Marie must have sensed Roisin’s presence as she looked up with a start. Her eyes widened and her whole body tensed.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Don’t look so alarmed, Marie,’ said Roisin, taking the seat alongside the older woman.
‘I don’t know what you want, Roisin, but you’re not welcome.’
‘Now now, Marie. There’s no need to be nasty. I’ve merely come to see how Jim is.’ Roisin rose slightly to take a closer look at Jim’s face. The machine bleeped steadily in the background. ‘He seems peaceful enough. Which is probably a good thing, for now. I don’t suppose you want him to wake up just yet.’
‘I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,’ said Marie.
‘If he wakes up, then he might remember what happened to him. You know, he might tell someone.’
‘How did you get to be so wicked?’ said Marie. ‘What is it you want?’
‘You know exactly what I want.’ Roisin sat back down on her seat. ‘I want that picture and I want to know the truth about the baby.’
‘I don’t have the picture any more.’ Marie looked straight ahead. ‘I destroyed it.’
Roisin tightened her grip on her bag. She was not entirely surprised. Cross, yes, but not surprised. She had prepared for this. Marie was so predictable, really.
‘That’s okay, I don’t need the original,’ said Roisin. ‘I made a copy of it.’ She still had the scan she’d sent to Erin – that was only the front of the photo, it didn’t show what was written on the back, but Marie didn’t need to know that.
‘So what are you here for? If you think you know what happened to that baby, then you will need to prove it. There’s no way you can prove Erin had it.’ Marie spat the words out.
It took a moment for Roisin to realise what Marie had said. It must have dawned on Marie at the exact same time. If Marie could look paler than she already did, then Roisin had just witnessed a miracle. Marie’s jaw dropped open and her eyes burned with horror. Her hand flew to her mouth. She went to speak, but Roisin beat her to it.
‘Thank you, Marie, you’ve just confirmed what I’ve been wondering since I found that photo.’ Roisin gave a laugh. ‘Erin was pregnant and had the baby.’
‘Don’t be so ridiculous,’ said Marie quickly. She was making a valiant attempt at recovering from the horrendous faux pas she had made. ‘Of course, she didn’t.’
‘You said there was no way I could prove Erin had the baby,’ said Roisin. Her words galloped to keep pace with her thoughts. She moved to the edge of her seat. ‘So, you’re admitting Erin was pregnant. Not only that, you’re telling me she had the baby.’
‘You’re fantasying now, Roisin,’ said Marie, her voice rose a level. She glanced over at the nurse and then back to Roisin. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Oh, I think I do,’ said Roisin. ‘Now, do you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to give you a few days to think about this. You and your scheming daughter. And then I want you to tell me exactly what happened to that baby. I have a right to know. My mother does. My father does. Do you understand?’
She could see Marie’s hand shaking. God, she was right about this. She just didn’t realise how right she had been and now she had Marie exactly where she wanted. Roisin had the power to save her mother, to give her mam something to live for. Diana could live for the future, instead of living for the past.
‘And if I don’t go along with you?’ said Marie, breaking Roisin’s thoughts.
‘I might have to tell the Guards the truth about Jim’s fall.’
With that, Roisin marched out of the ward.
Victory.
Chapter 14
I’m surprised to see Mum step out of a taxi that afternoon. She has taken to staying at the hospital until the evening, when she either comes back home with Fiona or decides to stay overnight with Dad.
‘Hello, Mum,’ I say as she walks into the café. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘Sure, it’s grand,’ says Mum. ‘I was feeling a bit tired, so I thought I’d come back and have a rest. The nurse will call if there’s any change.’
I study Mum. She does indeed look tired. She has a washed-out appearance and there are dark circles under her eyes.
‘Go up and lie on the bed,’ I say. ‘Do you want me to make you a cup of tea to take up?’
‘No. It’s fine. I’ll make myself one upstairs.’
‘Okay. I’ll be closing soon and I’ll come up to check on you,’ I say. Mum is agitated and it bothers me. Mum’s not usually flustered by anything. I watch her hurry through the kitchen and out the rear of the café, towards the steps. It’s then I remember there’s no milk in the flat. I had used it up that morning.