The Doll's House

‘Did you approach Donoghue?’


‘What would have been the point? We both knew we’d got it wrong. It was his son charged, not mine.’

‘When is the case up?’

‘Not for another month. Hennessy was assigned to the second case. He has his suspicions, I know. Someone told him I interviewed the boy earlier on.’

‘Did he ask you about it?’

‘Yeah.’

‘And what did you say?’

‘I shrugged it off as nothing. With no official charges pressed, there’s nothing on record.’

‘You’re going to come clean now?’

‘I haven’t made my mind up.’

‘You don’t have a choice, O’Connor.’ Kate could hear anger seeping into her voice.

‘Look, Kate, I totally fucked up, I know that. Why do you think I’ve been killing myself over the bloody thing?’ His anger was bursting out of him, and she could see he’d been bottling it up for some time. ‘Kate, if I hadn’t leaned on the first girl, the second attack wouldn’t have happened.’

‘Glad you can see that, O’Connor.’ It was her turn to stand up. ‘You have to come clean. You have to go to Butler, tell him what happened.’ All she could think of was the two girls. No matter how fucked up O’Connor’s head was at that moment, it was nothing to what those girls were going through.

‘You think I’ve been a prick, don’t you, Kate?’

‘Yes, if you want me to be honest.’

‘Honesty is overrated.’ There was a reluctant sarcasm in his reply.

‘You don’t get it, O’Connor, do you?’

‘Get what?’

‘What either of those girls must have gone through.’

‘I guess that would be impossible for me, Kate, being a man. It’s played on my mind. Jesus Christ, has it played on my mind.’

‘So what stopped you going straight to Butler the moment you discovered your mistake?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Weak answer. I’m not buying it.’

‘I could lose everything.’

‘Your career, you mean.’

‘I suppose you could call it that. It’s what I do. It’s the reason I get out of bed in the morning, to catch the bad guys.’

‘And now you’re one of them.’ Her tone was judgemental.

‘Thanks for not sugar-coating your answer.’

She could tell he was hurting, but hurt came with that kind of territory. ‘O’Connor, I know you’re not a bad person. This was out of character for you. You thought you were helping a friend, but a girl has been raped, and your actions were partly responsible for it happening again. No matter how you try to dress this up, there’s no getting away from that.’

Kate was so wrapped up in their conversation that she didn’t hear Charlie’s bedroom door opening or his footsteps as he entered the kitchen.

‘Mum?’ He looked as if he was about to cry, and he seemed tiny beside O’Connor. Kate needed to get O’Connor out and fast.

‘It’s all right, darling. Detective O’Connor is just leaving.’

‘Kate?’

Kate lifted Charlie into her arms. ‘Listen, you’re not stupid. You know the right thing to do.’

‘It doesn’t make it any easier.’

‘Get a good night’s sleep. We can talk tomorrow.’

‘I’ll let myself out. You put this chap back to bed.’ O’Connor attempted a smile at Charlie.

Charlie buried his face in his mother’s neck.

Kate was relieved to hear O’Connor pull the front door of the apartment closed behind him. Charlie wasn’t happy about being put back into bed. Nor, Kate reflected, would he have been happy to find his mother talking to a man other than his father in the early hours of the morning.





Clodagh


Unless Martin locked me into the house with chains across all the doors and windows, I wouldn’t let him, Dominic or anyone else stop me seeing Gerard Hayden this morning. My mind is shifting. I feel close to something.

Martin was suspicious before he left for work – I could see it in his eyes. He was watching my every move. Again last night he didn’t come home until very late, and he’s yet to explain why he took the photograph, or why our bedroom was cleared of all traces of me, other than an old toothbrush. After I’ve seen Gerard today, I’m going to take a taxi to Ruby’s flat. She doesn’t have lectures on Fridays, and if I have to wait there all bloody day to see her, I will. Whatever existed between Martin and me is well and truly over. We’ll all need to start working on a future with the two of us apart.

Dominic also rang last night. He, too, is playing it cool. In one way, I don’t give a damn about either of them. I care about the frightened little girl who once was me. I need to fight for her, even if I haven’t always been capable of it.