Page 159 of The Altar Girls

‘That bollox was threatening me and my children.’

Lottie hadn’t heard this before. Was it fact or fiction? So far all they knew was that Bradley had a fixation on the Kiernans. ‘What threats? When?’

Zara chewed her thumbnail, childlike, before replying. ‘Well, it was Father Maguire who told me about Bradley. That he was saying things about me being a bad mother.’

‘When did Father Maguire tell you this?’

‘Er… Sunday night.’

‘If that’s the case, how could you have gone there to talk about Bradley when you didn’t know about it until that night?’

‘You’re twisting what I said.’

‘Enlighten me.’

‘I… I…’

‘Was there another reason why you visited Father Maguire?’

‘I told you my reason.’

Lottie believed it was a glorified lie. They had no evidence that Bradley had anything to do with Zara’s family. At least not in terms of his work.

‘I think you went there because you wanted to extort money from the priest.’

‘Extort? What are you talking about?’

‘You threatened to claim that he had fathered one of your children. You wanted money to keep quiet about it.’

‘Is that what he told you?’ Zara scowled.

Lottie couldn’t reveal that Father Maguire was in no position to tell them a thing at the moment. All they had was Father Pearse’s allegation, the information Kirby had acquired.

‘Is it true, Zara?’

‘Which part?’

The woman was trying to be too clever for her own good. Deciding to let the question hang there, Lottie slid a photo across the table in silence.

Zara picked it up before letting it drop again. ‘You showed me this earlier. You said it was found in Willow’s hands. Where’s the other…?’

‘Other what?’

For the first time, her eyes stilled. She pushed the photo back towards Lottie. ‘Nothing.’

What was she hiding? Lottie wanted to dig in on that, but she was afraid Zara would clam up. She needed answers to solid questions. ‘I believe you made this rosary.’

‘I make a lot of things. Nothing as bad as that.’ Smugness grated her tone.

‘You told me it looked like it was made by an apprentice. Did you make it when you were starting out?’

‘How can l remember that far back? I’ve made hundreds of pieces over the years.’

‘I can provide you with some context. Phyllis Maguire told me that you gave it to her when your mother was in the nursing home.’ White lie. ‘When your mother died, Phyllis gave it back to you. Care to comment?’

‘No.’

‘She gave it to you to place in your dead mother’s hands as a mark of respect. But you didn’t do that, did you? You kept it.’

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