Page 84 of Three Widows

‘A few have doorbell cameras and fake cameras, but most houses are covered by phone alarms. I found nothing to indicate who might have abducted Éilis or when it happened.’

‘Back to Jennifer. She had a sideline as an artist. We need to pick over her financials. Anything on those?’

Kirby said, ‘Haven’t got them yet, but I was looking at Tyler Keating’s, and—’

‘The missing man whose car was found in Jennifer’s lock-up. Go on.’

‘His wife has access to his accounts, so it’s impossible to say if it’s her or Tyler who’s been using them.’

‘Ask her.’

‘Will do.’

‘Sometime after her husband died two years ago, Jennifer joined this group that Éilis set up. And then Helena joined it, followed by Orla Keating within the last year. Is there anything else to link the women?’

Garda Brennan put up her hand.

‘Yes, Martina.’

‘I’ve had a quick look over Tyler Keating’s case, and I think we should ask Orla if she or her husband did accountancy work for Jennifer or her husband. That might link them.’

‘Good point. If she refuses, I don’t think a judge will issue a warrant for her records without proof of wrongdoing. Any other way of finding out?’

‘Detective McKeown is on good terms with someone in Revenue,’ Martina said, giving him a side-eye before looking back at Lottie. ‘Maybe he could ask them?’

McKeown had the decency to blush before he said, ‘I’ll see what I can find out. Jennifer rented the unit in her maiden name, which is a bit odd.’

‘See what you can find out about it. And Kirby, those files belonging to Damien …’

‘Yeah, I’ll go through them as soon as I get them.’

‘When will you know about the car GPS?’

‘I haven’t had time to—’

‘We need to work faster. Who else had keys to Jennifer’s lock-up? Was the car there before she disappeared or put there afterwards? Someone has to know. I want information, not excuses. Am I clear?’

‘Crystal,’ Kirby said.

She hoped he wasn’t being sarcastic, though it sounded like he was. ‘I want Helena McCaul found. And now I have to go tell two children their mum is dead. Boyd, you’re with me.’

‘But I’ve to organise uniforms… the pubs…’

‘Garda Brennan, that’s your job now.’

‘I have to look at the Tyler case and—’

‘Garda Lei can help you.

Lei cut in. ‘Sure, boss. It’s not a problem.’

Lottie’s T-shirt was sticking to her skin as she sidled out by her troops to breathe in the relative coolness of the corridor. Her team seemed to be at loggerheads with each other. Was it her fault? She had to sort it out before it spiralled out of control. If they were not at their best, someone else was going to die.

* * *

Sometimes you had to begin at the end to figure out how you got there. She had come to learn this over the years. But what if you really had to begin where it all started? Would that help, or would it only compound the errors you’d made? She had to try and figure out what she’d got herself involved in.

The meeting with Madelene Bowen hadn’t helped. She really needed that file. She felt it was the key to everything either going belly-up or resolving all her issues.