by Liz Gavin
“When was that?”
“About six months ago.”
“What about you, Brandon?”
“I kept my distance from the bastard, much like you did. Colin told me about the old man’s disease once, when we went out for dinner. I think he’s got what he deserves.”
“What about Kim? Does her family live in Cork, too?”
“No, she’s from Galway. We have a few friends, here; but, to be honest, except the occasional dinner or lunch with Colin’s family, Kim and I prefer to keep to ourselves, enjoy our married life before the children start coming, you know?”
“Wow, brother! You sound like you’re hoping for a big family.”
“Yes, Declan, I want a lot of kids, but not only girls. Don’t change the subject. Why do you ask about father? Have you seen him? Have you been to the house?”
Declan just nodded.
“You had sworn never to set foot there again. What made you change your mind?”
“Yeah, I said that, and a bunch of other stupid things. I was younger and dumber. Keira made me change my mind. Well, not exactly her rather than the possibility of losing her, if I didn’t do anything about my relationship issues. That’s a long story, Brandon. I’ll tell you about it some other time,” Declan promised when the Ashes came back.
“What aren’t you telling your brother, young man? Don’t you know it’s a bad idea to postpone telling people things you want to say to them? You never know if you’ll have another chance to do it in the future.”
“You’re right, Mrs. Ashe. I’m sorry.”
He was surprised she was able to tease him in a time like that. However, underneath her light tone, her words sounded true and reminded him of the last night he had spent with Keira.
“That story is really too long and I’m tired. I can wait for a better time to tell it to them. There are other more important things I regret not saying when I had the chance. Like telling Keira I loved her. I had the chance and chickened out at the last moment.”
Claire patted his forearm and smiled into his eyes, “Don’t worry, son. You’ll have plenty of time to tell her that, once the police return her to us. I agree with you it’ll be soon.”
Declan returned her stare in silence for a moment. He was speechless. Claire Ashe wasn’t the fragile flower she seemed to think she was. She was tough as steel. Even in the middle of her grief and pain, she found it in herself to cheer up her daughter’s boyfriend – a person she barely knew. Keira must have gotten that trait from her mother.
Her words stirred a dormant memory in the back of his mind. A conversation he had had with a woman, but he couldn’t recall it. It seemed more like a dream than a real conversation and he let it go. He looked at the detective, who had stood a couple of feet away from the small group, while they talked.
“That’s quite a vote of confidence, Dwyer. I can’t say I agree with Mrs. Ashe about your role in Keira’s return.”
“I don’t blame you, Slane. Believe me when I say we’re doing all we can.”
“Have you found out anything else?” Rick Ashe was eager to hear the news. Any news. “I haven’t spoken with you or detective Heller today.”
“You’ve talked to Heller when you arrived in Cork. When was that? Three days ago? Then, again yesterday morning, right?”
“Yes, we arrived here on the morning when Ashling Green was murdered. That’s why we couldn’t reach him or you. Heller and you showed up at our hotel late that night, after Keira had been kidnapped. You also came by the hospital yesterday to check up on Declan.”
“You’re right.”
“Have you found out anything else about O’Hallon?” Declan insisted.
“We had hoped you could give us more details about what happened in the house, since you were the first witness to regain consciousness. But, the Ashes told us what you said when you woke up. Unfortunately, it didn’t add much information to what we already knew. We’ve recovered O’Hallon’s DNA from the trunk of Heller’s car, which confirms our initial suspicion that he hid inside it to get to the safe house.”
“How did he do that, by the way? You were at a crime scene, for heaven’s sake!” Megan couldn’t keep her mouth shut or her indignation out of her voice.
“I’ve told you that Heller parked his car in a small alley near the house. The place was swarming with reporters and police officers. He never thought O’Hallon would have the guts to stick around after his crime, let alone pull a stunt like that.”
