The Lie She Told: All Kate wanted was a peaceful life, all Ryan wanted to do was destroy it. (Thornes series Book 1)

by Catherine Yaffe

  “It’s a bit sensitive to be honest. I’m not sure how much you know. I do know that Kate thinks the world of you, Joe does too.”

  “Well, the feeling’s mutual.”

  “I guessed that, which is why I wanted to ask you...”

  “Come on, out with it hen.”

  Fiona liked Jack’s direct approach which was how she preferred to deal with people. “What do you know about Ryan?”

  The reaction couldn’t have been more dramatic if a bomb had been dropped in the room. It took Jack a few minutes to answer. “Not much. Knew him as a wean, know his dad. Know that Kate is smitten with him,” Jack sighed. “Does that answer your question?”

  “Yes and no. How long has he been up here?”

  “Now you’re asking. Must be since spring at least.” Jack really didn’t want to talk about Ryan, it felt disloyal to Kate, but Fiona pressed on.

  “I saw your reaction when he walked into the café. What’s going on between you?”

  ‘Now she’s opened a can of worms,’ he thought. He took a moment to compose himself. “I don’t trust him, that’s all.”

  “Can I ask why?”

  Fiona had only met Ryan face-to-face a handful of times at Kate’s house in the past, but knew he was a friend of Daz’s which told Fiona all she needed to know. That he was now in Gairloch seemed strange to her and she couldn’t figure out why he was here.

  “Why don’t I trust him? I can’t quite put my finger on it to be honest with you. Something just doesn’t seem right.”

  “Would it help if I told you that I didn’t trust him either? I don’t understand what he’s doing up here for a start, or why Kate has been so cagey about him.”

  “Oh I can tell you why he’s here.” Jack was warming into his story after the ‘wee dram’ had been refilled. He went on to explain everything he knew about Ryan’s sudden appearance. She listened intently. As he finished, he pulled the note from his pocket that he had been going to share with Kate. “I’ve been trying to remember what happened before the accident.” He smoothed the paper out on the table and passed it to Fiona. She read through the list.

  “I’m not sure I understand?”

  “Well I keep getting snatches of memory. Like erm...” Jack clicked his fingers, forgetting the word.

  “Like flashbacks you mean?”

  “Aye. That’s right, flashbacks. Just wee snippets of things but I’ll be damned if they make any sense.” He paused and took another sip.

  “Well that’s a good idea and something we recommend to head injury patients.” Fiona had no idea where this was going.

  “Oh that’s right. You’re a nurse, I remember now. Anyway, I found this bus ticket to Inverness in my coat pocket but I can’t remember why I went there.”

  “Wait, you caught a bus to Inverness? When?” Even though she wasn’t local Fiona knew Inverness was a fair way away, she’d driven it herself only recently.

  He pulled out the bus ticket and Fiona read the date and time. “Isn’t this when you had your accident?”

  “Aye.”

  “What are you saying? You went to Inverness, arrived home and fell down the cellar steps?”

  Now Fiona had put it in such a matter-of-fact way Jack felt a little foolish. She interrupted his thoughts.

  “Go through the rest of the list with me. Len is Ryan’s dad, right?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “And he’s been in hospital for an operation. So Ryan is here to look after the pub.” It was more of a statement to herself than an actual question.

  “Well, yes but he seems to spend more time at the café and flitting about.”

  “So is he up here for good then?”

  “Who knows? I hope not but Kate will be upset if he just ups and leaves.”

  Fiona rubbed her hands on her jeans, trying to make sense of it. She wasn’t sure what to make of what Jack had said. “And where is Len now?”

  Jack shrugged his shoulders. “No idea.” He felt tired all of a sudden, and he sighed again, closing his eyes. Fiona reached forward and took Jack’s hand tenderly in hers.

  “I’ll leave you to rest Jack and give all this some thought but try not to worry. I’m sure we can work it out between us.” She gave him a gentle squeeze.

  “Just one other thing before you go.” Jack opened his eyes. “Something I haven’t added to the list yet. Kate said there were two cups on the counter when she found me.”

  “OK.” Fiona fastened her coat.

