Who Took Eden Mulligan?

by Sharon Dempsey

  ‘Can you imagine if she knew I was working for the PSNI?’ They both laughed. The idea of one of their family working for the police was so out there. Growing up the RUC and then later the PSNI were the sworn enemy.

  ‘Oh you got one over her in the end, that’s for sure,’ Kaitlin said, taking a sip of the wine.

  They both fell quiet for a few minutes, listening to the tick of a clock close by and a car passing down the street.

  ‘It always felt like there was danger in the air,’ Rose said. ‘We were on high alert, always waiting for the next thing to happen. I didn’t realise how hair-trigger it was until I left and breathing seemed easier somehow.’

  ‘I know what you mean. It was all we knew. It had to be over before we realised how awful it was.’ Kaitlin sighed. ‘It wasn’t all bad though. We’d happy times too. You never seemed to appreciate that.’

  Rose sighed. ‘I couldn’t forgive her as easily as you did, or maybe I just didn’t want to. I expected more. Wanted more.’

  ‘Did you find it?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Whatever it was you went looking for?’

  ‘Jesus, Kait, it’s not that simple.’

  They both sat quiet, in their own thoughts, Rose contemplating her life in London, and how she felt about being back in Belfast.

  ‘I’m glad you’re staying for a while. I’ve missed you, you know.’ Kaitlin reached out and took Rose’s hand.

  Rose felt it, that tug of guilt. She had saved herself but left Kaitlin behind. Funny how she never felt the same about the boys. They were too young and annoying to have that kind of bond with.

  ‘What are you thinking?’ Kaitlin asked.

  ‘I don’t know. I suppose it’s this case I’m working on. Do you remember talk about Eden Mulligan? She was from the Markets area.’

  Kaitlin shrugged. ‘I knew of her, but I didn’t know any of the family. Why?’

  ‘Working on her case, talking to people from the area and that time, has made me curious, I suppose.’

  ‘Curious about what?’

  ‘Ma.’

  ‘Don’t go there. She’s gone. No point dragging up the past.’

  Rose shivered despite the warm sun shining through the window.

  ‘I’m sorry. I don’t mean to cause you upset,’ Rose said. ‘I’m surrounded by documents, newspaper reports and transcripts all connected to the place I grew up. I can’t help thinking of what she was really like. Wondering how far she was in. I don’t think I ever really knew her. Do you know what I mean?’

  ‘She was our Ma, what else do you need to know? Children never really know their parents, not as separate people. Besides, you don’t need to go raking over old history connected to us. Leave well alone.’ She looked directly at Rose with fear or menace in her eyes. It was hard to say which.

  ‘What have you heard about Eden Mulligan over the years?’

  ‘Not much really. Only what was said in the papers and on the street. That she vanished into thin air. It’s those children we all felt sorry for. There was talk that she’d run away with a soldier, but we knew that she wouldn’t have done that. That’s just the kind of stories that people put about, wanting to create a bit of mystery and gossip or blacken her name. There was no truth in it. God love her, she probably topped herself. Jumped into the Lagan or else she was taken away and met a sorrowful end at the hands of the Provies.’

  ‘If she had jumped into the River Lagan then her body would have turned up eventually. It looks more likely that someone was responsible for her disappearance.’

  ‘I dare say.’ Kaitlin drew on the vape and blew out a puff of strawberry-smelling steam. ‘People vanished in those days for all sorts of reasons. Some ran away to England or America, others found themselves mixed up with the wrong sort and were told to get out of the country. Others didn’t get the choice. They were taken away in the back of a van and met their fates in some deserted waste ground and buried in an unmarked grave.’

  Rose sighed. ‘If Ma was operating for the IRA in the area at that time, then I need to know.’

  Kaitlin stared out the window. ‘You know what she was like, meetings and people calling. It’s hard to say what she knew or what she did. Community worker was the job title, as I remember.’

  ‘I know that, but if she had anything to do with the Mulligan case then I need to find out.’

