Where loyalties lie, p.8
Where Loyalties Lie, page 8
‘You didn’t see the guy’s face?’
Rose shook her head. ‘No, but it couldn’t have been anyone else.’
TWENTY-TWO
It was 3 p.m. by the time Aoife made it to Louisa’s house.
‘What’s so urgent?’ Louisa met her in the driveway.
‘I found the mystery girl. Her name is Emily and she and Oran went out for a few weeks. She spoke to Oran the night of the engagement party.’
‘What did she say?’
‘I don’t know. Rose saw them from a distance. She didn’t hear anything.’
‘Okay, but I don’t see how that helps Ben.’
‘Neither do I yet, but I have to talk to him as soon as possible.’
‘Why?’
‘Because Oran might have said something to Ben. Something that didn’t seem important at the time.’
‘I phoned Ben when I got your message. He was out drinking last night and stayed over at his old house. Niamh said he was so hungover she didn’t manage to wake him up until a half hour ago. I sent a driver over to collect him. He should be here in about twenty minutes.’
They sat in their usual seats, but for once the table was empty.
‘Why does it make a difference what they spoke about, Aoife?’
‘I don’t know, but I’m quite certain something happened in that pub the night of the engagement party.’
‘Something that involved Nancy Duggan?’
‘I think so. Louisa, would you be able to get me a copy of the information Edward’s private detectives found on Nancy? There’s no point in reinventing the wheel, and I’m sure they could get their hands on information that’s not available to me.’
*
Louisa decided to make tea and Aoife followed her to the kitchen. The kitchen was on the other side of the glass box which had reminded Aoife of her office. Like the rest of the house, the kitchen was white. A double oven was visible in one corner. Everything else was behind white cupboards, none of which had handles. A large white marble island ran down the centre of the space. Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over the garden Aoife had noticed the first day she’d arrived. Aoife sat on one of the white-and-cream breakfast stools. A sink area had been cut into the island, and she watched Louisa fill the kettle.
‘This house is so white. I don’t envy Anna having to keep it clean.’
Louisa laughed. ‘She doesn’t have to clean it on her own. A team of cleaners comes in every morning and evening.’
‘Isn’t that a bit disruptive?’
‘They clean this floor and the guest rooms on the third floor if anybody is staying over. Ben and I spend most of our time on the second floor. That only needs to be cleaned twice a week.’
‘It’s not white?’
‘No. I couldn’t bear to spend my days in this airport lounge. I commandeered the second floor and turned it into a living space. Edward spends most of his time in his office, but Ben and I live upstairs. It’s quite cosy really. Like living in a large apartment.’
‘Couldn’t you have done the entire house in a style you like?’
Louisa handed her a mug and sat on the stool beside her.
‘Edward wouldn’t have allowed it. He only allowed me to decorate upstairs on condition that nobody outside the family ever sees it.’
‘He doesn’t like your taste?’
‘It’s not that he dislikes it. He doesn’t trust it. Edward is very confident in his business decisions, but he doesn’t trust his artistic sense. Our interior designer is employed by the wealthiest people in the world, which gives Edward confidence that others will look at this house and say it’s beautiful.’
‘That matters to him?’
‘Very much. Edward didn’t have the easiest of childhoods. He told the interior designer he wanted a house that showed the world what he had become. Now that he’s a success, he wants everybody who once looked down on little Teddy Weston to envy his possessions. It means we have to live in an airport lounge, but on the positive side, Edward’s never reluctant to spend money, and the rooms upstairs are quite beautiful. What do you think of this place, Aoife?’
‘I think it would make a spectacular hotel.’
‘I’m not sure I agree. It’s cold and grey and unwelcoming. A lot like Edward, actually, now I come to think of it. Maybe the interior designer did a better job than I realised.’
*
Louisa found the remains of a cheesecake in the fridge and they had just finished it off when a very hungover Ben arrived.
