He took a long deep breath and opened his eyes. ‘I heard shouting when I left the function room to use the men’s room. Fran was telling him to get away from her, in fact she was shouting it. I couldn’t hear every word over the music but I caught some of it.’
‘Would you confirm who you are referring to?’
‘That prick, Samuel Avery. I hired him to pull pints not bridesmaids. I digress. He wasn’t pulling her, he was gripping her by the wrist and she was telling him that it hurt and that what he’d done to her was unforgivable. She said a few things like “stay away from me”.’
‘What time was this?’
He shook his head and pursed his lips. ‘I can’t be sure. I know the gatecrashers had arrived as a bit of a ruckus had begun. I was heading to the toilet before I took care of matters.’ Gina flicked back to the previous report that Francesca Carter had given. She claimed to have been sexually assaulted before the gatecrashers arrived. Maybe this was a separate incident.
‘She yelled at him to get his hands off her and that she’d already told him to leave her alone.’
‘Did you intervene?’
‘No, I didn’t think it was my place. It also ended as quickly as it started. I didn’t want her to know I’d overheard what had happened so I ducked into the toilets and when I came out, they were gone. Francesca was back in the function room having a drink.’ He scrunched his brow.
‘How did she seem?’
‘A little deep in thought. She was sitting alone for a minute or two. I thought of asking if she was okay but Kerry grabbed her and pulled her onto the dance floor. Within what seemed like seconds, I spotted another gatecrasher. That took me away from my concerns about Fran. They were already drunk and loud, they took a bit of manhandling out of the room. I forgot all about what had happened between Fran and Sam until last night, when I found out about her murder. I didn’t know if what I’d seen was even relevant. I just knew that if it was and he had something to do with her murder, I’d never forgive myself for keeping quiet.’ He exhaled and rubbed his tired eyes. ‘Sorry, my daughter has been upset most of the night, upset and severely drunk. It’s taken it out of my wife and me.’
‘Going back to the reception, you say Samuel Avery grabbed her wrist. Can you tell me any more?’ Gina felt her pulse quickening. He was helping with the case against Avery more than he realised.
‘He was gripping it. She was trying to pull away but he wouldn’t let go. He said something on the lines of “you wanted it too. I could tell you were turned on”. To begin with, I thought they’d had some sort of tryst but there was something defensive in her tone, a quiver to her voice, almost like fear or anger. That’s when I heard her say that he was hurting her. I definitely heard her shout, “stay away from me” but he treated it like a joke and replied with something like she’d been flirting with him. That really is it. I didn’t hear any more.’
Gina thought about Holly; maybe Trevor Reed would remember something he hadn’t previously thought of. ‘Do you remember seeing Holly around this time?’
‘I can’t say that I do. I said that in my statement. I had gatecrashers to deal with. I wasn’t really switched on to who was around me.’
Gina knew that Holly left the room around this time. Other witness statements had confirmed that. The gatecrashing incident had acted like one big distraction. Had Phillip Brighton come in and sneaked past everyone, following Holly to her room? Had Samuel Avery given up on Fran and taken his frustrations out on Holly? Everyone said that Cassandra Wilson was working alone through a lot of the evening while Samuel Avery and Robin Dawkins enjoyed the party. Had Robin succumbed to the same dark urges buried in his past and followed Holly up to her room? Maybe the party had triggered his behaviour. She now had what she felt were three firm suspects who had opportunity and motive and all three of them had failed to provide an alibi for the night of Francesca’s murder. ‘Thank you for coming forward.’
‘It was my moral obligation to do so. I have a daughter and when it comes down to it, I know I should have intervened but, as I say, it was over so quickly. I suppose I failed Fran. If I’d have said something, she may still be here. The focus was all on Holly after what had happened. None of us were thinking straight that night.’ He fiddled with the cufflinks on his sleeve. ‘That’s something I’ll have to live with.’
Gina let out a small cough. She knew exactly how it felt to live with guilt, although her guilt was darker in nature. She placed her hand around the side of her neck and swallowed. Terry had felt no guilt at all for what he’d done to her. She wondered if he’d have felt any remorse if he’d have killed her when he had his hands gripped around her neck. All this talk of weddings was starting to play on her mind.
‘Thank you so much for coming and telling us what you remember.’ She fished a card from the folder. ‘If you remember anything else, call me. Do you remember seeing the other barperson around, Robin Dawkins?’
‘Oh him. Useless, he was. Fancies himself as an Elvis impersonator. He was chatting up all the women in the room with his little Elvis sound bites but I think most of them found him annoying. I don’t remember seeing him when the gatecrashers came but I may have just missed him. As I keep saying, my mind was on other things. He could have been there all along. His girlfriend looked upset though.’
‘Cassandra Wilson?’
‘That’s the one. Short, ample and curly-haired. It was sad to see her being ignored while he flirted away. I felt a bit sorry for her but these things happen. You hope that young women with toads for boyfriends finally see sense.’ He glanced at his watch.
Gina thought of Robin Dawkins waiting in another interview room. He was next on her list.
‘Did you see this man at all?’ She passed him a mugshot of Phillip Brighton.
He pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket and slid them up his nose. ‘Ah yes. That’s Phil. I don’t know him well but I have seen him in the Angel Arms once or twice, he always looks stoned. My daughter does goofy impressions of him, the way he slouches and twitches. I know that doesn’t sound kind but it’s done in good humour. He was there on the night of the reception. I saw him later on in the evening but when you arrived, he’d gone. I can’t say that I took much notice of him. He wasn’t the rowdiest of the gatecrashers. He came across as a little weasel but that’s as far as it goes. As I said before, I had a lot of other things to take care of and once we found out what happened to Holly, my family were distraught. It was like time stood still and I lost all focus on what was happening. The whole night after that was a blur. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.’
Gina smiled. ‘You’ve been a great help, Mr Reed. I won’t take up any more of your time. Is there anything else you’d like to tell me before we finish?’
Jacob caught up with the notes on the witness statement as Gina waited for him to answer.
‘Not that I can think of. If I do remember anything, I’ll let you know straight away.’ He placed her card in his shirt pocket and patted it. ‘For now, I have some work to do, then I’m heading home to be with my family.’
Jacob scribbled out the blank end of the form and turned it around. ‘Could you please sign and date each page.’ The man obliged before standing to put his jacket on. ‘I’ll see you out.’