The Silent Speak

by Val Collins

  An hour into her stake-out, Jenny phoned.

  ‘What are you up to today?’

  ‘Trying to get a young girl to talk to me.’

  ‘That doesn’t sound very exciting. I’m on my way to M&S. Feel like a coffee break when I get back?’

  Aoife checked her watch. It was two-thirty. For all she knew Natasha was at work. She should have realised the best place to catch her was in a club at the beginning of the night, when she was drunk enough to be careless but not too drunk to make sense.

  ‘Sounds like a plan. Three-thirty?’

  ‘Great. I’ll bring the éclairs.’

  Aoife popped into Dunnes Stores and bought a cheap, black lycra minidress and a pair of extremely uncomfortable shoes. That and a bit of make-up should be enough to get her into any club.

  She texted Maura, asking if she would mind keeping Amy for the night, and drove to Jenny’s. It was three-twenty when she got to Jenny’s house. She checked her phone to see if Conor had been in touch. He hadn’t. Maura hadn’t texted her either. Damn, the message had a little red exclamation mark beside it. It had been rejected because she was out of credit. Why had she bought a pay-as-you-go phone? Looking through her history, Aoife realised she’d been picking up the hotel’s Wi-Fi, which had allowed her to send messages and make calls, but none of the messages she’d sent outside the hotel had gone through. She dialled the automatic top-up number in the hope that it had finally been fixed. No such luck. There wasn’t time to go through the whole rigmarole of topping up through the operator. Experience had taught her that it took nine minutes of computerised messages before she would get to speak to a human. She stuffed her phone in her pocket. Maybe Conor would phone her.

  *

  When the door opened, Aoife was surprised to find Derek on the other side.

  ‘Hi, Derek.’

  ‘Hi, Aoife. Come in. Jenny popped out to the shops, but she’ll be back shortly. I’m just getting some papers together for work. I’ll be with you in a minute.’

  Aoife went into the sitting room and sat down. As usual, the girls’ textbooks were spread over the low coffee table. She picked up Active Maths 1 and turned it over. Twenty-four euros! Good God! She’d have to set up a textbook savings account if that was the price of just one book.

  Derek hurried into the room. ‘I phoned Jenny. She got stuck in traffic but she’ll be here in about fifteen minutes. Do you mind if I leave you here to wait on your own?’ He pointed at his files. ‘I have to get to work.’

  ‘No, that’s fine. Derek, have you interviewed Ruth’s nanny?’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Ruth’s nanny, Natasha.’

  ‘I didn’t, but I’m sure somebody in the department spoke to her. Why?’

  ‘She was one of the last people Lisa spoke to, and I got the impression from Lisa’s email that she believed what Natasha told her was significant.’

  ‘What email?’

  ‘Lisa was checking out the people Ruth spoke to in her last few weeks.’

  Derek stiffened. ‘And how would either you or Lisa get your hands on that information?’

  Hell!

  As she scrambled for a convincing answer, Aoife saw Derek’s face darken. It was the exact expression he’d shown her the day he’d said she wasn’t a suitable wife for Conor. His lips barely moved as he said, ‘That is confidential information, Aoife.’

  ‘Derek, I think it is a huge mistake for us to discuss the investigation. It never ends well. Let’s forget I ever mentioned the subject.’

  ‘Let’s not. I’d like to know how you got your hands on information that has not been released to the public.’

  ‘And I would like not to discuss it.’

  ‘I don’t think you understand what a serious matter this is.’

  ‘Are you arresting me, Derek?’

  After a short hesitation, Derek turned on his heel and left the room. He closed the door with such extraordinary gentleness, it was clear it was taking all his self-control not to bang it. A few minutes later he called. ‘I’m leaving, Aoife. Please boil the kettle so Jenny doesn’t have to wait when she comes home.’

  Aoife sighed as she made her way to the kitchen. She had always admired Derek’s devotion to Jenny, but this was ridiculous. Jenny wouldn’t mind waiting a few minutes for the kettle to boil.

