Page 45 of Three Widows

‘You make it sound like you’re surprised.’

‘Just clarifying.’ In reality, the house didn’t give off the orderliness vibe she’d expect from an accountant. Not that she’d know, never having had enough money to require the services of one. ‘Have you a large client list?’

‘Enough to say I’m good at my job.’ Orla’s tone had an edge now.

‘That’s great,’ Boyd said before Lottie had an opportunity to antagonise her further.

She was a bit disappointed. Her gut was in overdrive in this quaint, untidy little cottage.

Orla said, ‘Has Éilis not returned home yet? Helena told me she’d had a call from the babysitter this morning. Where do you think she is?’

‘If we knew that, we wouldn’t be here,’ Lottie said, before realising she had uttered the words aloud. She shook her head as the woman’s mouth fell open.

‘You seem hostile towards me, Inspector.’ Orla laid her hands flat on the table, palms down. Lottie noticed the absence of a wedding ring, and a half-hearted attempt to remove her dark nail polish.

‘It’s been a long day.’

‘Tell me about the taxi,’ Boyd said.

‘It’s all a bit of a blur. Alcoholic haze, I imagine.’ Orla smiled sweetly at him, as if she had found a kindred spirit. ‘We walked down to Danny’s but there was only one taxi there. I told Éilis to take it. She said we could share, but I needed the walk to clear my head and help me sleep. Alcohol keeps me awake.’

‘Do you know anything about the taxi she got into?’

‘I’ve no idea. They all look the same to me and I rarely use them. I mainly walk where I can.’

‘Did Éilis say anything to you?’

‘Like what?’

‘Was she due to meet anyone today? Something that could give us a hint to where she might be.’

‘Sorry, she only talked about her kids. Worried that she’d wake them when she got home.’

‘What was the conversation about in the pub?’

‘This and that.’

Lottie snorted. ‘We need to know exactly what you talked about.’

‘Look, we meet once a week for a few drinks. Helena and Éilis talk about kids and work. I listen and talk about yoga. That’s it.’

‘And when Jennifer was in the group, what was the conversation like then?’

‘Jennifer? She stopped coming weeks ago. Éilis said she’d tried ringing her a few times. She’s probably gone on holiday.’

‘Did she contact you to say she was going away?’

‘No. We’re not BFFs. She probably needed to clear her head or something.’

‘In this Life After Loss group, what did Jennifer talk about?’

‘Nothing much that I can remember.’

‘Had she problems at work?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe.’

‘Like what? Did she discuss her boss, Frankie Bardon?’