I Saw You by Julie Parsons Read Free Book Online Page B

of details of what
was described as a suicide note. It was addressed to her mother. It said she was sorry for what she had done. She could never forgive herself. She hoped that she would be forgiven, if not in this
life then in the next.
    McLoughlin gave the gate a push. Just to make sure that the bolt was holding. Then he walked back down towards the house. He began to sing the same old Frank Sinatra song. He sang it, slowly,
softly, over and over again as he went around to the terrace. He picked up his glass, then gazed out over the lights of the city towards the dark of Dublin Bay and the Irish Sea beyond. The Kish
lighthouse flashed twice, then flashed again thirty seconds later. The Baily light to the north flashed once, then flashed again twenty seconds later. The West Pier light gave its three green
flashes every seven point five seconds. And the East Pier white light flashed twice every fifteen seconds. And the red Poolbeg light occulted twice every twenty seconds. He stood and watched the
lights repeat and repeat and repeat, then turned and went into the kitchen. He ran the glass under the cold tap and left it to dry. He closed the album and walked down the corridor to the bathroom.
He splashed water on his face and cleaned his teeth thoroughly. He’d phone Sally Spencer in the morning. He wanted to know more about the suicide note. He undressed and got into bed. The
words from the song ran round in his head and he hummed the tune. Then he lay on his side and slept.
    The Kish light flashes twice, every thirty seconds. The Baily to the north is also white and flashes once every twenty seconds. The West Pier in Dun Laoghaire gives three green
flashes every seven point five seconds and the light on the East Pier is white and flashes twice every fifteen seconds. And the Poolbeg? The Poolbeg is occulted, red, twice, every twenty seconds.
‘Occulted’. Now that was a word she hadn’t thought of or used for years. In the context of lighthouses it meant that it was a constant light, but it darkened or
‘occulted’ at pre-determined intervals. Is that what I am now? she thought, as she stood at the front window and watched the lights from the lighthouses in the bay. I am occulted, I am
darkened by my acts. And how can I bring myself out into the light again?
    She turned away. She opened the front door. It was still warm outside, but she shivered as she pulled on her jacket. She checked the pockets. Keys, purse, phone. She pulled the door closed
behind her and walked down the steps. She needed to fill her lungs with air. Breathe the saltiness of the sea deep inside her body. She wouldn’t be able to do it for much longer. She had to
make the most of it while she could. She walked quickly along the road and past the Martello tower. Then she ran down the stone ramp towards the sea.

S EVEN
    McLoughlin stood outside the small terraced house just off Ranelagh Road. Marina Spencer had lived here for the last year and a half, so her mother said. He put the Chubb key
into the lock and tried to turn it. It resisted, and for a moment he thought it had jammed. He half turned it backwards, then tried again. This time it engaged fully and the barrels of the lock
clicked. He pulled out the key and selected the Yale from the bunch in his hand. He slotted it into place. It turned smoothly. He pushed the door and it opened, the hinges squeaking. The sound set
his teeth on edge. He stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind him.
    ‘I’ll give you her keys.’ Sally Spencer had taken the bunch from a large brown leather bag. ‘These are for the house. This is the car. I suppose these
must be for her office. I don’t know about the rest.’ She held out the bag to him. ‘Maybe you should take this too. It’s got nearly all of Marina’s life in it.’
She shook it for effect. ‘Her passport, driving licence, purse, cards, phone. Bills to be paid, bills paid, shopping lists. Make-up bag, hairbrush,