Page 36 of One Day and Forever
No morals. No standards. The kind of guy who would sleep with his girlfriend’s best friend, approximately nine months before Zac was born? Is that what his mother was apologising for in the letter?
He raised his eyes to meet Alice’s, and found his answer right there, in the absolute horror and devastation that was in her eyes.
‘Did my mum have a relationship with him?’ he asked her, seriously wishing that he knew none of this.
Alice took several seconds before she managed a quiet, ‘I don’t know. I had no suspicion of it at all until I met you today…’
He put the pieces together. ‘And I showed you the letter. And questioned the date my parents met.’
Val leaned forward, said softly, ‘You definitely weren’t premature?’
Zac shook his head. ‘No. Ten pounds. Full term.’
‘Bugger,’ was her whispered reply.
He didn’t want to ask the next question. He really didn’t. Yet he knew he had to. ‘Now that you have all this information, do you think there’s apossibilitythat they could have had an…’ He couldn’t make the words come out. Not in relation to his mother. She was the most honest, genuine person he’d ever known. He reworded the question. ‘Do you think there’s a possibility that there could have been something between them?’
Again, Alice thought about her answer before speaking. ‘I would never have thought so. That wasn’t Morag. She was good, and kind, and, sure, she loved to have fun, but I find it impossible to believe that she would do that to me. Or to anyone.’
There was some consolation that Alice had the same opinion of his mum’s integrity that he held. But he sensed that she was holding something back.
‘But…?’ he probed.
Alice let out a long sigh and her shoulders sagged. ‘Larry could be persuasive. Charming. He was a master manipulator, and he could make people do things that they didn’t even want to do. Not through threats or violence, but just by finding their weak spot, or getting them at a vulnerable moment. He was a shark, and not many people were a match for him.’
Zac felt pure visceral anger begin to tighten his chest. This guy sounded like such a prick, and in Zac’s line of work he’d met so many just like him. The husbands who controlled their wives, who were charming in public and narcissistic, megalomaniacal assholes behind closed doors. They didn’t intimidate him in the least, but he could see how twenty-five-year-old Morag would be no match for someone like that.
‘So I guess the bottom line is that the only person who knows is him. And possibly my dad, but I can’t bring myself to ask him. Not now. Maybe not ever.’
Val put her mug on the table. ‘Oh, your poor dad. I can only imagine how difficult that would be for him. Especially after losing your mum and your aunt. For what it’s worth, my advice would be to let it lie, if you can. You are who you are because of the parents that raised you. Isn’t it enough to know that?’
He thought for a moment, but he already knew the answer. ‘No. I really wish it was, but that’s a loose end that I can’t leave. I’m a facts guy – occupational hazard – and not knowing the truth would keep me awake at night.’
‘Well, maybe think about it for a wee while at least. It’s a lot to take in,’ Alice suggested, and he could feel that came from a place of care and concern. But this information had been lost to him for almost thirty years, and he couldn’t leave it any longer.
‘Where will I find him – Larry McLenn? Do you know where he lives?’
The shadow of horror that crossed Alice’s face made him flinch. ‘I do. But Zac, it’s really not a good idea. Stay away from him.’
There was no doubt this was rash. Impulsive. But he only had a short time to get answers on this trip, so he checked his watch and then pled his case.
‘I have a few hours before I need to get to the airport for my flight back to Dublin. I hear you’re headed that way too.’ Alice nodded, as he went on. ‘The thing is… I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to come back to Glasgow, so I can either kill time until my flight or I can go and at least try to make sense of this and get an answer. If I don’t find him, fair enough, but at least I won’t have missed an opportunity.’ He watched as the colour drained from her face and he felt terrible for upsetting her, so he immediately clarified his thoughts. ‘Please don’t thinkI’m pushing you to be part of this, though, Alice. If you’re not comfortable sharing his address with me, I can use my own resources to locate him and I’ll grab a taxi there. Thank you so much for your help and for sharing those photos with me. They’re really special. I can see why my mum loved you.’
He stood up and, with a grateful smile, gave them both a hug. First Val, then Alice. He then pulled his jacket off the back of the chair, but as he did so, he spotted Val’s raised eyebrows and pursed lips, then then two women had yet another one of those unspoken conversations.
Suddenly, Alice exhaled, shaking her head, as if making a decision to do something even though it was against her better judgement.
‘Zac, forget what I just said. Wait right there while I get my coat.’
Val nodded her approval. ‘I’m with you too. Let me grab my lippy and the keys for the Jeep.’
18
KARA & OLLIE
Glasgow Airport – 2014
‘Kill me. Kill me now. Put me out of my misery,’ Kara groaned. ‘I’ll miss my twenty-first birthday, but at least I’d be spared this eternal embarrassment.’
