by Val Collins
‘Amazing.’
*
Joe arrived a few minutes later and Rachel repeated the news. ‘The hospital said she’ll make a full recovery.’
‘Isn’t that great?’ Aoife said. ‘I couldn’t sleep last night I was so worried.’
‘I’m worried about what she ate,’ Rachel said. ‘She’d just come out of the strategy meeting. Did she eat anything afterwards?’
‘She didn’t have time. She came straight to me because she was delayed after the meeting. I was on the phone, so she sat at my desk waiting for me to finish my call. Then she went into the canteen to make tea.’
‘She must have eaten something there. We have to empty the fridge before anyone else gets sick.’ Rachel headed for the canteen and Aoife followed. Joe came running after them.
‘Don’t touch me lunch.’
‘Was it in the fridge yesterday?’ Rachel asked.
‘I just put it there.’
‘Okay, you can keep it but everything else has to go. We should douse all the surfaces and every single cup in bleach to be on the safe side. Where are you going, Joe? We need your help.’
‘Don’t be daft. It takes ages to digest something. Karen probably ate whatever poisoned her before coming to work.’
‘Well, I’m not taking the risk. Nobody is doing anything until this whole area is scrubbed.’
‘Clean what you like. I spent half yesterday cleaning. I don’t have time for this.’
‘If you don’t pitch in, I’ll never help you with anything again.’
Joe went back to his desk. Rachel followed. Twenty minutes later she returned alone. Aoife had emptied and cleaned out the fridge and was placing the cups in the dishwasher. Rachel helped her wipe down the kitchen surfaces. As they worked, she could feel Rachel watching her. When she glanced in that direction, she couldn’t read the expression on Rachel’s face. Fear? Hate? Suspicion?
*
‘What do you mean she ate something? She was food poisoned?’
‘No. The hospital thinks it might be antifreeze.’
‘Antifreeze? Can that get in food by accident?’
‘I don’t see how. We’ve emptied the fridge so nobody else gets sick.’
Laura and Dan were standing in the canteen, and Laura later told Aoife she thought for a moment that Dan had become ill too. All the colour drained from his face and he grabbed the counter as if he were too weak to stand.
‘Did Karen go out for coffee or anything to eat that morning?’
‘No. She was at the strategy meeting with everyone else. She put on the kettle while she was waiting for Aoife to finish a phone call, and when she didn’t come back Aoife found her in the canteen.’
‘Have you spoken to the hospital today?’
‘Her husband’s with her. I spoke to him.’
‘Did you send flowers?’
‘Not yet. I—’
‘For heaven’s sake, do I have to think of everything?’
‘I was going to send them later.’
‘Never mind. I’ll take care of it.’
TWENTY-FOUR
When Aoife went into the canteen at 8:30 the following morning, Rachel was sitting at a table, two cups of tea in front of her. It was the first time Aoife had ever seen her before 9:00. Rachel hung a “meeting in progress” sign on the door and closed it firmly.
‘I made you a cup of tea.’
She waited for Aoife to sit down, then took the seat opposite. She placed her cup on the table and crossed her arms. Aoife could see her fists were clenched.
‘Joe told me about the tape.’
‘Okay.’
‘I’m the other person on it, aren’t I?’
‘Yes.’
‘I never did any of those things she said.’
‘I didn’t think you did.’
‘Do you think I murdered Delia?’
‘I think it’s unlikely.’
Rachel uncurled her fists. ‘Why are you keeping the tape? Give it to Joe. He’ll take care of it.’
‘Why did you go back to the office the night Delia died?’
‘To collect my bag.’
‘What time was that?’
‘Just after four-thirty.’
‘That’s when Delia asked you to resign?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then what happened?’
‘I went home.’
‘At what time?’
‘Are you working for the police now?’
‘Answer my questions truthfully and I’ll give you the tape.’
‘Around five.’
‘You’re sure of that.’
‘Absolutely. Can I have the tape now?’
‘No.’
‘I answered your questions.’
‘You lied.’
‘I did not. How dare you call me a liar.’
‘A witness saw Gavin sometime around six p.m. Joe said you passed Gavin when you were leaving the office. What did you do between five and six p.m.?’
‘Okay, so after I left I came back again. I remembered I had e-mails that would prove Delia was lying and I wanted to print them before she had them deleted. I didn’t lie, I just didn’t tell you the whole story.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I have no reason to trust you. Why are you so interested in Delia’s murder anyway?
‘Why not? Everyone else is.’
‘Everyone else gossips. You ask questions.’ Rachel picked up her cup, threw the contents down the drain and, ignoring the empty dishwasher, placed her cup in the sink. ‘Keep the tape. I was only trying to get it for Joe. He’s the one it can really damage.’ She opened the door and removed the sign. ‘Don’t ever call me a liar again. I’m not the only one around here who’s not telling the full truth.’
*
‘Where’s Laura?’ The latest addition to the marketing department was breathless with excitement.
‘She’s in a meeting. Can one us help?’ Aoife asked.
‘The police want to talk to her.’
‘Okay, give me the details and I’ll get her to phone them.’
‘They’re here, in the corridor.’
