Brothers & Sisters

by Brothers

  ‘Nope. No children,’ he said. ‘Annie is my sister, Louise,’ Kelly explained, he realised from the shocked expression on Louise’s face that she didn’t quite understand.

  ‘Your sister?’

  ‘She’s my girl,’ Kelly smiled as he imagined Annie saying it; ‘Tony’s girl’ was how she always introduced herself ‘She has Downs and a few other issues, lives in a care home, just outside of town.’

  Louise didn’t know what to say, tears pricked just inside her lids and her eyes grew wet. She had never imagined this side of him before. ‘Oh Kelly, that sounds just so sweet.’

  ‘Well now you know why I didn’t tell you, I needed you to think that I was hard-ass.’

  ‘Is that why…’ Louise stopped herself, it really wasn’t fair for her to demand so much personal information, or was it?

  ‘Is that why, what?’ Kelly asked.

  ‘Well, I always wondered why you never left Kilkenny, didn’t put yourself forward for promotion.’

  ‘Well, first of all, I did go for a promotion, but they gave it to that bollox, McCarthy.’ McCarthy was their station inspector based in Kilkenny. Neither of them had any love for him. ‘But yeah, I’m not interested in promotions outside of Kilkenny. I’m all the family that Annie has, so I’ll be there as long as she is.’ He picked up her hand and kissed it.

  She reached over to him and kissed him on the lips and he grabbed her closer. She knew what it was like to have a sister she loved so much; she felt the same about Alex.

  ‘Shit, Alex’, she exclaimed. ‘What time is it?’ She stretched across to the bedside table for her watch. ‘I must go.’ She said hurriedly.

  ‘Okay, I don’t know if I can take my hands off you though.’ Kelly pulled back the sheet and sat on the edge of the bed. The last two hours had been bizarre but wonderful.

  ‘I’m sure you’ll manage.’ Louise reached for her blouse that was lying on the floor. She giggled as she threw it over her head. ‘We need some food, I don’t know if that waiter will serve us again though.’ Kelly wasn’t sure where to go from here and it was possible that she didn’t either.

  ‘Alex will be looking for you,’ he said, pulling up his jeans over his boxers and reaching for his watch from the bedside table.

  ‘Do you…’ She hesitated for a moment. She had been looking forward to spending time with her sister but couldn’t bear not to be with him. ‘Do you want to come with us, for a bite to eat?’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Yeah, she’d love to meet you.’ Louise was confident. ‘Properly, I mean.’

  Kelly stood buttoning up his shirt; it was slightly crumpled so he smoothed it out.

  ‘She might put you through your paces though,’ Louise warned. ‘She was always the tough one,’ she added.

  ‘She, was the tough one, Jesus Christ,’ Kelly quipped.

  ‘Tell me again what you said you were thinking about all week,’ Louise teased as she reminded him of his whispered confessions earlier in his bed.

  ‘Actions speak louder than words.’ Suggestively he joked, ‘I will show you later what I was thinking about.’

  ‘See you in an half an hour then.’ Louise kissed him goodbye. ‘For dinner, I mean.’ She smiled and took the short walk to next door.

  Alex embraced Louise tightly. ‘Where were you, I was worried.’

  ‘What did you do, pretend you were me at reception and get another room card?’ Louise already knew the answer. They were forever pretending to be each other over the years.

  ‘Did you wear that to your meeting?’ Alex noticed Louise’s casual appearance and dishevelled hair.

  ‘Eh no.’ Guiltily, Louise smiled. ‘I’ve just been inside, in Kelly’s room.’ Louise scrunched up her eyes as though bracing herself for an attack. When Alex didn’t speak, she continued. ‘Apparently, he has similar feelings for me as I have for him.’ Her voice was jittery with excitement.

  ‘Have you lost your mind, Louise?’ Alex exclaimed.

  ‘Shush, he’s next door.’ She glared as though there was a chance that Kelly could hear her through the solid wall.

  ‘Louise!’ Alex whispered. ‘You work with him,’ She laughed loudly at her sister. ‘And wait till Dad hears his age.’

  ‘He’s only fifty-five,’ Louise pleaded.

  ‘Only?’ Alex repeated.

