Chapter 12 AIDEN #2
The two gardaí exchange glances before one of them speaks up, “What’s in the bag, AJ?”
“My gym gear.” I toss the bag into the adjoining room before taking a seat at my desk. “But you didn’t just come here to discuss the latest fitness trends, did you?”
The gardaí exchange another glance before the other one clears his throat and says, “Actually, we were hoping you could provide us with some information on a missing persons case.”
“Looked at the news lately?” the first garda asks.
“Can’t say I have. What information do you think I have that could be relevant to a missing persons case?” I take a seat behind my desk and lean back in the chair.
The second garda hesitates for a moment before replying, “They were last seen in this club on Saturday, the 13th of January.”
“So, what?” I make a point of thinking to myself. “About two weeks now?”
They nod, and I press. “Do you have a time frame in mind?”
“It’s said that they got here around 11:30 PM and were last seen leaving around 12.30 AM,” the second garda responds.
“Have you got a picture or description to go off?”
The first garda pulls out their pictures and slides them across the table.
“Ok, let’s see.” I crack my knuckles and start clicking away at the security footage, unsure of what is going to come up. I’m good. I made sure of that, but Katie…
Shit.
“Ah,” I mutter under my breath as I spot Katie’s hunched figure on the screen; she’s clearly uncomfortable, and thankfully, you cannot make out her face on the footage.
“That looks like them.” I turn the screen towards the two gardaí.
“This is the best shot I could find of them together. They’re lost in the crowd leading to the coat room after that. ”
The gardaí take note of the information. The second garda asks, “Can you see if there is any footage of them leaving?”
“Let me see what I can do.” I click away at the footage and say, “I think.” Thanks be to Lucifer for the grainy footage. “That might be them there.” I turn the screen back to the gardaí and play the clip, showing the lads leaving with two unidentifiable women.
“Do you have any cameras outside that might have captured their faces better?” the first garda asks.
“We do; they’re old, though, so I’m not sure how much use they’ll be.” I click away, pulling up the footage from the external cameras. “Here we go,” I say, pointing to the screen. “Unfortunately, the quality isn’t great, but it’s worth a shot.”
The gardaí lean in closer, studying the footage. “That looks like them, but it’s hard to tell,” the first garda remarks. “Can you enhance the image or zoom in on their faces?”
“It doesn’t get any better if I zoom in; don’t believe everything you see on TV,” I reply with a chuckle. “Ah, fuck, that just made it worse.”
The second garda shakes his head in disappointment. “Well, it was worth a try,” he says. “We’d need a copy of that footage to analyse further.”
“Of course.” I lean back in my chair, all innocent smiles and coy gestures.
I can’t get them out of my office quickly enough. I transfer the footage onto a USB and hand it over to the gardaí. “Here you go.”
“Where were you when this footage was taken?” one of the men asks, eyeing me suspiciously.
“I was here, working away as always.”
“All night?”
“No.” I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms. This is a shit-storm waiting to happen, and all roads lead to Katie. They’re going to find her. They’re going to question her, and then I’ll get a big, meaty finger pointed in my direction. “I was at home from about 2 AM.”
“Can anyone vouch for that?” the second garda asks, raising an eyebrow.
“My girlfriend.” The words leave my mouth before I can stop them.
Katie can be my alibi just as I can be hers, and we’re safe.
Unless her sister opens her big mouth, then it’s two against one.
Sorry, Ciara, but if someone’s going down for this, it sure as hell won’t be me, and I’ll be damned if I let Katie take the fall for your stupid decisions.
“This girlfriend was with you the entire night?”
“That’s what I said. Excuse me for not sharing the sordid details of our evening,” I reply, trying to maintain a nonchalant tone. “But if you must know, I took her to bed as soon as I got in the front door, and she didn’t leave it until late the next morning.”
“We may need to speak with her at a later date to confirm your alibi,” the detective responds, scribbling notes in his notepad.
“Alibi, for what exactly?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “I can’t be held responsible for what every person who enters or leaves my club does outside of business hours.”
The detective pauses for a moment, considering my words. “We understand your position,” he says, closing his notepad. “However, we owe it to these men’s families to find out what happened to them.”
“And I hope you do.” I lean forward and look into his mud-brown eyes. “But don’t be surprised if it’s another group of junkies going on a bender and forgetting to go home.”
He gives me a nod, acknowledging my scepticism. “We’ll keep all possibilities in mind.”
“If there is nothing else you need from me, I have some paperwork to attend to. Please keep me updated on any developments.” I stand up, signalling the end of our conversation.
I wait for them to leave, watching them exit the building on the cameras, before pulling out my phone and calling Katie.
“Hey, bug!” I say with a smile as Katie answers the phone.
“Missing, Aiden, they’re missing!” She’s fretting.
“I know, bug, I know. The gardaí were just here.”
“What!”
“It’s fine; I gave them the footage they needed, and they went on their merry way. What are you wearing?”
“Aiden!” She screeches. “This isn’t funny.”
“It’s a little bit funny.”
“They could be dead.”
“Good,” Shrugging off my jacket and leaning against the wall, I look out at the lights that have Dublin City Centre aglow.
“Good riddance to bad rubbish. Maybe they went after another girl when they couldn’t get their grubby hands on you.
Maybe they chose the wrong girl and got their heads smashed in. I don’t care, do you?”
There is a pregnant pause before she sighs, “No.” I can hear her moving about the room, likely trying to compose herself. “When I saw them on the news, I panicked.”
“Why? You did nothing wrong.”
“I don’t know why; I just… felt this overwhelming sense of guilt. Like somehow it was my fault that they’re missing. I was waiting for the gardaí to show up and haul me away,” she confesses with a shaky voice.
“Aww, bug.” I pop open the top button on my shirt to let some air in. “I would never let that happen.”