by Val Collins
‘Mrs Walsh, our role is to help you—’
‘Help me? I’m an adult. I’m standing in the middle of my own kitchen. I’m not lost, am I? The only help I need is for someone to find my daughter.’ Aoife marched to the front door and held it open. ‘Go find her now.’
*
The police had hung around outside the house for a little while, but when Aoife opened the front door, they got into their cars and disappeared. Alison had gone to collect her daughter from school. Aoife and Orla were alone.
Orla cleared the table, leaving a plate of sandwiches and two mugs. She filled the mugs from a large teapot Aoife had never seen before. ‘I know you don’t want to eat, Aoife, but making yourself sick isn’t going to help Amy.’ She put a hand on Aoife’s shoulder and guided her to the table. ‘Sit down. Try to eat something. Even one bite.’
Aoife sat down on the chair. She looked at the sandwiches and her stomach churned. ‘Who would take her, Orla? Why would some stranger want my baby? What is he planning to do to her? What if he’s hurting her right now? What if she’s crying out for me and—’
‘Stop it, Aoife.’ Orla knelt on the floor beside her. ‘I’ve been thinking. The man who took Amy had ID with Jason’s name. How do you know it wasn’t Jason?’
*
The landline rang and Aoife made a dash for it. ‘Yes.’ She listened for a few seconds and hung up.
‘Who was it?’
‘I don’t know. Someone trying to sell something.’
‘Okay, I want to talk to you about Jason. What if Jason was the person who took Amy from the crèche?’
‘Jason’s on his way back from Galway.’
‘How do you know he was ever in Galway? Because he told you?’
‘What? You’re saying he’s having an affair? Orla, I don’t care where he was or what he was doing. All I care about is finding Amy.’
‘What I’m saying is maybe Jason told you he was in Galway but really he was planning to kidnap Amy.’
‘Kidnap? What are you talking about?’
‘You told Jason you wanted him to move out of the house. Then Amy disappears. Isn’t that a little coincidental?’
‘I told him that weeks ago, and we agreed we’d stay together for another three months. It was Jason’s idea. He wouldn’t steal Amy. What would be the point? Where would he take her? To Maura’s? I’d go around and take her back straight away. He knows that.’
‘What if he’s taken her abroad? He might have suggested the three-month trial period to give him time to arrange his escape. Or maybe he had second thoughts. He realised you and he would never be a couple again, so he took his daughter and disappeared. Men have done it before when they realised their relationships were finished.’
‘What men?’
‘Well, there was the father of two in the paper last year whose marriage broke up. When the mother was at work, he picked the kids up from school without telling her.’
‘Orla! He murdered them! Are you saying Jason would—’
‘Of course not.’
‘But it’s happened before, hasn’t it? How many times have you seen women on TV saying their husbands loved their kids and would never harm them and then—’ She jumped up.
‘Where are you going?’
‘Jason’s a planner. If he took Amy, he’ll have booked flights and hotels. They’re might be bills, credit card receipts, online bookings. Come on.’ She ran up the stairs and Orla followed. ‘You search the drawers, the wardrobe, look for any bills or receipts or notes about hotel or flight reservations. I’ll try to get into his computer.’
A half hour later, Aoife had to admit defeat. Whatever Jason was using as a password, she was never going to guess it. She joined Orla in tearing Jason’s room apart. When they didn’t find anything, they started emptying the drawers and the wardrobe. The floor was littered with paper and the bed piled high with clothes when Aoife’s phone rang.
‘Yes?’
‘It’s Conor?’
‘Who?’
‘Detective Moloney.’
Aoife grabbed Orla’s shoulder. ‘Have—have you found—’
‘Are you sitting down?’ he asked.
THIRTY-EIGHT
Aoife couldn’t answer. She gave a faint groan.
‘Aoife, everything is okay. Amy’s with me. We’re in the children’s playground in the park near the crèche. Amy’s just fine. She’s—’
Aoife dropped the phone and raced out of the house.
*
She was running down the street when Orla pulled up beside her. ‘Get in.’
