Page 19 of The Altar Girls

‘I don’t know exactly. But something seemed a little off to me.’

‘Elaborate.’

‘Willow’s mother, Zara, was upset when I arrived, which was to be expected. I stayed because she said she’d like the company. She’s into healthy eating and all that jazz. She makes her own jewellery and pottery but is stuck for money. Wouldn’t even put on the heat this morning.’

‘Nothing odd so far.’

‘No, boss, but listen. Willow’s younger sister, Harper, she doesn’t talk.’

‘She’s only three, isn’t she? Her sister is missing. The child’s scared, that’s all.’

‘I thought that too. But before I left, I asked Zara about it. She said Harper used to talk until about a year ago, when she just stopped, and she’s been mute ever since. Zara wouldn’t elaborate.’

‘Something must have happened to cause the child to go mute.’ Lottie tapped a pen against her chin.

‘I have the printout on Isaac Kiernan too, the dead girl’s father.’ Martina left it on the desk and disappeared out the door.

Lottie blew into her hands, trying to warm them, before lifting the sheet of paper. The first thing she noticed was Isaac Kiernan’s listed home address. He had lived in Sligo before his family came to Ragmullin twelve months ago. His arrest was for GBH, causing grievous bodily harm to one Julian Bradley. He had been sentenced to eighteen months in prison with the last four months suspended. The name of his victim meant nothing to Lottie, but after conducting a search, she discovered that Bradley was a social worker with the Child and Family Agency.

While she considered whether she should contact her counterpart at Sligo garda station for more intel, her phone rang.

The state pathologist, Jane Dore.

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‘Good morning, Jane,’ Lottie said, hoping the pathologist would be able to tell her how Naomi had died.

‘I note you declined to attend little Naomi’s post-mortem this morning.’

‘I had an interview with a witness. Plus I’ve seen the bodies of one too many children who’ve died at the hand of violence.’

‘Well, I’m sorry to say you have another child murder to investigate. Naomi Kiernan suffered blunt force trauma to the back of her head.’

‘Christ Almighty.’

‘The force of the single blow caused the skull to cave in, rupturing her brain. The details will be in my report. I’ve taken samples from the wound, as there may be trace evidence of the implement used.’

‘Any idea of the type of weapon?’

‘It could be any one of a number of implements, and you know me, I don’t like to speculate.’ Jane paused, and Lottie knew the pathologist was about to speculate. ‘But off the record, it could have been a type of hammer.’

‘Ah no, don’t say that.’ She imagined what it took for someone to swing a hammer at a defenceless eight-year-old child.

‘It’s just conjecture until I run more tests, so don’t quote me. I’ll let you know the results when I have them. As I said, this observation is totally off the record.’

‘No problem at all. Was she…?’ Lottie let the sentence hang, hoping the petite pathologist would know what she meant. She did.

‘No, she was not sexually assaulted. I am confident of that, but to be thorough I’ve taken swabs and samples. All sent to the lab this morning.’

‘She wasn’t killed where she was found, was she?’ Lottie was sure Naomi had been killed elsewhere. Lack of blood at the scene, and no outer clothing or school bag to be seen.

‘I believe not. Lividity suggests she was killed elsewhere and her body posed deliberately.’

This echoed Lottie’s last major investigation, when she’d dealt with an unhinged and arrogant killer. She could do without chasing another one.

‘She was dressed in a white robe, Jane. Did that throw up any clues?’ She was hoping for DNA.

‘Nothing I could see with the naked eye. I sent it to the lab too. She was wearing only knickers and vest beneath the robe. The underwear was intact.’

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