Free Murder in Ballyhasset by Noreen Mayer Page A

here will you sign my petition?'
    'What for?' asked Libby.
    'I'm organising a little demonstration march against the apartments going up on the seafront. Those ugly buildings will take away our lovely promenade walk.'
    'I agree with you,' said Libby, 'You had a protest this morning, I hear. The whole town is talking about it.'
    'We did,' Nuala replied. 'And we're having another one tomorrow.'
    Nuala got out a big hardback notebook. Libby signed it, and put her address on the page. There were plenty of signatures, she saw. 'I love the promenade walk,' she added. Then she went over to peer at the two large photos pinned to the white walls. One photo was of two young men, one of whom appeared to be a younger Conor Reilly. She recognised him by his fine blond hair. 'Who's in this picture of young men?'
    'Brendan, my brother, and his friend Conor Reilly. Conor used to live next door to us.' Nuala continued, 'My mother took those photos. This used to be her house. I never had the heart to get rid of them.'
    'Do you see much of Conor?' asked Libby.
    'I do, he works with Brendan.' She gazed at Libby curiously. 'Why do you ask?'
    Libby thought for a moment. 'Do they get on well, the two lads?'
    Nuala tossed her long hair back. 'They are a lot different from each other, but they are the best of friends.'
    Libby was curious. 'How are they different?'
    'Brendan dominates Conor all the time. He's much bossier.'
    'Is Brendan older?' Libby asked.
    'Yes, but only by two years,' replied Nuala. 'Brendan always protected Conor when they were at school.'
    Libby went over to the second photo, noting how yellow it was. It was of a boy around ten years of age, laughing and holding the hand of a small dark man with a moustache. 'Who is the man?'
    'That's my father. He's dead now.'
    'Do you miss him?'
    'Not at all. He was a monster. He was brutal to my mother. He beat her up regularly and no one knew about it except me and Brendan.'
    Libby felt shocked. 'Why didn’t she leave him?'
    'He threatened to kill her if she left him. She had every reason to believe he would do it. I didn’t know anything back then, but later on I understood.'
    Libby felt puzzled. 'If a doctor suspects abuse, they’re obliged to report it to the police.'
    'Ma always had an explanation, and she was convincing. She would say anything to protect him. She might say she was drunk and fell down. Ma never touched alcohol, but of course the doctors didn’t know that.'
    Libby remained silent, unsure of what to say.
    'I think what kept her from leaving was my brother and me,' Nuala said after a while.
    'Where is your mother now?'
    'She died of dementia a year ago, not long after Dad died of bowel cancer.'
    'That must have been hard for you, losing her,' Libby replied. What a sad tale, she thought. Who knows what horrible memories decent, respectable people like Nuala carry around. Witnessing her father's brutality at a young age must have affected her relationship with other men. It must be hard for her to trust them. She noticed Nuala seemed to be living alone.
    Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Nuala opened it, saying in a dull voice, 'Oh it's you.' Her brother Brendan marched in and sat down opposite Libby.
    He scowled at his sister. 'I hope you're not wasting Libby's time with idle gossip. You do talk rubbish sometimes. Have you cooked a meal for me?'
    Nuala replied nervously, 'Yes, I have. Your favourite, fish and chips.' She told Libby that Brendan always had his Sunday dinner with her.
    Brendan waited as Nuala served him the food, and fetched him his knife and fork. Libby wondered why he waited for her to do everything, like she was some kind of a slave. Brendan had a tough side to him, she realised. Moreover, what was even odder, was that Nuala obeyed his demands without question. Libby watched Nuala's tense face, and wondered why she was so scared of her brother.
    Libby then wondered how she had ever found him attractive.
    .

Chapter 1 3
    Dr Pamela Kelly rang Libby