Panting, Aoife jumped in. Orla held out her mobile.
‘Moaney told me what happened. We’ll be there in a few minutes.’
*
Three police cars were parked at the entrance to the park. Several policemen stood outside. Two were talking into their radios. Aoife ran past them. It took her a few minutes to reach the children’s play area. At first all she could see was police. Then she saw a hand waving.
Amy was perched on top of Moaney’s shoulders. Aoife’s world narrowed to that one tiny bundle. She didn’t notice the police. She didn’t hear Orla speaking to her. She had been crying since she’d got the phone call from Moaney, but now she choked back her sobs.
‘Amy!’
Moaney put Amy on the ground and she ran to Aoife. ‘Mama! Mama!’
Amy held her so tight the child started squirming. Aoife loosened her grip. ‘Baby, are you okay? Where have you been?’
‘No baby!’
‘No, of course you’re not a baby. Silly Mama.’ Aoife put her on the ground and crouched down beside her.
‘Ow!’ Amy pointed at her knee.
‘Did you hurt your knee? Mama will kiss it better.’
Aoife realised Moaney was standing beside her. His smile was so wide his muscles must be aching. She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows.
‘Amy spent the morning in the park, didn’t you, Amy?’
‘And.’
‘Yes, she played in the sandpit.’
‘Bold boy!’
Aoife froze.
‘A big boy pushed her. Well, he was about four. Amy fell down and hurt her knee. That’s when the other mothers noticed she was alone. They called the police. I had been to the crèche and checked out their CCTV. I could see Amy and a man disappearing around the corner, so I drove in this direction. I was almost at the park when I got the call, so I came straight here.’
‘I cream.’
Aoife laughed. ‘Yes, I can see you had ice cream.’ She got out a tissue and wiped Amy’s mouth. ‘Who bought you ice cream, sweetie?’
‘Man.’
Aoife looked at Moaney. He shook his head. ‘We don’t know. His face was hidden by the balloon he was carrying. Now that Amy is safe, we’ll examine the tape closely. We’ll be able to see his height, probably guess his age. It’s not much, but it’s a start.’
*
They were home. Aoife couldn’t get warm. Could it be shock? She kept turning up the heating. She hadn’t realised how hot the room was until Amy started pulling off her clothes. Aoife turned off the heating, put on a heavy jumper and gave Amy an ice cream. Amy was now sitting on the floor playing with her toy elephant. Every couple of seconds Aoife looked at her. A few hours ago she had thought her life was over. Now she was in her own kitchen and Amy was beside her. She could hardly believe it.
Her phone rang.
‘Aoife, are you okay? I’ve only just seen all your calls. What’s wrong?’
‘It’s nothing, Jason. False alarm. I’ll tell you all about it when I see you.’
‘Okay. We stopped at Nigel’s and had a few drinks, so we won’t be able to drive any more today. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning.’
‘See you then.’
*
Aoife was plugging her phone into the charger when Amy gave a loud wail. ‘Hands! Hands gone!’ She was pointing at the fridge, where the painting had been hanging for weeks.
‘It’s around somewhere. Can you help me find it?’
Amy found it in one of the kitchen cabinets. Aoife couldn’t even imagine how it had ended up there. She stuck it back up on the fridge. ‘Let’s get you washed up for dinner.’
‘No!’
‘We can watch your princess movie afterwards.’
‘TV?’
The doorbell rang. Amy raced into the corridor. Aoife ran after her and picked her up. She opened the door.
‘Moaney! I mean Conor.’
Amy held out her arms to the detective and Aoife handed her over.
‘I thought I’d check on you before I went home.’
*
Amy demanded Moaney play with her. He and Aoife were on all fours, pretending to be horses. Amy sat on Moaney’s back, shouting ‘Horsy! Horsy! More! More!’ After the fifth race, Aoife put a stop to it. Amy was now sitting on the floor eating a biscuit and playing with her elephant.
‘I can’t believe she’s alright.’ Aoife stood on tiptoes and kissed Moaney on the cheek. ‘You’ll never know how grateful I am.’
