Page 106 of Road Trip
They finally arrivedback at the inn half an hour later, their dirty, disheveled appearance drawing unapproving stares from the desk clerk and the dozen or so guests gathered in the lobby sipping drinks.
“You’re more dinged up than me, so you take the first shower,” Therese insisted when they reached their room. “Give me that cop’s card, and I’ll call and let him know what happened to us.”
Maeve was peering into the bathroom mirror, assessing the scrapes on her arms and shoulders, when she heard her sister screech from the other room.
“Aww man. Dammit!”
She poked her head out of the bathroom door. “What’s wrong?”
“This.” Therese pointed to the sleeve of her cashmere sweater, where there was now a blood-streaked jagged rip.
“Sonofabitch,” she muttered as she pulled the sweater over her head. “Can’t have nuthin’ nice.”
Maeve laughed despite herself. “How many times did we hear Mom say that over the years?”
“You say someonedeliberately tried to run you down tonight?” Officer Muldoon sounded dubious.
“Yes, sir,” Therese said. “We jumped onto the shoulder of the road and rolled down the embankment, or we’d both be roadkill. As it is, we’re just kind of scraped up.”
“And this was on the Old Wicklow Highway? Approximately what time? What kind of car was this?”
“Just about an hour ago. We couldn’t really see what kind of car it was, because the headlights blinded us. We were coming home from the Stag and the Hare…”
“Ahh. My favorite. Did you try the rainbow trout?”
“What? No. I had lamb and my sister had salmon.”
“The lamb is grand, but next time, get the trout,” Muldoon advised. “But now, there are several pubs and restaurants along that route, and unfortunately, we do get more than our fair share of drunks coming and going, so I wouldn’t jump to unwise conclusions.”
“The driver was using his high beams,” Therese objected. “He had to have seen us.”
“Well, if you want to come down to the station, I can file a report, but I must tell you without any description of the vehicle, or license number, I highly doubt there’s much we can do.”
Therese clenched and unclenched her fist. “Any news about the vandalism to our rental car?”
“Sorry, no. We did question the innkeeper, but nobody reported seeing anything suspicious that night.”
“Should my sister and I be concerned? This is two incidents in twenty-four hours.”
“I wouldn’t worry yourselves,” he said. “Bad luck, is all. We’ve no crime to speak of in the county, with the exception of the occasional drinking and drugging of some unruly types who should know better. But now, if you run into any more trouble, ring me back, will you?”
“Certainly,” Therese said. She disconnected in disgust.
“Was that our friend Officer Muldoon?” Maeve asked, emerging from the bathroom. “What did he say?”
“He’s gonna alert Interpol and put out an all-points bulletin and block all roads leading into and out of Tarrymore,” Therese said.
“Really?”
“Kidding. He was nice but totally dismissive. Said it was probably a drunk leaving one of the nearby bars or restaurants.”
“That’s not very reassuring. I guess all we can do is make sure we look over our shoulders and lock our doors tonight,” Maeve said.
Therese gathered up her toiletries and headed for the bathroom. “I’ve lived in New York City, and I’ve traveled all over the US and dealt with all kinds of freaks and creeps in some pretty sketchy situations, and I’m not usually a scaredy-cat, but Maevey, this has got me a little unnerved.”
Maeve went to the door and fastened the deadbolt and the chain lock. “Me too.”
CHAPTER 46
