Heart Stopper (9 page)

“Catherine always lights a fire, even in the summer. I think she's just addicted to the smell of burning turf.”

The track wandered into the forest and the relative darkness under the trees made Priya shiver.

She whispered, “Does Catherine not mind living here on her own? Especially in the winter?”

“When you see the house you'll understand. There’s a wonderful view and there’s such a sense of peace. She has that ability to create spaces like that wherever she goes, but the last few years she’s been the happiest I’ve seen her, until now obviously.”

The sunlight streaked through the canopy of trees as they approached the house. It sat in a clearing, the denseness of forest behind it and surrounding it on three sides. Priya glanced over her shoulder and saw the fjord spread out in a vista of blues, the mountains on the other side solid and green.

“I see what you mean. That view is spectacular!” Priya said as she turned back to look at the house.

It was an old two-storey cottage, its painted facade was old stone, its windows had obviously been updated, but the newer looking double-glazed units with red frames looked a perfect fit. The flowers in the yellow window boxes were shades of purple and red and blue. The roof had also been re-done and the work had been carried out with skill, the cottage settled comfortably in its setting. There was a stone barn to the side of the house and the shell of another building further back. A board with a white sheet pinned on it leant against the jagged stone shell.

“She really has done a lovely job of the house.” Priya said.

“Yes, she did it with the help of some very skilled local tradesmen, over the last 5 years. It certainly wasn’t like this when we used to stay here.”

The cream-colored stones crunched under the wheels as Reyna drove the car up to the red front door.

The door opened and Catherine came out to greet them. She looked relaxed in faded blue jeans and a pale purple top, her silver hair falling loose to her shoulders.

“Welcome to our little corner of Connemara, Priya.” Catherine’s smile was as warm, her eyes clear and blue and the sunlight shaded the deep creases in her face. She seemed more grounded than she had appeared on the day of the funeral.

“Thank you for inviting me. You have a gorgeous place here.” Priya took the overnight bag out and stood beside the car.

“Come in, come in. Dinner will be ten minutes. Reyna, will you show Priya to the guest room and I’ll just set the table on the patio.” Catherine ushered them in through the door.

The house felt draughty, the flag stone floor of the small foyer leading to a large hallway. There was a smell of turf as they stepped into the hallway. There were doors off each side of the hallway and a thick oak staircase rising into the darkness of the first floor. Catherine gestured down the hall and then hurried off through one of the doors.

Reyna led Priya down the hallway. The heat leaked out and hovered around the open door through which Catherine had disappeared. Reyna opened the second door down the hallway and they entered a room with a double bed covered in a knobbly white bedspread. A chair and a large dark wood wardrobe were the only other pieces of furniture in the room that was warm, heated by a wall-hung radiator that was one of the few signs of the modernization of the house.

“Sorry about the lack of luxury, Catherine hasn’t gotten to all the rooms yet.”

“It’s lovely and toasty.” Priya dropped her bag on the bed.

“Yes, Catherine made sure every room had good heating. That was one of the first things she saw to. I’ll leave you to freshen up. There’s the bathroom.” Reyna pointed down the hall as she left. “Come through to the living room when you’re ready.”

Priya took her few bits out of the bag and placed them on the chair. The room felt like something out of the early part of the last century. It reminded her of the set that was on display at Maam’s Cross, a little cottage with life-sized mannequins of John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in ‘The Quiet Man’. She took a towel and her toiletries down to the bathroom and washed her face. Even through the thick stone wall she could hear voices in conversation, two voices similar in tone. She heard Reyna’s laugh, and again the sound vibrated through her.

∞

Tendrils of smoke floated in the light streaming through the window of the living room. There was turf burning in the open fireplace and stacked around the chimneybreast. The flagstone floor was covered in rugs and two couches were set around the fire, with throws draped over them. Through the open door, Priya could see another room with a dining table and an archway leading to what sounded like the kitchen. A large custom-built bookshelf full of books completely hid one wall of the living room.

“I think Catherine has read more books than anyone I know, she reads everything she can get her hands on, she’ll even read instructions manuals if you let her,” Reyna said from the door. “Can I get you a drink, a glass of wine perhaps?”

Priya shook her head. “Maybe with dinner. Something smells really good.” She realized how hungry she was, she’d skipped lunch to work on the figures and her stomach was making rumbling noises.

“Come on in, dinner is served,” Catherine yelled from the kitchen.

They ate out on the patio that had been built on to the back and side of the house in such a way that it was sheltered in parts, but on a good day it could be used for eating in the company of the stunning view. The large earthenware plates were full with rice and vegetables, and a variety of salads were placed out in bowls. Priya devoured what was on her plate and was surprised at how tasty the meal was.

“I hope you don’t mind that it is vegetarian,” Catherine said. “I don’t think you are?”

“I’m not, but I don’t mind at all, it is delicious!” Priya said, “I keep meaning to go vegetarian and every now and then I try cutting down, but I guess I’d have to go cold turkey.” She realized what she’d said when Catherine and Reyna burst out laughing. She laughed as well. “Sorry, didn’t mean that literally. I’d say I could happily be a vegetarian if I got this kind of food served to me every day.”

∞

They cleared their plates and sat back.

“I’ll wash up, you guys can chat.” Reyna started collecting the dishes.

“Are you sure you don’t want a hand?” Priya didn’t want the conversation that was coming despite having been aware throughout the evening that Catherine had issued the invitation for a reason.

Reyna waved away her offer of help and carried the plates into the kitchen.

“Perhaps a glass of wine?” Catherine asked.

