‘Less of the granny,’ Lottie said.
‘Do you want a coffee?’ Kirby offered.
She leaned against a vacant stool. ‘No thanks, I’ve to get into work, as do you. I just walked Louis into town to see the market. Giving the girls time to pack. Did you notice the closed-up stall outside?’
‘No. I skirted around the back of them, otherwise I’d end up buying a load of stuff I don’t need and can’t afford.’
‘There’s a stall out there that’s shuttered. The woman who runs the chocolate stall opposite said the owner hasn’t been there for the last two or three days.’
‘Oh shit. Around the time Lily went missing?’
‘She’s not sure. But she remembers him because of the weird little dolls he was selling.’
Darren, the barman, raised his head from where he was loading a glass-washer. ‘Weird dolls?’
‘Yeah. Do you know anything about him?’
‘He had a bowl of soup and a sandwich the other day. Hasn’t been in since.’
‘What day?’
‘I haven’t a clue. It’s been so busy with the market.’
‘Did he say anything? Had he an accent?’ Lottie wondered if perhaps she was clinging to straws.
‘Wait a tick.’ Darren shoved in the tray and switched on the machine, then searched behind the till and produced a brown paper bag. From it he drew out a small bundle the size of a key. ‘Would this help?’
‘That’s one of his dolls?’
‘Ugly little bastard, isn’t it?’
‘Why’d you buy it?’
‘Felt sorry for him. His was the only stall where no one was buying anything, and he had bought the soup and sandwich. Quid pro quo?’
Lottie stared at the doll. It was indeed ugly. The hair. She shuddered. It looked almost real.
‘Who else has touched this, Darren?’
‘Just me. It’s been sitting behind the till since.’
‘Can you put it back in the bag, please?’ She glanced at Kirby, who’d been staring open-mouthed at the hideous-looking item.
‘Sure,’ Darren said. ‘Do you want it?’
‘I really don’t want that … thing near Louis.’ She turned to Kirby. ‘Could you take it to the station, please? It might be nothing, but just maybe this stallholder took Lily.’
‘That’s a long shot.’
‘Everything is a long shot until you investigate it. Get it photographed.’ She thought for a moment. ‘And have the hair analysed.’
‘What hair?’ Kirby peered into the paper bag.
Louis stared to shout. ‘Nana. Home. Nana. Mama.’
‘The hair on the doll. It looks kind of real to me.’ She pushed the stroller towards the door. ‘Today, Kirby.’
‘Sure thing.’ He moved to hold the door for her.
‘And see what else you can find out about that stallholder. Contact the market organisers. I’ll be in the office as soon as I can.’
‘Will do.’
‘Do you know where Boyd is?’
‘Haven’t seen him yet, boss.’ He shrugged half-heartedly.
‘Maybe he’s gone to Galway,’ Lottie said, feeling suddenly intrusive. But she was going to marry him, wasn’t she? Though not if he kept up his secrecy.
‘I wouldn’t know about that,’ Kirby said with a blush.
As she pushed the stroller back up the street, zigzagging through the crowd, Lottie wondered why Kirby appeared to know more about Boyd than he was saying, and more than she did. That was what bugged her more than anything. Secrets. She bloody hated them.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
It was another fifteen minutes before she had Louis safely home with her daughters. According to Chloe, Sean had headed off on his bike with a gym bag on his back. Between the lines, Lottie could read that there had been a row among the siblings. She’d have to sort it later. Everything was later.
There was no sign of Boyd when she arrived at the office. Kirby had made it in before her and was busy checking with forensics to get the doll processed as soon as possible.
He finished his call and followed her to the incident room. ‘Boss, we got access to Fiona Heffernan’s bank account. Listen to this. About two weeks ago, there was a payment to Ryanair and another to an online hotel booking site.’
‘Honeymoon?’ Lottie wondered where Fiona and Ryan might have been off to.
‘That’s what I thought. I checked the inventories for her home and Slevin’s cottage. No mention of passports. I double-checked the list of what was in her handbag, locker … everything. Nothing.’
