AFTER THAT EXCHANGE I needed a coffee – and not an instant one. Molloy must have had the same idea. I met him in the doorway of the Oak, takeaway cup in hand.
“Why don’t you get Tony to put that in a real cup and join me for a bit,” I suggested. “I need ten minutes away from the office.”
“Okay. What are you having?”
“Same as you, assuming it’s black coffee.”
I took a seat at one of the tables by the fire. Molloy reappeared a couple of minutes later with two mugs.
“So what’s up?” he said.
“Why should there be anything up? Maybe I just want to shoot the breeze with you.”
His eyes narrowed. “Quite apart from the fact that I’ve never once heard you use the expression ‘shoot the breeze,’ I’m sure there’s something specific you want to talk to me about.”
“Maybe.”
“I suppose I should be grateful you’re not lurking in the bushes somewhere spying on me.” A smile played at the corners of his mouth.
I could feel the heat moving up my neck and into my face. I chose to pretend it wasn’t happening, though I’m sure Molloy could see it.
I took a sip of my coffee. “Any developments in the investigation into Danny Devitt’s death?”
Molloy sighed. “Not really. Eddie Kearney is still our only witness, and I can’t exactly imagine him shining in the witness box, even if he had seen who was in the other car.”
“Anything turn up on Danny’s car?”
“Nope. We got nothing. It didn’t help that it was a wreck of a thing he was driving to begin with. That wasn’t the first crash he’d had in it.”
“You don’t think Danny saw something someone didn’t want him to, do you, on one of his nighttime excursions?”
“It’s possible.”
“McFadden said he told Alan Crane he knew who was doing the robberies.”
“You talked to McFadden?” Annoyance flashed across his face. “What the hell was he doing, keeping all of that from me?”
“I think his motives were good. He cares about the family.”
“He’s a guard. He shouldn’t have let it skew his judgement.”
“No, probably not. You’re not going to do anything about it, are you?”
He shook his head. “Not this time.”
I took another gulp of my coffee. “I ran into the infamous brother, by the way.”
Molloy leaned back. “And?”
“I don’t like him much.” I was close to telling Molloy about the row with Eithne but I stopped myself.
“He’s fairly humorless, all right,” Molloy agreed.
“I thought he was supposed to be a bit of a charmer?”
“Maybe he’s changed. He has been away for a while. And he’s just lost his brother.”
“A brother he hasn’t seen for six years,” I pointed out. “Is there a connection between his sudden reappearance and Danny’s death, do you think?”
“You mean other than the obvious, that he came back to support his mother?”
“Other than that.” I hesitated. “You don’t think he had anything to do with it, do you?”
Molloy gave me a sardonic look. “Because you don’t like him?”
“Of course not.” I blushed. “But they did have their difficulties with one another – feelings for the same girl, that kind of thing. I believe Conor was a bit of a tyrant.”
I knew I was floundering. Molloy knew it, too.
“I knew about Lisa, all right. McFadden mentioned something about it, when he finally decided to tell me about the Cranes’ complaint. But didn’t Conor steal Lisa from Danny? Surely that would give Danny a motive to kill Conor, not the other way around.”
“I suppose.” I remembered what Danny had told his mother.
“And in case you’ve forgotten, Danny was killed early last Wednesday morning – and if we are to believe what he tells us, Conor only came back into the country on Sunday night. Arrived up here on Monday.”
“Are we sure of that?” I said suspiciously. “Have you seen his ticket?”
“No, but we’ll check the passenger lists.”
“Sibling rivalry can cause a lot of damage, you know …” I stopped. I wondered suddenly if I was allowing my own history to cloud my judgement.
“It’s hardly enough for a conviction.”
“I know. But there’s something about Conor Devitt … he makes me uneasy.”
He smiled. “Not enough, Ben, not enough.”
“I know.” I sighed. “Any other candidates?”
“No. It could have been anyone who drove Danny Devitt off the road. Six o’clock in the morning is a good time to be somewhere you’re not supposed to be without anyone noticing. It’s the why that we have to figure out.”
“Hmm.”
He drained his coffee. “They’re reburying that young fella in the morning, by the way.”
“That’s good. I’m sure his poor father will be relieved.”
Molloy stood up to go.
I stopped him. “You in a rush?”
He checked his watch. “I am now. Was there something else?”
“Could I have a chat with you later on? I need to ask your advice.”
He moved to sit back down.
I waved him away. “No, don’t, it’s fine. There’s no hurry, it’s to do with what we were talking about at the weekend. Maybe later?”
“Want me to come over?”
“That would be great.”
“About seven?”
I nodded. My mobile rang. It was Leah.
“Sorry, I’m on my way back now. I needed a stiff coffee.”
“It’s not that. Alison Kelly rang. She wants you to go up to the hospital and witness those documents for Mr. Kelly.”
“Sure, I’ll go straight away.”
* * *
I drove up to Letterkenny in a fog of white. The snow had started again in earnest; tiny dusty flakes blew across the dual carriageway in gusts. I found Kelly’s room easily – there are few enough private rooms in Letterkenny General. I knocked, but there was no reply, so I pushed the door open a couple of inches.
I was unprepared for what I saw. I guess it was Alison’s comment about him not really looking sick, and I suppose in a way he didn’t. Not physically, at any rate. He was a little thinner, his face a little grayer maybe. But it was his expression that disturbed me. It was full of fear, raw and sharp. He was alone and staring at a television screen above the bed, but not really watching it. A set of headphones led to an iPod on his bedside locker. When he heard the door click, he transferred his gaze to me. I smiled and the fear was erased. He removed the headphones.
“The Jam,” he said. “You’d never guess I used to be a mod, would you?”
