Page 98 of Her Last Walk Home

‘Means nothing to me.’

‘I might be clutching at straws here, but it could be Cuan. I read that part of the building burned down years ago. But I don’t know…’

‘You’re tired. I’m tired. Leave it until tomorrow. I can put this lot in my car.’

‘Leave it here. I might have another root through.’

‘You need to sleep and I’d better head home. Grace will have another canary if I’m any later.’

They both washed their hands at the sink. Lottie wished he could stay. Wished he could hold her for the night to ease the memory of Aneta’s emaciated body in a field of birds.

They kissed at the door and she waited until the red rear lights of his car disappeared before she returned to the kitchen.

She sat at the table and looked at Aneta’s possessions. The girl’s only legacy was the scraps from the box and the cheap clothing from the suitcase. It broke her heart.

Rex kneeled on his bed in his dark bedroom and looked out the window. Wrapping the duvet around his shoulders, he gazed over at the spot where he’d seen the woman’s body. She had been pretty. But someone had killed her. He thought of the night before he’d seen the body. He’d been looking out his window then too. The car with no headlights had stopped at the lanebefore the cinema and a man had got out and dragged something from the passenger seat.

Had that been the woman?

Probably.

Should he tell someone?

Probably not.

Life was too complicated in his house to bring a further problem to their door. He got into bed, keeping the duvet wrapped tightly around his body. He tried to sleep, but it was impossible. The images haunted him. Her dirty feet. Her pretty face. Her dead eyes. Giving up on sleep, he got his Nintendo Switch from under his pillow and played Mario for hours.

68

MONDAY

At six a.m., Lottie walked into her kitchen, her coat on over her clothes. It was bloody freezing in the house. The windows had iced over in the night and a white frost glistened on the grass outside. It was so cold her breath hung in the air, a white mist. Inside! She flicked the oil switch again. Not a sound. It couldn’t be out of oil already, could it? She scratched her head, thinking. She’d only had it filled at Christmas. Hadn’t she? But now the tank must be empty.

She made a coffee and the hot liquid slowly warmed her up. The house was so quiet without Katie and Louis in it. Not that they’d usually be up at this hour, but she always felt their presence. This morning, the house seemed slightly empty. Sean would have to get up for school in an hour. Chloe was in late from work last night, so she’d stay in bed a bit longer. The atmosphere felt depleted.

She was tempted to text Katie to see how they’d got on at Rose’s last night. No, leave it for now. She’d call round there this evening and have a heart-to-heart chat. It was time to talkseriously about their living conditions, and about Rose. And then maybe she’d talk to Boyd about pooling resources and see what they could afford. She might even swallow her pride and phone Leo in New York. Maybe. Maybe not.

The first person she bumped into at the station was Garda Lei.

‘I want to revisit all the witness statements,’ he said. ‘I should just say statements really, because so far no one has witnessed anything, but we may have overlooked something. You know what I think?—’

‘I have a job for you,’ she cut in. Lei would talk all day if allowed to. ‘There’s a box and a suitcase in the boot of my car. Can you bring them to the incident room, please? Be careful with the box, it’s disintegrating. Then I want you to check every item thoroughly and catalogue them. Let me know if you find anything of interest.’

‘Oh. Right. Sure. Of course. Who do they belong to?’

‘Aneta Kobza.’

‘Who’s she?’

Lottie realised she hadn’t updated the team on her discovery. ‘Our latest murder victim. She worked at Cuan rehab for a month early last year.’

‘Right so, boss.’

She handed over her car keys and entered the general office. The door opened behind her and McKeown strode in.

‘You’re early,’ she said, and almost added ‘for a change’, but stopped herself in time. No point in antagonising him.

‘Decided to leave home early because of the frost, but the main roads had been gritted, so I had no delays.’

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