‘Nothing?’
‘I couldn’t find passports for either Fiona or Lily.’
‘Maybe they didn’t have any?’
‘I checked with the passport office, and they do.’
‘Did you ask Colin Kavanagh? The documents could be at his house, for safe keeping.’
‘I tried ringing him, but there’s no reply.’
Lottie said, ‘We need to speak with Ryan Slevin to see if there was a honeymoon planned. First, though, I need a coffee. A proper one.’
She pulled on her coat to fly down to McDonald’s for a coffee, and bumped into Boyd on the ground floor.
‘What’s going on?’ she said.
He was holding Ryan Slevin at arm’s length. ‘He’s being an arsehole.’
She shot him a dagger and said to Ryan, ‘You’re just the man I’m looking for.’
‘Good, because I’m looking for you. I want you to organise a search for Beth. I can’t find her anywhere.’
‘Beth Clarke?’
‘Yeah, I went to return her car this morning and she’s not at home.’
Lottie led the way to the interview room and ushered Ryan in. Boyd followed.
‘Why did you have Beth’s car?’ she said when they were seated.
‘Long story,’ Ryan said, ‘but I think something might have happened to her, with all the murders. She was very distressed, you know, after her father’s death.’
‘Did you stop to think maybe she could be with her mother?’
‘There’s not a chance in hell. Since Eve walked out on her, Beth can’t bear to hear her name mentioned.’
‘Did you check with your sister?’
He shook his head. ‘Beth’s not there.’
‘Okay, I’ll follow it up.’ She settled her hands on the desk. ‘I’m glad you’re here, because I need to ask you some questions.’
Ryan shifted on the chair, ran his hand through his beard. Lottie noticed the dirt in his fingernails and his grubby appearance. So different from how he’d looked right before she informed him of Fiona’s death. Grief-stricken, she thought, but was he a killer?
Trying to instil some normality into the situation, she said, ‘Where were you planning to take Fiona on honeymoon?’
‘Honeymoon? We didn’t organise one. We had Lily to think of, and then there was all the expense renovating the cottage, and anyway Fiona told me Lily had no passport.’ He was talking too fast. Jumbled words just about making sense.
‘Lily does have a passport.’
‘I didn’t know that.’
‘You never discussed going abroad on holidays?’
‘No. I don’t think Fiona had ever been anywhere other than around Ireland.’
‘Really?’
‘Ask Kavanagh, the prick. He knew her longer than I did.’
‘You told me you got on well with Lily. Is that true?’
‘It’s true. My sister has three boys, I’m used to kids and they’re used to me. Lily is a sweet kid.’
‘Tell me about Giles Bannon, your brother-in-law.’
Ryan shifted some more on the chair, one eye on the door. Lottie thought he was figuring out a quick escape.
‘What do you want to know?’
‘Did Giles see much of Lily?’
A tic of confusion caused a tremor in one of his eyes. ‘Only when Fiona called over with her. Why?’
‘And how was he around Fiona?’
‘What are you getting at?’ His nostrils flared.
‘Answer the questions, Ryan.’
‘Am I under arrest or something?’ His mouth moved furiously as if he was chewing on gum.
‘No.’ Not yet, she thought. ‘But I need you to help with our enquiries.’
Ryan’s phone buzzed somewhere on his person. He patted down his jacket.
‘Leave it,’ Lottie said. ‘I asked you about Giles.’
He gulped. ‘Fiona didn’t like him. She didn’t like being in the house when he was there. Said he gave her the creeps, always staring at her. She wouldn’t let Lily visit either, come to think of it.’
‘Any visible animosity or rows?’
‘No, but Giles was acting odd for the last few months. My sister … Zoe thought maybe he was having an affair. He was rarely home early.’
‘And was there any substance to this suspicion?’ Boyd said.
Ryan fixed his eyes on a point well above Boyd’s head. Chewed on his bottom lip, getting a mouthful of stubble. He picked constantly at the corner of a dirty nail.
‘Ryan? Answer the question,’ Lottie prompted.
