Chapter 14
When Garda Martina Brennan met Thomas Clarke, she formed an instant dislike for him.
There was something unsettling in the way he strutted around his home, and in how he spoke to his wife.
Their daughter was missing and he was more concerned with how Sadie, a stay-at-home mother, did not know where she was.
Then it clicked. Thomas Clarke reminded her of Detective Sam McKeown.
She glanced over at the detective, with whom she’d had an affair.
Had she been so blinkered and hurt by him that she believed all men of his ilk were cads?
She hoped not. Still, Clarke had the same swagger and a sense of importance about him.
A look at me, I’m better than you trait. God give her strength.
Sadie, on the other hand, was in a heap of despair. Nothing calmed her. She’d refused a doctor, even a small glass of brandy. Copious mugs of tea ended up being thrown down the sink, and Martina was fast losing faith in her skills.
‘Martina?’ Sadie’s voice was hoarse and low.
‘Yes?’ She went and sat beside the distraught woman. Waited.
Sadie looked up at her before hurriedly glancing around the room with haunted eyes.
‘If you’re worried about your husband overhearing,’ Martina said softly, ‘he’s out in the garden with Detective McKeown.’
‘I need to talk to you. Privately. Can you arrange it without attracting suspicion?’
An unusual request, Martina thought. ‘We could go for a walk, if you’re up to it?’
‘No. Yes. I’m not sure. Maybe down the road and back again? I need a blast of fresh air, don’t I?’
‘Okay, get your coat,’ Martina said.
‘Please don’t say anything to the others. We can slip out.’
‘I’ll have to tell Detective McKeown where I’m going.’
‘He’s with Thomas. Please, let’s just go.’
Against her better judgement, Martina followed Sadie to the hall. Sadie struggled to get her coat on, and Martina held it out for her to slip her arms into the sleeves.
The cold air was like a cheese grater on the soft skin of her cheeks. She pulled up the collar of her Garda-issue jacket and Sadie linked her arm as they walked down the driveway and out onto the footpath.
The tree-lined private road was a secluded cul-de-sac. Four houses, two on either side, sheltering behind trees and ominous-looking sliding gates denying prying eyes a glimpse beyond them. Ergo no witnesses to anything.
Sadie took a deep breath. ‘I think Lily stumbled over something awful, perhaps online. She must have run away. You have to find her.’
‘Her phone is dead, but we have her iPad which is being checked by our tech team. We’re doing everything in our power to locate your daughter.’ Martina paused, going over what Sadie had said. ‘What do you think she discovered? Was it to do with Freya’s death? Or about the Healy family in general?’
‘I don’t know. It’s just that the online world can be a cesspit, and who knows what kids can access behind our backs.’ Sadie pulled away and waved her arms in the air. ‘Oh, I don’t know what I’m saying. I want her home and I can’t stand being around Thomas. He makes me sick.’
‘Why?’ Martina tried to read between the very blurred lines. ‘Did he do something to you?’
‘Look, I stay with him for Lily’s sake.’ Sadie stopped and sobbed into her hands. ‘Oh God, I feel like everything that happened is my fault.’
Martina was undecided on whether to keep walking, to draw out what was bothering Sadie, or to bring her to the station for a formal interview.
The least she should do was ensure there was a detective present, otherwise nothing Sadie told her could be used in evidence, if it turned out that way.
But then she feared the woman would only speak to her. Damn, this was a right mess.
‘Do you want to talk to me about it, or do you think the detectives need to know?’
‘I can’t talk to them. They’re men. They wouldn’t understand.’
‘You’ve met Detective Inspector Lottie Parker. Maybe you should speak to her.’
‘No, I want to tell you. Now. Then you can help me decide what to do about it. Okay?’
It wasn’t okay, but Martina said, ‘Sure.’
At the foot of the cul-de-sac, they turned back the way they’d come. No car had passed to turn or park, and they hadn’t met any neighbours. It was a ghost road.
‘Thomas hits me. Not often, and nowhere you’d be able to see bruises.
But Lily must have known because she’s very protective of me, as I am of her.
It was coming to a head and I didn’t know what to do, so I told Caroline.
At Freya’s party. I wanted someone else to know.
For support. I told her I wanted to leave him. She said she would help.’
‘Okay.’ Martina digested what Sadie had said. She had no idea how the information had any bearing on the murders. But it was reasonable to think it might have had something to do with Lily’s disappearance. ‘Did Caroline say anything to Thomas about this at the party?’
‘I don’t know. He was on edge. And with Caroline and her family now dead, oh God, and Lily missing, I wonder if he might have been involved. It makes no sense at all.’
‘I need to take this information to my boss.’
Sadie was silent, then she looked at Martina, eyes pinpricks of intent. ‘I just want Lily home.’
‘Do you honestly think your husband could have harmed the Healy family? Harmed his own daughter?’
‘I don’t know what he’s capable of. I do know I’m terrified of being alone with him.’
‘Do you want me to find a safe refuge for you?’
‘God, no. Lily will come home and I have to be here for her.’
Martina thought there were a lot of ifs and maybes in what Sadie had said, and she wasn’t at all sure she was telling the truth, but she had a feeling that the actual truth was buried in the midst of lies. She just had to figure out which was which. For that, she needed to talk to Lottie Parker.