Only Lies Remain: A Psychological Thriller

by Val Collins

  ‘Don’t you want what’s best for Amy? Didn’t you watch that programme about the dreadful things that happen in crèches?’

  ‘This crèche is different. It’s much smaller and it’s not a chain. The owner, Mrs Stafford, is a retired teacher. Alison was in her class and she says all her pupils loved her.’

  ‘She must be ancient by now.’

  ‘She doesn’t look after the kids herself, but she’s on the premises every day. She makes sure her staff give the kids the best possible care. Alison’s daughters loved that crèche and so will Amy. It will be good for her to be around kids her own age.’

  ‘This is not what I wanted for her, Aoife.’

  ‘I know, but it will all work out. Trust me.’

  *

  Once Jason had reluctantly agreed to accept reality, Aoife phoned Jack, thanked him and accepted the position. It must have been her imagination that Jack disliked her. He couldn’t have been more pleasant on the phone. He’d even gone to the trouble of getting a phone number for Martin Hanrahan.

  ‘The local parish priest got it for me. He said you’d better hurry if you need to speak to Martin urgently. He’s going on holidays tomorrow.’

  Aoife thanked him, gave a few minutes’ thought to how she would handle the conversation, then phoned the number. She began by explaining that she was a freelance journalist. The words made her shiver. The last time she’d said that was when she’d worked in DCA, and look how that had turned out. Was she mad going down that path again? Was she mad speaking to a man who might be a murderer?

  ‘Where did you get my name?’ Hanrahan demanded.

  ‘It’s a matter of public record that you were brought in for questioning regarding the Kildare bank robbery in 19—’

  ‘I don’t want to talk to any reporters.’

  ‘Of course, Mr Hanrahan, I understand. I thought you might have been a victim of police harassment, but if you feel the police were right in their assumption—’

  ‘Hey, I had nothing to do with that robbery.’

  ‘No, of course not. Sorry to bother you. Good—’

  ‘You listen to me. I said I had nothing to do with that robbery. The police had no right pulling me in.’

  ‘I’m glad to hear that, Mr Hanrahan, because I am only interested in talking to people who were treated unfair—’

  ‘Those bastards had it in for me from the start.’

  ‘Could we meet somewhere to discuss it, Mr Hanrahan? How about six-thirty at Starbucks?’

  *

  Aoife was pulling up in the car park when she got a text. ‘I’m in the back corner, at the right.’

  Hanrahan was a small, thin, wiry man in his mid-fifties. Aoife wondered if his build was due to a deprived childhood. If so, the reasonably expensive brands he now wore suggested his criminal lifestyle was fairly prosperous.

  ‘Mr Hanrahan?’

  The man nodded.

  Aoife took a seat.

  The man glared at her. Aoife withdrew a notebook from her bag.

  ‘You can quit the crap,’ the man growled. ‘I know who you are.’

  EIGHTEEN

  ‘I’m Aoife Walsh, I told you that.’

  ‘You told me you were a reporter. You’re a secretary.’

  ‘I told you I was a freelance journalist. I work as a secretary to pay the bills until my journalism career takes off.’

  ‘You’re Danny Walsh’s daughter-in-law.’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘So why are you lying to me? What do you want from me?’

  ‘I want to know what happened the night of the bank robbery.’

  ‘Are you wearing a wire?’

  ‘No, of course not. Do people do that outside TV?’

  ‘What’s your game, then?’

  ‘I don’t have any game. I probably will do a story on police harassment someday. But my immediate interest is in researching everything leading up to my father-in-law’s murder.’

  ‘I had nothing to do with that.’

  ‘I’m not suggesting you did. Mr Hanrahan, Danny disappeared the night of the robbery. He had a key to the bank. It seems odd that the police would decide you were the thief.’

  ‘I didn’t—’

  ‘I understand, but why did the police arrest you?’

  He leaned back in his seat. ‘I had a record. It was harassment, pure and simple.’

  ‘What excuse did they give?’

  ‘They had CCTV coverage of me in the bank five times in the three weeks before the robbery.’

  ‘Why were you there?’