He drew his eyes away from the wall and glanced at them both before directing his answer to Boyd. ‘I talked to Beth about it … We knew the signs.’
‘What signs?’ Lottie cut in.
Ryan gulped again before continuing. ‘Beth and I … About a year ago, we had a … thing. You know, a relationship.’
‘An affair?’
‘Neither of us was married to anyone else, so I wouldn’t call it an affair.’
‘But you were with Fiona at the time, weren’t you?’
‘Yeah, yeah. An affair, then. It was short. Nothing spectacular. Just happened through work. Anyway, we knew the signs.’
‘What signs?’ Lottie felt she was stuck in the middle of a riddle.
‘The signs someone displays when they’re having an affair. Giles displayed them all.’
‘Enlighten me.’
‘Leaving the room when he got a phone call or text. Always keeping his phone in his hand or pocket, never leaving it on the table where Zoe could pick it up. Out late every evening, using work as an excuse, even when we knew the theatre was closed. Zoe was in a state.’
‘Did you do anything about it?’
‘It was Beth’s idea. She suggested we spy on him.’
‘How did you do that?’
‘Well, it was Robert’s idea too.’
‘Robert? Robert Brady?’ Lottie looked at Boyd, who seemed to have lost interest in the conversation. She nudged him with her elbow.
‘Yeah,’ Ryan said. ‘Robert was working on my cottage. Overheard us chatting. He said he didn’t think it was an affair. Thought maybe Giles was into something illegal.’
‘How did he reach that conclusion?’
‘Robert had worked on Colin Kavanagh’s house too. Kavanagh had asked Robert to build him a cabin out on the land. Then he’d blacked out all the windows and locked it. Robert was convinced something fishy was going on.’
‘How does Giles fit in?’
‘Robert said Giles was always in and out of Kavanagh’s house when Fiona was at work, and most of the conversations were about Clarke’s Garage. That was when Beth came up with the idea.’
Lottie felt her jaw drop. ‘The lookout on the hill. You and Beth were the ones who used it.’
Ryan nodded. ‘Robert did too. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now it seems just plain childish. Like we were playing cops and robbers or something.’
‘Did you uncover anything with your spying?’
‘Yeah. Giles wasn’t having an affair. But there was definitely something illegal going on at the garage. Cars being driven in at all hours. Cars being driven out. Most times it was either Giles or Kavanagh who opened the garage doors.’
‘Jesus,’ Lottie exclaimed. ‘And none of the villagers noticed anything?’
Ryan laughed. ‘You’ve seen Ballydoon. Dead as a dodo most of the time. Unless there’s something on in the pub, it’s like a pauper’s wake.’
‘So Giles and Kavanagh were involved in criminal activity. What did you do with this information?’
‘I wanted to report it, but Beth didn’t want to get her father in trouble. She said she would write an article, and when the time was right, she was going to sell it to the highest bidder. But she wanted to be sure Christy was innocent first. She thought they were ripping him off and that he was being used by them.’
‘Did you take photographs?’
‘Yes. I had them on an SD card. I gave it to Beth.’
‘Okay. We’ll follow up your allegations and speak with Beth.’
‘You’ll have to find her first. I think something awful has happened to her.’
‘Why do you think that?’
‘A couple of days ago, I got a threatening email from an anonymous IP address, telling me to back off. Someone knew what we were at. Maybe that’s why Fiona was killed. And now I can’t find Beth.’
‘Ryan, tell me, why did you have Beth’s car?’ Lottie wondered how Cara fitted into this scenario. It didn’t make sense.
Ryan once again found the point on the wall. ‘I had a bit of a mishap yesterday. My car … I couldn’t go back to the cottage for it. I ended up at Beth’s house. Like I said, she was inconsolable over her father’s death. I needed to get away from her. From all that grief. I had enough of my own. I took her car.’
‘What was the mishap?’
‘I’m sorry … I didn’t mean to hurt you …’
‘What are you talking about?’ Lottie felt a vein in her neck throb as her heart beat faster.
