Page 103 of The Guilty Girl

Lottie remained silent, listening to the woman’s inhalations and exhalations. Had something extremely dark been going on under the surface of Lucy’s life? For all that anger to be directed at her mother, there had to be a reason. Was it an unanswered cry for help? She sat up straighter. Could there have been something dangerous going on that Lucy couldn’t verbalise, and this was her way of getting attention?

‘Mary, did you ever get your daughter into therapy?’

‘I suggested it.’ The broken mother shrugged a shoulder. ‘She laughed at me. Said I was the one who needed therapy. Little did she know I’ve been seeing a therapist for most of her life.’

Lottie decided to discuss Lucy’s behaviour later with her father. She changed the subject.

‘Do you know Hannah Byrne?’

‘Was she a friend of Lucy’s?’

‘She was invited to her party.’

‘I’m not sure I’ve ever met her. I still can’t believe Lucy held a party in our house with us away. Then again, maybe I can. She might have wanted to annoy me by leaving a mess for me to face when I walked through the door.’

‘Not true. She had organised for Sarah to come in first thing yesterday morning to clean up.’

‘I don’t ever want to go back to that house.’ Mary fixed her lips in a defiant flat line.

‘I can understand that. Do you know if Lucy was in a new relationship?’

Another shrug. ‘There’s so much about my daughter I don’t know. Why do you ask?’

‘We discovered emails on her laptop that look like she was arranging to be away with someone last weekend. We don’t know anything else at the moment.’

‘Ask Ivy.’

‘She said she doesn’t know anything about it.’

‘She’s probably covering for Lucy. I’ll have a word with her.’

‘No, it’s fine. Where can I find Albert?’

‘That man will work himself into an early grave. He said he had important stuff to attend to. He left for the office earlier. He’s a workaholic. Even in Spain he was on the phone and computer night and day.’

Lottie wondered how he could concentrate on work after viewing his daughter’s lifeless body. Then again, he probably needed to inject some normality into his life in the face of such distress. She knew all about that.

‘I’ll catch up with him later. I’ve a few questions for him.’

‘He’ll paint a different picture of Lucy. She could do no wrong in his eyes.’

‘Can you tell me if Lucy was right-handed or left?’

After thinking for a moment, Mary said, ‘Right. Why? You don’t think she killed herself, do you?’

‘Not at all. Did she have any tattoos?’

‘No. Why do you ask?

‘Just following up on queries from the pathologist.’ There was no point in worrying Mary any further by talking about the heart-shaped piece of flesh that had been sheared from her daughter’s body.

‘Was there anything else, Inspector?’

‘Can you tell me any more about your gardener, Cormac O’Flaherty?’

‘No, sorry. Ask Albert.’ Mary looked out the window again.

‘I mentioned Jake Flood yesterday. He was at the party selling drugs. Do you—’