When he went back out into the hall, he noticed the travel suitcase by the front door. Maybe the husband was planning a small trip away. The door from the living room was still ajar, but the man inside stared straight at the square box, oblivious.
He went back up the corridor again and pushed open the door of the child’s bedroom. This time, he slipped inside the room. An afternoon nap was good for a boy. The child looked happy asleep, not likely to waken any time soon, so he set about familiarising himself with the contents of the boy’s room. There were a couple of Superman and Batman comic books, which naturally grabbed his attention, and a painting of what looked like Batman, no doubt done by the child. A book on the locker told the story of a missing bear – perhaps the reason why the child was holding his teddy bear so tightly.
Turning his attention to the sleeping boy, he stood over the bed, gazing down at him, like a large shadow. The boy looked so vulnerable, so alone. He bent down close to him and gently worked the teddy bear free of his arms. He watched as the boy turned into his pillow, as if trying to locate the missing bear in his sleep. He smiled, and dropped the toy to the floor, kicking it far enough away to ensure it was out of the child’s reach.
As things turned out, he had calculated his visit perfectly. Not long after climbing back onto the fire escape, he heard the front gate opening, then Kate calling out a hello as she opened the front door. It all felt like it was meant to be.
Incident Room, Tallaght Garda Station
Sunday, 9 October 2011, 3.45 p.m.
O’CONNOR HEARD NOLAN ARRIVE BEFORE HE SAW HIM, his voice bellowing through the Incident Room, addressing Donoghue first before marching in to see him. The next full squad meeting was set for 4.00 p.m., but it was customary for Nolan to arrive early. Out of habit, O’Connor fixed his tie and removed the empty coffee cups from the desk. When Nolan flung open the door, without knocking, he was sitting tall, with a straight back, ready.
‘I hear Gunning’s got a lead from Tuscany.’
‘Young female, similar age, suspicious death, a silver crucifix buried with her, plus—’
‘Plus what?’ He sat down heavily opposite O’Connor.
‘There was a flat stone present at the head of the burial area, not unlike what we found at the first Dublin burial. Kate Pearson thinks it could be significant, but the death happened forty years ago.’
‘I see.’
‘It could be nothing, Boss.’
‘I know that, but you think it’s something?’
‘Yeah, I do.’
‘I want Gunning to go over there. He can shake information out of people like a KGB agent, nothing like being in a place to get a proper grip on things. Mulcahy’s in charge of the purse strings, but cutbacks or no cutbacks, if a trip abroad is necessary, I’ll turn him on his head myself and shake the money out of him.’
‘Right, I’ll organise it.’ O’Connor waited. Nolan looked far too comfortable in the chair to be finished yet.
‘We’re setting up a reconstruction for broadcast tomorrow, last movements of the girls and all that. The public need to feel we are active on this one, O’Connor.’
‘We are active.’
‘There’s one thing being active, there’s another thing the public believing it. Anyway, it’s a good idea at this point. We have the photofit, albeit limited, a car, year and model. It may not be connected, but we’ll put it out there. The information about the plaiting and the ribbons is now public. We’ll push the swimming connection too. The public seeing the girl’s last movements might spur something. If someone has information, guilt has a habit of opening people up.’
‘What about the crucifix?’
‘We’ll include it, but keep the Tuscan thing to ourselves for now – too vague, no point feeding those international journalists extra lines when we have enough trouble with our own lot. I’ll get Rohan to put something in the next press briefing, along the lines that it may or may not be significant – that right now, we’re not ruling anything out.’
Nolan looked up at the wall clock behind O’Connor’s desk.
‘Right, I’ll see you outside in five. Do you want to tell Gunning about his little trip, or will I?’
‘That’s up to you, Boss.’
‘I’ll send him in to you so.’
‘There’s one other thing.’
‘What’s that, O’Connor?’
‘Kate thinks our killer could decide on someone older next time.’
Nolan raised an eyebrow. ‘Great. Why is there nothing about this case that ever sounds like good news?’
Beachfield Caravan Park
Sunday, 9 October 2011, 3.50 p.m.