  Running Evelyn’s details through the system had occurred to Rose before. Something stopped her though. Apart from the system recording her search, there was a sense of dread and fear. She wasn’t sure if she could handle what she might find. Her mother had been a difficult woman. Whatever she managed to find out, she was certain it wouldn’t be good.

  CHAPTER 38

  Until she could get full access to Iona, Rose was concentrating on Eden Mulligan’s disappearance. She had put it to Danny that the key in the Mulligan mystery had to lie within the tight-knit community of the Markets.

  ‘It’s a small enclave where everyone knows everyone’s business, so someone had to know what happened to Eden. People talk but, when it suits them, they also hold secrets close,’ Rose said.

  Danny leaned back on his chair. ‘Don’t forget that people were frightened of loose talk in those days. One wrong word and you could find yourself implicated, or worse, on the receiving end of a punishment shooting.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s true, but someone knows something and the best place to start is with the family.’

  Getting the Mulligan clan together for a meeting was difficult. Eamonn was the key. They hoped he would persuade the rest of them into hearing Rose out. Cormac was still hedging his bets, preferring to abstain from any gathering, but Joel Ellis, from Families for Justice, had persuaded him that he needed to hear what they had to say.

  Rose had convinced Danny to let her lead the meeting and they had agreed to meet in a safe, neutral venue. A police station wasn’t going to work, so a meeting room had been booked in the Europa hotel – its claim to fame being that it was the most bombed hotel in Europe. Rose had to accept that they would always see her as the outsider and to a certain extent, the enemy. To the Mulligans, the police had let their mother down and disappointed them on many occasions. The hurt they still carried and the damage inflicted on them growing up was largely down to failings in the police investigation. Rose could see that and it made her even more determined to do her job to the best of her ability. She couldn’t let them down again. Rose hoped they appreciated that she was working with them, trying to make this process as easy on them as she could. She wanted everything documented and carried out with diligence.

  Rose arrived early and waited while the staff at the hotel set up a conference table, complete with a jug of water and glasses for each of the five siblings. She had yet to meet the daughters, Eileen and Lizzie, or Paddy, the second youngest son. She hoped they would all turn up. It was important for the entire family to be kept up to date with the investigation and to know that she had the best of intentions in pursuing what had happened to their mother. The Mulligans had been smothered in assumptions, lies and fear. She hoped that she could help them gain insight and some degree of closure.

  Joel arrived carrying a copy of the Irish News and a folder of papers. ‘All right?’

  ‘Yes, everything is set up. I’m just waiting on them to arrive.’

  ‘I spoke to Cormac last night. He’ll be here and he says the rest of them will turn up, too.’

  ‘I hope so,’ said Rose straightening her folder of notes. She was nervous. The full weight of the failings of her predecessors was bearing down on her, making her feel anxious. She had to win their trust, and to do so she had to convince them that she knew what she was doing. She had to make them see that she wouldn’t let her superiors get away with whitewashing the truth this time.

  Joel took a seat at the far end of the table. So much for providing support, she thought.

  ‘You don’t like the police much do you?’ she asked.

  ‘Let’s
just say I have my reasons. Where I grew up, the police weren’t exactly your neighbourhood friendly bobby on the beat sort.’

  ‘They’re not all bad you know.’

  ‘Aye, so I hear.’

  Eamonn was the first of the Mulligans to arrive. He looked unsure of himself and anxious, scratching at his head, his eyes darting from Rose to Joel.

  ‘Eamonn, good to see you,’ said Joel, standing to welcome him. They shook hands, and Joel gave the older man a pat on the back.

  ‘Am I early?’ he asked.

  ‘No, right on time. Hopefully the others will be right behind you,’ Rose said. ‘Can I get you tea or coffee or a glass of water?’

  ‘No, I’m grand, thanks.’ He sat next to Joel and stared down at the mahogany table.

  Cormac arrived next, followed closely by Eileen and Lizzie.

  Rose introduced herself and thanked them for coming.

  ‘Shall we wait on Paddy?’ asked Rose.

  ‘I doubt he’ll come. Paddy’s not exactly sociable these days. Keeps to himself,’ Eamonn said.