  ‘Some guy from the bank phoned me. Said a cheque I’d written had bounced and did I know that was a criminal offence. He said the bank manager wanted to meet with me. Well, in my line of business, you don’t bring yourself to the attention of the guards.’ He picked up his coffee and grimaced. ‘Hate these places. What’s wrong with Nescafe, for God’s sake?’

  ‘You went in?’

  ‘Yeah, and I asked to speak to the Mannion guy. Some girl said he wasn’t in the office that day. I went back three times before he was in. The fourth time they said he was at a meeting and couldn’t be disturbed. The final time he told the cashier to deal with it. Said he was too busy.’

  ‘So why do you think you were set up?’

  ‘There was nothing wrong with the cheque. I went off my head when they told me. I said I’d spent half the last three weeks coming in and out of the bank. That idiot bank clerk said he had no idea what I was talking about and nobody from the bank had phoned me. At the time I thought it was just typical bloody banks screwing everything up as usual, but when I was picked up for questioning, I knew I’d been set up.’

  ‘Set up how?’

  ‘Someone wanted me on camera going in and out of the bank all the time. The guards didn’t even bother looking for anyone else. They harassed me for years. They tore my house apart trying to find the stolen money. They followed me around so much it was years before I could do a proper job. I tell you, if I ever find out who did that to me—’ He leaned forward. ‘Hey, I don’t want the police hassling me all over again.’

  ‘The police will never know we spoke. Do you know which bank teller you dealt with?’

  ‘Different people. One of them was your father-in-law. I told the police at the time that he was obviously the bank robber. Why else would he have disappeared? But they didn’t listen. Easier to blame it on me, wasn’t it? Of course, I had no idea he was dead.’ He paused. ‘Look, I wasn’t going to bother coming when I found out who you were. I changed my mind because I wanted to warn you.’

  ‘Warn me about what?’

  ‘You’re a young girl with a baby. I don’t want it on my conscience if anything happens to you.’

  ‘Why would anything happen to me?’

  ‘Stay out of this. Let the police deal with it.’ He lowered his voice. ‘I hear you and your husband split up a few months ago. Keep it that way. The less you have to do with that family, the better.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I’ve been in my line of work since I was in my teens. My father and grandfather were the same. I have a lot of contacts, and when I was arrested, I asked every single one of them about the bank robbery. No one knew anything about it.’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘If anybody even vaguely connected to the criminal world was involved, I would have found out. It had to have been an inside job. Your father-in-law must have taken the money. I think his wife still has it.’

  ‘Maura doesn’t have any money.’

  ‘Are you sure about that? I kept an eye on her over the years. She always had a nice car. The kids were well dressed. She didn’t work. You don’t live like that on social welfare. So where did all the money come from? It has to have been from the robbery.’

  ‘Did you ever consider she might have another source of income?’

  ‘Like what? Anyway, even if she did, it doesn’t change anything. Criminals don’t steal millions and bury it in the front ga
rden. For one thing, they haven’t got that kind of patience, and for another they can’t risk being caught with stolen property. My contacts would have heard if anybody had tried to move large sums of money, and nobody did. But a single mother with five kids might stash the money somewhere and use small amounts over the years.’

  ‘Maura didn’t do that.’

  ‘Hey, I’ve warned you now. That’s my conscience clear.’

  He stood up.

  ‘You believe what you want. But remember one thing. The only way she could have got that money was by killing her husband. If she killed a member of her family once, what’s to stop her from doing it again?’

  NINETEEN

  Aoife and Jason took Amy to the crèche the following morning. Aoife stayed with her for an hour. Jason insisted on staying until lunchtime. He would have stayed all day, but Mrs Weston convinced him he had to give Amy an opportunity to get used to being there on her own. Their agreed compromise was that Jason would return home at noon, but Mrs Weston would phone him if Amy showed any sign of anxiety. Aoife was rather touched by his concern. She ignored the little voice in her head that wondered if Jason was hoping Amy would be unhappy so he would have an excuse to remove her.

