Bride's Deceit
(A Quest Magazine Investigation)
September 3
rd
2019 (At the offices of Quest Magazine, Crowther Street, London SW1)
Behind locked doors, top executives were huddled in discussion over a surveillance tape sent to them by a member of the public. It looked at first examination to be a possible scoop of the year for Quest Investigations
(There was a regular feature in the magazine devoted to exposing incidents of shocking behaviour and sexual misconduct.)
The tape showed a young bride running across the hotel's grassed area at her wedding reception, pursued by a man. The accompanying letter (unsigned) alleged that the man was not her husband and that the bride subsequently cheated on her wedding night and before departing on her honeymoon.
"Wow! This is dynamite," exclaimed Sonia Butterfield, Chief Reporter. " We can't let this one get away."
"I agree, absolutely," said Tom Dixon, Editor of Quest Magazine. "Have we got any means of contacting the person who sent us this?"
"Yes he followed up with a mobile phone number," said Sonia. He's been very cautious about this, but, he eventually sent it through to us.
"O.K. that's a good starting point. Who can we put on this?"
"Well, normally, I'd say Julia Montello, but she's been out of sorts lately. I think she had unfortunate...experiences.... on her last two investigations."
"Well, all I can say is that her work is top notch," interjected Dixon enthusiastically. "The detail and background stuff she puts in is amazing. How does she do it? Did you see the readers' feedback on that "Maid to Please" item? That edition racked up record sales for the Magazine. The readers just love these Quest Investigations."
"How old is Julia by the way? Is she married? She's certainly a beautiful woman."
"She's 29, replied Sonia and yes she's been married a couple of years."
"Well, whatever, I want her on this one........and no excuses. She had better not say no."
And so pressure was put on Julia Montello to cut short her sick leave and take on the new investigation. Two days later, she was on the train to Leeds with orders to "dig up the dirt" as quickly as possible and make the bumper summer issue of the Magazine.
As the train snaked its way up north to the City of Leeds in Yorkshire, Julia closed her eyes and shuddered at the memory of Robert Walton, a 19 year old youth, who, a month or so ago, had had his way with her over and over again after tying her up in his bedroom. She was the one "Maid to Please" in the end.
She frowned as she looked out of the train window. What she was thinking was..... why oh why, was she so gullible and so easily trapped into sex?. In her zeal to capture the story and get every detail, too often, she had left herself vulnerable and exposed.
She shook herself back to reality...and took on a new determination. This time she would not allow herself to be dragged into the sleaze and lust of those who she was investigating. She was a married woman who had a duty to her husband not to cheat on him, whatever the circumstances.
Her first task had been to track down the informer, who turned out to be the Assistant Manager at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Leeds. The Hotel was a popular choice for wedding receptions and had provided rooms for the married couple and their guests on the day in question.
At 3.00 p.m. that afternoon, Assistant Manager, Mr Alex Gifford, met Julia at the Hotel coffee shop. She needed this early meeting to meet the guy who had tipped them off and press him for more information. A fee was agreed for his cooperation and Mr Gifford was happy to talk, as long as it did not affect his position at the Hotel.
Gifford was immediately impressed with Julia's looks and appearance. She was a very attractive woman. Today the pretty blonde was in business mode with her hair up in a bun and dressed in a navy blue blazer with a matching short skirt. She also had a pair of sunglasses which were perched on her forehead. He was "knocked out" by her clear blue eyes and shapely tanned legs.
After the initial small talk over a cup of coffee, Julia Montello, got into Reporter mode and taped the subsequent conversation.
Quest: (Julia Montello) "First of all, Mr Gifford, I need some basic information; names, dates, that sort of thing."
Gifford: "O.K. I've got it all here. Your readers will just love this. I'm one of them by the way.
That is why I contacted Quest magazine. Incidentally, I love your work Ms Montello. Please keep it up."
"Now for the basics. First of all, the married couple are Mr and Mrs Paul Hart and their wedding and reception here was on the 18
th
May. The bride's maiden name is Veronica Roberts and she gave her address as 14 Hilton Way, Headingly, Leeds. I even have her mobile number for you.
The guy involved, who we caught on camera, is a Mr. Brian Wright of Flat 8, Waldron Buildings, Leeds.
I sent your people a copy of the surveillance tape of what happened out in the hotel grounds. No doubt you've seen it. The point is...... (He paused as a waitress came to serve the coffee) .....the point is Ms Montello... May I call you Julia? I have another tape of what happened later that night,
inside
the Hotel!" He nodded, knowingly, as Julia's mouth fell open.
Julia Montello immediately asked to see the tape, and, afterwards, he took her to a security room where he set up the viewing.
"I got all this by editing security tapes all over the hotel. Took me some time, I can tell you."
He sat Julia in a chair in front of the screen, as he got it started.......Then he leaned over her shoulder to give a commentary. Standing so close, he secretly breathed in her perfume and ogled her thighs before proceeding.
