He smiled then, a broad, toothy smile, and Lottie was amazed at his dental work. If only Rose had paid attention to her teeth when she was growing up, she wouldn’t forever be smiling with closed lips.
‘And I’ll talk to Dowling when I find him.’
He stood. ‘That reminds me of another thing.’
‘Yes?’
‘The list of casualties from the accident is in. Ten deceased so far. A crane is arriving at daylight to assist in recovery. There may be more bodies. But Conor Dowling is not on the list.’
‘He might still be buried.’
‘Possibly. I recognised one name from the Amy Whyte investigation reports, though.’
‘Who’s that?’ She wondered if Cyril Gill had escaped without injury.
‘Dermot Reilly.’
Lottie blew out a gasp of air. ‘Poor Ducky.’
‘He was only twenty-four.’
‘So sad.’
‘I’d better get back to work.’ McKeown moved to the door.
‘What about the CCTV you’ve been working on? The car park at Petit Lane.’
‘I don’t think we’ll find anything. Whoever it was seems to have been able to disappear into thin air.’
Lottie glanced at her phone. Shit, she hadn’t even succeeded in turning it on. ‘Do you know how this works?’
‘Of course I do.’ He pressed a button on the side of the phone and it lit up.
‘Thanks,’ Lottie said. ‘It’s been a long day. Head home and be back in at six in the morning. You can get to work on Louise’s friends then.’
‘I’m grand. I’ll punch in another few hours on the CCTV.’
‘Up to you.’
As McKeown left, Kirby walked in.
Lottie beckoned him to sit. ‘What’s up with you? You look worse than I feel.’
He slumped into the chair and tried to flatten his hair with his stumpy fingers.
‘I smell alcohol,’ she said. ‘My senses are heightened since I gave it up. Whiskey, if I’m not mistaken.’
‘That’s why you’re the inspector and I’m not.’ He grinned.
‘You can wipe that smirk off your face. You can’t go waltzing off to drink in the middle of an investigation.’ She felt herself blush. She’d done it often enough. But those days were behind her. She hoped.
‘Sorry, boss. Won’t happen again.’
‘Right so. Tell me you have news.’
‘I had a drink with Councillor Whyte. I asked him about the phone you found hidden at his house.’
‘And?’ Lottie rubbed her hand over her furrowed brow, trying to smooth away the pain that was buzzing in her temple. Kirby was slipping in and out of focus. She needed to lie down. McKeown was right. She wasn’t well at all.
‘He told me the phone was his. He used it to communicate with Cyril Gill. He said Gill is convinced that smartphones aren’t safe, that everything gets recorded and could be used against him.’
‘Why? What has he to hide?’
‘We’ve been here before, boss. Councillors and developers. Dodgy deals. Backhanders. Whyte wasn’t too forthcoming when I pressed him.’
‘Planning corruption again.’ Lottie slapped her desk. ‘He could be filling you with bullshit.’
‘His daughter’s dead. He’s a man with nothing left to lose. Said he’d send in the SIM card when he finds it.’
Lottie leaned back in her chair and winced. Her back was in bits. ‘I reckon he has enough time to either flush it down the toilet or wipe it clean.’
‘He was fairly drunk. I think he told me the truth.’
‘As soon as you get it, inform me. Anything else?’
‘The CCTV seems to be a dead end.’
‘You and McKeown need to keep on it.’
‘Yes, boss.’ Kirby stood and made for the door, his body slow and bulky.
‘Will you do me a favour?’
‘Sure.’
‘Pull the Bill Thompson file again.’
‘The assault and robbery case that Conor Dowling served ten years for?’
‘Yes. Go through it with a fresh eye. I want to know if I missed something back in the original investigation.’
‘Wasn’t Superintendent Corrigan SIO on that?’
‘Yes, but I did the legwork.’
‘I’ll check it out first thing in the morning.’
‘And if you find something,’ Lottie said, ‘I want to be the only one that knows.’
