Behind Every Cloud (59 page)

“
I
’
d like to speak to Rachel,
”
Carl said.

“
She told me to tell you that she doesn
’
t want to talk
to you. Please remove your things and go. You
’
ll be hearin
g from her solicitor.
”

He held his hand out for the zapper and Carl was too intimidated to refuse to give it to him.

As Rachel
’
s father turned and went back in the house, Carl started throwing his things into his car, tears coming to his eyes. He
’
d lost her. She
’
d never forgive him for this betrayal. He
’
d gone too far this time and he knew it. Sl
owly he drove out the gate for the last time, tears blindin
g him.

66

Rachel rang Ronan later that morning.

“
Rachel, I
’
ve been trying to contact you. How are you?
”
he asked
,
concern in his voice.

“
Surviving, just about! I suppose you
’
ve seen the photos?
”

“
Yes. It must be a nightmare for you!
”
He felt very guilty knowing that it was his wife who had taken them.

“
Oh, Ronan, I
’
m just devastated. I
’
m so hurt. I thought
Zita was my friend. I can
’
t believe they
’
ve done this to me
.”

“
I can only imagine how you
’
re feeling. I felt pretty much the same when Louise left me but at least she didn
’
t run off with my friend. Can I do anything for you?
”

“
Not at the moment but I do appreciate knowing you
’
re there. And, by the way, you
’
ll be glad to hear I haven
’
t turned to alcohol to drown my sorrows.
”
She gave a little laugh.

“
Well, I
’
m delighted to hear that. Remember what you told me . . . every cloud has a silver lining
.”

She laughed again.
“
I know but right now I feel like behind every cloud
there
’
s another one!
”

“
Well, at least you can still laugh. That
’
s something!
”

Ellie
had heard about the blog from Chloe and when she logged on that morning she was shocked to see the photo of Zita on there.
“
Oh no!
”
she cried, recoiling in horror
.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Sam asked
,
alarmed at the anguish in her voice. He came over to her desk.

“
Look!
”
she cried, her face white and her eyes wide like saucers. She turned the screen around to face him. The photo of Zita looked out at him.

“
Zita! It
’
s Zita
!”
she exclaimed
.

“
What
’
s Zita?
”
he asked
,
puzzled.

“
Zita is the mystery woman. Carl and Zita were havi
ng an affair.
”

“
You can
’
t be serious
–
not Zita!
”
The shock was eviden
t in his voice.

“
I
’
m afraid so. There
’
s a photo of them kissing too, look!
There
’
s no doubt about it, Zita and Carl were having an affair.
”

“
What a bitch! Pretending to be Rachel
’
s friend and getting invited to their house while all the time she was planning to screw her husband. She makes me sick!
”

Ellie had never seen Sam so angry.

“
Poor Rachel
,”
she said.
“
She must be devastated. Wha
t a bastard!
I never liked that Zita – didn
’
t trust her for some reason. Now it seems I was right.
”

“
Yeah. I often wondered why she came on the course in the first place. She wasn
’
t all that interested in wine,
”
Sam mused.
“
In fact, she
’
s the only one not interested in going on to the Higher Cert Course.
”

“
I rang Rachel yesterday and left a message but she hasn
’
t got back to me.
”

“
Anyway, I think you should call her again and offer our support
,”
Sam suggested.

“
Bang on. I
’
ll try her again now,
”
Ellie said, reaching for the phone.

When Rachel saw it was Ellie calling, she answered immediately
.
She was very grateful to her for ringing and thanked Sam who also assured her of his support. It was amazing how few of their old cronies had bothered to contact her. She guessed they were hedging their bets to see how Carl would survive.

