Her mind wandered back to the previous night and how Vinny had coaxed and caressed her in the most intimate of places, until she was completely relaxed. Then, he had continued to kiss and stroke her, teasing, knowing what she wanted but refusing to give it to her until she had almost begged him. When she felt as though she could bear the anticipation no longer, he had entered her at just the right moment, sending her body into uncontrolled spasms of sheer pleasure.
When they had both reached their climax, they lay in each other’s arms, spent and truly gratified, until Julie drifted off to sleep.
She knew that once he awoke, their lovemaking would continue until well into the day, with only brief interruptions while they rested or made conversation, until their increasing hunger for food forced them to rise. With this realisation, she took the opportunity to go and make herself a drink before settling back into bed beside Vinny.
As Julie clambered into bed her movement disturbed him. Once Vinny had awoken to the knowledge that it was now Saturday morning and Julie was in bed next to him, his initial reaction had been precisely as she had foreseen, to her immense delight.
Afterwards, when they had lain still for a while, Julie asked, ‘How’s Pete; is he still pining after Rita?’
‘Is he ’eck! Rita’s nowt special you know; girls like her are ten a penny.’
‘Well she put him in his place anyway.’
‘Not really, he wasn’t that bothered. He was seeing somebody-else as well.’
‘That doesn’t surprise me! He’s always been the same.’
‘Well you can’t blame him after what Rita did.’
‘He was only bothered because she dumped him before he got a chance to dump her. It must have made a change for Pete to see a girl give him the run-around instead of the other way round.’
‘It was the way she did it Julie, flaunting that bloke in front of him. She was just after what she could get and as soon as she thought Pete had sussed her she was off looking for her next mug. I think she’s a right tart! I’m surprised you knock around with someone like her.’
‘Look Vinny, what annoys me about fellas like Pete is that they think it’s all right for them to do it, but they don’t like it when the shoe’s on the other foot. I say good luck to her.’
‘I’m not getting into an argument about those two again. I’ll go and make us something to eat,’ said Vinny as he jumped out of bed and headed towards the kitchen.
While Vinny was cooking, Julie decided to take a shower. As she stood under the water, she looked around the bathroom at the décor, which was stylish and contemporary. This never failed to impress her. For a man he was very fastidious. He had obviously put a lot of time and effort into decorating and furnishing his home and the results were impressive. He did have very good taste and knew how to make the place seem homely and yet fashionable at the same time.
When she emerged from the bathroom, she could smell the tempting aroma of grilled bacon, and they were soon tucking into bacon sandwiches and chatting about work and family. When they had finished, Julie offered to wash the dishes, and then declared that it was time she got home. As usual, she waited for Vinny to approach her regarding any future arrangements.
‘Will I see you in the week then?’ he asked.
‘Oh, I’m sorry Vinny but I’m really busy.’
‘All right, what about the weekend?’
‘Well I’m out on Friday for Amanda’s birthday, but Saturday would be nice.’
‘Ok, I tell you what then,’ he said, taking hold of her hands. ‘As I won’t be seeing you all week, why don’t we have a special night out? I’ll take you for a meal if you like.’
‘Yes, that would be lovely, Vinny.’
‘Right, how about the Bella Vida then?’
‘The Bella Vida! That’s a bit posh isn’t it? Are you sure you can stretch to that?’
‘No problem. I want it to be a really special night,’ and he rose from his seat and put his arms about her.
By the time Julie left Vinny’s house and set off for home, she felt as though she was walking on a cushion of air.
-------------------
Sunday 22nd June 1986
As Julie recalled the special time that she had had with Vinny the previous weekend, she couldn’t help but feel bad about last night. While she had been at the police station, Vinny had probably been sitting alone in the Bella Vida waiting for her to show up. Of course it wasn’t her fault; how was she to know that she was going to be arrested? But maybe she should have rung him from the station when she had the chance.