‘I’d gone to the forest because I needed to check if we’d left anything behind that might land us in trouble. Especially after Christy … died.’
‘Go on,’ Lottie said, trying to keep her tone even.
‘I saw you there. I panicked. I don’t know what came over me. Honestly, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just wanted to check the lookout before you found it. I’m so sorry. I …’ Ryan buried his head in his hands.
Lottie leaped up, ready to thump him.
Boyd caught her arm. ‘I’ll deal with this. Go on. Find Giles and Kavanagh. I’ll arrest him for assaulting you.’
She opened the door. As she stepped into the corridor, she heard Boyd begin.
‘Ryan Slevin, I am arresting you under the Offences against the Person Act. You do not have to say anything but …’
The sound of his voice muted when she banged the door.
Back in the office, Lottie was still trying to calm down, and still dying for a coffee, when a text pinged on her phone.
Father Joe. She opened it.
Had a word with Sister Augusta. Interesting conversation. Speak with her again.
She replied: Thank you.
The phone pinged again almost immediately.
She will throw some light on Father Curran too. Best of luck.
McKeown lifted his head from his iPad. ‘I found something,’ he said.
‘Lily?’
He shook his head. ‘Sorry, no. There’s a nationwide alert, TV appeals, roadblocks, every paedophile on the register has been visited and houses searched. Kavanagh’s reward offer is giving us the usual headaches.’
‘Oh God, I don’t know what else we can do.’ Lottie plonked down on a chair. ‘Did Kirby show you the doll?’
‘Yes. Gruesome thing. Do you think it has anything to do with the case?’
‘Possibly.’
‘I have more than a possibility here. About the wedding dress that Fiona Heffernan was wearing.’
‘Go on.’
‘Remember we thought it might have been custom made or bought online?’
‘Yes.’
‘We put out the appeal like you said, and I’ve had a phone call from Shelly Forde. She’s the assistant tutor at the dance school.’
‘I’m listening.’
‘Shelly told me a wedding dress was
purchased for next week’s dance show, Cinderella. She is convinced it’s the same as the one in the image we circulated.’
Lottie started towards the door. ‘What are we waiting for? We need to interview Shelly.’
‘Hold on a minute. I asked her to check if the dress was still at the theatre.’
‘And?’ Why on earth was he dragging it out? This was a real lead.
‘She checked the costume room. It’s not there. I asked her if she could find the invoice or receipt. She emailed me immediately with this.’
He thrust his iPad into her hand. She was looking at an online invoice. ‘Ragmullin Dance School. Doesn’t tell me anything.’
McKeown leaned over and swiped the image to the left. ‘This is the receipt. Paid by credit card. See the name?’
‘Giles fucking Bannon!’
‘Exactly.’
‘Where is he now?’
‘At the theatre. Shelly says he’s doing a war dance because rehearsals are behind schedule or some shit like that.’
‘Bring the car to the front. We’ll interview him there. Best not to give him time to come up with a tall tale, and I need to speak to him about something else anyway.’ At the door, she turned. ‘Oh, print all that off and bring it.’
‘Already done.’ He folded the pages into his pocket.
‘Good man.’
As she walked down the corridor, she got a familiar warm feeling. The feeling where she sensed everything was about to fall into place. Maybe.
Chapter Sixty
Giles Bannon led them into his office. He refused to sit. Lottie sat down just to piss him off.
‘What’s this about?’ he said. ‘I’m busy. I’ve a show next week and that prick Trevor Toner is playing silly buggers with me. Those kids are not nearly ready. They have to double up and fill in for Lily Heffernan.’ His face slackened. ‘I hope she’s found soon.’
‘Mr Bannon, sit the fuck down,’ McKeown said, his voice so soft that it made even Lottie shiver.
She kept her eyes on Bannon. He fidgeted, running fingers up and down his tie. Stuffed the edge of his shirt into his trousers where it had come loose during his tirade. At last, barely able to fit in the tight space behind his desk, he sat.
Broken Souls: An absolutely addictive mystery thriller with a brilliant twist (Detective Lottie Parker Book 7) Page 31