“Well …”
He gave me a weary smile. “It’s a lifetime ago.” He raised himself on his elbows and sat up, resting his head back against the pillow. “Thanks for coming. I wanted to come down myself. God knows why I’m still here. I thought they’d let me out today.”
“That’s okay. I’m happy to do whatever I can to help.”
“I’m sure Alison’s had something to do with it. She’s so bloody anxious. She thinks I’m going to keel over if I get out of bed.”
“It’s understandable she’s worried.”
“Yes.”
“I wish she wouldn’t, but it helps her, I think, to tell people. It’s obviously not something I want known.”
“She did ask me not to tell anyone.”
His expression clouded. “I know she needs comfort. I worry about her.”
“As she does about you, by the looks of things.”
He smiled again, weakly. “No need. She seems to think this bloody thing is going to kill me at some point, but I’m in no rush.”
“That’s good to hear.”
He leaned over to open the door of his bedside locker and took out a folder of documents, saying, “Right, let’s get this done. Is this the lot?”
I nodded and took a pen from my briefcase. His hand shook as he signed each of the documents.
“Sorry. It’s these fucking drugs – they’re worse than the bloody tumor.” He handed the papers to me and leaned back onto the pillow.
I looked through the documents.
“Alison wants us to go away, you know – the three of us. I don’t know if I have the energy. I’d be just as happy to stay here, but she says she wants us to do all the things we never had the chance to do.” He added sadly, “That’s the one thing I regret. We’ve done nothing but work to build up the businesses, and I regret that. I should have given her more. She deserved more …” His voice trailed off, then he saw me frown.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
One document wasn’t complete. “This one here. It’s called a Particulars Delivered form – it’s for the Tax Office. It needs your tax number.”
“Could you hand me my coat? It’s on the back of the door there. My wallet should be in one of the pockets. I think there’s a tax docket in it. If not, I’ll get Alison to call the accountant.”
Kelly pulled a leather wallet from the coat I brought him and opened it. While he poked about in the notes section for what he was looking for, I caught sight of a picture, a small photograph in a plastic sleeve at the front of the wallet. It wasn’t difficult to recognize Alison, wearing a wide sun hat, smiling broadly. In the same sleeve was a lock of black hair. Kelly caught my gaze and closed the wallet with a slightly embarrassed expression. He handed me a slip of paper.
“Here’s the number.”
“Thanks, that’s great. I’ll get moving on this as quickly as possible. Is there anything else I can do for you while I’m here?”
He gave me a crooked grin. “You mean like a will?”
“Not unless you want one,” I said gently.
“Nah, think I’m all right for the moment, thanks very much.”
I walked out into the brightly lit corridor. White tiles, aluminium trolleys, antiseptic smells, the pale frightened faces of patients shuffling along in pink fluffy dressing gowns and sensible slippers. No wonder Kelly was anxious to get out of here.
I opened the swing door marked Exit and ran straight into Alison Kelly with Trevor.
“All done and dusted.”
“How was he?” she asked anxiously.
“Good.”
Trevor yawned behind his hand.
“Trevor.” His mother’s tone was reproachful. She looked at me apologetically. “He’s hungover – too many parties lately. That’s the problem with working in a pub.”
“I can imagine.”
“Hopefully it won’t be for much longer.”
“The pubs are on the market?”
She nodded. “Fingers crossed.”
“Well, good luck with it.”
“Thanks.”
Trevor yawned again and Alison tutted. “I wouldn’t mind the parties except that it’s muggins here who ends up having to go and collect him. He has me driving all over the peninsula.”
Her son raised his eyes to heaven. “I have an overprotective mother.”
I laughed. “Aren’t you lucky?”
Trevor grinned at me, showing perfectly even white teeth. “She just wants to keep an eye on me. Afraid some girl’s gonna get her claws into me.”
Alison gave his shoulder an affectionate shove. “Poor baby.”
I got back to the office about six and dumped the papers Kelly had signed on my desk. I noticed Leah had left the planning file there, too, but I decided I’d look at it in the morning.
The morning seemed a long way off at the moment. Before then I had to talk to Molloy and tell him things I had never told anyone. It was time; I had backed out too often. I called into the Oak to pick up a bottle of wine to take home, then I changed my mind and bought two. As I was handing the money to Tony, the door to the Ladies opened and Claire Devitt came out.
She climbed onto a barstool and picked up her drink. She didn’t seem to notice me, which was odd as I was the only other customer in the place. Tony threw me a glance but didn’t say a word. I tapped Claire lightly on the shoulder. She turned around and flashed me a broad smile. Her eyes were half-closed.
“Ah, how are you? Sit down and have a wee drink with me, why don’t you?” she said.
“I can’t, I’m afraid. I have to be somewhere.”
Her face fell in an exaggerated sad clown expression. “Aw.”
She took another gulp of her drink – a clear liquid with a slice of lemon in it. A gin and tonic or a vodka, I assumed. She waved her arm in a broad sweeping gesture while Tony showed impressive reflexes in quickly moving a mixer bottle to one side.
“So what do you think of all of this drama then? I can’t keep up, I swear.” She was slurring her words.
I picked up my bottles of wine. “I’m sure you’re pleased to have Conor back at least.”
“Of course. Who wouldn’t be? It’s absolutely wonderful. Excuse me for a minute.” She was up off her stool again and heading back towards the door to the toilets.
“Is she all right?” I asked Tony.
“Does she look all right to you?”
“No. Is she drunk?”
“She’s drinking water. Hasn’t any money for anything else. Not that I’d serve it to her even if she had.”
“Anything I can do?”
He shook his head. “I called her mother’s house about twenty minutes ago. Conor’s coming down for her. She sure as hell can’t drive in that state.”
As I crossed the road to the car, I heard a noise behind me and glanced around to see a man standing in the shadows smoking a cigarette. It was Conor Devitt. Back in the role of big brother.