Where loyalties lie, p.16
Where Loyalties Lie, page 16
‘Okay, Oran was frowning at Ben and Niamh the night of the engagement party but there’s no evidence that Niamh had any contact whatsoever with Katie or her friends. So we still don’t know how Niamh got her hands on the scans.’
‘We know Ben, Oran and Chris were in Katie’s apartment a few hours before she died. They all knew Katie was allergic to nuts. Orla, how difficult do you think it would have been to add powdered nuts to the leftovers when nobody was looking?’
‘Too much of a risk when they were all in the kitchen, and why would any of them want Katie dead?’
‘I think she was blackmailing Ben. He killed her and took those scans.’
‘Even if Ben believed Katie was pregnant with his child, it’s no reason to kill her, and I don’t believe Edward would disinherit his teenage son for getting a girl pregnant. We’re not living in the eighteenth century.’
‘I don’t know, Orla. Edward isn’t like other men.’
‘You could ask Louisa. She’d know.’
‘I can’t keep turning up at the Weston house without an invitation. Especially if my only reason for going there is to ask how Edward would react to an illegitimate grandchild.’
‘Maybe Chloe would know. She’s coming to my housewarming party tonight. You can ask her then.’
*
Aoife had to admit Orla had a point. Ben didn’t have a motive for killing Katie. At least not one that she knew of. She’d leave the motive for later. First thing to find out was if he’d had the opportunity. Could he have gone back to the house before Katie returned? There were no signs of a break in so presumably he would have needed a key. She phoned Rionach.
‘No. I’m sure Sarah and Janet would have mentioned it if they’d lost their key.’
‘And you didn’t lose a key around that time?’
‘No. I came pretty close, though.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Remember I said that after the takeaway, we all went to the pub?’
‘The night Katie died?’
‘Yes. I brought a jacket with me and I left the key in the pocket. I hung it on the back of my chair and never gave it another thought. We stayed until closing time and that’s when I noticed my jacket was missing. Fortunately it turned up.’
‘Turned up where?’
‘A few tables behind us. I have no idea how it got there, but my key was still in the pocket.’
‘You said you all went to the pub together. Did that include Ben, Oran and Chris?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did all of you stay until closing time? Nobody left early?’
‘No.’
‘So every one of you sat at the table the entire time until the pub closed.’
‘People went up and down to the bar and to the loo, obviously, but nobody was gone for long.’
‘Was the pub far from your apartment?’
‘It was just across the street.’
‘So anybody could have popped over to your apartment and been back within ten minutes.’
‘Less, probably.’
FIFTY-EIGHT
As Aoife had expected, Orla decided to move into what had once been Chloe’s house. One mention of it to her parents and they had insisted on paying half her rent. Orla seemed to find this amusing. Her family were not in the same league as the Westons, but they were wealthy enough to be able to pay all of Orla’s rent if she’d let them. It was only a matter of time before they insisted on buying her a house. Probably a mini mansion.
Aoife arrived early to help Orla set up for the housewarming. She nibbled at a mini quiche as she helped move furniture to one side. Orla was an amazing cook, but she rarely had the time to indulge in her passion.
‘Casa Orla, everybody,’ Aoife heard Orla call from the hall. She went out to join them as Orla asked. ‘What do you all think of my interior decorating skills?’
Chloe seemed overwhelmed by the changes. ‘It doesn’t look like the same house.’ Her voice was shaky, and Aoife realised she was on the verge of tears.
‘I’ll get more wine. Come on, Chloe, you can give me a hand.’
When they were in the kitchen, Aoife asked her if she was okay.
‘I’m fine, really. I shouldn’t have come, but Orla insisted.’
‘Yep. Orla comes from a family of insisters. Is it too much seeing the house again?’
‘It’s not the house so much. It’s Orla’s things in it. It feels like Oran and Niamh’s existence has been wiped away. And everybody here enjoying themselves, it doesn’t feel right.’
