The Girl on the Cliff

by Lucinda Riley

  “Just a little something to keep out the chill, eh, Joe? Like some more?”

  Kathleen watched through the firelight as Gerald passed Joe a bottle.

  “Now, who would like a sausage?” he asked.

  Forty minutes later, Kathleen was lying on her back looking at the stars, wondering why they were spinning. She’d never seen them do that before. She could hear Gerald and Joe giggling uproariously at something and the shadowy image of Lily dancing in the firelight.

  Kathleen smiled, feeling very warm and content. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

  • • •

  When she awoke, she felt disorientated and very, very sick.

  “Jesus, Mary and Joseph!” she said as her stomach heaved and the contents landed on the sand next to her. Twice more she was ill, but at least when she was done her head had stopped spinning. When she’d buried her mess, she felt a raging thirst on her and turned toward the fire to find the bottle of water she’d brought with her.

  The blankets next to her were empty and the fire had gone out.

  She drank thirstily from the bottle then stood up to see if the other three had gone swimming. Her legs feeling strangely shaky, she walked toward the shore, but could neither hear the normal shouts of exhilarated laughter nor make out figures splashing in the waves. Turning back toward the camp, Kathleen shouted for them again. “Come on now, you three, I know you’re hiding from me. Come out, wherever you are!”

  There was no answer. Only the sound of the waves breaking evenly on the sand. “Surely they wouldn’t have gone home and left me?” Kathleen said to herself. “There’s no way I’ll be carrying this lot up the cliffs by myself.”

  Having shouted until she was hoarse, Kathleen sat back down on the blanket. And noticed an empty bottle lying on the sand. She picked it up, smelled it and groaned, understanding now why she’d been so ill. Gerald must have laced their elderflower juice with poteen. Made out of potatoes by many around these parts, she knew how lethal it could be.

  “You eejit, Gerald! What were you doing feeding us this?”

  An ominous feeling of dread assailed Kathleen as she imagined the other three drunk, wandering into the waves, not in their right senses. She tried to work out what she should do. If she went for help, her daddy would flay her alive if he thought she’d been drinking, and would doubtless not believe how Gerald had laced the elderflower with it. And just how much had Joe drunk? He’d never tasted a drop of alcohol in his life. The saints only knew what kind of effect it would have on him.

  Having spent another ten minutes searching the beach and calling their names, Kathleen realized with a thumping heart she had no choice but to go and raise the alarm. She had no idea of the time and, as she stood up, decided her only hope was that the three of them had left her sleeping where she was and headed home. Not caring about leaving their belongings on the beach, Kathleen turned miserably and began to walk toward the cliff path.

  Suddenly she heard a shout coming from the corner of the beach, which led on over rocks to the next cove.

  She turned and looked back, but could not make out the figure.

  “Kathleen, is that you?”

  “Yes!” she shouted back.

  “It’s me! Gerald!” He began running toward her. When he reached her, he was panting with effort and bent over to catch his breath. Looking up at her, he asked, “Have you seen them? Lily and Joe? They said they were going for a swim an hour or so ago. I said I’d mind the camp, because you were sleeping. When they didn’t return, I went to try and find them. But there’s no sign of them down on the shore. Have they been back here? Have I missed them?”

  “No, I’ve been here the whole time and I haven’t seen the hide of either of them.”

  “God,” groaned Gerald, standing upright. “Joe especially was pretty merry. I hope something awful hasn’t happened to them.”

  “Well now,” Kathleen put her hands on her hips, “What did you think you were doing, feeding him drink?”

  “Joe is a grown man. And he wasn’t saying no.”

  “And what about Lily? And me?” Kathleen’s anger and fear rose to the surface. “You put poteen in our juice, you eejit! What possessed you? What if Lily’s drowned out there in the sea? It’ll be your fault! And how will you live with that, Mr. Lisle!” she shouted hysterically.

  “Look here, Kathleen, I’ve done nothing except spice up a rather dull party. And no one can prove it anyway. Besides, who do you think they’re likely to believe, eh? You or me? Anyway”—he shrugged—“that’s irrelevant. We need to find Lily and Joe as soon as possible. I’ve looked for them everywhere, and there is literally no sign.”