  The kitchen table was set with two mugs, a packet of biscuits and two plates. Aoife’s stomach gurgled at the sight of the biscuits. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast and only now realised she was starving. Aoife had taken three steps towards the kettle when rough hands grabbed her. One hand covered her mouth; the other held a knife which was pointed at her throat.

  ‘It didn’t have to be like this, Aoife. I deleted that email so you’d never know Natasha existed. This is what comes of breaking the law. Now you’ve read the email, you’ve given me no choice.’

  ‘Wh—?’

  ‘I’m sorry, Aoife, but it’s you or me.’

  *

  ‘Aah!’ Aoife gave a strangled reply.

  ‘Hush. We have to get out of here before Jenny comes home. Move!’ He pushed her towards the door that led from the kitchen to the garage.

  Aoife tried to scream ‘No!’ but it came out as a muffled groan.

  At that exact moment, a door banged and Jenny called, ‘Sorry I’m late, Aoife, but I got the éclairs.’

  There was a wide smile on her face as she sailed through the kitchen door carrying two M&S bags.

  ‘Oh my God! Derek! What’s going on?’

  ‘Nothing to worry about, darling. Leave this to me.’

  Aoife struggled. ‘Jmm.’

  ‘Why are you doing that to Aoife? Are you arresting her? What did she do?’

  ‘I’m not arresting her, darling. I’m going to kill her.’

  FORTY-FOUR

  Jenny’s bags landed on the tiled floor with a clatter.

  ‘You’re going to—’ She put a hand to her head. ‘Der—Derek, if Aoife broke the law you have to arrest her. You can’t take the law into your own hands. That would mean you were no better than a criminal.’

  ‘Aoife didn’t break the law, darling. I did. The only way I can avoid prison is to kill her.’

  ‘You broke—Derek, what are you talking about?’

  ‘It would take too long to explain now, darling. I’ll tell you all about it tonight.’ He tightened his grip on Aoife’s mouth and pushed her towards the door.

  ‘Nnnn!’ Aoife tried to scream. She remembered her self-defence class and jammed her heel into his foot. Derek loosened his grip and she pulled away and raced past a startled Jenny to the front door.

  Her hand was on the latch when Derek grabbed her. He covered her mouth with both hands. She managed to grab a tiny bit of flesh between her teeth and bit down. Derek grunted and attempted to shake his hand free, but Aoife held on for dear life. He lifted her off the floor and carried her into the kitchen. The door banged Jenny in the back but she didn’t seem to notice. She was standing in the same spot, both hands covering her mouth.

  Derek removed one hand from Aoife’s mouth and hit her across the face. Aoife’s head jerked to one side and Derek pulled his hand free. It took her a second to react, then Aoife took a deep breath and screamed, ‘Help!’

  Jenny jumped. Derek pulled the silk scarf from his wife’s throat and stuffed it into Aoife’s mouth. There was a tea towel drying on the radiator, and he grabbed it and tied it around her head. Then he dragged her to the corner, removed a set of handcuffs from his pocket and tied her to the radiator.

  Leaving her completely helpless, head still ringing, Derek took Jenny by the hand and led her to a chair.

  ‘I know it’s a shock, darling, but everything’s going to be okay. Now, I’m going to make you a cup of tea.’ He picked up the bags of shopping she had dropped, removed the éclairs and placed a slightly battered one on her plate. ‘You have a nice cake, and when I get back, I’ll tell you all about it.’

  ‘Nnn!’ Aoife shook the handcuff
s and banged her feet on the floor.

  ‘Shut up, Aoife. That’s not going to do a bit of good. Be grateful it’s just you that’s going to die. If I’d had to come to your house, I might have had to kill your daughter too. Mind you, I don’t want to kill you. You’re annoying and have no respect for the law, but you don’t deserve to die. Still, I always figured that if you left me with no choice, at least I’d have the pleasure of butchering Golden Boy Moloney too. Now that is something I would have enjoyed.’

  He was pouring water into Jenny’s cup when she grabbed his hand.

  ‘Derek, what’s going on?’ Her voice was low and timid, very different from the confident, cheerful tone Aoife was accustomed to.

  ‘Later, darling.’

  ‘No, Derek. Now.’ She was beginning to sound more like herself.

