Page 57 of The Altar Girls

‘Sit,’ Farrell commanded.

Though she was happy to take the weight off her feet, Lottie was afraid to cross her legs in case her superior officer noticed the state of her boots. The soles had holes and her feet were damp from the leakage. She needed to invest in a new pair. When she got time. And money. Someday. Soon.

‘Lottie, I’ve had a call from Governor Egan at Shamrockhill prison,’ Farrell said. ‘The high court ruled in favour of Isaac Kiernan’s release and he’ll be out first thing in the morning. I want you there at seven to escort him home. You need to witness first-hand what happens in the house when he walks through the door. From your reports so far, I think the mother could be involved. The child suffered physical abuse in the past.’

‘Abuse wasn’t proven,’ Lottie countered.

‘It was inherent when the child’s father assaulted the care worker. They were hiding something. They moved to Ragmullin and now that little girl is dead.’

All the things she had to do both at home and for the investigation crowded through Lottie’s mind. And she still needed to keep an eye on her mother. ‘Can’t someone else get him? His solicitor? I really need to make progress and—’

‘It wasn’t a request, Inspector, it was an order.’

The earlier familiarity was being dropped in favour of sternness.

‘Right so. I’ll be at the prison at seven in the morning.’

‘Of course you will. And I want the murder of those two girls solved yesterday.’

‘Sure.’

Farrell straightened her back while fixing her clip-on tie. ‘Inspector, you’d do well to remember that I take insubordination seriously. You used up all your favours when I was lenient with Detective Boyd.’

‘Thank you. Is that all?’

‘Yes.’

Lottie breathed a sigh of relief when she escaped out to the corridor, right before she was overwhelmed with all she had to do.

39

‘And don’t open the door to anyone. Are you even listening to me, Alfie?’

Alfie looked up from his PlayStation and nodded to his mother.

‘What did I just say?’ She threw her hands in the air.

He hid a smile, relishing the fact that he had a knack of making her exasperated. ‘Not to open the door and was I listening to you.’

Jacinta ruffled his hair. ‘Nine o’clock and no later than that switch it off, and you better be in bed when I get in at ten past. Got it?’

‘Got it.’

‘Good.’

‘Bye, Mam, and don’t work too hard.’

When he heard the door lock snap shut, he put down the controller and rushed to the window. He waited until her car had disappeared round the corner before fully relaxing. His mam worked too hard. Two shifts a day, sometimes three. There was always someone out sick. And now she was off again. But that gave him breathing space.

He clicked out of the PlayStation game and booted up her laptop. He was more tech-savvy than she was and could access it without her knowing. Not that she’d even consider he would use it without asking permission. There was a lot his mam didn’t know about him. And if she ever found out, he was dead meat.

He entered his question into Google and scrolled through the list of forensic websites.

* * *

Reporter Enda Daniels had spent the day in Mayo, following endless trails without success. No one knew the woman in the car crash. It was frustrating, because he needed a story.

He’d discovered the car had been stolen a month ago from Easkey in County Sligo. No security footage. No sightings of it since. Which wasn’t hard to believe as the number plates had been switched and it was likely driven at odd times, below the radar, to avoid detection. His source told him the guards were currently scanning traffic cams in an effort to spot the car in the days preceding the accident. So far no luck.