  “If I was on my own, why would there be two cups?”

  36

  Kate opened the café as usual, unlocking the front door so that Mairee and Gill could let themselves in. Her conversation with Mairee had been going round her head for most of the night, and she wondered if Gill had the same thoughts about Ryan. She knew she wouldn’t be able to get through a full day without knowing. She just had to find the right time to talk to her. The little bell above the door rang and Gill came in. Hanging her coat on the rack, Kate approached her.

  “Morning Gill. No Mairee?” The two women usually met at the top of the harbour path and walked down together.

  “No, not today. Didn’t she call you?”

  Kate had left her mobile upstairs and the cafe phone hadn’t rung at all. “No. Is everything OK?”

  “She’s no feeling too well so she’s staying at home today. I said I didn’t think it would be a problem as we’re fairly quiet. Sorry, I thought you knew?”

  “No, I haven’t heard from her.” Kate thought it was strange after their last conversation that she should phone in sick. “She said something odd last night after you left.”

  “Oh yes?” said Gill, tying her apron around her ample waist.

  “Do you have any thoughts on who might have been taking money from the till?”

  Just then Fiona and Joe came downstairs. “Morning,” called Fiona cheerily.

  “Morning,” they both replied.

  “So, any thoughts?” asked Kate again as Fiona and Joe went into the kitchen to make their breakfast.

  “Do you have any yoghurt?” shouted Fiona.

  “Aye hen, I’ll be there in a second,” replied Gill. “Can we talk about this later?”

  Kate took that to mean yes, but let Gill carry on with helping Fiona. The bell rang again.

  “Morning.”

  “Hey you, thought you were going away?” It was Ryan. It was early for him. Maybe he’d dropped by to give her a kiss on his way.

  “Hi. Yeah, lots to do. Any chance of a coffee and bacon roll to go?” He leant on the counter.

  ‘No kiss then.’

  “Sure.” Feeling a little put out Kate went into the kitchen and turned the hotplate on for the bacon. Fiona ventured into the café.

  “Morning Ryan,” she said, making herself busy wrapping cutlery in napkins.

  “Oh, hi. Fiona?” Ryan was flicking through the local paper.

  “That’s right. Don’t you remember me from Leeds?”

  He looked up. “No. Should I?”

  “We’ve met a few times. At Kate’s. In the house she shared with Darren?”

  Ryan felt heat rush to his face. “Ah right.” He turned back to the paper to hide his reaction.

  “So you still in touch with him then?”

  “In touch with?”

  “Darren. Daz. You were best mates weren’t you.”

  Kate came out of the kitchen bearing a bacon roll. “I’ve put brown sauce on, don’t worry, and Gill will have your coffee in a second.” She passed Ryan his sandwich.

  ‘Thank God,’ he thought, desperate to get out of there. “Thanks.”

  “I was just asking Ryan if he remembered me,” Fiona butted in. “Apparently not.” She folded her arms across her chest.

  “Well, it was a long time ago Fi,” answered Kate in Ryan’s defense.

  Gill came round with Ryan’s coffee. “I haven’t put sugar in,” she said, thrusting the cardboard cup at him.

  “Right. I’ll be off then.” Ryan turne
d away from the glare of the three women, slamming the door behind him.

  They stood there after he’d left, each with their own thoughts. Kate broke the silence.

  “Coffees all round then ladies? Fiona I hate to ask but I need you to help in the café today if that’s alright? Mairee’s phoned in sick.”

  “Not a bother at all, happy to help.”

  Once they had their cuppas they sat at a table.

  “Did Mairee say if she’d be off for long?” asked Fiona.

  Gill answered, “No. Think it’s just a tummy thing.” She stirred her coffee.

  “So, do you know who might have been dipping their hand in the till then?” Kate asked Gill.

  “Someone’s been stealing?” Fiona was shocked.

  “Looks that way. Gill?”

  “Well it isn’t me.” Gill was affronted and huffed to show her disapproval.

  “Oh God, no. I don’t think it is for a second Gill. I’m sorry, I probably worded that wrong. I just wondered if you had any ideas?”

  “What did Mairee say?”

