Page 56 of The Altar Girls

‘The only other buildings in that radius are a doctor’s surgery, a sheltered living space and offices used by the health service. Uniforms did a canvass of those areas and no one claims to have seen the girls yesterday morning.’

‘They could have gone anywhere,’ Kirby said. ‘If they crossed the railway and canal bridges, they’re basically in town. And that’s supposing they went in that direction and not the other way.’

‘It’s all we have.’ McKeown spoke bitterly.

‘We need to make regular appeals to the public, Superintendent,’ Lottie said.

‘I’m looking after that.’ Farrell nodded.

‘Meanwhile,’ McKeown continued, ‘Garda Lei and I will keep at the CCTV footage. With the help of the FLOs, we’ll attempt to document the families’ movements too.’

‘Good,’ Farrell said.

Hair follicles on Lottie’s skin itched in anger at this exchange that had excluded her. She needed to regain control. ‘Isaac Kiernan is currently in jail and—’

‘I want to talk to you about that when we finish up here,’ Farrell said. She must have caught Lottie’s glare, as she added, ‘Continue.’

‘Kiernan was sent to prison for assault on a child services worker, Julian Bradley. Bradley’s name was kept out of the media, but Sinead Healy, the reporter, discovered it and contacted him via email. That came to nothing, or so she thought until he turned up on her doorstep earlier today. Why would Bradley come all the way from Sligo in such bad weather? Was he afraid of what she might unearth? Did he think that by talking to her he’d satisfy her curiosity?’

‘What did they talk about?’ Boyd asked.

‘He claimed he was assaulted by Isaac when he tried to follow up concerns for the safety of the Kiernan children.’

‘Wasn’t it a doctor who referred the case to child services?’ Kirby said.

‘Yes. I want to get my hands on Naomi’s full medical file. We may need a warrant for it, but the bones of what I’ve learned is that when Naomi was admitted to hospital with a broken wrist, other bruises were noticed by a vigilant nurse, who reported it to a doctor. He in turn referred it to child services. Julian Bradley was assigned to the family.’

‘So what happened?’

‘The information I have documents that on Bradley’s third visit, Isaac became belligerent and violent. He attacked him and broke his jaw. According to the report, Bradley said that Isaac objected to him interfering in their family life.’

‘What did Bradley have to say about Ruth?’

‘He told Sinead that Ruth was timid and silent, and he was concerned for the children’s safety.’

‘Sounds like a man doing his job and getting belted one,’ Boyd commented.

‘Happens to us all,’ McKeown said, rubbing his chin, with a sly glance towards Boyd. ‘But why did he bring it to court?’

‘Said his boss had had enough of ill treatment of the staff and pushed for it to go all the way. That’s what Sinead said they talked about, but I feel she’s holding back. She knows something else but isn’t telling. Not yet, anyhow.’

‘I’ll read the court transcripts and talk to the detective who dealt with the case. And I’ll do a background check on Julian Bradley,’ Kirby said.

Superintendent Farrell said, ‘If you get the runaround, call me. In the meantime, I’ll request access to Naomi’s medical records.’

‘Sure thing,’ Kirby said.

Lottie paced in front of the sparsely populated suspect board. ‘Once Willow’s post-mortem is concluded, we will know definitively whether we are dealing with the same murderer. Her body had to be transported up to where it was left in the crib at St Patrick’s. Your work is imperative here, Detective McKeown.’

He beamed, which was unusual recently.

‘Before I conclude, I want to emphasise how important it is to the integrity of this investigation not to talk to reporters. All media briefings are being conducted by Superintendent Farrell. That’s the only way information is to be disseminated to the media and public.’

Heads nodded like a wobbly dog convention.

She continued. ‘We have to consider that the abduction and murder of these two children was not random. But if it was random, I fear that it’s possible the killer could strike again.’

The layout of Superintendent Deborah Farrell’s office surprised Lottie. Despite the anxiety of dealing with the murder of two children, the furniture was as it had been the past week. The super was well known for moving her office furniture around to relieve stress.