When Sorry Is Not Enough (13 page)

Lois decided not to get involved with the cows’ birthing arrangements but to steer the conversation back on to the drawing up of the new boundaries. ‘Right,’ she said rolling the ‘r’ to indicate it was time to be back to the business in hand, ‘in addition to enquiring into the drawing up of the isolation of your homes I have also tried to estimate what the sale of the rest of your land would fetch.’

‘I’m praying that there will still be enough to fix things for the boys. Our boys are problems but they are our boys and are important to us,’ Flora confided.

Lois smiled. ‘Believe me, you will have more than enough money to sort out your problems.’

Shonag and Flora exchange excited glances before Flora stuttered, ‘More than enough!’

Nodding again, Lois allowed her smile to become a wide grin. Seeing the old ladies’ growing anticipation, their eyes widening, their cheeks flushing, Lois was tempted to tease them by allowing a long pause but she couldn’t be that cruel so quickly she added, ‘Yes indeed. In fact once you take out the houses and small gardens the rest will probably, and I stress probably, bring you,’ she hesitated as she had no desire to over-estimate what the old women could expect, ‘at least twice as much as the developer had offered you for the whole estate.’

Flora and Shonag grabbed for each other’s hands again. ‘See, Shonag,’ Flora gulped, through her tears, ‘this lassie
is
as clever as our Sally said she was.’

‘She said that?’ Lois chuckled. ‘And what else did she say?’

Flora mused before replying, ‘Just that you were a lucky lassie to have snared her Bobby.’ And thinking she was imparting good news she added with a chuckle and a patronising nod, ‘And that you’re doing so well now because his common sense has rubbed off on you.’

Although burning indignation was now beginning to boil up inside her, Lois decided that retaliation was not a good idea – especially as gentle Flora and Shonag would never knowingly insult her. It was just that they belonged to a simple culture where malice and intrigue were alien to them so they would not have been aware of the slights in Sally’s comments. So with a disarming smile she sweetly asked, ‘Talking of my
dear
mother-in-law, are you expecting her here today?’

‘No. No,’ replied Flora. ‘She said she wouldn’t be able to come up this month.’ Flora became pensive before mumbling, ‘Aye, said something about her priority was to get herself up to Peterhead. Do you think she’s considering buying her fish for the pubs there?’

Lois could only shake her head. Knowing Sally she knew full well that fishing would be her reason for going to Peterhead but not to purchase boxes of it – no, she would be visiting Joseph Kelly, the young lad Bobby was working on an appeal for. Shaking her head and sighing, Lois conceded that Bobby would have a hard job convincing his mother that he was capable of carrying out his remit without any assistance from her.

Reluctantly Luke opened his eyes and fished over to the table to lift his watch. Eleven thirty it registered. Time he was up and acquainting Sally with his worries about Josie. He would have done that last night but by the time he arrived at Seaview Terrace it was gone one thirty and the household had bedded down for the night.

Maggie was still in the process of clearing away all the breakfast dishes when he entered the dining room. ‘See, Luke,’ she began as she brushed some crumbs from the middle table, ‘if you’re giving your mind a treat and think I’ll be serving you up some breakfast or early lunch – think again. I’ve five rooms still needing changing.’

‘Sally hasn’t given you a hand?’

‘Nope,’ was Maggie’s terse reply as she began to leave the room dragging a vacuum behind her.

Racing after her, Luke called out, ‘What time did she leave for the Four Marys?’

Maggie banged the vacuum against the wall before turning to hiss, ‘She left at seven this morning. And she may well be in the Four Marys now but she told the taxi driver to take her to the Waverley train station.’

‘The Waverley? The train station?’ Luke shrieked. ‘Where the hell was she going?’

Maggie offered a shrug before stating, ‘I don’t know. But she said she wouldn’t be back until late … very late … and once more the skivvy of the year that I am – I am left with this entire place to square up.’ She lifted up the vacuum again before sniping, ‘So if you don’t mind I have to get on. And please don’t tell me you don’t know how to switch the toaster on because I’m not blooming interested.’

Luke decided there and then not to bother with breakfast. As to Sally, he would have to wait until she returned to speak to her. But what he could do now was go and find out where Josie was and what was going on with her.

He arrived at Alfredo’s in time for a late lunch. To his surprise Josie was on duty and she smiled as she showed him to the cramped table for one in the corner.