  Kathleen’s eyes were drawn to a murky patch of blood on Gerald’s shorts.

  “What’s that, there?” she pointed.

  Gerald looked down. “Must have cut myself clambering over the rocks and it’s seeped through. Never mind that, do we search again or go for help?”

  “I’d say we go for help.”

  “Right. And I’m warning you now.” Gerald bore down on her and she shrank back in fear. “You might own a few acres of useless bog down by the stream, but you’re still a tenant on my father’s land. You say one word about the bottle I brought down to the beach tonight and I’ll have my father throw you and your family out of your house and off our land faster than you can possibly imagine. Understand?”

  “Yes.” Kathleen nodded tearfully. “I understand.”

  • • •

  An hour later, the small community of Dunworley had been alerted to the emergency and was down on the beach, searching the coves and the sea for signs of either Lily or Joe.

  As dawn broke, a local farmer called everyone to a small cave in which Lily lay, unconscious. Her dress was ripped and she’d been brutally beaten. The farmer carried her up the rocks to a waiting car. She was placed gently in the back, and driven off to the hospital in Cork city.

  Twenty minutes later, Joe was found fast asleep behind an outcrop of rocks, not twenty yards from where Lily had been lying.

  When they woke him, he was disoriented.

  “Lily,” he murmured, “Where Lily?”

  33

  There was a knock on the door of the farmhouse later that afternoon. Two guards were standing on the doorstep when Sophia opened it.

  “Mrs. Doonan?”

  “Yes?”

  “We’d like to speak to your son and daughter about last night,” said the guard.

  “They’re not in trouble, are they?” Sophia said nervously as she let them in. “They’re both good children, never done anything wrong.”

  “We’ll be speaking to your daughter first, Mrs. Doonan,” said one of the guards as Sophia led them into the sitting room.

  “How’s Lily? She must have fallen down the rocks. Kathleen, my daughter, said. I—”

  “That’s what we’re here to talk to her about,” interrupted the other guard.

  “I’ll go and get her,” said Sophia.

  Kathleen entered the room a few minutes later, her knees shaking with fear.

  “Kathleen Doonan?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Sit yourself down, Kathleen. There’s nothing to be nervous about, we’re just wanting to ask you some questions about what happened last night.”

  “Lily is all right, isn’t she?” Kathleen asked anxiously.

  “She’s going to be fine, don’t you be worrying,” said one of the guards. “Now, Kathleen, can you talk us through the events of last night? From when the four of you went on to the beach.”

  “Well now”—she swallowed—“We went down to have a picnic to celebrate Lily’s leaving before she went away to boarding school. The boys minded the fire and cooked the sausages while Lily and I went in for a swim,” Kathleen stated, watching the other policeman take notes.

  “And then?” he prompted.

  “We came back, ate our picnic, and then I . . . well now, I fell asleep.”

  “Were you tir
ed?”

  “I must have been, sir.”

  “What time did you wake up?”

  “I don’t know, but when I did, Lily, Joe and Gerald had gone. I went looking for them everywhere but I couldn’t find them. Then I saw Gerald, coming from the cove where Lily was found. He said he’d been looking for them too. Then we went to raise the alarm. And that,” shrugged Kathleen, “is all I can be telling you that you won’t already know.”

  “Kathleen, I’d like you to answer me honestly,” said the guard gently. “Would you four have been taking any drink last night with your picnic?”

  “I . . . no, sir. Why would you be thinking that?”

  “Because there was a fair amount of alcohol found in your cousin Lily’s blood when they tested her at the hospital. Are you saying she was the only one partaking of it?”

  “Sir . . .” Kathleen remembered what Gerald had said to her last night about throwing her family off their land if she ever told the truth. “Yes,” she admitted, shamefaced. “We all had a drink, so. But not very much, sir. And I couldn’t be saying about Gerald,” she added hastily.

  “What about your brother, Joe?”

  “I’d be thinking he’d had a swig or two,” Kathleen answered honestly.

  “Well now, when we interviewed Master Gerald before we came here, he told us your Joe was mighty drunk.”

