The Life You Left

by Carmel Harrington

  She was crying again, the memories flooding back. She was a victim in this too and Roger made a silent vow that he wouldn’t rest until Mal Wickham was behind bars.

  ‘Marie, I’ll need you to come into the station and make a formal statement about everything that happened that night.’

  She looked scared again. ‘He’ll kill me.’ She said. ‘He told me that night if I ever spoke of what happened he’d kill me. I believed him.’

  ‘If you make that statement it’s going to help make sure that Mal Wickham never kills anyone ever again, I promise you. I’ll make sure you are protected, I just need your help first of all.’

  ‘I’ll do it.’ She said, a hint of strength coming back into her voice. ‘I want to go home to Dublin to my parents though; can I leave?’

  ‘Of course you can. Why don’t you pack a bag now and then come back to the station with me. I’ll make sure someone drops you to the train station afterwards personally. You can’t drive in these conditions and frankly I don’t think you’re in any fit state to.’

  ‘I’ll go with you, Marie.’ James said kindly. ‘I’ll drive you to the train afterwards myself.’

  She stood up and headed towards the stairs, stopping suddenly to say, ‘You’ll not find anything on that log pile now you know. He put that piece of driftwood on the fire the next day, I watched him do it. And we ran out of logs last week. The stuff that’s out there is a new load that Mal brought home a few days ago.’

  ‘Damn.’ Roger said under his breath. He’d not really believed that Wickham was stupid enough to leave the murder weapon just lying around, but it would have been nice. Still at least he had Marie’s statement now. It was only circumstantial evidence again, but it was all beginning to add up. Surely it would be enough to get a conviction?

  Chapter Twenty Six

  The phone rang suddenly, Sarah ran to answer it.

  ‘Hi Sarah, it’s Colm here from Centra.’

  ‘Oh hello is everything ok?’ Sarah asked. All of a sudden the thought that she might have poisoned half of the village crossed her mind. She wondered if she could be arrested for that, a crime of cupcakes!

  ‘Not a bother. I’m just ringing to let you know that those cupcakes have gone down a treat. I’ve sold every single one of them already!’

  Sarah wanted to whoop out loud, she was so happy. But she took a deep breath instead, thinking it was best not to frighten Colm with shrieks!

  ‘Are you still there?’ Colm asked.

  ‘Sorry, yes I’m here.’ Sarah replied, her voice full of emotion. ‘I’m just so relieved that they sold so quickly. I was half afraid you were ringing to ask me to take them back!’

  ‘Not at all, in fact if you can get me another two dozen tomorrow I’ll take them again.’

  ‘I could try some more flavours if you like.’ Sarah offered.

  ‘What do you have in mind?’

  ‘Well, I was thinking about doing some Christmas cupcakes, with cranberry and pear in them?’

  ‘Sure we’ll have some of those, so.’

  ‘I have the most beautiful cupcake cases for them. They’re white and look like lace. I think they look very Christmassy.’

  ‘It all sounds good to me.’ Colm said. ‘I’ll tell you what; I’ll trust your judgement on what flavours you want to sell. But I have to tell you, the chocolate ones grabbed the kid’s attention. They’re a winner.’

  ‘Yes, I’ll definitely include the chocolate Rocky Road again. How about I make a dozen of those and a dozen Christmas cupcakes?’

  ‘Do you know what? I’m feeling reckless. Throw in another dozen of a different flavour too. If they go as quickly as the ones today I’ll need more anyhow.’

  ‘That’s great. I appreciate you giving me this chance.’ Sarah said gratefully.

  ‘Oh, it’s my pleasure. And I’ve already told the girls at the checkouts to start spreading the word about taking orders for special occasions too. And while we’re on the subject of special occasions, I’ll give you your first order. It’s our wedding anniversary next week. Think I might surprise the wife by cooking a meal. Did you mention you could do cupcakes for desserts?’

  ‘I most certainly can. I’ve quite a few that would be beautiful for a special meal. I could do a lovely Banoffi cupcake or perhaps a Black Forest cupcake if you prefer. Both are with fresh cream and make a lovely dessert. I’ve another idea I’ve been thinking of too. How does a vanilla and white chocolate cheesecake cupcake sound to you?’

