Page 51 of The Altar Girls

‘Good.’ She had asked Carol to pick up milk and wasn’t sure she had a carton in the fridge.

‘Colombian?’

‘Sorry?’

‘The coffee?’

‘Lidl’s best is all I know. So, Julian, tell me about the Kiernans.’

He smiled then, but instead of lighting up his face, it accentuated its sharp edges and his narrow eyes. That concerned her more than if he had scowled.

‘Where to begin?’ he said.

‘When they were first referred to you?’

He sipped his coffee, put down the mug and leaned back, stretching. ‘It’s a disturbing story, and one that begins before Naomi Kiernan ended up in hospital with a broken wrist.’

His words were spoken softly, but they carried a chill that settled on her shoulders. She wanted him out of her house, but the journalist in her fought against her unease and she said, ‘Tell me the story.’

* * *

When she arrived at her desk after her chat with Father Maguire, Lottie found an encrypted email from the lab waiting for her. She used her passwords and scanned her eyes over the document.

‘Holy shit. Boyd!’

He came hurtling in like a missile. ‘Are you okay? What happened?’

‘Sorry if I gave you a fright. I have a lab report. There was DNA on the hymn sheet found in Naomi’s hand.’

‘That’s great. Anyone in the system?’

‘Not for any wrongdoing; he voluntarily provided a sample. Father Keith Maguire.’

‘That’s nothing to get excited about. He runs the kids’ choir, after all. And he is a suspect, isn’t he?’

‘More of a witness than a suspect. I’ve just been talking to him again and he comes across as a genuinely nice man.’

‘They’re the ones you have to watch out for.’ Boyd smiled and shook his head. ‘Ah, you and men of the cloth, Inspector Parker.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ She feigned indignation.

‘You know right well. How is the lovely Father Joe anyhow?’

She ignored his question. ‘Maguire has a funeral removal in Gaddstown this evening, and like you pointed out, he has good reason to have his DNA on the hymn sheets because of the choir, so I’ll park him until tomorrow.’

‘Sounds fair enough. You look exhausted. Did you eat today?’

‘Garage sandwich and tea at my mother’s.’

‘How is she?’

‘Not too bad. Katie panicked and I had to run out there to calm things. Mother used to know Betty Coyne. I was thinking of bringing them together. You know, kindred knitting spirits.’

‘Is that a thing? Are you sure it’s nothing to do with having your mother extract information from poor Betty?’

‘I doubt that would work. I’d need to record their conversation because she might not remember it.’

‘It’s an idea, all the same.’