‘We could slip out. Orla would never notice.’
They crossed the road and walked by the beach. ‘Even this doesn’t seem right.’ Chloe looked down at the beach. ‘We used to come here some nights when the tide wasn’t in. I remember us all sitting right there watching the sunset.’
‘Would you rather go home?’
Chloe nodded. ‘It might be best. And I have to be up first thing in the morning. Louisa wants me to meet her in Liscannor.’
‘Liscannor? Why?’
‘She wants to celebrate Oran.’
‘Celebrate him?’
‘Louisa was invited to Niamh’s month’s mind mass. She’d never heard of one before. Louisa’s not religious, of course, but she liked the idea of family and friends getting together, after the initial shock of the funeral had worn off, to celebrate the life of a loved one. Oran’s family are in Dubai, so if they had a month’s mind, Louisa and Ben weren’t involved. Louisa decided they were going to celebrate Oran this weekend.’
‘In Liscannor?’
‘Yes. She ordered a hundred red roses and she wants us to throw them into the water at the exact spot where Oran died.’
Aoife bit her lip to stop the smile. What would the locals make of a hundred red roses floating along the ocean? This was a millionaire’s take on a month’s mind?
Chloe grabbed her arm. ‘Come with me, please, Aoife. I don’t want to go, but I feel I can’t refuse.’
‘I’m not family or friends. Louisa won’t want me there.’
‘Yes, she will. Louisa’s no fool. She knows Ben hits the bottle every time Oran’s death is mentioned. If he gets out of control, I won’t be able to manage him on my own and I can’t see Louisa being much help.’
‘Okay, I’ll come if you do me a favour. I need to speak to Louisa privately. Can you keep Ben out of the way so we have some time alone?’
‘Sure. I can do that.’
‘Great. I’ll come with you, then, assuming you can get Louisa to invite me.’
‘Oh, she’ll invite you.’ Chloe grinned. ‘It will be one more person to carry the roses.’
FIFTY-NINE
Chloe insisted on driving them both, and Aoife was happy to agree. She figured Chloe could do with somebody to distract her on the long drive.
‘Why don’t we listen to music,’ she suggested. They turned the volume on the radio to full and sang along to Adele’s ‘Hello’. There was no talk of death or memorial services. They belted out songs for most of the three-hour journey, only stopping long enough to give their vocal cords a break.
*
They had agreed to meet Louisa at the Rock Café. Aoife and Chloe arrived just as the doors were opening. As they were a little early, they wandered around the shop, checking out the different rocks. Aoife bought a keychain. Chloe was trying to decide if she wanted a lamp that was supposed to remove toxins from any room when Louisa arrived. She wore black skinny jeans with hiking boots. Ben trailed behind his mother, a slightly sulky expression on his face. He wasn’t drunk, but Aoife doubted he was completely sober either. They had a quick coffee before heading for the cliff path.
A local farmer had turned her yard into a car park. It was too early in the morning for most hikers and they had the entire car park to themselves. Louisa removed the roses from a large basket. She gave twenty to Aoife and Chloe and took twenty herself, leaving Ben to carry the final forty and something that looked like a picnic basket. They were having a picnic? Really! Aoife hadn’t planned on making a day of it. She wanted to be back by five to collect Amy from her grandmother’s.
They walked up past the farmhouse, Louisa in front, Ben trailing behind and Aoife and Chloe between them. ‘I don’t think I can do this,’ Chloe said. Her face was deathly pale.
‘Are you okay? Do you want me to go back to the car with you?’
‘No. You go on. I’ll get Ben to help me. That will give you and Louisa some time alone.’
Aoife walked ahead while Chloe sat on the low stone wall and waited for Ben.
Louisa carefully placed her twenty roses on the ground as she climbed the stile that led to the cliff path. ‘Can you hand me those, Aoife, please. Where are the others?’
‘Chloe didn’t feel up to going on the path again. Ben’s walking her back to the car.’
