‘Did Brian say he found you down in Muirinish?’
‘That’s right. I was down looking at Castle House. Do you know it? The Foleys lived there.’
‘Castle House? Is that the one almost in the sea?’
‘Yes, it’s just set back.’
‘The one with an old castle ruin?’
‘Yes. That’s the one.’
‘That’s Castle House. It was the Foleys I think lived there,’ Auntie Eileen explained helpfully.
‘That’s right.’ Elizabeth wondered if the old woman was deaf.
‘I never knew them but that was a fierce sad house. One funeral after another. It’s like the place is cursed. What’s your interest in the place?’
Elizabeth cleared her throat. ‘Well, I’m the new owner.’
‘Oh.’ The old lady’s face suggested that she had heard Elizabeth loud and clear. ‘It must have lovely views, I’d say.’
‘Lovely,’ agreed Elizabeth with a smirk. ‘I’m very interested in the history of the place. What were you saying about funerals?’
‘Oh, I was only a girl. I don’t really remember, but when we went into town that way, my mother, God rest her, always crossed herself. It might have been a bad death … or did someone drown? Sorry now. I’m no good to you at all. I’ll tell you the person you should speak to. You need to talk to Cathy Crowley. She was a Lynch back then and she grew up down there beside them. She might remember all the gory details.’
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t sure she was fully prepared for ‘gory details’。
‘That’s great, thanks. Where could I find her?’
‘Her husband manages the Co-op down in Muirinish. They’re in the white house with the big hedges just beside it. I’d say now she would be your best bet. She’s a great one for local history and all that sort of thing. Very interesting …’ The old lady’s eyes drifted back to the fish tank and began to follow the creatures as if she was watching a very slow game of tennis. Suddenly, as if remembering that she had a guest, she put a hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder and enquired, ‘Have you had your dinner?’
Without thinking, Elizabeth told her that she hadn’t.
‘Oh, right.’ Auntie Eileen looked worried. ‘I don’t normally do evening meals.’
‘Well, perhaps I could—’
‘No, no,’ the old lady interrupted, ‘I’ll put you together something here. Sure, nowhere would be open at this hour.’ She indicated the clock on the wall telling them that it was twenty past seven as if it was midnight.
Elizabeth thanked her profusely and then asked if she could go to her room. The old lady showed her back through the sitting room and then into the hall. One door was for the pale pink bathroom, while the other led to her peach boudoir. Elizabeth’s overall impression was of nylon. The whole room seemed to bristle.
Left alone, she brushed her teeth and then sat on the end of her bed, her weight bringing the mattress close to the floor. For the first time in hours she thought about Elliot and Zach. How had the pick-up gone? She wondered if Michelle had dared to show her face. Elizabeth had to admit that she was almost glad to be sitting in this nylon shrine rather than having to deal with the embarrassment of Zach’s sex life. Let Elliot pick up the pieces for once. She would try to call them later, once they were back in San Francisco and the dust had had a chance to settle.
A gentle knock on the door.
‘Yes?’
‘Your tea’s ready when you are.’
‘Thank you!’ Elizabeth replied, thinking to herself that the old lady had managed to cook up a meal surprisingly quickly.
When she saw what was waiting for her on the kitchen table, the speed became less of a mystery. A small grey, almost blue, mound sat in a pale yellow pool of liquid. She thought it might be egg but really couldn’t be certain.
‘It’s just some scrambled egg. I hope that’s enough for you.’
‘More than enough,’ Elizabeth reassured her hostess and she meant it.
‘There’s some toast for you,’ the old lady said, putting down a side plate with two slices of bread so white it was hard to believe they had seen daylight never mind the inside of a toaster. ‘I have the kettle on for tea.’
‘Lovely!’ Elizabeth hoped that might help her wash down some of her meal.
She had scarcely taken a bite of the eggs, so dry it was hard to understand where the liquid had come from, when the shrill doorbell took Auntie Eileen from the room. Elizabeth used the opportunity to mess up her plate with her fork and tear the ‘toast’ in two to give the impression that she had consumed more than she had.