Authors: Siobhan Corcoran
“What about my girls, are they okay?” Jane asked when he finally let her go.
“They're fine, everyone's fine.” He assured her
“Sassy, what about Sassy, he said he was going to get her?”
“She's fine.” Eva told her. “Anna put a stop to him there.”
For the third time the door opened, this time it was a nurse. When she saw that her patient was awake she shooed everyone out of the room and buzzed for the doctor. The three of them stood in the hallway laughing and talking. Delighted to see Jane awake and recovering from her ordeal. For two days they stayed close to Jane's bedside. Taking turns to sit with her. Night was the only time they weren't allowed to stay. Reluctantly they traipsed back to their hotel and tried to sleep. Kingston hadn't yet been captured. This played on the minds of them all. Each one praying that he would be found soon so they could relax. While he was still at large there was a fear that he would try to get to Jane again. They didn't see much of Morley, he was busy helping the French police, photographs of Kingston were circulated by Inter-Pol. Airports and ferry ports were on high alert but still there was no sign. They knew it was like looking for a needle in a hay stack. He could be anywhere by now. Border controls within the EU were very lax now and people travelled relatively freely. It would be easy to evade capture for someone as clever as he.
On the third day Jane was discharged from hospital. Ian had organised for the jet to take them all back to the UK. Morley was the only one who didn't return with them. He was looking tired and deflated. Anna knew he was getting a hard time from both his own bosses and from the French police. He didn't complain, in fact he had tried to appear cheerful, but when they were having lunch alone one of the days, he had hinted that he was being likened to the
Lone Ranger
. He admitted that he might be facing disciplinary action as soon as he returned home. Anna did her best to reassure him, she promised to remain in England until he returned. He was hoping to return home within a day or two. She had volunteered to stay and keep him company in France but he had declined. That morning when he said goodbye to them at breakfast he seemed in better humour, he had been told that they had received reports of sightings of Kingston and was hopeful of a positive outcome. He dashed off immediately after breakfast to view the CCTV footage in question. He promised to keep them up to date on events. Pulling Anna aside he made her promise to be on her guard, reminding her that Kingston had tried to kill her once before. He kissed her tenderly and wished her a safe journey.
Back in England, at the Westhall's, Jane was over-joyed by the reception she received, reporters were camped outside the grounds hoping for a glimpse of her. Ian shielded her from all of the publicity, only allowing her out of his sight once they were safely inside the grounds. Molly and Samantha followed by Sassy dashed out as soon as they saw the car approaching. Jane was smothered by hugs and kisses. She was so overcome with happiness that she burst into tears making all around her cry too. Anna stayed in the background and helped Olana in the kitchen to make lunch for the hungry travellers. Eva came in search of her and Anna pulled her aside saying.
“I'll leave after lunch if that's all right with you.”
“You will not indeed, I heard you tell Inspector Morley that you were going to stay for a few more days. I would be highly insulted if you didn't stay here with us.”
“I really don't want to intrude on your family time. Anna said
“If it wasn't for you Anna, we might never have seen Jane again. Besides I think on you as part of the family, I really do.” She hugged Anna tightly.
Molly and Samantha walked into the kitchen and having heard their Aunt's words they surrounded Anna and hugged her too. There was no need for words, the gratitude they felt was written on their faces.
“Not more women crying” Ian said jokingly as he entered the kitchen in search of some food. “I'm starving here and all you can do is hug each other and cry. He was quickly hunted from the kitchen by his two daughters both brandishing tea towels, ready to attack him.
Two days later Morley returned, he had been in constant contact with Anna, updating her on any new developments, but there wasn’t much to tell. They had traced Kingston as far as Belgium, but all trace of him was lost after that. He had promised to take Anna to dinner the evening he returned. He wanted a last evening with her before she went home to Ireland, he knew that she had booked a flight for the following day. He had told her that he had a meeting with his super the following afternoon, and he wasn’t looking forward to the lecture he was going to get, at best he thought he might only get a verbal warning, at worst he might get suspended. Anna had told him not to worry, that she was sure it wouldn’t be as bad as he feared.
Chapter forty one
Superintendent Adams was a formidable man, though only five foot five inches tall he put the fear of god into all who came into contact with him. At sixty two years of age he still had the same bulk and frame of a man in his forties. His large bald head and dark bushy eyebrows only enhanced his bull like features. His eyes bore into Morley as he paced, never leaving their mark for a second. Morley sat meekly on the uncomfortable, plastic chair as Adams paced up and down lecturing him on his unprofessional conduct.
“What on earth’s got into you Morley?” he boomed, his voice thundering around the small office. “You were always a by the book man…well explain!” Morley didn’t know how to explain, he knew he had gone against every rule in the book, not to mention international codes of conduct. He had thrust his way into a foreign jurisdiction before consulting with the local police force.
“I was following up on information received, I was told that Mrs Turner was in grave danger unless I acted immediately.” Morley tried to justify his actions, but he knew that no explanation he could ever give would cut any ice with Adams.
