Page 144 of Three Widows

‘It’s okay. Don’t stress. You need to get better.’

‘Thanks, Larry.’

He said nothing for some minutes, lulled by the machines. He remembered reading her CV and that he’d been about to dig deeper into her past but had got distracted.

‘Can I ask you a personal question?’

‘Sure.’

‘Because you joined the Life after Loss group, I’m wondering if you’ll tell me the name of your ex? The one who caused you so much heartache?’

‘Why?’

He shrugged. He just wanted to know, because there was so much about Amy Corcoran that he didn’t know. Because there was a possibility that her previous messy relationship might have something to do with what had happened to her.

She spoke then, her voice low and trembling.

And some of the puzzle pieces began to click into place.

88

Lottie left Frankie in the interview room waiting for his solicitor, and went to see if someone could find a green tea for him. Garda Brennan drew the short straw and headed out to the Bean Café in hope rather than confidence.

Lynch filled her in about her visit to Kathleen Foley, and she wondered why a disappeared man, Tyler Keating, kept popping up in their investigation into the murders.

She stood with Lynch in the incident room as the detective updated the board.

‘Can we corroborate any of what Mrs Foley told you?’

‘Amy might be able to. Kirby’s gone to visit her. Kathleen thinks she was intimidated. When I find out who Owen Dalton’s accountant was, we might get to shed some light on his current financial status and why some investors were left unpaid. Could be a motive there.’

‘You could search his finances yourself.’

‘Boss, we’re working every hour in the day. I’ve barely seen my children or husband in days.’

‘Okay. I’m sorry, Lynch. But seeing as Tyler is involved, what about Orla? She’s an accountant.’

‘If we ever find her, we can ask her,’ Lynch said, her tone irritable. ‘We need to follow the money.’

‘How do we do that?’

McKeown picked that moment to walk in. ‘What was Owen Dalton’s cause of death?’ he said. ‘Did he drown in that barrel?’

‘According to the pathologist at the scene, he was already dead.’

‘How could she tell without a post-mortem?’

‘A ligature around his neck. Blue nylon rope.’

‘Similar to what bound Jennifer O’Loughlin and Éilis Lawlor,’ Lynch said.

‘And his eyes were removed. His legs and arms were broken. Maybe to fit him in the barrel, but—’

‘Why, though?’ Boyd said as he joined them. ‘None of this brutality makes sense.’

‘It does if we’re dealing with a psychopath.’ Lottie wondered about those words. Frankie Bardon had uttered them not an hour ago.

‘Kathleen told me Amy Corcoran was once in a volatile relationship with Bardon,’ Lynch said.