Page 162 of The Altar Girls

He was silent so long that Lottie thought he was faking sleep.

‘I met her in Sligo. After her husband did a flit to Australia. She came to stay with relatives. Got chatting with her in a bar. One-night stand. That’s all.’

‘Did you come to Ragmullin to keep tabs on her?’

‘I’m allowed to work from the office here whenever I need to.’

Not an answer.

‘Under the guise of following up on the Kiernan family?’

‘Yes.’

‘I’m sure there are local social workers who—’

‘They don’t have enough staff, nor my in-depth knowledge of the case.’

‘It wasn’t just the Kiernans you were interested in, was it?’

‘It was, mainly. But I did keep an eye on Zara when I was here. I watched little Willow making angels in the snow on Monday morning, never thinking for a minute that would be the last time I’d lay eyes on her.’

‘Did you make it known to Zara what you were at?’

‘I had no reason to. But I often wondered…’

‘Wondered what?’

‘That if the timing matched… I wondered if Harper might be my child.’

Lottie thought about this for a moment. Hadn’t Father Pearse said that Zara was trying to extort money from Father Maguire, claiming he was the father of her child. There was one way to solve this particular mystery.

‘Will you provide us with a DNA sample?’

‘What for?’

‘I suspect you know what for.’

‘I did not kill Naomi or Willow.’

‘I want to believe you, but you did injure Carol and you held Sinead and Annie against their will.’

He seemed to mull over the mess he’d got himself into before saying, ‘Okay. I’ll provide the sample.’

‘And it might help answer one question for you.’

‘What question?’

‘Whether Harper Devine is your daughter.’

96

Lottie called it a night once Zara had been charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Father Maguire. He remained in a coma after his surgery. Julian Bradley was charged with assaulting Carol Brady and holding Sinead and Annie against their will. Maurice Connolly was in custody for abducting Alfie Nally. But she still hadn’t made an arrest for the murders of Naomi Kiernan and Willow Devine. SOCOs were combing both Zara’s house and her tatty workshop. Lottie was hopeful they would find evidence of murder. All she could do was wait.

She had a quick shower at home and welcomed the touch of clean clothes against her skin. But having spent most of the week at her mother’s, she felt like an outsider in her own home. For once, Chloe and Katie were working as a team, cooking meals and doing chores. As Lottie scoffed down a bowl of chicken stew, Sean returned from Granny Rose’s, reporting that she was ‘happy out’ with a visitor.

After she’d eaten, Lottie headed over there and eased in the front door. She heard crying coming from the kitchen. What now?

‘Those poor childers,’ Betty Coyne was saying through her tears. ‘I should have been able to help them.’

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