Page 70 of Dublin's Danger Dancer

He reaches a white door and pulls the handle. The room is chilly. He walks to the back and pulls out a silver stretcher. Tanya’s body is covered in a green tarpaulin like sheet.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” he asks

“Yes,” I answer flatly. He pulls back the sheet and I realise nothing could ever make me ready for this. I try to hold back, but it’s impossible.

Her eyes are glassy and large like a little doe. The tyre tracks have broken open her stomach. The young man passes me a small bin just in time. I wrench up the scant contents of my stomach. I wipe my mouth and close my eyes, lifting my zip and saying, “I’m sorry about that.”

“We’re only human,” he says, “there’s only so much evil someone can take.”

“Did you find any DNA on the body?”

“Yes,” he says, lifting up a clipboard. “We have three matches: Freddie O’Shaughnessy, Liam O’Shaughnessy and Admir Berouth.”

“Do you know where this happened?”

“The mud is consistent with Tibradden forest.”

“That’s the forest at the back of the O’Shaughnessy property.”

“I’ll highlight that in my report to the homicide detective,” he says.

I want to ask him if he thinks she suffered, if she tried to pull herself out of the way, but I can see the rope burns on her arms and I’m not sure I can take his answer.

“The garda are planning to make their arrest today.”

As he says that my phone lights up. I look down at Liam’s name. I reject the call and ask the man if I can have a moment alone with Tanya.

“Sure,” he says.

Her face is swollen black and blue, purple and red. She’s been punched several times.

“I’m gonna make sure these bastards spend the rest of their life in prison.” I say. “I’m sorry I didn’t take them out when I had the chance. If I’d have known,” I pause my head, dipping. “If I’d have known, they’d do this to you. I’d have shot them all between the eyes.”

“Rest in peace Tanya.” I say staring into her lifeless blue eyes.

I pull open the door to the morgue. The young man is standing there.

“You can follow up the case with the garda,” he says.

“Thanks,” I say shaking his hand. He walks me to the door as my mind races with the evidence I need to acquire to make sure I fulfil my promise to Tanya.

My phone rings again. It’s Liam. I pick up. “Ciara? I went to the club, you’re not there. Where are you?”

“Some guy got in my face. I took off on my bike.” I lie looking up at the bank of black clouds crowding over me.

“Meet me at your place. It’s urgent.”

I scan the contents of my kitchen drawer. I could drive a corkscrew through his neck with one singular action. There was only one problem. I’d go to prison for the rest of my life if I did it here. There is no way to hide the blood splatter. Forensics would deal me in a lifetime sentence, especially with the rage I felt towards him. The knife attack couldn’t be anything but frenzied.

“What’s happened?” I say as Liam paces my apartment in an oxblood coloured suit wearing a grim expression staring down at his phone.

“Admir, he has set me and Freddie up. He placed our DNA.” he pauses, reading my face. “God, you already know. Everyone’s talking about it.”

“He killed Tanya?” I ask.

“Yes,” he says, hanging his head.

“Am I next?” I ask.

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