Page 14 of Final Betrayal

‘If Amy’s friend hasn’t been seen since Saturday night either, why has no one reported her missing?’ she said.

‘That’s according to Whyte. We’d better check it out.’

‘Give her parents a ring, and I’ll get Kirby to head down to Whyte’s Pharmacy to see if Amy’s colleagues can give us a head start. And we need to find out where Penny works also.’

Boyd nodded and moved over to his desk.

Lottie made for her office at the end of the general one. Kirby was still sitting in the same position as when she’d left. She was going to have to do something about him before McMahon started complaining that he was dragging down performance targets.

‘How are things, Kirby? What are you working on?’

‘What? Oh, sorry, boss. I was miles away.’ Kirby raised his head. Black rings circled his eyes, and his nose was redder than usual. Lottie caught a waft of stale alcohol. Yes, she thought, he’s in a bad way.

‘I’m not being unkind here,’ she said. ‘I understand your situation because I’ve been through the whole grief thing. But Kirby, listen to me. You need help. Professional help. If you don’t access it soon, the super is going to go apeshit. He has no loyalty to the people in this station, only to whatever can get him quickly up the career ladder, and at the moment, you are dragging him down. I understand what you’re going through, but that’s the way he sees it.’

Repeating myself, she thought. What the hell did she really need to say to her colleague? Knuckle down and buck up? No. That had been said to her too often, and it just made her veer in the opposite direction. She settled for ‘What can I do to help you?’

Kirby looked at her with pleading in his eyes. ‘Bring Gilly back?’

‘Come on, be realistic.’ Wrong thing to say. Kirby suddenly shoved back his chair and stood up. She put a hand on his arm and gently tugged his sleeve. ‘I’m sorry.’

He ran his hands through his bushy hair, his fingers snagging in the mop.

‘Boss, I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m sick of paperwork. It’s driving me demented. I need something to get stuck into. Something to get me out on the streets, talking to people. The four walls in here are suffocating me.’

‘I like the passion in your voice. So here goes. Councillor Whyte’s daughter, Amy, seems to have disappeared. He hasn’t done much legwork in finding her, so I want you to make it your priority. Okay?’

‘Sure. That’s great. I’d like that.’

Lottie sighed with relief. ‘She works at Whyte’s Pharmacy. Go and talk to her colleagues face to face. You might be able to find out something from them that they didn’t want Amy’s father to know about when he spoke to them.’

‘Whyte’s Pharmacy. At the end of Main Street?’

‘Yes.’

Kirby grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and was out the door before Lottie could move.

‘You are a true motivator,’ Boyd said.

‘Doesn’t work with you, though.’ She slapped him playfully on the shoulder as she passed, her hand tingling from the touch. Boyd was having a good effect on her recently. ‘Have you located Penny Brogan yet?’

‘Working on it. I rang her father, but like Whyte said, he hasn’t seen her.’

‘Okay. Let’s start with this list of friends.’

‘All three of them,’ Boyd said, holding up his fingers.

‘Better than none.’

‘Ducky Reilly. I’d like to start with him.’

‘Right. Where does he work?’

‘As a security guard for the construction company working on the courthouse renovation.’

‘Let’s go.’

The renovation of Ragmullin’s courthouse had been ongoing for over a year. The building dated from 1829 and had been falling into disrepair for the last twenty years. It was costing forty million euros to restore it, and Boyd told Lottie he’d heard that it might go way over budget.

---