Who is Alice?

by Miranda Manning

  “On whose instructions?” Garda Cotter asked.

  “Mine,” was the reply.

  “And who are you?”

  “I’m Detective Sergeant Matt O’Sullivan.”

  The gruff response surprised Declan Cotter. Nor had he ever heard of a Detective Sergeant Matt O’Sullivan.

  “I’ll have to check this out with my superiors,” he replied and hung up.

  There was something odd about the call but he couldn’t put a finger on it. He was aware of where Cappagh Hall was but the occupants had never come to the attention of the Gardaí as far as he was aware. He reported the phone call to the Duty Sergeant.

  “Ring up the Serious Crimes Division and see if there is a Detective Sergeant Matt O’Sullivan,”the more senior man advised. “It’s a bit odd all right.”

  It was a while before GardaCotter got a chance to attempt to verify the authenticity of the call but when eventually he got through to the Special Crimes Division there was no Detective Matt O’Sullivan there.

  “What will I do now?” he asked his superior.

  “Ignore it.Your instincts were right.This is someone who wants to make trouble for Hugo Lynch – God only knows why. If by any chance it’s genuine they will come back.”

  Both men returned to their work stations, slightly ill at ease and wondering what this was all about.

  About a week later Chief Superintendent Tom McEvoy, of the Garda Station in Dominick Street, Galway, got a personal call from Jack Madden the Taoiseach.

  “Good morning, Taoiseach,” he said, hardly able to keep the surprise from his voice.“What can I do for you?”

  “Well, Superintendent, a week ago a report was made to your station about an individual, namely Hugo Lynch, who was downloading child porn to his computer and nothing was done about it.I am astonished.”

  “That’s correct, Taoiseach. The report came from a source we couldn’t verify so we didn’t follow it up.It’s a very serious accusation and we have no evidence.”

  “Well, I’m telling you now that this is no vague accusation and I want that computer confiscated within twenty-four hours and the man arrested.”

  “We cannot arrest the man until after the computer is checked out, Taoiseach.Is this part of Operation Turquoise?”

  “No, it’s not!This is new information and I, as Taoiseach, am telling you to act on it.”

  “This is very unusual.”

  “I know it is.” Jack Madden couldn’t keep the irritation out of his voice.“But it warrants immediate investigation.What do you think it would do to the image of the Gardaí in Galway if it emerged that this man who harbours vulnerable women and children is a rampant pervert and you did nothing about it? Do it without further delay. Do you know that ramshackle mansion he occupies with his menagerie is colloquially called The Coven and that could mean anything.”

  The Superintendent put down the phone feeling very uncomfortable indeed.

  A few days later Hugo was taking Eliza into the hospital for her treatment and Alice asked if she could come along. She needed to talk to Nicola so had arranged to call to her office that morning.They were coming down the steps of The Coven when a Garda car drove up and three gardaí got out.

  “We have a warrant to search this house and remove any computers which may be here.”It was the female garda who spoke, flashing a sheet of paper before them without actually giving them the opportunity to read it.

  “This is ridiculous,” was all Hugo could think to say.“On what grounds?”

  Eliza and Alice were silent.This was a huge shock.

  “There is evidence that someone in this house is downloading child pornography from the internet.”

  Hugo laughed.“Well, that is not happening.I’m the only adult male here and I have no interest in that sort of stuff.”

  “This is not a laughing matter and we must do the search now.”

  “But I’m the only man in the building!” Hugo was nonplussed.

  “Exactly,” said the garda with some menace and she asked him to open the front door.

  “I’ll take Eliza to the hospital,” Alice said.“Don’t worry. By the time we get back this misunderstanding will be sorted.”

  Hugo walked up the steps and opened the front door and the two women drove off.They were in no doubt that nothing would be found but they were shocked by the accusation and worried about the effect it would have on Hugo.

  At the hospital, Alice settled Eliza in and saw that she was comfortable.

