Girl Targeted

by Val Collins

  A terrified wail startled them both.

  Amy had woken to find her movement restricted. She tried to free herself before discovering she was tied to a stranger.

  ‘Hush, hush,’ Robert said, but Amy was having none of it. ‘Quiet!’ he screamed.

  ‘Let me hold her. I’ll calm her.’ If she could hold Amy, even for a second, she would find some way to escape, but Robert was no fool. He untied the sling, held Amy in one arm while he removed his jumper, then, putting the jumper on the ground, he placed Amy on top. Delighted to be free of the restraint, Amy waved her hands in the air. There were a number of small stones on the path. Amy picked one up, threw it on the ground, clapped her hands and giggled.

  Aoife felt a stirring of hope. Her situation was a little better. Amy wasn’t clamped to Robert any more. If she could get Robert to chase her, she might be able to circle back and grab Amy. Oh God! She wasn’t thinking clearly. Robert wouldn’t chase her. He’d pick up Amy and hold the knife to her throat. There must be something she could do. She couldn’t leave Amy to the mercy of a murderer.

  ‘What are you waiting for? The sooner you jump, the sooner I can get Amy back to a nice, dry car.’

  Aoife took another step backward and froze. Had she imagined it? Was that something yellow in the bushes? It was getting closer.

  Her eyes widened as she recognised Laura’s rain jacket.

  THIRTY-FOUR

  Robert noticed Aoife’s reaction and half turned.

  ‘Why did you murder Delia?’ Aoife blurted, desperate to distract him. ‘Did she find out you were stealing?’

  ‘I didn’t kill her. There wasn’t any need. Delia was suspicious, but if she’d worked out what was going on, we’d have known, because she’d have come looking for her share.’

  Laura had emerged from the bushes. Aoife watched her out of a corner of her eye, barely listening to Robert.

  ‘So Dan killed her because she lied about Ellen being his child?’

  Robert grinned. ‘You worked that out too? I couldn’t believe Dad had been so gullible. He only told me shortly before Delia died. He said he thought I deserved to know I had another sister. As if I would welcome some brat I had to share my inheritance with. Any idiot would have known Delia was lying, but Dad had seen a photo of the brat and was convinced there was a family resemblance. Even when I said Delia would have bled him dry if she wasn’t afraid of a DNA test, Dad still wouldn’t listen to me. He said Delia gave birth exactly nine months after their night together. I said we only have Delia’s word for when she gave birth, but I had to get him a copy of the brat’s birth cert to convince—’

  Laura had picked up Amy, who cried out in protest, then recognised Laura and chuckled.

  ‘Is that when he killed her?’

  It had the required effect. Aoife had Robert’s attention again.

  ‘Dad had nothing to do with Delia’s death. I didn’t get my hands on the birth cert until a few weeks after she died. I knew he didn’t have the guts to kill someone in cold blood, but he has a temper on him, so I did wonder. But then I discovered Tom and Delia were having an affair and, well, that explained everything. I was surprised at Tom. I’d never have guessed he was capable of murder. But then you’d have to question the sanity of anyone who had an affair with Delia, wouldn’t you?’

  When Aoife didn’t reply, Robert continued, ‘It was only on the drive to Tipperary that I discovered Dad thought I’d killed Delia. He was even more convinced after Karen was poisoned. When he visited her in hospital, she mentioned that she drank your tea. That completely freaked him out. He fired you the next day. I’m not sure who he was trying to protect—you or me.’

  Laura and Amy disappeared into the bushes.

  ‘Tom didn’t kill anyone. He told the police he was in O’Connor’s, and if his alibi hadn’t worked out they would have arrested him. I think Annette killed her.’

  ‘Mum isn’t capable of hurting anyone. You see, that’s another reason I have to do this. You won’t be happy until my whole family’s locked up.’

  The yellow jacket had disappeared. Now all Aoife had to do was run in the opposite direction to give Laura and Amy a chance to escape.

  ‘Does Dan know you’re doing this?’

  ‘God no! He’d be on the next plane out of the country if he even suspected. I’m worn out trying to convince him our only hope of getting away with this is to act nor—’

  This was her chance.