* * *
Conor nursed his sore ankle and decided that rather than feel sorry for himself, he had to plough on. The darkness was filling his lungs as if it was a fog. He felt his way up the steep incline, fitting his feet into grooves in the brickwork. He’d discarded his hard hat, gloves and heavy jacket. It made climbing easier, or as easy as it could be in the circumstances. His nails were broken and bleeding, and it was painful to get a grip on anything. But he struggled on. He knew there had to be an exit at the end.
His fingers reached an obstruction that didn’t feel like stone. He raised his head and it hit something hard. He edged his hand around what he thought must be a steel hatch, hoping to find a handle or latch. Something to get the damn thing open. But it was smooth and solid. It wouldn’t budge. He wasn’t giving up that easily, though. He leaned against the wall, took a couple of deep breaths of fusty air and willed strength into his body.
At last he felt a slight motion. The hatch was circular, so maybe he had to try to swivel it. He attempted it again and heard a hiss. Yes! he thought. Now he was getting somewhere. Hopefully that somewhere was out.
And then he slipped and fell back down into the abyss.
Forty-Eight
Arriving home, Lottie cursed the awkwardness of the Mondeo. Maybe it was just her and not the car. She’d have to go back to the hospital to check on Boyd. First, though, she had to ensure her children were home safe and had eaten.
Once inside, she inhaled the newness, trying to dislodge the musty, sick smell of Dowling’s home that was still clogged at the back of her throat. Then she opened the front door again and looked outside. No sign of the squad car she’d assigned to watch her family now that Bernie Kelly was on the loose. McMahon must have sent everyone to the courthouse incident.
She glanced into the sitting room. Louis was propped up on a pillow, sipping from a beaker of juice, his feet on Sean’s knee.
‘Fireman Sam?’ Lottie said.
‘He likes it. Keeps him quiet.’ Sean massaged Louis’ feet.
‘Did you eat?’ She was amazed at how Louis could temper Sean’s mood. Her son looked totally relaxed, with none of the teenage angst that had been plaguing him recently.
‘Gran dropped over a casserole. I ate a little bit of it.’ He made a face and stared at Lottie. ‘What happened to you? That cut looks nasty.’
‘I know. I’ll bathe it in a minute.’
Sean sat up a little straighter. ‘We were worried about you. Why didn’t you answer your phone?’
She mussed his hair and sat on the arm of the couch. ‘I got caught up in the incident. Lost my bag with my phone in it. Got a spare from the station, though I haven’t any numbers. I’m here now.’
‘Good.’
‘I’m going to have a proper shower and change my clothes. Where are the girls?’
‘They were worried when we couldn’t contact you or Boyd. They went into town to have a look.’
‘They could have rung the station.’
He shrugged his shoulders. ‘I don’t think they thought of that.’
‘Will you text them to say I’m home now?’
‘Sure. But Katie already texted to say they heard you were in the hospital and they were getting a lift there with some woman.’
‘What woman?’ The hairs on the back of Lottie’s neck tingled and goose bumps stood to attention on her arms. She couldn’t breathe for a moment.
‘I don’t know,’ Sean said. ‘Probably someone they met in town. Her first text said they were going to walk to the hospital then th
ere was another that said they’d gone in a car with a woman. Bit weird.’
‘When was this? When did they leave?’ Lottie counted the number of shrugs Sean gave. She tried to keep her voice calm. Louis was staring at her, his big eyes like saucers. She couldn’t distress him. She whispered with urgency, ‘Sean, try to think.’
‘They left not long after we got home from school. Mam, do we have to get the taxi all the time? It’s so embarrassing in front of the lads. It’s like I’m afraid to walk home.’
‘Did Katie tell you her name?’
‘Who?’
‘Sean, listen to me, please. The woman they met in town. The woman the girls went with. Who is she?’
‘I don’t know. Katie asked me to watch Louis. Said they wouldn’t be long. And then about twenty minutes later, she texted me. Here.’ He held out his phone.
Lottie checked Katie’s words. There was no hysteria in them. No fear or warning. Just that a woman had agreed to bring them to the hospital.
