Page 87 of Final Betrayal

‘Not so far.’ Boyd shook his head. ‘McGlynn thinks they’re home-made. Definitely not monetary. No symbols. He’s trying to find out what type of machine might’ve made them.’

‘Keep on to him about it.’ She scanned the list in front of her. ‘The phone we recovered from Richard Whyte’s house. Please tell me we got something from that.’

More blank stares. ‘Jesus, lads, will you wake up. There has to be someone working on it.’

‘It’s with the technical department,’ Kirby said. ‘It’s an old Nokia. SIM card is missing. Nothing saved to the phone itself. No photos or numbers. Unless we find the SIM, it’s useless.’

‘Fingerprints?’

‘Some have been extracted and are being compared to both Amy and Cristina. I’ll know more later.’

‘Step on it, Kirby. That phone belonged to either Richard Whyte or one of the girls. Why the need to hide it? Who were they in contact with? And where the hell is the SIM card? We’ll go back and do a thorough search of the house. Boyd, you check with Richard Whyte to see if that’s okay.’

‘Will do.’

‘And if he doesn’t agree, we’ll get a warrant.’ She paused for a moment. ‘The girls’ own phones were all found with the bodies, with the exception of Louise’s, which was in her room. Anything of interest found on them?’

‘The usual social media,’ Kirby said. ‘Nothing jumping out to point to them being stalked by a serial killer.’

‘Except for the coins found in Louise and Amy’s rooms and the note in Amy’s house. I’ve had a quick glance through Louise’s notebooks and at first glance they all relate to her coursework. I could do with Lynch to go through them meticulously.’ They were too stretched.

‘Louise’s laptop is similar,’ Boyd said. ‘Criminal behaviour assignments, and her search history is all to do with her research for those.’

Lottie recalled Cynthia Rhodes’ revelation. ‘Anything about visits to prisons?’

‘Not yet,’ he said. ‘Why?’

‘Read through everything. See if you can find any reference to Conor Dowling. I’m led to believe Louise went to see him in Mountjoy.’

Boyd raised a quizzical eyebrow. ‘Who led you to believe that?’

‘Doesn’t matter who, just see if you can find any reference to him in her work.’ She rolled up the sleeves of her faded-to-grey-in-the-wash white T-shirt, feeling light-headed from the stifling heat in the room.

‘What about the murder weapon?’ Boyd said.

‘What about it? We haven’t found it.’

‘Exactly. Shouldn’t we step up our efforts?’

‘Uniforms have scoured all around Petit Lane and the car park. Bins and recycling bins. Gardens, the railway tracks. They’ve looked everywhere, plus the canal. If the killer used the same weapon on Louise and Cristina, we can assume he kept it. Once we get the post-mortem results we will know if he used the same one.’

‘Right,’ Boyd said. Lottie thought she detected a distinct grumpiness from him. She could do without that.

‘Have the two lads who were knocked out at the house in Petit Lane been interviewed since I spoke to them in hospital?’

Kirby put up his hand. ‘I’ve got the transcripts here. Nealon and McGrath were more than a bit hazy. They’d been drinking on the canal line and needed somewhere to kip. They think they were previously in that house about two weeks ago. They have no recollection of seeing anyone before they were attacked. Their tox levels were off the page. Alcohol and cannabis.’

‘How were they knocked out?’ Lottie asked.

‘Both had contusions to the back of the head. Blunt object. Since nothing that could be the weapon was found at the scene, it’s safe to say their assailant took it.’

‘And they can’t give any description?’

Kirby shook his head.

‘Anyone got anything to add? We could do with a lead.’ She sat on the chair and felt the tiredness of her sleepless night sink into her muscles.

‘The note found in Amy’s room,’ Boyd said. ‘It’s been sent for fingerprint analysis. We still have no idea how she came to have it. Should we send it for further forensic tests?’

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