Chapter 7
SEVEN
‘In what way?’ Maureen asked, looking around at the shelves where the books were organised in neat rows. ‘They look all right to me.’
‘Yes, but they’ve been tidied up,’ Ciara said.
‘The last time I was here, these books were in such a disorder that I didn’t know what I was going to do with them.
They were lying on the floor or in heaps on the shelves, and they were all musty and dirty.
But look at them now, all cleaned up and stacked on the shelves. ’
‘In alphabetical order,’ Maureen said and peered at one of the rows. ‘But not in the right genres, I have to say. Austen and Enid Blyton and then Dickens and C.S. Lewis… Is someone having a joke?’
‘I have no idea,’ Ciara said, slightly irritated at her mother’s nit-picking. ‘But what difference does it make anyway? We can organise them later.’
‘Or throw them out,’ Maureen suggested.
‘No, Ma,’ Ciara argued, appalled by the idea of getting rid of the old books. ‘I wouldn’t throw them out. There might be some valuable books there. First editions and such. They all seem very old, don’t they? Most of them leatherbound.’
‘Maybe, I can’t tell in this dim light,’ Maureen said.
‘We’ll have a look at them later.’ Ciara glanced at Brian, who was standing by the door, whining.
‘What’s the matter with that dog?’ Maureen asked.
‘He might feel the scent of whoever was in here,’ Ciara suggested. ‘It could still be lingering if the person was here very recently.’
‘Very likely,’ Maureen said. ‘Did someone break in and then they tidied the books only to vanish? But the door doesn’t look damaged, so the mystery tidier-upper must have had a key.’
‘Or I forgot to lock the door when I left,’ Ciara suggested.
‘I’d say you did,’ Maureen said. ‘I wonder if we should call the guards?’
‘And say what?’ Ciara asked. ‘Someone broke in and did a big tidy and then left? That’ll give them a good laugh. Hold on a sec, though,’ she continued, then fished her phone out of her bag and tapped in a number, hoping it would connect despite the poor signal.
Ronan answered straight away. ‘Hi, Ciara, what’s the problem?’
‘No problem at all. Everything’s fine,’ Ciara replied.
‘I’m up at Cherrywood again. I’m going to spend a few weeks here just to see if I can make some improvements on the building before I sell it.
But I was wondering if you’ve organised another cleaning job?
In the little shop downstairs, this time. Where the books are.’
‘In the shop?’ Ronan asked, sounding confused. ‘What kind of cleaning job?’
‘Dusting and wiping mould off the old books and…’
‘And what?’
‘And organising the books on the shelves.’ Ciara was suddenly embarrassed at having called him about this issue. ‘Oh, never mind,’ she said. ‘Nothing to do with you, really. Someone seems to have been here and done a great tidying job, which is terrific, of course.’
‘Well, it wasn’t me,’ Ronan said. ‘Or anyone in the office. Now that your case has been dealt with, we’ve moved on to another one.’
His slightly curt tone made Ciara feel embarrassed. ‘I see. Okay. Sorry to have disturbed you.’
‘Speak up,’ he said. ‘I can hardly hear you. Your voice sounds as if you’re talking into a tin.’
‘There’s nearly no signal up here,’ Ciara shouted into the phone.
‘So I gather.’
‘Yeah, well, you answered my question so I’ll hang up. Bye, Ronan,’ she said and turned off her phone.
‘That sounded a little rude,’ Maureen said disapprovingly.
‘Well, he was quite short with me,’ Ciara replied. ‘So I didn’t feel like being polite. Anyway, we can put the books in the right order, and see what there is.’
‘I agree,’ Maureen said. ‘Well, let’s go and look at the flat, then. I hope all the stuff we ordered will arrive later today.’
‘They sent an email to say it will be delivered as promised,’ Ciara said. ‘They’ll call before they arrive, if they manage to connect.’
‘Good.’ Maureen walked across the floor towards the door that led to the lobby. ‘We can deal with this space tomorrow and take away the shutters that are blocking all the light. Is this the way to the top floor?’
‘Yes,’ Ciara replied, still looking around at the books on the shelves, wondering who had been there.
‘Come on, then,’ Maureen urged.
Ciara followed her mother into the lobby and up the stairs, thinking about what she might find in the flat.
Maybe someone had been up there poking around too?
But there was nothing to steal and not much else to worry about.
Brian seemed to have calmed down and bounded after Maureen up the staircase with Ciara following.
Once in the living room, they were relieved to find that all was exactly as Ciara had left it and that the sun shone in through the window that Maureen flung open with a satisfied sigh.
‘Just listen to the birdsong,’ she said and sat down on the sofa, looking around.
‘What a nice room. We have to get the chimney swept and get some firewood and then we could have cosy evenings here by the fire, reading books and listening to music on my little radio. Won’t that be nice? ’
‘Lovely,’ Ciara said and sat down beside her mother. ‘I’m so glad you came,’ she said. ‘It would have been too lonely without you.’
‘That’s true. This is a very quiet place,’ Maureen said. ‘Where is everybody? I didn’t see a soul when we arrived.’
‘I suppose people generally go down the hill to the bigger villages to shop and socialise,’ Ciara said. ‘There aren’t any shops or cafés here.’
They were interrupted by the sound of an engine in the street and then a car horn tooted. ‘It must be the stuff you ordered,’ Maureen said, getting to her feet.
‘Thank God,’ Ciara said and started down the stairs, followed by her mother and then Brian behind them.
Two men climbed out of a delivery truck that had just pulled up.
