by Val Collins
‘I saw Jenny today. She was in the reception area as I walked by.’
‘Did you speak to her?’
‘I probably should have, but I couldn’t. She tried to kill you.’
‘Maybe I would have killed her if somebody was threatening Amy.’
‘I understand why she did it, Aoife. I just can’t forgive her.’
‘Yeah, I’m having a bit of difficulty with that too.’
‘You have to promise me one thing.’
‘What?’
‘The next time you decide to leave your home for three days, at least text me. That entire day I was camped outside your house waiting for you. If you had managed to send that text, what could I have done from Kildare?’
‘That reminds me, I still haven’t topped up that stupid phone.’
‘Well, put money in it before the weekend. I don’t want to be in England worrying that I can’t contact you.’
‘I will. Tell Blaine he’s welcome in my house any time and make sure he understands that I don’t blame him for anything. Jason is a master manipulator. Most adults can’t see through him. No teenager could be expected to.’
FIFTY-ONE
Three weeks later…
Aoife was shocked at how quickly life returned to normal.
When Conor wasn’t working, he was in Aoife’s house. The one thing that had changed was he never mentioned getting engaged any longer. She had been through an incredibly traumatic time, he said. She needed a completely stress-free life. Now wasn’t the time to make life-changing decisions.
Summer was coming to an end and they were taking advantage of every minute of the good weather. Each evening they went for a long walk. Amy spent the first half of the walk trying to race them on her tricycle and the second half riding on Conor’s shoulders.
‘Horsie, horsie!’
‘Enough horsie, Amy. I need a rest.’
‘But I want to play horsie!’
‘We’ll play again tomorrow. Would you like to know a secret, Amy?’
‘Yes, please.’
‘You’re going to get to see Blaine tomorrow.’
‘Blainey! When?’
‘When you get back from kindergarten.’
‘Blaine’s coming for the weekend?’ Aoife asked.
Conor put a finger to his lips. ‘It’s a secret between Amy and me. You’ll have to wait to see what happens.’
*
The next day when Aoife collected Amy from kindergarten, she raced into the house, shouting, ‘Blainey! Blainey!’
Conor called, ‘In the kitchen.’
Aoife followed her into the kitchen. In the centre of the table, Conor had set up his laptop. He turned the screen around and there was Blaine.
‘Blainey! You’re Zooming!’
Aoife laughed.
She turned to Conor, but he had left the room. She found him standing in the hall, staring out the peephole in the front door.
‘What are you doing out here?’
‘Keeping watch.’
‘For what?’
‘That’s it. I knew he’d come. Make sure Amy doesn’t leave the kitchen, Aoife.’
‘What?’
Conor didn’t reply. He opened the front door and strode outside.
Aoife checked on Amy. Blaine was encouraging her to sing some song she’d learned in kindergarten.
Aoife closed the kitchen door and followed Conor outside. He was crossing the road towards a man who was half-hidden by a chestnut tree. As Conor approached, the man moved out of the shadows.
It was Jason.
*
‘Oh God!’ Aoife ran towards them.
‘Don’t come any closer, Aoife,’ Conor shouted when she reached the edge of the footpath. ‘This won’t take long.’
He turned to Jason. ‘I’m guessing Amy told you Blaine would be here today.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Conor. I’m here to see my daughter.’
‘Jason, I have no intention of arguing with you. I just want to make sure you understand me. When Aoife was attacked and you ran away like a pathetic coward, I wondered what kind of a toe-rag would do such a thing, but I said nothing. Your relationship with Aoife is none of my business. Your relationship with Amy is none of my business. Your relationship with my son is.’
Aoife gasped as Conor raised his fist and punched Jason in the nose.
‘Do not ever speak to Blaine again.’
Jason howled. ‘Ow! Jesus Christ! What the hell is wrong with you?’
He put his hands up to his nose. His eyes widened in horror when they came away covered in blood.
‘You broke my nose. You actually broke my nose, you psycho!’
Conor walked away. ‘No, I didn’t.’
‘This is assault,’ Jason yelled after him. ‘I’m calling the police.’
Conor didn’t even turn around. ‘I am the police, remember?’
‘I’m reporting you to your superiors.’
‘For what? I never laid a hand on you.’
‘You broke my nose.’
‘Your word against mine. I don’t see any witnesses.’
‘Aoife is a witness. You saw what he did, Aoife. Do you want to be married to a man who makes vicious unprovoked attacks on the father of your child?’