She treasured her moments with Vinny. He made her feel so happy. She knew he loved her; he demonstrated that every time they were together. Vinny’s problem, though, was that he had difficulty putting his feelings into words. He was the same in his working life. He was good at his job, but he worked too hard and for little thanks.
Julie was forever asking him why he didn’t look for a better job or try to get a qualification to enhance his prospects, but he didn’t seem concerned. “If only he had a bit more get up and go!” she thought. “Then we could really start to get somewhere.” As long as he continued to display such complacency, however, she had no intentions of settling down with him.
“He’s not so bad though. He might be uneducated and appear almost uncouth at times, but he is good to me, and he always makes me feel special when I’m with him. In fact, he bloody well pampers me.”
She thought once again about how much Vinny had been looking forward to their night out at the Bella Vida. “I’ll ring him and explain as soon as I get a chance,” she told herself.
-------------------
Sunday 22nd June 1986
The family ate their meal in silence. Julie toyed with her food. She could sense the anger still emanating from her father, and this caused her to feel ill at ease. Bill rushed through his food and, as soon as he had finished, he scraped his chair back and announced that he was going for a walk. When he had left the table, the others exchanged knowing glances and each breathed a sigh of relief.
As soon as she had eaten as much as she could manage, Julie took the opportunity to make her long awaited phone call to Vinny, while her father was out of the house. His angry reaction surprised her when he asked, ‘What were you doing last night that stopped you from turning up at the restaurant?’
Equally angry, Julie retaliated, ‘What was I doing? I’ll tell you what I was doing! I was stuck at a police station all night, getting the grilling of my life. That’s what I was doing!’
Vinny was stunned by this statement and, when he spoke, Julie could sense that he had mellowed slightly towards her. ‘What do you mean, at a police station? What’s happened?’
Julie explained the events of the weekend to him, adding that she had been to hell and back in order to enlist his sympathy. Her ploy seemed effective, for he then replied, ‘I’m really sorry to hear that. Still, try not to worry. If you know you’ve done nothing wrong, then you’ll be all right. In fact, they wouldn’t have released you if they’d had anything on you. Tell you what, why don’t I see if I can re-book the restaurant for tonight, and try to cheer you up a bit?’
Julie replied tentatively, knowing that Vinny was about to receive another blow to his pride. ‘I can’t, I’ve arranged to meet Rita. You see, they arrested her too, and ...’
Before she had a chance to finish her sentence, Vinny’s fury was re-ignited and he stormed at her, ‘I might have bloody well known! You put everyone before me. To hell with you then! If you can’t be bothered about me, then why should I bother about you?’
When he slammed down the receiver, Julie was shocked. In the last couple of days she had seen so many extreme behavioural changes in the people close to her that it was all becoming a bit too much for her to absorb.
-------------------
Sunday 22nd June 1986
They met in the foyer of the Flying Horse. Julie had already been standing there for about ten minutes, having arri
ved early. She had been anxious to leave her home as her father had returned, bringing the tense atmosphere back with him. She had not put her usual effort into her choice of clothing. Somehow, her heart wasn’t in it, but she couldn’t help noticing that Rita had, once again, gone to extremes in order to get herself noticed. They exchanged a faint smile and headed straight for the bar.
No sooner had they seated themselves, than Julie spotted Lindsey Pilkington making her way towards them. She instinctively knew that this wouldn’t be a pleasant encounter. Lindsey was trouble with a capital T and Julie had done her best to avoid her for years. If ever there was any aggravation going on in the local pubs then you could almost guarantee that Lindsey and her friends would be at the heart of it. As soon as Lindsey reached their table she asked, ‘What’s this about you Julie, being dragged off by the police?’
‘Oh here we go,’ said Rita. ‘It hasn’t taken the vultures long, has it?’
‘I was only asking!’ replied Lindsey, defensively.
