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 is Beth Cullen. You know, that girl who was murdered in the forest twenty-five years ago.’
‘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 fête 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 angel kiss, as Gran called it.
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.
‘Sure, I picked him up from it. He had been there all night. He just didn’t want to use it as an alibi. Why?’ she asked, perhaps regretting that she’d said so much.
‘Oh, nothing… I was just wondering. Enjoy the rest of your party!’
‘Oh, I will,’ said Mary as she turned back to the mirror.
I went into the cubicle and closed the door behind me. If Michael Reynolds’s alibi was genuine and he didn’t kill Beth Cullen, then who the hell did? Had Lydia and Des lied to me? Were they two of the best actors in the world?
‘Hi, Mary!’ said a familiar voice on the other side of the door.
‘Hi, Rachel,’ said Mary. ‘How’s the house going?’
‘Great! The landscapers are coming in tomorrow. I will be glad to get that hedge cut down.’
I didn’t realize Mum was having the hedge taken down. The leather bag was hidden in it! I needed to get it out of there before the morning. I’d have to hide it somewhere else. I slipped on my black pumps and decided to try to run back to the caravan before anyone noticed I was gone.
There was nobody else in sight as I turned off the main street and up our lane. I ran behind the caravan, rooted in the hedge and pulled out the bag. Then I unlocked the caravan door and stepped inside. There was a cold, unlived-in chill in the air. I dropped to my knees and rummaged under the bed. I pulled out Alf Meehan’s letter, stuffed it in the bag and then looked through its contents again. A stick of lipstick, a packet of violin strings, a hat and a wallet. I opened the wallet, and searched through it again, but there was nothing in it.