The Silent Speak

by Val Collins

  ‘If Fiona saw the emails, I didn’t want her to be able to trace them back to me.’

  ‘Did Shane know the emails were from you?’

  Silence.

  ‘Ruth, were you hoping Fiona would find them? Did you want Shane to deny knowing anything about them?’

  Silence.

  ‘Were you hoping if you planted enough evidence that Shane was having an affair, Fiona would throw him out?’

  Aoife was about to speak again when Ruth said, ‘Fiona didn’t deserve Shane and he was too loyal to leave her. I thought if she left him, it would be best for everyone. And before you judge me, I was right, wasn’t I? If they’d divorced, Shane could have found somebody worthy of him and that terrible tragedy would have been avoided.’

  *

  ‘What a psycho. If Shane hadn’t died, I bet she’d have kept trying to break up their marriage for years.’ Orla waved at a group of her colleagues who sat down at a nearby table. ‘Or maybe Ruth got tired of sending emails that were having no effect. She might have decided the best way to end the marriage was to kill Shane’s family.’

  ‘Murdering his wife and kids wasn’t likely to win Shane over. And the murderer killed Shane too, remember.’

  ‘Well, Ruth took the risk that Shane would discover she was sending those emails. That was hardly likely to win Shane over either. Wasn’t there a famous case in the US about a woman murdering her own children because her lover didn’t like kids? Is it so much of a stretch to think Ruth would murder another woman’s kids so she could have their father all to herself?’

  ‘It doesn’t seem very likely, and if the object was to have Shane to herself, why kill him too?’

  ‘Maybe he returned home unexpectedly before she had time to escape. He was furious, she was angry he didn’t appreciate what she had done for him, so she killed him.’

  ‘The police say he cut his own wrists.’

  ‘Okay. Maybe he was so distraught at the sight of his dead family that he didn’t want to live anymore, so he cut his wrists before Ruth could stop him.’

  ‘That’s not very likely either. If you discovered your family murdered, wouldn’t your first reaction be shock? I imagine it would take a while for depression to set in.’

  ‘I’ve no idea.’ Orla finished one éclair and reached for a second.

  ‘How do you stay so thin?’

  ‘Good genes. Mum says she could eat anything until she turned thirty. She’s been dieting ever since. I figure I have another six years of eating whatever I like and I intend to enjoy them.’ She cut the éclair into thin slices and offered the plate to Aoife, who declined.

  ‘You know, Aoife, maybe you were right about Shane having gambling problems. His own wife said he was incapable of managing their finances. If Ruth didn’t kill him, maybe the murders were revenge for unpaid debts after all.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s the next thing I plan to look into.’

  f

  Shane’s finances weren’t the only thing Aoife needed to figure out. On the journey home, she decided if she couldn’t talk to Conor about Blaine’s behaviour, she would have to deal with Blaine directly.

  Her opportunity came that evening, when they ran out of milk and Conor offered to get some. Aoife ran upstairs and left her iPad in Amy’s room. Three deep breaths and she headed downstairs.

  ‘Amy, would you like to watch a movie for an hour before dinner?’

  Amy’s mouth dropped open.

  ‘Just this once, as a special treat.’

  ‘Yes, please.’

  ‘I left the iPad on your bed.’

  Amy raced upstairs. Aoife sat opposite Blaine, who was playing a game on his phone. ‘Blaine, we need to talk.’

  Blaine’s thumbs clicked away at the keyboard, but he raised his eyes to meet hers.

  ‘We can’t go on like this. I understand why you don’t want somebody else in your dad’s life, but is that fair to him? You have your mum and stepdad in London. Do you want your dad to be all alone?’

  Blaine shrugged.

  ‘Please talk to me, Blaine. I know you love your dad. You want him to be happy, don’t you? That’s what I want too.’

  ‘You don’t give a damn about my dad.’

  ‘Blaine! Of course I love your dad. Why would you say that?’

