In Virginia Deep

Chest of Secrets

I gripped my knees as Michael's car ambled behind the police car to the station. I didn't know where the station was or maybe I did and I didn't know that I knew. Whichever, I was at a loss for directions. 

The radio was off so there was no respite in music. I glanced out of the window at the flat still surface of Lough Ramor. It felt wrong for it to look so calm, so tranquil when Ruari O'Donoghue had been shot dead so close to it. 

At regular intervals, I felt Michael staring, looking at me as much as Virginia traffic allowed. What was he thinking? A shiver went across my chest. I hope he didn't think I had anything to do with it. That was crazy of course he couldn't I was with him most of the time. I couldn't get the image of the b****y hole in Ruari's head out of my mind. Then came flashes of his children from pictures he had carried with him when we met.  I couldn't begin to imagine, how they would feel once they broke the news. Who would tell them? I gulped to stop the tears that were beginning to fill in my eyes. How could this have happened? I choked on a sob.

"Audrey?" I turned to see Michael looking at me. I wiped at my eyes, scrubbing at my cheap mascara and wishing for a tissue.

"It's nothing", I said sadly, "It's just...are we there yet?"

If Michael was smart enough to know whether we were near the police station or not was of no major concern to me right then, he didn't show it.

"We're nearly, there", he replied and went back to his driving. 

Sure enough in a couple of minutes, we had come back into the Main Street of Virginia, where the blaring lights halted in front of the Garda station. 

Michael parked and waited for the officers in the car to get out first. When they did he moved to open the door then stopped and turned to me. 

"It'll be alright", he said soothingly.

"Why are you doing this?", I asked, suddenly very skeptical and apprehensive about his intentions of helping me. 

"Doing what?"

"Going in here with me. I told you it's not like I'm made of money."

"Relax", he scoffed in a tone that didn't make me feel relaxed at all. I'm not sure anything could have given the circumstances but when I glanced into his grey eyes, I began to feel something like a semblance of calm. "It's not like I'm representing you in court or anything. I just want to make sure they don't ask you for anything you're uncomfortable with."

I wrinkled my nose. "Again, why?"

He sighed and I saw out of the corner of my eye that the two Gardai were coming out of the car towards us. 

"Let's just say", said Michael  before finally opening the door, "it's what Ruari would have wanted."

The Garda station was like any that I had seen in Dublin. A wooden bench, a shuttered window revealing the office. a rack of leaflets on crime prevention and safe driving and a wrought iron door leading to the cells and interrogation room. This wasn't my first time in one. The last time was long ago but the images of flashing lights; red, blue, white, repeat. The Garda giving me a cup of tea that I was too tense to drink. I don't even think I thanked them for it. Then came the questions, I was young so they weren't so many, but now that wouldn't be the case.

We went through the wrought iron door, down a narrow hallway that reminded me of the asylums in the films. Maybe it was.  A young female Garda led us into a room at the end of the hall. Inside the room was a table was with three chairs, one towards us two on the other side. 

The Garda waited for Michael and I, to sit down before she took her seat opposite us.  She took out a black rectangular object from her vest pocket and puts it down towards me on the table. I noticed it was a tape recorder. She fiddled with it nimbly and there was a click and a red light came on.  So this was really happening. 

"I suppose you've had a bit of a shock", she said sweetly. A bit of a shock? That was an understatement.

"Yes", I sighed digging my fingers into my palm, "Just a bit."

She pursed her lips thoughtfully, then looked at me intently with questioning eyes.

" So how did you come to be living in Ruari's house?", she asked. 

"I bought it just a couple of days ago and I've just moved in", I said trying to keep my voice at a singular tone.

"Alright, why don't you tell me what happened from the start."  So that's what I did, I told her about the ad in the newspaper for the house and how I came to meet Ruari and sign some papers. Michael confirmed my story about  Ruari's no-show and how he took me up to Yew House. An onslaught of tears threatened to come out when I mentioned finding Ruari in the bedroom. I didn't know if I should mention the bullet in his head or if they already saw that. 

I sniffed miserably and looked anywhere but the Garda. Another Garda came into the room and gestured for the officer to come out.

"Excuse me", she said getting up towards the door. 

My shoulders slumped back in my chair and I held my face in between my hands, digging my fingers into the backs of them.

"Ugh."

"Audrey?"

I started when I saw a hand on mine. Michael pulled back immediately. 

"I didn't mean to scare you", he said drawing a hand across his hair. 

"It's fine", I whispered digging my fingers deeper that I felt pinpricks of blood. 

The female Garda came back into the room, her face a blank mask. She flipped through a file then looked at us gravely. What was it? 

"The team at the house found a g*n and a pair of gloves at the house", she intoned, "It looks like Ruari was murdered."