“Dwyer, this story is beginning to sound a bit fishy to me. Was it part of that stupid plan of yours? Heller said the Garda wouldn’t go along with it after the murder. Now, you say nobody saw a man getting inside Heller’s car in a place full of people.”
“I didn’t say that. I said the car was in an alley. The alley wasn’t full of people. The street was.”
“Wait just a second. What plan?” the accusation in Megan’s tone was unmistakable.
“Using Keira as bait to lure O’Hallon out of hiding. I said that was the worst idea I had ever heard.”
“Come again? I didn’t hear you right.”
“Oh, yeah, you heard me fine, Megan.”
“Since you remember saying that, Slane, you should also remember that Heller told Miss Ashe he wasn’t comfortable with that plan. Does it ring any bells?”
“Guys, guys, calm down. This is not going to get us anywhere.”
“You’re right, Colin. I’m sorry, Dwyer. You know I’m quick-tempered.”
“There’s no need to apologize, Slane. We’re all tired and frustrated. You were almost killed. I should have known better.”
“Before we came to Ireland, you told us this man was obsessed with his cousin and that was probably why he had stalked my sister. We’re talking about a psycho here, but it wouldn’t make much sense for him to kill Ms. Green to get to Keira, if he wanted his cousin in the first place. Even so, do you think he killed his cousin to get you there and find out where Keira was?”
“That wouldn’t surprise me, Miss Ashe. But, we interviewed a couple who lived next to Ms. Green. They weren’t home when she was found dead, so we didn’t talk to them at that moment. Their house shares a wall with Ms. Green’s. They told me they heard part of an argument between a man and their neighbor. Now, I’m sure the man was O’Hallon. They said he begged Ms. Green to run off with him, to marry him. He said they belonged together, and that her boyfriend was the one keeping them apart, spoiling their happiness.”
“They didn’t know O’Hallon?”
“They had moved to the neighborhood recently and didn’t know Ms. Green very well. They didn’t call the police because they believed it was a lovers’ spat.”
“Did they hear what she said? I remember she didn’t think he was obsessed with her when you first talked to her.”
“Exactly, Slane. My guess is she realized, too late, that she was wrong about her cousin. The neighbors said her voice was difficult to hear, but it seemed she was trying to calm down her cousin. We think that, most likely, O’Hallon was threatening her with the knife and she was trying to talk some sense into him.”
“She underestimated her cousin.”
“It’s not that uncommon, Mr. Ashe. All her life, Ms. Green had chosen to ignore the signs that showed her there was something wrong with a person she thought she knew. She had grown up with him, and certainly shared many fond memories with the man. Our forensic psychiatrist believes O’Hallon snapped when Ms. Green refused to play her part in his fantasy.”
“She didn’t agree to elope with him and he killed her. Just like that?”
“You said it yourself, miss, we’re discussing a psychologically damaged mind. The rules that apply to our behavior don’t apply to O’Hallon’s. Ms. Green had always been nice to him because it was in her nature to be kind. He probably mistook her kindness for love. If she loved him, she would want to be with him, to marry him. In his fantasy world, his cousin represented the perfect woman who would be very happy to be his per
fect wife. All he had to do was ask her to marry him. When reality didn’t match his fantasy, he lost it and stabbed her to death. I’ll spare you the gory details but the number of times he stabbed Ms. Green substantiate the psychiatrist’s theory of a psychotic break. We had already explained to Slane and Keira that a number of things can trigger such a break from reality. Losing a loved one is one of them. Killing a loved one is sure to induce a serious psychotic break.”
“It’s logical to assume that once he killed his perfect future wife, he turned to the surrogate he had already found – my sister.”
“Unfortunately, you’re right. That’s why we are employing all our manpower, and have asked the neighboring cities to send us more officers, to find O’Hallon. We’re looking into a couple of new leads we can’t discuss with you at the moment. I assure you, we’ll rescue Keira before he can harm her.”
