Sophie hadn’t listened. He had taught her a lesson, the stupid bitch.
He turned back from the window, happy in the knowledge that Kate was on her way. He looked at Charlie, now sitting on a kitchen chair, facing the doorway from the living room to the hall, ready to greet his mommy.
‘Mommy will be here in a second, Charlie. I told you she wouldn’t be long.’
He hadn’t wanted to tie the boy up or put the duct tape across his mouth, but Charlie had to learn a lesson too. Not everything in life is nice. The sooner he understood that, the better for everyone.
William put his fingers through the boy’s hair with his left hand and, kneeling down in front of him, held his Swiss Army knife in the other. ‘It’s time for you to be the superhero, Charlie.’ He wiped the tears from the boy’s cheek. ‘You are going to be a very good boy. We don’t want to upset Mommy, do we?’
He left the living room door open, ensuring Kate would see Charlie from the hallway the moment she arrived home. He smiled at the boy again, skipping into the hall and pressing the flat of his back tight against the wall to the left-hand side of the front door. He heard Kate walk up the communal hallway, then rummage in her bag for her keys. He heard the key going in, turning in the lock. ‘Tick tock’ went the clock.
The front door half ajar, Kate saw Charlie, feet tied to the chair with a narrow rope, hands behind his back, duct tape across his mouth. She gasped and ran straight over to him, the door closing shut behind her.
‘Come in, Kate,’ he said. ‘Welcome home. Charlie and I have been waiting for you.’ He stepped closer, positioning himself between the mother and son, and the front door. This was all going swimmingly.
Kate wrapped her arms around Charlie and gave him a reassuring look before whispering quickly, ‘It will be okay, Charlie, I promise.’
William moved towards them. Kate saw the glint of the blade as she knelt by Charlie’s side.
‘That’s a good girl, Kate. We’ll all be going for a little drive in a minute – one big happy family. Isn’t that right, Charlie?’
‘Where’s Sophie?’ Kate asked.
‘Don’t worry about Sophie. She’s been taken care of. But my apologies, I’m being rude. I forgot to tell you my name, Kate. It’s William Cronly, by the way.’
She didn’t need an introduction. ‘Hello, William.’
‘Pick up those comics for Charlie, will you, Kate?’ He pointed to a pile of Batman comics on the coffee table to her right. ‘He’ll need something to read on the way down.’
Kate picked up the pile of comics, as William moved nearer to Charlie. He held the knife to Charlie’s throat and she could feel her heart constrict in her chest. Adrenaline pumped around her body, making her feel sick.
‘I’ll carry him to the car, shall I? It’s only around the corner. Now, remember what I told you, Charlie, about being close to sharp blades. They are very dangerous. Isn’t that right, Kate?’
Incident Room, Tallaght Garda Station
Monday, 10 October 2011, 3.55 p.m.
O’CONNOR WASN’T LONG BACK AT THE INCIDENT Room when the second squad car reported from Meadow View. There was still no answer at the house.
‘Stay there. DI Byrne is on his way, as are Hanley and his crew. I’m expecting the search warrant to come through shortly. Keep me posted.’
He looked up as Donoghue walked into his office.
‘Our man works at Newell Design. Rang in sick over the weekend. They haven’t seen him since Friday afternoon.’
‘Anything on the travel details?’
‘The week Antonio Peri died, William Cronly took a Dutch airline flight from Dublin to Paris, and a connecting flight to Galileo Galilei airport at Pisa.’
‘What about—’
‘Before you even ask, yes, we checked car hire. He picked up a car at Pisa airport. He has an immaculate credit card rating by the way.’ Neither of them smiled.
‘And the mother?’
‘Are you ready for this?’ Donoghue raised both eyebrows.
‘Tell me.’
‘She died two days after the bishop jumped. She was terminally ill for some time – cancer, and accelerated dementia.’
‘So Kate was right – the trigger.’
‘The what?’
‘Nothing. It doesn’t matter. What’s the story with pulling that old case file?’
‘We should have clearance later today.’
‘Right, all we have to do now is find the bastard. Let me know when those search warrants are in.’
When Donoghue left, O’Connor picked up Ellie Brady’s copybook, reading again her description of the road at the back of the sand dunes. Standing up from his desk, he opened the door and shouted over at Donoghue.
‘We’ll need another tech team on hand for Wexford. There’s a pathway in the vicinity of Cronly Lodge that might need checking.’
‘Where?’
‘Not sure as yet, but I know someone who has a good idea. Just put it in place.’
‘The Dublin warrant is in.’
‘Good. Let’s see if all these dots join up.’
Before he left, he tried Kate’s mobile. It rang out.
Mervin Road