  ‘Oh I’m licking my lips listening to all of those! Tell you what; the wife loves cheesecake, so I’ll have six of those for next Monday.’

  ‘I’m writing it down now. I’ll hand deliver them to you personally and make sure that they are just perfect to help make your meal special.’

  She opened her laptop up and set up a template for orders. She would print out a dozen or so of the order forms and drop them in with the cakes tomorrow. She wanted to be prepared just in case anyone else wanted to order special occasion cakes. She listed the flavours she was going to sell indicating that the minimum order of these would be six. She then went onto eBay and found a stockist who sold little boxes that she could put her cakes in. She also found some ribbon in different colours that she could use to tie around the boxes. Sarah knew that packaging was extremely important. She wanted the cupcakes to be a whole experience for the buyer, not just a special treat. eBay was fast becoming her best friend these days, she thought. She even had cash in her PayPal account from the sale of the handbags and shoes to pay for the supplies. It was all coming together nicely.

  All of a sudden she could feel excitement bubbling up inside of her and she was energised! She hadn’t felt so young and carefree in such a long time and she simply couldn’t sit still. She jumped up and started pacing the floor, her mind exploding with possibilities. The business would work and it would help her current financial situation, she just knew it.

  Suddenly Katie appeared before her, she had just been dropped home from school by a neighbour and she was also beside herself with excitement for a different reason!

  ‘There’s no school tomorrow, Mammy!’ Katie screamed with delight as she ran into her arms.

  Ella couldn’t stop squealing with excitement as she watched her Mama and her big sister run around the house whooping.

  ‘I’m sorry I didn’t quite catch that. What did you say about school again?’ Sarah teased tickling her daughter.

  ‘No school, no school, no school!’ Katie continued screaming, running around in circles in their kitchen.

  ‘Alright monkey, go get changed out of your uniform.’ Sarah said to her daughter. ‘Where’s Tommy, did he go straight to his room?’ With all the excitement she must have missed him.

  ‘I don’t know, Mammy.’ Katie replied. ‘He came home at lunch.’

  ‘What do you mean he came home at lunch?’ Sarah said as her stomach flipped.

  ‘He told me at lunch that he was going to come home to see Daddy. I told him that he would be in trouble.’ Katie said looking worried. ‘Is he in trouble?’

  Sarah’s heart sped up and prickles of sweat began to form on her forehead, as she began shouting for her son, running around each room, one by one. But there was no sign of him anywhere. She could feel the blood draining from her face.

  She picked up her phone and called Art. He answered pretty quickly.

  ‘Is Tommy at school still?’

  ‘No. Not as far as I’m aware. All the kids are gone home. What’s up?’

  Sarah told him what Katie had said. ‘I’m going to go talk to Tommy’s teacher. I’ll ring you back in a minute.’ Art replied.

  Sarah texted James quickly and asked him to come over.

  The phone rang and it was Art who confirmed that Tommy had gone home at lunchtime and had given his teacher a note from Sarah, saying he had permission to leave early to say goodbye to his father.

  ‘I didn’t sign any note.’ Sarah said to Art, panic making her voice rise several
notes.

  ‘I tell you what; I’m going to look around the school and double check that he’s not still here. And then I’ll walk to your house. Retrace his footsteps.’ Art replied calmly.

  ‘Where is he?’ Sarah said, panic now really taking over.

  ‘We’ll find him.’ He promised. ‘Keep your phone with you and we’ll stay in touch.’

  Katie was standing watching her mother anxiously.

  ‘What exactly did Tommy say to you, Katie?’ Sarah asked her. ‘Don’t worry, no one is in trouble.’

  ‘He said that he was going to talk to Daddy man to man and tell him that he had to come home. He said he was going to make him stay with us Mammy.’ Katie said tearfully. ‘Did he make Daddy stay?’

  Sarah cursed Paul once again.

  ‘Don’t worry.’ Sarah told her. ‘Mammy needs to make a phone call. You watch your little sister for me.’

  She ran around each of the rooms in the house once more and checked and double checked in case Tommy was actually at home and hiding somewhere. It wouldn’t be the first time that he had played hide and seek with her. But despite a thorough search, there was no sign of him.