  “I’ll ring Nicola and tell her what has happened,” she said.“She may have some idea what the procedure is in cases like this.”

  Nicola was out visiting a client when Alice rang so she left a message on her voice mail: “Ring me as soon as you get this.It’s urgent.”

  Alice and Eliza were reading as the chemicals were being fed into Eliza’s body when Nicola returned the call.

  “I’ll take it outside,” Alice said to Eliza, conscious that she was within earshot of several other patients.

  Outside she quickly told Nicola what had happened.

  “Jack Madden is a complete creep!” Nicola exploded when she heard the news.

  “Why do you say that?”Alice said, shocked. “What has it to do with Jack?”

  Nicola paused. She and Cassandrastill hadn’t told Alice or Eliza about how someone had tampered with Cassandra’s brake cables and apparently had tried to get Nicola fired. And Hugo had kept what she’d told him the night they met in Newcastle to himself. She and Cassandra agreed that, as Jack Madden didn’t succeed in incapacitating them for the first court case, he wouldn’t try anything nasty again . . . until the next one was imminent.

  It was time to tell Alice.

  “Alice, I’m sorry – this is going to be a bit of a shock for you but you need to know.” Taking a deep breath, she told Alice what had happened to her and Cassandra.

  Alice was dumbstruck. When Nicola rang off she felt faint and had to hold on to a chair for support.A nurse spotted her and brought her into the nurses’ station and gave her a cup of tea.It was not unusual for a relative of a patient in the chemotherapy section to find the going tough and the nurse presumed that this was the case on this occasion.

  When eventually Alice was together enough to go back to Eliza, the older woman looked at her anxiously and asked, “Everything okay?”

  “I felt a bit faint when I went out into the corridor.It must have been the hospital smell or something.Some help I am!”

  “You poor thing! I think I’d feel faint myself except for the fact that I am sitting down anyway. So what did Nicola say?”

  “Her attitude is the same as ours.There’s no way they will find anything and we shouldn’t worry.” She had decided that it was not the appropriate time to tell Eliza what Nicola had told her.

  “That’s okay then,” Eliza said and went back to her book.

  When Alice and Eliza arrived back at The Coven Hugo was sitting at the kitchen table looking dismal.

  “They took the laptop and all our discs and USBs,” he said miserably.

  “Never mind,” Eliza said, trying to be cheerful. “They won’t find anything on them.”

  “But I was then asked were there any other computers in the building and I had to knock at the doors of the apartments and ask the women if they had a computer.”His voice was low and barely audible.

  “Oh God . . .” Alice felt so guilty for having brought this misery to this wonderful couple.“Were there any other computers?”

  “Mary has one and needs it for her studies. She persuaded them to look at her USB on the spot and let her keep it, but she gave me a very odd look when she handed over the laptop.”

  “Don’t worry about that.” Alice was taking charge again.“Go into the sitting room and I’ll bring you in a cup of tea.I have a nice lasagne in the freezer and we can have it for lunch.”

  She texted Nicola and asked if she could meet up with herself and Cassandra as soon as possible.They arranged for the follow
ing evening in Nicola’s apartment.

  “I’ll bring the food,” Alice said.She had plenty things in the freezer – after all, she had been practising.

  Chapter 26

  The following morning Eliza woke up with pains in her bones. She knew that this was the beginning of the side effects and that hair loss would probably follow soon. She couldn’t stop herself crying.Hugo was just miserable.

  Alice drove all the children to school.When she got back she looked in on Hugo and Eliza and it was clear that they wanted to be left alone.She called to Mary’s apartment just to gauge her reaction to the events of the day before and found her fairly upbeat.

  “They let me keep my memory stick,” she said, “so I can continue my work at the college.Hugo looked really upset though.”

  “He is,” Alice replied.“But they won’t find anything.”

  “Of course they won’t,” Mary replied and Alice was happy that she appeared to mean it.

  That evening Alice cooked a casserole in her apartment and brought half of it downstairs to Hugo and Eliza.

