Things couldn’t have turned out better with his little trip earlier that day. A tiny bit of luck and good planning could generate extraordinarily wonderful results. The more he thought about Kate Pearson, the more he realised how interesting she was. They had so much in common – intelligence, integrity and, of course, a less than appreciative mother. He had believed Kate to be an adversary initially, but the more he learned about her, the more he liked her. She had suffered as a child for sure. The attack, no matter what that report suggested, must have affected her. She would have had to overcome enormous difficulties to patch her life back together afterwards – something only those who have truly suffered could understand. Kate’s mother hadn’t had the sensitivities required to be a good parent, demonstrating the sort of character traits that are very disabling for a child. It would seem Kate had managed to withstand some very difficult beginnings, not an easy thing for anyone to do, and certainly admirable.
He realised now that visiting the nursing home in Greystones was essential. He needed to know if Kate was worthy of further attention. There was no better way to study a person than by getting close to their family. Taking a few days off work made everything much easier. He was glad he’d texted Bulldog Face. There would be no questions asked on his return. It would be just like his leave of absence. His boss had simply looked at him uncomfortably when he’d told him he needed time off due to personal circumstances. The fool hadn’t asked one question, not even when he told him about his ailing mother, and he would be exactly the same about his sudden sick leave.
The more he thought about it, the happier he was that Kate was looking after things. It was strange the way certain things turned out. It was her role to put together a profile of the killer, which in this case meant she was studying him as closely as he was studying her. There was a delicious mutuality in their situation that pleased him.
As he walked to the garage in Terenure, he wondered what she would think if she knew just how clever Mr Invisible had been. A trip to her mother was precisely the next course of action. Also, older people do so love their visitors. Indeed, the more he considered the task in hand, the more he was determined to relish every moment of it.
≈
He arrived at Sweetmount at 4.15 p.m. with a box of chocolates under his arm and a large bunch of white lilies, which had been his own mother’s favourite. If he were the kind of man who whistled, he would have done so, but he decided a dignified entrance was best on this occasion. He turned the handle gently on the front door, unsure if it would grant him access, but to his delight it was open, so he walked straight into the hallway.
The home looked exactly as he had expected it to look. There were mismatched chairs with old women sitting in small scatterings around the room. Most of them looked up and smiled at him the way they would smile at any other visitor. He waited with his chocolates and flowers, knowing someone in authority would soon arrive. He wasn’t disappointed.
‘Hello,’ said a woman with a voice sounding like she’d overdosed on an extra portion of cheeriness.
‘Oh hello,’ he replied as cheerily as the greeting he’d received.
‘Mr …’
‘William, please.’
The woman with the excess of cheer put her hand out to shake his.
‘William, it’s very nice to meet you.’
‘And you, I assume, must be Joan?’
‘Well yes.’
‘Kate has told me so much about you, and all the other girls. These are for them.’
Relieved to get rid of the chocolates, he offered them to the well-endowed chest of Joan Keegan, knowing full well she was delighted at being referred to as a girl.
‘Why thank you, William, they’ll be delighted.’
‘Kate has nothing but praise for you, and indeed Niamh, Ali and Caitriona. We are all most grateful.’
‘She’s very kind. Are you related to Kate, William?’
‘I’m an old family friend. My apologies, Joan, I know so much about you, I forget that you know so little about me.’
‘So you’re here to visit Gabriel?’
‘Yes, if that’s okay. I wanted to surprise her, you see, and again, I apologise, I probably should have given some notice.’
‘Well it’s outside normal visiting times, but we’re easy about these things here. We want our ladies to feel they are in a “home away from home”.’
‘I’m sure they do. Kate couldn’t speak more highly of the place.’
‘Again, she’s most generous. William, has it been long since you’ve seen Gabriel?’
‘Yes, a couple of years. I was away working, you see, just back in Ireland a little over a month.’
‘You picked a bad time to come back here. The place is in an awful mess.’
‘Yes, I know, dreadful altogether.’
‘You know about Gabriel’s condition then?’
‘You mean about her being a little forgetful?’
‘Well, I’m afraid it’s more than being a little forgetful. I’m sure Kate has told you that Gabriel is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s. It’s a very disabling disease and such a tragedy for a woman as young as Gabriel.’
‘Indeed, it’s extremely tragic. My own mother suffered from it, you know. I minded her myself in her later years.’
Joan smiled delightedly at this shining example of a good son. ‘Then Gabriel will be in safe hands. I’ll leave these in the kitchen for the girls and get her for you. Unfortunately, we need to keep Gabriel in the more restricted area of the nursing home because of her condition, I’m sure you understand. She’s in great form today, what with the bit of sunshine outside, she loves a little bit of sunshine. I’m sure she’ll be absolutely delighted to see you.’
‘Thank you, Joan. I’ll wait here, shall I?’