Page 104 of Final Betrayal

‘Yes. Go through it with a fresh eye. I want to know if I missed something back in the original investigation.’

‘Wasn’t Superintendent Corrigan SIO on that?’

‘Yes, but I did the legwork.’

‘I’ll check it out first thing in the morning.’

‘And if you find something,’ Lottie said, ‘I want to be the only one that knows.’

Conor nursed his sore ankle and decided that rather than feel sorry for himself, he had to plough on. The darkness was filling his lungs as if it was a fog. He felt his way up the steep incline, fitting his feet into grooves in the brickwork. He’d discarded his hard hat, gloves and heavy jacket. It made climbing easier, or as easy as it could be in the circumstances. His nails were broken and bleeding, and it was painful to get a grip on anything. But he struggled on. He knew there had to be an exit at the end.

His fingers reached an obstruction that didn’t feel like stone. He raised his head and it hit something hard. He edged his hand around what he thought must be a steel hatch, hoping to find a handle or latch. Something to get the damn thing open. But it was smooth and solid. It wouldn’t budge. He wasn’t giving up that easily, though. He leaned against the wall, took a couple of deep breaths of fusty air and willed strength into his body.

At last he felt a slight motion. The hatch was circular, so maybe he had to try to swivel it. He attempted it again and heard a hiss. Yes! he thought. Now he was getting somewhere. Hopefully that somewhere was out.

And then he slipped and fell back down into the abyss.

FORTY-EIGHT

Arriving home, Lottie cursed the awkwardness of the Mondeo. Maybe it was just her and not the car. She’d have to go back to the hospital to check on Boyd. First, though, she had to ensure her children were home safe and had eaten.

Once inside, she inhaled the newness, trying to dislodge the musty, sick smell of Dowling’s home that was still clogged at the back of her throat. Then she opened the front door again and looked outside. No sign of the squad car she’d assigned to watch her family now that Bernie Kelly was on the loose. McMahon must have sent everyone to the courthouse incident.

She glanced into the sitting room. Louis was propped up on a pillow, sipping from a beaker of juice, his feet on Sean’s knee.

‘Fireman Sam?’ Lottie said.

‘He likes it. Keeps him quiet.’ Sean massaged Louis’ feet.

‘Did you eat?’ She was amazed at how Louis could temper Sean’s mood. Her son looked totally relaxed, with none of the teenage angst that had been plaguing him recently.

‘Gran dropped over a casserole. I ate a little bit of it.’ He made a face and stared at Lottie. ‘What happened to you? That cut looks nasty.’

‘I know. I’ll bathe it in a minute.’

Sean sat up a little straighter. ‘We were worried about you. Why didn’t you answer your phone?’

She mussed his hair and sat on the arm of the couch. ‘I got caught up in the incident. Lost my bag with my phone in it. Got a spare from the station, though I haven’t any numbers. I’m here now.’

‘Good.’

‘I’m going to have a proper shower and change my clothes. Where are the girls?’

‘They were worried when we couldn’t contact you or Boyd. They went into town to have a look.’

‘They could have rung the station.’

He shrugged his shoulders. ‘I don’t think they thought of that.’

‘Will you text them to say I’m home now?’

‘Sure. But Katie already texted to say they heard you were in the hospital and they were getting a lift there with some woman.’

‘What woman?’ The hairs on the back of Lottie’s neck tingled and goose bumps stood to attention on her arms. She couldn’t breathe for a moment.

‘I don’t know,’ Sean said. ‘Probably someone they met in town. Her first text said they were going to walk to the hospital then there was another that said they’d gone in a car with a woman. Bit weird.’

‘When was this? When did they leave?’ Lottie counted the number of shrugs Sean gave. She tried to keep her voice calm. Louis was staring at her, his big eyes like saucers. She couldn’t distress him. She whispered with urgency, ‘Sean, try to think.’

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