“Because I want to see what she has to say about all this crap you are going on about.”
He moved again to the small white door and Cara made her grab. She stuffed the butcher’s knife down her trousers, gashing herself as she did.
“Come out, little pig!” Alex chanted as he dragged Esther out.
Cara yelped. Esther’s face was bloodied and she was white and shaking like a leaf.
“Oh, Cara, love, are you okay? Oh Jesus, love, what’s going to happen to us?”
“Nothing, Mam, we’ll be fine.” She stood her ground, her heart beating at a surprisingly slow pace.
“So tell her!” Alex screamed at Esther and Victoria barked under the table at his voice, “and if that dog barks again. I will kill it.”
“Shhush, Victoria,” Esther soothed her little dog, “go to bed – good girl, Mammy will make your tea soon. Shhusshhh . . .” Esther wiped the dried blood away from the side of her mouth and looked at Cara. “Well, love, do you remember that man I was seeing when I worked in Rosie’s in the early days? Simon?”
Cara shut her eyes tight.
“Well, it seems he is Alex’s father. I did think I knew him the moment I saw him. The thing is, I never knew Simon was a pilot. If I had I might have put two and two together. He just said he worked in the airport. We had a few dates and then I heard from Marina Gleeson that he was married. A friend of hers had seen us in The Gresham. That was it. I finished it and I never went on another date the rest of my life, did I, love?” She trembled. “But now Alex is saying I knew all along – he’s saying he took me to the same table in The Gresham where Simon brought me and that is true – but I didn’t realise, it was all so long ago.”
“I found Esther first, you see, Cara. I asked my dad who she was and he told me. I asked after her in Rosie’s and I was so surprised that she still lived in the same house. I presumed it was a sign. I knew I wanted to get back at her and what better way than to hurt the thing that she loved the most – you!”
Cara kept breathing. In and out slowly, trying to keep her head as clear as was possible. Alex was rubbing his hands together in a manner that really frightened her. Constant rhythm. As though he had no control over them. “But then I actually got to like you – I always had a thing for redheads, you see, and I wasn’t expecting you to be a redhead, I just wanted to get your trollop of a mother back for wrecking my life. My mother’s life. It was no coincidence I was in The Law Top that day. I had followed you for weeks. The guy with me was hired – you asked about him before – he’s some actor I got off a forum on the internet.”
“I didn’t mean to wreck anyone’s life, Alex, you have to believe me . . . if I had known . . .” Esther whispered and the blood trickled down her chin again from where she had reopened the cut at the side of her mouth.
“She didn’t know your father was married, Alex, so how can you still blame her?” Cara stood tall.
“Because someone told my mother about her and my mother had a breakdown. She couldn’t believe it. And then the truth about more and more women came out but, you see, if it hadn’t been for your mother she would never have found out in the first place.”
It made no sense but Cara was not surprised. She remembered Esther seeing a man but it had only lasted a matter of weeks and Cara, being a teenager, was delighted when Esther had finished it.
Alex smashed his hand off the wall and the bowl of éclairs that Ester had obviously been filling when Alex arrived now fell from the kitchen surface and the sweets scattered all over the floor. Victoria barked out loud. Cara’s heart started to beat faster now.
Alex dragged Esther by her hair and shouted, “Get on your knees and drag that dog out now!”
Esther opened and closed her mouth but the words were lost in her throat.
“Now!” he shouted and Esther bent and crawled under the table.
“Leave them, Alex, let us go and talk – it’s about us now. Please stop this, you need help.”
“No, fuck off, Cara! Get the fucking dog out now, Esther!” He was screaming manically.
Esther’s sobs were getting louder and louder as she remained under the table.
