holding up, old friend.
Rebecca Feine
Support? I can’t believe the outrageous things Graham said about the Byatts. He deserved that slap!
Kitty Fletcher
What happened?
Pauline Sharpe
Weren’t you at the book fair earlier?
Kitty Fletcher
I was at a lecture. Is Graham okay?
Eamon Piper
Lewis Byatt punched him. He’s down the station now, being questioned by the police.
Rebecca Feine
Ryan said it was a slap. And can I just say, the Neck of the Woods is a very different kind of establishment now Bobby and I have taken over.
Belinda Bell
Slapped or punched, it was out of order. That child is feral.
Kitty Fletcher
What did Graham say to Lewis? And what has the pub got to do with it all?
Rebecca Feine
I don’t want to repeat it here.
Belinda Bell
If you won’t, I will: the Byatts have been swingers for years. Remember the old pub lock-ins back in the day? Well, now we all know what went on in there.
Ellie Mileham
What an utterly ridiculous thing to say!
Graham Cane
It most certainly isn’t. It’s been known by a few of us old crew for a while now.
Eamon Piper
He’s back! Can’t keep a Forest Grovian down. Tell more, please, Graham.
Kitty Fletcher
The Byatts are Forest Grovians too, you know. Can we be mindful of the fact that anyone can be reading these posts, please, including those poor vulnerable Byatt children? This is a police matter now so be careful what you say.
Graham Cane
Kitty is quite right, this is a police matter, which means I can’t talk about what happened last night. However, what I will say is that this proves there’s more to the Byatt family than the perfect picture they present to the world. And with the news that the police have released the man they arrested for the attack on Patrick, I think a lot of interesting developments will take place. Maybe this wasn’t a break-in at all? Maybe the police will look at the family more.
Andrew Blake
And Ryan Day too. I’ve always wondered about him and Melissa.
Debbie Lampard
How exactly do you know all this, Graham? I can’t imagine Melissa being unfaithful. And I certainly can’t imagine Ryan Day being involved in any pub lock-ins and swinger parties, Andrew!
Graham Cane
Who said ‘unfaithful’? Didn’t I say they were swingers? All consensual.
Pauline Sharpe
My mum and dad used to run the pub back then. Debbie is right. Melissa was never involved in all that, nor Ryan.
Rebecca Feine
What about Patrick?
Pauline Sharpe
No comment. All I’ll say is that those of us who went to school with Patrick will remember what he was like.
Ellie Mileham
What’s that supposed to mean, Pauline? Peter used to stay on at those pub lock-ins with Patrick. It was just lads having a few drinks.
Graham Cane
You keep telling yourself that, love.
Rebecca Feine
Oh, come on, Ellie, surely you know what Patrick’s like? I’m not saying Peter’s the same but Patrick has always had a way with the ladies. The whole village knows it. I’ve always felt so sorry for Melissa.
Belinda Bell
Finally, it’s out in the open! Been desperate to say something.
Kitty Fletcher
God, the poor man has only been in a coma a week and the rumours all start to come out.
Pauline Sharpe
I’m surprised it took that long for all the old skeletons to come out of the closet. Everyone knows what Patrick’s like. He’s a lovely guy but he really can’t keep his pecker in his pants.
Andrew Blake
Yep, Andrea Cooper will tell you. She’s been shagging Patrick for years.
Andrea Cooper
How dare you! Count this post deleted, and any more speculation like this will lead to an instant dismissal from the group.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Wednesday 24th April, 2019
5.45 p.m.
Melissa sat across from the two detectives with Lewis, trying to wrap her head around what Lewis had overheard Graham saying. Patrick did enjoy a few extra drinks with his friends when the Neck of the Woods used to have lock-ins many years back. Patrick would come in late at night, smelling of red wine and cigarette smoke. Melissa used to get annoyed with him, especially when she was pregnant with the twins and utterly exhausted. But that didn’t mean Patrick was a womaniser!
The thing was, Patrick had had his indiscretions in the past. But that was years ago, when they were both eighteen. She’d caught him kissing Andrea Cooper behind the forest centre once after a Christmas party. When she confronted him, Patrick told her it was just a one-off. But a few weeks later she found a love letter from Andrea making it clear things had continued. When she confronted Patrick yet again, he told her he couldn’t help himself.