Blinding Lies

by Amy Cronin

  The nurse had given her some tablets, but she found it was too painful to swallow them. She had eventually been hooked up to a drip for pain relief. She’d had both hands swabbed for gunshot residue and the inside of her mouth swabbed as well. So far, it had been an eventful Monday night.

  She lay back onto the pillow and closed her eyes, letting her arms fall to her sides, the ice pack balancing on her forehead. She hoped sleep would come – she felt drained – but images of Myles and Janet plagued her. She knew Janet was dead. The nurse had confirmed it for her earlier. She had been shot in the head and bled out quickly. Anna had known, in her heart, that there was no hope for the Chief Super – there had been so much blood – but she still felt shock at hearing the nurse confirm her fears. Myles was in surgery, his two gunshot wounds needing urgent attention to save his life and give him any hope of walking again. Anna was struggling to accept this reality too. In fact, the whole thing was unbelievable. Somehow, Myles had mustered the strength to stand up and defend her from Elise Taylor. He had saved her life – but it had added considerably to his pain. Anna hoped his bravery had not further damaged his thigh.

  How could DS Taylor have fooled them all so well?

  How could she have done this to them, to Janet, her colleague of many years? Janet McCarthy had never been a dictator-type boss – as a Chief Superintendent she was fair and reasonable. Anna knew DS Taylor had been unhappy with resources on this latest case – but she also knew that that had been out of Janet McCarthy’s control.

  Had all this happened because of David Gallagher?

  Anna lay in the hospital bed and wondered if there were signs she had missed, obvious markers she should have picked up. She was a statistician, not a psychologist. But as a human being, as a person capable of a reasonable amount of intuition, perhaps there was something about Elise Taylor’s demeanour that should have raised an alarm.

  Anna hadn’t known the detective for very long, just three years, and their dealings had always been in a professional setting. She had often appeared moody to Anna and had been aloof with the clerical staff. She had a no-nonsense demeanour and was tough to deal with. Anna had thought nothing of it. She had assumed it was her job, and the nature of the cases she dealt with, that led her to be that way. And compared to some of the detectives Anna worked with – in particular Frank Doherty – Elise Taylor had seemed friendly. On this latest case she had seemed genuinely concerned about finding Kate – which was true. Just not to protect her, as Anna had assumed.

  Thinking of Kate, Anna felt worry knot in the pit of her stomach again. She would be oblivious to all that had happened after Anna had left the house. She wondered if she was still in her house in Kinsale. At least there she was safe. She was central to a terrible crime involving people that were bad at their core – including the detective who had lied and had intended to turn her over to Tom Gallagher. Anna dreaded to think what would have happened to Kate if Elise Taylor had found her. Which would be worse? To be discovered by the detective or the criminal? Anna shivered – it didn’t bear thinking about.

  She longed to rest but sleep refused to come. She remembered how she had defended herself against Elise, how she had used her father’s self-defence games. Her memories, and her love of Taekwon-Do, had saved her life. She realised she would not be able to teach her little Taekwon-Do Tykesthis week, and that she would have to call Jason and explain what had happened.

  Tears came then. For Janet McCarthy, and Myles. For Kate. For Michael and Helen, wherever they were. Anna let her tears fall.

  46

  In the dimly lit hospital corridor, William Ryan tapped the shoulder of the young Garda slumped on the plastic chair outside Anna’s room.

  “You can head off.”

  “She in the clear then?”

  The Garda yawned and stretched, before strolling down the corridor.

  William had the handle on the door to the private hospital room pressed when Alex Clarke grabbed his arm.

  “Excuse me!” His face was pale – he looked wretched. “I’m Alex Clarke, Anna’s brother. We met last night. What the hell is going on?”

  William recognised Alex from the previous night outside Anna’s house and at the station. He smiled at the man and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Hello again. Aside from finding herself in the wrong place at the wrong time – again – your sister is OK. She has only minor injuries. She’s very skilled in self-defence, I believe. Once again it saved her life. I’m about to interview her now if she’s up to it.”