  “I’m going to Nicola’s this evening because I missed my appointment with her yesterday. Cassandra will be there as well.The girls are under strict instructions to go to bed at half eight and not to disturb you except there is a real emergency.”

  “That’s grand,” Eliza said.“Thanks for the dinner, Alice. It smells delicious.”

  Alice smiled at the compliment. “Hugo,” she said, “would you look in on the girls at nine to make sure they’re in bed? I haven’t locked the door.”

  “Of course,” was the reply and they all knew why she had made this request.

  When Alice pulled into Nicola’s apartment block Cassandra’s car was already there. She took the food she had brought out of the jeep – a bowl of tomato soup,a quiche, the ingredients for a side salad and a French stick she had picked up on the way – and buzzed the bell.She felt drained and worried a bit about how she’d hold up for the next few weeks.

  Nicola and Cassandraeach gave her a warm hug and they all headed for the kitchen. Alice swung into action, putting the meal together. Cassandra told her in more detail about the things that had happened to her and Nicola in the run-up to the first court case.Alice was stunned.

  “And you never mentioned it to me!” she gasped as she mixed a tasty dressing with the absentmindedness of an experienced chef.

  “We didn’t want to distress you further,” Nicola replied.“And after the case was over it was obvious he hadn’t succeeded in scuppering it so we just presumed he wouldn’t try anything else for a while. And, of course, we had no real proof. Just part gut instinct and part logic.”

  “We’ll have to think about the possibility of something untoward happening again,” Cassandra mused.

  “So do you think he was trying to damage me by discrediting Hugo?” Alice said.

  “Yes – you brought your children to live with a pervert.” Nicola’s tone was grim.“Or alternatively he might be hoping that you might believe the accusation and leave, thereby removing an integral part of your support system.”

  “God, I can’t believe this.”Alice was taking the quiche out of the microwave. “Hugo knows, you say? We had better tell Eliza. Should I move out, do ye think? Eliza and Hugo have enough worries without this.” There was a tone of panic in her voice.She felt so secure at The Coven.She knew she’d have to move out eventually and even had plans to do so – but not now.Not before the court case. Not before she knew for certain if she had an apartment or not.

  “I think we should tell Eliza tomorrow – she needs to know now,” Nicola said.

  “You’re right,” Cassandra agreed.“I’d say we should all be careful over the next few weeks.”

  “But we should clear it with Hugo first.”

  They ate their beautifully presented meal in near silence and they might as well have been eating sawdust for all the pleasure they got out of it.

  “Desperate Housewives is on the TV. Why don’t we watch it?” Nicola suggested as she cleared the table.

  The other women burst out laughing.

  “And not a housewife among us – desperate or otherwise!” Cassandra laughed.

  They sat together on Nicola’s three-seater couch, taking comfort from the physical closeness, and sipped their coffees.

  Surprisingly they laughed a lot at Gabrielle’s self-absorption, Susan’s neuroses and Bree’s obsession with perfection.They felt much more cheerful when the show was over.

  “I’ll call over to The Coven at around eleven tomorrow, Alice,” said Nicola. “It will be an official visit for me and we will talk to Hugo and Eliza about who we think is behind this latest event.”

  “Thanks, Nicola. I feel awful.Responsible somehow!”

  “You’re not responsible,” Nicola assured her, “but, as Cassandra said, we should all be careful from now on. Be aware of anyone or anything unusual.”

  “My God, it’s like something out of a B movie!” Cassandrasaid.

  “You have to be particularly careful, Cassandra, seeing as you work alone,” Nicolasaid, choosing her words carefully.As far as she knew Alice didn’t know what Cassandra did for a living and she didn’t want to let that particular cat out of the bag unless Cassandra agreed.

  Cassandra flashed her a grateful smile and she knew she had done the right thing.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Cassandrasaid. “I’m always careful.”

  “Good,” Nicolasaid but she was worried.

