“Turn the car around, Luke,” I said, panic-stricken. “Mammy needs me and I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to her.”
Chapter 29
We arrived in Smugglers’ Bay less than two hours later and my distress increased tenfold when I discovered a Garda car and an ambulance sitting in my mother’s drive. I had tried to ring on numerous occasions on my way down the road but to no avail as the house phone didn’t seem to be working and her mobile kept referring me to the answering service.
I burst in through the door and then into the sitting room and saw Mammy wrapped in a blanket being comforted by a female Garda officer whilst her male counterpart took notes. Donal was sitting beside her looking anxious and I could see his father through the window, standing out in the back yard smoking his pipe.
“Mammy!” I shouted, going to her and throwing my arms around her. She wept into my shoulder and appeared so fragile that I was afraid I might break her if I held her too tight.
“What’s happened to you? Are you hurt? Has someone done something to you?”
My voice was high-pitched and annoyed and the female officer motioned for me to follow her out of the room.
“What’s happened?” I asked, nearly afraid to hear what she had to say.
“Your mother was burgled last night. Two intruders got into the house and tied her up. They obviously didn’t get what they came for as nothing is missing. Then they messed the place up, no doubt looking for cash, and took off, leaving her still tied up on the floor.”
“Last night? Why wasn’t I informed?” I said in confusion. “Why are you all here now if the incident happened last night?”
“She was only found this afternoon,” the officer said gently, making me recoil in horror.
My poor mother had been tied up all night, was in the house on her own, probably terrified that whoever it was would come back, and hadn’t been discovered until after midday.
“Who found her?” I asked quietly.
“Aisling Redmond. She works up at the hotel.”
“She’s the tour guide,” I said, remembering the name. “Thank God she did. It just doesn’t bear thinking about if she hadn’t.”
I put my hand over my mouth and turned away from the guard who gently rubbed my arm, before leaving and returning with Luke who immediately enveloped me in a hug.
“Your mother’s okay,” he said. “She’s shocked and frightened but she knows it could have been a lot worse. They didn’t get away with anything and they didn’t hurt her as such. Nor did they threaten her to tell them if valuables or money were hidden – which is what usually happens in such cases.”
“No, they just left her lying there tied up like a sack of rubbish to fret until she was found. What if she’d had a heart attack or a stroke or something? What if Aisling hadn’t found her when she did? She could have starved to death.”
“I think I’d have been able to live off my ample hump for a while, sweetheart,” Mammy said as she joined us in the room, looking pale and strained but trying to smile. “A bit of starvation would probably do me the world of good.”
Donal and Robbie also came in with their coats on, as they were leaving, and Donal gave me a pat on the arm while Robbie awkwardly gave me a conciliatory nudge with his elbow and I smiled weakly back at them both.
I gave Mammy another hug and rubbed her shoulders. “Why don’t you go and lie down, Mammy,” I said. “You’re so pale.”
“Lying down is the one thing I don’t want to do, love. I was lying down on the floor up until two and a half hours ago and that was quite long enough.”
I grimaced as I thought of what she must have gone through.
“Where were you when you rang me?” I asked.
“I had managed to get my arm free, you see, and was within reach of my mobile. It had been in my pocket but slipped out while I was being tied up so I managed to get it easily once I manoeuvred myself in the right direction. I tried to ring Donal first but he had his phone switched off and then I rang you. I didn’t want to ring you at all, love, but I was left with no choice.”
“You sounded so scared,” I said.
“I was in the middle of leaving you a message but then I heard someone at the door and got frightened and dropped the mobile. I thought it was them coming back for me but thankfully it was that lovely wee girl Aisling. She untied me, got me a glass of water and phoned the guards and the ambulance, and then went back to the hotel to report what had happened – but I haven’t seen her since. I don’t even know why she was here.”
“Where are the paramedics?” I asked, suddenly remembering that they had been there when I had walked in.
“They’ve left. I’m fine. They were going to take me to the hospital in Letterkenny and were trying to tell me that I was suffering from shock but I told them I didn’t want to go anywhere. As long as I have my girl I’m happy,” she finished, giving me a squeeze and putting her head on my shoulder.
The door knocked and Mammy froze in my arms.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Oh God, it’s that cross-looking diva from the hotel along with an older man,” Luke said, peering through the side of the curtain.
“That must be her father,” Mammy said, looking more strained than ever.
“I’ll get rid of them,” I said as I went to open the door. “You go into the other room, Mammy.”
I opened the door.
“I’m Judith McQueen, Assistant Manager in the hotel, and this is my father Harry. He’s the new owner,” Bag Features said with a sullen face. “Is your mother here?”
“She is but she’s in no fit state for visitors,” I said. “Any message you’d like passed on?”
“We were just sorry to hear about the incident that occurred last night,” the older man said, speaking for the first time. He was tall and quite handsome with greying hair and a tanned face. His hands were perfectly clean and soft-looking and his nails looked like they’d been manicured every day of his life.
