Page 183 of The Guilty Girl

‘Did he rape her?’

‘Consensual according to him. He’s obnoxious. I’m sure Brontë Harrison knows the full story.’

‘Will she talk?’

‘She will if she wants to spend any quality time with her baby before he reaches adulthood.’

‘They were all in on it?’

‘Terry was the ringleader. He fell on his feet when Noel Glennon told him Sarah Robson’s secret. Ivy thought she was doing the right thing telling Glennon, but the poor girl walked straight into a vipers’ nest. Terry brought Brontë and Barney into his scheme. Such a band of fuckers.’

‘Was Richie involved?’ Farrell didn’t even flinch at Lottie’s profanity. ‘Didn’t Glennon say they met at a nightclub?’

‘Yeah. But I think Richie was only interested in having teenagers for himself. I don’t believe he realised the full scale of what was going on under his nose. Glennon claims he had no idea that Brontë was involved, as he only dealt with Terry. But he was friends with Richie and they were both photographed in a nightclub with girls. Time will tell who rats out who first.’

‘I think I understand most of it.’ Farrell eventually sat behind her desk and Lottie breathed out a sigh of relief. ‘But how did Terry Starr come to know Sharon Flood?’

‘Jake sometimes brought her to his training sessions, when their mother was at work. Once Terry Starr laid eyes on the child’s innocence, she became a target.’

‘And that was the catalyst for Lucy to take action?’

‘I think seeing Terry pawing the little girl brought her to her senses. She wanted to stop it all, but she went about it the wrong way. It’s likely Sharon told her what was going on and Lucy decided to handle it herself.’

‘Have any photos or videos of Sharon surfaced?’

‘Inspector Reilly says his team hasn’t found any images of her so far. He’s liaising with the Spanish police.’

‘These cases can take years,’ Farrell said dejectedly.

‘Ivy and Oscar Jones are willing to give evidence. Oscar claims he never knew who he reported to via text, but I reckon it was Brontë. Gary is working on it.’

‘How is young Hannah doing?’ Farrell said.

‘She’ll need therapy, and she has to work things out with Cormac over the sex they had. He didn’t spike her drink, so it’s unclear if charges should be brought against him.’

‘If Cormac didn’t drug her, who did?’

‘Terry said Jake was supposed to drug Lucy, but I feel Lucy may have spoken with Jake earlier that night about Sharon. He either drugged Hannah on Lucy’s say so, or someone else did. Cormac mentioned that Richie gave Hannah a drink after her argument with Lucy. But if Richie wasn’t part of the evil gang, then it’s hard to know what really happened.’

‘We have Terry for Lucy and Sharon’s murder and Barney Reynolds for Jake’s?’

‘The bike chain Reynolds used to beat Jake with was found in a filing cabinet in the boxing club. He owns a boat moored a few miles up the canal and that’s how he transported Jake’s body to where it was discovered. Everything is being examined by SOCOs.’

‘I still find it difficult to understand how Reynolds could actually beat the boy to death, then tie him up and dump his broken body in the canal. A kid he had worked with and coached for months.’ Farrell shook her head wearily and loosened her tie. ‘Cruel and heartless.’

‘Barney Reynolds is a greedy bastard who saw his gravy train running dry. He played a blinder with me when I spoke with him the day after the party.’

‘How are the McAllisters?’

‘Bereft. Spanish police now believe the drug smuggling was all Terry’s doing. The only thing the McAllisters are guilty of is not recognising the signs of abuse in their daughter.’

‘It’s been a tough few days. I suppose you don’t want to do the press conference for me?’

‘You suppose correctly. I’ve somewhere I need to be in less than an hour.’ Lottie made her way to the door.

‘I’ve to call to Liz Flood,’ Farrell said.

Lottie gulped back tears as she placed Sharon’s pink runner with no lace on the superintendent’s desk. ‘I was keeping this to remind me how I failed to protect Shaz. I think her mother might like to have it.’