Page 108 of Making a Killing

BM

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Adam Fawley

29th July 2024

16.27

Gis calls with an update in the car. Quinn’s decidedly chipper, given the traffic; I guess from his point of view anything’s better than a plane, even being stuck for over an hour on the M25.

‘So Ev spoke to Dry Riser in LA and would you believe Nick Vincent’s actually over here. Swanking it up at Soho Farmhouse, no less.’

‘Give him a call – tell him to expect me first thing tomorrow.’

Gis laughs. ‘Oh dear, he might have to cancel his early-morning Ayurvedic Pilates.’

‘Is that even a thing?’

A laugh. ‘No idea – I made it up. Anything else from Belfast?’

‘They’re doing a check on Ann Deegan. It’s looking like Daisy was blackmailing her – probably threatening to accuse her brother of child abuse. He died two years ago but his reputation would still have been trashed, and in a community like that, those things matter.’

I hear Gis sigh. ‘So that’s where she got the money for her little trip – I’ve been wondering how she afforded it. Is there anything this kid isn’t prepared to do to get what she wants? Everywhere she goes the roads are littered with people she’s thrown under the bus.’

I feel my jaw stiffen. ‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’

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Importance: High

Date:Mon 29/07/2024 16:44

From:[email protected]

To:[email protected]

CC:[email protected],

[email protected]

Subject: Katherine Madigan

Finn O’Brien has just told us that he collected Kate Madigan from Birmingham International Airport at approximately 16.00 on June 15th. The day after Daisy arrived in Holyhead. Though this wasn’t, as we’d assumed, because she was following Daisy –the trip had been planned a day or so before. O’Brien says Daisy was supposed to be at a friend’s in Dublin so it’s quite possible Madigan had no idea she was missing.

O’Brien dropped Kate off at an Airbnb inBroadwaythat afternoon, after they had a row. The accommodation was booked for two nights, and the location was her choice, not his. He’s had no contact with her since and his phone records corroborate this. While he may, on the face of it, have a motive to harm her, pending any actual evidence to that effect I think it unlikely:nothing about his character or demeanour suggests to me that he’s capable of violence.

DS Bradley has also checked with the Airbnb provider, and they’ve confirmed that the property was booked for that period, but the bed did not appear to have been slept in. Nothing was left behind.

I doubt very much that the proximity to Hescombe is accidental, especially as it was Madigan who chose that destination. It’s also entirely possible that Madigan ‘engineered’ the row as soon as she arrived in the country, specifically to get O’Brien out of the way. The question, of course, is why.

I’ve requested Madigan’s call records, stressing that it’s high priority/risk of harm. We will also check flight manifests for any indication that Madigan has since returned to Belfast.

NB We also asked O’Brien about the earring but he claims not to have noticed whether Madigan even had pierced ears.

AA

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