  “Well, it’s ridiculous really, and I think she might have said it to take the heat off her, but she tried to blame Ryan.”

  Fiona let out an involuntary snort.

  “What?” Kate turned to her. “What was that about?”

  Fiona realised her mistake and immediately apologised. “Oh I was miles away, sorry. What were you saying?”

  Kate wasn’t convinced but she was a bit sick of everyone having such a downer on Ryan, even her own sister. She hardly knew him, and it wasn’t like her to make a judgement. She explained what Mairee had said and looked at Gill again for her thoughts.

  “Well, I can’t say for certain but aye, I’ve seen him. Just thought it was petty cash for something or other and he’d forgotten the receipt.”

  Kate knew that her system didn’t work like that. If anything was needed then the money was signed for first by herself or Jack, then it was handed over. “Hmm, maybe. You don’t think it’s Mairee do you?”

  “Nay, known the wee lassie and her family for years. As honest as the day is long. It’s no Mairee.” Gill was resolute.

  Fiona listened to the conversation but didn’t contribute. It wasn’t her place for one thing, and she had her own thoughts after speaking with Jack yesterday. She didn’t want to say anything to Kate just yet though. She wanted to see if she could find out more about the whereabouts of Len. She felt sure that if she found Len then she’d know the real reason for Ryan’s visit. She didn’t want to see her sister hurt, but she also knew that Kate wore her heart on her sleeve and could be easily pulled into situations. You only had to look at the situation with Darren to know that.

  37

  Ryan reversed the clapped-out Vectra along the dirt track faster than he meant to, sending gravel and debris flying everywhere. He spun the car around and drove out of the pub car park, not bothering to check the oncoming traffic. With a screech of tyres, he turned a sharp left and accelerated harder. He was pissed off and with his anger raging he took the narrow highland roads at breakneck speed. The clouds were low, a light drizzle falling on the windscreen, obscuring visibility as the worn wipers struggled to keep up. Refusing to slow down on the single-track road, he forced other cars to stop for him and more than once he had to mount the uneven verge to avoid colliding with unsuspecting walkers and cyclists.

  Furious that the whole plan seemed to be going pear-shaped, he considered just abandoning it and disappearing but the lure of ten thousand pounds was too much for him to walk away. No, he’d stick it out and whether Daz liked it or not he would deliver Joe to him as soon as he was released. Ryan would find somewhere that was easy enough to do the handover discreetly, but close enough to an airport so he could get the hell away as soon as it was done and he had his hands on the money.

  Finally reaching the main road out of the Gairloch, he took a right and headed for the motorway. He had an idea about meeting up in a service station, in a long-haul car park, hidden amongst the HGVs for cover and dodging any CCTV that might be installed. Once he’d done that he needed to contact Sean, Daz’s cousin, who was the one doing the driving. Ryan had no idea why Daz had never learnt to drive but it wasn’t his problem.

  ‘Something else to add to the list,’ he thought, ‘A hire car.’ He knew he would need some form of ID but giving his own name didn’t bother him: he’d be long gone before anyone knew what was happening. He’d already worked out that he could catch a flight to Amsterdam from Glasgow airport, then a connecting flight to Sydney. He’d buy the tickets at the airport once he’d handed over the brat.

  Pulling into a petrol station, he fuelled the car, grabbed a couple of pasties from the chiller cabinet, paid and started his journey again. It took longer than he expected, arriving at Stirling Services four hours after he’d set off. He’d have to bear that in mind when he was telling Sean the location but he reckoned it was about halfway for both of them.

  Luckily there was a cheap hotel nearby so he booked a room for the night, planning on doing the return journey the following day.

  Settling himself on the bed, he fished his mobile phone out of his pocket and rang Sean. It had been a while since they had last spoken and even then it was just general banter over a pint whilst he waited in the local for Daz to join them. He had no idea if Sean would remember him. He definitely would after this.

  “Sean, it’s Ryan.”

  “Alright. What’s happening.”

  Clearly Sean did remember him, or he’d spoken to Daz recently.

