Murder in Ballyhasset (15 page)

Libby brought Buddy for a trip to the State Forest in Glengariff. It was her favourite forest because of its acres of mature oak trees. Leaving work early, she drove out beyond Bantry, through Ballylickey, on Wednesday afternoon. The great thing about summer, she reflected, was the hours you have before it gets dark. The sky was grey, but at least it was dry. She had dressed in a tracksuit and hiking boots. Buddy, with his boundless energy, adored the place.

She parked her old navy Triumph near an area with wooden tables. Buddy jumped out as soon as she opened the door. A couple and two small children were having a picnic at one of the tables. Their dog, a Labrador, greeted Buddy.

Libby walked along the path, which led into the main forest. The whole area was full of every type of tree a person could wish for, tall pine trees, wide dark yew trees, and giant horse chestnuts. Their branches were all high up. The lower sections of their silvery trunks were bare. The lower area of ground was covered with holly and laurel bushes. On the ground were ferns, dock leaves and wild grasses.

There was a lot of mud everywhere, Libby was glad to have worn her thick boots. She was careful to avoid the deeper patches of mud in the centre of the path to avoid skidding and falling. The clouds grew darker and a soft rain fell. Buddy headed straight for the muddy patches, coming out with his white legs half-covered in brown dirt.

She headed towards a lake, an area that had three old willow trees. These trees hung over the large lake as if they were ready to fall in. Libby walked along the concrete track until it became a dirt track. Buddy ran ahead, but never strayed too far. He was still only five months old and a little unsure. She sat down on a wooden bench and gazed at the pond. A few swans were swimming up and down, joined by a few ducks.

Libby thought about what she had learnt the previous day, about Kathleen Lynch and her fatal mistake. Fiona's husband must have been very angry with Kathleen, maybe he was the one who killed her. Who was he? she wondered.

She heard footsteps behind her. Someone was following her, she realised. She increased pace, he copied her. She ran, and Buddy ran close to her. For once, she was glad of Buddy's endless energy. Libby knew she was fit, she was glad of the hours she had spent walking Buddy on the beach. She wondered how long she could keep up this running, without getting tired. The mud made it harder, as she worried about slipping and the ground felt spongy.

Glancing behind her, she saw the man wore a red top and was tall and slim, with wide shoulders. She wondered if he was Brendan Sullivan. However, he was too far back for her to be sure. Looked back again as he came closer, she realised it was indeed Brendan.

Libby knew then he had murdered Kathleen Lynch. It all suddenly made sense. Brendan was a widower; his wife must have died in labour. I'm such a fool, she thought, not calling the police before this. I should have told them about my suspicions that he was the one who tried to kill Shane.

Brendan was catching up on her. 'Stop, I want to talk to you.'

She turned around and shouted at him, 'I know you killed Doctor Lynch.' She increased her pace, and Buddy ran beside her.

'I can explain,' he cried. 'Slow down. Wait a minute.'

'Go away,' she gasped. 'I don't want to talk to you. You're frightening me.'

 He roared at her, 'Stop bitch.' Brendan had lost his patience, she knew. He sounded livid.

She felt scared now. She tried to run faster, her heart thumped in her chest. Why did I come here alone? Why didn't I take Dawn with me? She could hear him gaining ground on her. He was muttering something nasty.

Then he shouted, 'I've got a gun. I'll use it if you don't stop.' She ran faster, waiting for him to use the gun, waiting for the firing sounds. Her heart pounded. She refused to think of anything, just concentrated on running faster and getting away. She ran off the path, into the thickness of dense evergreen trees and undergrowth.

Libby heard no sound of a gun being discharged, so she knew he was bluffing. She didn't dare look backwards again. Brendan is a murderer, her brain told her. He's killed two women and I'm going to die here, unless I can hold him off. She grabbed a can of Mace spray from her pocket and held it tightly in her right hand. She tripped over a stone in the centre of the dirt track and he stumbled.

He caught the back of her hood and pulled her back towards him. He put his arm around her neck. Her right arm was free, and holding the can. Buddy had at last realised what was happening, she saw. He growled at the man and pulled at his trousers. Brendan turned around to kick the dog.

In the meantime, Libby broke free. She whipped around fast, pressed the can's nozzle and sprayed her attacker straight in the eyes. Brendan yelped with pain and stumbled. He wiped his eyes frantically. She ran back on the straight track, by the way she had come. Her dog ran after her.

