Page 116 of Three Widows

‘I just want to help. I sincerely hope Amy doesn’t end up like those other poor women.’

He agreed, but felt choked up. ‘Before you go, did she say anything else about the Life After Loss group?’

‘She only mentioned it briefly. I think she might have gone to one or two meetings. She didn’t think much of it, if I recall correctly.’

‘Bianca Tormey works with you, doesn’t she?’

‘Yes, but she isn’t in today.’

‘What can you tell me about her?’

‘She works summer and holiday time. She’s still in school. A lovely mannerly girl.’

‘And Luke Bray. Anything you can tell me about him?’

‘Only that he’s a prick and gets away with too much around here.’

‘If you think of anything else, phone me straight away. And I’ll await your email.’

He hung up and stared at the computer until the email arrived. He opened the attachments and began to read.

73

As Lottie reached the corridor, her phone rang. She sat on a step at the top of the stairs and took the call from the state pathologist.

‘Hi, Jane, what have you for me?’

‘I’ve completed Éilis Lawlor’s post-mortem. This might be nothing, but I thought it unusual.’

‘Go on.’ She leaned against the wall, thinking that if she didn’t get back running soon, she’d end up wheezing like Kirby.

‘Like your first victim, the dress on Éilis is three sizes too big. I’m sure you knew that.’

‘I did.’

‘And it’s evident that the killer washed and dressed both women after he killed them. Plenty of twigs and leaves on Éilis’s dress, but I haven’t found anything there to link to a killer.’

‘Okay. What have you found then?’ Lottie knew Jane hadn’t called for small talk or to arrange to meet for a coffee.

‘She was over the alcohol legal limit when I tested her blood. No evidence of drugs. I’ll get the lab to do further analysis.’

‘Anything else I need to know?’

‘Cause of death. Heart attack.’

‘What?’

‘Probably brought on by shock after her bones were savagely broken. Eyes removed post-mortem.’

‘That’s one good thing, in this swamp of horror. Any word back on the carpet fibres you found?’

‘Nothing yet. I’ll follow it up again today.’ Jane paused. ‘The sculpture where Éilis was placed. It’s a depiction of Fionn Mac Cumhaill.’ She spelled it for Lottie. ‘Pronounced McCool.’

‘I know that.’

‘I think you might want to dig into Irish mythology, because I did a little research and found that the area where Jennifer’s body was dumped is listed on an ancient manuscript as the site of a fairy fort.’

‘Really? Isn’t it supposed to be bad luck to disturb one of those?’ Lottie recalled this from her school days. ‘Maybe the carnival being on site pushed someone over the edge.’

---