Mr. Sheehy looked at him for a long moment and then picked up the phone on his desk. “Miss Lemon, can you bring Ian Costello to the meeting room, immediately, please?” He stood up. “Come this way, please.”
The meeting room had comfortable chairs gathered around a coffee table.
“You won’t be disturbed here.”
“Thank you,” Eoin said.
Mr. Sheehy paused a moment and then left the room.
“You lead this, Alanna. Isobel, chip in when you feel like it.”
Alanna nodded.
The door opened to reveal a good-looking man in a tracksuit. He was six foot tall and lean. His hair was dark, as were his eyes. Ian Costello looked at the three people waiting for him and then smiled warmly at Alanna and Isobel with only a slight flicker for Eoin.
Alanna said, “Sit down, Mr. Costello.”
He lounged in his chair. “Call me Ian.”
“I’m Detective Sergeant Finnegan. This is Detective Inspector Eoin Ryan and Isobel McKenzie.”
Ian nodded an acknowledgment but kept his attention on Alanna. “How can I help you?”
“Do you know Mark Brady?”
“Of course I do.”
“What can you tell me about him?”
Ian looked at her for a second. “I know he has been arrested on suspicion of being involved in murdering those women.”
Alanna said, “And?”
Ian rubbed his chin with his hand, creating a rasping sound. “I was shocked I have to say.”
Alanna inclined her head.
He worried his face again. “I know Mark from the under-twelve basketball team.” He looked around. “I suppose you know that. He seems like a nice guy. I never noticed him talking to any of the mothers. Maybe that was his problem, that he wasn’t so popular with the ladies.”
“What are you implying, Mr. Costello?”
Ian leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “Look, I’ll be honest with you. Sometimes I find that mothers are coming to me wanting to talk about how their son is doing, wondering if they will be on the team. Sometimes I find they are a little more than concerned parents, if you know what I mean.”
Alanna said, “Are you saying that some of the mothers come on to you?”
“Well, it has been known to happen.” He smiled. “I don’t think that Mark was as attractive to women and maybe he let that get to him.”
“Are you suggesting that Mark attacked these women because they weren’t interested in him?”
“No, no, that’s not what I said.”
“What are you saying?”
Ian leaned back again. “I’m trying to understand why Mark would do what he did. He’s a nice enough guy but he really didn’t have that je ne sais quoi. Maybe it was because he felt he was missing out.”
Isobel could feel her temper rising. “And would you say that you have that je ne sais quoi?”
Alanna coughed and covered her mouth with her hand.
Ian turned to Isobel. “Well, I have my fair share of interest from women, even mothers of kids I teach, so …”
Isobel bit her lip. “Are you saying that you feel that Mark Brady is, in your mind, capable of committing these crimes?”
“It’s surprising the people who would be capable of committing crimes like these.”
Alanna said, “Are you?”
Ian looked at her. “I wouldn’t need to.”
There was a silence.
Isobel said, “Can you tell me the names of the women associated with the basketball club that you have been in relations with?”
“I don’t want to have to reveal any names. It’s not gentlemanly.”
“I hardly think that your innuendos are gentlemanly.”
Alanna said, “And this is a murder enquiry, you have no choice.”
“Maybe I should talk to my solicitor?”
Alanna stood up. “Fine. I’ll call a squad car to take you to Henry Street. You can phone your solicitor from there.”
Ian paled and chewed his lip. His macho posture in the chair folded in on itself. “Look, I shouldn’t have said what I did.”
“But you did say it,” Eoin said.
Ian swallowed. “Look. I talked things up a bit before. I haven’t had any relations with mothers of the boys.”
“So why did you say that you did?” Alanna said.
Ian shook his head and slouched forward his elbows on his knees.
Isobel said, “So the man you described Mark Brady as being, is in actual fact who you really are, someone who would like to be better with women?”
Ian kept his eyes down but nodded.
“You were trying to incriminate Mark Brady,” Alanna said.
Ian’s head snapped up, “No. I wasn’t. You arrested him. I just wondered why he might have done it.”
“If I hear that you have made any statements to the press to this effect I’m going to come back and arrest you,” Eoin said.
“No. I wouldn’t.”
“You’d better not.”
Alanna said, “And are you capable of rape and murder? Your attitude to women is certainly questionable.”
“No.” He snapped. “I swear to you.” He looked at each of them.
“Mr. Costello, where were you last night?” Alanna said.
Ian rubbed his forehead. “Let me think. Last night I was at the gym.”
“What time did you arrive there and what time did you leave?”
Ian chewed his lip. “I probably arrived at about six o’clock and I stayed until nine.”
“Rather a long time.”
“I did some weight-training, ran on the treadmill and then took a shower and sauna.”
“And after the gym what did you do?”
“I was home, alone.”
“And Monday night this week?”
“The gym.”
“Monday night last week?”
“I was at the gym.”
“You spend a lot of time at the gym. We will be checking. Which gym is it?”
“Fitbit. You can ask them there. They have a sign-in and sign-out system and there were people there who can vouch for me.”
