Caitlin had seen the photo posted on David A’s Twitter feed a few hours before going to the barbecue. It was a photo of the park where she ran, she was sure of it. She recognized the laneway where the trees met overhead, how the light dappled through the pale green leaves. There was no caption, no words, just the picture. Whoever had set up this account wanted her to know that he was watching her, that he knew where to find her if he wanted to. It wasn’t David, of that she was sure, but she was determined to find out who it was and why they’d begun toying with her.
She had been shocked when she’d seen Nick at the barbecue, more so when she discovered that he was Michelle’s boyfriend, the host of the event, but she figured she’d hid it well. She’d had years of practice hiding her emotions: she’d been doing it ever since her parents had died. It didn’t take much effort anymore.
She thought of Andy’s words, of the fact that Nick had shown up in the wine bar, and of how the photo of her had appeared on David A’s account just hours later. She’d probably have thought nothing of it, wouldn’t even have noticed him, if it hadn’t been for that clumsy act of spilling her drink. And yet, there was nothing threatening about him.
He was awkward around her, sure, but nothing about him gave off an air of menace. When she’d mentioned having seen him before, when she’d deliberately asked him if he ran in the park, there hadn’t been a flicker. And besides, he was a stranger. He knew nothing about her, save what she’d told Michelle, and the fact that Michelle had submitted to the magazine could hardly have been a ploy, could it? What could they possibly want with her, this couple? Nothing, she hoped, because she genuinely liked Michelle, but she’d have to watch her step. Until she found out who was behind that hoax call and the fake Twitter account, she couldn’t trust anyone.
On the desk, her phone buzzed. ‘Michelle Carlin’s here to see you.’
She’d been expecting Michelle, had invited her to the office to submit her article rather than having her email it over. She wanted to see her again, but without Nick. That way she might find out more about him and, if he was the person behind this hoax about David, Michelle might let something slip.
Caitlin rose from her desk and took the lift down to reception. ‘Michelle, lovely to see you again,’ she smiled. ‘How are you doing?’ They walked down the hallway, away from the receptionist’s curious ears. ‘How was the rest of your evening?’ she asked, as soon as they’d stepped into the lift.
‘It was good, the others left soon after you did so it didn’t wind up very late. I hope you had a good time?’
The lift stopped, and they stepped out on the third floor. Caitlin led Michelle to the canteen where they could get a coffee. It was a quiet time; the morning breaks had finished and it was too early yet for lunch. All the same, they met Julie Morrison, one of the editors, who looked at Caitlin rather guiltily as she slipped past with a coffee.
‘It was lovely. Your friends were very nice. And Nick.’ She cast a glance at Michelle, who smiled, but looked, Caitlin thought, momentarily anxious. Maybe she was being paranoid though, because a second later the expression, if it had ever been there, was gone.
‘He enjoyed meeting you. We should do it again,’ Michelle said.
Caitlin nodded, took two cups and headed for the coffee machine. ‘What does he do –Nick?’
‘He’s an architect.’
‘Really? What type? Commercial? Anything I’d know?’
‘Both commercial and private. He’s designed houses for some pretty well-known people, celebrities even.’
‘Yeah – like who?’ Caitlin asked, raising her voice over the hissing of the coffee machine. She took her mug and asked Michelle what she wanted as Michelle told her about the house Nick had designed for a rock star in Killiney Bay.
‘He took me there on our second date, trying to impress me, don’t you know.’
‘And did it work?’
Michelle laughed. ‘Looks like it, doesn’t it?’
They took their drinks and went to sit in a corner of the canteen which had a large window overlooking the River Liffey and Dublin’s Ha’penny Bridge.
‘How did you guys meet?’ Caitlin asked.
Michelle laughed. ‘This is slightly embarrassing, but on Plenty of Fish. I say it’s embarrassing because I was totally against Internet dating. I’d had a break-up almost a year before and I wasn’t having much luck on the pub scene … if anything it was just depressing to see what was out there. So, one of my friends was thinking of trying it and she persuaded me to as well. I had a few chats, got a few messages from creeps looking for one-nighters, and then Nick was the first person I agreed to meet.
