Chapter 98
The formal interview with Liam Scanlan threw up nothing to differ from what he had told Lottie in the cell.
He was clever enough not to mention she had assaulted him there.
Or perhaps he was fearful she might do it again.
She was relieved when the super had allowed her to sit in with orders to keep her mouth shut. At least she could stare Scanlan down.
With the aid of a solicitor, he told them where in the office he’d hidden the USB containing the secret account of Alice’s financial transactions.
He also admitted that on the day of the party, he went to tell Cameron everything because Alice was becoming more irrational about the missing money since the night three weeks previously when she’d gone to his apartment.
She’d called that Sunday morning, threatening him if he didn’t find it.
Whether that was the catalyst for what ensued in the Healy household later that night, Lottie had yet to determine. Liam claimed he had no idea he was walking in on the child’s birthday party. And he vehemently denied having murdered anyone or having attacked Chloe.
After the conclusion of the interview, Lottie stood with Boyd in the corridor.
‘Liam admitted to everything we can prove he’s done, but he still refuses to admit to attacking Chloe.’ This worried Lottie.
‘Maybe he didn’t attack her.’
‘If he didn’t do it, who did?’
He shook his head. ‘We’re still in the early stages of that investigation, and I’ve yet to interview the party crowd from Cafferty’s.’
‘I don’t want the bastard to think he’s getting one up on me.’
‘He didn’t know Chloe and he had little interaction with you.’
‘Yeah, but Chloe had looked into the old case. And Alice Quigley is clever and wily. She could have put him up to it and threatened him if he opened his mouth.’
‘But he’s confessed to the other serious crimes, so why deny stabbing Chloe?’
‘It’s a mystery to me.’
‘How is she doing?’
‘A lot better. I’ll visit her later. Katie said she was bringing Louis in to see her.’
‘Right, so what’s next on our list?’
She tapped her teeth with her pen, thinking. ‘Find the money and the photos that Thomas claims he gave to Alice. Locate the USB from the accountant’s office. Then we have to find Sadie and see if what Alice claims is true. That Sadie is the Tormey family killer.’
‘I would not believe one word out of Alice Quigley’s mouth.’
‘She walked straight into the fact that the shoes that left a bruise on Caroline were on the victim’s feet.
How would she know that if she hadn’t put them there herself?
We have to prove she’s lying about everything else she’s told us, and to do that we need the search of her property to throw up something to help us.
And we need to find Lily and Sadie Clarke. ’