  ‘I spoke to him on the phone yesterday, and he said he’d come,’ said Joel.

  ‘Then let’s give it a few more minutes,’ Rose offered. She straightened her notes again, and took a sip from her glass of water. She was thirsty and nervous. The assembled family were watching her with a mixture of expectation and hope, tinged with distrust. She could feel it in the air and see it in the sideways glances they gave each other.

  Rose drew a breath, glanced at her notes, and was about to begin when the door opened, and Paddy entered. He appeared disorientated, slightly out of it, with a slovenly look about him. He was tall and whippet lean.

  ‘Sorry I’m late, had a quick half pint in the Crown, and then couldn’t find this here room.’

  Rose watched him as he ambled over to the table. His jawline was saggy, and he had the appearance of someone who didn’t dress to please others – a lived-in look, like an ageing rock star, Rose thought. Someone who’s lived one too many lives.

  ‘Don’t worry, you’re here now. Come sit beside us, Paddy. I haven’t seen you in ages. How have you been?’ Lizzie spoke with such a tenderness in her voice that Rose felt for her. She was an attractive woman, elegant and well dressed. Their twin bond had probably sustained them through their rough childhood. She knew from the case notes that Paddy hadn’t lasted long with his adoptive parents. He ran away on several occasions and was eventually placed back into foster care with a different family, following his claims that he had been physically abused by the original adoptive father. Lizzie was to remain with the family for the next ten years. Their separation was just one more fallout of this entire case.

  Paddy looked sheepish and embarrassed and took a seat next to her and Cormac.

  Rose cleared her throat and stood, before starting the recording device she’d brought to document the meeting. ‘Now that we are all here, I’ll make a start. I’ve brought you here today to give you an update on your mother’s case, and to go over previous statements.’

  She looked at them and could see unease, a defensiveness in the set of their shoulders, the way they avoided making eye contact with her. She couldn’t blame them, but she needed to win them over if she was to make any headway.

  ‘I know you have been bitterly let down by previous investigations. That you were treated badly by the system from the moment your mother disappeared.’

  ‘Disappeared, ugh. I hate that word,’ Cormac spoke. ‘She didn’t just disappear, she didn’t skedaddle, or vanish in a puff of smoke. Someone took her.’

  ‘Yes, I appreciate that,’ Rose said. ‘In order to clarify the details, we need to work together. This is a complex investigation. The trail is cold but within each of you there could be some seemingly inconsequential piece of information that could make all the difference.’

  ‘We’ve been through this before. It’s all promises and lies.’ He sighed.

  ‘Cormac, hear her out. Maybe this time they mean what they say,’ Joel said.

  ‘Yeah, Cormac, come on. It’s better than doing nothing. At least if they are going over the case there is a hope that something will turn up,’ Lizzie spoke in a measured tone and rested her hand on his arm. ‘We have to keep trying.’

  She turned to Rose. ‘I think what Cormac is getting at is that we need to know we won’t be let down again. If we agree to being involved, you have to understand that. We’ve had enough disappointment and humiliation to last us ten lifetimes. Every time the papers go over the case, they drag up all sorts, saying our mother slept around, kept bad company. But she wasn’t like that at all. Every time they rewrite who she was, a bit of who she really was vanishes. We can’t afford to lose any more of her.’

  Rose nodded. ‘All I can promise each of you is that I am doing my utmost to examine the facts of the case as they stand, without pre-judgement.’

  Paddy took a deep breath and shuddered. Rose turned to see him wipe at his eyes, flustered and anxious.

  ‘I shouldn’t have had that pint.’ He attempted to laugh, but his words came out in painful gurgles, hesitant and broken. He pulled an inhaler out of his jacket pocket and shook it before sucking in the medicine like his life depended on it. His hair was receding in the same pattern as Cormac’s, leaving his face looking exposed and vulnerable. His clothes looked cheap and old. The sleeves of his shirt cut into his muscular arms and Rose noticed the top button was missing.