  Blaine’s eyes returned to his screen. ‘I know you don’t give a damn about him. He told Mum he asked you to marry him but you said no. You’re just screwing with him until you’re bored.’

  ‘That is not true, Blaine.’ When he refused to look at her, Aoife knelt on the floor beside him, put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. ‘I love your dad more than anybody in the world, except Amy.’

  Blaine shrugged off her hands. ‘Liar!’

  ‘I am not—’

  ‘What’s going on here?’ Conor stood in the doorway.

  Aoife got to her feet. ‘Blaine and I were discussing our differences.’

  ‘Blaine, why did you call Aoife a liar?’

  Blaine was silent. Conor waited, arms crossed. Finally, Blaine snapped, ‘Because she is a liar. She doesn’t love you. You told Mum she won’t marry you. Instead of going on holidays like we always do, I’m stuck here in this stupid house because you want to spend time with someone who doesn’t give a damn about you.’

  ‘I didn’t say Aoife wouldn’t marry me. I said she won’t get engaged. And we are not spending time in this house because I want to be with Aoife. We’re here because you, I, Aoife and Amy are going to be a family soon and you need time to get to know each other.’

  ‘I don’t want to get to know her. And you will never be part of her family, Dad. Jason and Amy are her family. Jason loves her too. Can’t you see that?’

  ‘Second marriages are complicated, Blaine. I still love your mum, but I love Aoife in a completely different way.’

  ‘You don’t understand anything!’ Blaine ran out of the room. A few seconds later the front door banged and they watched him tramp across the fields, sending the startled sheep scattering in all directions.

  ‘Shouldn’t you go after him?’

  Conor shook his head. ‘There’s no point talking to him now. I’ll wait until he’s calmed down.’

  He followed her into the kitchen and switched on the kettle.

  ‘Aoife, why won’t you get engaged?’

  ‘Oh, Conor, not that again. I’ve told you; I’ll marry you the very day my divorce comes through, but I don’t want a formal engagement.’

  ‘So you said, but you haven’t explained why. Now Blaine thinks you don’t want to get married. How am I going to get him to take us seriously if you refuse to commit to our relationship?’

  ‘Is that what you think? That I’m refusing to commit?’

  ‘I don’t know what to think. I believe you love me, but maybe you’re afraid to get married again. Is that it? Do you want to wait a few years before remarrying?’

  ‘Would you be okay with that?’

  Conor stiffened. He took two mugs from the shelf and placed them beside the boiling kettle. With his back to Aoife he said, ‘So I’m right? You don’t want to get married for another few years?’

  ‘No! That’s not what I said. Conor, look at me.’

  When he turned, Aoife said, ‘I love you. I want to spend every minute of the rest of my life with you, and I promise you, I do not want to delay our marriage. I will marry you the very first day it is legal for us to do so.’

  ‘But you won’t get engaged?’

  ‘No.’

  Conor finished making the coffee. He handed her one and said, ‘Why?’

  ‘Why do we need to be engaged? Don’t you believe I love you?’

  ‘I believe you try to distract me or change the subject every time I mention getting engaged. If there’s a problem, why not tell me about it?’

  ‘Because it has nothing to do with you and I don’t want you involved.’

  ‘Involved in what?’

  ‘Involved in what remains of my rela
tionship with Jason.’

  ‘Do you still have feelings for him?’

  Aoife snorted. ‘Oh, I have lots of feelings for him. Few, if any, are positive.’

  ‘Then what’s the problem?’

  ‘Blaine was right about one thing. Jason still loves me, or at least he thinks of it as love. He’s got used to you being in my life, but if he even heard a rumour we were engaged, he’d go off his head.’

  ‘It’s only natural that he’d be upset, Aoife. He’ll learn to accept it in time.’

  ‘No, Conor. He won’t. He’ll make all our lives a misery. Even Amy’s. I’m sure he’d try to turn her against you.’

  ‘He’d do that to a little girl?’

  ‘I’d bet on it.’