  It took Robert a few seconds to react when Aoife bolted down the hill. He turned to pick up Amy.

  ‘What the—?’

  He wasted a few minutes checking the overgrowth, then raced after Aoife.

  *

  Aoife had no difficulty maintaining a normal weight, so she never went to a gym. Her everyday activity gave her plenty of exercise. It didn’t prepare her for outrunning a man who trained three times a week. She could ignore the stitch in her side, but there wasn’t much she could do about her inability to breathe. She could hear Robert getting closer and in desperation she lunged into the overgrowth and ducked behind a bush. It wasn’t much cover, but it gave her a few moments to catch her breath. Robert rounded the bend, then slowed to a walk.

  ‘This is silly, Aoife.’

  Oh God, he was only slightly breathless and she felt like her lungs would explode.

  ‘Amy’s crawling around on a cliff edge. Are you going to risk her life like that?’

  Thank God he didn’t realise Amy was too young to crawl. Aoife listened to him plodding through the overgrowth.

  ‘What kind of mother are you, risking your child’s life to save yourself?’

  He was too near. She’d have to make a run for it.

  It was harder running in the overgrowth, but she wasn’t far from the path. She put every ounce of energy into her sprint, but Robert was gaining on her. She was breathless already and her legs felt like they didn’t even belong to her, almost like they were numb. At last she saw the path in front of her. It would be easier now. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

  An arm around her neck brought her to an abrupt halt. A second hand clamped across her chest. She couldn’t move. Her vision was getting blurry when Robert released the pressure on her neck. Grabbing her by the hair, he dragged her up the hill to the point he had chosen for her death. She tried to knee him, but he was using the length of her hair to keep her at a distance. When the edge was in sight, she sat on the ground and refused to move. Robert grabbed her neck. Aoife sank her teeth into his hand. Robert used his free hand to punch her in the stomach. Aoife doubled over, gasping for breath. Robert grabbed her from behind, one arm around her neck and dragged her towards the edge. She tried to dig in her heels, but he increased the pressure.

  Oh God! This wasn’t supposed to happen.

  THIRTY-FIVE

  Everything was blurring again when Aoife heard Robert swear under his breath and the pressure on her neck lessened. He pushed her to the ground and sank down beside her. One arm was still around her neck, but she could now breathe. They both grunted and panted from their struggle. Aoife sneaked a look at Robert. He was staring into space. He doesn’t know what to do, she realised. If he choked or stabbed her, there would be a murder inquiry. Three people from the same office murdered within months of each other, and a fourth poisoned? It might attract even more attention if she went missing. He couldn’t take that risk. If he dragged her to the edge, there would be signs of a struggle, and without Amy, he couldn’t force her to jump. There was hope after all.

  One second later, all hope disappeared with the sound of a high-pitched wail. They both jerked their heads in its direction, and Robert’s laugh almost drowned out her sob of despair. Releasing her, he ran towards Amy, who was once again sitting in the middle of the path, exactly where he had left her.

  Aoife scrambled to her feet and tore after him. Robert reached Amy first. He was bending down to pick her up when Laura darted out of the bushes and brought a heavy rock down on his head.
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  *

  Robert slumped to the ground. Aoife yanked Amy out of his reach and moved to one side. Laura knelt beside him.

  ‘He’s not dead.’ Her voice shook and she sank down beside him. ‘Oh God, don’t let me have killed him. Don’t let me have killed him,’ she muttered.

  Aoife grabbed her arm. ‘Come on, we have to get out of here before he comes to. We’ll call an ambulance from the car.’

  ‘I called Gavin ages ago. They should be here by now. Take Amy back to the car. I’ll wait until they come.’

  ‘I can’t leave you. What does it matter what happens to Robert? He was going to kill me, and God knows what he would have done to Amy.’

  Laura looked up at her. ‘There’s no blood. That’s good, isn’t it?’

  Aoife hitched Amy on her hip and yanked Laura’s arm. ‘We can’t stay here. If he comes to, he’ll kill us.’

