It had been a long day for Gina Ward. She knew she needed to get someone to help her at the pub (her Uncle George having gone to stay with a relative as his failing health was catching up with him) but right now that wasn't an awful lot of help to her. She supposed she should be thankful the bar was reasonably busy - it was only a Wednesday night after all but in truth just for once she would have welcomed a quiet evening.
Around the bar were a few of the regulars including Claude Greengrass who was sharing a bag of crisps with his smelly lurcher. There were some couples using the tables near the fire and a couple of the old chaps quietly playing dominos in a corner. Phil Bellamy was seated at the bar exchanging a word with Gina in her quieter moments. He would have collected a few glasses and pulled the odd pint for her but if word got back to Sergeant Blaketon that he as a serving police officer was helping in the bar of the Aidensfield Arms there'd be hell to pay. It wasn't worth it.
Gina was pulling yet another pint when the pub door bounced open and someone clearly pretty well inebriated already stumbled through it grabbing hold of a nearby chair to support himself.
"By heck he's had more than one too many," Claude Greengrass wheezed from where he was perched up at the bar.
"John Riley." Gina spoke in resigned tones. "I only barred him the other week."
They watched as the man lurched toward the bar. Phil groaned inwardly. There was going to be trouble and John Riley was a big man. Phil did not fancy his chances against him.
John Riley lived in one of the cottages in the village (rented from the Ashfordly Estate) with his long suffering wife, Jean and their two young children. Jean was born and bred in the village, but left to go and live in Leeds. She returned, with her husband in tow, together with the two little ones about six months ago. She did not speak to anyone in the village but the black eyes and bruises she frequently sported told their own story. John himself worked as a farm labourer and was prone to bouts of heavy drinking. He was on his final warning for work, for turning up either drunk or not at all as he was still sleeping off the hangover from the night before. Why Jean had returned to Aidensfield with her family was not known.
John now leaned heavily on the bar, slurring his words as he said, "Pint!"
Gina took a careful step back from the bar. Claude Greengrass huddled his pint towards him and headed for the snug out of harm's way. Alfred the dog trailed after him. The domino players halted play and looked over at the bar.
"Go home John," Gina said, "I'm not serving yer."
"Well I ain't going nowhere until you do!" The man swept his hand across the bar sending glasses flying. "Pint, now!"
The couples by the fire got up and made a hasty exit. Phil stepped forward.
"Fancy yer chances do yer!" John squared up to him.
Phil produced his warrant card. "I'm a police officer," he said. "The landlady has the right to refuse to serve you. I suggest you leave now, and go home and sleep it off."
Before Riley could respond to Phil's very real relief the pub door opened and Nick Rowan, in uniform, came in. He'd been doing a late patrol of the village, and had been told by the people leaving the pub there might be trouble. So he'd called in to see what was going on.
"PC Rowan, sir," he said to John. "I suggest you do as my colleague tells you."
Riley seemed to back down and took a step backward raising his hands in a conciliatory fashion. Phil gave a sigh of relief and looked over at Gina just as she screamed "Phil!"
Riley had raised a chair and swung it at the unlucky constable's head. Luckily Phil was able to move fast but it still caught him a glancing blow on the shoulder and he staggered backwards having to grab the bar to stop himself falling over.
Nick Rowan was there in two strides, ducking as Riley threw the chair at him. Riley lunged at Nick who side stepped the man neatly; the inebriated Riley was completely unbalanced and crashed to the ground. In seconds Nick and Phil were on him and Nick got Riley handcuffed and under control.
"You all right Phil?" Nick asked a bit breathlessly.
"Yeah reckon. He got me though," Phil said wincing a bit.
"Looks like you're in a bit of trouble sunshine," Nick told Riley. "Come on, you're nicked, just in case you're wondering."
"I'll get Alf to send the van over," Phil said reaching for the phone.
"You all right Gina?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, thanks Nick." Gina gave Riley a look of disgust. "Just get him out of here. He should be ashamed of himself, he's got kiddies at home."
"Him being locked up'll mean he won't be giving his wife a black eye tonight though," Phil said quietly.
"I don't know how she puts up with it." Gina shook her head in disbelief.
Nick got Riley outside and sat him down on a low wall. "Stay there and don't give us any more trouble," Nick told him. "There's a van coming over for you."
"You've got to let me go, I need to go home," the man was now anything but the bully he had been in the pub and had transformed into a whimpering drunken mess. Nick felt disgusted.
"You're going nowhere but Ashfordly Station," Nick told him. "And I reckon you'll be at Ashfordly Magistrates in the morning."
"I can't go to court, I've got to go to work, I'll lose me job if I don't turn up!" The man made to stand but Nick pushed him back firmly.
"Don't start any more nonsense!" he snapped. "You're down for one assault on a police officer, don't make it worse!"
"All right Nick?" Phil asked coming out of the pub.
"Yeah. Van on the way over?"
"Aye." Phil looked at John in disgust as the man started sobbing. "What the hell's up wi' him now?"
"He's at the feeling sorry for himself stage," Nick said wryly. "He'll be feeling sorry for himself in the morning with the hangover he's going to wake up to."
Having got Riley parcelled off to Ashfordly Station, Nick before going over there himself to complete his report, went to tell Jean Riley where her husband was. It was late and he hated to knock on the door of a house with two young chidren asleep inside at that hour but she needed to know.
There was a light on in the front room of the cottage and Jean opened the door almost at once to Nick's quiet knock. The light from the inside of the cottage spilled out and Nick was shocked to see she had a very fresh black eye. Clearly Riley had been very busy that evening.
"Mrs Riley? PC Rowan, Aidensfield Police. Sorry to bother you so late."
"Its fine, come in," the woman said resignedly. Nick got the distinct impression she had been waiting for the police to knock on the door that night.
As he stepped inside, she said, "I've got little ones upstairs."
"I know, Mrs Riley," Nick said taking care to keep his voice low. "But I wanted to tell you your husband has been arrested and is in police custody."
"And you'll hang onto him until he's slept it off and release him in the morning." The woman shrugged. "The state of him when he went out of here tonight, I'm not surprised. I've almost been waiting for you."
Nick swallowed. "Its a bit more than that," he said. "He'll be charged for drunk and disorderly but he also assaulted one of my colleagues - he wasn't badly hurt but your husband will still be charged for assaulting a police officer, Mrs Riley."
"Will he go to prison?"
"I don't think so," Nick said, "but I can't say for sure." He hesitated. "Mrs Riley, we could charge him for assaulting you, you know."
"I tripped, Constable." The woman moved to the door. "Thank you for letting me know where he is."
"Can I do anything for you Mrs Riley?" Nick asked. "Even just make you a cup of tea or get someone to look in on you?"
"I'm fine Constable. If you could go now. I don't want my kiddies disturbed."
It was no more than Nick had expected but he felt wretched as he left the small cottage. He wished he could help Jean Riley more but if she was not prepared to press charges then there was nothing that could be done.
