Page 113 of Final Betrayal

Sparks of red flashed behind her eyes. ‘How dare you. I have no association with Dowling, nor with Tony. What are you insinuating?’

Kirby seemed to physically step back. ‘Nothing. I don’t know. I would’ve liked to know.’

‘A sandwich and an Irish coffee doesn’t mean there’s anything between us. I thought you needed a companion, someone to share your grief with, but I was mistaken.’ She paused to take a breath. ‘I’d like you to leave.’

‘Don’t worry, I’m going.’

He turned and exited. She half expected him to bang the door, but it slid softly closed. Only then did she release her hands from the counter and see that they were white with the effort of clinging on.

Sam McKeown had a grin from ear to ear when Kirby stepped out of the pharmacy.

‘What are you laughing at?’ Kirby shuffled by him.

‘You. What were you accusing her of?’

‘Never you mind. Come on.’

Back at the station, there was still no word from Lottie or Boyd on the status of her daughters’ whereabouts.

McMahon shoved his head around the door. ‘Where is she?’

‘Who?’ Kirby asked in mock innocence.

‘Inspector Parker, of course.’

‘Not sure.’ Play it neutral, he thought.

‘Soon as she appears, I want her in my office.’ McMahon walked away muttering audibly. ‘When I get my hands on her … Using prime-time news slots for her delinquent kids …’

‘He’s narky this morning,’ McKeown said.

‘That’s mild. Finish up that CCTV today, will you?’

‘I will.’

Kirby pulled the Thompson file across his desk and opened it up.

‘Lottie, we’ve been down this road twice already this morning.’

‘I know, but they have to be somewhere. Pull in over there.’

Boyd parked the car and left the engine running. ‘What do you want to do?’

‘They’re around here. I can feel it in my bones.’

‘I can feel my bones and I can tell you they are fairly sore.’

‘Thanks for saving me.’

‘That’s not what I meant.’ He opened the door, stepped outside and lit a cigarette.

She joined him and took a pull, but it made her light-headed so she handed it back to him. Their breath hung in the cold air and she scanned the car park. The Petit Lane houses were to her right, and she wondered if Mrs Loughlin had remembered anything further from the weekend. But her mind wasn’t on the murder investigations.

‘Bernie’s grandmother, Kitty Belfield, lived at Farranstown House. It’s locked up. No one has been there since Kitty passed away. It might be worth checking out. Send someone to take a look.’

‘Will do. Is the probate sorted yet?’

‘I have no idea.’ Lottie didn’t want to talk about a family inheritance she had no desire to claim. She said, ‘I’m sure Leo knows something. What was he thinking of, taking her out of a secure facility?’

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