Page 15 of Hidden Daughters (Detective Lottie Parker #15)

Kirby gathered the team for a briefing, which McKeown attended under protest. Kirby knew a turf war with his colleague was developing.

He didn’t care. He’d been stationed in Ragmullin longer than the blow-in.

Anyhow, Superintendent Farrell had appointed him SIO, senior investigating officer, until Lottie’s return.

Perhaps Farrell had seen the light after all.

‘We need to trace Edie Butler’s last movements,’ he said, ‘in order to get a handle on whether she went with someone willingly or unwillingly. Last known sighting was around three thirty on Friday, when she left her place of work.’

Martina filled in the team on her interview with Marge Woods at Happy Hair.

Garda Lei informed them of his find in the river: what could be a tote bag from the salon.

McKeown found his voice before Kirby could comment. ‘There’s no CCTV along that stretch of river. There is a camera on the opposite side of the fruit and veg shop, but guess what?’

‘It doesn’t work?’ Kirby said.

‘Bingo. So that’s a dead end. We are still checking out other businesses in the vicinity, though none are located close to the river. SOCOs are still on site, and a couple of them have gone to Edie’s apartment to do a sweep there.’

‘What about Robert Hayes’s house?’ Martina asked.

Kirby caught her eye. ‘I asked Grainne to call round there. Hope he admits the SOCOs without need for a warrant.’

‘Why do you want to search there?’ McKeown asked.

Kirby said, ‘I thought I saw what looked like blood spatter on the kitchen counter and tiles.’

‘There were no visible wounds on Edie’s body,’ McKeown pointed out.

‘I’ll follow up with the assistant state pathologist,’ Kirby said, ‘and see what she has to say.’

‘Yeah, do that.’ McKeown was now as adamant as Kirby about who was in charge. Martina ducked her head from the incoming fire.

Kirby puffed out his chest like a turkey cock. ‘You need to work on whatever CCTV footage is available from around the town.’

‘I’ve already had a glimpse at what we’ve got so far. It picks up Edie at various locations, all on her route to Miller’s Road, where she lived. It seems she went straight home.’

‘There’s a carwash down the road from her apartment. Maybe check their cameras, if they have any.’

‘They’ve no CCTV there and none at the apartments. We’re canvassing her neighbours, and if any have doorbell cameras we will gather that footage. But I wouldn’t hold my breath.’

‘Where is the last place we have sight of her?’

‘Walking by the greyhound stadium at three forty. It’s about a ten-minute brisk walk from the salon to Miller’s Road.’

‘We can assume she reached home, because her handbag was found on the floor there,’ Martina said.

McKeown gave one of his derisive snorts. ‘Maybe she left it there that morning. You heard Garda Lei. The remnants of a tote bag were found at the scene. Did you ask this Marge woman if Edie had a handbag or a tote bag?’

‘Did you see her with either bag on the CCTV?’ Martina asked.

McKeown fiddled with his iPad. ‘She has a handbag strung over her shoulder. No tote bag.’

‘Then she got home. Got inside her front door,’ Kirby said. ‘So did she drop the handbag then, or was she about to leave when someone came to the door?’

‘Perhaps she was just untidy,’ McKeown said.

Martina shook her head. ‘I don’t buy that. Her home was neat as a new pin. No, it was dropped there and she had no time to pick it back up. Someone surprised her.’

‘Did she let them in? Or leave with them?’ Kirby tapped his shirt pocket.

‘Is there a back door?’ McKeown asked.

‘Yes,’ Martina said. ‘I went to the kitchen with Noel to fetch the bag. She could have grabbed the tote and left that way.’

‘Doesn’t matter which way she left, we have no eyes on her after three forty. But someone out there knows where she went.’ McKeown slammed the cover of his iPad shut.

Kirby’s phone buzzed and he answered it.

‘Grainne, hope you have something for me. I’m putting you on speaker.’

He heard the lead SOCO sigh. ‘I hate being on speaker. Anyhow, I don’t have good news, I’m afraid. It seems Robert Hayes is gone.’

‘What do you mean, gone?’

‘We called to his house and the door was ajar. We entered, having first identified ourselves. Not a sign of Mr Hayes. And his bedroom appears to have been ransacked. Either someone broke in or he left in an awful hurry.’

On the path outside Robert Hayes’s house, Kirby scratched his head, tapped his shirt pocket and walked in small circles. ‘If this isn’t the sign of a guilty man, I don’t know what is.’

‘We’ve issued an alert on his car,’ Martina said. ‘We should find him quickly enough.’

‘He’s had a head start. He could be anywhere by now.’

‘Try to be positive. We’ll catch him.’

‘Has Noel Butler been brought in yet? I bet any money he has bloody knuckles.’

‘McKeown went with Garda Lei to get him. Show of force, he said, or some such shite.’

‘I wish the boss was here,’ Kirby said quietly, as he crossed the threshold.

A SOCO worked diligently in the kitchen. There wasn’t much room for more people. Kirby couldn’t see any evidence of a disturbance or even a scuffle. Just the visible blood drops or spatter on the counter and wall tiles.

He went through the tight galley kitchen and out the back door.

A small shed took up most of the tiny garden, almost flush to the house.

He opened the door to find a narrow chest freezer the only item inside.

Making sure his gloves were secure, he lifted the lid.

Meat in clear bags. All dated. It seemed to be lamb.

The top bag was the freshest; frost had yet to gather on the outside.

Chops, dated that morning. He’d leave the freezer for SOCOs, but from what he could make out, it was all animal. A dead end.

Back inside, he went up the wobbly stairs to find the house had one bedroom and a bathroom.

Wire hangers hung empty in the single-door wardrobe.

The drawers hung open in the locker, a similar story to the wardrobe: empty.

The bed covers were ruffled, but the bed was made up.

He looked out the window at the busy road.

‘Where did you go, Robert Hayes? And did you go willingly?’