Page 127 of The Altar Girls

‘No can do. He’s a civilian.’

‘Whatever,’ Boyd said. ‘You sort yourselves out. I’ll start at the back and work over towards you.’ He took the keys and grabbed Enda by the sleeve. ‘You’re with me, but don’t let Duncan see you.’

‘Sure.’

They headed down the path to the rear of the site as the sun began to rise on the horizon. He hoped that was a good sign.

80

Maurice Connolly was waiting in a cell for his solicitor to arrive and Alfie Nally was placed in an interview room with his mother.

Detective Lynch joined Lottie at the incident board. ‘Talk to me, boss. What are you thinking?’

‘Was Connolly or Alfie involved? Was Jacinta involved? Did her withdrawn complaint against Connolly tie them all together? If what Jacinta said was true, Connolly’s behaviour was nothing short of creepy and strange.’

‘Perhaps he suffers from some sort of psychological problem,’ Lynch offered.

‘Maybe, but does that mean he killed two little innocents?’ The more she thought about it, the more confused she became.

Staring at the board, her eyes travelled over the angelic faces of Willow and Naomi. Two little girls who’d had their whole lives ahead of them. One had already suffered in her own home, most likely at the hands of her mother.

Lynch read her thoughts. ‘I find it difficult to understand how Ruth would inflict harm on her children as punishment in the name of her God.’

‘Yeah, but some people have a warped sense of religion. It’s possible she may have killed her daughter, but why Willow?’

‘It’s hard to get a handle on Willow’s mother. Zara’s mood is all over the place.’

‘To be expected in the circumstances.’

Lottie scrutinised everything on the board again. Those two little girls. Her heart broke once more as she studied their photos. Why them?

Pacing beside her, Lynch asked, ‘What about the hymn sheets found in their hands? And the rosary in Willow’s. What’s that all about?’

Lottie’s eye was drawn downwards to the image of the red beads. ‘Why one for Willow but not for Naomi?’

‘Only the killer can answer that. Have we got a forensics report on it?’

‘Not yet.’ Lottie leaned her head to one side to study the close-up photograph of the rosary laid out on an evidence table. The odd-shaped glass beads looked roughly made, with a silver icon medal of Mary in the centre and a crucifix dangling at the end. ‘Is it even a rosary?’

‘Could just be a bracelet,’ Lynch said. ‘Nah, I think it’s a rosary.’

‘Willow had been drugged but not Naomi.’ Lottie found speaking the facts aloud helped her thought process. ‘The method of killing them differed too. Willow drowned, while Naomi was hit on the back of the head with some sort of implement. Jane thinks maybe a hammer. If we find the weapon, she can match it to the wound.’ Her shoulders shuddered and she shook her head to dislodge the image.

‘They died within minutes of each other,’ Lynch said softly. ‘They had to have been killed in the same place, right?’

‘Most likely, but where?’ Lottie pulled the sleeves of her T-shirt down over her cold hands. ‘Why not hide or bury the bodies? Why pose them in two different locations?’

‘Perhaps someone disturbed the killer at the first location and he had to go somewhere else. Or was there another reason?’

‘What reason?’

Lynch shrugged. ‘I wish I knew.’

‘Leaving them on display to be found feels personal but not personal at the same time. Directing us to the Church? Was a priest involved? Or was it someone with a grudge against them?’

‘An attempt at misdirection?’

‘Maybe, or did it have to do with the Church at all? What am I missing?’ It bugged her that the answers to her questions might be right in front of her and she was unable to see them. ‘I better check if Alfie is okay to be interviewed.’