He’s got her for three whole days. Declan shivered at the thought of what O’Hallon might have done to Keira in that time.
Dwyer’s phone rang, interrupting him. When he answered the call, his expression gave them new hope.
“It was Heller. They’ve found the SUV. I’ve got to go.”
CHAPTER 9
Three days earlier
Paul didn’t believe his eyes when Keira recoiled from his touch. Something was very wrong with her. She was his soul mate. Why would she be afraid of him? Surely, that bastard Slane had poisoned her against him. God only knew the kind of lies he had told her for Keira to turn against him like that. He was glad he had shot Slane. He deserved to die for trying to keep Keira and him apart.
When Keira fell to the ground, he was horrified by the loud cracking sound her head made as it hit the floor. There was no doubt she had cracked a bone or two. He rushed to her side and knelt beside her, cradling her motionless body in his arms, rocking her back and forth.
“Don’t worry, love. You’ll be fine. Everything will be all right. I’ll take care of you.”
He looked down to admire her heart-shaped face; then, frowned when he noticed her usually rosy cheeks were deadly pale and her lips were turning blue. He put his ear to her mouth. She wasn’t breathing.
“Keira, stay with me.”
Paul had had CPR training at the tow truck company so he applied a vigorous massage to Keira’s chest. He bent down again to check her breathing. Nothing. In desperation, he pounded her chest, over her heart, repeatedly. Finally, Keira gasped and opened her eyes for a brief moment. They were unfocused. She moaned in pain and closed her eyes again.
“Keira! Talk to me.”
She mumbled something incoherent, tried to open her eyes; but, they didn’t obey her. She stretched her hand in the air, grasping at something invisible to Paul. Then, she let it fall by her side and her body went limp. She looked exhausted but breathed regularly. Her face was still ashen although her lips had returned to their normal red coloring.
“I’ve got you, Keira. Slane can’t hurt you, anymore,” he ran a thumb over her lips.
Paul scooped Keira up in his arms and took her to the big SUV parked in front of the small cottage. He lay her down on the back seat and fastened the seat belts around her waist and chest, as best as he could, due to her awkward position. He didn’t want to risk her getting hurt while he drove them home.
Those damn police officers wouldn’t take long to appear. While he had hidden in the back yard, waiting for the best moment to rescue Keira, he had heard Inspector Heller telling the gardai to contact him. Paul knew he was running out of time. He had been two steps ahead of those dumb officers so far. He couldn’t risk being outsmarted at that crucial moment. Fortunately, he had towed a car to that area a few months earlier, and knew it very well. There was a little dirt road, not far from the house, but he needed to move fast to clear out of the driveway before the police arrived. There was a shortcut through a neighboring farm that was hidden from the main road.
He disabled the GPS system, jumped behind the steering wheel and sped the SUV down the cottage driveway, reaching the farm gate, and disappearing up the little dirt road seconds before the sirens broke the quiet of the chilly night. Looking through the rear mirror, he knew they were safe when he saw the first garda patrol car zoomed past the gate. He sighed, but didn’t slow down.
Programming an app in his cell phone to avoid the main roads, he typed in an address and discovered they were going to take around two hours to get to Youghal. Their final destination was a small white cottage that he had rented, through a website, under an assumed name - Kevin Riordan.
That was the identity Paul had been using for years to avoid the police officers getting in the way of his quest for true love. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been very lucky in that department until recently. Sometimes he wondered whether he was too demanding when it came to finding a suitable woman. Then, he realized it wasn’t his fault if he knew exactly what kind of woman would make him happy.
He had known it since he was a boy, although he couldn’t have her. He had suffered so much growing up next to her, unable to express his true feelings. He had spent many sleepless nights lusting over her - the forbidden fruit, lying awake in bed, daydreaming about the possibilities. Deep down, Paul knew society would never accept their love. She seemed to suffer in silence, as well. Ashling clearly loved him, but his mother wouldn’t understand it. he knew Ashling would never intentionally hurt his mother so she kept her feelings to herself.