Alanna made a note. “And the nights of …” She listed the dates of all the known attacks.”
Ian went pale. “I don’t know. I can’t remember back that far. There are so many nights. I would have to check my diary. I might not be able to tell you where I was on all of them. Hang on …” He pulled out his mobile phone and scrolled through some pages. “Yes, I knew it! One of the dates you mentioned was the football match in England. Manchester United was playing and a few times a year I fly over to see the game. You can check with the airline. Here’s the name of the hotel I stayed in.”
Eoin wrote down the airline and hotel name.
Ian let out a deep breath. “It was a funny thing. Mark was at the game too but I didn’t even know he was at it until we were at training the next week. His partner took him as a birthday present.” Ian’s voice trailed off. “He can prove he was away, just like me.” He looked at each of them. “You’ve probably checked his alibi already.” He took a deep breath, “So you know he was away.” He turned his head rapidly between them. “You know he’s innocent. Oh God, what have I done?”
“Shown your true colours,” Eoin said. “And your attitude to women.”
Ian flushed. “I swear that I wouldn’t, I couldn’t, do that to any woman. I know I’ve handled this badly and I’m sorry but I’m innocent of rape and murder.”
“So stop wasting our time and tell us anything that might be useful to our investigation,” Alanna said.
“I don’t know what’s useful to your investigation. What could I possibly know?”
Isobel said, “Was there anyone hanging around the basketball practices a lot? Was there anyone whose behaviour seemed suspicious?”
Ian looked at her. “You think that the man who killed these women is associated with the basketball club?”
Alanna said, “T
hat is one line of investigation that we are pursuing. Trust me there are many lines.”
Ian scratched his head. “No one hanging around that I noticed. Some parents stayed sometimes to watch, but not always and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It’s just normal stuff.” He shrugged. “The only thing that happened that was a bit unusual was some gossip – one of the mothers who used to come to the practices, got very friendly with one of the fathers and the next thing they ran away together, to Australia, I heard.”
“I hardly think that’s the sort of thing we are looking for,” Alanna said.
“No, of course not.”
“No other suspicious men hanging around?”
“No. To be honest, most people drop off the kids and come back and collect them. I think that’s how that couple got together, they started going for coffee.”
“OK. Thank you,” Eoin said. “Not a word to anyone about our little chat. We’ll get back to you when we’ve checked your alibis and if we have any more questions.”
“Yes, of course. Sorry about earlier.”
They left the school quietly and maintained their silence until they were in the car.
“What a gobshite!” Alanna said.
Eoin looked at her. “Do you think he could be involved?”
“He’s certainly sleazy enough,” Isobel said.
Alanna shook her head. “I doubt it. The man we’re after is a threat, ruthless, clever. That guy strikes me as pathetic.”
“That could be his motivation,” Eoin said. “Get onto Agnieska and Chin. They need to check if he was at the gym and if he really was at that football game.”
“Will do.”
Eoin said, “One down, two to go.”
Isobel said, “Who’s next?”
“Tim Healy. He works in the sport shop on William Street.”
Chapter 38
Eoin pulled the car into the bus lane on William Street and put a sign on the window. He led the way into Lifestyle sports and asked to speak to Tim Healy.
The young shop assistant went pale. “Is this about the thefts on Saturday?”
“Why don’t you get Tim for us?”
Tim was in his late twenties with blond hair. He was five foot ten and slightly plump.
“Hello.”
Eoin stepped forward. “Detective Inspector Eoin Ryan. Perhaps we could go to an office and talk.”
Tim turned to his assistant. “Hold the fort, Alan, and call me if you need me.”
The office was really a box-room with a desk and two chairs. Tim sat behind the desk. Eoin gestured for Isobel to take the chair. He perched on the edge of the desk and Alanna stood with her back to the door.
Tim said, “I’ve had an electrician look at the camera and it looks like one of the wires wasn’t connected properly. He doesn’t know if it deteriorated over time or if it had been tampered with.” Tim licked his lips. There was a film of sweat on his brow.
Alanna raised her eyebrows and then smiled. “What do you think happened?”
“Oh, I think it may not have been properly connected when it was installed.”
“Yes. It would be rather fortunate for the thief that the surveillance equipment became faulty just when he was committing his crime, don’t you think? But it is a bit strange that no one realised that the surveillance wasn’t working. That seems very remiss.”
Eoin nodded. “Criminal almost.”
Tim licked his lips. “Yes, very bad luck for the shop.”
Eoin looked at Alanna. “Do you think we should get a fingerprint team down to see if there are any fingerprints on the camera?”
Tim paled.
“We could do,” Alanna said.
Tim made a strangled sound. “Please, don’t. Now that we’re aware of the fault, and the camera has been fixed properly, I don’t think it will happen again.”
“You think not?” Alanna said.
“Definitely not.”
“OK.”
Tim stood up. “Thank you for your help. I’ll show you out.”
Alanna crossed her arms. “Actually, we came to talk to you about something else.”
Tim sank back into the chair. “Something else?”
Eoin said, “You’re the man in charge of uniforms for the under-twelves basketball team.”
