Page 144 of Her Last Walk Home

Boyd said, ‘Someone didn’t want Aneta to find her birth mother. It’s hard to get a handle on it.’

McKeown held up the old photograph taken outside a building and the one of John Morgan. ‘These two photos were in Aneta’s possession. They must be key.’

‘But why would she have John Morgan’s photo?’ Kirby asked.

‘According to Charlie Lennon,’ Boyd said, ‘John Morgan was Collins’s protégé. Maybe whoever sent it to Aneta wanted to point her in that direction.’

‘But Aneta knew Collins was her father,’ Lottie said.

‘You’re right.’ Boyd conceded. ‘Was someone jealous of the attention John got from Collins?’

‘All three victims had a connection, however flimsy, to Pine Grove,’ Lottie said. ‘As did Shannon Kenny.’

‘And all are tied to Cuan.’ McKeown pointed to the old group photo. ‘Gary worked on this photo, and I’ve determined that it definitely has a younger Gordon Collins and Diana Nolan in it. Maybe we should try to trace the others.’

‘Hold on a minute.’ Superintendent Farrell got up to examine the photo. ‘That’s Irene Flood. She married a Dunbar from Athlone. I played golf with her.’

‘She runs Cuan rehab now.’ Lottie felt a rush of excitement. ‘We’ll interview her again. She might be able to shed more light on the photo.’

‘If she’s not involved herself,’ Boyd said. ‘She’s slippery as an eel.’

‘We need to find Diana,’ Lottie said. ‘Last known to have been left at the train station by a taxi.’

‘Talking of taxis,’ McKeown said, ‘I’ve contacted all the taxi firms in town and no one remembers picking up Laura Nolan last Thursday night.’

Garda Brennan raised her hand. ‘What was the upshot on the page with the name Maggie found by SOCOs at the lane?’

‘It’s been sent to the lab but we may wait awhile for DNA results. We got very little from the school. A warrant is being drawn up to get the girl’s full name and address.’

‘She could be crucial,’ Kirby said.

‘Or she could be nothing to do with anything,’ McKeown said.

‘Will you give over?’

‘I want answers, not speculation,’ Superintendent Farrell snapped. ‘Have you got hard facts or evidence?’

‘Apologies in advance, but I’ve more speculation,’ Boyd said. ‘The location, that field where Aneta’s body was dumped, bothered me. Rex’s parents once owned a house in that area. They’re in a constant battle with Collins over the state of the house they now live in…’

‘Where are you going with this?’ Lottie asked, surprised. This was the first she’d heard of it.

‘I drove to their old house earlier. A rectory that’s now a bloody barbican. Huge sliding gates with an intercom. Totally surrounded by trees and ten-foot walls. Garda Lei, did you find out who owns it?’

‘I searched the electoral register, but no one is listed at that address. Then I checked the property register. Bingo. It’s in the name of GC Construction.’

‘Gordon Collins,’ Lottie said. ‘Did he buy the house from the McGovern family? He doesn’t live there, so who does?’

‘No way of finding out unless we knock on the door,’ Boyd said. ‘If we can get to the door, that is.’

‘We could ask Collins,’ Farrell said.

Lottie said, ‘Don’t know when he’ll be fit enough to interview and we haven’t time to wait. I’ll head out to this rectory with Boyd.’

‘Hold on.’ Farrell’s tone was stamped with authority. ‘What has that house got to do with anything?’

‘It’s two kilometres from where Aneta’s body was found,’ Boyd countered. ‘She was missing for a year, though no one realised it. A secluded, fortified house like that is as good a place as any to hide someone away.’

‘Conjecture.’ Farrell wasn’t backing down. ‘Didn’t I say I want facts and evidence?’

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