  ‘There isn’t time, my love.’

  Jenny pushed back her chair. ‘Derek Lehane, you tell me what is going on right now or I’m calling the police.’

  *

  Derek grabbed Jenny’s bag, took out her phone and removed the battery.

  ‘Darling, you can’t phone the police. Do you want to see me arrested?’

  ‘Arrested for what?’ Jenny screamed.

  ‘Hush, darling! There’s no time to go into this. I can’t kill Aoife here. It would leave too much evidence. I need to drive her to the house where I killed Lisa and dump her in the same alley. When I get back, we can have a long talk.’

  ‘Where you killed Lis—I don’t believe I’m hearing this.’

  ‘Hush, my love. You don’t need to worry about any of this. None of it is your fault. I know you would never cheat on me.’

  ‘I would never—Derek, one of us is going off their rocker and I think it might be me. Am I imagining this whole conversation? Did you really just tell me that you killed Lisa and you’re going to kill Aoife because I would never cheat on you?’

  ‘No, darling. It’s complicated, but there’s a girl called Natasha who had a recording that could send me to prison for life. I destroyed the recording, of course, but Natasha knows it existed. Lisa discovered this also. I killed Lisa, but I haven’t had time to kill Natasha and there may be other recordings I don’t know about yet. A few moments ago, Aoife told me she was planning to speak to Natasha. I can’t let that happen. So, you see, they both need to die or I could go to prison for murdering Ruth.’

  ‘Ruth—oh dear Lord. You killed Ruth? No, you couldn’t have. The police would have found your DNA there.’

  ‘They did. But I told them I’d called to her house to interview her. They expected to find my DNA, just as they expected to find it in Grogan’s house. After all, the entire book club saw me call there the night of the party.’

  ‘But why would you kill Ruth?’

  ‘That was her fault.’ He jerked his thumb at Aoife. ‘When she told me what Ruth had done to Grogan’s wife, I was so furious it took all my strength not to go to her house and tear her limb from limb that very minute.’

  ‘For the love of God, Derek. Why?’

  ‘Ruth tried to do to Grogan’s wife what Grogan tried to do to me.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘Grogan tried to steal you from me.’

  *

  ‘You think Shane and I—dear God, Derek, the thought never even crossed my mind.’

  ‘I know it didn’t, darling. But it crossed Shane’s.’

  Jenny shook her head ‘No. No. No!’

  ‘It did, my love. You’re so good you never see the evil in others. When I came to collect you from Fiona’s party, he put his arms around you right in front of me.’

  ‘He hugged us all, Derek. It meant nothing.’

  ‘And I saw the photo.’

  ‘What photo?’

  ‘The photo of him leaning over you at the birthday party.’

  ‘He was trying to fit into the shot. That’s all.’

  ‘No, darling. That wasn’t all. I saw the text he sent you too.’

  ‘Shane never sent me any text.’

  ‘Yes, he did. It said “like must marry like or there can be no happiness.” He was telling you not to waste your time on an old fuddy-duddy like me. That bastard wanted you to believe you belonged with somebody like him. Someone young, good looking, the centre of attention at every party. Not stuck in a corner with me, with everybody trying to avoid us.’

  Jenny groaned. ‘It was a book, Derek. It was a quote from a book. Shane had no interest in me and I had no interest in him.’

  ‘It was all part of a plan, darling. That bastard wanted you and he was determined to steal you from me.’

  ‘I would never—’

  ‘I know you wouldn’t, darling. But he would have kept at it until you began to see me the way he did. Some dour—’

  ‘No. I wouldn’t—’

  Derek kissed her. ‘You would have kept your vows. You would have stuck by me to the bitter end. But you see, darling, I didn’t want a bitter end for us. I wanted us to be happy.’

  ‘We were happy!’ Jenny wailed.

  ‘We wouldn’t have been for long. Not if I hadn’t put an end to that bastard’s plans.’

  Jenny grabbed his hand. ‘Derek, please tell me you didn’t kill those babies.’

  Derek nodded. ‘Yes, my love, I did. Right in front of him. I showed him exactly what it felt like to lose your family.’