  “Is she under arrest?”

  “No. But I need to take her statement and collect her clothes for a forensics examination.”

  William had received the results of the gunshot residue tests back, rushed through as a favour by a colleague that had agreed to go into the lab, despite the late hour. Anna Clarke was not the shooter – in fact, William’s own colleague was. Although the evidence had pointed that way, and Myles Henderson had given his account of the situation, William still found it hard to believe. He rubbed his face with both hands and exhaled loudly.

  Alex felt sorry for the man – he looked like he’d had a terrible shock this evening.

  “I still can’t get my head around this.” Alex shook his head, his voice cracking. “First the attack at home last night, now this! Poor Anna. It’s like she keeps stumbling into trouble!”

  William patted his arm again – he didn’t know what else to do. He had so much to process and so much to do. He remembered the expression on Detective Superintendent Doherty’s face as he had told him one of the force’s senior detectives had murdered their Chief Superintendent and attempted to kill another detective. Doherty, instructed to take position as Chief Superintendent until further notice, had been unable to do more than shake his head in mute disbelief.

  “Will you let me go in with you?” Alex motioned to Anna’s hospital bedroom. “Please!”

  William nodded.

  Anna heard movement and removed the ice pack. Raising her head caused her nerve endings to scream in pain, so she abandoned the idea. She could see her bedside visitors from this angle anyway from the corner of her eye.

  DS William Ryan and Alex.

  Both men eyed her warily from the doorway.

  “I’m fine.” The croak of her voice surprised her.

  Alex rushed to her side and took her hand. He sat on the nearby chair.

  “Just about!” he said quietly. He reached out and touched the side of her neck, where the bruises were forming. “Anna, what happened in there? Why were you there in the first place? What’s going on?”

  Anna lay quietly – she literally didn’t know where to start.

  William Ryan sensed she was struggling to know how to begin.

  “Anna,” he said softly, “we need to get justice for Janet. And for Myles Henderson. If you’re up to it, I need to know everything that happened this evening. Just start at the point where you brought the memory key to the briefing centre.”

  He smiled warmly at her, his notebook open and pen poised.

  Anna pushed with her arms and sat up. She groaned in pain. Alex rearranged the pillows under her head so she was more comfortable. She pulled a cup of water from the bedside table towards her and sipped from the straw. She wanted every possible thing that could convict Elise Taylor recorded while it was fresh in her mind.

  William Ryan shifted his weight and looked at her expectantly.

  Sipping her water again to lubricate her aching throat, Anna took a deep breath and began her story.

  Alex’s hands shook. He could scarcely believe what Anna had got mixed up in. Sure, he understood the emotion behind wanting to help an old friend – Alex remembered Kate and Natalie too – but Kate had put Anna in danger.

  As Alex looked at his sister, lying bloodied and bruised in the hospital bed, he felt a rush of pride. She had just uncovered a potential terror attack or assassination attempt at the political conference. She had saved herself from a madwoman, and pro
bably saved Myles’ life as well.

  As Anna had been speaking the detective in front of her had grown increasingly flushed with anger.

  “I cannot believe one of our own did this. To kill another officer … Doherty is dealing with the memory key, so rest assured that’s being taken care of.”

  “I think Janet already knew the information had been stolen. She didn’t seem surprised by that fact, just that it was David Gallagher who had it.”

  “Seriously?” William looked sceptical.

  Anna nodded. “Definitely. She wasn’t at all shocked that the memory key existed.”

  William didn’t say another word. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. Eager to uncover Elise Taylor’s twisted motive, he looked forward to starting his investigation.

  Hours later, as soon as the nurse had removed the drip in her arm and had left the room, Anna swung her legs out of bed slowly. She wanted to get out of here. Now that she had finished telling Alex and the detective all that had happened, she really wanted to get back to Kate. The woman was alone and probably fearful. Anna had been gone a long time. Her body felt stiff and sore, but when she stood up she was relieved her legs held steady.

