‘That was a really nice thing to do.’
‘It felt like it didn’t belong in my house anyway… that it belonged somewhere else. I’m not sure why. Art is like that, I guess.’
‘Where’s David?’ I said. ‘He was here earlier.’
‘Yeah… I saw him go outside with Emily. I’m guessing they’re all over each other out there. What’s it like living in his house?’
‘It’s OK. I can’t wait until we move into our new place though. I’m really looking forward to my own bedroom!’
‘I can imagine. I can’t help with that, but do you want some cake?’ said Colin. ‘Look at the queue. I’ll go up and get us a slice.’
I watched him walk across the dance floor. The only people on it were a group of little kids, dancing to the band’s songs, while everyone else was lining up to get a piece of the cake. Colin joined the back of the queue just behind Mum. I looked around at all the people seated at the tables, looking for people I recognized, and was surprised to see Ger Rapple. I hadn’t expected him to be here but I was always surprised by how everybody seemed to know each other around here.
He caught my gaze and came over.
‘Hi, Jacki,’ he said. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m good, thanks.’
Ger was looking well. He was wearing a blue-striped shirt and a beige jacket.
‘That was a lovely song. You’re very talented.’
‘Thank you!’
‘How’s it going… since we last met?’ he said, a little quieter.
I couldn’t wait to fill him in on all the developments.
‘You’re not going to believe this… Remember you told me about Jane -’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Well, I found out that Jane
‘Yes, I knew about that murder.’
‘Beth is Jane. They’re the same person.’
‘Really? How’s that?’
‘Beth was adopted. Jane was her birth name.’
‘Ah, that explains a certain amount.’
The little blonde girl from the fete danced past us, balancing a slice of cake on a paper plate.
‘It’s so weird,’ I said. ‘That little girl was singing a rhyme about Jane at the table quiz.’
‘Very young children often connect with spirits,’ said Ger. ‘They’re not frightened of them.’
That made sense, I guess.
‘Have you any idea who killed Beth Cullen?’ I said. ‘I have a suspicion but I really need to find out for sure.’
‘No, I’ve no idea who killed Beth,’ said Ger. ‘I once asked a fortune teller about it, but I didn’t find out anything. Kathleen is a fortune teller I go to see in Dublin sometimes. I don’t entertain many fortune tellers, but Kathleen is genuinely gifted.’
‘What did she say?’
‘She said the girl with two hearts will bring justice to Beth. God only knows what she meant by that. Beth will be waiting a long time for a girl with two hearts to show up,’ said Ger with a laugh.
I turned to the side and pulled my hair back from my neck to reveal my freckle. Tiny and distinct. And in the shape of a heart. My
By midnight there were still lots of people in the hall. The band was still going, and everyone sat round the tables talking and laughing. I was actually glad I’d stayed on. I hadn’t really wanted to go back to the Mulveys’ house by myself anyway; their alarm system was way too complicated. I decided to go outside for some air.
Joe was out the back, smoking.
‘Hi, Joe. Great party!’
‘Thanks, Jacki. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.’
I would have liked to talk to Joe about Mary and Michael. To find out if he knew about Michael’s angry behaviour or about the alibi, but I didn’t want to ruin the party for him.
Joe stubbed out his cigarette and went back in.
I stayed outside, staring up at the starry sky. Inside the band were playing a cover of Aslan’s ‘Crazy World’. The black dress Lydia had given me was the nicest thing I’d ever worn but I was getting a bit chilly. As I turned to go back inside I felt someone touch me on the shoulder.
‘Nick!’
‘Hi, Jacki.’
‘Hi… I -’
‘It’s cool.’
‘No, I want to explain -’
‘It’s OK. Colin told me that you were really stressed out about moving here and that it all got on top of you. I understand.’
Colin had made up an explanation for me. He was one of the best friends I’d ever had.
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘I didn’t mean to freak out.’
‘I know you probably thought I was… you know, being too pushy. But I… I just wanted to kiss you.’
‘I didn’t think that.’ I took this escape route gratefully. I’d love to have been able to explain everything in detail but I wasn’t ready for that.
‘Have you been avoiding me?’ he asked. I could hear the hurt in his voice.
I took a deep breath. Now was my chance to tell the truth. ‘Nick, I’m really sorry. After that night I saw this picture that Emily posted online and I thought it was you kissing some girl. I… I thought maybe you’d found someone else. But it wasn’t you, and even if it was I’d no right to think there was anything between us after what happened.’
He looked shocked. ‘I haven’t kissed anyone else. I haven’t been able to think about anyone but you,’ he said. He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. ‘I need to go. I have to take my little sister home. But we should do something soon, maybe the cinema or something. I’ll text you.’
‘Sure… cool.’
I actually could have cried with relief. There was hope.
When I went into the bathroom Mary was there. She seemed very happy. And very drunk.
‘Jacki! Are you having a good time?’ Her speech was slurred.
‘Yes. A great time.’ I was so glad I’d stayed. So happy that Nick and I had had a chance to talk.
‘Oh, that’s good. That’s good. Your dress is lovely.’
‘Thanks.’
I checked my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I reapplied my lipstick and fixed my hair while Mary washed her hands. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her looking at me. Like she was about to say something.
‘Listen, Jacki… I know you heard me and Michael fighting in the shop the other day. It’s so embarrassing, but… I’m sure it sounded much worse than it actually was.’
Mary’s guard was down, otherwise she never would have mentioned anything about it. She was so drunk she probably wouldn’t even remember this conversation in the morning. I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to find out more.
‘I, em… I heard you say he didn’t have an alibi for Beth’s murder,’ I said.
‘Yes… I made one up,’ said Mary, looking at me with glazed eyes. She lowered her voice to a hush. ‘See, he was at a poker game. He had a bit of a gambling problem back then, and he didn’t want any of the other Guards to know about it. They all thought he had given it up.’
‘You’re sure he was at this game?’ I asked. I was surprised. If he was, then this changed everything. Maybe Mary was covering up for him? But was she capable of that in her state? Maybe she was so used to telling this lie that she had actually started to believe it.
