    ‘No, I suppose there’s no reason why she should have.’ Etta put down the brandy and sipped coffee again. Whirling ceiling fans sent down cool, welcoming breezes. ‘It was downright embarrassing for her, in fact’
    ‘Come on, Etta, get to it’
    ‘Gerald Ripstone had a heart attack while he and his wife were, uh, well you know, Dis…’
    While they were making love?’ I grinned again. ‘Not good for her, maybe, but not a bad way for him to go.’
    ‘He shouldn’t have been at it at all, his doctor had warned him to take things easy.’
    ‘I thought the heart attack was a one-off, the first and fatal one.’
    ‘She told you that? No, Gerald had been suffering from a heart condition for some time. He really should have been more careful. At least, he shouldn’t have used Viagra, especially combined with the drugs he was on.’
    ‘Well, I guess it’s natural enough for a man to want his own wife, no matter how debilitated he is. And his wife is an attractive woman.’
    That’s as maybe. I’m more inclined to think that Shelly persuaded him to use the pill. As for Gerald, he was desperate for a son and heir. Needed someone to leave his business to, someone who’d carry on his name. Incidentally, you won’t know the worst part about that night. The embarrassing part, that is.’
    Now I was intrigued and moved even further across the table towards Etta, my back so bent I must have resembled a turtle.
    ‘I’m not sure I should tell you about this, mutual client or not’ She looked down into her coffee cup, just a little flustered.
    ‘You can’t stop there, Etta. What’ll it take to bribe you?’
    She sighed. ‘You won’t let it go anyway, will you?’
    I shook my head. ‘You know you want to tell me.’
    She smiled, revealing small, even teeth. ‘Yes, I do, you bastard.’ She took a nip of brandy, grimaced, and chased the taste away with coffee. ‘Okay. You’ve heard of couples becoming locked together during intercourse?’
    My turn to grin again. ‘I’ve witnessed dogs in that awkward state, but I always thought it was a myth as far as we humans were concerned.’
    ‘No, it isn’t, actually. It’s not common, but it happens -ask any experienced doctor. Sometimes a woman might panic for some reason or other while copulating and then becomes incapable of relaxing her legs, which become locked tight.’
    A young mother on the next table feeding a toddler chocolate ice-cream from a glass dish glanced over. The little boy, sporting a brown moustache and beard, smacked his lips impatiently until he caught his mother’s attention once more.
    Etta lowered her voice. The abdominal muscles become locked too, as well as the muscles around the vagina.’
    ‘Nice,’ I commented.
    ‘Not really. The man’s working part is gripped so tightly he just can’t break free, no matter how he tries. And I think the blood concentration in the penis because of the Viagra Gerald was using might have made things even more difficult. Personally, I think he took more than one pill and was locked in tight as a result.’
    ‘Pretty humiliating when you have to call in the fire brigade.’
    ‘No, it requires hospital treatment’ Etta’s face was quite serious. The woman, and maybe the man too by that time, has to be given a muscle relaxant so they can be separated.’
    I made an ‘ouch’ sound.
    ‘It can quite often happen if the male partner has a heart attack while… well, while on the job. The sexual act itself raises the blood pressure, which is dangerous for anyone with a heart condition, and the woman’s fright when she realizes her lover is