Page 109 of Boomerville at Ballymegille

The garden became quiet; not a sound could be heard and even the birds seemed to cease singing.

‘Thank you.’ Harry raised his head. ‘And now we’ll follow Hattie to the lake.’

Lucinda took Alf’s arm and stepped forward, forming a procession behind Finbar and Melissa, with James alongside Willie. Everyone walked slowly and when they reached the jetty, they stopped, forming a semi-circle at the edge of the lake. The silver blue water in the light of the noon sun was calm and as flat as a mirror.

Hattie kept walking and stepped up and onto the wooden boards. A faint wind ruffled the curls in her hair as she turned to face everyone.

‘We’re all here today on behalf of our dear friend, Bill,’ she began. ‘Bill asked me to leave his ashes at the last place he visited, and that’s why we’re here at the lake.’

Hattie looked at the faces turned towards her.

‘We paid our respects to Bill at the crematorium, some weeks ago, and today, many of you have travelled a long way to see him in what will be his resting place, to say a final goodbye.’

Heads nodded as they listened to Hattie.

Finbar reached for Melissa’s hand and cupped it in his own. Alf glanced down to see Ness, Bunty and Teddy sit side-by-side, their coats shining, tails still.

‘So, with no further words, I’m going to hand Bill over.’

Hattie turned and faced the water and held the box out at arm’s length.

The surface of the lake began to ripple and, gliding towards the jetty, what appeared to be a large bouquet of pretty flowers, moved forward. When it reached Hattie, the flowers came together and a body was thrust high, breaking the surface, as Audrey, in colourful Lycra, was raised up, her arms outstretched. She took the box and as she was lowered, her Lycra-clad, rubber-capped Babes surfaced too.

They swam backwards and formed a circle to escort Audrey to the centre.

The onlookers began to clap as Audrey raised Bill’s remains then slowly disappeared, to deposit the box at the bottom of the lake. A breeze suddenly blew, breathing softly through the trees, as everyone stared at the surface.

In the years to come, whenever the group gathered, they would remember the moment when a voice seemed to whisper from the water,

‘Thank you for being my friends.’

* * *

In the diningroom at Boomerville Manor, drinks were being served from the bar and a tasty buffet was laid on a long table. Guests, who’d come together to celebrate Bill’s life and give him a good send-off, helped themselves to delicious delicacies. A roaring log fire burned, the ribbons of flame illuminating the cosy ingle-nook fireplace, in the centre of the room where Audrey and her Babes, now groomed and wearing their best dresses, supped glasses of damson gin and chatted with Declan and the twins. Willie, keeping close to Audrey, had a whisky in his hand and reached down to stroke Ness, who lay beside Bunty and Teddy. Asleep on a thick rug, they were curled in a furry pile, basking in the heat from the fire.

‘I think that went rather well,’ Hattie said to Jo, as they sipped sherry and watched the guests’ interactions.

‘Yes, I agree,’ Jo replied. ‘I’d like to think that if Bill was here today, he’d enjoy his own party.’ She saw James beckon her. ‘I’ll be back in a moment,’ she said.

Harry, holding a sausage roll in one hand and a pint in the other, wandered over. He wore a T-shirt under his suit jacket and Hattie, who reached out to move the lapels of the suit to one side, read the slogan, “You Would Look Better Embalmed”.

‘Very funny,’ she said and shook her head.

‘I thought it was topical.’ Harry bit into his sausage roll.

‘No wonder you’re still single.’

‘So,’ Harry said, ‘the inquest concluded that he’d died of natural causes.’ Crumbs from Connor’s flaky pastry fell on his jacket and he brushed them away.

‘Aye, that’s what the death certificate has on it.’

‘I’ll never accept that.’ Harry took a slug of his beer.

‘I think you’re right, but does it really matter?’

‘No, not now the police say that Malcolm jumped off a ferry.’ Harry looked at Hattie and smiled.

‘I heard that they found a holdall on the deck. It contained Malcolm’s wallet, fake ID and his British and Spanish driving licence together with a photo of Melissa, torn in two pieces, in a pocket on the side.’

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