‘Can I use this for a few minutes?’
‘Sure. As long as you don’t snoop around my Instagram or Snapchat. Oh, I think I need to charge it. Hold Louis. I’ll be down in a minute.’
Lottie eagerly drank in the fragrance from the little boy’s hair, his baby smell, his smile. She smothered his cheeks with kisses and tried not to worry. But that was impossible.
Where was Rose when she needed her? Where were the girls? She had to make sure they were okay. Otherwise the day from hell would be a freaking nightmare.
Her heart beat with loud palpitations and she wondered if she was getting a panic attack. The girls are okay, she willed into her head. Louis cooed softly and she carefully straightened his clothes, then sat him on the floor when Sean returned.
‘Find Granny’s number for me, please.’
He did as she asked and handed her the phone. She made her way to the kitchen and sighed at the mess of plates with half-eaten casserole hardened to the edges. But the dishes were the least of her worries.
When Rose answered, Lottie asked her to come over to stay with Sean and Louis. She reckoned Rose heard the fear in her voice, because she was at the front door within seven minutes. If her daughters were with Bernie Kelly, Lottie feared what could happen if she didn’t act immediately.
‘Keep me informed,’ Rose said as Lottie sped down the path to the car.
‘I will, and don’t tell Sean about this.’
* * *
‘Stay quiet and you won’t come to any harm.’
That was what the woman had said when she brought them here. They were in a house. A room. But other than that, Katie had no idea where they were being held. She was extremely worried. The door was locked. And she knew they’d been conned.
She and Chloe had gone to the scene of the courthouse accident looking for their mother. They couldn’t make contact with Boyd either, and Katie was sure something had happened to Lottie. When the woman emerged from the crowd and approached them, Katie thought she recognised her, though she wasn’t sure.
‘I know where your mum is. Will I take you to her?’
‘Where is she?’
‘She was brought to the hospital.’
‘Oh, it’s okay. We’ll walk, thanks.’ Katie had sent a quick text to Sean to tell him where they were going.
‘She’s not there now,’ the woman had said. ‘I’ll take you to her.’
‘Just tell us where she is and we’ll make our own way.’
And then the woman’s face had morphed from calm to an expression of intense evil. ‘Come with me without making a sound. That’s if you don’t want something to happen to that beautiful little boy of yours.’
Katie’s mouth had dried up and the cry died in her throat. She felt Chloe tugging her coat sleeve, urging her to run. But her feet were stuck to the wet ground. This woman had threatened harm to her son. Dear God! She had started another text and just as the phone was snapped out of her hand, she hit send.
‘Did you find the coin I left for you?’
‘Coin? What coin?’ Katie said, finding her voice and racking her brain. Then she remembered the colour fading from her mother’s face when the flat round disc had fallen from Louis’ jacket pocket. Was this the person who’d been following her? Who had given her the feeling of being watched?
‘This is a load of shit,’ Chloe had said, and made to walk away.
‘Shut up, Chloe.’ This was surreal. They were in a crowd of people. Who the hell was this woman? ‘Is our mother okay?’
‘Come and see for yourselves. Don’t make a fuss. Just keep thinking of that defenceless little boy of yours.’
What could they do? They had followed her through the crowds with no one to help them. Now here they were, locked into a room with no sign of their mother. Chloe had been banging incessantly on the door until her knuckles bled.
‘You’re wasting your time,’ Katie said. ‘I’m sure this place is either soundproofed or out in the middle of nowhere. Let’s put our heads together and think of a way out of this mess.’
‘What if she’s gone to take Louis and Sean? Did you think of that, Miss Super-Cool?’
Katie had thought of it but tried not to. ‘You’re always the drama queen. I’ll figure this out if you shut up for a minute.’
‘Yeah, sure.’
‘Chloe! Please. Let me think.’
But all she could think of was her little boy and her brother, and she prayed that they wouldn’t be harmed.