‘Wow.’ Caitlin was genuinely intrigued. ‘How does it work? I mean … I presume you have to upload a picture, but can just anyone see it? Weren’t you afraid you’d be spotted by someone you know?’
‘Yeah, I was really nervous about that. To be honest, I was delighted to shut the account down. I’d spotted a couple of guys I knew on it.’ Michelle laughed. ‘And wait for this, I got a message from an old university lecturer.’
‘Ugh no, you didn’t answer him?’
‘Of course not. I don’t think he knew who I was or anything. There were about seventy students in the class; we never really had any direct communication with him. But luckily I closed my account soon after that. I’d been on a few dates with Nick and one evening he told me that his sister had asked him if it was serious … fishing, he was, to see what I’d say. I told him that I was if he was and that’s pretty much our story so far.’
Caitlin sipped her coffee, considering what Michelle had told her. She was very open; she didn’t seem like someone who had something to hide. ‘How about writing an article about it?’ she asked.
‘No way! Jesus, I’m not going on record about that.’ Michelle was quiet for a minute, and then, her voice gentle, she asked, ‘How did you meet David?’
David. Caitlin stopped smiling. Had she told Michelle his name was David? Of course she had. She’d said it when, in a moment of weakness that first time they’d met, she’d shown her his picture. ‘I don’t really want to talk about it, it’s hard …’
Michelle put her hand on Caitlin’s arm for a moment. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. I’ve been thinking about what you told me, and this might sound ridiculous, but there’s this woman – I’ve visited her a few times – an old itinerant woman who tells fortunes. Maybe she could tell you something. I don’t know if you believe in anything like that, but she’s really good. When my mother was sick, she told me exactly what the problem was … a sickness of the blood and the bones, she said. And that’s what it was.’
‘Is your mother still alive?’
Michelle shook her head. ‘She died two years ago – Multiple Myeloma – it’s a cancer inside the bone marrow.’
‘I’m sorry. What about your father?’
‘My parents split up years ago. He lives in the north. We don’t really keep in touch.’
Caitlin looked at Michelle and wondered if the reason she liked her so well was because they had so much in common. ‘I know how it is. Both my parents are dead. They died when I was little … an accident.’
Michelle nodded. Caitlin didn’t think she looked very surprised, although she was probably just being diplomatic.
‘Do you have any siblings?’ Michelle asked.
Caitlin shook her head. She thought of the boy, it was a hazy memory now, so much so that she wasn’t even sure it had happened. ‘No, just me,’ she said. ‘I was adopted by a couple, but they broke up about a year after they took me in. He didn’t want me, and she blamed me for his leaving. We’re not close. Actually, David’s mum is more like a mother to me now. She’s the only family I’ve got.’
‘How old were you when your parents died?’
‘Five. But I remember them as though it was yesterday. My mother loved to sing, my dad too. They were always making recordings. I’ve got a cassette, one that was in my tape recorder, that my mother used to play sometimes to get me to go to sleep. I don’t know where everything else went … I was only allowed to keep a couple of toys. One of the social workers took me to my house and told me I could pick out just two things. The rest I suppose got packed up to go to some charity or other, but I’ve still got that cassette with them singing and joking.’
‘Wow. That’s incredible. It must be hard, though, listening to it. What happened to them?’
Caitlin shrugged. ‘Car accident … some crazy driver ran a red light.’
It was a story she’d grown used to telling. It didn’t even feel like a lie anymore. And even if it was, it wasn’t her lie. She’d believed it, visualized it for years until she’d found those clippings – so to repeat it came naturally. She wondered how Michelle would react if she told her the truth. She’d never told anyone the truth. Not even David.
‘About the fortune teller though,’ she said, shaking herself from the past, ‘it wouldn’t really be my thing. It’s not that I don’t believe in it, I’m open to most things, it’s more that it would creep me out. I’m a coward like that.’ She smiled, made a point of looking at her watch. ‘Now we’d better get to looking at this article – I hadn’t meant to keep you all day.’