She came to a junction of similar paths, one to the left and one to the right. She tried to remember the route. Both paths appeared similar and there were no signposts. Buddy chose the left path and ran a short distance ahead of her. Oh no, I was never good at directions, she thought. Buddy knows the way far better than I do. She decided to follow Buddy's lead. There was silence behind her, which she was relieved about, but she knew Brendan must be still there, not far behind her.

After five minutes of fast walking, she passed a group of four trees that stood side by side close together, on her left. One of them was a small sapling, and one was a dead fir tree. She remembered seeing them before, on her way into the forest. This meant she was on the way out of the forest. Great, she thought, I'm nearly there. Next, she saw a signpost pointing to the car park.

Libby followed Buddy's route to the left. Now she could hear Brendan behind her, cursing. He was a good bit behind her, she knew, judging from the sound of his pounding feet, and laboured breathing. He was more breathless than she was, she realised with relief. She saw the car park and the picnic benches ahead. 'Thank heavens,' she said aloud, letting out a deep breath. She felt ecstatic. She knew she would reach her car and get away safely from the lunatic.

She saw her old navy Triumph in the car park. She raced to the car, fetching out her car key from her trouser pocket. She unlocked the driver's door, then went around, and unlocked the passenger door for Buddy. She opened the door, and the dog hopped in. The dog sat up on the seat, staring at her with confused eyes, still wagging his tail. He seemed nervous. He probably just thinks it's a game, she thought. She closed the passenger door. There was still no sign of Brendan, she noticed, with relief.

 She jumped into the driver's seat, and closed the door. Starting the car, she fired up the engine and reversed quickly out of the car park. She caught a glimpse of Brendan while he stood at the picnic benches, wiping his eyes and scowling at her car. The Mace spray had done the trick, she knew. Feeling safe at last, she knew she could get home before he did.

***

Libby felt very shaky after her ordeal. Her arms trembled as she found an old bottle of brandy and poured herself a drink, adding some water. She took a gulp, and winced at the taste of the strong burning liquid as it passed her throat. She threw out the remainder of the glass and made a cup of hot cocoa. She thought about the day's strange event and wondered then what Brendan would have done to her had she not escaped his clutches.

 She thought about the other two women who had not been as lucky. Brendan, the maniac, had caught them unawares, she reflected. Pamela was drugged, and Kathleen had been asleep. In addition, I had a weapon, even though it was only a spray. It did the trick. So luckily for me, I live to face another day. I should be celebrating, she thought.

Still before that, we have to catch that maniac Brendan before he strikes again. He's mad and dangerous, and he should be locked up.

 After a few minutes, she rang Raman at the hospital. She waited until the nurse managed to find him. After a short while he came to the phone. 'Brendan Sullivan chased me in the woods in Glengariff,' Libby said, in a rushed voice. 'I managed to fend him off. I was afraid he'd kill me.'

Raman gasped. 'Why would Brendan want to kill you?'

'I know what he's done,' said Libby flatly. 'He's a murderer. He tried to kill Shane for a start.'

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds, as Raman digested this news. 'So Brendan was the one I saw attacking Shane,' he cried. 'Of course it was him. How stupid am I?'

Libby said, 'I thought about it, and I guessed it was either him, Pat Sharpe or Mick Doody. The three of them are tall slim men.'

'I feel so stupid now,' Raman repeated, 'I should have recognised him.'

'It was too dark to see. Don't worry about it. You found Shane in time, thank heavens.'

Raman told Libby that he would collect her shortly and put down the phone. He called to her house in his car and drove her to Ballyhasset Garda Station. He told the duty officer, Sergeant Sean Maguire, Brendan was the one who viciously attacked Shane in the car park. Then Libby told about her own experience, where Brendan chased her in the Glengariff forest.

A short while later, two uniformed officers arrived at Brendan Sullivan's house. Brendan refused to answer the front door. Sergeant Maguire kicked in the door. He rushed into the hall, and looked into the sitting room. There was no sign of anyone.

Then the pair of officers entered the kitchen. They found Brendan standing at the cooker, facing them, armed with a bread knife held high in his right hand. Pointing it at the officers, he waved it up and down. His face was red, and his eyes held a wild expression.

He roared at them, 'Don't come closer, or I'll use it.' The second officer approached Brendan with his baton. He lunged at Brendan at the same time as the sergeant grabbed Brendan's right arm.

The knife flew out of Brendan's hand onto the floor. The second officer threw his baton down and gave Brendan a hard blow to the stomach with his fist. Brendan nearly toppled over. He cried out in pain. The two officers held Brendan until they got handcuffs on him.

They arrested Brendan for his attempted murder of Shane and his assault on Libby. The sergeant read Brendan his rights. The two officers brought Brendan into the squad car. When they arrived at the station, they placed Brendan into a police cell.