  ‘I know, but we’ve talked it all through and it really isn’t an issue.’

  ‘How do you know this is not just some fling for him?’ Alex was protective of her sister’s feelings.

  ‘Well you can see for yourself, we’ve to meet him in half an hour.’ Louise plonked herself down on the edge of the bed.

  ‘I’m not going to dinner with you and Mr Loverboy to play gooseberry. I’ll be happy here with my room service, thank you very much. You go and enjoy yourself while your only sister is all on her own in your hotel room.’

  ‘Okay then.’ Louise knew she was kidding. ‘Did you bring my underwear?’

  ‘Don’t tell me you were, actually knickerless for the day.’ Alex flung the clean pair of undies at her sister.

  ‘No,’ she winked, ‘just for the past hour.’ She jumped up from the bed and raced for a quick shower.

  Chapter 22

  Thursday Evening – 2016

  Kelly waited patiently in the lobby of the Camden Court Hotel. The past days had been the most bizarre of his career and, if he was truthful with himself, the most bizarre of his life. He positioned himself on the first sofa he found so that Louise couldn’t miss him when she arrived, not this time; the velvet seats were well-dented and the cushions unplumped. A smattering of empty glasses and torn crisp bags were scattered on the smeared glass table in front of him; no doubt the remnants of a family with small, sticky-fingered kids.

  If there was one thing Kelly was sure of it was that, after Annie, Louise was the most magnificent person in his life, with her no-bullshit approach and tough, try-me attitude, he was well and truly taken with her. What he wasn’t sure of though was did she feel the same? Sure, they had spent a blissful two hours together, but it wasn’t just the age gap that put her well and truly out of his league, she was an absolute stunner as well. He wondered if it would work in real life, back in Kilkenny. He looked at his watch again.

  ‘I’ll clear that for you now.’ A smiling waitress busied herself with clearing his table; she looked tired, worn off her feet. Her once crisp white blouse showed evidence of a day’s work, clearing tables and scraping plates for those that didn’t have to. Strong liquor aromas and flowery scents from the number of vases dotted around the lobby filled the air. ‘Now,’ the waitress smiled at him, ‘can I get you a drink, sir?’

  ‘Just a beer, please,’ he answered, somewhat embarrassed to ask her to do more. ‘When you get a minute,’ he added and smiled as though trying to make his order seem less demanding.

  He clenched his teeth together and breathed deeply. He could still smell wafts of Louise’s perfume up his nose and when he closed his eyes, a spike of arousal shot through him like a dart, imagining touching her smooth, fragrant skin. It had been a while since he’d touched someone like that and, my God, it was worth the wait. With each blink, every angle of her naked body flashed across his eyes. He found it hard to believe what had happened. Louise Kennedy naked, in his arms. Maybe the lads back in the station were more copped on that he gave them credit for, in fairness, they saw it coming. He looked at his watch again; she was more than twenty minutes late but that was no surprise.

  Louise was nervous as she and her sister rode the lift to the ground floor. She was excited to see Kelly again, providing that was he still wanted to see her. She opened her mouth but couldn’t find the words to use it. In all her time, either training for the force or working in it, she had never allowed herself to get close to any of the lads, never, despite the many offers, but Kelly, he was different.

  ‘Jesus, what are you like?’ Alex’s voice interrupted her thoughts. ‘Calm yourself, would you.’ She giggled in
credulously. She could tell by the snaps of breathing and heavy sighing that Louise was in panic mode.

  ‘Oh fuck, Alex, what have I done?’ Louise whispered, even though they were on their own. The seeds of doubt had grown into brambles and began to strangulate her. ‘He is probably regretting everything.’ She stretched her neck and closed her eyes. She rubbed her face in anguish, forgetting about the mascara that Alex had made her wear.

  ‘Jeez, Louise.’ Alex smiled, her eyes were wide seeing her sister so shaken. As corny as it sounded, Alex knew the age-old phrase which they’d used in their childhood would make her laugh. ‘What’s got into you?’ Alex shook her head, her normally level-headed, don’t mess with me sister, was a mess, a big, hot, dithery mess; she had rarely seen her like this before. ‘My God, girl.’ Alex reached into her bag, looking for a tissue to fix her face. ‘You are, so, over-analysing this, seriously.’ She spat on the tissue and dabbed the streak of mascara that Louise had rubbed under her eyes. ‘Just go with it. What’s there to worry about, you guys like each other, you just slept with him for Christ’s sake, I guarantee you, he’s not regretting a single thing.’