‘I’ll interrupt—’
But Rachel had already knocked on the door and entered without waiting for a response. She left the door open, and Aoife heard her say, ‘We have an emergency.’
Rachel and Joe followed Laura from the office. Aoife waited a moment, then went into the corridor. Joe and Rachel were leaning against the canteen door, making no attempt to hide their eavesdropping. At least half the staff were gathered outside their respective office doors, watching them. After what seemed about fifteen minutes, Rachel and Joe jumped away from the door and the corridor emptied. Aoife was pacing the office when they returned, followed almost immediately by Laura.
‘Dan and Robert are out of the office, so I’m going to Stephen’s Green to set everything up for the police. I need you to sort things out here. The police are going through all the food in the canteen. Then they want to search Karen’s desk. You need to notify everyone that the meeting room can’t be used today or tomorrow. The police will be holding interviews there.’
‘Oh God!’
‘There’s no need to panic, Rachel. None of us poisoned Karen, so we’ve nothing to worry about. Just tell the police where you were that day, when you saw Karen and if you saw her leave the building. That’s all they want to know.’
‘I’ll go around to all the offices,’ Rachel said. ‘You two set up the meeting room. Put one of the large tables at the top and line most of the chairs against the wall.’
She waited for Joe to leave. As Aoife was about to follow, Rachel grabbed her arm. ‘You’d better not mention me or that tape,’ she hissed. ‘You get me in trouble, you get Joe in trouble, and I don’t think his family would like that.’
*
‘So you were the last person to see Karen before she got sick?’
‘I think so.’ Aoife waited for Detective Moloney to continue. When he didn’t, she said, �
��Karen seemed okay at the meeting. I didn’t speak to her much in the office, but she seemed normal. When I found her in the canteen, she was sick.’
The detective leafed through his notes. He was younger than Aoife had expected. In other circumstances, she might have thought him good-looking, but his forbidding air was unnerving her.
‘And you emptied the fridge and cleaned it, the kitchen surfaces and all the cups with bleach?’
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘Everybody we’ve spoken to said you did.’
‘Well, I mean, I did do it but it wasn’t my idea. Rachel was going to help me but she got delayed.’
‘Rachel said she was in the office with your colleague, and when she went into the kitchen the fridge was emptied, you were taking the cups out of a sink filled with bleach and putting them in the dishwasher and you asked her to help you wipe down the surfaces with bleach.’
‘That’s not what happened. She asked me and Joe to help her clean everything with bleach. I started to do it and Rachel disappeared, so I carried on alone. When she came back I was wiping down the surfaces and she helped me finish.’
‘Why did you attempt to destroy evidence?’
‘I wasn’t destroying evidence. Or at least I didn’t think I was. Rachel said we had to make sure nobody else was infected. I was trying to stop someone else getting sick.’
‘Why didn’t you disinfect Karen’s office? Wouldn’t that be an obvious source of infection?’
‘It didn’t occur to me. It didn’t occur to me to disinfect anyplace. It was Rachel’s idea. I was just trying to help.’
‘Rachel says it was your suggestion.’
‘That’s not true.’
The detective picked up a report and leafed through it for several minutes. ‘You were the last person to see Delia alive, weren’t you?’
‘No. I never saw Delia alive. She was dead when I found her.’
‘Don’t you think it’s a bit of a coincidence? You were the first person to discover Delia’s dead body and you were the last person to see Karen before she was poisoned and the first person to discover her afterwards.’
‘No. Well, I suppose it was a bit of a coincidence.’
‘I want you to start at the beginning and tell me everything that happened on the day of the poisoning. I’ll write up your statement, then I want you to read and sign it.’
‘Okay.’
Forty-five minutes later, Aoife signed her statement.
‘Now I want you to initial each page.’
‘Why?’
‘So there can be no doubt it is your total statement and nothing has been added or deleted.’
‘Am I a suspect?’
The policeman locked eyes with her but didn’t reply.
‘Why would I want to kill Karen? You think I killed Delia as well?’
Cold grey eyes scrutinised her.
‘Do you think I’m a maniac? I’d never even met Delia. Why would I kill her? How could I kill her? Do I look like I have the strength to string up a woman from the ceiling? And I was eight months pregnant at the time, remember? Or isn’t that in your report?’
The detective rose. ‘That will do for now. I presume you have no plans to leave the country?’
‘No.’
‘Good. We will expect to find you at your home if we have any further questions. If you intend to be absent overnight, please let us know in advance.’
*
‘What did they ask you?’
In the hundred-yard walk from the meeting room to the office, Aoife had already been asked that question four times.
‘Joe, were you asked to give a statement?’
‘No. Why? Were you?’
Yes. Did you tell the police it was my idea to clean everything in the canteen?’
‘No. Why would I say that?’
‘We destroyed evidence. Rachel told the police it was my idea.’
‘Was it?’
‘You know damn well it wasn’t. Are you telling me you don’t remember Rachel asking us to help her clean out the fridge?’
‘Doesn’t ring a bell.’
‘Joe!’
‘Aoife, I have a lot on me mind. I can’t be listening to Rachel’s yattering.’
‘You refused to help. The two of you argued about it.’
