Julie Willman was 28 years old and had been working in Abbottsford at the Abbottsford Regents Hotel, and while she was there, she had been seeing a local Solicitor, Robert Brown.
But not for the first time in
her life she realized it wasn’t working for her so after a couple of months,
she ended it.
However when it ended Robert
wouldn’t accept it and he wouldn’t stop pestering her.
So before it got too out of
hand, the previous summer, she quit her job, left Abbottsford and after a few
months found herself on the island applying for a job
at the Beaumont Manor and six months later she was Deputy Manager.
Since she escaped her stalky ex Julie had sworn off relationships and
just concentrated on work.
She liked the island, she had decent accommodation at the Hotel, and a
small circle of friends and she was content with that.
On a sultry Saturday night she was
working reception and was due to be relieved at 10 o’clock by Libby McIntosh
but
when it got to 10:15 she thought to herself
“Something’s wrong”
So she got one of the bar staff to man the reception while she hurried
upstairs.
She
reached their landing and could hear some commotion coming from Libby’s room,
the door was open and as she looked inside, she saw a small stocky man pick Libby up and throw her across the room, she was a
tiny woman and weighed little more than 7 stone and he was throwing her around
like a rag doll.
Then as she lay on the floor, he kicked her in the
ribcage.
Julie wasn’t alone by that point and said to the
nearest onlooker
“Go and get help, and call the police”
Julie then took a breath and made her move pausing
only to arm herself with the coffee tray off the sideboard.
As she entered the room the man was holding her by
the hair with one hand and punching her with the other.
All the while shouting obscenities at her, but with
his constant shouting and the sickening sound of his fist on her face he didn’t
hear Julie enter the room.
She stood behind him and with all her strength hit
him hard on the back of the head with the tray sufficiently hard to draw blood.
It knocked him off balance and he fell to his
knees, then he turned to look at his assailant and she swung the tray again
hitting him square in the face and breaking his nose.
Then remembering all the blows she had been dealt
by an abusive partner she gave him another whack on the head for good measure,
then she turned her attention to Libby who was bloody and barely conscious.
From
the doorway she heard someone say
“Oh
my God, is she ok?”
“Not really” Julie said
Just then Pastry Chef Tom Sword arrived
“Is everything ok?”
“No, it’s not” Julie replied
“What’s happened?”
“She’s been beaten up” Julie said,
“Give her to me” Tom said, he was a great bear
of a man, and he scooped her up as if she were a child.
He carried her out of the room and Julie followed him to the lift
“The police will be here in five minutes, so will the ambulance”
Someone said just as two more kitchen staff arrived
“There’s a man in the room, don’t let him leave before the police get
here”
“No problem” one of them said
“You look after Libby”
When they got
downstairs PC’s, Kane Saunders and Morgan
Baker arrived along with Paramedics Lee Houseman, Frazer Richmond.
The PCs went straight upstairs while the paramedics
took charge of Libby and Julie went with her in the ambulance.
When the Police got upstairs, they found two
kitchen staff preventing the assailant from leaving the room.
“Thank god you’ve arrived” he shouted
“These men are holding me prisoner”
Morgan Baker addressed the melee directly while Kane
Saunders took
Tom Sword to one side and got
the full story, he knew that he was a straight up and down character, and he
knew his account of events could be relied upon.
“Thank
you, Tom,” he said and signalled his colleague who then read the assailant his
rights and put handcuffs on him.
“But I have been assaulted” he insisted “Look I’m
bleeding”
“No sir you have been arrested” PC Baker said
Julie
sat down in reception and waited while the Nurse Kevin Holland and Doctor
Woodward looked after her.
After
about half an hour the police arrived to take statements, it was the same two
PC’s who she saw briefly at the Hotel.
PC Saunders took Julie to one side and Morgan Baker went and sat down
next to Libby.
Morgan was a skinny freckly girl of about nine
stone who looked about three stone heavier in her stab vest and utility belt,
and her chestnut-coloured hair was tied in a bun.
“Did you know the man who attacked your friend?”
Kane asked
“Have you got him?” Julie asked
“Yes, he’s in a cell” He replied
“Did you know him?”
“No I’ve never seen him before tonight”
“What about the name, Barry Gorman?”
“No” she said shaking her head
“Ok” Kane said and then took down her statement of
the evening’s events and by the time they’d finished Morgan joined them.
“Am I in trouble?” Julie asked
“For what?” PC Baker asked
“I hit him” she stated “Three times”
Morgan leant in close and whispered
“Good! He deserved it”
And she squeezed Julie’s hand.
PC Kane Saunders
was a tall
man in his late twenties and also suffered with the unflattering uniform, and
as if being six foot four inches tall didn’t make him stand out enough, nature
had also endowed him with flame red hair.
Julie was tall herself, so it made a nice change to talk to a man who
was taller than her and she had always had a weakness for red hair.
But she felt really guilty because she was flirting
with him shamelessly and she couldn’t help herself.
She inclined her head to one side and played with
her hair and behaved like she did when she was still at school, which was
totally contrary to her swearing off men.
Just then Kevin Holland returned and signalled to
Morgan that she could interview Libby now.
It didn’t take long to take Julie’s statement as
she was very together and very precise.
Which was a blessing and a curse because he rather
liked her and although the way she gave her statement made it easier for him to
transcribe it meant the interview was over too quickly.
He thought it was a shame he was on duty as he
would have asked her out under any other circumstances.
“Can I call you?” she blurted out “in case I think
of anything else”
“Yes” he said “and perhaps I should have your
number in case I have any more questions”
When the police had gone Kevin Holland called her
in and Julie sat down heavily next to Libby’s bed
“I’m sorry” she said
“What for?”
“For flirting with the PC I don’t know what came
over me” she said
“Well I hope you got his number” Libby said
“I did”
“Good” Libby said and held her hand
It was 3am when she got back to the hotel.
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