  Art called and said that he’d checked the school and hadn’t found Tommy either so was going to walk up to their house.

  She had a terrible feeling of foreboding. She called Paul, but just got his voicemail. He should be at home in London by now she assumed. She left him a message and decided to call Rita. She might need Rita to come mind the children, so she could go look for Tommy. Where was he? She felt tears prick her eyes again but shook them off. She didn’t have the time or the luxury to fall apart right now.

  She sat down and closed her eyes in an effort to compose herself before she rang Rita. And then suddenly Tommy’s face flashed into her mind. She recognised that she was having another vision.

  She is with the children in their hall, she can see snow falling outside, a white carpet on their driveway. Tommy is laughing and asks her, ‘You want to hear a good joke about the snow, Mammy?’

  ‘I can hardly wait!’ Sarah replies smiling back at him.

  ‘What two letters of the alphabet do snowmen prefer?’ He asks with a grin. ‘Bet you can’t guess!’

  ‘Oh that’s a tricky one. Go on tell me.’

  ‘I.C.’ He declares loudly, bursting into giggles. ‘Do you get it Mammy? I.C. is like Icy!’ He explains.

  ‘Oh I got it alright, it was very good! I like that one.’ Sarah ruffles his hair affectionately and pushes him towards the hall. ‘Now get changed!’

  ‘Nope, first of all, it’s conga time, Mammy!’ he squeals.

  Katie starts whooping with delight at this and they both quickly form a conga line behind their Mammy.

  ‘Here’s to Angel Cupcakes, here’s to Angel Cupcakes, lalalala, lalalala!’ They all chorus before falling to the ground in a heap giggling.

  ‘Does this mean we’re rich now that you have the big order from Colm?’ Katie asks, her eyes are alight thinking up things she can buy.

  ‘No, not rich yet honey, but let’s just say that Christmas is no longer cancelled!’ Sarah replies laughing. ‘I tell you what; I need a logo for my Angel Cupcakes business. I’ve found a place online that will do stickers for me and if I send them a photograph of my logo they’ll put it on the labels for me. Could you both work on some drawings for me?’

  ‘What will we draw?’ Tommy asks.

  ‘Angels and cupcakes silly!’ Katie replies throwing her eyes up to heaven. ‘Don’t worry, Mammy, I’ll make sure he does something nice.’

  ‘I know he’s in safe hands with you Katie.’ Sarah answers her mock-seriously.

  Sarah felt her heart contract with love as she the scene unfolded in her vision. She knew that it was what should have happened today had Tommy come home.

  She sets the dining room table with paper and colouring pencils and soon they are busy working away on their designs. Tommy is drawing a cupcake and Katie is working on an angel. She laughs again at Katie who has her tongue stuck out, as she always does when she is concentrating hard.

  ‘Mammy. Mammy. Mammy.’ Katie’s frightened voice brought Sarah crashing back from her vision. She had tears falling down her face. Where was Tommy? Why hadn’t he come home? She thought she might vomit, her stomach was actually heaving in fear at the possibilities that were racing around her mind.

  ‘I’m scared.’ Katie said to her.

  ‘I know, sweetheart.’ Sarah said scooping her daughter into her arms. She needed to get Rita over quickly to look after the girls. She had phone calls to make. Maybe Tommy had gone to one of his friends’ houses. But in the meantime, Sarah knew she had to find something to distract Katie. Then she had an idea, using the vision for inspiration, she said to her daughter, ‘Katie, could you do a drawing for me, a picture that I could use on my leaflets to sell my cupcakes? That would be such a help.’

  Katie was extremely excited to do this and quickly ran to her bedroom saying she would get her art supplies.

  Sarah picked up the phone again and rang Paul, still no answer.

  She then called Rita. ‘Tommy hasn’t come home from school and I’m getting worried. I’ve been trying to get hold of Paul but his phone is going straight to voicemail. Have you heard from either of them?’

  ‘Oh good lord!’ Rita exclaimed. ‘I haven’t heard a thing. But I wasn’t expecting Paul to call. I’ll try to get him for you.’

  ‘Can you come over here? I need you to watch the girls, I think I’d better go look for him.’ Sarah said sobbing.

