The Game Changer (26 page)

‘As you said yourself, Adam, many people simply want to start afresh.’

‘I know, but the cash withdrawals were in the same quantities as those made by O’Neill.’

‘That’s strange. What did the families say about their mental health before they left?’

‘Again, there was a similarity to the O’Neill report. Both were low in themselves at one point, possibly clinically depressed, but their spirits rose shortly before their departure.’

‘O’Neill’s departure was death, Adam. The money wasn’t any use to him dead. Someone else had to be a beneficiary there.’

‘I know that, but with these two cases, we’re talking in excess of a hundred thousand euros. That’s a lot of money. But that’s not all. This is where it gets weird, Kate. Apparently, they were both on some kind of self-help programme, not with a doctor but some kind of organisation.’

‘What else did their families say?’

‘They both mentioned the word “enlightenment”. It could be a coincidence of course.’

‘Have you found anything on the potential organisation involved?’

‘Not yet.’

‘What about O’Neill? Anything to indicate he was connected to something like this?’

‘No. The only connection is the large cash withdrawals, and those unexplained meetings.’

‘It’s thin, Adam. The connection with the Manhattan murder is stronger.’

‘Maybe, but I’m not ruling anything out.’

‘Remind me what was written in blood on that mirror in Mason’s apartment.’

‘It said, “He saw the light.”’

‘Hmm, it could be linked, and certainly enlightenment can come at a high price, especially if it involves a darker element.’

‘You mean some kind of cult, a mad religious following?’

‘They’re not all based around religion.’

‘If it’s a scam, Kate, so far there’s nothing obvious appearing on the radar.’

‘Notoriety doesn’t always surround these groups but, as you said, this may not be connected.’

‘Kate?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Work aside, I’m worried about you. Ever since I told you about your mother making those reports, I know it’s been tough on you.’

‘It’s not your fault.’

‘For what it’s worth, your mother never pressed formal charges.’

‘She lived in fear, far more than I realised. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I remember in my late teens, my father changed.’

‘How did he change?’

‘He became less hostile, broken in a way.’

‘Any idea why?’

‘No, but he did say something to me a few years before he died. It was partly the reason we grew closer in my twenties. I can’t remember what had happened beforehand, but I think he discovered something, or heard really bad news, because he went to his room and didn’t appear for days. When he came out, he asked me would I sit down with him for a while. That was when he said it.’

‘What did he say?’

‘He said he was sorry. You have to understand, Adam, he wasn’t a man who apologised, ever.’

‘Did he tell you what he was sorry for?’

‘He said he was sorry for being so angry when I was younger, sorry he hadn’t been a better father, sorry for all his mistakes. Then he told me he loved me, and that as every day passed, he loved me more.’

‘They’re important words to hear.’

‘I know. At the time, they meant everything to me.’

‘And now?’

‘Now, there are a lot of unanswered questions, and I worry that the mistakes he apologised for aren’t ones I can forgive.’

‘One day at a time, Kate.’

‘I know that too.’

‘Any word from that Malcolm guy today?’

‘Not yet. I’m not answering his calls.’

‘You told me he was like a surrogate father to you at one point.’

‘I guess I haven’t had a lot of luck when it comes to father figures.’

‘You’re not exactly hanging out with the father of the year, considering my track record.’ He laughed, but she knew, deep down, part of him was hurt by his own self-criticism.

‘Adam.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Addy will come around, you’ll see, and thanks.’

‘For what?’

‘Asking for my advice. It’s good to know you still believe in me.’

‘I always have, Kate, but when it gets personal, it also gets tricky.’

She was about to hang up when she thought of something else. ‘Adam, I never asked, did you find any evidence of a forced break-in at the O’Neill lock-up?’

‘No.’

‘It was strange that the place was soiled, wasn’t it?’

‘There are a lot of strange things about this case. The guy must have been under a lot of distress to behave so out of character.’

‘The urine and excrement were tracked back to him?’

‘They were.’

‘If the same person is responsible for O’Neill’s death and Mason’s, then in its own wacky way, we could be back to the killer leaving some kind of message. It was Mason’s finger and blood that were used to write that message on the mirror.’

‘If that’s the case, the big question is why?’

‘It could be arrogance, Adam, their way of saying, “Come and find me.”’

As she hung up, it was like her investigative and analytical brain had slipped back into action. Going into the study, she picked up her recorder, thinking about the two missing-person cases of Amanda Doyle and Robert Cotter. She had told Adam that the connection was thin, but even so, it couldn’t be ignored. She pressed down the record button on her voice recorder. ‘To date, the police have been unable to locate the missing funds that belonged to Michael O’Neill. Two recently reported missing-person cases, those of Robert Cotter and Amanda Doyle, also had cash withdrawals linked to their disappearance. At this point, the police have not yet been able to establish a concrete link. Nor can they be sure that other unreported cases exist. In both cases, Amanda Doyle and Robert Cotter made contact with their families, possibly to reduce concern and to limit questions being asked.’

Kate stopped the recorder, walking around the room, thinking about the possibility of unreported cases. It didn’t take her long to begin again. ‘In the case of missing persons, if a person isn’t in a relationship, and is living alone, their disappearance can go unnoticed for some time. Phone calls to an employer or a message to a close friend may be sufficient to ensure their departure and, perhaps, unreported financial withdrawals go unnoticed. The cash-withdrawal elements of all three cases, Michael O’Neill, Robert Cotter and Amanda Doyle, link them tentatively, with the missing-person reports on Cotter and Doyle mentioning each being on some kind of enlightenment programme. So far, the police have not been able to identify the organisation involved, or whether it is involved in extortionist methods and/or cult-like associations.’