  ‘But surely he’ll react the same way to us getting married? Wouldn’t it be best to get engaged first so he could get used to the idea?’

  ‘No, it wouldn’t. In Jason’s mind, marriage equals ownership. That’s why he pushed me into marrying him when we were still teenagers. Although we’re no longer together, I’m still Jason’s wife, therefore he still owns me. When our divorce comes through, I’ll be without an owner, but in Jason’s head, he has special status as my previous owner.’

  ‘You’re not serious?’

  ‘I’m deadly serious. You see, this is why I didn’t want to tell you. Nobody understands what he’s like.’

  ‘I didn’t say I didn’t believe you.’

  ‘No. But I can see that you don’t. My relationship with you is something Jason detests, but it doesn’t threaten his status as my owner. In Jason’s mind, an engagement would be my signal that I intend to change ownership. If he allows that, then he will have no special claim to me. Jason will do anything to prevent that. The closer it got to zero hour, the more desperate he would become. Once we’re married, his special status will be destroyed. I’m hoping he’ll lose interest in me and move on.’

  ‘You don’t think there’s any possibility you might be overreacting?’

  ‘None at all. You don’t know Jason. I know him far too well. If we get engaged, he will freak out. He’ll use anybody and everybody to split us up, and he knows his strongest weapon against me is Amy.’

  *

  When Blaine hadn’t returned an hour later, Conor went looking for him. He texted Aoife that he had found Blaine in the local shop and they were on their way home. Now that Conor had witnessed Blaine’s hostility towards her, Aoife wondered if he would be more prepared to believe Blaine was harassing her. There was no point worrying about it now. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. Jenny had told her what she needed to do to convince Derek to collaborate with her. She’d finally got the evidence she needed.

  TWENTY-ONE

  ‘Hi, Derek, it’s Aoife.’

  ‘What can I do for you today, Aoife?’

  ‘I know you don’t want me investigating the Grogan case. You think I’ll get in the way. But what if I could prove you wrong?’

  ‘How could you do that?’

  ‘What if I had information that would be of value to you?’

  ‘Withholding information is a crime, Aoife. If you know something, tell me about it right now.’

  ‘What I know is one person’s unsubstantiated report of what happened. That makes it hearsay. I don’t believe there is any law that requires me to report hearsay.’

  ‘What makes you think I would be interested in this gossip?’

  ‘I understand you may be trying to trace some emails. Is that right?’

  When it became obvious Derek didn’t intend to reply, Aoife said, ‘I’ve heard rumours that Shane was receiving emails of a personal nature. If that’s true, then you must be trying to trace the person who sent them. I have an idea who it might be. Is this information that might be of interest to you?’

  ‘I’m not working today and Jenny’s gone out. I can’t leave the girls alone while Caoimhe’s boyfriend is here. I’d rather not become a grandfather quite yet. Can you call to the house?’

  *

  Derek answered the door and showed her into a small room that had been converted into an office. Aoife wondered if the room was always this sparse or if he had cleared every surface for her visit.

  ‘If you know about the emails Grogan received, then any information you have is vital to the investigation. I can’t stress strongly enough how important it is that you tell me everything you know, Aoife. This is a criminal investigation. You don’t get to decide what parts of the investigation are relevant. Withholding evidence of any kind is a criminal offence. Think what it would do to Detective Inspector Moloney’s career if you were arrested.’

  Aoife felt a momentary pang of guilt, but she stuck to her guns. ‘It’s just one person’s story at this stage, Derek. The point I’m trying to make is that I could be very useful to you. People will tell me things they wouldn’t tell the police. We could be a team. Isn’t that in everyone’s interest?’

  Derek sat back in his chair. He stared into space for a few minutes, then said, ‘What do you want to know?’

  f

  ‘Did Shane have a gambling problem?’

  ‘If I answer that question, will you tell me who sent those emails to Grogan?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Very well, as Detective Inspector Moloney’s future wife, I’ll take your word on that. We have looked into Grogan’s finances and we can account for all but a few euros of his income. He bought most things by credit card.’