  “Stirling services, 7pm. A week from today.” Ryan paused but there was no sound from the other end. He assumed Sean was still listening so he carried on. “There’s an HGV park. I’ll be on the last row at the back, near the exit.”

  “Got it,” came the short, surly reply. The line disconnected.

  “Charming,” said Ryan. He couldn’t care less. He wasn’t out to make new friends, he just wanted the job done.

  Throwing his phone on the bed, he flicked on the TV and settled back to waste some time watching mindless television.

  38

  Kate hadn’t been able to settle all night. She finally gave up at 4am and had been sat in the living room mulling things over. It wasn’t a thing she could put her finger on, more a series of incidents that didn’t seem to link together, and most of it centred around Ryan. She thought back to when he’d arrived in the spring, and how things had seemed to change over the following weeks. Most of the changes had been in a good way, at least for herself and Joe. Ryan had lifted her in a way that she hadn’t felt for a long time. Finally she had felt a part of something; a family, a team, but she couldn’t ignore the way that Jack had been with him, and now even her own sister seemed to have formed an opinion although Fiona had barely spent any time with him. What was she missing? Could others see something that she couldn’t? It was that thought playing constantly on repeat that had finally driven her out of bed and onto the sofa, nursing a cup of tea. Kate wasn’t stupid. She knew Ryan was a rogue but he would never mean anyone any harm, he was just a bit rough around the edges. She’d seen Jack’s response to seeing Ryan in the café the other day and, try as she might, she couldn’t work out what had taken place between them, but Jack was definitely unnerved.

  She heard footsteps out in the hallway, presumably Joe wanting a drink. She pulled her dressing gown tighter around her and stepped into the hallway.

  “Good morning sunshine,” she called as Joe tumbled blearily towards her. “Would you like a drink of orange juice?”

  Joe rubbed the sleep from his eyes and nodded his head. “Is Aunty Fi awake?”

  “No darling, not yet. It’s still early.” Kate headed into the kitchen and poured Joe his juice.

  “Are we going anywhere today?” he asked.

  Since Aunty Fi’s arrival she had kept him busy with day trips and visits to the beach. He’d come to expect something different every day. “Not sure. I thought it might be nice for me
and you to go to the park?”

  Joe shrugged his shoulders and took the glass from his mum. “OK.”

  Kate smiled and followed him into the living room, switching on the children’s channel. They snuggled up together and Kate must have dozed off as the next thing she knew Fiona was standing in front of her with a coffee.

  “Hey sleepy head.”

  “Oh gosh, I must have been tired, sorry.” Kate took the coffee from Fi.

  “Bad night?” asked Fiona.

  “Not great actually, a bit restless.”

  Fiona sat alongside her. “Why don’t you have a break from the café today? It’s not overly busy and I’m sure Gill can cope plus Mairee might be back today.” Fiona stroked her sister’s hand tenderly.

  “That’s not a bad idea. I feel like it’s been a bit relentless what with Jack and then the whole money missing episode. Some fresh air will do me good.”

  Fiona looked out of the window. Although it was past 9am the sky was still an ominous dull grey with thick, low-laying clouds. “Make sure you wrap up if you do go out,” she gestured to the window.

  “What will you do whilst we’re out?”

  “Oh, I’ve got plenty to be getting on with. Gill has shared her recipe for coffee and walnut cake so I’m giving that a go, don’t worry about me,” laughed Fiona.

  “Ha ha ha, fair enough. Joe?” Kate turned the TV down to get her son’s attention. “I’m going to shower then what’s say we hit the park for the morning?”

  “Cool,” came the reply, his attention immediately switching back to the telly.

  After much fussing from Fiona and digging out of scarf and gloves, finally Kate and Joe set off for the park. It was only a short walk, and Joe ran ahead, making a dash for the swings. That persistent drizzle that seemed to start in September and last until the following March was in evidence again as Kate approached the bench, deciding not to sit after all. She wandered towards the swings as Joe frantically tried to get her attention and urged her to push him higher. She put all her energy behind it and gave him an almighty push. He squealed with delight as he soared through the air. Kate was so wrapped up laughing with Joe that she didn’t see Janice from The Kingfisher crossing over the grass to talk to her.