Kate glanced at her mind maps on the wall. ‘There are three principal characteristics surrounding the definition of a cult. One is a guru-type figure, or leader, someone who over time seeks worship rather than following the founding group’s principles. Another is reform-like characteristics, a systematic method of indoctrination being applied, usually done with a high emphasis on confessional-type sessions. A third characteristic is exploitation, which comes from above, via the guru/leader, or high-ranking people close to him or her. This exploitation can be economic, sexual or both.’

She stopped the tape. All of a sudden she felt cold. Maybe Adam was right: maybe she should see a doctor. She went over to the study window. It was barely open a couple of inches, but the breeze was strong so she shut it. Looking down at the small table beneath, it was the first time she noticed things had been moved.

THE GAME CHANGER ENJOYED SITTING IN THE DARK. The camera was disconnected but a small audio recording device was close at hand. Pressing the record button, the low, steady voice sounded powerful, godly, and almost visceral within the confines of the darkened room. It was good to be in Kate’s old bedroom, with her notebook and pen resting on the windowsill.

‘Confidential Note 152. It will be fascinating to see who dies first.’ A smile came to the Game Changer’s face. ‘Some members will put up a fight, or attempt an escape, but a great many will go willingly, believing they have been given the greatest gift of all. Not one of them is of any importance. The Game Changer hates them all. They are fools, with more money than sense, or young idealists, like Aoife, protected her whole damn life. Even Stephen is only part of the game because, like the Game Changer, he seeks power too. He would crush anyone without hesitation, pathetic mother-hater and child-killer that he is. They’re all pawns, nothing more. The Game Changer is the one in control. The manipulation of others is of limited value. The real power lies in governing life and death. The seclusion of the island is psychologically and logistically paramount. Being removed from outside influences fosters an emphasis on a specific subject matter.’

The Game Changer stood up. ‘The boy, Addy, is trouble, but irrelevant. His importance was simply to keep Aoife sweet. Of course, she doesn’t offer money. She offers something far greater. Stephen doesn’t like the boy. He would kill him in a second, if asked.’

Walking over to the windowsill, the Game Changer picked up the notebook and pen, then pressed the record button again.

‘Kate will know a lot more by now, but she will not be able to connect all the pieces. She has probably surmised that the bird was killed for her benefit. Weeks have passed, but it will still play on her mind. The longer she is restricted to that apartment, the more her mood swings will increase. One moment, she will think she is doing well, the next, she will crumple. When she does, she will remember the warmth slipping away from its body, death, not life, becoming the bird’s reality. It will be her reality too. Most people ignore the prospect of dying. They fool themselves into thinking it isn’t absolute, that the one thing they can be sure of won’t happen to them, at least not yet. An elusive event, something they don’t need to be reminded of, even though each time they look at their watches, mobile phones, clocks, TV programmes, another moment of their life is over, bringing them closer to the black hole, the one without a get-out clause, but still, they continue to behave as if they can delude, delay and ignore it.

‘Ethel O’Neill is like the blackbird, easily slaughtered. Kate is still trying to work out the
why
. The cause and effect aren’t clear. She sees the ripples, but she cannot see the core from which they flow.’

The Game Changer contemplated the next visit to the island, knowing the latest. The next speech would be an important one. The wording, as always, was critical.

‘All beliefs serve as self-limiting devices. Others may call you crazy, but the madness is theirs, not yours. In Plato’s cave, the cave people lived with their backs to the light. It shone in behind them. All they could see were their own shapes in shadows, allowing the shadows to become their only reality. Each day, the cave people watched the shadows move, believing that was life. Their whole existence, awareness, was defined by their limited vision, not realising it was the light and their movement that created the shadow world. The cave people couldn’t see beyond the constraints of their beliefs. They saw the shadows as the only possible form of existence, making it impossible to see anything else. One day, a man turned and walked out of the cave. When he returned, he told his
old friends there was a wonderful world behind them. All they had to do was turn around. The cave people told him he was mad. What did he mean by another world? The only thing that was real was the shadows.

‘If you are trapped in one reality, it is impossible for you to see another. Not everyone can be the man who turned around and walked out of the cave into the light.’

The Game Changer thought about Michael O’Neill’s collection of butterflies, then pressed the record button again.

‘When a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, the other caterpillars, instead of admiring it, only see difference. They will want the butterfly to turn back, but it can’t.

‘Confidential note 152A. All of it is an illusion. This happens when people swap one reality for another. Members think that by following the steps in the programme, they have escaped the misconceptions of their past. They believe they can now see things that other delusional people, those they have left behind, cannot see. It is the biggest trick of all, their certainty, and having escaped one lie, they cannot see that they are now living another. They have simply exchanged prisons. They misinterpret their new life as freedom, when it is nothing more than a different illusion of it.’

ADDY SAT IN THE DARK, HIS KNEES TUCKED INTO HIS chest, his arms wrapped tight around them. A spider crept along the ground, fast and furious. He watched it disappear into the muddied wall, wondering about his own escape, and why he had been so stupid. Staring at the iron grille above the door, the one that locked him in, he listened to noises coming from above – footsteps, muffled voices, the odd thud or whimper, making his mind up that as soon as he got out of there, he would get off the island – even if part of him still hoped to sort things out between him and Aoife.