  When Alice got back to The Coven, Eliza had already gone to bed and Hugo was reading in the large sitting room.

  “Nicola’s coming to see the three of us tomorrow morning,” Alice said.“She’ll be here around eleven.”

  “That’ll be grand,” Hugo said.The confiscation of his laptop didn’t seem to be bothering him too much, at least on the surface.

  Alice was weary as she let herself into her apartment.She looked in on the girls, kissed their sleeping faces, got into her own bed and wept bitter tears.

  Chapter 27

  Nicola arrived at The Coven to find Alice, Eliza and Hugo waiting for her in the kitchen.

  “I have something to tell you,” she said grimly.

  “What’s so serious?” Eliza asked, feeling that she’d had more than enough to deal with over the last few weeks.

  Nicolalooked at Hugo. “I believe Jack Madden might be behind the confiscation of your computer.”

  “The thought already occurred to me,” Hugo responded.“But I’ve nothing to hide.”

  “So long as they don’t plant anything.” Nicola was still uneasy.

  “Why would you say that?” Eliza queried.

  “Because, at this stage I don’t trust anybody,” Nicola replied and she began to recount in detail what had happened to her and Cassandra before the court case.

  Alice looked on dismally, wondering where it would all end.

  Chief Superintendent Tom McEvoy had had a bad feeling in his gut since he got the instruction from the Taoiseach to seize Hugo Lynch’s computer.He was not a political man but put a hurley in his hand and he came into his own.He was active in the local GAA to the extent it could have been regarded as his religion but unlike many other people in the club he had no interest in or connections with any political party.That is not to say that there wasn’t a lot of political gossip going on in the club bar on occasion – not that its purveyors would consider it to be gossip.‘Informed political debate,’ was the order of the day. However, Tom McEvoy didn’t like the Taoiseach.He knew he was one of the most popular politicians in the West, maybe even in the country, but he didn’t trust him. He was too good to be true. Nobody was as perfect as Jack Madden purported to be.Everybody has at least one skeleton in his cupboard and Jack Madden was unlikely to be an exception to that rule. Tom had heard vague rumours – the kind that are so vague and unsubstantiated that they could be true. But he had to admit that the rumours were not widespread and did not often come into conversation.

&n
bsp; He didn’t like getting instructions based on anonymous tip-offs no matter what the source. In particular, there had never been a whiff of impropriety about Hugo Lynch despite his rather unusual living arrangements.Not even a speeding fine as far as he was aware.He felt the fact that the Taoiseach had passed this on to him and instructed him to act on it was an abuse of his power so he decided to speed things up.When Hugo’s computer was delivered to him he rang a friend of his, Dónal Carey, in the Serious Crimes Squad in Dublin.

  “Dónal, Tom McEvoy here.Can you do me a favour?”

  “That very much depends on what it is. But fire ahead.”

  “I have been instructed to confiscate a computer from a man who I believe has nothing to hide.I have also been instructed to arrest him after we find child porn on his hard drive, but I believe that someone is trying to get at him.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Well, I was thinking of fast-tracking it to you today and asking you to have it examined immediately under your supervision.”

  “This is very cloak and dagger,” his friend said. “What do you expect me to find?”

  “Nothing!That’s the point.I think this guy is being singled out but I haven’t figured out why yet.In any case I want to send the computer for your attention and I want you to deal with it directly. I half-suspect that whoever instigated this could be planning to plant stuff on it.”

  “And you say you got the instruction from high up.How high?”

  “Don’t ask. I don’t want to tell you who in case I get in trouble for this. It’s as well that you know nothing.”

  “It’s a good job I know and trust you so well. I wouldn’t do this for anyone else.”

  “Thanks. If you find nothing have it sent back to me by the end of the week. If you find something, of course, it will have to be dealt with by the Serious Crime boys in the normal way.”

  “You don’t ask for much!”

  The remark was light-hearted and Tom McEvoy was glad he had a friend he could trust. “I owe you one!” he laughed.