Behind Every Cloud (61 page)

“
Oh yes, that would be fabulous,
”
Rachel cried, her eyes shining.

“
Cool,
”
Ellie remarked
.

“
I
’
ll contact the four young ones and let them know,
”
Sam said.
“
I take it we
’
re all in agreement that Zita is not to be invited
?”

Rachel grimaced.
“
I couldn
’
t come if she were there. Maybe I shouldn
’
t?
”
A shadow crossed her face as she spoke.

“
Don
’
t even think about it,
”
Ellie warned.
“
She can
’
t come. I would possibly throttle her.
”

“
No
,
you wouldn
’
t because I
’
d get to her before you,
”
announced Ronan
.

Rachel smiled at them gratefully. They were great friends to have.
“
I hope we have all passed,
”
she said tremulously to Sam
.

“
You
’
d better have,
”
he pronounced
, “
or I
’
m in trouble.
”

69

Zita was drunk again. Very drunk! She
’
d arrived home that evening
,
planning her revenge
,
and opened a bottle of wine as she thought about it. When that one was finished she
’
d opened a second one.

When she heard Marcus coming in she waylaid him in the hall, waving the bottle of wine. He
saw that she was in a bad way. He had been avoiding her since the previous evening.

“
Christ, Zita! What are you doing?
”

“
My life is over,
”
she blubbered.
“
Carl says we
’
re through.
”

“
For God
’
s sake
,
woman, get a grip
!
You knew it wasn
’
t going to come to anything,
”
he commented irritably, still standing in the hallway. He didn
’
t want to
invite her into his apartment
.

“
I thought if I ruined his marriage he
’
d come back to me,
”
she whimpered.

Marcus shook his head. How could she be so naïve? He didn
’
t understand her.

Suddenly, she changed tack.
“
I
’
ll get my own back,
”
she hinted slyly.
“
He won
’
t know what
’
s hit him. I have plans – big plans.
”
She laughed gleefully
.

Marcus didn
’
t know whether he preferred her maudlin or hostile. She was an enigma. She could change like quicksilver.

“
I think you should quit this wine
-
drinking and go to bed,
”
he told her gently.

“
You don
’
t believe me?
”
she said sharply.
“
I can tell you things I
’
ve done to people who
’
ve wronged me that would make your toes curl.
”

He believed her. He
’
d believed her the other night too. She
’
d obviously done something really bad in her past and h
e didn
’
t want to know about it. He was anxious to esca
pe her presence.

“
Aren
’
t you going to invite me in?
”
she asked, lounging
against his doorframe.

“
Zita, I
’
m really exhausted
.
Let
’
s do it another night.
”
He quickly said goodnight and slipped into his flat.
God, she really was a psycho!
He
’
d seen what she was capable of with that blog she
’
d written which had destroyed Carl
’
s marriage. How much further had she gone or would she go to destroy him? Marcus shivered
,
glad he wasn
’
t the one in her sights.

Zita went into her own apartment, put out that he hadn
’
t invited her in. Angry, she switched on her laptop and started her blog
:
NEP not satisfied with a womanly woman. No, he
’
s into little children too!
She pressed send and laughed wickedly at the thought of what Carl would think of this latest ploy of hers.

He
’
d learn that he
’
d trifled with the wrong woman!

The following morning, Carl read the blog and a terrible fear clutched him. This was slander of the worst kind. Although it was blatantly untrue, mud sticks, and unless he could take this evil writer to task and prove himself innocent, people would remember this and probably believe it.

His phone rang and he saw with relief that it was Rachel.

“
Oh, Rach,
”
he cried, tears coming to his eyes.
“
I
’
m so happy you
’
ve called.
”

“
Carl, I
’
m just calling to say that I read the blog this morning and whatever else you
’
ve done I know that this is not true.
”

“
Oh Rach, please come back. I love you and miss
–”

“
No
,
Carl. We
’
re through. I
’
ve applied for a separation
. I just wanted to tell you that I know you
’
re not a paedophile. Goodbye, Carl
.”