“No, I think I’m going to need a clear head for this.”

Catherine smiled. “I actually did invite you out because I wanted to see you again and I knew you’d enjoy this place. But I also want to finish the conversation we started. Have you had a chance to think about what I said?”

Priya bowed her head. She said, “Reyna obviously hasn’t filled you in on what happened that night has she?”

“She hasn’t said anything, but I know something must have happened between you two.”

Priya jerked her head up. Catherine smiled. “I know you were both at the pub at the same time. My dear, there is enough electricity between you two to take care of my ESB bills for a year.”

Reyna chose that moment to walk back out to the patio wiping her hands with a dishcloth. She halted as she heard Catherine’s words and Priya felt the heat in her face reflected in Reyna’s face.

“So, which one of you is going to tell me about it?” Catherine asked.

“It would probably be better if Reyna filled you in on the first part as she remembers what happened in Massimo.” Priya felt herself blushing harder as Catherine raised an eyebrow. Reyna was leaving her to explain to Catherine that she was the woman who had been in the apartment with Daniel. Some kind of twisted punishment. Seemed rather sadistic towards her own mother though, not to relieve her mind. Unless she still thought that Priya had something to do with Daniel’s death.

Priya took in a deep breath.

“I was in the apartment that morning. Reyna dropped me off there.”

Catherine looked stunned. Reyna sat down and the patio chair creaked under the sudden weight. She had changed into a pair of stonewashed jeans and a white top with a pale blue sweater. Priya could not meet her eyes; she focused on the blue of the sweater.

Priya rushed on.

“I was in the guest room. I didn’t sleep with him.” She lowered her head. “I found him though.”

Priya gave Catherine and Reyna as much detail as she could about the morning, about finding Daniel, and about her feeling that something was off, about the faint smell. Their eyes widened when she told them about the voices she heard when she was in the stairwell.

Catherine was shaking her head slowly. “I got a strong sense that someone had been in bed with him.”

Priya was hesitant to tell them about her suspicions that someone had searched her house or that she had been followed. She didn’t think they’d get how particular she was about her books or how her mind mapped patterns. And the car could have been a coincidence, the noises outside could have been the imaginings of her heated mind.

She felt like an open book when Catherine said, “There’s more, isn’t there?”

Priya told them about her suspicions.

“Who were all the people with you that night?” Reyna asked.

“Tara, of course, she’s the other tech, that is, she carries out the regular checks on the pacemakers using the controller.” She saw the look of confusion in Catherine’s eyes. “When a pacemaker is installed at the clinic, the patient has to come in for regular checks for a while after that. Once a month for the first two months post-op and then every three months for the rest of the year after that and then it goes to six monthly, then annual visits. Tara and I use something we call a Controller to read data off the pacemaker and to communicate with it if necessary.”

Catherine nodded and Priya continued, “Let me see, Aidan was there, and Sheila, Lorna, Maeve, and Laura, they’re the nurses at the clinic. Lorna’s husband and Maeve’s boyfriend were there too. James doesn’t go out to these things; he lets Daniel do the socializing bit. And of course, Clodagh, she organizes all of these things, when it’s someone’s birthday or when we’re celebrating anything; she’s the one who lets everyone know and picks the place. I think Sean was there too, he’s the other doctor. So really, all of the clinic staff except James, and Sean really just showed his face and then left early. I remember meeting the others there, I was a little late and I drank a bit too much and a bit too fast. The rest of the night is a blur, actually to be honest; I don’t remember anything after the first hour.”
Except the memory of Reyna’s lips and her body beside mine
. Priya pushed that sudden and unwelcome thought out of her mind, but she had glanced at Reyna’s lips involuntarily and was mortified that Reyna caught the look.

Priya turned to Catherine trying to keep Reyna out of her line of vision. “Did Daniel say anything to you, anything at all, about tiredness, or chest pain or shortness of breath or any other physical symptoms?” she asked.

Catherine said, “No, in fact, he said at the last Sunday lunch I had with him, two weeks before he died...” She paused and cleared her throat. “He said he was feeling great physically.”

“Physically? Was there something else? And why ask me about the people who were there that night?”

Catherine looked at Reyna and said, “I think we should tell Priya.”

Priya felt a flash of annoyance when Reyna hesitated.

Priya said, “I know what you think of me, leaving Daniel like that. But I’ve been thinking since that he died of a heart attack and in a strange way, that fact had given me a little relief. It made me sure I didn’t have anything to do with his death. Since Catherine spoke to me in New York, I’ve been scared again. I had this underlying fear that I might have been involved in some way. But, you know what? I wasn’t in his bed and I didn’t do anything to him!”

Reyna leaned forward. “You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself. Because you really can’t be sure, can you?” The harshness had come back into her voice and face.

“No, I racked my brain. And my gut. Reyna, there are good reasons why I wouldn’t even have gone to Daniel’s in the first place, and I certainly wouldn’t have been in his bed, even with all that drink in me.”

Catherine said, “I believe you Priya. I wouldn’t have talked to you about it in New York if I felt you had anything to do with Daniel’s death. Do you want to tell us what happened last year with Daniel?” She reached across the table and took Priya’s hand. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I got the feeling from Daniel there was something he wasn’t proud of and it concerned you. But that’s all I know.”

“It’s complicated. And I don’t think it had anything to do with Daniel’s death. It happened last year on my birthday in October and the police got involved, but that never went anywhere and then my mom died and nothing mattered anymore. Daniel and I eventually found a way to live with it. He was very good to me when my mom died; he seemed to understand more than the others.”