Although all signs point to Stephen McDonagh, I still can’t entirely believe it. But if the car he was driving matches up with evidence from the scene, then that should be enough to close the case.
‘The McDonaghs?’ Jonathan asks. ‘Why on earth would they be speeding away from The Lake House in the middle of the night?’
‘Certainly, unusual behaviour,’ James agrees. ‘Dad, can you bring us there now? The sooner we check this out the better.’
CHAPTER 48
THE QUESTION
Gus appears on the scene before we reach the gate, hollering and flailing his arms.
‘You here to intimidate my poor brother again?’ he fires off at James. ‘I was all night with him at Doctor O’Toole’s the other night, thanks to you! His stitches burst and we had to get him patched up… I’m calling the police on you if you touch him again – assault charges.’
Jonathan shoots James a look.
James sighs and rubs his temples. ‘Gus, please calm down,’ he says calmly. ‘I am sorry about that… but Stephen was well out of order – I didn’t punch him for no reason.’
‘Oh yeah? What was your reason then?’ asks Gus, getting right up in James’ face.
‘He was… heavily intoxicated. I’m sure he wouldn’t want me to repeat it,’ replies James quietly.
Gus’s face softens a little at that and he steps back. ‘He’s a good lad – just gets a bit rowdy when he’s had a few drinks,’ Gus says, more to himself than anyone else.
‘I understand,’ says Jonathan. ‘But we’re here on a separate matter. Would it be all right if we came in and spoke to you, Gus, off the street?’
Gus takes a moment before replying. ‘I suppose so…’ He opens the door and gestures for us to follow him inside.
Marianne gasps and grabs her chest in surprise when she sees us in the hallway. ‘Oh my gosh! You just gave me such a fright!’ she exclaims, still wearing her robe and slippers as she speaks.
‘I’m sorry,’ I say quickly. ‘We didn’t mean to startle you.’
‘It’s okay,’ she replies, her voice shaking a little. ‘I’m just a bit jumpy at the moment.’
‘She’s been a bit on edge since… well, since Stephen came in again this morning looking like he’d done rounds with Tyson Fury,’ says Gus. ‘He’s been on a bit of a bender the last few weeks, truth be told.’
Marianne huffs and stomps off into the kitchen.
Gus leads us in, gesturing for us to take a seat. ‘So, what can we do for you?’ he asks, folding his arms and leaning against the sink. Stephen is seated, looking puffy and hung-over. He simply groans when he sees us. Grace is texting on her phone, a half-eaten cooked breakfast in front of her. James and Jonathan sit down, while I remain standing by the counter.
‘What is it now? More earache?’ mutters Stephen, who’s looking sullen.
‘No,’ says James. ‘Stephen, I’m sorry for the punch. I should have dealt with the situation better.’
‘Ha!’ he snorts. ‘You think a simple sorry is going to make up for what you did?’
‘Stephen!’ scolds Gus. ‘That’s enough now. We don’t want trouble. We’re running a family guest house here – it’s not good for our guests to see people traipsing in and out of here at all hours.’ He puts a hand on his brother’s shoulder. ‘So please, can we just put all this behind us?’
Stephen nods and glares at the floor. ‘I’m sorry too.’ He looks up at me. ‘I’m especially sorry to you, Daisy. What I said. I didn’t mean it… drink, you know.’
I give a slight nod to acknowledge his apology. But I’m done thinking about his antics the other night; it actually gave me the answers I needed from Moya. Right now, I’m here solely to learn more about The Lake House fire, and nothing else is going to distract me from that task.
‘Right, so…’ continues Gus, turning his attention back to us. ‘What can we do for you?’
‘We need to ask you all some questions,’ says James.
‘Questions? What about?’ Marianne’s brow furrows in confusion and she looks to Jonathan.
‘About the fire last night at The Lake House,’ replies Jonathan.
