‘She kind of put my mind at rest, reminding me that allegiances change, and in fact the guys I thought I saw had moved away from the area.’
‘What guys?’ Jess frowned.
‘They used to be drug dealers, bottom feeders for a drug lord in my old neighbourhood,’ Declan explained, his heart hammering.
‘And what does that have to do with you?’ she asked uncertainly.
‘Have you ever heard the name Tony Callaghan?’
‘I have, yes. It was all over the local news when he died. Hit-and-run, I believe,’ she said, recalling the incident.
‘I heard it was an accident,’ said Declan. It had been an accident, there was no doubting that.
‘Well, whatever, I hate to say it, but he was no loss to society,’ said Jess. ‘I think whoever did it probably did the police a favour.’ She shook her head. ‘Would you believe I ended up at his wake,’ she told him, recalling the day she and a friend had met for lunch, and finished up in the pub.
‘You knew him personally?’ asked Declan, shocked.
‘No of course I didn’t know him.’ She shook her head. ‘We had no idea the wake was going to be taking place at the pub. We headed off as soon as it filled up with his cronies,’ she explained. ‘We thought the mourners would not be the most savoury group to be around, especially after the drinks started flowing.’
There was a pause.
‘So why exactly are we talking about Tony Callaghan?’ she asked him, as he stared into space and wondered why on earth he had ever started this conversation.
‘Declan?’ she repeated, a frown crossing her face.
‘Because I killed him,’ he replied, not daring to meet her eyes.
FORTY-EIGHT
JESS
Jess felt like all the air had vanished from the room. She thought of little Maisie fast asleep in her bedroom, whilst she was sharing her sofa with a killer.
‘You killed him,’ said Jess, when she finally found her voice.
‘It was an accident,’ he told her as he met her gaze. ‘You must believe that.’
‘But I remember reading about that,’ she said as the realisation dawned that Declan had been all over the regional news more than five years ago. ‘The person did time in jail. That was you?’
Declan could see the colour drain from her face.
‘The police thought I had motive, which to an extent I guess I did. But I swear on my own life and everyone I know, that was not the case,’ he said calmly. He could feel his hands trembling as he reached for his coffee. ‘But, yes, it was me. I was handed a five-year jail sentence for causing death by dangerous driving, reduced to three years for good behaviour,’ he confessed, with a mixture of shame and a pleading look flitting across his face.
‘You killed Tony Callaghan?’ said Jess, her mouth gaping open, hardly able to take it in.
‘By accident.’ He sighed. ‘I can explain if you will hear me out.’
Jess found herself nodding, not trusting herself to speak.
‘I remember the day as if it was yesterday,’ Declan told her. ‘There was a low autumn sun in the sky, and it was blinding. As I drove along the street just outside the town centre my vision was blurred. Tony walked out between two parked cars with his phone stuck to his ear. Neither of us saw each other until it was too late,’ he explained, before putting his head in his hands.
Jess took a glug of wine as her thoughts whirred around in her head. He had to be telling the truth. Declan was no cold-blooded killer. Was he?
‘So why did the police think you might have had motive?’ asked Jess, her head all over the place.
Declan told Jess all about his sister’s problems with drugs.
‘Tony was the kingpin, so I guess the police thought I had deliberately targeted him after what happened to Kelly.’ He still caught his breath at the mention of her name.
