Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Tuesday morning, early. “Healy,” O’Brien roared, “I need the cell phone and landline records for Ailbe MacGowan and Declan Knowlan. I want to see if either contacted any of these students.”
“Yes, sir. Right away, sir.”
A few minutes later, Healy appeared with the requested phone records.
“They’re probably not stupid enough to do anything that would connect them to the students. At least not anything that couldn’t be otherwise justified,” O’Brien thumbed through the printouts. “See if you can also get me the records for their office phones.”
“Yes, sir.” Healy turned to leave O’Brien’s office.
“Remind me to buy you a box of cigars, Healy,” O’Brien said.
“I don’t smoke, sir,” Healy said from his office. They both chuckled separately.
Thirty few minutes later, Healy appeared with the additional phone records and handed the lists to O'Brien.
He flipped through them quickly and handed them back to Healy.
“Take these two office phone call lists and document the time and date they called each other,” O’Brien said.
“At first glance, they communicate at the same hour every day. I may be grasping at straws, but if I can find an unusual pattern, a time when they don’t normally communicate, then we have a break in their normal routine and may have something to investigate. ”
“Yes, sir.” Healy took the lists. “I’ll do this as quickly as I can.”
“Thanks. I’ll buy you two boxes of cigars.” They both ignored that comment.
O’Brien’s cell phone rang. The caller ID displayed James Pearson.
“Pearson,” O’Brien answered. “What’s up?”
“They met MacGowan and Knowlan,” James said. “Rod and Wyl went to the racecourse on Saturday and bumped into them.”
“How did it go?”
“From what they shared, very well. MacGowan and Knowlan were aware of the symposium and the evening lecture scheduled for this week. They congratulated them on their honeymoon.”
“It sounds like things are moving along more quickly than you expected.”
“Yes, sir. We didn’t expect them to meet MacGowan or Knowlan until this week's lectures. Meeting them on neutral territory worked out well. We couldn’t have planned it any better.”
“Pearson, I’m glad to hear we’re off to a smooth start. Maintain personal contact with the Sterlings and keep me informed of any unusual developments. We’re still pursuing the murder investigation here. I’ll contact you if we uncover anything of concern.”
“Thanks, Chief.”
“Aye,” O’Brien disconnected. He grabbed the notebook from his pocket and noted the chance meeting between MacGowan and the Sterlings. He needed to remember the time & date for his report to the Commissioner. “What’s today?”
“Tuesday,” Healy said.
“No, what’s the date?” O’Brien grumbled.
“The twelfth.”
“Thanks.” O’Brien finished making his notes. “You got that list finished yet?” He stuffed the notebook and pencil back into his pocket.
“Almost, sir,” Healy called out from his office. “I’ll have it for you in five minutes.”
O’Brien studied the list of calls made by Keenan Moynihan. His last call was relatively short, only about three minutes. The rest of the calls were more extended. Much longer. He cross-referenced the number and found the call went to fellow student Fergus Rafferty.
“Healy!” O’Brien shouted. “Did we have a Fergus Rafferty in here for questioning?”
It took Healy a minute to retrieve the list and check to see who had come in for questioning. “No, sir. We did not question anyone by that name.”
“Feck. Get Rafferty in here pronto. If he doesn’t answer, send the boys after him. I want to talk with him this morning!”
“Right, Chief.”
A few minutes later, Healy dropped the list of office calls between MacGowan and Knowlan on O’Brien’s desk.
A regular pattern of afternoon calls showed daily at around two o’clock, except for one call from MacGowan to Knowlan midmorning the day before the discovery of Moynihan’s body in the River Corrib.
Well, bugger me, O’Brien thought. I caught the fekker in an inconsistency, and that’s always a clue. He pulled out his notebook and noted the inconsistency, including the call’s date and time.
“Chief, Rafferty didn’t answer his phone, so I sent two officers to pay him a visit.” Healy walked into O’Brien’s office. “Did the list contain anything interesting?”
“Feck, yes!” O’Brien practically shouted.
“There is an inconsistency in the usual pattern of calls between MacGowan and Knowlan. Something was happening that prompted MacGowan to make a call midmorning. Their routine daily call occurs midafternoon. I don’t know what prompted that break in routine, but you can bet I’ll find out! ”
* * *
A loud pounding at the door woke Fergus Rafferty from a sound sleep.
It was nine o’clock in the morning. Fergus had joined his friends at a late-night party, so he slept it off instead of attending class.
He struggled out of bed and stumbled to the front door of his tiny one-room flat.
He opened the door a crack, leaving the security chain on.
“What the feck do you want?” he said groggily as he looked at the two men standing at his door.
“Mr. Rafferty? Mr. Fergus Rafferty?” One man asked.
“Aye,” Fergus yawned.
“Gardaí. We need you to come with us.”
“You arresting me?” Fergus became more alert as he realized the law was standing at his door, and his neighbors probably heard the racket of them pounding on his door.
“No, sir,” the Garda responded. “The Chief Superintendent would like to ask you a few questions.”
“What about?”
“We don’t have any information regarding the questioning, Mr. Rafferty. Now, if you’ll please dress and come with us.”
Fergus unlatched the door and invited the two officers in.
“Do I have time for a quick bath?” he asked.
“As long as it’s quick,” the officer responded.
