Page 81 of The Altar Girls

‘And I can see him in you.’ Lottie’s patience was all but threadbare. ‘And Bethany. She’s four years old. You locked her in a box!’

‘She wets the bed.’

‘I’d wet the bloody bed if my mother did that to me.’

Ruth pursed her lips and bowed her head. ‘That’s because you don’t understand.’

‘Try me.’

‘I… It was the way I was taught to obey. It’s the only way I know to teach my children to be good.’

This was ridiculous. Ruth was the abuser of her children, but did she murder one of them?

‘On Monday, you let your daughter walk to Mass and school in a snowstorm. You have a car outside your door. You never missed her when she didn’t come home. Can you explain that?’

‘I was having a hard time that day. You can’t begin to understand me.’

‘I need your DNA and fingerprints and access to your phone.’

Ruth shook her head. ‘I think I’ll wait for that solicitor.’

* * *

Alfie was surprised to see the uniformed garda sitting at the table reading a newspaper. She looked hot and sweaty in her heavy gear. He itched to have a go on the radio strapped to her hi-vis jacket.

‘This is Martina,’ Isaac said.

‘Hi, Alfie. What brings you here?’ she said, folding up the paper. He read the headline: Altar Girls Murdered.

‘I just want to help if I can. Naomi was my friend.’ A little white lie, but neither of them knew that. But where was her mother? ‘Is Naomi’s mam around?’

The guard stood up. ‘Not at the moment. How do you think you can help? Want to shovel snow from the front path?’

No way!

‘I thought I could help occupy…’ What was the little girl’s name? Naomi had mentioned her.

‘Bethany?’ Isaac said, wearily scooping up the child.

‘Yeah. Does she like to play with Lego or something like that? I could help her.’

‘That would be great.’ He eased the girl to the ground. ‘Alfie says he’ll make Lego with you. I saw a box in the sitting room. Off you go.’

Alfie put out his hand to the child, but she stuffed her own hand in her mouth and he was sure she was going to cry. She ran past him to the other room, and he heard a box of bricks being upended. Lego it was then.

52

As it turned out, Julian Bradley hadn’t returned to his office in Sligo. He hadn’t been there all week, in fact. Kirby discovered that he’d been working out of the Ragmullin office of the Child and Family Agency since Monday. So he’d been in town since the day of the murders, if not before. And he wasn’t answering his work mobile phone.

The office was situated in a building across and up the road a bit from Connolly’s Funeral Home. They already suspected the two girls might have walked this way, and Julian Bradley had a past with Naomi Kiernan’s family.

‘Coincidence?’ Boyd asked.

‘Not on my watch,’ Lottie said as she marched in without knocking on the outer door.

The space inside was a clutter of desks against the walls with another one in the centre and a further one blocking access. Heads turned. Four desks were occupied.

‘Detective Inspector Lottie Parker,’ she said. ‘I want to speak with Julian Bradley.’

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