  FORTY-FIVE

  Jenny was sitting at the kitchen table, head down on her arms, sobbing. Derek patted her head, muttering, ‘Hush, darling. It will be okay.’

  Jenny’s head jerked up. ‘Don’t touch me!’

  ‘Okay, my love. It’s the shock. You’ll see I did what I had to do to protect our family.’

  ‘You are completely insane.’

  Derek laughed. ‘No, my darling. I’ve never been saner.’

  ‘You think you’re sane? Even if you hated Shane, what did Fiona and the kids ever do to you?’

  ‘You’re missing the point, darling. I needed to see Grogan’s face when he realised he had lost his family. Besides, they had more than one chance to fight back but I was too clever for them. Fiona came out of her bedroom as I was climbing in the bathroom window. If she had reacted faster, the outcome would have been very different. Instead, I put the knife to her throat and forced her to walk into the kitchen. Grogan was on his phone. He jumped up when he saw her. Before he could say one word, I cut her throat right in front of him.’

  ‘Don’t tell me anymore. I don’t want to know.’

  ‘The point I’m trying to make is that they had the opportunity to fight back. Shane could have charged at me. Instead, he ran over to Fiona, pulled her into his arms and started screaming. How stupid was that?’

  ‘Shut up!’

  ‘Darling! What’s come over you? Don’t speak like that.’

  ‘Go to hell, Derek.’

  ‘You don’t mean that. You’re upset about the kids. They got in the way and they were part of my revenge.’

  When Jenny didn’t reply he said ‘In retrospect, maybe I should have let the youngest live. I promised Grogan that I would. It was the only way to get him to sign the suicide note and cut his own wrists. Honestly, Jenny, I intended to keep my word but who knows how much a child that age would remember as she grew older? I couldn’t take the risk.’

  Aoife hadn’t realised she was crying until the tears landed on her jeans. She looked at Jenny, who was sitting with her hands covering her face. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. It was like they were all stuck in a bubble where images of the scenes Derek had described were played over and over. After what felt like an age, Jenny pushed back her chair and stood up. She held her arms out to Derek.

  ‘Oh my darling. I knew you’d understand.’

  Jenny shook her head. ‘I don’t understand, Derek. But you’re my husband and I swore to love and take care of you.’ She pulled away. ‘Now, if we’re going to do this, let’s do it properly. Where’s your gun?’

  FORTY-SIX

  ‘We ca
n’t shoot her, Jenny. I don’t have a silencer. The neighbours would phone the police.’

  ‘Couldn’t we use a cushion? I’ve seen that in the movies.’

  Aoife banged her feet against the radiator.

  Jenny didn’t even glance in her direction. ‘Shut up, Aoife, or I’ll cut your throat myself. Derek, if we’re going to move Aoife to another location, we need a gun. You can only kill one person at a time with a knife.’

  ‘I wasn’t planning on killing anyone else—well, other than that Natasha whore, and that’s proving a real challenge. She’s yet to spend two consecutive nights in her own bed.’

  ‘You weren’t planning to kill Ruth or Lisa either, were you? These things happen. Now, you get your gun, I’ll find a blanket to wrap the body in and we can get out of here.’

  They joined hands as they left the room. Aoife pulled at the handcuffs. Jenny was just as insane as her husband. How the hell was she going to get out of here? She took a few deep breaths and tried to calm herself. Her chance would come. Lisa had been killed on the north side. If Derek planned to murder her in the same location, he would have to drive her across the city. She would keep her wits about her and wait for her opportunity. The important thing was not to panic.

  Derek came back to the kitchen, threw his shoulder holster on the table and stuck the gun in his pocket. A few seconds later, Jenny joined him.

  ‘Are you ready, darling?’

  ‘Give me one second.’ Jenny sat down and pushed her head between her knees.

  Derek rushed over to her.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘I don’t feel great.’

  ‘Did you take your blood pressure medicine this morning?’

  Jenny shook her head.

  ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’

  As soon as he left the room, Aoife tapped on the radiator.

  ‘Jnn.’

  Jenny jumped up, grabbed the holster and pulled at something. Oh my God, it was a key!