The next day, a Thursday, Libby called into Ballyhasset Garda Station. Brendan agreed to see her, so they met in an interview room at the station. This was a small room with a desk and four chairs, where the jail inmates normally met their solicitors.

She sat down on a plastic chair and faced him across the bare wooden table. Beside her lay her handbag with a concealed tape recorder. The room was stuffy and dark. A uniformed Garda stood at the door.

She thought of the time she had gone swimming with Brendan. Why didn't I suspect him then? she wondered. Just because he was attractive and friendly, I was taken in. When his sister was afraid of him that should have set off some alarm bells in my head. I just didn't suspect him of being capable of murder. And Pamela had even told me at the party shortly before she died that she was afraid of someone. The signs were all there. What a fool I was not to spot them, she thought.

Brendan scowled at her. 'What's this about? I'm busy.'

Doing what? Libby wondered. 'Your wife Fiona died during labour, I know.'

'It was a nightmare.' Brendan stared at the floor.

'Tell me about her death. I know Doctor Lynch did an operation on your wife.'

'That cow refused to come in at the start of Fiona's labour contractions. For her first few hours of labour, Fiona screamed with the pain.' Brendan flinched as he spoke. 'I begged the nurse to give Fiona painkillers, but she insisted on waiting till the doctor arrived.'

Libby nodded. 'Dr Lynch was late, I heard.'

Brendan's voice was low. 'We waited five hours and finally, the bitch arrived.'

'I know Dr Lynch operated on Fiona and tried to save her,' said Libby.

Brendan clenched his jaw. 'She operated too late, the stupid cow.'

'So you lost your babies,' Libby said quietly.

'Our twin babies were born dead and my wife died too, a few hours later.' Brendan stood up and paced around the room. 'Fiona gave birth to two little boys. I had to witness their little tiny white coffins going into the grave.'

'That's terrible,' said Libby. Most men would feel like killing the person responsible if they were in his shoes, she thought. However, thinking something and actually doing it are poles apart.

'A day later I buried Fiona, alongside them in Ballyhasset cemetery.' He started to cry silently, big tears dropping down.

Libby's voice grew cold. 'When did you make up your mind to kill Dr Lynch?'

Brendan took a deep breath. 'By chance, I recognised her shopping locally, in Supervalu in Ballyhasset. Then I found out she'd moved to St Gabriel's to work. The fact that Pamela worked with her was very handy. It was like fate telling me I had to get justice for my wife.'

Libby noticed his eyes were shining. He's demented, she thought. 'So through Pamela you found out about Kathleen's movements.'

He nodded. 'I found out which ward Kathleen Lynch worked on. I looked up the duty rosters. From this I found out the nights the bitch was on duty.'

'How did you get her room key?' she asked sharply.

'I stole a bunch of keys from the maid's trolley one morning while she was cleaning out the rooms.'

Libby asked Brendan to say how he had killed Dr Lynch. Brendan explained in graphic detail how he used the pillow to smother her.

Libby had taped Brendan's confession and played back the tape for Sergeant Sean Maguire. Later on, that same day, Detective Inspector Flood and Sergeant Maguire questioned Brendan at length about Dr Lynch's murder. Brendan had his solicitor with him at the time, an experienced man of around forty.

At first, Brendan denied the charge. Then the police spent a few hours questioning him. Sergeant Maguire did not admit to anyone about having Libby's tape. However, he had played it twice to himself, and he remembered all that Brendan had said.

When Brendan started telling lies, the sergeant was able to trip him up a few times. Sergeant Maguire kept asking him about his wife's death. At first, Brendan denied that Kathleen had been his wife's obstetrician. The sergeant goaded him about the fact that Dr Lynch had caused his wife's death.

Eventually, Brendan lost his temper and said that he knew Dr Lynch. She deserved to die, he told them, and he finally admitted to killing her. Brendan made a written statement, and the inspector charged him with Kathleen's murder.

***

The following day Libby and Dawn visited the police station again. Brendan agreed to see them. They spoke to him in the same small interview room Libby had used the previous day.

'Tell us why you killed Pamela,' Libby began. Dawn sat in silence beside her, watching Brendan with wary eyes.

Brendan answered, 'Pamela knew Dr Lynch was Fiona's obstetrician. Pamela knew how Fiona had died. She knew I had a motive. She guessed correctly I had killed Kathleen.'

Libby nodded, knowing that Pamela had been to see Kathleen's previous boss to confirm her suspicions. 'So Pamela tackled you,' said Libby in a sad voice, her shoulders slumping. Poor foolish girl, she thought.

