When Your Eyes Close: A psychological thriller unlike anything you’ve read before!. Tanya Farrelly

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СКАЧАТЬ you and me to try to find him. I don’t know what to do, whether to call the police or not?’

      Gillian hesitated. ‘Okay, if what this man says is true, if David’s alive, then he’s not likely to come to any immediate harm. It’s been a year, Cait, and wherever he is, he’s been safe.’

      ‘You think we should call the Guards then?’

      ‘I don’t know. I mean it could be a hoax, someone who read about David in the paper.’

      Caitlin thought of the calls the guards had received in the initial stages of the investigation. They’d had numerous reported sightings of David, none of which had led anywhere. ‘It would be strange though, no? It’s been months since anything’s appeared in the paper. Why would someone decide to make a call now and not before?’

      ‘I don’t know, Cait. We have to look at all the possibilities. I don’t want to get my hopes up. Not again.’

      Caitlin nodded. ‘Oh, Gillian, I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have even told you, but I couldn’t keep it to myself …’

      Gillian stood up and placed another log on the fire. ‘What about that detective, the one we hired before? Would it be worth getting in touch with him?’

      Caitlin shook her head. ‘No, he didn’t turn up anything last time. And I didn’t get the impression he’d tried very hard either.’

      ‘Okay, I think we should tell the guards then. We can do it discreetly – not call from either of our phones-– but from someplace else. There’s every chance that this call is a hoax, Caitlin, you have to be prepared for that, but we won’t rest easy if we don’t report it. We both know that.’

      Caitlin nodded. ‘I’ll make the call from work tomorrow. No one can overhear me in the office. I’ll tell them our concerns about contacting them. I can’t see that they’ll do very much – we’re not providing them with any new information, but at least I’ll have told them.’

      Gillian sighed. ‘Hope is what keeps me going, the thought that we’ll see David again. But every time I get my hopes up, it comes to nothing and I suffer the same pain all over again. Sometimes, I think it would be better to accept the fact that David’s not coming back. It sounds terrible, doesn’t it? But I have to get past the suffering – maybe acceptance is the only way. And you … you can’t put your life on hold. You’re a young woman …’

      Caitlin got up, crossed to Gillian and took her hand. ‘Don’t say that, Gillian. Don’t give up … we can’t. Maybe this call will turn out to be something. David’s out there somewhere, I’m sure of it.’ She squeezed her mother-in-law’s fingers, thankful that, terrible as the past year had been, it had brought them closer together. She didn’t know what she’d do without Gillian in her life. No matter what happened, she had to preserve that. ‘Do you mind if I stay tonight?’ she asked. ‘I don’t feel like going home; I don’t think I could face it.’

      David’s mother put her arm around her. ‘You know you’re always welcome, Cait. I’d be glad of the company. You don’t even have to ask. You’ve still got a key, don’t you? Come over anytime, even if I’m not here, you can let yourself in. This is your home too, same as it was David’s.’

      Caitlin nodded. With a lump in her throat, she didn’t trust herself to answer. Instead, she hugged Gillian, then got up and said she’d put the kettle on. In the kitchen, she stood at the sink and looked out at the rain beating against the window. Gillian had unmuted the television and the homely sound of chatter filled the room. She could feel David here in this house, could imagine him coming up behind her, arms wrapping round her waist as he used to do. She almost expected to see his reflection in the windowpane. Christ, there were times when she couldn’t bear it. She took a deep breath to steady herself; this wasn’t the time to come undone, not now.

       CHAPTER SIX

       Michelle

      The rain was coming down in sheets as Michelle and Conor made their way from the premises on Capel Street onto the quays, their backpacks loaded with sandwiches and flasks of hot tea and soup. Michelle checked her phone, as she had been doing compulsively all afternoon, while Conor poured soup for the homeless man on the bridge, and then took from his pocket some treats for the Jack Russell who sat obediently by the man’s side. No messages. She put the phone away and stooped to fondle the dog’s ears.

      ‘How’s it going, Tommy?’ she asked the man.

      He nodded and slurped the soup. She didn’t ask if he was hoping to get into a shelter; he’d told her before that he was a loner, that all he needed was the dog, Buddy, for company. ‘Have you eaten at all today, Tommy?’ she asked. The man stopped to think.

      ‘Had the best steak you can imagine,’ he said, ‘back in 1993.’ He laughed at his own joke as he unwrapped the tuna sandwiches Conor had given him. The dog was crunching on a biscuit as they closed their backpacks and moved on.

      Michelle was used to the run. Usually, she even enjoyed it. Nick had asked her if it wasn’t too dangerous, but she told him, no, that the volunteers always went out in pairs, and that some of the homeless people were the nicest, gentlest people you could meet. She’d been appalled by some of the stories they’d told her. They’d been spat on, and worse, by drunken fools who thought themselves superior; their deplorable behaviour proving the exact opposite to their own skewed beliefs.

      As they continued along the North Quays, it occurred to Michelle that she hadn’t recently seen the homeless couple that usually sat on the Ha’penny Bridge.

      ‘Hey, what’s happened to Dolly and Jim? I haven’t seen them in a while,’ she asked Conor.

      Conor sighed and looked at her. ‘Jim passed away – pneumonia,’ he said.

      ‘Shit.’ Michelle felt tears prick her eyes as she thought of the couple always making jokes and sitting close together. She took a deep breath. Conor looked at her and she turned away so that he wouldn’t see the tears.

      ‘It sucks, I know,’ he said.

      Michelle nodded, not trusting herself to speak. It didn’t seem right, Dolly without Jim. She wondered where Dolly was, whether she’d been forced to seek refuge in a shelter now that her partner was gone. Michelle took a deep breath, then lowered her head and quickened her step to match Conor’s. By the time they were out of sandwiches and had returned to the premises, Nick had still not called.

      ‘I’m off. See you guys on Friday,’ Michelle called. She ducked out of the building and ran down the narrow stairs before anyone had a chance to engage her in conversation. Usually sociable, she couldn’t face talking to anyone today and as she stepped out into the street she swallowed back more tears. Why hadn’t Nick called?

      In the car, the tears came again. Something was wrong – and she couldn’t bear to be kept in ignorance. She wiped her eyes, breathed deep and turned on the ignition.

      It was after ten o’clock when Michelle found herself outside Nick’s house again. She turned on the dim overhead light and checked herself in the rear-view mirror, then took her compact from her bag to renew her foundation and coat her СКАЧАТЬ