‘Mum, did you have to drag me out of my bed at this hour? I didn’t get to sleep until nine a.m.’
‘I know you’re going through hell right now, Ben, but that’s not a life.’
‘It’s a hell of a lot better than the alternative.’ He rubbed his eyes and blinked at Aoife. ‘Oh, it’s you. I should have guessed. What mysterious secrets did you uncover now?’
‘Ben!’
Ben perched on one of the stools. ‘I’m hungover, Mum. My head is pounding and I’m exhausted. Could we please get this over with so I can lie down?’
Louisa nodded at Aoife, who explained what she had learned from Rose and Chris. Ben buried his head in his hands while she spoke. When she finished, he looked at her with bleary eyes.
‘How does that help me?’
‘I think it’s important to discover what Emily and Oran spoke about.’
‘Why? Oran fell off a cliff. What he and Emily might or might not have spoken about is completely irrelevant. Oran didn’t jump. Is that what you’re thinking?’
‘No. There’s never been any indication that Oran killed himself. But what he said to Emily may have some bearing on why Nancy Duggan has a vendetta against you.’
‘The woman is insane. Insane people don’t need reasons.’
‘She’s not insane, Ben. She has a reason for her actions. We just need to discover what that reason is.’
Ben rose, opened the fridge and removed a bottle of wine. ‘Oran didn’t mention Emily to me. He didn’t say anything unusual that night.’ He raised the bottle in the air. ‘Unless he said it while I was drunk, in which case it is gone forever. Just like Oran. Now, I am going to take this upstairs and drink it until I manage to forget what a bloody miserable world we live in.’
TWENTY-THREE
‘I’d never considered that before,’ Orla said when Aoife filled her in on the new developments. ‘What if Oran jumped?’
‘Not one of the witnesses ever even suggested such a thing.’
‘But think about that, Aoife. Who are the witnesses? Nancy Duggan, whose story is a pack of lies, and Oran’s friends, who wouldn’t want to believe he killed himself.’
‘I’m sure Ben would rather believe Oran killed himself than have half the country convinced he’s a murderer.’
‘Ben’s not himself these days. Louisa says he’s drinking like a fish. It could be screwing with his memories.’
‘I think you’re grasping at straws, Orla.’
‘Maybe, but humour me, okay? Talk to Niamh and Chloe again and make sure they have no doubt Oran didn’t jump.’
*
On Sunday morning Aoife was woken by the doorbell ringing. A FedEx van needed a signature for a bulky envelope they were delivering. Inside were thick folders with information three separate detective agencies had discovered about Nancy Duggan. Aoife felt a moment of guilt. She hadn’t considered Louisa’s inability to wait whenever she saw an opportunity to help her son. Some poor underling had probably spent Saturday evening printing out this information.
As Aoife ate her porridge, she read the reports and flicked through the multitude of photos. They made for interesting reading. Nancy was a friend of the National Opera House and the National Gallery of Ireland. Opera and art—not quite the pursuits of a woman who saw herself as a member of the downtrodden. There were several photos of Nancy in evening gowns on her way to one performance or another. In 2003 she had volunteered at the Special Olympics, and every second weekend she volunteered at an animal shelter. There were yearly family photos taken on Christmas Day. How had the detectives got their hands on private photos? In the earlier pictures, Nancy and her husband stood arm in arm under the Christmas tree, smiling down on their three boys, who were surrounded by toys and discarded wrapping paper. In later years, the photos were of the Christmas dinner. In these, Nancy beamed as she carved the turkey for her family. This was not the woman Aoife had interviewed.
*
An hour later, Aoife sat in Chloe’s kitchen.
‘Niamh isn’t here. She didn’t come home last night. I imagine she’s with Ben.’
‘Are those two an item?’
‘Who knows? Niamh would like them to be. She’s desperate to marry Ben. That was obvious from the moment he and Oran moved in.’
‘So both of you were in love with your housemates?’
