‘He’s still very young,’ she replied. ‘There’s plenty of time for him to turn into a rebellious teenager.’ She hoped a light-hearted approach would ease things. She wasn’t used to him being so open. Maybe his months off had changed him.
‘I see myself in him, you know, when I was that age, especially the anger.’
‘What were you angry about?’
‘Everything.’
‘It’s all part of growing up, I guess.’
‘Were you angry as a teenager, Kate?’
‘I think girls and boys differ at that age.’
‘You’re not answering me.’
She thought back to her childhood as an only child, the fractured relationship between her father and mother: he had believed he was all-knowing, and her mother had done nothing to contradict him. She had spent so long coming to terms with the strained relationship between herself and her father that, in many ways, she had ignored the one she had with her mother.
‘I guess you could say I was angry, at least for a time.’
‘What changed things?’
‘I don’t know. One day I was looking at my parents and I realised they were as vulnerable as me. It was a kind of freedom, but scary at the same time.’
‘So what happens if a child doesn’t have one of their parents around?’
She knew he was asking about his son. ‘Whether or not you’re physically around when a child is growing up,’ she hoped she sounded caring, ‘a father and a mother are always part of a child’s world. It’s not simply the genetic make-up, but what you represent, especially in our society, when so much emphasis is still placed on a particular family model.’
‘A somewhat out-of-date model.’
‘Yes, but to the child it’s still how the perfect family is presented.’
She thought about both of them failing in that regard and how, not so long ago, she wouldn’t have believed she’d ever have this conversation with him. ‘Declan and I are about to be officially separated – we will be as soon as the papers are filed.’
‘I figured it was happening, all right.’
‘My parents stayed together because it was expected of them. That wasn’t an ideal situation either.’
‘No, you’re right there.’
She turned away, looking out of the window, the plane above the clouds now, the stark brightness in contrast to their mood.
‘What matters most,’ her voice low, ‘is that a child feels loved.’ She thought about her mother again. Despite everything, she had never doubted her mother’s love, and somewhere under her father’s anger, there had been love too. ‘If a child feels loved, they have a better chance than most.’
‘Did you feel loved?’
‘I guess I was one of the lucky ones, even though I didn’t always know it.’ She turned back to him. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her. ‘Give your son time,’ she said. ‘Another thing we all need.’
‘I owe him that at least.’
Surprising herself, she placed her hand on top of his, unsure how he would react, relieved when he squeezed it back. ‘You don’t need to worry about me, Kate. I’m made of strong stuff.’
‘I know you are.’
Then he pulled his hand away. ‘I guess it’s time we got to work and earned some of the taxpayers’ money. It won’t be long before we’re arriving at Charles de Gaulle.’
‘You’re right.’ She was sorry their hands had parted. ‘Where do you want to start?’
‘Pull out that report of yours, the one you faxed to Lynch and Egan this morning.’
‘I have a copy for you.’
‘I thought you would.’
They read the report in unison. Although Kate had been over it half a dozen times that morning, she couldn’t shake the notion that there was still a large piece of the jigsaw that she should have put together, and hadn’t.
Interim Report on the Murder of Rick Shevlin
Compiled by: Dr Kate Pearson
Crime Scene Characteristics
? Primary crime scene
? Married male – mid-forties
? Worked as an art dealer – successful
? No known criminal record
? Location: Earlbrook Hotel, Dublin; hotel room offering privacy and secrecy ? Cause of death: exsanguination – throat severed
? Frenzied attack: multiple slash and puncture wounds to the body, slash wounds to face, whip marks to buttocks ? Puncture wounds relatively straight, trajectory from above with victim lying on bed ? Weapon used: equal in size to a large carving knife, capable of maximum damage, gaping wounds and deep penetration ? Blood localised to bed area and immediate vicinity
? Victim sedated prior to attack – use of Special K to immobilise him, administered orally ? Victim found naked and face up, his right ankle tied to brass bedpost at top of bed with a one-inch double-knotted rope. Left leg bent at the knee, at a ninety-degree angle; both arms bent at the elbow joints, placed under the body at the mid-point and tied together with rope identical to that used at the ankle ? Emotionally charged attack