English accent. When I was introduced he looked at me and realised I was the girl who was supposed to meet him the previous night. He was surprised I was there but didn’t ask any questions.
Later we boarded a yacht and sailed out to an island; the band jammed and I danced on the beach. Paul suggested that they use me in their next film clip.
I returned to the Sunshine Coast after four days on an emotional high—my career was going to take off!
Pre-Fitzgerald Inquiry Jitters
Ellen read me the riot act for not turning up for my shifts but she wasn’t really angry with me. What I didn’t know was that the police had been hassling her and she was venting some of her frustration. The following day she called me to apologise, but she also had bad news: she wanted to cut down on my shifts because of my age. She was still under the impression that I was seventeen but you couldn’t sell sex until you were eighteen.
‘You can’t do this, please, I need the money,’ I pleaded.
‘I’ll give you shifts at another house, but not here, the police are all over us like the plague. You’re a hot potato right now, babe, I can’t afford to know you. Nothing personal.’
There was another girl who had been put up in a private house and didn’t want to work all day, every day, so Ellen let me work under her name, which was Joy. Guys would ring up asking for Joy and I would be her. Apparently the cops now knew about a young girl working by the name of Summer and so I couldn’t advertise under this name.
One night, Ellen and Peg invited me to their home for a chat; they said they’d found a way for me to work legally and earn twice as much. Of course that spiked my interest, but for some reason my gut was churning.
Their home was as seedy as their business. It was decked out in mirrored tiles, red carpet and crimson velvet wallpaper. We sat facing one another on black vinyl couches. They were being uncharacteristically friendly. After much ado, they got onto the subject at hand. One of my Asian clients was looking to take four or five young attractive blonde girls to Hong Kong for work. I would be guaranteed to earn at least $2500 a week. I may have only been sixteen but I was by no means stupid. I needed to turn this offer down without inciting their wrath. The solution hit me like a bolt of lightning.
‘I don’t have a passport!’ I exclaimed.
‘That’s not a problem; we can get you one within two weeks,’ Peg countered.
I squirmed. ‘But I would still need my mother’s consent.’
I could see their anger rising by their reddening cheeks and I knew they were trying to stay calm.
Peg’s eyed narrowed. ‘Why do I get the feeling you don’t want to get a passport? Is it because you’re not really seventeen?’
‘All I’ve ever wanted was to be an actress or a dancer and it’s finally starting to happen for me, I can’t leave the country now.’
Their stern looks told me our conversation was over. The phone rang and Ellen spoke briefly into the receiver. They looked grim but offered to drive me back to work and I accepted. I got out of the car and waited for them to get out so we could walk in together but Ellen, who was at the wheel, drove off at breakneck speed, the rear wheels spraying gravel. My stomach was doing somersaults and I put it down to the fact that I would probably be seeking new employment tomorrow.
I didn’t understand what was going on but tried to push what had happened out of my mind as I walked into the house. Upon entering I noticed that the girls had been kind enough to save me a client. I looked at this man alone in the waiting room in his dark suit and white shirt and in my perkiest voice said, ‘Hi, I’m Summer, what’s your name?’
‘Constable M, now, what’s your real name?’
Having already been prepped for such an event, I knew not to carry any ID in my handbag.
‘Abigail Winters,’ I replied, giving him a bogus address and date of birth.
‘Mind if I
Later we boarded a yacht and sailed out to an island; the band jammed and I danced on the beach. Paul suggested that they use me in their next film clip.
I returned to the Sunshine Coast after four days on an emotional high—my career was going to take off!
Pre-Fitzgerald Inquiry Jitters
Ellen read me the riot act for not turning up for my shifts but she wasn’t really angry with me. What I didn’t know was that the police had been hassling her and she was venting some of her frustration. The following day she called me to apologise, but she also had bad news: she wanted to cut down on my shifts because of my age. She was still under the impression that I was seventeen but you couldn’t sell sex until you were eighteen.
‘You can’t do this, please, I need the money,’ I pleaded.
‘I’ll give you shifts at another house, but not here, the police are all over us like the plague. You’re a hot potato right now, babe, I can’t afford to know you. Nothing personal.’
There was another girl who had been put up in a private house and didn’t want to work all day, every day, so Ellen let me work under her name, which was Joy. Guys would ring up asking for Joy and I would be her. Apparently the cops now knew about a young girl working by the name of Summer and so I couldn’t advertise under this name.
One night, Ellen and Peg invited me to their home for a chat; they said they’d found a way for me to work legally and earn twice as much. Of course that spiked my interest, but for some reason my gut was churning.
Their home was as seedy as their business. It was decked out in mirrored tiles, red carpet and crimson velvet wallpaper. We sat facing one another on black vinyl couches. They were being uncharacteristically friendly. After much ado, they got onto the subject at hand. One of my Asian clients was looking to take four or five young attractive blonde girls to Hong Kong for work. I would be guaranteed to earn at least $2500 a week. I may have only been sixteen but I was by no means stupid. I needed to turn this offer down without inciting their wrath. The solution hit me like a bolt of lightning.
‘I don’t have a passport!’ I exclaimed.
‘That’s not a problem; we can get you one within two weeks,’ Peg countered.
I squirmed. ‘But I would still need my mother’s consent.’
I could see their anger rising by their reddening cheeks and I knew they were trying to stay calm.
Peg’s eyed narrowed. ‘Why do I get the feeling you don’t want to get a passport? Is it because you’re not really seventeen?’
‘All I’ve ever wanted was to be an actress or a dancer and it’s finally starting to happen for me, I can’t leave the country now.’
Their stern looks told me our conversation was over. The phone rang and Ellen spoke briefly into the receiver. They looked grim but offered to drive me back to work and I accepted. I got out of the car and waited for them to get out so we could walk in together but Ellen, who was at the wheel, drove off at breakneck speed, the rear wheels spraying gravel. My stomach was doing somersaults and I put it down to the fact that I would probably be seeking new employment tomorrow.
I didn’t understand what was going on but tried to push what had happened out of my mind as I walked into the house. Upon entering I noticed that the girls had been kind enough to save me a client. I looked at this man alone in the waiting room in his dark suit and white shirt and in my perkiest voice said, ‘Hi, I’m Summer, what’s your name?’
‘Constable M, now, what’s your real name?’
Having already been prepped for such an event, I knew not to carry any ID in my handbag.
‘Abigail Winters,’ I replied, giving him a bogus address and date of birth.
‘Mind if I
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