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She hung up the phone, fuming but also feeling a little b
etter for having vented some steam.  And unlike Lucy, the bursar’s secretary didn’t count as an innocent bystander.  Kate was used to those close to positions of authority acting as if the authority was
theirs,
and out-Heroding Herod in the thrill of their proximity to power, and she had never much cared for that sort of petty bullying.

As she didn’t know where the bathroom was, and in
any case disliked using other people’s facilities, she made her way into the kitchen and sat down to a cup of tea with the sympathetic Lucy.  Kate would have preferred coffee but she had to admit that the hot, sweet brew was welcome on that particular morning, especially as it was accompanied by slices of hot toast covered with real butter and masses of chunky marmalade.  Butter and marmalade were just two of the treats that Kate had long ago forced out of her own diet but today, she decided, was a special occasion, and as such the eating of just one of these delicious slices was justified.  Perhaps even two. 
Dozen
.

‘What are you going to do first this morning, Kate?  I mean, there’s the insurance and’ -h
ere Lucy waved one hand vaguely- ‘all sorts of things to be seen to.’

Guessing that her hostess generally left such tasks to her husband, Kate shrugged and said, ‘I suppose so, but the firs
t thing I have to do is tidy up a bit so I can make a list of what’s missing for the police.  Otherwise it won’t be easy because they really wrecked the place.’

‘Bastards!’ spat Lucy with unexpected venom
, her face contorted with anger and loathing.  ‘They should be horse-whipped!’

Kate felt herself warming to her even more than she had the night before, when Lucy had earned her eternal gratitude by unhesitatingly welcoming her into her home, and she replied feelingly, ‘You can say that again.  I’d like to throttle the rotten shits who did it.’  She shook her head and said weakly, ‘I mean, all my stuff...’

Lucy’s sympathy was instant and genuine, ‘Oh, I know.  The thought of those animals rummaging through your private things, pawing at stuff that might not be valuable but which means something to
you,
is enough to make you sick.  To say nothing of rummaging through your knicker drawer.  Smashing your furniture and bits and pieces, and messing the whole place up.  Somehow that’s even worse than the stealing.  Though that’s bad enough.  The cheek of them, just taking your possessions as if they had a
right
to them, as if they weren’t
yours. 
As if they didn’t mean anything to you.  They could be presents from your family or…well,
anything. 
And those scumbags think they can just smash their way in and ruin your home, take anything of yours they want.  They should be flogged, they really should!’ She grimaced, ‘I’d never feel safe again...’

She trailed off and looked guiltily at Kate, who gave a short laugh and replied, ‘Don’t worry, you won’t upset me.  I’ve already thought of
all that, believe me.  It probably
will
take a while before I feel safe on my own again, but I’ve got nowhere else to go.’

‘You can stay here,’ said Lucy instantly and firmly, nodding her head and evidently meaning every word, ‘And don’t give me any nonsense about imposing on us, either!  We have no children and you can stay here as long as you want without disturbing anyone.’  Surprisingly, she winked, ‘Between you and me
, I get a bit sick of looking at just Brendan’s face every night; the change will do me good.  Him too, no doubt.  A pretty girl about the place might make him smarten himself up a bit.  When it’s just the two of you living together men become can such
pigs,
my dear.  Lazy slobs, the lot of them, given half a chance.’

Pretty girl?  God, she
wished
!  Octogenarian, more like!  Kate burst into a laugh that made her feel at least one hundred times better.  Only a few minutes ago she would have believed laughter impossible, yet there she was braying like a donkey, and feeling very much the better for it.  The tight, clenched fist in the pit of her stomach relaxed as she was confronted once again with the great truth that earlier traumas had forced upon her; that life goes on.  No matter what.  That could have been her life’s motto from childhood on, and it was just as true now as... as when other misfortunes had befallen her.  Bad things happened all the time but there was good in the world too, and in people.  But that was the story of her life too; no matter how bad things were, sooner or later something -or some
one-
would crop up to restore the little flicker of hope that made continued existence endurable. 
Possible,
in fact.

‘Would you like some more tea, dear?’

Lucy was looking at her with motherly concern on her pale, lined face and Kate wondered suddenly if she was childless by choice.  It would be a shame if she had wanted kids but been unable to have them; she seemed perfect for the role.  Not like Kate’s own mother.  Her mother had been a wonderful person in many ways, and dearly loved, but she had been a professional, a lawyer, and had brought a sharp, focused approach to problems that had sometimes seemed a little clinical to a distraught little girl in need of a hug.  Kate would have given anything to have her mother there with her right then, but she had to admit that Lucy’s more overtly sympathetic approach had a certain comforting appeal.

Lucy repeated the question and, with a slight start, Kate shook her head, ‘Oh!  Sorry, I was miles away.  Er, no, I’ve had enough, thanks.’

‘Right!’ said Lucy briskly, ‘Then we’ll put on some rubber gloves and go tackle that apartment of yours!  Together we’ll soon whip it back into shape.’

Kate tried to protest that she wouldn’t dream of imposing on Lucy for help with the cleaning, but
she was soon shushed into silence by the older woman insisting, ‘Don’t be silly, dear, you’ll feel awful if you do it alone and I’ve nothing on for this morning.  Come on, let’s get to work!’

Suddenly reluctant to go back down there at all, even accompanied, Kate hesitated before saying feebly, ‘Perhaps in a little while.  I’m still pretty tired and really I should get in touch with the insurance people and...’

She trailed off as Lucy looked at her kindly but firmly, her faded brown eyes shrewder and more perceptive than Kate might have expected.  ‘
Now
would be best, dear,’ she said, gently but in a tone that brooked no argument, ‘The longer you leave something like this the harder it’ll be to face in the long run, you know.’