‘It doesn’t matter, Rita,’ said Julie. ‘They’re all gonna want to know sooner or later anyway. I expect we’re flavour of the week at the moment.’
Julie explained the events of the last two days to Lindsey. Once Lindsey was satisfied that she had heard all there was to hear, she went to join her own friends. Julie and Rita watched in dismay as Lindsey recounted the tale to a group of avid listeners.
‘Never mind,’ said Rita. ‘It’ll soon blow over. It’s just a seven-day wonder, that’s all.’
The girls then settled down and began to exchange comments about their time spent at the police station and the events surrounding their arrest.
Rita had also been subjected to a rigorous interrogation. However, she had received a better reception on returning home. ‘Well,’ she said laughingly to Julie. ‘It’s not as if they’re not used to the coppers round at our house. My dad was halfway over the back gate before he realised they hadn’t come for him. They were all dying to find out what had happened and my dad says that the cops have always had it in for our family, anyway, so I shouldn’t let ’em get to me.’
Julie outlined her home situation to Rita, and the conversation she had had with Vinny. Rita offered a few words of reassurance, and these might have comforted Julie, if it hadn’t been for the repeated interruptions they had to endure.
Rumours of their arrest were spreading, and they were faced with a constant stream of locals stopping at their table in order to quiz them. That in itself was bad enough, but Julie was disconcerted by the witty comments which she received, such as, ‘Hiya Jailbait, how’re you doing?’ These tasteless remarks were becoming increasingly tiresome as the evening wore on.
Rita advised Julie to, ‘put a brave face on, and don’t let them know you’re bothered,’ but she found the situation very trying. Rita encouraged her to stay until the end of the night as part of their act of defiance and, as usual, Rita’s resilience amazed Julie. She seemed to react to the taunts with indifference and didn’t give any indication whatsoever that the situation bothered her.
The end of the evening brought mixed feelings for Julie. She was relieved to be leaving the Flying Horse but, when she thought about returning home, she dreaded the anticipated response from her father. Luckily, everybody had gone to bed when she reached home. The house was quiet and peaceful so Julie took the opportunity to sit down for a few minutes and collect her thoughts before going to bed. Unfortunately, however, as soon as she began to contemplate her circumstances, she found herself, once again, immersed in a flood of tears.
Chapter 9
Monday 23rd June 1986
The Manchester offices of Belmont Insurance Company were situated on King Street, which was at the heart of the city centre and housed many of the top financial institutions. The building itself dated from the Victorian era and was a tall, magnificent structure. Anybody arriving at Belmont’s Manchester offices could not fail to notice the building’s impressive architectural design. In contrast, the interior was very modern.
Like the other offices of the Belmont Insurance Company, the Manchester office conveyed the overall image that the company wished to portray; from the outside, long established, sturdy and reliable, and from the inside, forward thinking and technologically advanced. Belmont Insurance also had a good reputation for looking after its staff and, as one of its employees, Julie enjoyed many of the perks on offer. All in all, when compared to many of her other friends, she felt that she held a very privileged position. Rita and Debby might earn a bit more than her but they had to work long, tiring shifts in a hot factory. They had few promotion prospects, fewer holidays than Julie and no sick pay entitlements.
Belmont Insurance opened for business at 9am, but Julie liked to arrive early so that she could grab a cup of coffee, settle herself in at the switchboard and observe the arrival of the rest of the staff. She normally enjoyed this time of day when many of her friends and associates would stop for a chat on their way to their respective departments. It also gave her a chance to exchange confidences with her friend Norma who shared switchboard duties.
Norma was forty-seven and had grown up children of her own. She and Julie had a good friendship, which had got off the ground from the day Julie had joined the company as a trainee switchboard operator at the tender age of just sixteen. Norma had interminable patience, was a natural teacher, and was more than willing to take Julie by the hand and show her all there was to know. Under Norma’s wing Julie was soon able to get to grips with the job and, because of her pleasant nature, she quickly became acquainted with many other members of staff.