“I’ll be sure to tell her that,” I said, going to close the door.
Judith stuck out her arm and, leaning against the door, prevented me from closing it properly.
“We’ll need to speak to your mother as soon as she’s well. This has raised some security issues which we need to address as this cottage is situated on our ground.”
“Really. Well, I’m so glad you’re taking the matter seriously,” I said.
“We’re taking it very seriously,” she responded sweetly. “It’s happened once and we wouldn’t like it if the intruders came back again. Your mother needs to think about her own personal security. She’s in a vulnerable position living on her own in the grounds of a hotel with guests passing through daily. Anything could happen. Anything at all.”
I wouldn’t have minded but she accompanied her final words with a menacing sneer that aggravated me beyond belief and that, coupled with the rest of the day’s events, became too much. I lunged forward but Luke intervened just in time to stop me from smacking the silly cow in her sanctimonious face.
“If you think that you’re going to use this situation to your advantage by trying to scare my mother you’ve picked the wrong woman,” I hissed. “She’s lived here quite happily for years now and has a booming business and she’s not about to run away from anything.”
Judith looked nastily at me and I maintained her stare until her father decided (very fecking wisely) that it was time to leave.
“I’m sorry if we’ve upset you, Miss Ross,” he said. “I can assure you that it wasn’t our intention. Please give your mother our best regards.”
I slammed the door but Judith continued to scowl in through the glass at the top and only removed herself after I’d stuck up my middle finger at her and loudly threatened to go and sort her out.
“Ruby, the guards are outside looking for clues. Control yourself, will you?” Luke said, chastising me.
“There’s something very funny going on here,” I said, �
��and I am going to find out exactly what because my mother is happy where she is and will not be forced out by anyone.”
I turned away from the door and saw that Mammy had come back into the kitchen, ashen-faced and pensive, wringing her hands and making me doubt my own words. Where did we go from here?
Chapter 30
“What the hell am I going to do, Luke?” I whispered as we sat in Mammy’s kitchen sipping tea and talking quietly. “I can’t leave her like this. It’s not as if I’m just down the road if she needs me. I wonder should we offer to take her back home with us. But wait, no, that’s a bad idea. They’d think they’d won then and I’m not having that.”
“What’s with the whole ‘they’d think they’ve won’ philosophy’, Rubes?” Luke asked in puzzlement. “It’s not as if they came into the house dressed in balaclavas and ransacked the place.”
“Humph!” I said in response. “That Judith one has it totally in for Mammy. Did you not hear her? ‘Vulnerable – a woman on her own – anything could happen’!”
Just as I finished my rant I heard a knock on the back door and opened it with such force that I nearly left Aisling, who was standing there with a bunch of flowers, reeling on the spot.
“Hi,” she said nervously. “Is this a bad time? I just wanted to see how your mother was. I haven’t been able to get her out of my mind today and wanted to bring her something.” She handed me the flowers.
“Aisling, I’m sorry,” I said in a much calmer tone. “Please come through and have a seat. I’m just a bit frazzled. This has been quite a shock and I’m worried about Mammy. I don’t like leaving her here on her own and I want to get to the bottom of what’s going on. Judith and her father were here earlier.”
“That would frazzle anyone,” Aisling said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. She looked at me, narrowing her eyes and sighing. “Things have been so different since Bartley Monroe’s manager left and they took over. There are hardly any of the old staff left. Half of them walked out of their own free will because they couldn’t handle what was happening and the other half were sacked on the spot for showing resistance. It’s ridiculous. She’s horrible to everyone. Barks orders and instructions like she’s a dog-handler, screams at the staff in front of guests and treats everyone with pure disdain – but yet the hotel is booming.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, why were you here this afternoon? Do you usually call in with Mammy because I’ve never heard her mention you before?”
“I stopped because, while I was passing the cottage, I saw that the gate and door were both open and the lights all on which I thought was strange as it was daylight. The shop wasn’t open either which was unusual and I just wanted to check that everything was okay. To be honest, I very nearly didn’t stop as I didn’t want your mother thinking that I was a nosy cow but I’m so glad I did.”
“So am I, believe me.”
“What did Judith and Harry say when you told them about what had happened to Isobel?” Luke asked.
“They didn’t say a lot. Just closed ranks like they normally do and kicked me out of the office so they could talk.”
“Did they seem shocked?” I looked at Aisling and raised my eyebrows.
“Not really but then they’re not known for showing any type of emotion over anything, let it be good or bad. You could have the hotel booked for six months in advance, the place spotless and offer to entertain them by doing double-pike somersaults to a band playing and they’d still have the same indifferent expression on their faces. Why do you ask? What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know,” I said truthfully. “I just can’t help feeling that it’s all rather convenient for them. They’ve made no secret of the fact that they regard Mammy’s presence here as a nuisance and now something has happened that may or may not result in her deciding to move away. She hasn’t said anything to that effect but I know she’s thinking it. Who wouldn’t be at her time of life and in the position she’s in? She’s a widow living on her own with different people passing through here all the time. Who wouldn’t be scared after being broken into and robbed?”