  ‘There was no sign that he was spending more money than he earned?’

  ‘None at all.’

  ‘That’s not very much help, Derek. Can you tell me anything that would be of benefit to me?’

  ‘That wasn’t our agreement.’

  ‘Come on, Derek. I’m trusting you to act in good faith. I’m going to help you. Give me something in return.’

  Derek looked at her for a long time. Then he said, ‘Grogan isn’t the one with the gambling problem.’

  ‘Who is?’

  ‘His cousin, Keith.’

  *

  ‘Keith has a gambling problem? How do you know that?’

  ‘We found a text from Grogan. Keith’s father had mentioned how pleased he was that Grogan and Keith were on friendlier terms. He’d noticed Shane’s name on Keith’s expenses forms. Shane said in his text that he didn’t know what Keith was playing at, but he wanted no part in Keith fiddling his expenses. When we looked into it, we found Keith is heavily in debt and recently remortgaged his home.’

  ‘Do you think he was stealing from his father’s company and Shane found out?’

  ‘From what we can tell, the company is doing quite well. Preliminary enquiries have indicated that Keith has no involvement in its financial affairs. I think fiddling his expenses is the limit of his fraudulent activity.’

  ‘Right now, maybe. But if Keith gets further into debt, I’m sure he’ll talk his father into giving him more control. Can I tell him what Keith is up to?’

  ‘Absolutely not. That information was given to you in confidence.’

  ‘I won’t say anything without your approval, but I think somebody should tell Keith’s father. We can’t just stand by and let his son ruin his life’s work. And what about Keith’s wife and kids? Does his wife know he remortgaged the house?’

  ‘Her signature is on the agreement.’

  ‘Is it really her signature or did Keith forge it? And even if it is her signature, I bet she has no idea why he needs the money.’

  ‘That’s their business and nothing to do with either of us.’

  ‘Derek, you said you want to help families. Help Keith’s by letting me tell his father about his gambling problem. I won’t mention how I found out. If he doesn’t believe me, then at least I tried.’

  Derek shut his eyes and massaged his temples. After a few moments, he looked at her. ‘I shouldn’t be doing this, but alright. Provided there’s no mention of me or the police.’

  *

  Aoife kept her part of the bargain
with Derek and repeated her conversation with Ruth. Derek listened in silence. With what was clearly an immense effort, he kept his voice even as he said, ‘That is not hearsay, Aoife. That is a confession.’

  ‘I can’t be sure Ruth is telling the truth.’

  ‘As you very well know, this information incriminates Ruth, and it should have been brought to my attention immediately.’

  ‘I am bringing it to your attention immediately.’

  ‘You are using it as a bargaining tool to get your own way. Detective Inspector Moloney is very respected in our profession. He deserves a wife with the highest morals.’

  ‘Excuse me! Are you saying—’

  ‘I am saying that journalists are required to have a certain amount of moral flexibility. It’s a luxury that is not allowed to senior policemen or to their wives.’

  ‘Derek, I—I really don’t know what to say. The last thing I want is to argue with you. Your wife is my friend and you work with Conor, but you have absolutely no right to speak to me like that.’

  ‘I am only speaking the truth.’

  ‘And I suppose the police never mislead peop—never mind. I’m leaving.’

  *

  Aoife was fuming as she drove home. How dare he! She could write a book on all the immoral things the police had done. Hell, she could fill an entire library. And to question her morals when he had just admitted he shouldn’t be giving her information about Keith. The hypocrisy!

  Aoife was so enraged it was several hours before she remembered what she had discovered about Keith. The conversation with Keith’s father was long and difficult. He was alternately angry, shocked and incredulous. Aoife ended the conversation with ‘I know this must be difficult to hear, and I understand you can’t take my word for it, especially when I’m unable to tell you how I found out. You can conduct your own investigation or not as you please. What you do with the information is entirely up to you.’ She hung up before he could reply.