Chapter 72
Macken must have used an entire aerosol can of Lynx Africa. Lottie wasn’t entirely sure if it was any better than the chicken-shit smell at his farm.
He sat ramrod straight on the uncomfortable chair, his wary green eyes scanning his surroundings. A piece of toilet paper was stuck to his chin and the hollows in his face were red raw. From shaving, she presumed.
After Macken reluctantly agreed, Boyd did the honours for the tape.
‘I’m a busy man, and you dragging me in here at this hour of the evening doesn’t help. It’s hard enough to make a living as it is.’
‘May I remind you that three people have been murdered, one a child,’ Lottie said. ‘And you were at their house on the day they died.’
‘I know all that, but so were a lot of other people. I didn’t kill that family. I try to make an honest living. I work hard. I keep my head down and mind my own business. And this is how I’m repaid. It’s a glorified nightmare, if I’m being honest.’
‘Were you ever married, Mr Macken?’
He jerked back on his chair as if she had hit him. ‘What has that got to do with anything?’
‘Just asking.’ Lottie kept her cadence even and low.
‘No, I did not marry, and I’m sure you could find that out without asking me.’
‘Any partners?’
‘No, so there you go.’
‘There I go what?’
‘Jesus, woman, will you ask me proper questions so I can get back to my balloons and my chickens.’
‘You said you inherited the farm.’
‘Is that a question?’ He shook his head. ‘Yes, I did, and it’s costing me a fortune to run.’
‘Have you an accountant?’
He was silent. It stretched into the corners of the room. Lottie waited him out.
‘Yes. And before you ask, it was Cameron Healy’s outfit, though I’d never met the man myself.’
‘Why is that?’
‘Because I dealt with that lug who works in his office.’
‘Do you mean Liam Scanlan, Mr Macken?’
‘My name is Dermot, so call me that.’
‘Okay. Dermot. Answer my question.’
‘Yes, it was Scanlan I dealt with. Like I said, I never met Healy.’
‘That’s not entirely true, is it?’
He looked perplexed before it dawned on him. ‘I meant that I never met him before Sunday, when I installed the balloon arch there.’
Lottie unfolded her arms and opened the file in front of her. She kept her eyes downward, as if she was reading something important. ‘Did you know it was your accountant’s house that you were at on Sunday?’
‘How could I? How in God’s name would I put two and two together when there was no fucking equation to be solved at the time?’
She looked up at him from under her eyelashes. ‘But did you recognise him then?’
‘I told you I dealt with that eejit in his office. I drop my box of invoices and receipts on his desk and they lodge my tax return and then I pay their bill.’
‘Are you happy with their service?’
‘I’m not happy with my tax bill, but that’s not my accountant’s fault, is it? Are we done here?’
‘Not quite.’ She flicked through a few pages in the file before closing it. ‘You failed to provide us with vital information and I find that odd.’
‘What vital information?’
‘That Cameron Healy was your accountant.’
‘It never occurred to me. And why is it vital? I told you I didn’t kill them.’
Lottie was silent. Macken stared at his hands on the table. Picked a piece of dirt out of his index fingernail. Chewed the inside of his cheek. Still she said nothing.
‘What?’ he said eventually.
‘I’m waiting to hear the next thing you forgot to tell us. About Sadie.’
He suddenly looked old. The flesh on his acne-scarred face seemed to sag, and his hands half clenched into fists that reminded her of Eugene Tormey’s.
‘I knew her.’
His voice was so soft, Lottie wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly.
‘Knew who?’
Now it was his turn to fill the air with silence.
‘Dermot?’ She tapped a finger on the table. ‘Who did you know?’
‘Years ago. It’s nothing. Not relevant to anything.’ He took a deep breath, and when he spoke, the stench of whatever he’d eaten hit Lottie between the eyes as he spat out the name. ‘I knew she was Sadie Tormey when I saw her at that party.’
Lottie let a pregnant silence fill the room. She feared that Dermot Macken’s next words would be a request for a solicitor, but she was wrong.