The detective’s grin stretched wider than Aoife would have believed physically possible. ‘I have some idea. Remember I told you I lost my young lad? He was only gone for about ten minutes, but I swear I aged ten years during that time.’
‘I know what you mean. I’m surprised my hair hasn’t turned grey already.’ She pulled it towards her. ‘At least, I hope it hasn’t.’
Moaney moved closer. She’d thought Jason was tall, but the detective was at least four inches taller. Using two fingers, he gently parted her hair. ‘Nope, not a grey hair in sight.’ He was standing so close, Aoife could feel his breath on her face.
Amy pulled on her sleeve. ‘Biccie!’
Glad of the distraction, Aoife turned to her. ‘No more biccies.’ Had the poor child eaten any real food today? What kind of a mother was she? She really needed to get a grip. Amy was home now. It was time they returned to normal. ‘Let’s get you washed up for dinner. Mo—Conor, you must be starving. Will you stay for dinner?’
‘I’m fine, thanks.’
‘Please, we’d like you to. Wouldn’t we, Amy?’
‘I cream.’
‘After your dinner, Amy. Come on.’ They went upstairs. Aoife had been so distracted by the day’s events, she hadn’t noticed how dirty Amy’s clothes were. There was no point in putting her into clean clothes now. She gave Amy’s face a quick wash and changed her into her pyjamas. She picked up the dirty clothes from the floor. Out of habit she checked the pockets before throwing Amy’s jeans in the clothes basket. That’s when she found the note: “MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS OR THE NEXT TIME YOU WON’T GET HER BACK”.
THIRTY-NINE
Aoife’s mind raced as she stared at the note. Amy ran into the corridor and was halfway down the stairs when Aoife caught her. Putting one finger on Amy’s lips, she carried the child back to her bedroom and put her sitting on the bed. ‘Now, we’re going to play a very special game, okay?’
Amy grinned and hopped up and down on the bed. ‘Pay!’
‘Yes, we’ll play. You’re going to sit here as quietly as you can. You can play with your dolls and look at your book, but if you don’t move or speak until I count to twenty, you win.’
Amy looked doubtful.
‘And do you know what the prize is?’
Amy shook her head.
‘A big lollipop.’
‘Pop!’
‘Only if you can stay quiet and don’t get off the bed until I count to twenty.’
She hurried out of the room. Amy had no idea how to count and she wouldn’t sit still for longer than a few minutes. There was no time to waste.
‘Moan—I mean Conor, I’m so sorry. Amy’s fallen asleep. It was a long day for her.’ She gave a fake yawn. ‘To be honest, I’m exhausted myself. I suppose it’s the stress. Would you mind terribly if we left dinner to another day?’
She had barely closed the front door when Amy came running into the hall. Aoife let her watch TV while she made dinner. She didn’t eat herself. She sat on the couch, staring at a kids’ DVD, her arms wrapped tightly around Amy until the child fell asleep. Then she phoned Orla.
*
Orla had driven them home from the park, made sure they were settled, then hurried off to the airport, where Cian was waiting to take her on their Italian vacation. Their plane was now boarding, and Aoife had to shout to be heard above the noise.
‘Oh my God, Aoife! Who could have taken her?’
‘I can’t imagine.’
‘Did you tell Moaney?’
‘No. He’d start an investigation. Half the country would know about it in no time. I can’t risk that.’
‘What are we going to do?’
‘The only thing I can do is stay out of the investigation. Let the police figure out who took Amy and stop trying to find Danny’s murderer.’
*
Aoife woke at six the next morning. Careful not to disturb Amy, she slipped out of bed, went downstairs and made herself some coffee. She didn’t feel like eating. She didn’t feel like doing much of anything. She was sitting, staring into her mug when she remembered the mess she and Orla had made of Jason’s room. It was bad enough she’d have to tell her husband she thought he had stolen their daughter; the least she could do was put his room back together again.
