Ask No Questions by Claire Allan

Author:Claire Allan [Allan, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008383534
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2021-01-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ingrid

By the time I leave Niall, I’m exhausted. And confused. His version of the aftermath differs from Declan’s. According to him, it was his brother who changed – and no matter how much family and friends have tried to help him over the years, Declan still seems intent on a path to self-destruction.

And Niall is far from convinced that Jamesy Harte was framed. In fact, he is adamant that the right man went to jail and he should never have been released.

‘Life should have meant life,’ he’d said, his eyes darkening. ‘He should never have been allowed to see the light of day again. If you’d seen what I saw, then you’d think the same.

‘What he did to her, that wasn’t accidental. It wasn’t anything anyone with even an ounce of humanity could have inflicted on another human being. No one capable of doing that to a child should ever be allowed the chance to do it again.’ He’d stared at the table as he spoke as if this was something he’d thought long and hard about.

‘And you don’t think, as Declan does, that Jamesy Harte was an easy target? Jamesy himself says he was set up. That the evidence against him was circumstantial at best.’

Niall had sipped from his coffee, then shook his head. ‘I don’t buy that. There was always something off about him, don’t you think? He always made me feel uneasy. I remember how he would look at you girls, too. I didn’t understand it at the time – probably didn’t understand it fully until I was a lot older.

‘Then I knew. If it hadn’t been Kelly, it would have been someone else. It was only ever a matter of time with him. There’s a wrongness in him, and it’s a disgrace that he doesn’t even have the good grace to put his hands up and admit it instead of dragging all this back up again.’

I found it strange that two brothers with identical experiences of what had happened that day held views that were so divergent. That it had affected them both so differently. I had been so convinced by Declan’s version of events that I knew I had gone to the meeting with preconceptions that Niall would be thoroughly unlikeable. But he’d been charming, and warm. But just like Declan, there was something about him that I just couldn’t put my finger on.

I’m finding it hard to get my head around a lot of things, I think as I walk across the multistorey car park to find my car. It’s down to me to make sense of it, for the book at least, I suppose. But given the day I’ve had, and the fact that I have been running on zero per cent for the last few hours, I decide to stop trying to unravel it all until tomorrow at least. All I want now is to go home, switch off my phone, slip into my pyjamas and crash over a trashy movie.

So, the last thing I need is to reach my car and see that all four tyres have been slashed.

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