Gifford
: "See here, Julia,.......this is the Bride...right here. What happened, as you can see, is that she came out of the bridal suite, on her own, wearing a tight fitting black dress at around 10.00 p.m. and went down to the bar. I don't know why.....maybe Hubby wasn't up to the old après wedding fun....However, the point is, she gets on talking to Wright down there and, after one drink, she follows him upstairs. She slips back into her own hotel room for a few minutes then reappears a short while later wearing nothing but her wedding headdress and .....Look see...there she is in skimpy lingerie. Wow! Look at that getup. She's wearing hold- up white stockings, matching high heels, a see through nightdress and skimpy white lace panties. Man, she is something! Jesus does she look hot!
Then see......she goes straight to Wright's room along the corridor. It's all here."
He switches off the video then sits down and talks to Julia.
"See your evidence is all there on the tape. Time of entry and everything. Then, TWO HOURS later, she emerges from his room and sneaks back to the honeymoon suite to join her sleeping, inebriated, husband."
"And that, dear Lady, is game, set and match for your investigation. All you need now are the colourful details."
He takes the recoding out of the machine and hands it to her. "I need that back when you've finished with it," he adds.
"Now, if there is anything else you require.......and I do mean anything......please let me know. I've already booked you into a nice room on the third floor, just along from where the action took place."
Julia Montello winced as Gifford rambled on. She had disliked the smarmy Assistant Manager on sight and the interview had confirmed her first impression. Now, she just wanted to get away from him and get on with her investigation.
Later, she telephoned Veronica Hart, nee Roberts, a Civil Servant in the City, who was horrified to know that a magazine like Quest was investigating her activities. After some persuasion, she reluctantly agreed to meet Mrs Montello after work. They met in the local park at Mrs Hart's request for purposes of privacy. This was the subsequent interview.
V
eronica
: "What happened at my wedding, or anything else I do, is none of your damned business."
Ques
t: "As I said earlier Mrs Hart, we have damning tapes of what went on in and around the hotel."
Veronica
: "So basically, you are blackmailing me. I tell you everything, or you go to my husband?"
Quest
: "Well I wouldn't put it quite like that.....not at this stage. I'm just after a story for the Magazine. I need some details to work with. We can use false names and prevent you from being identified. We have to do that, in any case, for legal reasons. Our Readers just want a juicy story to read, preferably, one with plenty of sex in it."
Veronica
: "Yes, I bet they do......well you'll get very little out of me."
Quest
: "Lets go through it anyway and see what you are prepared to tell me.
First of all, who is Brian Wright and what is he to you?"
Veronica
: "If you must know he is a former boyfriend of mine. Unfortunately, he is not the marrying kind. It took me a while to realise that he is too selfish and self- centred. We broke up about a year ago."
Quest
: "But you didn't forget about him?"
Veronica
: "No. We were always physically attracted to one another. The sex was always brilliant. But then, I met my husband, Alex and fell in love with him."
Quest
: "So what happened on your wedding day?"
Veronica
: " Basically, I had too much to drink and felt emotionally unbalanced. Getting married is a big step. Otherwise, I have no excuses."
Quest
: "It looks from the tapes that you went a bit far in the hotel grounds and then finished it later that night?"
Veronica
: " If that's how it looks, well, how can I deny it?"
Quest
: "You went back to being his girlfriend for one night, while your husband slept it off. And now you want to forget the whole thing."
Veronica
: "You've got that spot on. I want to be the perfect wife. So my co-operation with you ends here. If you use that tape in any way in your magazine, I'll deny everything and sue you relentlessly, believe me."
Quest
: "So you wouldn't be prepared to let us use a wedding day photograph?"
Veronica
: "Certainly not.............goodbye."
Julia Montello looked on glumly, as Veronica stood up and quickly walked away. Her stubborn refusal to co-operate and give some personal details was going to be a problem.
Later that day, Julia phoned her boss Sonia Butterfield in London and brought her up to date with the situation.
Sonia: "This isn't good Julia....you haven't handled this well at all."
Julia: "But she just wouldn't........."
Sonia: "Shut up and listen. The legal team say we must not under any circumstances use any of that video surveillance stuff. Not even still shots. That means we need our own photos if we want to proceed. And we must get this ready for the July issue.....those are the orders from up on high."
Julia: "So how are we going to do this?"
Sonia: "I'm coming up to Leeds to do the photographs.....and I want you to model in a wedding dress and lingerie."
Julia: "The only wedding dress I'm prepared to wear is my own. I'll get my Mum to fish it out for me. She knows where it is."
Sonia: "You do that and I'll call on my way and bring it up to you. I'll also do some shopping and bring anything else we may need. I know your size if I think we need any more clothes for you. Maybe, some lingerie, like Veronica wore."
"Meanwhile, get cracking on that Brian Wright angle."
Julia managed to track down the man in question at his address in Leeds. But, the interview with him was just as unfruitful as with Veronica Hart.