‘Rachel’s always arguing about something. I don’t listen to her half the time. I’d like to help you, Aoife, but it’s a complete blank. Sorry.’
*
Aoife made two cups of tea and carried them into the sitting room. She put one in front of Jason and sat opposite him. ‘Something terrible happened at work today.’
Jason turned to face her.
‘Remember I mentioned Karen? She’s in hospital. Somebody tried to poison her. She almost died, and the police think I’m a suspect.’
Jason held her gaze for several minutes, then stood up. ‘I’m going out.’
*
Aoife arrived at work the following morning determined to confront Rachel.
‘You know damn well it was your idea,’ she shouted. Aoife no longer cared about maintaining a positive work relationship. Her only concern was getting Rachel to retract her statement to the police.
‘No, it wasn’t.’
‘If you don’t tell the police you lied, I’ll tell them about the tape.’
‘That wouldn’t be a good idea. I doubt you’d live to testify. Joe’s family aren’t the type of people you want to mess around.’
‘I’ll take my chances. You tell the police you lied or—’
‘I don’t have to put up with this.’ Rachel charged into Laura’s office, Aoife on her heels. ‘Laura—’
Laura was on the phone. She held up her hand for silence. ‘Okay. Phone me as soon as you can and let me know what happens.’
As she was lowering the receiver, Rachel said, ‘I won’t put up with being called a liar.’
Aoife said, ‘You are a liar. You—’
Laura put her head in her hands. ‘Shut up! Both of you.’
Rachel’s face reddened. ‘You can’t talk to me like—’
The look on Laura’s face silenced her.
‘The police asked Joe to come in for questioning,’ Laura said.
The colour drained from Rachel’s face. ‘Why?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘But they haven’t arrested him?’
‘Not yet.’
‘They probably just want him to give a statement, like they made me do yesterday.’ Aoife sank into the nearest chair. ‘At least I’m not the only suspect.’
‘Oh, that’s lovely, Aoife. Joe will be touched by your concern.’
‘I wouldn’t even be a suspect if it wasn’t for you and Joe. I—’
‘Stop it!’ Laura shouted. ‘I have enough problems without you two starting.’ She stood up. ‘Right, we’re going to have a short tea break and try and get ourselves together. Then, Rachel, you’re going to have to take Joe’s meeting with the HA. Aoife, Joe scheduled Monica’s exit interview for eleven a.m. Can you do that?’
*
Aoife checked the next question on the exit interview form.
‘Can you suggest any way your role could be improved?’
Monica laughed. ‘Where would I start? Or more to the point, what could I say that I don’t mind going on record? Let’s see, how about getting Robert his own PA?’
‘You think the job is too much for one person?’
‘Sometimes, although Robert’s pretty good at doing things for himself, but it gets awkward working for both of them. Mostly because there are no clear boundaries to Robert’s position.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘When Robert was new, he asked me for a file from Dan’s office. I said I’d get it for him as soon as Dan agreed it was okay. Robert didn’t say anything, but the next day Dan took the head off me because I hadn’t given Robert what he wanted. He said I had delayed Robert completing a very urgent report. So the next time Robert asked for
a file, I gave it to him. But a few weeks later I gave him a file Dan didn’t want him to see and Dan had a fit. So I stopped giving Robert any files and I was attacked again, and the whole saga just goes on and on.’
‘What do you think can be done to resolve the situation?’
‘It will never be resolved because Dan hasn’t the guts to stand up to Robert. Like, a few months ago, Robert saw a letter in my post tray and insisted I give it to him. I said it was confidential. Robert said he had something to add to it but I knew he was lying.’
‘How did you know?’
‘Because it was Dan’s will.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘Dan asked me to witness it.’
‘He let you read it?’
‘No, the page I saw just contained Dan’s signature and a space for the witness signature, but I had seen an e-mail Dan sent his solicitor making an appointment to amend his will. Robert saw the solicitor’s address and obviously he guessed what was in it. Dan came back while we were arguing, and although I know Dan would have killed me if I’d given the envelope to Robert, he still had a go at me.’
‘Why?’
‘Because he was in a mood. Probably because he and Robert had an argument.’
‘What did they argue about?’
‘I don’t know exactly. Robert followed Dan into the office and I heard him say, “How could you be so gullible? Lots of people have curly hair. Do you really think that cow wouldn’t have milked you for every penny she could?” That’s all I heard until Robert was leaving. Then he said, “Give me two weeks to prove I’m right,” and Dan said, “You’re grasping at straws. She’s part of our family and that’s an end to it.” And Robert said, “And if I prove she’s not?” and Dan said, “I’ll kill the bitch”.’
*
‘When was that?’
‘The day Delia died.’
‘Did you tell the police?’
‘No. What’s it to do with them?’
‘Delia died the day Dan threatened to kill someone.’
‘Dan’s always threatening to kill someone. He doesn’t mean it literally. Besides, he said the person he was talking about is part of his family, so he couldn’t have meant Delia.’
*
Aoife considered phoning Joe over the weekend. She wanted to know about his police interview but she couldn’t forgive him for siding with Rachel against her. In the end she waited until Monday to talk to him.