  Laura rocked back and forth, muttering, ‘Oh God, oh God.’

  Aoife stared at her helplessly, then, walking as far as possible whilst keeping Laura in sight, she put Amy on the ground and ran back to Laura. Kneeling beside her, she took hold of both Laura’s hands and in a low, soft voice said, ‘It’s time to go now.’

  Laura looked at her blankly.

  ‘Come on, stand up.’

  Laura was getting to her feet when they heard the sirens.

  *

  Aoife used Laura’s mobile to give their exact location to the emergency services. The police arrived with mountain rescue and an ambulance. All four of them were piled into the ambulance and taken to the nearest hospital. An unconscious Robert was strapped into a gurney, an ambulance man sitting beside him. Amy nodded off on Aoife’s lap. Laura started crying, quietly at first, then loud, racking sobs. Aoife put her spare arm around her. She wanted to howl herself but it might wake Amy. Silent tears poured down her face and landed unnoticed on her soggy jumper.

  Amy and Aoife were given a clean bill of health. They were waiting in a cubicle in outpatients. The hospital had contacted Jason and he was on his way. Laura would be staying overnight. By the time they had reached the hospital, her sobs had turned to howls and the doctors had sedated her.

  THIRTY-SIX

  ‘You’re the one who was nearly killed. What’s she hysterical about?’ Jason grumbled on the drive home. He had arrived at the hospital, face so white if he had lain down he might have been mistaken for a corpse, and cried as he hugged them both. ‘I swear, I never for one second believed you were in danger. I thought it was a ridiculous story you and Laura made up to get me to talk to you.’

  Aoife didn’t reply. She was too exhausted. She slept the entire journey home and barely stirred when Jason carried her into the house. In the early hours of the morning she woke with a start. It took a second to remember yesterday’s ordeal, then she started shivering and couldn’t stop. She got up, checked on Amy, then crawled back to bed. Jason was beside her, something that would have thrilled her yesterday. Now she felt nothing. When she woke again, Jason was sitting in a chair, fully dressed, staring down at her.

  ‘Great, you’re awake.’ He jumped up. ‘I’ll be back with breakfast. Don’t move.’ He ran out of the room. Funny, it was the first time she’d ever seen him run. A few minutes later he returned with scrambled eggs, toast, coffee and fresh strawberries. She wasn’t hungry, but she picked at the plate before her.

  ‘Well, do you like it?’

  ‘Yes. Thanks.’

  ‘What else can I get you? I made pancake batter. Would you like pancakes?’

  ‘Where’s Amy?’

  ‘Mum’s taken her. Oh, Aoife, I’m so sorry. If I’d any idea…’ he said for about the hundredth time. ‘I mean cars running you down, people being poisoned and killed. It all seemed…’

  Aoife was sick hearing it. She got out of bed, yanked some clothes from the wardrobe and headed for the bathroom. She knew he’d be waiting outside, so after her shower she dressed in the bathroom, then pushed past him down the stairs. She took her jacket from the peg near the front door.

  ‘Where are your going? I’ll come with you.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘You have to go to the police station.’

  ‘Later.’

  She needed to be alone, so she headed for the park, but after a few minutes she left and caught a bus to Dublin. The park was too empty this time of day. She could no longer relax unless she was surrounded by people. She paced the busy streets, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Yesterday she had been certain it would be her last day on earth, and here she was safe. Amy was safe. Laura would recover. Everything was great. Why wasn’t she happy? She took a few deep breaths. If she controlled her breathing, she might begin to feel like herself again. It was taking her a little while to get over the shock, that’s all.

  But it wasn’t all. Something was different. Something was very wrong. Then it hit her—she didn’t want to go home. She didn’t want to see Jason again. That was crazy. Jason was her husband and the father of her child. He had apologised endlessly. She couldn’t hold one mistake against him forever. She was too tired to worry about it now. She should be worrying about Laura. Why was Laura so upset? Robert was going to be fine, and he deserved a bang on the head. She needed to go to the hospital and make sure Laura was okay.

  *

  Gavin and an older woman were outside Laura’s room speaking to her doctor. Aoife waited until they finished.