  ‘I’m on my way.’ Just then the doorbell rang. Sarah ran to open it, praying it would be Tommy. But it was Art.

  Taking one look at Sarah’s face he concluded correctly that Tommy wasn’t home.

  ‘There’s no sign of him at school or between there and here. I checked the playground and the football pitch. They were deserted in this weather.’ Art told her. ‘Have you tried any of his friends?’

  ‘I’ve been trying to get hold of my husband but haven’t got an answer and I’ve called my mother-in-law, she’s on her way over. I was just about to start calling his friends. Katie has confessed that he was coming home at lunchtime because he wanted to see Paul before he left for London. But he must have missed him. I just don’t understand where he is. He’d never not come home, he knows I’d be worried sick.’

  ‘I’ll start ringing his classmates.’ Art said. ‘I have the entire class and their parents’ numbers on this.’ He pointed to his Blackberry. ‘You keep trying to get Paul.’

  ‘But why would he be at friend’s house if he left school at lunchtime?’ Sarah asked. ‘Did one of Tommy’s friends take the afternoon off too?’

  ‘No, I’m afraid not.’ Art replied. He’d checked the very same thing earlier. ‘I know it doesn’t make sense, but maybe one of his friends knows where he is. He might have confided in one of them what he was up to. I’ll try Alan first of all; those two are thick as thieves.’ He looked at Sarah intently for a moment, then continued, ‘Is there any chance he’s run away?’

  Sarah was despondent at the thought that she and Paul had screwed up their son’s life so badly that he would choose to run away rather than come home. She thought they had a better relationship than that. They were close. Or at least she believed they were.

  ‘I don’t believe he would run away.’ Sarah said. ‘But who knows? He seems happier these past few weeks, since his Daddy came back to visit.’

  She heard Edward’s voice whisper to her. ‘Trust your instincts, Sarah. Listen.’

  Sarah closed her eyes and pictured her son’s face. She was certain of one thing. ‘Tommy hasn’t run away.’ She stated. Then continued, more firmly, ‘don’t ask me how I know that for certain, but I do. If he’s not here, he’s in trouble of some sort. So we have to find him. Please ring his friends, but if there is no sign of him within the hour, I’m calling the Gardaí.’

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  James walked back to his car fr
om the train station and as he walked he picked up his phone and rang Ruby.

  ‘Hello, James. Are you ok?’ Her beautiful voice felt like a caress. She sounded concerned about him. He liked it.

  ‘Hi, beautiful.’ He replied. All the years he’d spent making up cheesy lines for different girls, what had he been thinking of? He’d wasted so much time on those other women.

  ‘How’s the case going?’ She asked him earnestly, she knew all about the murder case now, just not Sarah’s involvement.

  ‘It’s been a long day, I won’t lie. I’ve just dropped Marie Wickham to the train; she’s on her way home to her parents. Mal is still in custody and Roger and the lads are questioning him. Roger said that he’s a tough nut to crack, he’s not sure he’ll admit to anything.’

  ‘They have to find a way!’ Ruby said to him. ‘I dread to think of someone like him loose on the streets. They will find the evidence they need to arrest him, they have to. You made this happen James. I’m so proud of you.’

  He felt he was ten feet tall when she complimented him.

  ‘It can’t have been easy for you today, though.’ Ruby continued, frowning with worry.

  ‘To be honest, today was horrific. Listening to Marie Wickham talking about the awful time she’s had with that bastard, so much abuse. I still feel sick when I think of what he’s done to her.’ James admitted.

  Ruby shivered. ‘You have to be careful. He’s obviously a dangerous man. What if he finds out you helped the Gardaí?’ She sounded worried.

  ‘Don’t worry about me, beautiful.’ He replied. ‘I’m going to be just fine. I just wish I could see you right this minute. I wouldn’t say no to a hug right now.’

  ‘Come on over. I’m home. Maybe I can find a way to de-stress you?’ She teased and James could hear the smile in her voice.

  ‘You’re trying to get me to crash the car!’ James groaned. There was nothing he would have loved more right this minute. ‘But I can’t right now. I’ve had a text and couple of missed calls from Sarah. She wants me to call over. Don’t know what’s up, but she sounded stressed, so I’m going to head there now.’