It was quite disconcerting for him that before he could speak to Josie on private matters customers required her service. ‘Speak to you later,’ was all Josie said before taking up her waitress duties.

An hour passed before Josie came over to Luke’s table and sat down. ‘Oh,’ she exclaimed, ‘see this family business of ours, you just have to muck in and do anything that requires doing.’

‘Family of yours?’ Luke questioned in a derisory tone.

‘Yes,’ Josie, who was well aware that Luke was mocking her, rejoined quickly, ‘and when Victor and I marry then I will take over here while he is opening up another restaurant down on Leith Walk.’

Luke’s contemptuous laughter rang around the salon. ‘Josie,’ he spluttered, ‘Victor is married to Anna and as far as I am aware this is still a monogamous country.’

Now it was Josie’s turn to cackle. ‘Oh, Luke, you are so old fashioned. Victor still being married to Anna is just a small inconvenience.’

‘That right?’

‘Yes, Anna has decided to live permanently in Italy. She finds the climate here a bit on the chilly side.’

Luke had to stop to close his gawping mouth before being able to say, ‘Are you saying she is divorcing Victor because she doesn’t like the cold?’

Josie nodded. ‘Yes, the three of us sat down last Monday and we worked it all out to our mutual satisfaction.’

‘Oh Josie, don’t tell me you’ve been on the happy pills again?’

‘No. It’s all true. So if you’re here on Sally’s behalf again to beg me to come back, the answer,’ Josie now flicked a napkin over Luke’s table, ‘is no. Josie, doormat Josie, is getting married and soon.’ Josie now pointed to the owner’s name above the front door. ‘Her name will be up there.’ Luke was nodding and then shaking his head in turns. His eyes bulged and his mouth gaped. Josie, amused at the effect she had on him, mischievously added, ‘Imagine it, dear brother, up there it will not read Anna Castello but Josephina Castello!’

It was after eleven when Sally’s taxi drew to a halt at her guest house. After paying off the driver she ran lightly up the steps. She had hoped that Maggie would have gone to bed but she thought it was a forlorn hope as the bottom floor lounge light was burning brightly.

‘Sorry I’m late,’ Sally called out as she opened the door to face Maggie’s wrath.

‘And so you should be,’ replied Luke.

Sally allowed her travelling bag to slip from her hand as she sank against the wall. ‘Oh, Luke,’ she exclaimed, ‘you’ll never know how wonderful it is that you are here.’

Luke winked and laughed. ‘Oh I see, you thought you were going to be faced with the wicked witch of the north.’

Sally nodded before kicking off her shoes. ‘I had to go to Peterheard to try and make sense of something that just dawned on me.’ She halted before adding, ‘Look I’m just dying for a cup of tea. C’mon through to the kitchen and we can have a good natter about it all.’

The tea was brewed, the kitchen was filled with the wonderful aroma of freshly toasted bread and Sally and Luke sat facing each other. ‘Fancy telling me why you went to the prison?’ Luke asked as he lazily stirred his tea.

Sally placed her cup back in its saucer and she dragged her hands down over her face and blew out her cheeks. ‘Remember,’ she said slowly, ‘you asked me to remember what I could about Irish’s trial. Anything that didn’t seem right then and seems even now to be,’ she hesitated, ‘to be … oh well, Luke, I just know it couldn’t have been like they said. But … but I was afraid to say anything in case I’m wrong. You see I would be so upset if I built up Irish’s hopes and then saw them dashed.’ She hesitated and began biting her bottom lip as she wrung her hands. ‘You see I couldn’t do that. It would be better if I just kept quiet.’

Luke nodded in agreement. ‘So he had no idea why you were visiting?’

Sally shook her head vigorously. ‘No, I told him I was just passing and I thought I would pop in and see him.’

‘He would believe that right enough,’ was Luke’s scornful reply. ‘And how did you get him around to telling you about … well him being stitched up?’

Sally offered a shrug. ‘Just asked him if he could tell me exactly what had happened on the night Marie was killed as I had heard so many conflicting stories.’