“If you were in the army you would be court marshalled. Do you understand how much grief I’ve had to put up with because of your damned impulsive behaviour? If I had my way you would be demoted to sergeant and sent out walking the beat.” He raved furiously at Morley, glaring down at him.
Morley not knowing how to respond just sat there thinking that it might be better to stay silent and let his superior get his anger out of his system. He didn’t want to say anything that might fuel it further. He wondered how long it would take before he was told what his punishment would be.
“Have you anything to say in your defence Morley, because if you have I’d very much love to hear it?”
“I can only apologise for my behaviour and promise that it won’t happen again. I was only thinking of the safety of the victim.”
“Damned right it won’t happen again.” He said harshly. “You’re one lucky SOB… do you know how many phone calls I’ve had praising your work, and your initiative, every relative of that Turner woman rang me…gushing about how wonderful you were. The chief constable himself rang me a today…do you know what he wanted?”
Morley’s heart sank further, he had hoped to keep his actions from reaching the ears of any one higher ranking than his own super.
“He wants me to be lenient where you’re concerned…he practically ordered me to brush it under the carpet. Do you know why? He told me that a personal friend of his was working as a PI on this case and that she interceded on your behalf.”
Morley was astonished, he hadn’t known that Anna knew the chief constable.
“Stop opening and closing your mouth like a fool, I’ve more news for you. That maniac Kingston has been traced to Ireland and the chief constable has requested that you travel to Ireland and liaise with the Irish police…This time you will be going in an official capacity. Your flight leaves in two hours from Stansted. Janet will give you all the details. And Morley Don’t fuck it up.”
He was dismissed, it was difficult for him to take it all in. He hadn’t been suspended instead he was being sent to Ireland to continue with the investigation. Morley was worried though, there was only one reason he could think of that Kingston would travel to Ireland….Anna. He had to ring her and warn her, he went to his desk and rang her mobile number. No answer, it went straight to voice mail, he left her a message then he rang Neil.
“Neil, it’s me, I’m on my way over.”
“I know, I’ve been assigned to the case on this end. I’ve been trying to ring you. I only just found out. I’ll collect you at the airport when you land.”
“Neil listen, it’s serious. I can’t get hold of Anna. And the only reason I can think of for Kingston to be in Ireland is to get to her. Will you have someone check on her and warn her that he’s in Ireland? She flew home early this morning, she should be there by now” His tone was so serious that Neil couldn’t help but be concerned.
“Gary I’m sure she’s fine, she probably just forgot to turn her phone back on after the flight. I’ll get some of the local boys to swing by and check on her. Don’t worry. I’ll see you soon.” Neil hung up and dialled Anna’s local Garda station, they promised to pay her a visit. He gave them a detailed description of Kingston just in case he should show up. He then tried to ring Anna, but like Gary his call went straight to voice mail. He tried not to worry, but he too thought it was unlikely that Kingston was here just to lay low for a while. He was aware that Kingston had tried to kill Anna. He knew that if he blamed Anna for his current predicament, that she could very well be in grave danger.
Chapter forty two
Anna was both glad and sad to be returning home, she was looking forward to getting back to some semblance of a normal life again after the hectic time she had while working on the case. She was looking forward to seeing Boozy again and to the slower pace of life in the countryside. She was sad to be leaving Morley so soon after they met. They both promised to keep in touch with each other and he had promised that he would come to Ireland the first chance he got. She also spent a lot of time working in the UK and knew that with a bit of effort from both of them that a long distance relationship might work…for a while at least. She stared vacantly out the window of the plane at the persistent drizzle as the plane descended onto the runway at Cork airport. She collected her luggage and was through customs in no time. She paid her parking fee and was driving home, slowly beginning to feel better as she looked forward to a hot bath and a glass of wine in front of her own fire.
Pulling up into her drive, she finally shook off the last feelings of melancholy and inserted the key into the front door and unlocked it. In the living room, Jamsie had lit a fire, she had told him that she would be arriving home today. There was no sign of Boozy her dog, she guessed that he was out somewhere with Jamsie, the two of them were inseparable whenever she was away. She decided to call to Jamsie’s house and let him know that she had arrived safely. Putting more coal on the fire so it wouldn’t go out, and locking the door behind her, she once again hopped into her car and drove the short distance to Jamsie’s home. He shared it with his mother an elderly lady in her nineties, but with a memory still as sharp as a blade. She knocked on the front door and was greeted by Mrs O Keeffe’s familiar voice telling her to come in. Mrs O Keeffe was sitting by the open fire knitting something large and white, the needles were criss-crossing faster than a Samurai’s sword. Without a pause in her knitting she looked up to see who her visitor was.
“Anna a stor, is it yourself?” the old lady asked pausing her knitting, as she looked at her unexpected visitor with delight.
“Hi Mrs O Keeffe, I was just looking for Jamsie. How are you?” Anna said, walking into the cosy living-room.