  Eileen turned to him. ‘You’re pathetic. You can’t stand to see any of us having a normal life. We could have all wallowed in self-pity. Cried for the rest of our days and said poor me. But no, we picked ourselves up, we educated ourselves, got jobs and tried to build a life. Sure, it would be nice to down a bottle of vodka and think about the days before they took her. But we don’t allow ourselves that luxury.’ Her dark eyes were alight with rage. ‘We had to move on. Otherwise, we’d all end up like you.’ She looked at him with scorn, like she was disgusted by him.

  ‘Come, Eileen, that’s enough,’ Eamonn spoke as he tried to take her gently by the arm and lead her away from Paddy, who had placed his head in his hands.

  ‘I’m only saying what the rest of you are thinking.’ She looked at Eamonn, her eyes blazing. ‘Somebody has to put him right. Let this here doctor do her job. If there’s stuff to be found, information or whatever, let her find it.’

  The room was quiet. No one moved or spoke.

  Paddy pushed back his chair, walked over to the window and stared out at the traffic below. ‘If the rest of yous want to do this, then go ahead. I won’t stop anyone. We’ve got to do whatever it takes to get to the truth if any of us are ever to find some kind of peace.’

  Rose wondered what Eden would think if she could see her children now. How would their lives have turned out if their mother had been around to raise them and guide them? Instead, her vanishing had damaged them in all kinds of ways.

  ‘In the last few years, since the cease fire, more information has been uncovered about the so-called “disappeared”. We don’t know if your mother was taken by paramilitaries but we do know that there was a secret IRA group tasked with taking people in this way, called the Unknowns. Their remit was to abduct, kill and bury in secret anyone who had supposedly crossed them.’

  Joel leaned forward. ‘Families for Justice never found any information which led us to think that the Unknowns were responsible for Eden’s disappearance.’

  Rose looked at them all. ‘The main thing is, if we are to unearth anything new, we need to have all known connections brought to the table. No holding back from any of you.’

  CHAPTER 39

  ‘Well, how do you think that went?’ Rose asked Joel later, when they had finished the meeting.

  ‘As good as it could’ve. They seem to be open to working with you. Even Cormac and Paddy.’

  She could feel the tension in her shoulders ease a bit. The inquiry could have continued without their support, but she wanted them to know that she was
on their side, and that she would do her best by their mother.

  ‘What did you make of Paddy?’ Joel asked.

  ‘He looks broken.’

  ‘Aye, I’d say, out of all of them, he’s the one that has suffered the most. He had a bad time. They all did one way or another, but I think he’s the most damaged.’

  ‘You mentioned when we first met that your involvement with the case nearly cost Eamonn his life. What happened?’

  ‘It was early on. I’d been pushing him to go public, speak to the media to raise awareness. I thought if we made enough noise something would be done by the assembly and the police to really investigate the case properly. Word on the street was that with the Good Friday Agreement in place, the IRA were going to hand over information about the disappeared. They were protected from prosecution so the feeling was: what did they have to lose?’

  ‘So, what happened?’

  ‘Eamonn got taken for a trip over the border. It was October, a good few years ago, and he was walking home when a black car pulled up and three men invited him in to go for a wee drive.’

  ‘Did he go?’ she asked, incredulous.

  ‘Rose, when you’re brought up under a regime that breeds terror and fear, you simply act as you are expected to. There’s wee lads the age of sixteen on these streets that have been given the word to meet masked men up entryways to get knee-capped, and they go. Lambs to the slaughter. Some of them have brought their mummy’s tea towel to staunch the bleeding. Eamonn knew if he didn’t get into that car, they’d come back for him another time and next time they wouldn’t be asking nicely.’

  ‘So, what happened?’

  ‘He was blindfolded and taken to a house a few hours away. He was held for five days. Denied food, only given sips of water, and beaten over and over again. On the last day, a new captor arrived. He calmly explained to Eamonn that the beatings had been for his own good. They had been designed to help him realise that the media campaign was not in his or his family’s best interests.’ Joel paused and pressed his fingers against his temples, as if trying to alleviate a headache.