Chloe’s eyes flashed. ‘I was in love with Oran and maybe, after we’d been a couple for a few years, I would have been happy to marry him, but I’m twenty-two. I have no intention of marrying for years yet. Niamh doesn’t love Ben.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Positive. Why do you think she’s so desperate to get married? She’s attracted to Ben, but if his parents disowned him tomorrow, you wouldn’t see Niamh for dust. It’s the Weston money she’s in love with.’
‘Does Ben love her?’
‘He certainly didn’t before Oran died. I think he found her a bit of a nuisance most of the time. It was my fault we spent so much time together. I wanted us all to go out as a group. It made it easier for me to spend time with Oran.’
‘How did Oran feel about Niamh?’
Chloe smiled. ‘Oh, Oran loved everybody. He told me once that he felt sorry for Niamh. He said Ben didn’t like clingy women and Niamh was clingy enough then. She’s practically a leech now.’
‘Chloe, I have to ask you something about the accident. I know it’s hard for you to think about that day, but I need to know if there is any possibility Oran might have jumped off that cliff.’
Chloe’s mouth fell open. ‘Jumped! No! Of course not. Why would you even think that?’
‘Something happened the night of the engagement party. Remember the photo we sent you of the mystery woman in the bar? That was Emily. Oran’s ex.’
‘Oran mentioned her.’
‘She disappeared for years. The night before the accident, she spoke to Oran. Maybe something she said caused him to commit suicide.’
Aoife could see Chloe’s muscles relax. ‘You scared me for a moment. Oran was the last person in the world to kill himself, but everybody says that when there’s a suicide, don’t they? For a split second I thought you might be right. It would be bad enough if Oran was depressed and I never noticed, but if he actually chose to kill himself in front of me and I wasn’t even paying attention? I couldn’t bear that.’
‘For a moment you thought Oran might have jumped?’
‘Only for a second. When you mentioned Emily, I knew you were wrong. Oran told me about her. He was shocked when she disappeared, but he never had strong feelings for her. It was the mystery of her disappearance that intrigued him.’
‘Chloe, what did you mean when you said you weren’t paying attention when Oran fell?’
‘I didn’t say that.’
‘Yes, you did.’
‘Damn! Look, I don’t believe Ben killed Oran. I really don’t and I know it would break Oran’s heart if he could see what Ben is going through so…’
‘So what?’
‘So I thought it wouldn’t do any harm to say I was looking when Oran fell. Oran would have wanted me to protect Ben. I know he would.’
‘But you never actually saw Oran fall?’
‘No. I’d had too much to drink the night before and I was wrecked. When Ben and Oran climbed down to the ledge, I lay down on the grass and dozed. I didn’t wake up until Oran screamed.’
‘Was Niamh lying on the grass beside you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did she fall asleep too?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Do you believe Niamh witnessed Oran’s accident?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Do you think Niamh would lie to protect Ben?’
‘Like I said, Niamh is desperate to marry Ben. She can’t do that if he’s in prison, and Niamh wouldn’t allow a harmless lie to separate her from the Weston money.’
TWENTY-FOUR
It was Aoife’s first day back at work since the incident with Tony. She didn’t see him all morning. There were no phone calls asking her to come upstairs. The post disappeared while she was making coffee, so she didn’t have any reason to go near his office. At 4:15, Tony appeared outside her box.
‘If anyone is looking for me, please tell them I had to go to a meeting.’
‘Yes, of course.’
Tony scowled at her. ‘Cathy mentioned that you were finding it difficult to get part-time work. You do realise how lucky you are to work here, don’t you?’
‘Lucky?’
‘I treat you well, Aoife. I don’t think it’s too much to expect a little bit of politeness in return.’
‘Are you saying I was rude to you, Tony?’
‘I’m saying I’m beginning to wonder if you are the right person for this job. We’re a small organisation. It’s important we hire people who fit well into the company. There’s a stand-offish air about you, Aoife, that I don’t like. And I know George and Cathy feel the same.’
