Page 125 of The Altar Girls

The door to the embalming room was shut. She tried the handle and knocked as she entered.

Connolly was standing by the steel table, the enormous spread of his back towards her. Lottie nodded to Kirby, indicating for him to go left. Slowly she walked to the right, scanning the room, on high alert.

Then Maurice Connolly moved to one side, and she saw who had been shielded by his body.

‘Maurice, I need you to step away from that table.’

He raised his hands and turned slowly. ‘His mother tried to ruin my business with her false accusations about me. I saw him with the little girl and had to take him. I was afraid he could do the same. Make false accusations, seeing as he was close to my building. You’d been here twice, questioning me, snooping around, putting the fear of God into me. Treating me like I’d done something wrong. What was I to do?’

‘Step away from the table.’

He was raving, waving his hands in the air.

‘I had no intention of hurting him, I swear. I wanted to scare him.’

Like you did with two little girls, she thought. ‘Time enough to tell me all that later.’ There was no weapon in his hand. Still, she was wary. ‘You need to move away from the table.’

‘I’m moving.’ His broad shoulders slumped and he stepped back.

Lottie kept her eye on Connolly while Kirby rushed towards Alfie. The boy was sitting on the edge of the table. He seemed to be unharmed and was fully clothed, with a towel bunched up in his hands.

‘You need to come with me, Maurice. I have a warrant to search this building.’

‘I didn’t do anything. You made me feel guilty!’

Once Kirby had the boy down off the table and safely out of reach, she said, ‘Maurice Connolly, I am arresting you on suspicion of child abduction. You do not have to say anything, but…’

‘I never hurt those girls. I never even saw them.’

‘… it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something that you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.’

‘I was only taking him off the streets for a few hours, to teach him a lesson. He’s a menace. You have to believe me.’ He slumped into a heap on the floor. ‘You coming around here made me lose my mind. It’s your fault.’

Kirby radioed for uniforms to enter. Lottie waited impatiently while Connolly sat feeling sorry for himself, knotting his fingers into fists and banging them against his temple.

‘You have to believe me. I didn’t do anything wrong. You should be thanking me.’

‘Where is the incinerator?’

He looked up at her, eyes wide. With what? She first thought it was confusion, but then settled on suspicion.

‘Incinerator?’ he asked.

‘You heard me.’

‘Why on earth…? No, no way.’ He got to his feet and lumbered around aimlessly.

‘Doesn’t matter, we have a warrant to search. Come with me.’ She glanced behind her, hoping uniforms had responded. She didn’t relish a lone battle with a giant.

‘You know what, you can fuck off.’ Connolly turned, ran towards a door behind him. He rushed through, swung it shut and locked it before she could react.

She turned to Kirby. ‘What’s in there?’

He shrugged.

‘Alfie?’

The boy wiped his eyes with his sleeve and said, ‘It’s the room where he kept me last night. There’s nothing in there.’