‘She was young when we met. I was young. Afterwards, I thought… no, I hoped I’d never set eyes on her again. It was such a long time ago, I didn’t think she’d remember me. I could never forget her.’
‘So you saw her at the Healy house?’
‘Yes. When I was called out to check that the arch was secure. She was staring out the window at me. Her hair was darker and longer. She was slimmer, older. But I could never forget those mesmerising brown eyes.’
‘And did she recognise you?’
‘I assume so. She had a look on her face like she’d seen a ghost. I suppose I had a similar expression plastered on mine. I could barely say goodbye to Mrs Healy, I was so shocked.’
‘In what way did you know Sadie before last Sunday?’
Silence once again swirled around. Macken scratched at the skin around his thumbnail, looking anywhere but at Lottie. ‘It was years ago.’ He bit his lip so hard, Lottie saw a bead of blood pool on the skin.
‘I need to know more, Dermot. The Healys are dead. Sadie and her daughter are missing.’
‘I didn’t kill anyone and I did not do anything to Sadie or her little girl.’
‘Tell me why I should believe you.’
‘Because I was in love with her. I only knew her for a short time, but troubled and all as she was, I loved her.’
‘Go on.’
‘Ever hear of Oak House detention centre? She was in there for a short time.’
Lottie heard Boyd release a low whistle of air. She’d forgotten he was still seated beside her. The recording still active.
‘Tell me about that time.’
‘There’s not much to tell. She was stunning. Long hair, those eyes. God, her eyes. I think I fell in love with her the very first day I met her. But she was a troubled soul. So much angst and no outlet for it. She should never have been put in that awful place, even for a short time.’
‘Did you remember Caroline from there too?’
He swallowed hard. ‘Mrs Healy? She was that Caroline? From back then?’
‘Yes.’
‘Dear God in heaven. What’s going on?’
‘Did you remember her?’
‘Not much to remember. She never made an impression on me like Sadie did. Caroline was plain and meek. It was like she was under Sadie’s spell, and I can understand that because I was too.’
‘Tell me more.’ Lottie had to mask her eagerness and excitement at Dermot’s revelation. It could change the complexion of everything they’d thought so far.
‘Sadie acted like she owned the goddamn city. She blinded me to everything and everyone else. Afterwards I realised she had filled me with lies. Telling me she loved me. I was a stupid eighteen-year-old and she was, what… fourteen? Puppy love, they call it, don’t they?
Ruined me, because I could never look at another woman in that way again. ’
‘Was it by chance that Caroline called you to install the balloon arch last week?’
‘As far as I know.’ He looked at a spot on the wall behind Lottie, so intently she had to stop herself turning around to see what he was staring at. ‘But I don’t know why she called me out a second time.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘There was nothing wrong with the arch. I can see why she might have been worried about the bouncy castle, but the balloons weren’t going to hurt anyone.’
‘What reason do you think she had for wanting you there?’
‘Maybe it was to do with Sadie. I don’t know. When you find her – if you find her – you can ask her. I won’t speak to her anyhow. She ruined my life.’
‘In what way?’
‘She used me. Now that I look back at it, she was always in control. She pulled all the strings. And like a fucking puppet, I jumped around to her tune.’
Something in the way he spoke jarred with Lottie. What was he not saying? ‘Did she make you do something you regretted?’
‘I don’t follow.’
‘Did Sadie make you do something that you did not want to do but you did it anyhow?’
Once again he was silent for a long time. ‘Not that I’m aware of.’
‘Did you help her murder her family?’
His jaw dropped and his eyes widened. ‘Are you mad? No, God no. From what I remember, Sadie had a hard life, but she would never murder anyone. And I didn’t either. Ask her when you find her.’
‘Do you believe she’s been abducted or harmed in any way?’
‘Sadie was a tough nut. She mixed with a drugs crowd and that hardened her. No one would be brave enough to tangle with her. I certainly wouldn’t.’