Page 88 of The Altar Girls

‘Do you know where Sergio is?’ He got the words out even though he could barely hear them.

Bradley shook his head. ‘I’ve seen the appeals for your ex-wife and son, and if I was you, I’d be very worried about his safety. If he is found, you’ll be under the scrutiny of child services. Oh, I’d relish that case.’

Boyd had him by his shirt collar before he realised he’d leaned over the small table. Coffee spilled from the overturned cups and down the legs of his trousers. ‘Don’t you dare threaten me, arsehole.’

‘Get your hands off me,’ Bradley croaked. Boyd slumped back, and Bradley took large gulps of air before scoffing, ‘You do know there are cameras in here. Remember that if you try to pin something on me that I did not do. You could lose your job, Detective.’

With that, he stood, shook himself, straightened his tie and walked across the floor and out the door before Boyd could get his breath back.

55

Kirby was the unlucky sucker in Lottie’s line of fire when she returned to the office.

‘I want that background check on Maurice Connolly like yesterday, and draw up a warrant for his funeral home. He is fishy as fuck.’

‘Fishy as fuck? Don’t think any judge will grant a warrant on those grounds. It’d never hold up in court.’ Kirby’s attempt at humour soured Lottie’s face, and he quickly added, ‘I’ve just pulled what I could find on him. He was on PULSE and—’

‘He what?’ Lottie swivelled on the ball of her foot and flew towards his desk.

‘Yeah, three years ago. A complaint was made about him, but he was never arrested or charged because the complaint was dropped.’

‘What sort of complaint?’

‘Get this… Interfering with a corpse.’

She fell into a chair. ‘What in the name of…? But you know something, Kirby? I can believe it. He gives me the creeps. Who made the complaint?’

‘This is where it gets interesting. Jacinta Nally.’

‘The mother of the Alfie kid who found Naomi’s body? I better talk to her again. Does it say why the complaint was dropped?’

‘No.’

‘Was it even investigated?’

‘It was withdrawn on the same day.’

‘Jacinta Nally works as a carer. What’s her phone number?’

Kirby found it. ‘She works for Dream Care. They run nursing homes throughout the county.’ He googled them. ‘They have an office and sheltered accommodation in a building close to that doctor’s surgery across the road from the funeral home.’

Lottie had her phone to her ear as she flew out the door.

The Dream Care building looked like it had been flat-packed and dropped by a crane into the small site before being assembled. A rectangular box with narrow windows would best describe it, Lottie thought as she stepped inside the main door.

‘I’d like a word with Jacinta Nally, please, if she’s here.’

The thin-faced young man, hardly more than a teenager, sitting at a desk just inside the door put down his foil-wrapped sandwich and tapped his keyboard without a word.

‘She’s out. It’s one of her days for our nursing home in Gaddstown. She also has some calls to make in that area while she’s there.’

Lottie glanced at the large clock on the wall. ‘And at this time of the day, where would she be?’

‘No idea. If you have her number, you could call her.’

‘She’s not answering.’

‘Sorry, can’t help you then.’