“But she wasn’t robbed,” Luke interjected. “The police already told us that nothing was touched which seems strange to me. Doesn’t your mother keep a float for the till in the shop here somewhere?”
“I think she keeps it upstairs with her. I don’t think it’s a big float either. A hundred euros I think is the maximum she has in it.”
“That would still be useful to a burglar,” Aisling said thoughtfully. “And I’m sure she has some nice jewellery and valuables here and if she was tied up everything was there for the taking, so to speak.”
“It’s very strange,” said Luke. “Especially as they didn’t even question her about possible stashes of cash.”
My mind flew back to simple concern for Mammy. “I really do hate the thought of her being alone after this.”
“I thought she had a male friend,” Aisling said, obviously referring to the lovely Donal O’Donnell who had returned and was at present upstairs keeping a vigil over my exhausted mother.
“She does but he can’t be here all the time. He has an elderly father at home. Besides, they’re not young things. Living in sin wouldn’t be quite her scene, I don’t think.”
“I can keep an eye out for her if you’d like,” Aisling offered. “I know what it’s like. My parents live just down the road from me and I worry about them all the time, living on their own in a big farmhouse. I wouldn’t mind looking in on her in the evenings just to make sure she’s all right and feeling comfortable.”
“You’re very kind,” I said. I liked Aisling. She seemed like a sincere and genuine girl who wanted to help.
“Would you like some tea, Aisling?” Luke asked, standing up.
He looked at me and I stuck my tongue out. I felt like a human teabag. I had done nothing but drink mugs of the stuff since I arrived (must be the old Irish coping habits kicking in – if you’re in any way depressed, drink copious amounts of tea to feel better and if that doesn’t help look for the answer at the bottom of a whiskey bottle).
Aisling smiled and nodded and took her coat off.
“So tell me some more about yourself then,” I asked. “You said you didn’t live far from here.”
“No, I don’t. I only live about two miles away. I was still living with my parents up until about a year ago but decided to cut the apron strings once and for all and I have my own flat now. That’s part of the reason why I’m trying to be on my best behaviour up at the hotel. I can’t afford to lose my job. I’ve just signed mortgage papers and need to stand on my own two feet and make sure the bills are paid every month.”
“It must be hard,” I sympathised. “Although I think you’re very patient I’d say I’d have clocked your woman by now with one of her own pointy-heeled shoes. How she walks I’ll never know.”
“She doesn’t walk, Ruby. She flies on a broomstick, don’t you know?”
“So what’s the deal with her father then? I wasn’t sure what to make of him earlier when they were here.”
“To be honest, if it was just him running the hotel we wouldn’t have half the problems we do. He doesn’t seem that bad when he’s on his own, although he’s generally not there very much. He’s a big business tycoon by all accounts and this isn’t the only hotel he owns. Buying and selling property and businesses is his hobby. Unfortunately he’s a besotted father as well and must still see Judith in ponytails and ribbons as she can do nothing wrong in his eyes.”
“Is there not a hotel in Outer Mongolia he could send his lovely daughter to manage then?”
“I wish,” she said ruefully. “She really is vile in the extreme.”
“I can’t believe she showed so little sympathy today when it was apparent that my mother had been through a horrendous ordeal. She was more interested in talking about what security issues needed to be addressed and about how the intruders had been here once and she wouldn’t like to t
hink that they’d do it again.”
“Has it been confirmed that there was more than one then?” Aisling asked.
“I thought you knew the full details?” I looked at her in confusion.
“I didn’t really take time to find out the details, to be honest,” Aisling answered. “I came in, untied your mother, got her a cup of tea, made a few phone calls and then left.”
“So you didn’t know how many people were here then?” I said. “You didn’t know that there were two intruders who you would naturally refer to as ‘they’. Very interesting. So if you didn’t know, how did the lovely Judith know?”
Chapter 31
“I’m going to have to take a few days off work, Mr Reid, and I’m sorry if you’re annoyed but if you don’t like it you can shove it up your –”
“I don’t think you’ll get very far talking to him like that,” Luke commented when he came into the room and witnessed my rehearsal.
“He’s going to kill me. I am going to die. Feckin students are only back and need their feckin placements sorted out and where am I? Done-feckin-gal. This is not funny.”
We had stayed for two nights already and I was in a state of panic. Mammy had declined to leave the house, was jumpy and nervous and I still hadn’t got to the bottom of why Judith had acted the way she did. I had been up at the hotel several times but she had never been there.
“At the end of the day, Ruby, there are some things in life that are just more important than work and your mother is one of them. She needs you more than the students do and I’m sure that in your absence the college will be able to sort something out. They’re not that helpless. What would they do if you died?”
“Thanks,” I said glumly. “Cheer me up with that thought, why don’t you?”
“Tell him that you’ll keep your mobile on and make calls from here if necessary. You can’t say fairer than that and if he gives you any grief direct him to me.”
Anyone for Me? Page 17