Cara noticed now for the second time that day that Alex wasn’t handsome. It was amazing how someone’s looks could differ in your mind according to their appalling actions. His eyes again were that dangerous blue – they were too close together, and his body over-built. Poor Esther! Cara couldn’t believe this was happening to her beloved mother. That she was responsible for putting her through all this. She loved her mother so much. Her mam, who still made her a “chucky egg in a cup” on a Sunday morning and brought it up to her in bed on a tray with the big pot of tea. She looked at him now as he was shouting at Esther, white spittle gathering at the sides of his mouth. She waited. Then he made the move she knew he was going to make. His back suddenly turned and then he was on all fours, reaching under the table. A bark from Victoria was followed by a yelp from Alex. He pulled his hand back, snarling at the dog, and Cara saw that Victoria had drawn a little blood.
Cara pulled the butcher’s knife out. She saw it in her right hand now, a gleaming get-out. A welcome blade. It was old but still a very sharp large stainless-steel knife. “You can’t buy knives like this any more,” Esther had so often told her as she sliced her meat. Cara placed her left hand on it now too and turned it twice, making sure she was in control of it.
Alex was trying to grab at Esther while avoiding Victoria’s sharp little teeth.
Cara saw Esther’s eyes peer out at her through the small hole in the tablecloth, the hole that her mother always complained about. Their eyes locked and Esther suddenly shut her eyes tight.
Cara lifted the knife and with all her strength plunged it into Alex’s back. He screamed and fell to the floor on his stomach. He screamed louder now as he wriggled and wriggled and tried to reach around his back for the knife.
As Cara stood motionless a pounding sounded on the front door.
“The Guards! Open up! We need you to open this door right now!”
Cara fell to her knees and crawled to the door. She pulled herself up by the wall just as the door was battered in and two guards ran into the hall.
“In the kitchen. I think I have killed him,” she said in a calm clear voice.
One radioed for an ambulance and the other pushed her up against the wall and put her in handcuffs.
“Mam!” she shouted now, her head beginning to clear a little more. “My mother is under the table.”
“Stay!” the guard shouted at her and went into the kitchen.
“Cara, love!” Esther cried out, Victoria tucked tightly under her arm, as the guard gently led her out of the kitchen. “Oh, love, it’s okay!” She wrapped her other arm around her daughter’s neck. “You had no choice, love. You had to do it. He told me what he had done to you earlier. I thought he was going to kill us both, didn’t you?” Esther pushed Cara’s hair from her face, her breath fast and raspy.
The other guard emerged from the kitchen. “He’s still alive,” he informed them. “I can’t move him until the ambulance gets here. What has happened here?”
Cara couldn’t speak. She had hoped he was dead. Esther was cradling Victoria in her arms now as she explained what had happened.
The guards listened intently and suddenly the one who had pushed her against the wall and handcuffed her roughly, asked, “Are you okay, Cara?” She nodded as the ambulance siren sounded in the distance.
“How did you know we were in trouble? Was it the taxi driver?” Cara asked.
“No, not a taxi driver – we got a call from your neighbour, Mr Dolan. He said something strange was going on and that there was screaming coming from inside the house and it was extremely unusual. He said he heard a male making threats.”
The ambulance crew arrived and did their business as Cara and Esther were led outside. Mr Dolan stood at the fence between the two houses.
“Can you mind Victoria?” Esther asked him. “She needs to be fed
and there is water in her bowl. They won’t allow me to take her. And thank you, Kevin, you have always been a good neighbour.” She kissed the little dog on the nose and handed her over.
It seemed the whole of the estate was gathered outside their small house, children standing holding their bicycles and mothers cradling their babies, watching as they were put in the police car.
At the station the handcuffs were removed and they were given sweet tea in polystyrene cups and told they were to be put into separate holding rooms.
“I’m an awful eejit,” said Esther. “How was I so blind not to see you weren’t yourself? I should have asked you more questions. That’s what I get for trying not to be a nosy mother. Well, never again, I tell you. Whatever happens, Cara, I am here and I always will be.”