  There were no seats on the train to Dublin, and Aoife had to stand the entire way. She’d forgotten how much she hated the rush-hour commute. It didn’t help that she was dreading today. When she’d woken up this morning, she’d been excited about having a second job, even if it was only for six months. Then she’d remembered Elaine. The previous evening, Aoife had phoned Maura to tell her she’d accepted Jack’s offer. She’d filled her in on the interview with Hanrahan, omitting all reference to his belief that Maura was a murderer and Aoife was likely to be her next victim, of course. But today she would have to mention Elaine’s theory. She tried to think of a diplomatic way to raise the subject. ‘Elaine thinks you had sex with your brother’ did not seem very appropriate. When several people surged past her, jostling her to one side, Aoife realised the train had pulled into Heuston. She’d spent an entire hour worrying about what she would say to Maura, and she still hadn’t come up with anything even vaguely appropriate.

  *

  Aoife looked around Maura’s large, cold, shabby office with its high ceiling and ornate plasterwork.

  ‘It must once have been so beautiful.’

  ‘It will be fine once I bring in a few plants. Maybe I’ll ask Ryan to paint it. A nice cheerful colour will do wonders.’

  Aoife switched on the computer. ‘How well do you type?’

  ‘I used to plod away with two fingers, but I started doing an online typing course.’ Maura sighed. ‘I’m still very slow, but I’m getting there.’

  ‘Is Jack in?’

  ‘No. He was here earlier in the week, but I haven’t seen him today. The computers and the office furniture only arrived this morning. I can’t believe Jack offered me a job. I would have been happy just helping out with the boys.’

  ‘What are they like?’

  ‘Ah, they’re great, Aoife. You’d feel so sorry for them. They’ve no family worth talking about. How is a young lad supposed to manage without anyone to turn to? And they’re so grateful for everything. I’ve been baking every day and you should see their faces! Mine barely noticed when I baked for them. Actually, I think they preferred junk food.’

  Aoife smiled. ‘Jack made a good choice when he hired you, Maura. You’ll end up being a second mother to them.’

  ‘That reminds me, we’d better get down to work. I don’t want Jack to suffer because I don’t know what I’m doing. I got him to go through everything with me and I wrote it all down.’ She took out a notebook. ‘It doesn’t look too complicated, but perhaps we could go through it together.’

  They spent a few hours setting up the office and going through Maura’s responsibilities. When they broke for lunch, Aoife decided this was as good a chance as any. To avoid eye contact with Maura, she pretended to be looking for something in her bag. ‘Elaine and I had dinner last night. She mentioned your brothers. I thought Brendan was the only member of your family who’s still alive.’

  Maura put down her sandwich. She went over to the stationery cupboard and straightened an already tidy stack of envelopes. ‘Why were you discussing my brothers?’

  ‘I’m curious about anybody who might have a grudge against Danny or anyone he might have got into an argument with. It sounds like your brothers might be possible suspects.’

  ‘My brothers haven’t set eyes on Danny since we were teenagers.’

  ‘There’s obviously some sort of bad blood there. Danny’s body was found in Dublin. Isn’t that where your brothers live?’

  ‘Them and about half a million other people.’ Maura returned to her desk and picked up her lunch. ‘Look, Aoife, I’m not saying I’d put it past them, but they had no reason to kill Danny. They got what they wanted years ago.’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘My father married twice. My brothers are really half-brothers. Their mother died from complications after giving birth to Brendan. Mam raised Brendan as her own, but the others never accepted Mam or me. They didn’t really accept Brendan either. In their minds he had sided with the enemy.’

  ‘Why were you the enemy?’

  ‘At first it was resentment at having a stranger foisted on them, but later they started worrying about their inheritance.’

  ‘Your father was rich?’

  ‘No, but families have fallen out over less. All my dad had was the house. And this was before the property boom. It couldn’t have been worth more than eighty thousand. My brothers resented that I’d inherit part of it. I can still remember how happy Tom was when he found out I was pregnant. His entire face lit up. He thought Mam and Dad would disown me for sure.’

  ‘They didn’t mind?’