Click. She hung up.

Carl let the tears flow. She
’
d sounded so cool yet he
’
d loved the sound of her voice. It was so noble of her to ring to tell him that. He was grateful for that at least.

His phone rang again. He answered
,
hoping it was Rachel and that she
’
d changed her mind. It was Stan and he sounded excited.

“
We
’
ve got her, Carl, we
’
ve found the blogger. She made
a big mistake last night, blogging from her own computer. Up to now she
’
s used internet cafés but she slipped up last night.
”
He couldn
’
t conceal his exhilaration.

“
Who is it?
”
Carl asked hoarsely.

“
Zita Williams – your mystery lady.
”

Carl felt his legs go weak.
“
I don
’
t believe it. What can I do?
”

“
I suggest you get your lawyer to deal with it. He will report it to the Computer Crime Investigation Unit and they
’
ll take it from there. They
’
re very efficient.
”

Carl felt relieved.
“
What I want to do is go round and throttle her,
”
he said.

“
That
’
s the worst thing you could do. You mustn
’
t let her know you
’
ve found out it
’
s her. You can
’
t give her the chance to destroy the evidence. Trust me, they
’
ll catch her.
”

“
Whew! I can
’
t believe she could be so evil.
”

“
Well, she
’
ll pay for it, never you fear.
”

The results of the wine exam were on Sam
’
s desk. He read them with a smile. He could almost have predicted them. The only surprises were that Hayley had done so well and that Zita had done so badly. He supposed he
’
d better call her.

“
Hello
,
Zita, Sam here, from the wine course.
”

“
Oh hello, Sam.
”
She held her head which was throbbin
g unmercifully with her hangover.

“
The results of the exam are in and I thought I
’
d let you know that unfortunately you didn
’
t pass.
”
His voice was cold.

“
Oh!
”
She wasn
’
t terribly surprised and right now she didn
’
t care. She didn
’
t give a shit about anything!
“
Oh, I see. Well, thanks
,
Sam,
”
she said, thinking
‘
Fuck you, I bet you enjoyed that!
’
in her own mind.

She had stayed home that morning as her hangover was the worst she
’
d ever had so she was surprised when she heard a knock on the door. Bloody Marcus
,
she thought, opening it angrily. Two plainclothes detectives stood there flashing their IDs at her
.

“
Miss Zita Williams?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
We have a warrant to detain you for questioning
under Section Four of the Criminal Justice Act.
”

She tried to close the door but they were too quick for her. She lashed out at the first man but within two seconds his partner had her in handcuffs.

“
Let us warn you that anything you say may be taken down and used against you in evidence.
”

“
Fuck off
!”
she shrieked.
“
What are you accusing me of?
”

“
Incitement to hatred.
”

She struggled with them all the way down the stairs but she was no match for them. They bundled her into the car.

In the station they fingerprinted her and took her photograph and then she was led to a room to be questioned.

She quickly realised that they somehow knew that she was behind the blog. She
’
d slipped up somewhere. She demanded to see her lawyer.

The police in both Ireland and Australia had moved with great speed and during the twenty
-
four hours that Zita was being held for questioning, Interpol confirmed that her fingerprints matched those of Dolores Wright, the woman wanted for murder in Australia
.
An extradition warrant was sought and granted against her. Murder was murder in any country.

As Donal had read through the file he received from Phil, he recalled the gruesome details of the horrific murder of Lee Simmons. The fact that the victim was a pimp who had mistreated and brutalised his
‘
girls
’
didn
’
t make his death any more acceptable.

He
’
d been killed in the most horrible manner. His hands and feet had been tied to his bed with four sets of ha
ndcuffs. His genitals had been cut off, his body
mutilated and his throat slit. It was one of the most horrific murders any of them had seen.