The Doll's House

‘A Land Cruiser.’


‘Does a lot of mountain driving, does she?’

‘I doubt it. Charity work mainly.’

‘A right pair of do-gooders. I can’t wait to meet them. You can do the driving, but don’t break any green lights.’

‘I won’t.’

‘What have we got back on Dominic Hamilton and Clodagh McKay?’

‘He’s clean, but she picked up a driving ban a few months back, drink-driving.’

‘Right, we’ll be chatting with them soon too.’

Getting into the car, O’Connor’s mobile rang. Martha Smyth’s call was brief. O’Connor turned to Lynch. ‘Looks like the labs in the UK have brought in information earlier than expected. It seems our pal was driving a Volvo S60.’

‘So the chief has his image for Crimecall.’

‘Yeah, don’t you love it when things start coming together?’ The next call O’Connor made was to Matthews. ‘I assume Martha Smyth has filled you in?’ Lynch closed the driver’s door as O’Connor continued, ‘We’ll need a list of owners. There can’t be too many Volvo S60s bought in the middle of a bloody recession.’ Then, looking at Lynch, ‘What’s keeping you? Get driving.’





Mervin Road


Kate could tell O’Connor was highly charged while discussing Alister Becon. Becon certainly sounded like a man who could do his fair share of string-pulling, and the financial connection with Hamilton, Jenkins and Gahan was a further tie. Money might be behind a lot of the events, but at the core, there was a strong emotional undercurrent. The level of aggression, the ancillary factors, including the missing ring, the hotel receipt and the overwhelming need on the killer’s part for his victims to end up in the water, all pointed one way. This was personal.

After O’Connor’s call, Kate decided to phone Hennessy. He wasn’t happy to hear from her. Initially, she put his coolness down to her not being directly involved with the case. She had initiated the phone call on the basis of a connection with the Rachel Mooney attack, and the two other sexual assaults, though she knew it was unlikely that Susie Graham’s case was connected. The perpetrator in the Mooney case liked successful career women, and Susie Graham didn’t fit that profile.

Thankfully, Hennessy’s mood shifted the more questions Kate asked, and he became a little more relaxed once she’d assured him O’Connor wasn’t involved. She remembered O’Connor telling her that he and Hennessy weren’t on the best of terms. In the interest of getting the information she wanted, she told Stuart Hennessy that O’Connor was unaware of her phone call, which was the truth. Once that was out of the way, he was happy enough to talk.

‘Stuart, will you talk me through it from the beginning?’

‘As you know, rules and structures are there for a reason. The regulation rape kit was used. It’s our first point of evidence-gathering, and the initial link to identify the attacker. The tests were carried out at the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit in the Rotunda hospital. Susie Graham was examined there first. Medication was administered to help fight off any potential infection, and the standard follow-up appointments were made for blood-test results.’

‘Who carried out the SATU evaluation?’

‘Lucy Majors. She’s one of the principal SATU nurses at the unit. We work very closely together. Once the bloods are back, the unit will take it from there, and monitor any need for further psychological care. We’ll be keeping an eye on Susie to see how she’s coping.’

‘How is she now?’

‘It’s never easy, Dr Pearson, but as far as possible in these matters, our aim is to give the victim back a sense of control. SATU do an amazing job. Things have moved on from the old days. Nothing is done without explanation and permission. Susie Graham was under age, so the consent of the parent, the mother, was also sought.’

‘What did you get?’

‘The girl came to us within twenty-four hours. I know, Dr Pearson, you’re involved in the Rachel Mooney case, so you’ll be aware that up to seventy-two hours after the attack, sperm is still alive and can be found for as long as seven days after the incident, even if the victim has washed.’

‘Go on, Stuart.’

‘The victim hadn’t been licked or bitten but the bruising on her upper arms and the inside of her thighs was acute.’

‘And psychologically?’

‘It’s hard to tell the extent of damage right now. The girl was subdued, very vulnerable and nervous. I know some people believe that reliving the event mentally is another trauma, but I’ve worked with SATU for some time now, and it’s my firm belief that once a victim attends the unit, they’ve taken their first step, both physically and mentally, in the healing process.’