Half an hour later, all the clothes were back in the drawers and wardrobe. Aoife sat on the floor to sort out the mess of papers and bills strewn everywhere. She dreaded to think how Jason would react to this invasion of his privacy. He’d certainly have ammunition the next time she complained he was spying on her. She pushed a credit card statement into its envelope, wincing when she glimpsed the balance—€22,914. They’d be paying that back for the rest of their lives. She blinked and pulled the statement closer. She wasn’t imagining it. There in bold black ink, were the two letters that ended her marriage.
FORTY
Aoife was standing with the credit card statement in her hand when her phone rang.
‘Hi, Aoife, how are things?’
This was all she needed.
‘Everything’s fine, thank you, Detective.’
Moaney hesitated. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Fine, thank you.’
‘Right.’ His tone became a little more businesslike. ‘I’ve been searching the internet, and it seems the youngest person ever to give evidence to a court was a two-year-old in England. Mind you, at that age they’re only capable of answering very basic questions like who, when, etc., and we’d need a very specialised interviewer, but it’s worth a shot, isn’t it?’
‘No.’
‘What?’
‘I don’t want anyone asking Amy questions. She’s back and she’s unhurt. If nobody ever mentions yesterday, she’ll forget all about it.’
‘But we have to find out who took her. What if whoever it was takes another child?’
‘That’s not going to happen.’
‘How do you know?’
‘Because—because who would take a child and leave her in a park? It doesn’t make any sense. It must have been somebody who was out of his mind. Maybe he’d lost his own child. It’s over now and he won’t do anything like that again.’
‘Aoife, that’s ridic—wait a minute. You know who took Amy, don’t you?’
‘Of course I don’t.’
‘What did Amy tell you?’
‘You spent half yesterday with her. You know the only thing she talks about is ice cream and a big boy knocking her down.’
‘Something happened after I left. Are you scared, Aoife? Has someone threatened to hurt Amy?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Detective. If you don’t mind, I’ve got to go. I’ve a lot to do today.’
‘You can trust me, Aoife. Whatever you’re scared of, I’ll help you. I won’t let anyone hurt Amy.’
For a moment Aoife was tempted to tell him everything. No, it was too risky. ‘Detect
ive Moloney, I’m more grateful than I can say for everything you’ve done, but as you saw for yourself, Amy is fine and we won’t be needing your help any longer. Goodbye.’
After disconnecting the call, Aoife checked on Amy. Still asleep. She hoped Amy wouldn’t wake up before Jason arrived back. Theirs would be a conversation she didn’t want her daughter to overhear.
*
‘CR, Jason. It says CR.’
‘You went through my stuff?’
‘CR! You’re twenty-two thousand, nine hundred and fourteen euros in credit. In credit! We couldn’t afford to go to marriage counselling, I’ve been scrimping and saving on everything I could think of and you were twenty-two thousand, nine hundred and fourteen euros in credit.’
‘Aoife, I—’
‘All this time, you’ve been lying to me. You told me the direct debit to your credit card was part of a repayment plan agreed with the credit card company and the entire time you were saving the money for yourself. Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been about finances?’
‘I wasn’t keeping it for myself. I was saving it for us.’
‘Liar!’ Aoife remembered Amy. She took deep breaths, trying to control her anger. Speak calmly and rationally, she told herself. Lowering her voice, she said, ‘If you were saving the money, Jason, you would have put it in a bank account. You were hiding it away because as long as I believed we had no money, I was tied to the house. You could say you needed the car at any time. I couldn’t afford a social life. You had me exactly where you wanted me. Best of all, you could convince me you weren’t able to afford your own place, so there you were, right under my nose, where you could monitor everything I did.’
‘I only did it because I love you. I can’t bear the thought of losing you.’
‘Yeah? Well, you’d better get used to it.’
‘You’re angry now, but in time you’ll see that everything I did was to keep our family together. To give Amy a home with two parents and—’
‘That’s not going to work anymore, Jason. You can’t guilt me into living with you. I’m going to a lawyer first thing tomorrow. The sooner we’re divorced the better.’
