Page 71 of Her Last Walk Home

He stood and began potting seeds, but it was pointless. He itched to make a weapon, to find something to strikeher. She kept the knife sheathed and hidden, only taking it out when he was on a mission for her. He’d have to think of something.

He wanted to talk to Shannon. Such a gorgeous name. Like the river, fast-flowing and free. But he could not be caught.Shecould return and surprise him. He had to allow more time to elapse.

Waiting and sweating, he counted down the minutes. Then he locked his shed and went into the house.

53

Lottie sat in the incident room beside Boyd and Kirby. She related the conversation she’d had with Brenda Morgan.

‘Do we know if John did any jobs on the side?’ Boyd asked. ‘Maybe he’d worked on someone’s house extension or something for cash in hand. And if it wasn’t up to standard, perhaps he was killed because of it.’

‘That’s quite extreme,’ Lottie said.

‘People murder for a lot less,’ Boyd countered.

Lottie tapped her finger on the desk. ‘Is there anything to connect John Morgan’s murder to that of the two women?’

‘Can we even link the two women’s deaths to each other at this stage?’ Kirby said.

‘We need the post-mortem report on the latest woman.’ Lottie stood and stretched, arching her back. ‘If the weapon used was the same in both instances, then we can link the murders. We should look into their personal lives to see if they’re connected in any way.’

‘We don’t even know who the second woman is,’ Boyd said, ‘so there’s no way we can investigate connections between the two.’

‘Then we’d better identify her quickly.’ Someone had pinned the victim’s death mask photo to the board. Lottie studied the emaciated face, while speaking over her shoulder. ‘What about missing persons?’

‘I had a quick look by inputting her description,’ Boyd said. ‘But it’s vague, and nothing pinged back at me. She doesn’t look familiar to me anyhow.’

‘Nor to me,’ Kirby said.

‘Maybe we should show her photo to Laura’s mother,’ Lottie said. ‘She might recognise her.’

‘If she was local and missing for some time, we’d have known about her.’ Boyd was at his obstructive best today.

‘We have to exhaust all avenues,’ she countered.

‘Right then, I’ll send it to Garda Brennan and she can ask Diana Nolan.’

‘Tell her it’s sensitive. We don’t want to freak Diana out.’

‘As if the murder of her daughter hasn’t already done that.’ Boyd shoved back the chair and left the room.

‘What’s eating him?’ Kirby asked.

‘God only knows.’

Lottie continued to study the dead girl’s photo. She was so raw-boned she could have been twelve. It was strange that there was not one iota of information about her. From Jane’s preliminary examination at the scene, she’d reported that the woman had possibly been restrained and starved. Why hadn’t she been reported missing? Shannon Kenny was missing a few hours and already her brother had been in.

She leaned closer and whispered to the photo, ‘Who are you? Why has no one missed you?’

Diana Nolan bit at the skin tag on her thumb. She tapped a foot on the floor and tried not to scream. The young garda was so annoying. Constantly making tea and sandwiches. Diana had no idea where the bread or milk was coming from, because Martina never seemed to leave the house.

She wanted to go out in the fresh air without having to make up a bloody excuse. Another day cooped up with nothing but memories of Laura everywhere was sure to send her stark raving mad.

Feck it. She ran downstairs, grabbed her coat from the hook and wriggled into it. Once she had her grandson zipped up in his, she stuck her head into the kitchen.

‘Martina, I’m taking Aaron out for a walk. He needs air. We need a break.’

‘I’ll go with you.’ The garda must have seen the cloud travel over Diana’s face, because she added, ‘If you want me to?’

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