Aoife turned her back and walked away. As she closed the front door, Jason called, ‘You’ll be a battered wife next, Aoife. Or has he started beating you already?’
Conor came in behind her.
‘I had to do it, Aoife.’
‘You should have told me.’
‘You’d have tried to stop me.’
‘Yes, I would.’
‘He screwed with my kid, Aoife. Jason needs to know that if he screws with the people I love, he will get hurt.’
‘Are you going to beat up Keith too?’
‘What?’
‘Keith did a lot more damage to your kid, Jason. He could have killed him.’
‘The courts will take care of Keith, and this isn’t about revenge, Aoife. It’s about keeping us safe. Jason has proved he’s scared of physical confrontation, so I wanted him to understand that if he messed with us, he would get hurt.’
‘It’s not that simple, Conor. I’m certain Jason is scared of you and I’m sure that from now on he’ll avoid you as much as possible, but that won’t stop him from trying to destroy us. You’ve just made things worse. And Amy’s the one who will pay.’
EPILOGUE
Five weeks later…
Conor came with her to the funeral. Aoife had been nervous about seeing Keith again, but he wasn’t there. Presumably his dislike of Lisa extended to her mother.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Aoife said to Eamonn as the congregation lined up to offer their condolences to the immediate family.
‘Thank you, Aoife. And thank you for giving her a little peace at the end. She’s with Lisa and Shane now. That’s all she ever wanted.’
*
‘Thank God that’s over. I know Lisa would have wanted me to be there, but I absolutely hate funerals.’
Conor pulled her into a hug. ‘Somebody your age shouldn’t have to know so much about them. Let’s go into town. We need something to cheer ourselves up.’
As they walked down Grafton Street, Aoife pulled her jacket around her. Autumn had arrived. In many ways it was Aoife’s favourite season. Once you gave up any hope of a heatwave and accepted you were heading for a bleak, miserable winter, every bright, sunny day seemed like a little miracle. Who cared about a bitter wind when the sky was clear and blue?
‘Are you hungry, Conor?’
‘Aren’t I always?’
‘Let’s have lunch in Brown Thomas.’
They walked up the pedestrian street, arm in arm, stopping to listen to a busker. A large crowd had gathered in the centre of the road, singing along to Don McClean’s ‘American Pie.’ Aoife and Conor joined in. Conor’s arm was around her and his voice boomed out over the crowd. Aoife stopped singing to lis
ten to him. Didn’t Don McClean’s wife claim her husband was very controlling? Aoife thought of Jenny, who had been so happily married to a monster. She thought of Jason and the disastrous mistake she had made in choosing him as Amy’s father. She would never make such a stupid mistake again.
‘Conor?’
He didn’t hear her above the noise of the crowd. She looked around and saw the green shop awning to their right. He would be able to hear her there. Grabbing his arm, she led him towards it.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.
She pointed at the jewellery shop window.
‘I thought you might like to buy me a ring.’
Hi,
Thank you for choosing THE SILENT SPEAK. If you enjoyed it, it would be great if you could spare a moment to write a review. It doesn’t have to be long, one line is perfect.
THE SILENT SPEAK is my third book. My first two books are GIRL TARGETED and ONLY LIES REMAIN. You can check them out here: http://bit.ly/2Xw7vTb
All my books are stand alone thrillers but GIRL TARGETED and ONLY LIES REMAIN cover earlier periods in Aoife’s life.
If you would like to get in touch, the link above will take you to my website where you can send me a message, sign up for my newsletter and find all my social media links.
I’m always excited to hear from readers so please do get in touch.
Val
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to my editor, copy editor, and book designer. This is the third book that Debz Hobbs-Wyatt, Eliza from Clio Editing and Patrick Knowles have helped me produce. Their assistance is always invaluable and I don’t know how I would manage without them.
I’d also like to thank Suzy Pope, my new editor, who proofread this book and offered many helpful suggestions.
If you’re reading this book, it’s thanks mostly to Liz Psaltis, my marketing guru. Without her nobody would know THE SILENT SPEAK even exists.
As always I would like to thank my friends:
Tina – always the first person outside my family to read my book and offer perfect advice.
John – A fount of knowledge on the workings of the Irish police force and the only reason I can mention the police in my books without making a complete idiot of myself.
Yvonne – Who always comes up with an idea whenever I run out of them.
Most of all, I’m grateful to my family – those who are still with me and those who are gone.
Also by Val Collins
Girl Targeted
A Man To Die For - A Quick Read
Only Lies Remain
The Silent Speak (Coming Soon)
Watch for more at Val Collins’s site.