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‘Who were you on the phone to?’ Lottie asked Boyd as they climbed the steps into the station.

‘An estate agent. I realise we have this murder investigation, Lottie, but could we squeeze in at least a half-hour this afternoon to look at the show home at Pine Grove?’

‘Are you for real?’ She tapped her ID against the pad and headed up the stairs to the office.

‘Just a quick look. Charlie says it’s the only time she has free. Three thirty. Today.’

‘And what’s wrong with tomorrow? Or next week? Or when we find Laura Nolan’s murderer? And who the hell is Charlie? Shit, Boyd, it’s your first day back.’

‘Humour me, for once.’ He opened the door and let her in by him. ‘Charlie’s the estate agent. It’ll only take ten minutes.’

‘Thought you said half an hour.’

‘Don’t be pedantic. Please, Lottie.’

‘I’ll see.’

‘I have to let them know.’

‘You go. I might not be able to get away.’

‘I want us both to see it.’

‘Boyd,’ she turned to him, ‘leave it for now.’ Speaking to the others in the office, she asked, ‘What’s the latest?’

Kirby said, ‘The super is holding a press briefing at three and wants all the available information before then. Preferably a suspect. Her words, not mine.’

‘She doesn’t ask for much,’ Lottie said. ‘We’ve only just broken the news to the victim’s mother. She’s in complete shock. I’ll need an FLO. Garda Brennan, that’s you.’

‘Ah, boss, I can’t.’

Lottie raised an eyebrow.

Martina Brennan had isolated herself following their last major case, when she’d made an error that could have been more costly than it was. And then there was all the hassle over her doomed affair with married Detective Sam McKeown.

‘I messed up last time, boss,’ she said.

‘Get back in the saddle,’ Kirby said. ‘It’s the only way.’

She gave him a side-eye filled with derision. ‘You do it then.’

‘I’m not trained. You are.’

‘So is Detective Lynch.’

‘She’s on holidays,’ Lottie said, hoping to dispel further aggravation. ‘And Garda Lei isn’t fully trained yet.’

He raised his head. ‘I don’t mind doing?—’

Lottie tugged off her jacket. ‘It’s Martina’s gig. End of story.’

‘Sure,’ Martina said, her mouth turning down in disgust.

‘What else have you lot found out while myself and Boyd were with Laura’s mother?’

Kirby stood. ‘She worked in Lidl. I had a chat with her manager on the phone. Laura was well liked. A good worker. Punctual and friendly. I’ll call over there later to see if I can discover anything else.’

‘We need to identify who she was out with last night. Her mother, Diana, seemed to think she was meeting a friend, possibly for dinner, but then she said Laura had no friends. She gave me Laura’s phone number. Where’s McKeown?’

‘Late again,’ Kirby said.

The door opened behind him. McKeown came in and sat at his desk.

‘The very man.’ Lottie laid a sheet of paper in front of him. ‘This is Laura Nolan’s phone number. See if you can find where and when it was last used. And anything else that might help us. We need to track her movements last night.’

‘Will do.’

‘Kirby, you go chat with her workmates and manager. Then see if the bank will release her card activity. If not, prepare a warrant.’

‘Sure thing, boss.’

‘Someone must know where she was. Someone knows how she got to where her body was found. Did this mysterious dinner date, if there was one, drag her there and kill her? Or was she attacked while walking home? We need all the CCTV you can get, McKeown.’

‘It would help if we had some idea of where she was last seen.’

‘I agree, that’s why you all need to work quickly on this. How did she get to the retail and cinema complex? Did she walk? Who was she with? I want to know.’

‘That’s quite a walk from her home, or from town for that matter,’ Boyd said.

‘I’m brainstorming here. Have you any bright ideas?’

‘No, sorry. She could have been killed anywhere and her body dumped there.’

‘It was a vicious attack,’ Kirby said. ‘Could have been personal, the way she was stabbed. Someone she knew?’

‘Personal or random, we haven’t one clue to go on yet.’ Lottie turned back to McKeown. ‘Check all available CCTV around that area for last night until we can trace her movements prior to her body being found, and pinpoint any other relevant security cameras. If you find anything or anyone suspicious on the footage, work backwards from there. It will help us to track her.’

‘I’ll do my best,’ McKeown said.

‘Has Shane Santos been interviewed yet?’

‘Yes,’ Kirby said, ‘and I’ve checked his alibi. He’s in the clear.’

‘Thanks. I’ll ask the super to put out an appeal for those who attended the late-night cinema showing to come forward. In the meantime, interview everyone who was working there and whoever locked the barrier.’

‘That’s a tall order,’ McKeown said, running a hand over his shaved head. ‘We don’t even have a time of death.’

‘I’ll contact Jane and see when she’s scheduled the post-mortem.’ She turned to Kirby. ‘Has she arrived at the scene yet?’ Although Lottie didn’t get on well with a lot of people, she admired Jane Dore, the state pathologist.

‘She wasn’t there when I was leaving, but she had been summoned.’

‘I’ll follow up with her. It might be no harm seeing if we can find out who the father of Laura’s son is. Diana claimed she had no idea and I didn’t think it was appropriate to press her. Garda Brennan, you might be able determine if she was being truthful. You’re more diplomatic, more subtle than I am.’

‘Sure.’ But Martina didn’t sound sure at all.