  ‘Oh yes, they minded very much. They were angry, upset, disappointed. Mostly they were embarrassed. Remember, we’re talking twenty-six years ago. Unmarried mothers weren’t being locked up in the Magdalene Laundries any longer, but we were still a huge embarrassment. Especially to people of my father’s generation. But they had no intention of disowning me. They said I would live with them and Mam would take care of the baby while I was in college.’

  ‘They sound like decent people.’

  ‘They tried to be.’

  ‘What went wrong?’

  ‘My brothers were horrified. Brendan and I were the only ones still living at home. Brendan would have moved out in a few years and I’d be left in what they saw as their house with a baby. When my father died, he wasn’t likely to make me homeless. The way my brothers saw it, I was cheating them of their inheritance.’

  ‘So you decided to move out?’

  ‘No. I ignored them. It was the biggest mistake I ever made.’

  *

  The phone rang and Maura answered it. By the time she’d finished, Aoife had eaten her entire lunch.

  ‘What happened then, Maura?’

  ‘Tom and the others never accepted Brendan. He was small and quiet, totally unlike them. Even though he was their full sibling, they didn’t want anything to do with him. Dad meant well, but he was old and tired by the time Brendan and I were born. Mum was rushed off her feet taking care of the house and looking after everyone. All Brendan and I really had was each other. We became very close. And Brendan was exceptionally tactile. He was always putting his arms around me and hugging me in public. That was pretty unusual back then.’

  She munched on her sandwich and Aoife wondered if she intended to continue.

  ‘People often commented on how close Brendan and I were, and Tom decided to take advantage of it. He started a rumour that Brendan and I were—’ She looked away. ‘That Brendan was the father of my child.’

  When Aoife didn’t say anything, Maura looked at her. ‘You knew?’

  Aoife nodded. ‘I’m surprised your parents believed it.’

  ‘They didn’t at first. They were horrified, of course.
They said Brendan and I shouldn’t be seen in public together as it was only adding fuel to the rumours, but they never once considered that it might be true until—’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Until Tom told them he’d seen Brendan and me—together.’

  ‘Oh my God! How could he do that?’

  ‘Because he’s a filthy, lousy piece of—anyway, the point is they did believe it. Tom pretended to be embarrassed. He said he was sorry he hadn’t told them earlier, but he was afraid the shock would kill Dad.’

  ‘He did that to his family for a few thousand pounds?’

  ‘Unbelievable, isn’t it! That bastard would put his own wife on the game if it would earn him a few extra quid.’

  ‘Was that when your parents threw you out?’

  Maura shook her head. ‘I was pregnant and had nowhere to go. They sent Brendan to relatives in Scotland. I was to stay at home and when the baby was born, I would give it up for adoption. What I did after that was up to me.’

  ‘So what happened?’

  ‘I said I was keeping the baby. Even my mother was against it. They said they had obviously failed me and Brendan, but they wouldn’t fail their grandchild and the least they could do was make sure that innocent baby never found out who his parents were.’

  ‘You didn’t tell them about Danny?’

  ‘Of course I did, but I’d never mentioned him before. I was in my final year at school when we met, and Danny was in college. They’d never have allowed me to go out with him.’

  ‘Didn’t he phone the house looking for you?’

  ‘No, we’d had a big fight. It’s too long a story to get into now, but I knew there was no possibility of him phoning me after that. My parents thought I was making him up.’

  Maura put the sandwich back in her lunch box and pushed it to one side. ‘Anyway, Dad trusted Tom above everyone else. And Tom was so calm while I was hysterical. The scumbag even pretended to feel sorry for me. He said they shouldn’t blame me for lying. That I was just a kid, that I’d probably rationalised my behaviour by saying Brendan was only my half-brother and that of course I was afraid to admit the truth.’ The phone rang again. Maura hesitated, then pressed a button to divert the call to voice mail. ‘My parents could barely look at me and I was so angry I spent most of my time in my room. A few weeks later I heard them discussing adoption agencies. They were wondering if they could find one that sent the children abroad. I had a fit. I screamed that they couldn’t force me to sign adoption papers. My parents said either I signed the papers or they would forge my signature.’