Page 146 of Hidden Daughters

‘Okay,’ Mooney said. ‘And then what?’

‘Robert Hayes was already in the house. Upstairs. I’d say he most likely broke in the back door or a window. You need to check it.’

‘What was he even doing here?’

‘Looking for notes that he says Assumpta kept about her time with the Sisters of Forgiveness. Personal notes, written in notebooks. Not the official records, which I think Mickey Fox burned.’

‘Why did Fox burn them?’

‘How would I know?’ she said, sharper than she’d intended, then softened. ‘But I suspect he may have been threatened.’

‘Did Hayes find these mystery notes?’

‘No. And the thing is, he claimed vehemently, numerous times, that he did not kill anyone.’

‘They all say that. Innocent until we can prove otherwise.’

‘But… I don’t know, Mooney. What if he’s right? What if Imelda is lying? I don’t trust her. You need to keep a close eye on her.’

‘Don’t you worry your sore head about her.’

‘Before I leave,’ she chanced, ‘is it okay for me to have a look around? I might find those notebooks.’

‘This place was thoroughly searched by my team and SOCOs. If there were any to be found, we would have found them.’

‘All the same…’ She wasn’t giving up that easily.

‘You need to get your head seen to.’

‘My head is fine. I’ve had worse knocks.’

‘You are a tough nut, Inspector Parker. And a dangerous one,’ he added with a smile. ‘You’ll get me fired.’ He rubbed a hand around his bearded chin. ‘Okay then. We’ll give it five minutes, and if we don’t find anything, I’m locking up and going back to HQ to interview the two people of interest in this series of murders.’

‘I’ll help too,’ Boyd said to Mooney, ignoring Lottie.

She forced herself not to look at him as she climbed the stairs to begin her search. Two could play his game.

While Mooney searched the living room, Boyd followed Lottie upstairs into one of the two bedrooms.

‘At least we know Hayes is locked up,’ he said. ‘No one else can be murdered.’

‘Are you making an effort at small talk?’ she asked.

‘Don’t start, Lottie.’

She relented. ‘Imelda is hiding something from us. From Mooney, I mean. She knows more than she’s letting on. I wish she’d told me where she’d stashed her documentary recordings. She probably has them on a USB somewhere. The answer to everything could be there. And if we find Assumpta’s notes, they should throw further light on what went on in that laundry.’

‘It must be related to Gabriel’s death,’ he said. ‘Hayes has to be covering his tracks in relation to it.’

She felt warm inside, being in close proximity to Boyd after all that had happened between them. Maybe their relationship could be rescued.

With one bedroom unfurnished, they split up the other room between them to search. A double bed sporting flower-patterned sheets, one locker containing two pill bottles, vitamins and rosary beads. The only other furniture was a built-in wardrobe.

‘It appears to have been recently decorated,’ Boyd said.

‘Not to my taste,’ Lottie said, shielding her eyes from the floral decor on almost every surface. ‘Where would she hide something that was precious to her?’

‘A lock box at a bank?’

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