“It will be okay, Mam, just tell the truth,” Cara told her as they were separated. Her long red hair fell around her face and she had no tears left to cry. How had her life come to this moment? What a stupid woman she was! She had to be responsible for some of this. She should have run a mile that day when they were looking at the Sandymount apartment and he had turned on her. It was a great big flashing neon warning sign and she had ignored it. Now she could well spend the rest of her life behind bars for murder. But what choice did she have? She had seen Alex earlier – once that switch was tripped he was capable of murdering them both, of that she had no doubt. Of that she was one hundred per cent certain. She did what she had to do. She would stand by her actions and accept her punishment. Her thoughts were interrupted as the door was opened and a woman walked in carrying a file and a polystyrene cup. She pulled up a seat at the yellow plastic table.
“Hello, Cara, I’m Detective Samantha Doyle.” She was a pretty slender woman in her early forties. She clicked on a small black recorder and spoke into it: “Detective Samantha Doyle interviewing Cara Charles. Time three forty-two p.m. Cara, just to let you know before we start this interview, Alex Charles is alive. The knife pierced his lung but he will live.”
Cara nodded. “Thank you,” she said and her shoulders dropped a little.
“Apparently he’s conscious and eager to talk to us. I’ll be going to the hospital directly after this interview. Now, Cara, can you tell me the events that occurred leading up to you stabbing him?”
Cara told her story and Samantha listened as she stared at the recorder and never once at Cara, nodding occasionally.
When Cara had finished Samantha looked up at her. “Now, Cara, your husband has a criminal record – did you know that?”
Cara shook her head. “No, I didn’t.”
Samantha opened a light-blue file and removed some old papers. “Yes, he allegedly assaulted his sister Beth Charles in 2007 and put her in the hospital. He broke her arm and she needed fifteen stitches to her face. He slammed her face into a mirror. She dropped the charges. Going back to 2001 he allegedly assaulted his own mother Marie Charles, put her in ICU. She suffered severe swelling to her brain and three broken ribs. She dropped the charges too.”
“I met his mother – she seemed to be fine with him.” Cara shook her head.
“In the last medical report after he allegedly attacked Beth it says Alex has mental health issues.” Samantha held the page closer to her face as she muttered to herself, reading further on down.
“But he’s a pilot! He couldn’t do that job if he has mental issues.” Cara didn’t want to hear the answer to this and she put her head on the table. “He’s not a pilot, is he?” she muttered.
Samantha Doyle shook her head. “Oh, he’s a pilot all right, Cara, that much is true, but he’s been on ‘gardening leave’ for the last few years – you know, where an employee who is leaving a job, or who is fired, is instructed to stay away from work during the notice period, while still being paid. He hasn’t flown in over five years.”
“Jesus!” was all Cara managed.
Samantha picked up her polystyrene cup and drank as she flipped through another book of notes. “Charles is by all accounts a dangerous man, Cara, but you tried to kill him so you can be prosecuted for attempted murder.”
“I had no choice but to do what I did. I firmly believe he would have killed one of us. He was just about to kill Victoria.”
“Who’s Victoria?” Samantha looked confused.
“Oh sorry, she’s my mam’s little dog.”
Samantha just looked at her in silence and nodded her understanding.
“I was attacked a few weeks ago on the Quays. The attacker mugged me violently, smashing my head repeatedly on the concrete path, and put me in hospital. My phone and wallet were stolen. I found them both in Alex’s apartment earlier after he attacked me there again this morning.” Tears started to flow now and Cara lost all control as she sobbed through a running nose. “He did it. He assaulted me.”
“I’ll need the phone and the wallet to run prints for evidence.”
“Yeah, but I know he will say his prints were all over them as he’s my husband and of course he’s picked up my stuff before,” Cara sighed.
Samantha Doyle spoke into the recorder. “Interview over at four ten p.m.” She stood up. “Okay, I’m going into the hospital to talk with him now. I’ll see you again after that.” She seemed to hesitate, then said, “Every single suspect is innocent until proven guilty – that goes for you but it also goes for Alex. But, off the record, I do believe you. Alex Charles needs help, and he needs to be made accountable for his actions, whatever that takes. I will not let this happen to another woman.” She almost said this last sentence under her breath but loud enough for Cara to hear it and believe her.