  Catching her breath, Louise settled herself, patted her cheeks and waited for the lift doors to open. ‘I know, I know. Just a wobble.’ She flashed her sister a winning smile. ‘I’m grand,’ she said, her words sounding much braver than she felt. ‘And Alex, follow my lead with him, work with me, will you?’ Louise was anxious that her sister’s lack of tact might embarrass Kelly and she didn’t want her to frighten him off. Not yet. ‘He takes a bit of getting used to,’ she warned.

  ‘Don’t worry; I won’t say anything about the two of you supposedly professional detectives shacking up in a hotel when you are supposed to be working,’ Alex teased. ‘And I definitely won’t say anything about the fact that he is twenty years your senior and if the inspector found out about it, he would be discharged,’ she paused, ‘Dishonourably.’

  Louise threw Alex an exasperated look as the lift doors opened. ‘We’re not in the Army,’ she answered, laughing at Alex’s deliberate attempt to joke with her. ‘Behave,’ Louise warned, knowing full well what her sister was capable of.

  With his eyes fixed on the lift, Kelly downed the last mouthful of his beer. The doors opened and Louise and her sister stepped out. He cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, the thrill of seeing her again making him smile.

  He walked towards them and smiled. ‘Ladies, I hope I didn’t keep you.’

  Louise enjoyed his sarcasm. ‘No, not at all.’ She flashed him an intimate smile and immediately they both relaxed. ‘Shall we eat?’ She threw Kelly an embarrassed look as they both remembered the way they had behaved with the waiter in the hotel restaurant before they had skipped back to his room. ‘Maybe we’ll try the Italian down the road?’ she suggested; she felt too awkward to return.

  ‘I’m easy,’ Kelly answered, he was happy to go along with Louise’s suggestion.

  ‘So I’ve heard,’ Alex answered. She flicked a look at the new man in her sister’s life and waited for him to react. It was sort of a litmus test she set for him; his answer would dictate whether she was going to like him or not.

  ‘Alex.’ Louise shot a warning look at her younger sister, she had expected her to put him through his paces but she hoped that maybe they could sit down and eat first.

  ‘No, it’s a fair observation,’ Kelly smirked. He knew he had his hands full, one smart-mouthed, quick-witted woman was hard enough, but two. He laughed helplessly at what he had in store. ‘Your sister will attest to the fact that I am, actually, quite “difficult”.’ He had a hunch that if Louise had ever complained about him to Alex that the word ‘difficult’ would have been used. ‘And in fact, I’m actually quite, eh, taken, with your sister, and couldn’t believe my luck when she felt the same way about me, and believe me, nothing about your sister is easy either.’

  Saying Louise wasn’t easy had won the argument for him, maybe Alex was going to like this Kelly fella after all.

  They arrived at the restaurant after a short walk. ‘Shall we go in?’ he offered, unsure whether he should have opened the door for them.

  ‘Let’s,’ Alex answered. She smiled at her sister and they took the stairs to the basement level bar, waiting for a table.

  ‘That’s my phone,’ Kelly said. He pulled his phone from his pocket and baulked when he saw the Inspector’s number on the screen. ‘I’ll just take this outside,’ he added, scrunching up his face. ‘Louise knows what to order for me.’ He grinned. It was their first private joke in front of Alex and Louise enjoyed its timing as much as Kelly did.

  Kelly found a quite doorway on the street and redialled the Inspector’s number. ‘Inspector, Kelly here, sorry I missed your call.’

  ‘We were scheduled for a six p.m., Kelly. It’s now eight.’ Inspector McCarthy wasn’t happy to have been kept waiting. ‘I’ve a function to go to.’

  ‘Things just got delayed and I got waylaid trying to tie up loose ends,’ Kelly explained to him. He left out the detail that the real reason why he missed the scheduled conference call was because he was tied up under the sheets with Detective Kennedy and that was a detail that no one in the station would ever know. Not for his own benefit, he would have loved nothing more than to be able to say that Detective Louise Kennedy was in his bed, proud that she thought that he, Tony Kelly, was good enough, kind enough, clever enough or even sexy enough, for her to like him, but no, no one at the station would ever hear it from him, he had far too much respect for her to do that, the lads would never shut up about it.

