Chapter 86
‘What are you all looking at? Don’t you have work to do?’
Heads that had risen when she’d stormed into the office were quickly lowered.
‘Listen to me.’
They did.
‘We may have Liam Scanlan in custody, being spoken to nice and calmly by our beloved superintendent,’ she rolled her eyes so that they would get her sarcasm, ‘but we still have to link him to the Healy murders. What evidence do we have for that?’
McKeown spoke up. ‘Nothing to tie him to the scene conclusively. Una Savage confirmed he was the man she’d seen at the Healys’ house that afternoon while the party was ongoing. But we haven’t found any forensic evidence of his presence other than in Cameron Healy’s office.’
‘There must be something to link him to the three bodies.’
‘Nothing so far. Everything is circumstantial.’
‘Damn,’ Lottie said. ‘We can have all the circumstantial evidence in the world, but that’s not going to convict a slimy customer like Scanlan. I’m hoping we have enough to convict him on the three stabbings. Do we?’
McKeown shrugged.
‘Jesus, ye are all useless.’ She felt like crying, such was her frustration.
Kirby spoke. ‘Regarding Martina and Clarice, we have physical evidence linking him to those crimes along with their eyewitness testimony. But we have nothing other than a bouncer’s weak ID that Liam was in the vicinity when Chloe was attacked.’
Lottie shivered, thinking of her daughter. She’d seen her for a few minutes earlier and she was awake, though groggy. The hospital ward was full of flowers and cards from her Templemore classmates, which was good to see. Hopefully she’d be back there soon.
‘Get on to Grainne Nixon. Emphasise the importance of her work and that we need the lab to hurry the hell up.’
Kirby nodded. ‘Will do.’
‘Have you anything else for me? What about you, McKeown?’
‘I’m being stonewalled getting the Oak House records. I’m also working on the warrants you requested.’
‘I want Alice Quigley and Dermot Macken’s background reports on my desk in fifteen minutes.
And I know you’ve checked PULSE for any prior criminal activity, but do a deep dive on Macken.
Also, Eugene Tormey thinks Alice Quigley was friends with Sadie’s mother.
How did we not know that? Any sign of Alice? ’
Blank faces and head-shakes greeted her.
‘Scanlan might know, but I’m not allowed to talk to him. What about the whereabouts of Sadie and Lily Clarke?’
‘Nothing. Sorry, boss,’ Kirby said quietly.
‘Don’t sorry me.’ She scanned the room. They were so short on personnel. ‘People don’t just disappear.’
But she knew they did. All the time.