“
Maybe you could come out and visit some evening,
”
Rachel suggested to Ellie, sounding very forlorn.
“
I don
’
t go out much in the evening. I
’
d love to see you, and Sam and Ronan too if they can make it. It would cheer me up no end.
”

“
Of course and I
’
m sure Sam and Ronan would love to be there too. Leave it to me. What night suits you?
”

“
Any night at all,
”
Rachel replied.
“
Tomorrow night?
”

“
Great. I
’
ll check with Ronan and see if he can make it.
”

“
Oh thank you, Ellie. You
’
re a star. I feel so alone. I really appreciate this.
”

“
You
’
re not alone, Rachel, and if you need anything, anything at all, you know where to call.
”

Rachel thanked her, tears in her eyes. They were the best friends she
’
d ever had.

David had a field-day with the Trouble in Paradise blog.

“
We
’
re all putting bets on who the lady in question might be,
”
he
’
d told Ellie before it had been revealed to be Zita
.

“
Don
’
t be so cruel,
”
she
’
d retorted.

“
It
’
s hilarious!
”
he said now.
“
Come on
,
Ellie, these people get what they deserve. And you thought they were your friends!
”
He hooted with laughter.

She slammed the phone down.

“
Insensitive moron
!”
she said aloud.

“
David?
”
asked Sylvia who had overheard the conversation
and stopped typing. Ellie nodded her head. Sylvia shook
hers sadly. How many times had she witnessed Ellie rowing with David in the few weeks since they
’
d been sharing an office? She
’
d lost count. God help them, sh
e thought.

67

Kathleen O
’
Sullivan was sitting at her computer in Malahide when she gasped aloud
. “
So that
’
s the floosie! Would you look at her!
”
she cried, peering intently at the computer screen.

Donal, who
was having his breakfast
,
laughed at his mother and her obsession with the internet
.
He was delighted that he
’
d thought to give her a computer for Christmas. He
’
d never imagined that she
’
d take to it so well. She said it had changed her life and he was happy about that. He found it hilarious that his mother, in her eighties, should be following a blog on the internet though he supposed she had a vested interest
,
seeing as how she knew the people involved
.

“
What floosie?
”
he
now asked
,
coming to peer over her shoulder.

A photo of Zita filled the screen. He stared at her. He knew this woman. Her face was etched in his brain. He felt the excitement rise in his chest. My God, was it possible? After all this time? He checked the name – Zita Williams – it meant nothing to him but he
’
d know that face anywhere. He and his colleagues back in Adelaide had spent fifteen years looking for this woman and now here, out of the blue, she
’
d landed in his lap
.

He looked at his watch. It was six o
’
clock in the evening back home now. Phil might still be in the office. He ran to the phone. His mother looked at him
,
thinking he
’
d taken leave of his senses.

“
Phil? Thank God I got you
!”
Donal said breathlessly.

“
Gudday, mate
!
How
’
s Ireland treatin
’
you? Are you missin
’
us so much that you had to call?
”

“
Phil,
”
Donal said excitedly
, “
can you do something for me? Can you fish out the file on the Lee Simmons case and email it to me?
”

“
The Lee Simmons case
?
From fifteen years ago?
”

Donal could hardly contain his excitement.
“
Yes. Phil, I think I
’
ve found her. I
’
ve found Dolores Wright
.”

“
Jesus, mate, are you serious?
”
Phil
’
s voice was equally excited now.

“
Yeah. Send that to me immediately, will you
?
We need to act quickly. We don
’
t want to lose her again
.”

“
Will do, mate. I sure hope you
’
re right. Good luck!
”
He hung up to do as his friend asked.

Donal waited impatiently for the email and when it arrived he whooped with joy when he saw that this Zita Williams was without doubt the woman they
’
d been searching for. She hadn
’
t changed her appearance all that much
,
which showed how confident she was that she
’
d escaped detection.

He emailed back to Phil to say that he was certain they had their lady. Then he asked him to notify the chief and set about getting a warrant for her extradition. They both knew the chief would be ecstatic. He hated having
unsolved crimes in his department. They
’
d have no trouble g
etting the warrant. Donal emailed Zita
’
s photo to the chief to assure him that they
’
d found their woman
.
Her demise was set in motion.