Ten minutes later, Fergus was bathed and dressed. He grabbed his jacket and showed the officers out the door.
Uncertainty knotted Fergus’s stomach as they parked at the station.
His mind raced through everything he had done, from the pack of gum he stole from the corner grocery as a child to the teenage pranks he pulled with his buddies in high school.
Did they know about all those things? Keenan’s death screamed in his mind.
Surely they don’t suspect I had anything to do with Keenan’s murder.
He recalled Keenan’s anguished cries before the phone went dead.
He followed the officers into the Gardaí station.
“Fergus Rafferty to see the Chief,” one of the officers informed the desk sergeant.
He pointed to a bench on the other side of the room. “Sit there, Mr. Rafferty. We’ll summon you.”
“Yes, sir,” Fergus hoped someone would tell him why, but nobody had volunteered. He sat for what seemed like an hour, but glancing at his watch, he discovered only five minutes had lapsed.
“Mr. Rafferty?” a lanky, red-headed man called his name, holding a door open that led into the bowels of the Gardaí station. “Come this way.”
“Yes, sir.” Fergus stood and walked through the door the man held open. Visions of a firing squad waiting in a hidden courtyard flashed through his mind. Was stealing chewing gum an offense punishable by the death penalty?
“I’m Sergeant Healy. Chief Superintendent O’Brien wants to ask a few questions about Keenan Moynihan. Right this way.” Healy led Fergus down a long hallway.
At least now I know why I’m here. They turned a corner and continued down the hallway to the door at the end, marked Chief Superintendent.
Healy opened the door for Fergus, leading him to enter.
“Have a seat.” Healy pointed to the chairs in front of his desk. “I’ll let Chief Superintendent O’Brien know you are here.”
He left Fergus alone while he stepped into the next office.
“Fergus Rafferty is here, sir,” Healy announced.
“Well, show him in, Sergeant,” O’Brien responded gruffly.
Healy motioned from the doorway. “Mr. Rafferty, in here, please.”
Fergus cautiously rose from his chair and walked into O’Brien’s office.
“This is Chief Superintendent O’Brien.” Healy introduced Fergus to the gruff man behind the desk.
“Chief Superintendent, sir,” Fergus said, a slight tremor in his voice, “I’m Fergus Rafferty. I understand you have questions for me about Keenan Moynihan.”
“That is right, son. Have a seat.”
Fergus took the worn leather chair in front of O’Brien’s desk. It creaked as he sat. The entire office smelled of cigar.
“Relax, lad. You’re not here as a suspect. According to his cell phone records, you were the last person to speak to Moynihan. The conversation was quite short.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you called 112 to report?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What can you tell me about that evening, Rafferty?”
Fergus sighed. “Well, sir, Keenan called me as he walked home from campus. He usually chatted with one of us as he walked. It helped to pass the time.”
“When you say one of us, who do you mean?”
“The group of students who worked on the project for Dr. MacGowan. We work closely together, so we often talk.”
“I see. So Moynihan called you and was talking about the class?”
“Yes, that is right. He discovered our various student projects fit together and went to see Dr. MacGowan about it.”
“Wait a minute,” O’Brien grabbed his pencil and leaned forward. “He went to see MacGowan?”
“Yes, sir. He had gone to see Dr. MacGowan after class that morning.”
“Would that be around ten o’clock?”
“Yes, sir. That’s about right. Class ends at nine-forty-five.”
“I see. So, he talked with MacGowan about his discovery.”
“That’s what he told me, sir. As we talked that evening, he said he still thought there was something odd about the projects fitting together.”
“So, he wasn’t convinced when Dr. MacGowan told him the purpose? To see if students were sharp enough to catch the connection?”
“No, sir.”
“Go on.”
“Well, we were talking as he walked, and I heard all this motor noise and yelling through his phone. Then Keenan started running and shouted for me to call the Gardaí. Lots of grunting, and Keenan said, “What the feck.” And I heard another voice say something I couldn’t make out, then a loud clattering, as if the phone hit the ground, followed by the sound of car doors closing.
Then what sounded like a screech of tires, like when someone takes off too quickly.
Then quiet. Then, there was more traffic sounds before the phone went dead. ”
“Do you remember anything about that other voice you heard? Anything at all?”
“No, sir. I could tell Keenan was struggling, and the sounds from his phone kept fading in and out, so I couldn’t tell exactly what was happening or what anyone was saying.”
“Is there anything else you want to tell me about this situation?”
“After Keenan’s phone went dead, I ran to the place between the hospital and the campus where he might have been and found what appeared to be a smashed cell phone in the road.
Then I called 112. The Gardaí came, but they said it was only an unidentifiable smashed cell phone. They didn’t believe me about Keenan.”
“Calm down, son. To an outsider, you’ll have to admit that a smashed cell phone is hardly evidence of a crime. But I understand your concern and am glad you called 112. We now have a record of the event.”
“I want to find out who took him,” Rafferty said.
“I understand, Rafferty, and I appreciate your cooperation.”
“I hope my information helps, Chief Superintendent.”
“Healy!” O’Brien shouted. Fergus jumped.
“Yes, sir?” Healy appeared at the office doorway.
“Show Mr. Rafferty out, and have the lads take him back to his flat.”