‘George and Cathy told you I’m stand-offish?’
‘We’ll leave it there for the time being, Aoife. Think about what I said, and try to work on your attitude. We don’t need any prima donnas around here.’
*
Orla’s outrage on her behalf made Aoife feel a little better.
‘Prima donnas! Because you wouldn’t let that pig touch your breast? The cheek of him! What did you say?’
‘I didn’t get a chance to say anything. He stormed off before I could get a word out.’
‘You’re going to have to leave that job, Aoife.’
‘I know, but I’ll hang on as long as I can. It makes me so mad that I have to give up a job because Tony feels it’s his right to treat me like a piece of meat.’
‘You could threaten to tell his wife.’
‘Tony would have me out of the building that day.’
‘Then don’t threaten him. Just tell his wife what Tony is really like.’
‘No, Orla. What good would that do? I’d still be out of a job and Ursula’s life would be destroyed.’
‘She’ll find out what he’s like eventually anyway.’
‘They’ve been together a long time now and she hasn’t worked it out yet.’
‘Doesn’t she have a right to know?’
‘I doubt she wants to know. In any case I’m not going to be the one responsible for ruining Ursula’s life.’
TWENTY-FIVE
The weather broke the next day. Aoife woke to grey skies and drizzle. She tried to keep up a cheerful front as she got Amy ready for preschool, but Tony’s words kept going around and around in her head. She knew very well why he’d called her stand-offish and yet she kept going over her interactions with George and Cathy and second-guessing all her dealings with them.
‘Why are you sad, Mummy?’
Aoife was about to say she wasn’t sad, but why tell such an obvious lie?
‘It’s nothing serious, sweetie. Mummy had a hard day at work.’
‘You’re not working today.’
‘No, I’m not, and after school you and I are going to get ice cream. Wouldn’t that cheer anybody up?’
‘Maybe you should have ice cream now.’
‘I’ll tell you what. I’ll make us both a smoothie and that will keep us happy until ice cream time. Okay?’
*
While Amy was at school, Aoife tried to distract herself by going through Nancy’s file again. Something about the Christmas photos bothered her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She was standing outside the school waiting for Amy when she remembered. Pulling out her mobile, she phoned Orla.
‘How many children does Nancy have?’
‘Three. Why?’
‘All boys, right?’
‘That’s right.’
‘So why did Sally tell me she’d met Nancy’s daughter?’
‘Who’s Sally?’
‘The lady who owns the B&B I stayed in when I was in Liscannor. She said she knew Nancy and her husband to say hello to and she’d met Nancy’s daughter once.’
*
After they’d eaten their ice cream and gone for a walk in the park, where Amy jumped up and down in the puddles, getting them both drenched, Aoife phoned Sally.
‘Hi. Do you want your old room back again?’
‘Maybe soon, Sally, but not right now. I wanted to ask you a question. You said you met Nancy’s daughter, right?’
‘Just the once.’
‘What was she like?’
‘Young, slim, long straight hair. Not too unlike you, except younger and her hair was brown.’
‘Why did you think she was Nancy’s daughter?’
‘I suppose somebody must have told me or maybe I just assumed it.’
‘Why would you assume it?’
‘I don’t know, Aoife. I barely remember meeting her. It was years ago.’
‘Try to remember it, Sally. Nancy doesn’t have any daughters. I’m wondering why you thought she did. It might be important.’
Sally sighed. ‘Let me think. Okay. I was in the local shop. When I went to pick up a loaf of bread, Nancy was there and we said hello. The girl was looking at something else, fruit, I think. When she saw Nancy pick up a loaf she called, “Oh don’t get that again. You know how much I enjoy my breakfast and who could eat that crap. Get the other one.” Nancy laughed. She threw her eyes up to heaven and said, “Kids!” I just assumed she meant the girl was her daughter. They were obviously used to having breakfast together.’
‘How long ago was this?’
