‘Okay, I’ll be there shortly.’
On the way to the station, Kate thought about everything Jessica had told her. In one way, it all made sense, but in another it was totally contradictory. The crucifix left with Caroline, the positioning of the bodies, hands joined as if in prayer, even the lengths the killer was prepared to go to bury both girls, all pointed towards a form of protection, crafting how they looked, perhaps an almost spiritual recreation of innocence, something intensely personal to him. The contradiction was that the killer was the persecutor, not the protector.
When Kate entered the station, a young female garda escorted her down to the Incident Room, pushing open the double doors and pointing Kate in the direction of O’Connor’s temporary office. Immediately, she got the sense that, even though it had been only four days since the first victim had gone missing, and two days since her body had been found, the room had all the appearance of an investigation that had already run for far too long. She could hear the prioritised calls from the helplines ringing constantly in the background, the hum of computers, printers splurging out information, desks and shelves littered with stained coffee cups. Every person in the room had a frown on his or her face, all looking tired but focused and utterly determined.
When O’Connor spotted her through the glass panels of his makeshift office, he gave her a nod. He looked like a man who wanted information, and wasn’t in the mood to wait for it.
‘How did your last Incident Room meeting go?’ Kate asked him as she took a seat opposite him.
‘Not good. Now, fill me in on Jessica.’
‘It seems Caroline and this guy got friendly.’
‘Friendly?’
‘There was more than the interaction at the swimming pool; as we both suspected, Jessica was holding back. They met other times too. According to Jessica, he must be local because he and Caroline kept bumping into each other, but that could have been something he staged. Either way, he befriended her and Caroline looked on him as a kind of teacher, someone she could turn to for support.’
‘What else?’ O’Connor got up, closing the glass office door behind her and cutting out the noise from the Incident Room.
‘He was the one who gave her the crucifix.’
‘Jessica is sure of that?’ O’Connor sat down again, opposite Kate.
‘Absolutely, but that’s not all.’
‘What?’
‘It’s what he said to her. He told Caroline it would keep her safe, that the crucifix was a sign of Christ’s unconditional love, that through death He wanted to protect the innocent. According to Jessica, he said it was to protect Caroline from people like Innes.’
‘Did you ask her why?’
‘Why Caroline felt she’d need protection from paedophiles?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Jessica didn’t know. She thought Caroline simply liked the idea of the cross protecting her.’
‘And your theory?’
‘It’s part of the mix. I’m not sure how it fits in yet.’
‘Do you think Caroline was being abused?’
‘There’s no physical evidence to back it up, but that doesn’t rule it out either. There is another possibility though.’
‘I can’t wait to hear it, Kate.’ O’Connor leaned back in the chair, hands joined behind his head, the look of intensity never leaving his face.
‘Well, the subject obviously came up in conversation, otherwise why would Jessica know about it? But maybe it isn’t Caroline’s concerns we should be looking at, maybe it’s his.’
‘You’re saying we’re dealing with some religious nut with a fear or aversion to paedophiles?’
‘Religion is a big part of it.’
‘How exactly?’
‘Too early to pinpoint, but the symbolism is important to him. The crucifix is a form of religious protection. Then the way he dealt with both girls – the fingers intertwined, the layout of the bodies – maybe he wasn’t putting them in the foetal position, maybe he wanted them kneeling. The ribbons, they’re different. They aren’t religious, but they are equally as important to him.’
‘Where do you think they fit in?’
‘Could be a memory, something cemented in his mind.’
‘So why act now?’
‘Something happened, a trigger of some kind. Remember the book we found with Caroline?’
‘We can’t be sure he gave it to her.’
‘I think he did. It fits. The poet’s recurring theme around the death of a beautiful woman, the gentle nature of the poem ‘Eulalie’, all about loss: “Eulalie’s most humble and careless curl … her soul shines bright and strong.”’
‘Talk sense, Kate.’ O’Connor, obviously agitated, stood up again, pacing the room, looking out at the team and away from her.
‘I am talking sense. He’s looking for a relationship with them, non-sexual but intimate, a bond, a form of closeness.’
‘So why kill them?’