  “I don’t think so, sir. Joe never drinks, so maybe even a little would go to his head.”

  “Something went to his head,” muttered the other guard under his breath.

  “Master Gerald said your brother was very fond of Lily. Is that true?”

  “Oh yes, sir, he adores her,” Kathleen agreed.

  “Master Gerald said he heard Joe say he wanted to marry Lily. Was he hearing right?”

  “Ah, now . . .” Kathleen struggled to think of the right answer. “We’ve always known each other since we were kids. We’re family. Joe’s always loved Lily.”

  “Yes, miss, but you’re not kids anymore, are you? Or, at least, your brother isn’t,” the other guard said grimly. “Would you say your brother is an aggressive character, Miss Doonan?”

  “Joe? No! Never! I’d be thinking he was one of the gentlest souls to walk the earth. He wouldn’t hurt a fly, so.”

  “That’s not what Master Gerald told us, Kathleen. He said Joe punched him in the face a few weeks back. He said you saw it. Did you?”

  “I . . .” Kathleen could feel herself sweating with the stress of the situation. “Yes, I saw Joe hit Gerald, sir, but Joe only did it because Gerald had said something Joe wasn’t liking about Lily. As I said, he’s very protective of her. I’m promising you, ask anyone, Joe is harmless,” Kathleen added desperately. “He’s kind and loving and he didn’t mean it, honestly he didn’t.”

  “Would you say he was obsessed with his cousin Lily?” asked the guard.

  “No.” Kathleen shook her head, feeling she was being led down a path and made to say things that sounded all wrong. “He just adored her,” she shrugged.

  “Kathleen, did you ever see your brother touch Lily?”

  “Of course! All the time! He’d give her piggybacks, pick her up and throw her into the sea . . . they’d play together . . .”

  “Thank you, Kathleen. We’ll be having a short word with your mammy now, and then we’ll be talking to Joe.”

  “I don’t understand, sir. Please, Joe’s in no trouble, is he? He may have had a bit to drink, and hit Gerald that time, but you have to believe me, he’d never harm a hair on anyone’s head, especially not Lily’s,” she urged desperately.

  “That’s all for now, Kathleen. We may need to speak to you again.”

  Kathleen stood up disconsolately and walked out of the sitting room, her eyes stinging with tears. Her mother was waiting in the kitchen. She glanced up as Kathleen came in, her own eyes full of anxiety.

  “What did they want, Kathleen?”

  “I don’t know, Mam, I don’t know. They asked me lots of questions about Joe, but they wouldn’t be telling me why. I know Lily was hurt, but that was from falling down the rocks, wasn’t it? Not because someone—” Kathleen put her hand to her mouth.—“Oh, Mam, you don’t think the guards think that Joe—”

  “We’ll be seeing you now, Mrs. Doonan.”

  One of the guards stood on the threshold of the kitchen.

  “Right then,” Sophia sighed. She stood up and followed them.

  Kathleen climbed the stairs to her bedroom and paced wretchedly around the confined space, knowing something was dreadfully, horribly wrong. Leaving her bedroom, she knocked on Joe’s door. Receiving no reply, she pushed it open, and found Joe lying on his bed, hands under his head, staring at the ceiling.

  “Joe.” She walked across to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. “How are you?”

  Joe did not reply. He continued to stare at the ceiling, his eyes full of misery.

  Kathleen put her hand on his thick arm. “Are you after knowing what happened to Lily last night? And why the guards are here?”

  Eventually Joe shook his head.

  “Did you see her fall and hurt herself, Joe? That is what happened, isn’t it?”

  Finally, he turned his eyes to Kathleen and shook his head slowly. “Can’t remember. Asleep.”

  “Oh, Joe, I’m scared. You have to remember. Did you see Lily fall and hurt herself?” she repeated.

  “No,” Joe again shook his head. “Asleep.”

  “Joe, please, it’s important you listen to me,” Kathleen said urgently. “And try and understand what I’m saying to you. I don’t know for certain, but the guards might have taken it into their heads that you hurt Lily.”

  At this, Joe sat bolt upright. “No! Never hurt Lily! Never!”