‘Okay.’
Kate, wondering just how she had become ‘dear’, submitted resignedly and not without gratitude.  Having Lucy affectionately bossing her around was exactly what she needed just then, and somehow made her feel warm and secure. 
Silver linings,
she thought as they made their way down to her devastated flat,
perhaps, sometimes, some good really
does
come from evil. 
At any rate it would be nice to think so.

Almost two
backbreaking hours later the two women were tired but satisfied; the flat looked almost as it had done before the robbery. 
Almost,
the way it had
almost
been her home.  Several framed pictures had been ruined and had had to be thrown out -including a prized photo of Kate’s graduation from UCD, showing her flanked by her aunt and uncle- but much of the destruction was cosmetic; a lot of pictures and vases, and several pieces of Waterford crystal that had been expensive but which had not possessed any great sentimental value.

As she
compiled her list for the Garda it became apparent that very little had actually been stolen; a DVD player, her laptop, her camcorder, and her briefcase.  And that seemed to be it.  The DVD player and camcorder mattered little, and even her MacBook -while expensive- contained only the original computer files of her books.  And although it was the oldest and least valuable of her missing possessions, it was the loss of her briefcase that hurt the most.  It had been her mother’s lucky case, for use in court, and was therefore a precious memento.  Stealing it was a bit like stealing a piece of Kate’s childhood, of one of her few positive associations of that time.  More prosaically, it had also contained the file Trevor had given her on Grainne Riordan, the file she should have spent the evening studying rather than merely skimming through before trotting off to meet Michael Riordan. 
And, of course, sleeping with him.

Kate quickly cut off that line of thought before it filled her mind enti
rely; she had enough on her plate just then without adding to her problems.  However, thinking about Michael brought the realization that she was supposed to be seeing Grainne for the first time that afternoon, and with a stifled curse she looked at her watch; damn, it was almost one o’clock!  She wondered briefly if she should ring and cancel but then realized that getting away from the flat for a couple of hours might be exactly what she needed.

She sought out Lucy and told her about the appointment, adding that she really should not miss it.  And
although it might have been imagination she thought she saw a flicker of relief crossing her new friend’s face.  Kate cursed herself for a fool; Lucy was no spring chicken, and the sheer hard labor involved in straightening up so much mess must have taken a toll.  She should have stopped her sooner.

Even so Lucy frowned and said, ‘Are you sure you should go?  There
’s still a lot to be done.’

‘It’ll do me good to get out for a while,’ said Kate firmly, ‘Besides, the bulk of the wo
rk is done.  And I’ve already imposed on you far too much.’

‘Nonsense!’ protested Lucy quickly, ‘I had nothing better to do this morning, anyway.’  She smiled with a sudden touch of sadness, ‘I retired last year, and sometimes the days
seem a bit long and empty.  It’ll be better when Brendan retires too, and we can do things together.  Daytime television isn’t exactly stimulating or fulfilling, you know.  Especially when you’re used to working full-time.’

‘What d
id you do?’ asked Kate, embarrassed that she didn’t already know, having lived below her for several months now.

‘I was a s
econdary school teacher for almost forty years, dear.  English and History.’

Well, that figured.  If she had ever paid her
neighbour more than cursory attention before the words ‘school teacher’ would have screamed out at her.  Kate smiled vaguely, not knowing what to say, and in the end said nothing but simply went to fetch her coat.  She paused in the hallway as a thought struck her and sniffed suspiciously at her arm-pits.  She had showered and changed her clothes before the great clean-up but now she suspected she could do with another one.  Oh well, it would just have to wait.  A dab of make-up wouldn’t have gone amiss either; after the events of the previous night she feared she didn’t look much younger than her neighbor, but that would have to wait to.

She returned to Lucy in the sitting-room, ‘I hate to be so rude after all you’ve done but I really have to fly.  I’m
s
o
late!’

‘Don’t be silly, dear.  You run along.  And remember, you’re welcome to stay with us as long as you like.’

Kate smiled gratefully, ‘Thank you.  And we’ll see.  But like you said earlier, the longer I put it off the harder it’ll be to come back here in the long run.  And I guess that applies to sleeping here too.  But thank you so much for all your kindness.’

Lucy shrugged off her gratitude and bustled towards the front door, calling back, ‘
Well, I might see you later, then.  Take care, dear. And don’t forget to get that door seen to.’

Damn, she had forgotten about that!  About the only useful thing the police had done was
point out that the burglars had gained ingress by breaking one of the small glass panels at the top of the door, and then reaching in and turning the catch.  Well, she didn’t have time to worry about it now; it would have to wait until later.

After locking
her door with the deadbolt, slightly pointless though it now seemed, she almost ran out to her car and set off.  By taking a few liberties with the speed limit she managed the journey to Swords in less than thirty minutes, thanks mostly to the M50 motorway.  This was a new ring road that curved in a great semi-circle around the outskirts of Dublin, and was one of the few positive changes she had discovered on her return to the old city.  Deacon House was only ten minutes or so beyond Swords village so by twenty-to-two, earlier than she would have dared hope, Kate found herself once more speaking into the intercom.  When the gate swung open she shot through, wondering if she had time for a word with Trevor before she met Grainne.  The two o’clock appointment she had suggested wasn’t set in stone, of course, but Kate liked to begin as she intended to carry on, and hadn’t needed Trevor’s advice on the importance of an unvarying routine to the mentally ill.

The thought of seeing her new patien
t for the first time sent a hot flood of adrenaline into her stomach and she pressed harder on the accelerator, sending gravel flying behind her as she rounded the last bend of the driveway.  She skidded to a halt in front of the great, spreading entrance and jumped out, trepidation warring with anticipation and her heart thumping as she trotted up the long flight of worn old stone steps.