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George thought the guards might tell him to wait forty-eight hours. Forty-eight hours, my arse. He’d go to the garda station and fight to be heard. He’d have to bring little Davy with him. The silence from Shannon’s phone had freaked him out. Hadn’t a girl been murdered already? His mind was in overdrive and all thoughts of evicting his sister disappeared. Where was she? Okay, she’d stayed out the night before, but she’d come home early enough the next morning. Swore she wouldn’t do it again unless she called him first. Was he overreacting? Maybe, but some internal switch had been flipped and he sensed he had cause to worry.

The small garda reception area was hot and smelly. The bench inside the door was free, but he had no intention of sitting there or anywhere else until he got answers. He marched up to the counter, keeping a tight hold on Davy’s hand. He knocked on the glass and waited for the tired-looking older guard to make his way from the small open-plan office behind the front desk.

‘I want to report a missing woman. It’s my sister. She’s about this height and?—’

‘Right, son. Take your time. What’s your name?’

‘George Kenny. What’s yours?’

‘Garda Thornton. Will you fill out a form for me?’

George swayed from foot to foot. ‘I’m really worried. That woman was murdered the other day, and now Shannon hasn’t come home.’

‘Okay. Does she often do that?’

‘Do what?’

‘Not come home?’

He sucked in his cheeks. Lie? Or tell the truth? Maybe somewhere in between. ‘She’s had issues in the past. But her best friend hasn’t heard from her either and now her phone seems to be dead. She nearly always comes home in the morning if she stays out the night before.’ Shit, he’d said too much.

‘Nearly always, you say. What about other times?’

‘Look, Garda Thornton, I know my sister, and I know there’s something wrong.’

The man seemed between two minds on what to do. George could see experience in his eyes and demeanour. He figured that waiting was better than having an outburst.

‘Okay,’ Thornton said at last, ‘I’ll take the details. Have you a photograph? I’d also recommend you put a post on social media. Did you try contacting her that way?’

‘She hasn’t been online since yesterday.’

‘And that’s unusual, is it?’

‘Suppose so. I can ask her friend. She would know.’

‘We can have a word with her, if you like?’

‘Yes. Please do.’ For the first time since he’d burst into Shannon’s empty room that morning, George felt his burden was being shared.

‘What’s her phone number?’

George checked his phone and rattled off Jess’s number. Thornton gave him a form to fill out and ushered him into a tiny room to the side. He put Davy on his knee, took the pen from the guard and began to enter what he knew about his sister. He hoped it was all for nothing. He sincerely hoped Shannon was safe. But some strange feeling tangled up his gut and a veil of dread drifted over him. He’d felt the same way the morning his mother had died.

In his heart, George knew that Shannon was anything but safe.

It took an hour to get all the relevant personnel on site, and Lottie didn’t leave until Grainne and her SOCO team were in place. On the face of it, it seemed they could be looking for the same person who’d murdered Laura. That was based on the stab wound, and the fact that the victim had been left out in the open. But she hadn’t noticed defensive wounds or strangulation marks on the girl’s neck. Jane Dore said it would be at least another hour before she could get there. Lottie left Kirby in charge and headed back to the station. She grabbed a takeout coffee and a can of Diet Coke from the Bean Café on her way.

Boyd was at his desk. ‘I’d love a coffee. Smells divine.’

‘You can have the Coke. Where were you earlier?’ She was unable to mask her annoyance.

‘Calming the waters between Grace and Sergio. When I told her I had to go into work today, she wrote a list of chores for him and he rebelled. First time I’ve seen his temper. Then she wanted to bring him to Sunday Mass before threatening to head back to Galway. Anyhow, tell me about the body.’

‘It’s so sad, Boyd.’ She sat on the edge of his desk, coat still on, and sipped the coffee. ‘She looks about the same age as Laura Nolan, maybe a little older. We have no idea of her identity. No bag, or bank card in a pocket like Kirby found on Laura. No pocket, even. She was wearing a horrible grey dress.’

‘Wait a minute. Thornton sent up a missing person report that came in earlier.’ He tapped the keyboard and the scanned report appeared on the screen. ‘Shannon Kenny. Lives at Cairnbeg Terrace with her brother George and her nephew Davy. Last seen at eight last night before she went out. And?—’

‘Is there a photo attached?’ She placed her coffee cup to the side, jumped off the desk and leaned over Boyd’s shoulder. He smelled good.

‘Thornton has finally figured out attachments.’ He clicked the icon and the photo opened up.

‘I don’t think she’s the dead woman.’ Lottie didn’t know whether to be relieved or not. Identifying the victim quickly would have speeded up the investigation. On the other hand, this Shannon was likely to walk into her home any time soon. She hoped. Quickly reading over the report again, she said, ‘It says she’s done this kind of thing before.’

‘Yeah, but Thornton thought it best to take the statement, seeing as we now have two dead women in the same age bracket.’

‘Keep it on our radar, but she’s probably sleeping off a hangover somewhere.’

‘Hopefully that’s all.’ Boyd closed down the screen. ‘What do you want me to do now?’

‘Check in with McKeown and see if there’s anyone who can tell us something about Laura Nolan’s movements Thursday night. We need to get on top of that investigation.’

‘Do you think it’s the same killer?’

‘Hard to tell. Single stab wound but no strangulation. She was malnourished. It’s like… I don’t know…’

‘What?’

‘The way she looked, the way she was dressed. Not normal. It’s like she was starved. Does that sound ridiculous?’

‘I haven’t seen her body, so I can’t say.’

‘Head out there and see for yourself. Find out what Jane thinks. I’ve to meet John Morgan’s mother shortly.’

‘I think you should hand over his murder investigation to someone else. It might be muddying the water for us. We should concentrate on Laura and this new victim.’

‘You could be right. I’ll decide after I meet Mrs Morgan.’