  “Woah, woah! Where do you think you’re going?” Alex demanded. He had been dozing on the visitor’s chair and was wide awake now, and not happy.

  “Home,” Anna muttered. Her voice was barely audible, yet she managed a tone that invited no discussion.

  Alex ignored it. “That’s up to your doctor!”

  “Alex, I need to check on Kate! Detective Ryan has been gone ages and I don’t know if anyone went to the house! Please!”

  Alex sighed.

  William Ryan stepped back into the room and raised his eyebrows.

  “Going somewhere?”

  Anna sighed in exasperation. “Look, Kate is alone in my house. Shouldn’t you be questioning her, detective? And the notes I made from the spreadsheet are on my kitchen table. They can help you piece together things on the memory key, if that’s even necessary.”

  William Ryan had to admit he needed those notes, to collect all the evidence of this case if nothing else.

  “I can drive you home. I’ll get a uniform to follow in your car. You’re going to need some clothes!”

  Alex shrugged off his jacket and passed it to Anna. “I’m coming with you!” He wanted to accompany Anna everywhere she went for a while. Maybe he could keep her out of trouble. She smiled gratefully at her brother.

  The doctor who had examined Anna was still on duty and needed a bit of convincing that she could go home. Only when he was satisfied that her brother would keep a close eye on her did he consent.

  The nurse that had tended to Anna earlier managed to find her a T-shirt, a tracksuit pants and some slippers. With her bruised face and pieced-together outfit, Anna knew she looked a mess. She couldn’t have cared less.

  The three of them rode the forty-minute journey to Anna’s house in William’s car. Alex planned to collect his later. Anna closed her eyes and leant back into the cushioned seat. She felt nauseous again as the car sped through the city streets and on into the suburbs. Despite the cold she rolled down the rear window.

  When they reached the Wild Atlantic Way route, and the sea air filled her lungs, she felt herself relax. She was almost home.

  In the dark, it was easy to see that there were no lights on in the house when the car pulled up outside. Anna had a sinking feeling of dread settle in the pit of her stomach. She hoped Kate was sleeping upstairs, like she had told her she was welcome to do.

  As she turned the key in the lock she contemplated calling out to her, but her throat felt too raw. Instead she moved from room to room, both upstairs and down, pushing her shaking legs forward. The house was empty. There was no sign of Kate, nor of her red bag.

  William Ryan was in the kitchen, standing at the table, staring at something resting there. Anna assumed he had found her notebook and was reading her earlier attempts to make sense of the initials. Instead he was staring at the screen of her laptop. He looked up at Alex and Anna as they entered the kitchen, his expression almost apologetic. He turned the screen around. The laptop was almost out of battery, having been switched on since early evening.

  “Your friend – Kate,” William said gravely. “She’s not as innocent as you think.”

  Anna leant forward and looked at the screen. It was the internet search history, and it was blank.

  It had been wiped. Kate had searched for something online and then deleted any trace of it.

  Beside the laptop was Kate’s short note of apology.

  She was gone.

  47

  Alex stayed in his childhood home that night. Anna hadn’t wanted him to, had said there was no need, but he would not be swayed. Before midnight, when Anna had called the hospital, Myles had been still in surgery, and she had begun to pace the living room, consumed with worry. Her doctor had prescribed her a sleeping tablet and Alex had convinced her to take it, managing to swallow despite the pain. Sleep was a welcome relief from her thoughts. Before she fell asleep, she put her headphones in, and selected Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major. She was breathing deeply, lost in slumber, within minutes.

  Alex stood in the door frame and watched her. He felt tired and very old. For ten years he had taken his responsibility for Anna very seriously and realised now that that was still the case. She was twenty-six years old, a graduate, with a career in front of her. But she was still his headstrong kid sister. Only now, as he watched her sleep, as his eyes roamed over the bandage on her head and the stitches in her lip, her bruising and swollen eyes, the marks on her neck, he couldn’t help but feel an increasing amount of respect for her. He had been filled in on everything that had happened over the last few days.