‘He said the spot we’re looking for is about a half hour from here. Let’s keep going. Ben will catch up with us.’
The path was narrower and rougher than Aoife had expected. Why was it called a path at all? It was more like a makeshift track. In places it was single file only, but for the most part she could walk side by side with Louisa. They chatted about the weather—cold but calm and bright—and Oran’s childhood. Aoife brought the subject around to the day Niamh had died.
‘Chloe said she’d never seen Niamh happier than those last few weeks. That must be some comfort to her family.’
‘I hope so. I never thought Niamh and Ben were suited and’—Louisa looked over her shoulder before adding, ‘between you and I, their marriage would have been a disaster. I was stunned when they announced their engagement. I would have sworn Ben had absolutely no interest in her. Then again, Niamh did manage to get him to cut down on the drink, so I suppose the connection was deeper than I realised.’
‘I guess so.’
‘And, as you say, if Niamh had to have such a short existence, then I’m glad we had some small part in making her final weeks her happiest ones.’
‘And she got to speak to Ben just before she died.’
‘That’s true. It was like somebody up there wanted to make sure she had one last perfect day, wasn’t it? Although, I think it would have been easier for Ben if she hadn’t phoned. He’s often said things could have been so different if only he had told her to stay in the car until he got there.’
‘It’s a pity Anna didn’t hear the phone ring that morning. If Ben was in his room, she’d have assumed he was still asleep and taken a message. Ben wouldn’t have any reason to feel guilty.’
‘Anna wouldn’t have thought Ben could sleep through all that noise. I’ve done what I can to keep the noise to a minimum, but nobody could sleep through that racket.’
‘What racket?’
‘The cleaners come in between ten and twelve every morning.’
‘You mentioned that. I’d forgotten. Would the cleaners have answered the phone if Ben hadn’t heard it?’
‘I don’t know. It’s never been an issue as we rarely get calls on the landline these days. Although I remember last year one of the cleaning staff coming down to the swimming pool to get me because some marketer wanted to ask me questions. We outsource the cleaning staff and the crowd we use now don’t seem to have anybody who speaks English. The only thing this poor guy understood was my name.’ She laughed. ‘I was not pleased, I can tell you.’
‘You mentioned you were surprised that Ben wanted to marry Niamh. Do you think there was any chance she was pregnant?’
‘No. Niamh’s far too smart to get herself preg—unless, of course, she did it on purpose. No.’ Louisa shook her head. ‘Ben would have taken precautions. Women have tried that trick on him before.’
‘Other women pretended they were pregnant with Ben’s baby?’
‘Oh yes. I met a girl at his twenty-first. A few weeks later she sent me a note saying she was pregnant. She attached an invoice with an itemised list of the expenses involved in raising a child to the age of twenty-one.’
‘What did you do?’
‘I said, “I will arrange an appointment for you to see my gynaecologist. When he confirms you are pregnant with my grandchild, we’ll talk further.” I never heard from her again.’
‘You handled that very well.’
‘It wasn’t my first time. When Ben was eighteen, a girl sent him a scan with some note written on the back about DNA tests proving Ben was the father.’
SIXTY
Aoife felt her pulse quicken.
‘A DNA test? Was this girl looking for money?’
‘I don’t know. She didn’t say what she wanted, and as far as I know that was the only time she ever contacted us.’
‘Ben dealt with it?’
‘No. He was only a kid at the time. I phoned my lawyer. He put me in touch with a private detective. The detective’s contacts were able to trace the woman’s hospital number. It was another scam. The woman was years older than Ben, lived down the country and she was married. I doubt she and Ben ever even met.’
‘How did Ben react?’
‘I don’t think he ever gave it a second thought. Why would he when the woman was a stranger? I found the scan in his bedroom, took a copy and returned the original. I didn’t want Ben to know I had searched his things. Do you think that was a dreadful thing to do?’
‘Going through his room?’