  ‘And, do we have a case?’ the Inspector grew impatient.

  ‘We have motive, we have circumstantial evidence, we can place him in the vicinity.’

  ‘Why aren’t we arresting him then?’ His voice thundered down the phone. ‘This is dragging on, Kelly, where is Detective Kennedy on this?’

  ‘She feels the same, sir.’ Kelly couldn’t be anymore vague. He was buying time. ‘But we do just want to rule out Liam Fitzpatrick and Maeve Fitzpatrick. They were both alive and unaccounted for at the time of Patrick’s death. They would have had motive too by the same token.’

  ‘That’s bullshit, Kelly.’ His patience was wearing thin but more importantly to the Inspector, he wanted the glory of announcing the arrest in the forty-six-year-old murder case at the function he was attending that night. ‘I need an answer now, I’m going to be hounded by the press.’

  ‘Can we just have till tomorrow, sir, we should be a little clearer then.’

  ‘Fuck sake, no, Kelly, what is wrong with you, man, you have the bloody murderer in your sights.’ There was no glory in charging the deceased bodies of Liam and Maeve Fitzpatrick. It was far more newsworthy to have a living suspect. ‘I need to see you and Kennedy tonight. I’ll be back at the station around midnight. We’ll talk then. Right.’

  ‘Right,’ Kelly said. He didn’t know how he was going to get out of it. ‘I’ll see you then.’ He dropped his phone back into his pocket and paced to and fro on the footpath. ‘Fucking typical,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘Of all the fucking times.’ He shook his head and kicked a crisp packet from the pathway in front of him. There was no way out of it. He would have to tear up the road, get back to Kilkenny, miss out on spending the night with Louise, just when they were getting together, and put up with McCarthy posturing once more. ‘Stupid prick.’ He looked around him hoping no one was in earshot of his mumbling.

  He walked inside to tell Louise and stopped on the top step. He watched as the sisters smiled and laughed and whispered, it was a side that he had rarely seen in Louise, a side that she didn’t have the comfort of showing in work. It really was a lovely sight.

  He stood back from view, pulled out his phone again and composed a text. He’d leave her to enjoy her night with her sister, he decided, and he would make her excuses to McCarthy and she could catch up with him in Kilkenny in the morning. There was no point in her night being
ruined as well as his.

  Louise, sorry, need to leave for Kilkenny, will explain in the morning. Tell Alex I said goodbye.

  He pressed send, raced back around the corner to the hotel, gathered his clothes from his room, checked out and made his way to the car to get on the road to Kilkenny. If he had told her in person, she would have insisted she came with him and that wasn’t what he wanted for her.

  If he called McCarthy a prick under his breath once, he did it one thousand times.

  Chapter 23

  September 1970

  It’s been an hour since the baby has arrived and he is hungry and loud. I hold him and his busy little arms and legs thrash wildly when he is not bundled tightly in his blankets. Mrs McGrath says it’s because he thinks he is falling. I think it’s because he wants to thrash. He has realised that he can move and he is doing it, plain and simple. His red face has faded and in the subdued amber half-light from the bedside table, he now looks milky-white. The square brown alarm clock reads 10:16 p.m.

  Mrs McGrath crumples up the newspaper that she had spread and underneath there is a red chenille bedspread with flowery patterned swirls and curls that frame the edges.

  ‘Let’s get you freshened up,’ she says and takes the baby from me and places him in a cocoon she has made from pastel stripy pillows on an armchair facing against the wall.

  ‘Okay,’ I answer, embarrassed.

  She walks me towards the bathroom and reassures me that no one will come in. A waft of white musk hits me when I open the white painted bathroom door. It smells delicious. ‘Everything you need is there.’ She points to a neatly folded pile of clothes, a brand new bar of soap and a folded blue towel. ‘Take your time, and give yourself a really good wash,’ she says as she makes circles with her hands around the front of me. ‘When you are ready, then come back in,’ she says and closes the bathroom door behind me.