Page 83 of The Altar Girls

‘I heard that one of the girls you found was the little Kiernan girl. It’s shocking.’

Lottie gave a sad nod, then turned and left.

Outside, Lottie blew on her fingers and tugged on her gloves. Soft snowflakes trekked from the sky, and even though they were sparse, they settled on the icy pavement.

‘Is it ever going to be warm again?’ Boyd asked.

‘While we’re up this way, I want to have another chat with Maurice Connolly. You go back to the office and get someone to check out the Brook Hotel to see if Bradley is staying there. And if not, call all the other hotels in town.’

‘And I’ll phone this Connie to verify if he was in the office on Monday or yesterday.’

‘We know he talked to Sinead Healy yesterday, so he was definitely around town. I’ll be back at the station in a few minutes.’

‘Is it wise to go over there alone?’

‘What do you think, Boyd? I can defend myself, which is more than two little children were able to do.’

She shrugged her hood up over her damp hair and made her way carefully across the glassy road. She didn’t look behind her, but she knew Boyd was watching her with uncertainty, wondering whether to follow her or do as he’d been told.

The funeral home door was unlocked, and she pushed in and made her way towards the chapel of rest.

A shadow loomed around the corner and she halted, unsure of who or what to expect. She held her breath, then exhaled when the tall figure of Maurice Connolly appeared.

‘Ah, Inspector. How are you today? Can I help you?’

‘I was passing and called in to see if your employee was around. Jasper Crowe, isn’t it?’

‘Looks like he’ll be out again today. And I have two funerals to organise. Those poor children. Breaks my heart.’

‘Can I have a look around? I’ve always been curious as to how an undertaker does his work.’

His eyes shone bright with excitement. Here was a man who wasn’t used to dealing with people other than those who’d been bereaved.

‘Sure. Sure. This way. What would you like to see first?’

‘Maybe the location where you bring in the bodies and what you do when they first arrive.’

‘Come this way.’ He turned on his heel and made his way around the corner, and she had no choice but to follow. She knew it might be a stretch of the imagination, but it was entirely possible that this funeral home was the last place visited by two little girls. And if that was the case, they had died here.

53

She didn’t know what she’d expected – some Frankenstein horror chamber perhaps – but Lottie was totally stunned when Connolly led her into the room. Bright lights hung from the ceiling, illuminating the white walls and stainless-steel equipment. To one side stood an enormous steel table, sunken in the middle, with holes and pipes leading into the tiled floor. It wasn’t unlike the Dead House where Jane Dore conducted post-mortems.

‘Impressive, isn’t it?’ Connolly’s face shone with pride, matching the smile curving his lips.

‘I’m surprised, to say the least.’

He nodded as if he could read her mind. ‘Not many are allowed onto this hallowed turf of mine, other than the dead. No one wants to see it anyhow. If you don’t mind me asking, why do you want to see it?’

‘Curiosity.’

‘That’s not entirely true, is it, Inspector?’ He moved around the table, fast for such a big man, and ran a finger lovingly over its surface. ‘You think those two girls came in here and I killed them. That’s fine. I’m not upset by that. I may add that I did not see them nor did I kill them. What upsets me is that you couldn’t be upfront and honest with me about the reason for your visit.’

She stiffened her back. ‘Mr Connolly, I am investigating the murders of two little girls. I do my job in my own way, like you do yours.’

‘Sure.’ His tone told her he held his work in higher esteem than hers. ‘You asked what happens to bodies when they arrive.’ He turned to a door behind him and opened it. ‘Either myself or Jasper backs the hearse up to the outer door, and then we slide the steel coffin out onto a trolley. From there it’s wheeled down that corridor and in through this door. Then we carefully remove the body and place it on the table.’

‘What’s next?’ She was anxious to hear about washing the body. After all, Willow Devine had been drowned. However, she couldn’t see a hammer or similar implement that might have caused Naomi’s head wound.