Luke seemed amazed at Sally’s simple attempt to get Irish’s confidence but he had to admit she probably would get some sort of story out of him. Perhaps, he mused, there was going to be a breakthrough. The necessary breakthrough that was required if Bobby and himself were ever going to get anywhere with Irish’s appeal. After drumming his fingers on the table he stood up, picked up his chair, took it over and placed it closer to Sally. ‘Look,’ he said placing his hands over hers to stop her wringing them, ‘just take it easy and tell me what you think is wrong. You’ve no need to worry. I will carefully analyse what you say and you’re right, we will not go forward with anything unless we know positively that we have questions that need answers.’ Luke leaned back and placed his entwined fingers behind his head. ‘Now,’ he drawled, ‘take your time but let me be hearing from you.’

Sally looked up at the ceiling as if there was someone there who could help her remember exactly what had happened at the prison. ‘It is just that Irish said part of the case against him was that he had gone up Leith Walk to the Chinese takeaway the night
before
Marie was killed and not
on
the night of the tragedy. He is clear that the Leith CID interviewed the Chinese owners several times because they were unsure which night Irish had gone to their place. In the end they confirmed to the police that it was not the night Marie was killed but the night before.’

‘So?’

‘Well his ship only docked the day Marie was murdered and he was taken into custody that night.’

Luke jumped up. ‘That’s right. He was at sea the day before and had been arrested the same night as he docked.’

Sally nodded. ‘But if he was still aboard his ship, how was it that the police got Mr and Mrs Lee to say he was in their shop the night before Marie was murdered and that he had dropped down dead drunk?’

Luke was growing agitated. ‘I remember clearly that the Lees said they let him sleep it off in their back shop.’

Luke began to dance around the room. ‘Sally,’ he exclaimed, ‘you are a genius.’

Trying to keep her emotions in check, Sally mumbled, ‘Are you saying there might be something we can do for Irish?’

‘I’m sure we can. But first I will lay all these facts before our bonny lad and ask him to take them and use them for an appeal.’

Pretending to be bashful, Sally twittered before saying, ‘Of course my Bobby will know what to do.’ Stifling a long yawn she announced, ‘Don’t know about you, Luke, but now I am so tired I’m turning in. Wish I didn’t have to do the whole day in the Four Marys tomorrow.’

Luke’s euphoria suddenly vanished. ‘Ah,’ he said, ‘I was waiting up for you because … Oh, Sally there is something that is just not adding up with Josie – can’t lay my finger on it though.’

‘Like what?’ Sally moaned as she gaped again.

‘She says this Victor is going to marry her. But he’s already married to Anna and they have two grown sons. It’s true that Anna has run off to Italy. And it’s also true that our Josie is working and running the restaurant at lunchtimes but she’s not there in the evening. She says she does the books then.’

‘That’s a lie,’ Sally scornfully butted in, ‘Josie doing the books? Huh. Don’t you know she’s innumerate?’

Luke nodded. ‘I do know that and that’s why I have doubts about her stories. And to add to my confusion, when I spoke to Victor the other night he didn’t seem to think he and Anna were heading for the divorce courts.’ Sally shook her head. Luke went on, ‘But, Sally, why is Josie installed in Alfredo’s and why has she taken in lodgers at her house in Ryehill?’

Glancing up at the clock and noticing it was now well past three o’clock, Sally stood up. ‘Know something, Luke?’ she said ruffling his hair, ‘You and I are both too tired to wrestle with any of our problems right now. So how about we go to bed and sleep on it all and in the morning we can talk about what we think we should do.’

Clumsy Johnny Souter wanted to stretch himself before getting out of bed but … what if he disturbed Margo?

Life had so changed for him in the last two weeks since Margo had had it confirmed that she was pregnant – definitely pregnant. He
had
to agree with her that it was probably because she was so keen to become a mother that she had only required one visit to the Swiss Clinic before she had a positive reaction.

After slipping out of bed Johnny grabbed his work clothes. Without switching on the bedside light he began tiptoeing as quietly as he could towards the bedroom door but unfortunately he tripped over Margo’s slippers.

‘What on earth is going on?’ asked a plaintive cry from the bed.

‘Sorry, Margo,’ Johnny mumbled, ‘I just fell over. Nothing to worry about. I think I just split my head open when I fell against the corner of the dressing table.’

Half sitting up in bed Margo fumbled before stretching out to turn on the bedside light. ‘Good heavens,’ she exclaimed when she saw the blood spurting from Johnny’s forehead. ‘Here is poor me in the early stages of pregnancy being put in a state of fear and alarm. Honestly, Johnny, why can’t you pick a more convenient time to kill yourself? I mean surely you don’t want our baby to be born fatherless.’