'Pamela told me to confess. She said she had to tell the police about my wife and her own suspicions about me.' He sighed deeply. 'I didn't want to kill her, but she gave me no choice.' He refused to meet Libby's eyes.

'How did you manage to drug poor Pamela?' Libby asked, in a quiet voice.

'I brought over a bottle of wine to her house. We drank a glass each. I managed to slip Rohypnol into her glass when she went out of the room.'

Libby gazed at him, her eyebrows furrowed. 'That would have knocked Pamela out straight away, surely.'

'No, I put in just enough to ensure she was only groggy. I suggested a walk on the beach, and she agreed.' Brendan clenched his jaw.

'Did you knock her out, when you got her onto the beach?' Libby asked.

He shook his head. 'I hit her just enough to stun her. On the beach, near the water's edge. I told Pamela I saw something in the water and she bent down to look. Then, I hit her on the back of the head.'

'With what?'

'With a sock full of two big batteries,' Brendan said flatly.

Dawn jerked her head in surprise. 'What?' she said.

This horrible tale gets worse and worse, thought Libby. She waited for Brendan to continue.

'I dragged her body into the sea. She was nearly unconscious.' Brendan stopped. His face was sweating, Libby noticed. His eyes were dilated. 'I had a hell of a job doing that. For a small woman, Pamela was a ton weight. I held her face down in the water until she drowned. She coughed a bit, but it was all over in a matter of seconds. She didn't feel a thing.' He avoided Libby's angry gaze. 'She didn't suffer.'

Libby said, 'You wrote that horrible suicide note.'

He nodded. 'I had to make it look like Pamela took her own life.'

'You knew she was pregnant.'

Brendan gave a little smile. 'That was a stroke of luck. Pamela told me about her pregnancy the night of the party. It gave her another reason to be depressed, to make it more likely she'd want to die.'

Libby said coldly, 'And you knew Conor didn't want the baby.'

Brendan nodded. 'Pamela told me that on the night I killed her.'

Dawn had been listening to all this as she sat beside Libby in silence.

Libby could feel her colleague's anger rising.

Dawn roared at Brendan, 'Why did you want Shane to die, what did he do wrong?'

Brendan's face grew red, and he clenched his fists. Libby thought he would burst with all the rage contained in his angry, twisted head. 'Shane is a slimeball. He gave innocent people like Conor cocaine.' Brendan stopped for a breath. 'And he took pictures of people having sex with his own girlfriend and tried to blackmail them. Shane's a low-life cockroach. Nobody would have missed him if he died.'

Dawn said coldly, 'His girlfriend, Gina, would miss him. Not to mention his brother and parents, and the hospital staff he works with.'

'One more thing,' said Libby.

'Yes?' Brendan looked up at her again. His face held a blank expression.

'What would you have done to me in the forest, if you had caught me?' Libby asked.

'I just wanted to talk. To explain why I killed those women. I would never have harmed you.'

'I don't believe you,' Libby said. 'You thought if you killed me, you would be safe.'

Dawn said to him, after a few moments, 'You killed Eileen Murphy, didn't you?'

'Who?' Brendan seemed confused.

'The woman in charge of the nursing home where your mother died.'

'Oh her. Yeah, I had some dealings with her. That was a long time ago.'

'Last year, in fact. Your mother died and one week later Mrs Murphy was poisoned.'

'That wicked old woman never looked after the patients. She ran around in a red sports car. She overcharged all the patients. She never even gave them decent food.'

'Did you blame her for your mother's death?' Dawn asked.

Brendan scowled. 'Yes, of course I did. My mother fell out of the bed. Someone was negligent and that Murphy woman was in charge, so the blame falls on her.'

'Your mother had dementia,' said Dawn. 'Your sister said she was always restless at night.'

'Mrs Murphy should have had more nurses on duty,' the killer said in a low voice.

Dawn's face grew red. 'So you poisoned her?'

Brendan's voice was devoid of emotion as he nodded. 'She had to be punished. I put a tiny amount of cyanide in her tea and it did the trick.'

Libby jerked when she heard this. Brendan had killed yet another woman, and that was even before his wife had died. Up till then she felt a small amount of sympathy for him, but now, she realised he was just plain evil. She wondered if witnessing the brutal behaviour of his father to his mother was the root cause of his evil behaviour towards women.

Dawn asked him some more questions, but Libby had heard enough. She left the room. She felt exhausted as she walked out of the station. She stood in the fresh air and breathed deeply. She felt extremely relieved to be away from Brendan's evil presence. Thank heavens he has been locked up, at last. At least now he can't kill anyone else, she thought.