Forty-Nine
The Mondeo was dragging on one side and Lottie swore that if she had a flat tyre she was going to abandon it and run. Wind buffeted the vehicle, while the wet leaves on the road caused it to skid. With no time for a shower or change of clothes or even a bite of food, she’d tried the girls’ phones from Sean’s as she drove. Both were off. She swung round by the hospital and gave a description of her daughters to the security team there. But she knew it was unlikely Chloe and Katie had even been there.
She eventually pulled up at the station. Charging inside and up the stairs with adrenaline-filled energy, she reached the incident room. The night shift team were working the phones and writing up house-to-house reports from both murder incidents. No sign of Kirby or McKeown. She raced to the CCTV room. McKeown had been right. It was an airless cupboard. Struggling for the breath to speak, she motioned them both outside to the corridor.
‘What’s up now?’ Kirby said.
‘I need you to put a trace on these two phones.’ She handed over Katie and Chloe’s phone numbers. ‘I want to know their locations. ASAP.’
‘You need paperwork for that?’ McKeown said.
Lottie dug her nails into the palms of her hands. There was no point in ranting at him. ‘These are my daughters’ phone numbers. They were together in town a couple of hours ago. And I can tell you, they never switch off their phones. So I want to know where they are.’
‘Overprotective?’ McKeown said, raising an eyebrow.
‘Shut it,’ Kirby said.
‘No, I’m not being overprotective.’ She didn’t know if she should tell them about Bernie’s threat. ‘We’ve had four young women murdered in pairs this week. Some woman met my daughters and said she would take them to me, and now I can’t locate them. That sounds fairly suspicious to me, don’t you think?’
She eyed McKeown. She read the doubt written in his eyes.
‘Not really,’ he said.
She’d have to explain. ‘I’ve been a target before. Bernie Kelly, who claims to be my half-sister, has escaped from a secure unit, as you already know. She called to my mother’s house the other night and threatened my family.’
‘I saw the news report about Kelly being your half-sister,’ Kirby said.
‘Not now, Kirby,’ Lottie wheezed. Fear was catching in her breath. ‘What is important is that I think this is her work. Every district in the country is looking for her, with no results so far. I believe she took my girls to get back at me for incarcerating her a year ago.�
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McKeown whistled. ‘Gee, sorry. I have a contact who will work on these numbers straight away.’ He hurried down the hall.
‘McKeown?’ Lottie called.
‘Yeah?’
‘This is higher than urgent.’
‘Got it.’
When he’d disappeared, Lottie felt Kirby taking her by the elbow and steering her towards their office. ‘Do you think we need to notify the super?’
‘No. I’ll only get a lecture, and I’ve had one of those from him already. I want you to go to the Joyce Hotel. Talk to Leo Belfield. We need to discover if he knew what Bernie was planning. I don’t trust him. For all I know, he could be in on this with her.’
‘I’ll do that straight away. And boss, I’ve yet to source that Thompson file. Will it wait?’
‘Yes. Finding my girls is top priority.’ She marched around the desks. ‘I could do with Boyd’s expertise.’
‘Am I not enough for you?’
She glanced at Kirby, but he was smiling. ‘Talk to Belfield.’
‘I’m already gone.’
* * *
Leo Belfield was a wreck. Kirby found him sitting at the bar in the Joyce nursing a brandy.
‘And you haven’t seen Bernie since?’
‘No. I woke up and she was gone. I told all this to Lottie. I’ve scoured the town. Drove to the old family place. Walked the lake shores. She’s vanished.’
‘People don’t vanish.’
‘They do where I come from. Into the East River, most of them.’
‘This is Ragmullin, not New York.’ Kirby could feel the colour rising up his face. He felt like shaking Belfield into action. ‘And Lottie’s two daughters have apparently gone missing. So I could do with your help.’
‘I told you, I’ve looked everywhere.’
‘Did she say anything to you when you got her out on day release? Any clue about what she was planning to do?’
Belfield shook his head. ‘She never said anything.’
Kirby didn’t believe that line for a second. He hustled Belfield off the stool. ‘You’re coming with me. Grab your coat.’
Final Betrayal Page 24