when I pull up. He waves at me like we’re best friends now. That’s one thing I like about this place. Once you meet someone, they never forget you. There’s always a hello or a wave the next time you see them.
That doesn’t happen in the city. There were times I spent a whole night with people and the next day they ignored me. Just like that, no explanation. It was like I’d spent a night on some alternative planet and woke up the next day on earth.
‘You off now?’ Arthur says, punching the code into the keyboard to release the barrier. I roll down my window to hear him better.
‘Oops,’ he says, when the barrier won’t release. ‘I’ll give it another go, there seems to be a problem with it.’
‘It must be as bad as the alarm,’ I laugh, trying to make light of the situation.
‘The alarm?’ he says, punching the code in again.
‘Yes. Isn’t there a problem with the alarm?’
Arthur stands back and looks at the keypad.
‘Never had a problem with the alarm,’ he says, focused on the keypad.
Suddenly I’m on high alert again.
‘Does it not go off in the middle of the night? I thought I heard one of the girls say it did once or twice.’
‘Don’t know what they’re talking about. Maybe their home alarm goes off or something. Not this one.’
Arthur lifts his hand and grips his chin, staring at the keypad like he is doing a crossword.
‘So the factory alarm never went off in the middle of the night?’
‘Not in my time here. I’d know, I’m in charge of it. It never gave me any hassle, not like this load of shite.’
He lifts his foot and kicks the metal stand below the keypad, then turns to walk away.
‘Hang on, Laura. Sorry about this, love, I’ll have to release it from the operations desk.’
Arthur disappears into the small security shed. I’m barely able to move. When the barrier eventually lifts I drive through like a robot. This is unbelievable. Conor has been lying to me. Oh my God. What will I do? Where was he going all those nights he left the bed supposedly to fix the alarm? What was he hiding? Could he have been meeting Vicky Murphy?
It’s becoming hard to breathe. Pulling the car over to the side of the road, I step out into the air. I lean over the door and take deep breath after deep breath. Shay is still sleeping. He doesn’t know I just found out his daddy is a liar. A big liar.
Why would he say he was going to fix an alarm that wasn’t broken? What was he hiding? Did he kill Vicky Murphy? The card carves it’s message on my mind. Your husband is a murderer. Oh sweet Jesus, what will I do? I can’t go back to that house. I should have known this was all too good to be true. That just like me, this world I’ve infiltrated is also fake.
Chapter Fifty-Four
There’s only one place I can go. Dublin. I’m going to Amanda’s. I’ve tried to ring her three times but the phone keeps going to voicemail. She must be facilitating one of those stupid motivational sessions. Pick up, Amanda. Pick up. I toss the phone in through the window of the car and wipe my tears from my face.
Shay lies asleep, unaware his life has just changed dramatically. His little hands are holding one another and there’s a smile on his sleeping face.
I get back into the car and drive. I get as far as the bridge, the big fucking Call bridge, when I realise I have no supplies for Shay. I’ll have to go back. My heart is drilling a hole in my chest. I swerve around and speed towards the house. If Conor’s car is there I don’t know what I’ll do. I cannot go in. I can’t face him yet. I need to speak to Amanda.
With my head almost hitting the window, I lean forward to see if Conor’s car is in the driveway. It’s not. One blessing at least.
I park the car, leaving the car door open and hurry into the house. I grab nappies, clothes, bottles, formula, creams and push it all into one of the baby bags we were given as a christening present. Only yesterday. Jesus is this happening?
Rushing up to my bedroom, I open the drawer of my bedside locker and grab my credit cards and phone charger. Then I run down the stairs out