With the passing of time, Norma and Julie found they were very much at ease in each other’s company, and could confide in each other regarding their private lives.
This Monday morning, however, was different from any other Monday morning, and Norma was surprised to see Julie sidle up to her desk at one minute past nine.
‘Morning Julie, I’d just about given you up for dead,’ she exclaimed.
Julie shuddered at the irony of Norma’s words. ‘Is Jacqueline in yet?’ she asked.
Norma sensed that something was wrong. ‘Yes, she stormed in ages ago, and muttered something about you not showing your face.’
Norma registered Julie’s reaction, and asked, ‘Have you two had a barney then?’
‘Oh, it’s worse than that!’ said Julie. She took a deep breath and uttered the chilling words that still sounded alien to her:
‘Amanda’s dead.’
‘Jesus Christ! What’s happened?’
Julie began to relate the sorry tale but found herself getting choked up and was unable to continue.
‘It’s all right, take your time,’ said Norma.
After she had composed herself, Julie continued, stopping to take deep breaths each time her voice became shaky. When she had finished, Norma leant over and covered Julie’s hand with her own in a reassuring gesture. ‘I’m so sorry Julie, Amanda was such a lovely girl! She didn’t deserve to die like that. I’m surprised to see you still in work.’
‘I had to Norma. I didn’t feel like it, but people are blaming me and I couldn’t let them think I’d gone into hiding, could I?’
Norma nodded sombrely, then added, ‘Look, we’d better catch up on a few calls and then we’ll have a bit more time to talk about it.’
Julie did as she was instructed but, at the same time, she wondered if this indicated a rebuff by Norma. However, she needn’t have worried as, once they had cleared the backlog of calls, Norma turned to Julie and said, ‘Right, now we can talk. Listen Julie, you’re going to have to face Jackie you know? As far as I’m concerned you’re innocent! It doesn’t matter what Jacqueline, high and mighty Bartlett thinks, you know you’re innocent and I know you’re innocent! You’ve been brave enough to come into work today, but you’ve still got to face her. Get up to that canteen at lunchtime, and show her that you’re not running away! You’ve got nothing to hide, remember, so don’t let everyone think you
have.’
‘Right, I suppose I better had,’ conceded Julie. She knew that Norma was right, but she wasn’t looking forward to seeing Jacqueline. ‘I just wish I knew why Amanda died! It can’t have been just because of the drink, but until I know otherwise there’ll always be that doubt in my mind.’
Norma surprised Julie with her angry reaction. ‘Now you listen to me Julie Quinley! People don’t usually die from having a few too many drinks. You said yourself that she was coming round a bit when you left her. I reckon someone’s been giving her drugs somewhere along the line but you can’t be held responsible for that! Anyway, it’ll all come out in the wash, you mark my words, so don’t you go worrying yourself.’
Julie felt better knowing that she had Norma’s support and for the rest of the morning she carried on with her work. She tried to take her mind off things but the thought of facing Jacqueline wouldn’t go away. She told herself that perhaps Jacqueline would understand, and that it wouldn’t be such an ordeal after all, but she knew that this wasn’t likely.
The only time when her thoughts deviated from her dread of facing Jacqueline was when insurance salesman, Mike Marston cheered her up by putting in an appearance.
‘Morning ladies,’ he greeted them as he strode to the counter.
Julie’s face was immediately transformed, the worry lines melting away as she smiled radiantly at him.
Mike, aged 28, was a real smoothy. Tall, dark and handsome, he exuded charm, and most of the women he came into contact with couldn’t fail to be impressed. Julie was one of those women. They had flirted outrageously during the last few weeks and Julie had waited for the moment when he would ask her on a date.
‘How are you feeling this morning Julie?’ he asked.
‘Fine,’ she lied, not wishing to put him off by confiding in him about her atrocious weekend.
Slur: The Riverhill Trilogy: Book 1 Page 6