***
Two hours later Samantha returned. Cara tried to read her expression but failed.
“Well, Cara, the situation has changed,” she said. “I’ve spoken to Alex and he’s not pressing charges – but only on condition you don’t press any charges and neither does Esther. He says when he recovers he’s out of here and moving away from Ireland. He says he knows he is ill. I can trace his passport to make sure he’s true to his word. Right now I am setting up a barring order. Now, I must warn you that while I think we should get him, put him away if we can, you would go on trial for attempted murder first and then, secondary to that, we could prosecute him for battery and assault to you and Esther.” She paused and looked straight at Cara. “But I’m afraid there is no guarantee that he will go to prison.”
It was too much to take in. Cara didn’t know how to respond.
Samantha waved her hand. “You don’t have to make any decision now, Cara, but the sooner the better. Esther is out in the waiting room. You are both free to go for now. I will be over to see you first thing in the morning and you can then let me know what your decision is.”
Cara heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Samantha,” she said.
Samantha ushered her out to where Esther sat waiting.
“Let’s get home, Mam,” Cara said.
“Do you not need a hospital, love, to see a doctor? You’re battered.”
“No, Mam, all I want is a bath and my own bed.”
“Sleep in with me tonight, love, will you?” Esther asked as they made their way to the doors of the station and out into the daylight.
***
Cara didn’t sleep a wink that night and Samantha knocked on their door at eight. Tying her dressing gown around her Cara led her into the kitchen where she pushed down the button on the kettle.
“So how do you feel this morning?” Samantha asked. “How is Esther?”
“We’re doing okay, thanks . . . but I didn’t sleep.”
“Have you come to a decision?”
Cara didn’t answer at once. She put some tea bags in the pot, poured boiling water onto them and popped the cosy on. She sat down opposite Samantha.
“I just want my life back, Samantha.”
“I know you do. I can’t tell you to press charges but I think you should. If you don’t he could do this again, Cara.”
Cara poured the tea n
ow and stared up at a family picture from Blackpool all those years ago. Esther smiling wildly with her Kiss Me Quick hat on. She’d only worn it for the photo. She had to think of her mother first. She couldn’t put her through a trial. She also couldn’t risk losing the case and going to prison. Her hands were tied.
“We don’t want to press charges either,” she said quietly as Esther shuffled into the kitchen and sat down.
“That’s perfectly okay.” Samantha lifted her cup.
“What’s okay?” Esther said as immediately Victoria jumped onto her lap.
“Samantha says it’s okay if we don’t press charges, Mam.”
“So it’s all over then?” Esther’s eyes were wide and innocent.
“Yes, Mam, it’s all over,” Cara said through gritted teeth and poured Esther a hot cup of tea.
Chapter 27
Cara jerked under the hot jets as a sudden noise dragged her back to the present. How often she found herself in these total day dreams! It scared her slightly. She stood with her ears pricked for a minute or so but no other noise seemed to occur. “Must be the wind,” she muttered to herself. She stood back under the hot water now and focused on the present.
She hoped that Jonathan would get some good news from the bank. She scrubbed her long red hair and added some tea tree and lime conditioner. She heard a bang again and this time she froze as the white suds spilled into her eyes.
“The wind, Cara,” she said again as she held her face under the water stream. “Oh!” she suddenly remembered. “It could be Sandra!” She let out a low breath and turned off the shower. She really had to stop being this nervy. She really had to stop talking to herself.
“Coming!” she shouted as she wrapped the big fluffy yellow towel around her and opened the bathroom door.
“Only me!” Sandra’s voice piped through the letterbox down the small hallway. “Get me a stiff drink, please!”
Cara padded along the hall. She unbolted, unchained and opened the door.
Sandra stood in front of her, her green coat tight around her, and she held a brown paper bag in her arms.
The Other Side of Wonderful Page 30