When he had gotten the tow truck job, he realized he was like a knight in shining armor, who drove a truck instead of a powerful steed, and traveled around saving damsels in distress. It fitted his romantic side. Intuition told him that, one day, he would find his better half in one of his clients.
In fact, Paul had met a couple of candidates over time. They seemed very promising at first but, before long, he would find out their true character. They were petty, unkind creatures, who thought they were better than him. Paul couldn’t stand pompous people and found that trait disgusting in women. He had to give them a lesson. They would never humiliate another man after he showed them what a real man could do to a heartless woman.
Keira, on the other hand, was perfect. He knew she was the one the first time he laid eyes on her. She was as kind, gentle and beautiful as his Ashling. All of a sudden, Paul realized he had dreamed of marrying Keira even before they met. Fate had taken her to him. An odious villain had tried to steal her away but Paul had taken care of Slane. He looked over his shoulder to check on Keira. She slept peacefully. The poor dear must have been exhausted to sleep so soundly while the car bounced along the narrow, dirt road.
“Don’t worry, love. We’ll be there soon,” he told her when the app showed him they were ten minutes away from their new home.
His heart beat faster when he saw the house. The online pictures hadn’t lied. It was perfect. Paul had dreamed of living in a place like that all his life – a small, white cottage fenced in by an old stone wall, halfway up a hill, in a cul-de-sac overlooking the sea.
He would be happy with Keira there. Only the two of them. Nobody else around to bother them. Nobody to get in their way. He had taken care of that. The nearest neighbor lived miles away. He had also asked the owner of the cottage to take away the television sets, radios and phones. Nothing would interfere with their retreat.
He parked, carried Keira inside, and carefully lay her down on the bed. He didn’t want to leave her but he needed to ditch the car. He hesitated briefly before deciding to give her a little something to guarantee she wouldn’t wake up while he was gone. He carried a sedative with him everywhere he went, hidden inside an innocent bottle of liquid painkiller for children. The strong tranquilizer had been very handy in many occasions. He gave a tablespoon of it to Keira, pinching her nose to ensure she swallowed everything. He stood by the bed for a while until he was convinced it had worked.
As Keira watched Declan’s lifeless body fall to the ground, she lost her will to live. She would have gladly killed Paul out of revenge, but when she
had cracked her head on the floor, she had welcomed the darkness and the silence, hoping they would take her away from the pain. She wanted to die to be with Declan again. However, she couldn’t find him. In fact, she couldn’t see anything because of the blinding light surrounding her. The pain had gone and she felt weightless. It was as if she were floating in the air.
A soft hand touched her shoulder. Keira turned around in surprise to find a beautiful redheaded woman standing beside her. She was medium-height, slender, and wore a long white robe that reflected the bright light. She looked like an angel. Her dark green eyes reminded her of Declan’s, as did her gentle smile.
“I didn’t mean to startle you, child. Forgive me.”
“Where are we? Am I dead?”
“No, Keira. You’re very much alive.”
Keira’s chest ached, she couldn’t breathe, and she heard a male voice calling her. It sounded very distant although she knew he was nearby. She peered around herself but didn’t see much past the white glare of light, except for the silhouette of a man kneeling beside a body lying on the floor.
“I’m dying, aren’t I? Did you come to take me away?”
“I’m no angel, Keira. I’m just like you, except I live in a different dimension.”
The agonizing pain returned, filling Keira’s head, and making it impossible to process information. Only one thought stood out.
“Where’s Declan?”
“I’ll find him. Don’t worry, sweetheart.”
Keira wondered if that voice calling her was Declan’s. He sounded desperate. All of a sudden, Keira felt a sharp pang in her chest and gasped as a strange force pulled her towards the body on the ground. Feeling as heavy as lead, she managed to raise a hand to the woman who had started to vanish into thin air.