Page 50 of Hidden Daughters (Detective Lottie Parker #15)

They took Bryan away without any explanation. He went quietly. A quick arrest for questioning only, Mooney had said. No cuffs. Bryan claimed he’d done nothing wrong.

‘Get a solicitor,’ Lottie whispered in his ear as he grabbed a jacket from the back of the door. ‘Say nothing until they join you.’

‘Can you help me?’ he’d asked.

‘I don’t know. I’ll talk to Mooney later.’

When the commotion had died down and Boyd had brought a sobbing Grace to the living room to console her, Lottie mulled over her earlier phone conversation with the sergeant.

He must have got a DNA hit. So what? Bryan had admitted to lifting the board at the ruins, so that wouldn’t warrant him being taken in for more questioning. It had to be something else.

Damn. She hated not knowing. Or only knowing some of it. She wasn’t sure which was worse.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She checked the caller ID, then scanned the room to make sure Boyd and Grace had definitely left her alone before answering.

‘Morning, Kirby. What have you got for me?’

He was slightly breathless. Probably after puffing on a cigar.

‘Sorry, boss, I haven’t looked at that yet,’ he said. ‘I wanted to run something by you.’

‘Fire ahead.’ Anything was better than mulling over Bryan O’Shaughnessy and his irritable bride-to-be. She’d love a cigarette, but she pushed that thought away. She hadn’t smoked in ages.

‘Have you seen the news this week?’ he asked.

‘Not really. I’m out in the arsehole of nowhere, supposed to be on a break from work.’ She’d been too distracted to listen or watch the news. ‘There’s been a couple of murders around here, so it feels like a busman’s holiday, if I’m honest.’

Kirby laughed. ‘Why does that not surprise me? I’d say you’ve inveigled your way into the investigations.’

She felt a grin creep onto her face. ‘You know me too well. Unofficially, I’m giving them my tuppence worth.’

‘I’d like to tap into that tuppence worth if you don’t mind.’

‘What’s up?’

She listened while he explained about the discovery of Edie Butler’s body in the river. Her post-mortem, which indicated she’d been bound and brutally scalded. That toxicology results were being awaited.

‘Jesus, that’s almost as grotesque as the first murder here. A woman was scalded with kettles of boiling water.’

‘What the fuck is wrong with people in today’s world?’ Kirby spluttered.

‘If we could answer that question, we’d be millionaires. How can I help you?’

‘I think I just wanted to speak to someone outside of the investigation. Someone with experience. I’m not used to this running-a-team lark.’

‘Is Sam McKeown giving you grief?’

‘Of course he is. But anyhow, the guy that Edie had been seeing, he’s a chef in town here, so he is, and he seems to have disappeared.’

‘Disappeared? Was he a suspect or a witness?’

‘Not sure he’s anything yet. But why did he make a run for it? He knew the victim. He’s not on PULSE, so he hasn’t come to our attention before. The thing is, he said he originally worked in Galway and that’s where he first met Edie, years ago.’

‘Oh, and you thought I could search for him around here?’

‘No. Yes. I don’t know, boss. He might have gone back there.’

‘What’s his name?’

‘Robert Hayes.’ And then he told her more about the missing chef.

She finished the call just as Boyd returned to the kitchen.

‘Who was that?’ he asked.

‘Kirby.’

‘Is he missing you?’

‘He has a murder case. Another gruesome one, by the sound of it.’

‘Another?’

‘There’s two here, and he has one in Ragmullin. The circumstances seem similar. I’m wondering if they could be connected.’

‘How could they be connected?’

‘I don’t know. But Kirby told me about a guy who’s missing from Ragmullin.

He knew the victim there and he originally met her years ago in Galway.

He’s a chef by the name of Robert Hayes.

’ She hesitated, wondering at the absurdity of what she was about to say.

‘I think maybe he should be looked at in connection to the murders here.’

Boyd shook his head. ‘You can’t fix everything. I know you try, but it’s not good for you. Nor for us. And I’m not saying that to be selfish. I worry about you.’

‘I know all that, but when someone presents me with a mystery, I have to at least attempt to solve it.’ She tried not to look defeated. She had to accept that Boyd was only concerned for her. Putting her best interests first. Or his own?

‘Run it by Mooney,’ he said, relenting.

With his change in direction, she began to doubt it was the right move. ‘I don’t know. Kirby already has a nationwide alert issued for this Robert Hayes. I might be making links where there are none.’

‘What does Kirby expect you to do? You’re on leave this week.’ He grinned at her. ‘Or as much on leave as you can be when you’re not poking your nose in where it’s not wanted.’

‘I take offence at that comment, Mark Boyd.’ She smiled, knowing he was joking while also being truthful. In a way, she was glad that even with everything going on, he seemed more relaxed than he had been in a long time. More relaxed than she was, which, come to think of it, wouldn’t be hard.

‘I know you well, Lottie. You’re loving every minute of it.’

‘Two people have been murdered here in Connemara and I take no joy in that. I just relish the challenge of walking in the footsteps of a killer and tripping them up. I miss that buzz when I’m not working.’

‘Do you seek out these weirdos, or do they follow you around?’

‘Shut up.’ She smacked his arm playfully, then took his hand. ‘We need to find out what Mooney has on Bryan.’

‘I can’t get involved. I’m too close to the situation, because of Grace. Talk to Mooney if you think you’ll get anything out of him. Then leave it up to him. I really don’t want you being involved at all. Keep your distance.’

‘I’ll try,’ she agreed. ‘How is Grace?’

‘Distraught. I sent her back to bed to rest. Which reminds me. She wants a cup of cocoa.’

‘Do people still drink that?’

‘Grace does.’

‘Doesn’t surprise me in the least. Will you make it for her? I’ll head into Galway and try to find out what Mooney is up to.’

‘You’ve no car, and I might need mine.’

Catching sight of Bryan’s keys on a hook by the door, she smiled. ‘I’ve always wanted to drive a Range Rover.’