  He suspected that there was something akin to rage brewing inside his sister, that likely stemmed from the disappearance of their parents. Certainly, a dogged determination to get to the bottom of things. Alex wasn’t sure. Whatever it was, she channelled it for the greater good. She had gone to extreme lengths to protect Kate Crowley and had placed herself in great danger. She had done the same to defend herself against Dean Harris. How many women were safe in their homes because of her actions? And the political conference – Cork could have gone down in history as the site of a significant terror attack or assassination but for her quick thinking and bravery. Alex knew their parents would be very proud of her. And so was he.

  Alex’s insomnia was back in full force and he wasn’t surprised. How could anyone sleep after what he had seen and heard today? He checked in with Samantha, making sure she and Chloe were OK, letting her know he was staying in Anna’s house tonight. He didn’t tell his wife all the details of what had happened to Anna. He didn’t know quite where to start.

  Downstairs, he found a beer in the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table. She had plugged her laptop in to charge. As he sipped the cold beer he thought again of Anna’s story. His leg bounced under the table with adrenaline, with fury.

  He reached for the notebook on the table – William Ryan had torn out the pages Anna had written on earlier – and began to make notes. He listed the main players in this saga – Elise Taylor, David Gallagher, Kate Crowley, Tom Gallagher … Alex had read about the two dead bodies found in a car and the burnt-out vehicle abandoned on Monastery Road, and he wondered if that had anything to do with this. Alex drew lines between the names, linking them together like a spider’s web. In the middle of the names he wrote Political Conference. Alex drained the beer and fetched another as the enormity of today’s events sank in – the city of Cork had just played host to a tale of epic intrigue, and his own kid sister had been right in the middle of it.

  Detective Sergeant William Ryan decided the time was right to end things with Gina. There were now fourteen missed calls on his mobile, and a voicemail he didn’t have the energy to listen to. He just didn’t have the time for a relationship. His mind was too preoccupied with details, all of whic
h he needed to piece together into a coherent report to present to his new boss, and fast. Gina had become just a distraction. He felt slightly unbalanced, as though he was walking through water. He needed the waves to part so he could get a clear picture of what exactly had transpired this evening, and over the past few days.

  When William left Anna’s house, he headed straight back to the building by the Marina. The conference room on the third floor was thronged with members of the Garda Technical Bureau conducting their forensic examination. They moved slowly and methodically through the room in their white suits. He put on shoe-covers at the door before he stepped inside. He didn’t need to be here – he would receive their report as soon as it was ready, probably first thing in the morning. But he had his methods, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep until he had exhausted this demon.

  He stood in the middle of the room and studied every inch of it, his eyes taking in every possible detail. The oak table was now empty save for a large bloodstain. The floor Myles had lain on was also stained where his blood had pooled. Ryan observed the computer at Myles’ workstation, its keyboard still on the ground where it had fallen after Anna had smashed it into Elise’s face.

  William struggled to see the entrance to the storage room in the wall opposite, but his eyes eventually located the slight outdent of the wooden door. He closed his eyes and inhaled, breathing the scene deep into his lungs. Anna’s voice played in his head as though he had recorded her testimony and was playing it back.

  William pictured Anna hiding in the storage room, Elise stepping inside the room and firing three shots, her victims falling. He turned one-eighty degrees, his eyes still closed, and faced Myles’ desk where Anna and Elise had fought. He turned again to his right, to the end of the conference table, where Anna had fallen and Elise had tried to strangle her. He cut an unusual figure, standing in the middle of the room with his eyes closed and his arms by his sides, turning this way and that. None of the forensics team had witnessed the detective’s strange method of absorbing a scene before; but they were professional, and it was late, and so they continued their work around him.