‘I did it a lot when he was a teenager. They don’t tell you anything at that age, but they’re too young to be responsible. It felt wrong invading his privacy, but it would have felt worse if he got himself into serious trouble and I could have prevented it.’
‘Did you ever tell Ben you found the scan?’
‘No. The next time I searched his room, the scan was gone. I kept in touch with the detective and I had him check up on the girl every few months. As far as I know, she never tried to contact Ben again. The baby’s birth certificate names her husband as the father.’
‘What did you do with the copy of the scan?’
‘I have a file for household expenses. It’s in there somewhere.’
‘You have household expenses from five years ago?’
Louisa laughed. ‘I’m a dreadful organiser. Niamh was horrified. She said I should employ a personal secretary. When I refused, she began organising my files herself. Maybe I will hire a secretary now. I might not have been able to find anything before but at least everything was neatly packed away. Niamh left papers all over the place.’
‘What papers?’ Ben asked.
*
It was all Aoife could do not to scream No! A few more minutes alone with Louisa and who knows what she might have learned.
Louisa smiled. ‘There you are, darling! How’s Chloe?’
‘She’s waiting for us in the car. I wouldn’t have minded waiting there myself. What papers are you talking about?’
‘I was telling Aoife that Niamh was helping me to get my files in order before she died.’
‘I’m not surprised. That one could never mind her own business.’
‘That’s not very nice, Ben. She was your fiancée.’
‘She was a busybody and we both know it. Are you telling me you didn’t realise she went through your room when you were out?’
‘Darling, you’re upset. Let’s just do what we came here to do and we can go home. This will give us closure. Everything will be better after today.’
Ben muttered something Aoife didn’t catch.
‘Do we have much farther to go, darling?’
‘You passed it ten minutes ago.’ He held out his empty arms. ‘What did you think I’d done with the roses?’
*
They stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the seven-hundred-foot drop.
‘That’s the ledge you and Oran were standing on?’
When Ben nodded, Louisa shuddered.
‘I’ve read that bits of these cliffs crumble into the ocean all the time without any warning. You’re lucky you’re still alive.’
Ben’s eyes flashed. ‘Am I lucky, Mum? Is that what these last few months have been, me being lucky?’
Louisa put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Let’s drink a toast to Oran.’
They set up a few feet away from the edge. Louisa asked Ben to put all the roses to one side. She opened the picnic basket, revealing four crystal glass flutes and a bottle of champagne, each clipped into deep, padded compartments that were exactly the required shape. Had the basket been made especially for today?
Louisa filled each glass. ‘To Oran. Wherever you are, I hope you know how important you were to us all.’
Ben muttered, ‘Oran.’
They clicked glasses and Louisa told the story of the first time she’d met twelve-year-old Oran. She finished with ‘Even then you could see Oran was going to be a real charmer.’ She raised her glass in the air again. ‘Would you like to say something, darling?’
‘Let’s just get this over with and get out of here.’
Louisa sighed. ‘Okay, help me sort out the roses.’
Aoife picked up the near-empty champagne bottle. She searched the basket, half-expecting to find some kind of cork, probably pure gold or solid silver.
‘Ben, Louisa tells me that women sometimes pretend to be pregnant with your child so they can get money from you.’
‘Yeah. Sometimes.’ Ben walked to the edge and dumped a handful of roses in the water.
‘She told me about the woman who sent you a scan when you were eighteen.’
Aoife could feel Louisa’s glare, but she kept her eyes fixed on Ben. He was still facing the ocean, but his body stiffened.
‘What woman was that?’
‘It was a long time ago, darling. A woman sent you her ultrasound scans and wrote something on the back about DNA tests being able to prove you were the father.’
‘I don’t remember that.’
‘Why would you, darling? I’m sure the woman was a stranger. A private detective took care of everything years ago.’
Ben spun around and scowled at his mother. ‘What private detective? What did he take care of?’
‘He found out the name of the woman who sent the scans.’
‘How could some private detective know a woman sent me scans, Mum? How did you know?’
