Free Slur: The Riverhill Trilogy: Book 1 by Heather Burnside

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 23 rd 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