  “I know that, Joe, but they don’t. And whatever’s happened to Lily has sent them here. To find out about last night. And I’m thinking they might be trying to pin the blame on you.”

  “No! Never hurt Lily!” he shouted, thumping the bed.

  Kathleen could see the betrayal and anger in Joe’s eyes. “You don’t have to be telling me. I know how you love Lily. But maybe those guards downstairs don’t, and might be seeing what happened to Lily through a different set of eyes. Will you be promising me that you won’t get angry if they ask you questions you don’t like? Please, Joe, try and keep calm, even if they ask you if you hurt Lily,” Kathleen entreated him.

  “Never hurt Lily, love Lily!” Joe repeated again.

  Kathleen bit her lip in despair, understanding there was nothing she could say or do to protect her beautiful, gentle brother from himself. “Ah, Joe, maybe I’m looking on the black side. Maybe Lily will be able to tell her own story.” Kathleen knelt on the bed and put her arms around Joe tightly. “You just be yourself, and tell them that you were asleep.”

  “Will.” Joe nodded vehemently.

  Kathleen was still hugging him when her mother came in a few minutes later, her face pale, to say that Joe was wanted downstairs. She watched him heave himself to standing and leave the room, the feeling of dread in her heart overwhelming.

  • • •

  The guards took Joe away that afternoon for further questioning. Two days later, another guard came to the house and told the three of them that Joe was to be charged with the rape and assault of Lily Lisle. He was to be kept in Cork jail until the trial.

  When he’d left, Sophia sat down in a chair at the table. She put her head on her arms and wept silently. Seamus went to put his own arms around her, tears in his eyes too.

  Kathleen watched her parents, the despair etched on their faces, and knew they were broken.

  Eventually, Sophia looked up, clasping her husband’s hand. “He didn’t do it, did he?”

  “No, pet, we know he didn’t.” Seamus shook his head slowly. “But what we can do to put this wrong right, I just don’t know.” Seamus turned to Kathleen. “Surely someone in this house must remember what happened that night? What possessed you, girl, to drink poteen
? You know what it does to a mind, especially one as slow as Joe’s!”

  “Pa, I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry.” Kathleen wrung her hands, desperate to tell him the truth about how Gerald had deceived them all into drinking it.

  “And the guards are taking the word of the Englishman, as always. Maybe I could go and speak to him, go and speak to Gerald?” Seamus paced around the kitchen.

  “And will he be telling you the truth? Someone did this to Lily, and we know it wasn’t our Joe. But what can we do?” Sophia shook her head in anguish. “If it was Gerald, will he ever admit it? Never!”

  “What about Lily?” asked Kathleen. “Could I go and see her? You know how close we’ve always been, Mam.”

  Sophia looked questioningly at her husband. “What do you think, Seamus? Should Kathleen go and visit Lily?”

  “I’d say anything was worth a go at this stage,” agreed her father.

  The following day saw Kathleen on the bus up to Cork city. Lily was being cared for at the Bons Secours Hospital.

  When Kathleen walked into her room, Lily’s eyes were closed. Kathleen studied her, the black and purple circle around her left eye, the cut to her lip and the bruises on her lower jaw. She swallowed hard, knowing that it was impossible even to consider that Joe could have done this to his beloved Lily. She sat down in the chair by the bed, knowing that when Lily woke up and they spoke, she must keep calm, and not become hysterical at the dreadful injustice that was happening to her brother.

  Eventually, Lily opened her eyes, blinked, then noticed Kathleen sitting next to her. Kathleen reached for her hand. “How are you?”

  “Sleepy,” answered Lily, “very sleepy.”

  “Will they be giving you something to help with the pain? Maybe it’s making you drowsy.”

  “Yes.” Lily licked her lips. “Could you pass me some water?”

  Kathleen helped Lily sit up to drink some. When she’d finished and Kathleen had replaced the glass on the table next to her, she asked gently, “What happened to you, Lily?”

  “I really don’t know.” Lily closed her eyes again. “I can’t remember.”

  “You must remember something,” Kathleen urged. “You don’t think . . . I mean, you know that Joe could never have done this to you. Don’t you, Lily?”