Page 37 of Three Widows

‘Come in.’

Inside her boss’s office, she refrained from rolling her eyes. The super had moved the furniture around again. It was something she did to relieve her anxiety. But it didn’t seem to quench her thirst for narkiness.

‘You better be here to tell me you’ve arrested that woman’s killer.’

‘I’m afraid not, but I suspect we also have a missing woman.’

Farrell slapped a hand to her forehead; a little too hard, Lottie guessed, noticing that she flinched.

‘Do you even know how to take on a murder investigation without making it more complicated than finding the origins of life? Hand over the missing woman case to another team.’

‘The thing is… she hasn’t been missing for the required forty-eight hours yet.’

‘Christ Almighty! Haven’t you enough to be doing with the murder investigation without inventing another case. Do you thrive on confusion and chaos? Because I think you do.’ Farrell unclipped her tie and opened a button at the neck of her shirt, before clipping the tie back on.

‘With all due respect—’

‘Don’t all due respect me, Inspector Parker. I told you what to do. I expect you to follow orders.’ Farrell stood, shoving her chair back with her legs. It hit the wall with a thump.

‘Éilis Lawlor,’ Lottie persisted, ‘the woman who may be missing, has a connection to the murder victim.’

‘Did they meet for a coffee once upon a time?’ Farrell mocked. ‘Or did they attend the same college together ten years ago? Played under-eights camogie? A woman has been murdered and I have the commissioner sniffing around my arse like a bloodhound. The locals are not far behind him. There’s talk of candlelight vigils for the victim. I need a suspect, not another victim. Do you get it?’

‘I do, and I’m sorry, but we have to explore all aspects of Jennifer’s life and—’

‘You haven’t even found her next of kin yet, Detective McKeown informs me.’

‘Bastard,’ Lottie murmured under her breath. ‘About Detective McKeown, is there any chance you can redeploy him? Back to Athlone, or somewhere more suitable than here.’ She didn’t spell out what she meant. Somewhere like Siberia.

‘You want to deplete your team when you’ve just told me you have another possible victim?’

Why did the woman talk in questions? It did Lottie’s head in. ‘He’s disrupting the team dynamic.’

‘I’ll give you team dynamic if you don’t bring me the killer’s head on a plate. Today!’ Farrell sat down heavily. ‘You’re going to give me a heart attack. A fucking heart attack!’

‘I’m sorry.’ Trying to contain her anger, Lottie marched to the door, where she turned back. ‘You know what? I’m not sorry. I have the highest success rate at solving major crimes in the entire country. I know what my team are capable of. But McKeown… he doesn’t fit in. He disrupts everyone with his domineering attitude, his snide comments and…’ She was going to mention his affair, but stopped herself. ‘Superintendent Farrell, I am formally requesting that you take him off my team. I’ll put it in writing.’

She turned on her heel and left before she could witness Farrell’s anger erupting as she rummaged in a drawer for her anti-anxiety pills.

‘Still no sign of the missing woman, Éilis Lawlor,’ Boyd said as he knocked on the jamb of Lottie’s door.

‘That’s not what I want to hear. We have enough to deal with as it is. Anything from the Riverfield Road door-to-door?’

‘Garda Brennan collated the questionnaires,’ Boyd said. ‘Kirby and McKeown are going through the information, but it looks like all we’ve gathered so far is that Jennifer kept to herself. Didn’t mix or get involved with the residents’ association. Her late husband did his bit, but she stayed in the background. One neighbour said she’d been almost invisible since her husband died.’

‘Maybe she felt isolated, and joined the widows’ group for the company of like-minded women. It gives us a connection to Éilis. Has Lynch sourced any more information on the group?’

‘Not yet.’

Lottie looked at the ceiling, failing to hide her exasperation. ‘What about Jennifer’s work colleagues? What do they have to say?’

‘McKeown and Garda Brennan interviewed them. Confirmed that it is her writing on the resignation letter. She was quiet, kept to herself, good at her job and cordial to everyone. No complaints.’

‘But she was on a warning.’

Boyd shifted from the door, ready to leave.

‘Just a minute. I wonder if Éilis Lawlor has ever attended the Smile Brighter Dental Clinic. Find out for me while I have a look through her work notes.’