  ‘How is she?’

  ‘Aoife! This is Helen, Laura’s mother.’

  Helen nodded and smiled.

  ‘The doctor says she’ll be fine. The nurse is with her now but we can go in soon,’ Gavin said. ‘They were going to send her home today, but she’s only just woken up, so they’re keeping her until tomorrow.’

  ‘I was really worried about her. She saved my life, you know. Mine and probably Amy’s. I suppose you did too, getting the police there before Robert woke up.’

  ‘I didn’t do anything. Laura went to your house because you wouldn’t take her phone calls. She’d just pulled into your road when you drove past with Robert in the back seat. She followed you. When you went up the Wicklow Mountains, she knew you needed help. She figured it would be faster to call me than dial 999.’

  ‘You weren’t taking her calls?’ Helen asked. ‘I thought you two got on really well.’

  ‘I found out she told Robert and Dan that I’d been in touch with Irene. I thought she might be involved in their scam. I even thought she might have tried to poison me. I feel really guilty now.’

  ‘She didn’t know she was putting you in danger,’ Gavin said. ‘If I hadn’t put her under such pressure to bring in money, she wouldn’t have tried so hard to stay on the right side of those two. Laura’s a good person. She does stupid things at times, but she means well.’

  ‘Nobody makes good decisions when they’re suffering from postnatal depression. The poor girl was trying to look after four young kids and manage a highly pressurised job, and the whole time she was terrified she’d let you down. It’s no wonder she couldn’t stop crying. Once she let her guard down, months of pressure came flooding out.’

  ‘Not to mention me and Delia? Helen, I know it’s my fault. I made a complete mess of everything.’

  Helen touched Gavin’s arm. ‘We all make mistakes. No one could have done more to fix things, and you couldn’t have known…’ She paused. Taking a deep breath, she continued, ‘You couldn’t have known that guy was insane.’

  The nurse came out of the room. ‘You can go through now.’

  ‘I’ll let you talk to her,’ Aoife said. ‘Tell her I’ll drop by later.’

  Aoife found the restaurant, bought a cup of coffee and sat staring into space. Helen and Laura were the most forgiving people she ever met. “No one could have done more to fix things.” What had he done exactly? He’d had an affair, Laura had forgiven him. Why were they both so grateful?’

  *

  Aoife listened outside Laura’s door. No voices. Gavin and He
len must have left. She opened Laura’s door quietly, not wanting to wake her, but Laura was sitting up in bed, reading a newspaper. She tossed it to one side when Aoife entered.

  ‘Gavin said you were here. Are you and Amy okay?’

  ‘We’re fine. You seem a lot better.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Laura grimaced. ‘I made a real fool of myself. I don’t know what came over me.’

  ‘It was a pretty weird situation. Who gets up in the morning thinking they’re going to have to kill someone?’

  Laura looked away. She folded her hands in her lap. ‘I didn’t kill him. The doctors say he’ll make a full recovery.’

  ‘I don’t care whether he does or not. He killed Eilis, he almost killed me, and although he said he wouldn’t kill Amy, he didn’t think twice about drugging her.’

  Laura’s face crumpled. When she wiped a tear from her eye, Aoife saw four deep ridges in the palm of her hand.

  ‘Are you okay, Laura?’

  ‘Of course. You know I told Dan you were investigating Delia’s death?’

  ‘Gavin explained.’

  ‘And Mum says you thought I tried to poison you.’

  ‘I didn’t trust anyone for a while.’

  ‘You were right not to trust me. I almost got you killed.’

  ‘No, you didn’t. Dan and Robert were afraid I was planning to use Delia’s death to launch my career in journalism. They both thought the other was guilty, but Robert didn’t try to kill me until I got access to the accounts system. Even then, things might have been okay if I’d minded my own business. Instead I got Eilis killed.’

  ‘Don’t blame yourself, Aoife. You think it’s your fault, I think it’s mine, Gavin thinks it’s his. We can’t all be right. Maybe we should leave the blame where it belongs, with Robert. He’s the murderer.’