“Yes.”
“And I believe you know Mark Brady?”
Tim leaned forward. “Yes, I saw that on the news. He was arrested yesterday. I could hardly believe it. He’s a really nice guy. He has a lovely girlfriend and, well, it just isn’t him.”
“What do you mean?” Isobel said.
Tim looked at her. ‘He’s so easy to talk to. He cares about the kids. He loves basketball, like me. We get together sometimes to watch American games.”
“You have a lot of time for him?”
“Oh yes, absolutely.”
“What about the other people involved with the basketball club? What are they like?”
“Well, there are only four of us who are involved in the club.”
Alanna said, “Tell us about them.”
“Ian is the coach. To be fair, he’s a good coach, good with the kids and very encouraging with them …”
“But?”
Tim made a face. “I don’t feel comfortable saying anything.”
“You do realise that we’re investigating two cases of rape and murder.”
Tim swallowed.
“Tell us about Ian.”
Tim rubbed his hands across his lips. “We sorted things out. It all settled down and I’m sure it has nothing to do with those poor women.”
Eoin said, “We’ll be the judge of that.”
“Who sorted what out?” Alanna asked.
Tim stared at her, his eyes round and frightened. “Mark and I spoke to Ian about his behaviour and Brenda said that she had no more trouble.”
Isobel tensed in her chair. “What trouble was Ian causing?”
Tim looked from one of them to the other.
Isobel said, “Tell us what happened.”
“Brenda lives near me. I bumped into her in the local shop and we ended up having a coffee. She was upset with Ian because …” Tim buried his head in his hands. “It sounds so bad now.”
Eoin shifted on the desk.
Isobel spoke softly. “What did Ian do?”
Tim’s eyes fixed on Isobel. “He asked her out on a date. She said that she went because she was recently divorced. He talked all night about himself and was boring and, when he left her home, she told him that she wasn’t interested.”
Tim swallowed.
“What happened then?”
“He started calling her and turning up at her house. She told him she wasn’t interested but …”
Isobel nodded encouragement. When the silence lengthened she prompted. “But –?”
Tim swallowed again.
“He stalked her,” Alanna said.
“A bit.”
“How can you stalk someone a bit?”
Tim moved forward on his chair. “We stopped it though. And Brenda told me that it was all finished. She didn’t feel worried anymore.”
Isobel asked, “Who’s we?”
“I didn’t know what to do so I talked to Mark about it. We went and spoke to Ian together and told him that if he didn’t stop immediately that we were going to the gardaí and that he would never coach again. He got an awful shock. He said that was it. He apologised to Brenda. I swear, she said that he was no longer any trouble. I know he can be a bit of a dose, pretending he’s God’s gift to women but we stopped him and he’s much better now.”
“For your information, he’s not better,” Alanna said.
“But Ian would never rape or murder someone. He’s a shy, lonely man who wants to believe he’s popular.”
Isobel said, “That’s some psychological assessment.”
“That’s what Mark said.”
“I hope you’re right and that he isn’t the one who has moved on to raping
and killing women,” Alanna said.
“No.”
Alanna pulled out her phone and swung out of the room.
Tim said, “Oh God. I’m sorry. We thought we were doing the right thing and Brenda was happy when he left her alone.”
“When was all of this?” Eoin asked.
“It was ages ago, a year ago, just after one of the fathers caused some trouble.”
“What trouble was that?” asked Isobel.
“One day the father of one of the boys turned up ranting and raving at Mark and Ian.”
“What was the problem?” Isobel persisted.
“Mark said that it was because his wife ran off with one of the other fathers. He was a well-to-do man and seemed to think we should have prevented them meeting or some rubbish like that. Mark said he was upset at losing his wife and wasn’t acting rationally, which I get. It was only that one time. He never came back. Nothing like that ever happened again.”
Isobel said, “How long ago was that?”
Tim frowned. “Probably about eighteen months ago.”
“We’ll need Brenda’s full name and address,” Eoin said.
Tim frowned.
Eoin said, “Now.”
Tim pulled out his phone and gave the name and number. He recited an address.
“We’ll need the contact details of the man who created the fuss at training.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t remember who that was. Honestly. It was a once-off.”
“You and Mark seem to sort out a lot of things. Is it he who advised you about how to handle the shoplifting, Mr. Sort-it-all Mark?”
Tim hung his head. “Alan’s just a kid. His mum is sick and he’s not handling it well. He took the tops for his sisters and brothers.” He bit his lip, “I only realised after I had reported the theft. He’s going to do voluntary work with the homeless and donate money to charity to the amount. Mark and I also went with him to tell his mum and he’s going to have some counselling about her illness.”
“You seem to have quite a help service going there,” Eoin said.
“Alan made a mistake. He was found out. Mark used to work in England and he did some volunteer work with young people who got in trouble. We were trying to help Alan get back on the right track before it was too late.”
Eoin shook his head. “That isn’t your job. I hope that the help,” he spat out the word, “you gave Ian hasn’t kept a rapist and murderer on the streets.”
Broken Silence: A tense psychological thriller Page 22