“I’m grand, just a touch of the auld rheumatism, but tis only bad when it rains. Jamsie’s out with the dog someplace, might have gone to the pub on the bike. He’s afraid to drive now after he’s had a few…the guards you know. Sit down and have a cuppa tea.”
“It’s alright I’ll make it.” Anna said quickly before the woman could stir from her seat. She headed into the small kitchen and boiled the kettle and returned with the two cups of tea and sat down opposite her.
“There’s cake in the bread-bin, if you’d like a slice. It’s cherry, Jamsie’s favourite.”
“I’m fine thanks. Would you like some?” Anna asked about to stand and fetch some for her.
“No thanks, the doctor says I’ve to watch my weight. You’d think that at ninety two he’d leave me in peace” She smiled
Anna stayed talking to the old lady for nearly half an hour, reminiscing about old times. Mrs O Keeffe and Anna’s grandmother had grown up together and Anna loved to hear the old stories of when the two of them had been girls. If Mrs O Keeffe was to be believed they had more adventures than the
Famous Five and Nancy Drew
put together. Anna reluctantly got up from her seat by the fire and bade her goodbyes to Mrs O Keeffe.
“Just tell Jamsie I’m home. I better go I’ve loads to do.”
Anna got back into her car and drove back up to the house and let herself in. It was a strange feeling being back after everything that had happened, all she wanted to do was have a hot bath and a glass of wine. She went upstairs and ran the bath. She was just about to get undressed when she heard a noise from downstairs. Thinking it was Jamsie returning with Boozy she headed down to greet them. Strange she thought, Boozy usually bounded up to her in his excitement to greet his mistress. She listened again…there it was a faint scratching and whining, she followed the sound it was coming from the utility room. She opened the door, thinking that Jamsie had locked the dog in by mistake. The sight before her made her catch her breath in shock. Jamsie was lying on the floor unconscious and he was bleeding profusely from a wound on his head. Rushing in she bent over him to check if he was still breathing, thankfully he was. She heaved a sigh of relief. She then became aware of Boozy scratching on the cupboard door, a chair had been jammed up against it to stop him getting out. What on earth is going on? Anna wondered, her mind in a whirl. Was it a burglar who had done this? She knew that Jamsie was alive, but she didn’t know how badly he was injured. She needed to call for help, he looked to be in a bad way. She didn’t hear him as he crept up behind her, she had been too overcome with the shock of finding Jamsie like that. He smashed her over the head with her own wok. How fitting he thought as he watched her collapse to the ground like a lead balloon, he was thinking of how Jane had done the same to him. He intended to make her suffer every humiliation he could think of and then some. He dragged her limp body out the back door and hoisted it into a wheelbarrow he had left outside. Whistling merrily he pushed it to the waiting jeep, he opened the back door and loaded the unconscious woman in. Better handcuff her, he thought as he pulled the cuffs from his pocket. He placed a dirty coal bag over her head and cuffed her hands behind her back. Then he remembered Jamsie. ”Can’t have him spoiling my plans if he wakes up” he went back to retrieve him, besides she might be more co-operative if I have a hostage, he smiled savagely. Jamsie was unceremoniously dumped into the jeep alongside Anna, and Kingston still whistling merrily to himself hopped in and drove away. He was feeling good now, everything was finally going according to plan. His plans had almost been spoiled by Jamsie coming in to light the fire. Kingston watched and waited, it slowly began to dawn on him that this was just a neighbour and not as he had first thought…a lover or husband. The dog had smelt him and began barking and scratching at the door, but Jamsie thinking that he just wanted feeding, told him he’d “Sort him out in a minute.” When Jamsie opened the door to the kitchen, Boozy rushed through. Kingston was waiting for him and he too had received a blow to the head by the trusty wok. He let out a pitiful howl and fell to the floor dazed. Jamsie had almost got the better of Kingston, he had reacted quickly and rushed at the intruder, but wok still steady in his hand, poor Jamsie got a full whack of it to his face. Not satisfied, Kingston hit him again and again as he fell. Kingston laughed as he examined his handy work. He promised himself in future that a wok would be his weapon of choice. All he had to do then was shove the dog into the cupboard and shut the door. Not long after he heard Anna enter, he readied himself, waiting patiently for her to come to him, but instead she headed out of the house again. He was beginning to lose patience, when finally he heard her return. He listened to the sounds of the water filling the bath, he was getting excited now. Thoughts of her naked and helpless in the bath as he overpowered her, were almost too much for him to bear. He could feel himself getting harder by the second. He almost bounded up the stairs in frenzied excitement. He forced himself to wait and was glad he had, the dog had begun to whine and scratch at the door of its prison. It made so much noise that Anna came rushing in to see what was wrong, he waited until she was leaning over Jamsie before he pounced. He could still hear the hollow sound the wok made as it made contact with her skull. He had been careful not to hit her too hard, he didn’t want to kill her just yet. Not when there was so much revenge yet to be administered.