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I slow down and slip into a parking space.
“What do we do now? We can’t just go knockin’ on her front door.”
Cian is right, but I’m not going to sit here either. I need a decoy…and I see one in the form of a young lady walking a fluffy dog with a pink diamond collar.
Before Cian can tell me what a bad idea this is, I open the door and step onto the footpath. The young lady has her headphones on, so she yelps in shock when she almost bumps into me.
“I’m so sorry,” she says, removing the headphones. “I didn’t see ya there.”
“Oh, no bother,” I say with a smile. “I love yer dog. What’s its name?”
She brushes a blonde strand of hair behind her ear. “This is Coco.”
Coco growls the moment I crouch low to get a better look at her. She must sense my ulterior motive.
“I was wonderin’ if you and Coco would help me out?” I ask, coming to a stand.
The young lady arches a brow.
“I’ve not spoken to my friend in a qaure long time. She lives just up the street there. We didn’t part on good terms, and I’m awful sorry for that. I think she still lives there, but I can’t be too sure. Do ya think ya could just knock on her door and ask for a drink for yer wee Coco?”
She tongues her cheek, clearly weighing up what to do.
“Please,” I add, digging into my pocket for my wallet and offering two hundred quid. “Ya can buy Coco a new sparkly collar.”
She eyes the money before accepting it. “All right. I can do that. What’s her address?”
“Thank you. And thank you, Coco.” I can’t believe this worked.
The young lady changes direction and walks to the address I give her as I keep to the shadows and follow her. When I’m close enough to the house, I take cover behind a tree and watch the young lady and Coco walk up the front steps and knock on the door.
If Sean has eyes on the house, no one will think twice about a stranger knocking on the door and asking for a drink of water for her dog. I’ve done this as I hope to catch a glimpse of whoever opens that door. I can’t act until I know what I’m up against.
When the young lady knocks on the door, and it opens, I’m transported back in time.
“There’s somethin’ different about ya.”
The ghosts of my past are here, in the flesh, threatening to drag me to hell with them.
I didn’t know what to expect, but seeing Aoife is the last thing Ieverexpected. I am completely dumbfounded. Aoife was the nurse who helped tend to the many wounds I sustained when in Riverbend House. She was also one of the only people who showed me true kindness in a place which thrived on pain.
I watch as Aoife offers the young lady a bowl of water, still not believing my eyes. The last time I saw her was in prison. One day she was there, and the next, she simply wasn’t. I never asked about her because I always thought she was too good for that vile place.
I was happy she got out. But now I wonder what exactly drove her to leave? Does it have something to do with the child Ethan saw her with?
The young lady and Coco leave, their job done, but Aoife doesn’t close the door. She stands in the doorway, peering into the darkness. I shift farther behind the tree, suddenly paranoid she knows I’m here, watching her.
A moment later, she closes the door.
My legs feel like jelly because I am shook. Why is Aoife messed up with Sean? I need to speak with her, but I can’t do that right now.
So, even though every muscle in my body is demanding I stay, I turn and jog toward Cian’s car. The moment I get in, he turns to look at me, instantly recognizing the look on my face.
“Fuck,” he curses, shaking his head and pulling onto the road as he knows I’m in no state to drive. “Ya feelin’ all right?”
Peering out the window, I numbly reply, “No, I’m not.”
“Who was it?” Ethan asks. “Did ye recognize her?”