When Ciara had signed the docket, they proceeded to unload the bed, two mattresses, a few lamps, some rolled-up duvets and pillows and a large box with sheets.
They carried the whole lot into the shop and up the stairs with Maureen directing them to where it was all to go.
When the men had delivered everything, Maureen offered them a cup of tea, but they declined, saying they had other deliveries to make before they could take a break.
‘Lucky they said no,’ Ciara remarked as they watched the truck drive away. ‘I have no idea where the kettle is.’
‘We would have found it,’ Maureen said. ‘But they were in a hurry.’
A voice behind them startled Ciara and she turned around to find the young woman she had met the first day coming down the street, waving. ‘Hi,’ she called. ‘So you’re moving in, then?’
‘Hi, Liz,’ Ciara said when the young woman came closer. ‘Not quite moving in for good, but we plan to spend a couple of weeks here.’ She gestured at Maureen. ‘This is my mother, Maureen Doyle.’
‘Hello there, Mrs Doyle,’ Liz said and shook Maureen’s hand. ‘I’m Liz O’Toole. Nice to meet you.’
‘Hello, Liz,’ Maureen said. ‘Lovely to meet you, too. Please call me Maureen. I must say it’s a relief to see someone around in this quiet place.’
Liz laughed. ‘I know. It looks a little deserted at times. People like to keep themselves to themselves around here. I’m sure they’re peeping at us behind their curtains, though. Some of the people who live here like to be incognito, if you know what I mean. But I’m happy to meet anyone new.’
‘Incognito?’ Ciara asked, glancing across the street at a house where she could see a curtain moving in the downstairs window.
‘Trying to escape stuff they’ve been through,’ Liz said cryptically.
‘Do you live nearby?’ Maureen asked.
‘Near enough,’ Liz replied, pointing at the hill in the distance. ‘Do you see that tower over there? That’s where we live, my brother Oisín and I. Just for the summer, though. It’s too cold in the winter.’
Maureen looked in the direction Liz was pointing. ‘That Norman tower?’
‘I didn’t notice it before,’ Ciara said, surprised to discover the tower sticking up beyond the trees. ‘It looks amazing.’
‘It’s known as O’Toole’s Castle,’ Liz said. ‘Not much of a castle, though. It’s just a tower with four storeys and we live on the first and second floors. Been in the family for hundreds of years.’
‘Ever since the Norman invasion, I should imagine,’ Maureen said.
‘Something like that,’ Liz said vaguely.
‘It’s old anyway. But we lived in a real house down the road when I grew up.
And then when our parents passed away, Oisín and I decided to live here in the summertime.
He’s an artist and I do tie-dyeing and macrame and stuff that I sell down in the craft shop in Enniskerry.
’ Liz drew breath and smiled. ‘Sorry to be blathering like this. I’m sure you have better things to do than to listen to me. ’
‘Not at all,’ Maureen said. ‘It’s always interesting to meet new people and find out about their lives.’
‘Did you dye that T-shirt?’ Ciara asked.
Liz looked down at her multi-coloured T-shirt in reds, blues and orange. ‘I did.’
‘It’s fabulous,’ Ciara said. ‘I’d love something like that.’
‘I have loads in the tower,’ Liz said. ‘You’d be welcome to have a look.
’ She paused for a moment. ‘Hey, would the two of you like to come for dinner tonight? Oisín would love to meet you.’ She patted Brian, who was looking up at her adoringly.
‘You’re welcome too, handsome fella. I would love to see you lying beside the fire in the tower. ’
‘He would fit into that setting beautifully,’ Maureen said. ‘These hounds look so mediaeval somehow.’
‘Yes, they do,’ Liz agreed. ‘Our ancestors must have kept these dogs for hunting. Anyway, I see that you’re busy settling in. See you at dinner. Is seven o’clock okay?’
‘Perfect,’ Ciara said, smiling at the impromptu invitation. ‘Can we bring anything?’
‘Just yourselves,’ Liz said. ‘We have plenty of food and drink.’ She stopped. ‘You do drink, I hope? I mean wine and stuff.’
‘Yes, we do,’ Ciara said, smiling at Liz’s rapid way of speaking.
‘Just a glass or two,’ Maureen cut in. ‘And no spirits.’
Liz let out a laugh. ‘Don’t worry, we’re pretty sober ourselves. We make our own wine but it’s an acquired taste, Oisín says. So feel free to spit it out if you think it’s more like rat poison.’
‘I’m sure it’s delicious,’ Maureen said.
‘We’ll see.’ Liz gave Brian another pat on the head and moved away. ‘See you guys tonight, then. Bye for now.’ With that, she skipped down the street, her multicoloured hair flying in the wind.
Maureen stared after her. ‘What a strange creature. Like a wood nymph or something.’
‘That’s a good description,’ Ciara said. ‘She’s somehow ethereal.’
‘I forgot to ask her if she had seen anyone going into the shop,’ Maureen said.
‘We can ask her tonight,’ Ciara suggested.
‘Of course,’ Maureen said. ‘Gosh, that was sudden. I didn’t expect to be invited to dinner quite so soon. Or at all, really. But now, let’s roll up our sleeves and start the unpacking.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ Ciara joked and made a mock salute.
Then she followed her mother upstairs to put the mattresses on the beds and settle in for these two weeks.
She noticed that curtain in the window across the street twitching again and felt that someone was watching them.
In fact, she had a feeling the whole village was watching them.
Then she suddenly remembered how she had spoken to Ronan and began to regret snapping at him.
But she couldn’t take it back. In any case, she’d plan what to do with the property, and soon be back home.
She would probably never see Ronan again.