The Doll's House

‘What kind of someone?’


‘Look, I don’t think this means anything.’

‘Tell me anyway, Valerie.’

‘It sounds daft.’

‘It’s okay. Go on.’

‘Well, if you must know, she wanted me to recommend a hypnotist.’

‘A hypnotist?’ Kate kept her tone controlled.

‘Yes, she’d heard about regression through hypnosis. I think she wanted to try and go back to her childhood.’

‘I see.’

‘She made me swear not to tell anyone, not even Dominic. I think she felt a little silly.’

‘And the hypnotist you recommended, you trusted him?’

‘Of course I did. Otherwise I would have never given Clodagh his details.’

‘Can I have them?’

‘Hold on. I’ll see if I can find his card. He’s very nice, I understand.’

‘I’m sure he is.’ The phone was clattered down. Kate wasn’t sure how this was fitting into things, but it didn’t sound as if either sibling had been coping well with their mother’s death.

‘Dr Pearson, Kate …’

‘I’m still here.’

‘It’s fifty-one Tycon Avenue. His name is Gerard Hayden.’

‘That’s great, Valerie, and don’t worry, I’m sure everything will turn out fine.’

‘I hope so.’ And with that Valerie Hamilton hung up.

Kate’s next call was to O’Connor. ‘It’s Kate, I’ve just been talking to Valerie Hamilton.’

‘There’s still no sign of Dominic Hamilton, and Martin McKay is also conveniently missing.’

‘That’s not good, O’Connor. Did you have any luck with Clodagh McKay? I’ve tried to get her by phone, but there’s no answer. Do you have a landline?’

‘There’s no one at the McKay house. We got the search warrant. Lynch and the team have just arrived.’

‘According to Valerie Hamilton, her husband has been under a lot of duress. I’ve asked her a number of questions around psychosis, and although there wasn’t anything definitive, other than him feeling someone was following him, she told me enough about his behaviour patterns to trouble me.’

‘I’ve been chatting with a guy called Steve McDaid.’

‘The guy Hennessy pulled in for the Susie Graham attack?’

‘I don’t even want to know how you know that. According to McDaid, Becon had him keep an eye on Dominic Hamilton and, believe me, there’s plenty going on to trouble me.’ His voice had a hardened edge. ‘I’ll be talking with Alister Becon again.’

‘Look, O’Connor, I’m going to head over to an address Valerie Hamilton gave me. It’s not far from here. It seems Clodagh McKay has been seeing a hypnotist.’

‘Jesus bloody Christ, what next?’

‘He may give us an insight into what’s going on.’

‘Okay, fine.’ Although he sounded anything but. ‘If he happens to have a crystal ball, Kate, the way things are looking right now, it might come in bloody handy.’





Clodagh


I recoil into the corner of the attic, the one furthest away from the door, wanting to put as much distance between us as possible. If he’s aware of my deep-rooted fear, he’s ignoring it.

‘I can see you’re surprised, Clodagh. Didn’t expect me, did you?’

He stares at me as if I’m something to be pitied. It’s not his face that frightens me the most, it’s how his body moves, his sharp tone, and his hands, chunky, the hair on the backs now grey.

‘Why did you bring me here, Alister? Where’s my brother?’ I pull my knees close to my chest. ‘That’s who you are, isn’t it?’ I know I sound nervous, despite my attempt to hide it.

‘Always curious, aren’t we, Clodagh? You were the same as a child, sneaking around as quiet as a mouse, happy to stay in the background while you took it all in.’

‘I don’t know what you mean.’

‘Don’t you? I doubt that, Clodagh. Your mother thought you were a bit scatterbrained, more into make-believe and playing doll’s house than real life. But you see, Clodagh, I’m a good judge of people. It’s partly why I’ve been so successful in life, seeing how everyone operates, knowing which buttons to press and when.’

‘Martin works with you. Dominic told me. Has Martin put you up to this?’

‘He’s a fool.’ He hesitates, as if considering his next sentence. ‘Ambition can get in the way of vision. Martin doesn’t know any more than he needs to know, and your brother, Dominic, is much the same. You forget, Clodagh, I knew both of them as young boys. You can observe a lot about a person when you’re the adult and they’re the child, an awful lot.’

‘What else did you observe about me?’ I sense I’m buying time.

‘You were interesting.’ He takes a step closer.

‘Interesting?’

‘A beautiful child, intelligent, and with the wildest imagination.’ He reaches down, taking some strands of my hair into his hand, running his finger through my tangled curls. ‘Your mother thought you were like your hair, wild and fancy-free. But behind it all, you were more of a rebel.’