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‘A couple of my colleagues from England, Mrs McCafferty. From Oxford.’
Her eyes narrow. ‘Oxford? What’s them got to do with us?’
‘I’m Detective Chief Inspector Adam Fawley,’ I say, flipping open my warrant card. ‘And this is DI Quinn. We’re investigating a case that may involve your neighbour. In fact, we’re concerned for her welfare, as we don’t currently know where she is. We were hoping you might be able to tell us something that could help track her down.’
The grip loosens a little. Metaphorically and literally.
‘The Madigan woman?’
Which strikes me – and no doubt you – as an extremely revealing way to describe someone you’ve lived next door to for years.
‘Katherine Madigan, yes. I believe she has a daughter? Sabrina?’
The woman snorts. ‘That little madam? She’s no better than she should be.’
Curiouser and curiouser.
‘Do you know Ms Madigan well?’
Another snort. ‘Ms– you have it right, there. There’s noMrMadigan, that’s for sure. And to answer your question, we don’t socialize.’
Quinn now. ‘Do you remember when you last saw either of them?’
A shrug. ‘I haven’t seen young Miss for a good wee while.Her, maybe a month.’
‘I know you said you don’t socialize with them,’ says Ryan, ‘but do they see a lot of other people? Besides yourselves?’
‘Not that we’ve seen. They keep themselves to themselves, I will say that for them. Not noisy either, which is just as well as these walls are paper-thin.’
‘Sabrina doesn’t play music? Have friends round? She’s sixteen, after all –’
‘I’ve never noticed anyone. There’s the boyfriend, of course.’
‘Sabrina has a boyfriend?’
She turns to me. ‘Not her –her.’
I don’t know why I’m surprised at that – Kate Madigan was a very attractive woman and probably still is. It’s just that ever since we found out what really happened in 2016 I’ve thought of her and Daisy as almost a single entity, united in their secret against the world. It would take a lot, surely, for Madigan to risk letting someone else inside that circle.
‘Do you know his name?’
She shrugs again. ‘Don’t know, don’t want to know.’
Quinn opens up his phone and starts taking notes. ‘What does he look like?’
‘I only saw him the once – Arthur saw him a couple of other times, but he’s at the pub. All I remember is he was a fat fella in shorts. Didn’t strike me as her type, if you really want to know. I’d have thought she’d go for someone a mite more refined.’
She seems to know a lot about Madigan, for someone who claims not to know her at all.
‘You called Sabrina a “little madam” just now, Mrs McCafferty – what did you base that judgement on?’
She looks straight at me. ‘I don’t need to spend time with them to know the sort of people they are, Chief Inspector bloody Morse or whatever your name is. I do have eyes in my head. That girl is nothing but trouble. Giving herself airs and graces and looking down her sharp little nose at the rest of us.’
‘What does she look like?’
She starts a little. ‘Now why would you be asking that?’
‘No special reason, Mrs McCafferty – merely that we don’t have an up-to-date description.’