First Death In Dublin City (Thomas Bishop Book 1) (4 page)

‘First day.’ Tommy said. ‘Right, I’ve to go to talk to someone in the ‘Joy after this, so once we’ve got that photo we’ll split.’

‘Sure thing.’

A hulk of grey stone sat heavy near Mountjoy Square. At the front gate a blue and white sign told any who approach that this was a jail, and that it was a crime to interfere with the fencing or to enter without permission.

Tommy’s ID got him waved through to the long driveway along which he cruised till he reached the front gate. It wasn’t visiting day, so the he had his pick of spaces in which to leave his Mondeo, from which he got out into the spitting rain. A prison guard was waiting for Tommy, and nodded to his ID.

‘Who do you want to meet Inspector?’ The guard asked.

‘John Ryan.’ Tommy said, and the guard nodded.

Tommy was brought along a corridor, past the welcoming area, and then it hit him – the noise. It was quite unlike anything else in the world: the noise of a couple of hundred or so hyperactives shouting at each other in steel cages. The only thing that could compare was the monkey enclosure at Dublin Zoo – where the apes howled at each other oblivious to the world outside. Come to think of it, the comparisons between the Joy and Dublin Zoo didn’t just end at the noise.

Tommy had to walk through a set of metal detectors, before which he handed over his Sig Sauer, and it was given back to him on the other side – NBCI Detectives were among the few people in the country allowed to bring weapons into a jail. Beyond the metal detectors were the visitor pens, twenty five or so stools before a glass pane through which a visitor could see and speak with someone on the other side. Tommy didn’t sit there, instead he was brought to one of eight ‘seminar rooms’. These were in the actual jail itself and were used sometimes for classes when the classrooms overflowed, but mostly they were to be used for meetings and seminars: NA, AA, and the like. Tommy was brought into one where, sitting chained to a chair, was John Ryan.

He’d gone greyer, a lot greyer, than when he had first been arrested on that night in November – he no longer wore his insurance salesman suit, nor did he seem particularly dignified at all, shaking and jittering and wincing in his chair. Mountjoy wouldn’t have gone easy on the man in his late middle ages, nor would waiting for the trial for the murder of his wife, which was due to start in a month. Tommy would be called as a witness.

‘So, John, you said you had some information for me, and me only?’ Tommy asked.

‘Ehm.. Yes, yes.’

‘Well what is it?’ Tommy asked.

‘I’m innocent Detective.’ He said, leaning forward in his chair to say it, as if it were the kind of golddust that would blow away in a heavy breeze.

Tommy’s eyes narrowed.

‘You left me fifteen voicemails and dragged me all the way out here to tell me you’re innocent? That’s what the jury is for.’ Tommy said.

‘There was no DNA!’ John shouted after him, as Tommy had already begun to get up and go.

‘Save it for the trial.’ Tommy said.

‘My wife, she doesn’t exist!’ John shouted.

‘Yes, because you killed her?’ Tommy said as he turned to go, though he was beginning to doubt the sanity of this man before him.

‘Detective, just look up her PPSN. Please, just do it. Look up my wife’s PPSN.’

Tommy frowned, realising that John was being completely serious. Noting that he’d have get onto the Central Mental Health Hospital in Dundrum, Tommy walked out of the room – John’s shouts mingling with the rest of the prisoners once he’d gotten a few steps away.

##

The following morning, after the kind of sleep which had failed miserably to knit up the ravelled sleep of care, Tommy had met Anne at Harcourt Station, and after an expresso each and sharing a cigarette, they headed off together to Amy Clancy’s secondary school. They were let in the front door without much ceremony, but were left to stand there awkwardly for several minutes before anything happened.

‘Officers.’ Said the woman who approached them, and shook their hands. ‘I’m Leanne King, the principal here.’

Tommy introduced himself to her, and Anne did the same.

‘It’s very worrying news, very worrying indeed I must say.’ Leanne said.

‘Did you know Amy?’ Tommy asked.

‘Yes, yes I did. A quiet child, never gave her teachers a moment’s hassle. I wonder what’s motivated her to up and leave like that. Of course none of the kids know she’s gone, we don’t want any copycats, but the staff are worried.’ Said Leanne.

‘Of course.’ Tommy said.

‘Now, what can I do for you?’ She asked.

‘What class was Amy in?’ Tommy asked.

‘Sixth, class 6B.’ Leanne said.

‘Well, Anne and I would like to conduct interviews with each of the pupils, to find which of her friends she’s staying with’ Said Tommy.

‘I don’t think Amy’s staying with a friend.’ Leanne said.

‘Statistics would show otherwise Mrs King.’ Anne said.

‘No, you don’t get me, Amy had no friends.’

‘It would be best if we conduct these interviews in this room down here, it’s right beside my office.’ Said she, leading them down the school’s hallway to a room with a glass door and inside four couches.

‘We use it when we’re meeting with a parent, or if a child is sick and needs to be away from everyone else.’ She continued.

‘It’s perfect.’ Anne said, and Tommy nodded his agreement.

‘Ok, so this will take a while, getting in touch with the parents and the like, will that be ok.’ She asked.

‘We’ve got time.’ Tommy said.

‘Fine. Do you just want them randomly sent to you?’ She asked.

‘Ciara, the girl whose party was to be held yesterday. Can she be got first?’ Asked Tommy.

‘Certainly.’ Said Leanne walking away and leaving the two detectives alone in the room.

Tommy sat down in a flowery armchair.

‘Is there any woman you don’t want to fuck?’ Anne said with a brief smile.

‘Huh? A shared cigarette and already you’re rabbiting on about my sex life.’ Tommy said.

‘Yeah, just keep staring at principle fuck me, very professional.’ Anne said.

‘Well, I can assure you that you’re top of the list.’ Tommy said.

‘Come again?’ Anne said.

‘Of women I don’t want to fuck?’ Tommy said.

‘Is joking about sex and hacking up phlegm all you do?’ Anne asked.

‘Hey, I have lung disease; and that’s some serious shit. Right, let’s see if we can start on filling out some of these consent forms before you drag the level of conversation even further towards the abyss.’ Tommy said.

It took about an hour before they actually settled down to an interview, speaking first with Ciara, the girl whose party Amy was meant to have attended. She was close to the same age as Amy, with long curled hair and heavy makeup on her face. 6th class, that weird space between childhood and puberty. Next to her sat her older brother; 19 years old and there to give her support. Upon being notified, Ciara’s father was so alarmed at the thought of a girl having gone missing on what he thought of as his watch that he had immediately given them permission to talk to Ciara, only to be told that an adult needed to be present. He then proposed his eldest son, a college student, would sit in with them.

They got introductions out of the way and then began the interview.

‘Were you and Amy friends?’ Asked Anne.

‘No.’ Said Ciara.

‘You weren’t?’ Said Anne.

‘No.’ Said Ciara.

‘Why was she invited to your party then?’ Asked Anne.

‘My dad made me.’ Said Ciara, looking at the two of them, sitting very politely.

‘He made you?’ Asked Anne.

‘Yeah, he said I should invite all the girls in the class and no one should be left out. I didn’t want Amy there, because if she went there were loads of girls in the class who didn’t want to go. I was so happy when I found out she was going to be late.’ Ciara said.

Tommy felt that it wouldn’t be the first time in this round of interviews that he would be reminded of
The Killing Grounds
.

‘She said she would be late?’ Asked Anne.

‘Yeah, she rang. All crying and stuff. Wanted me to delay the meal.’ Said Ciara.

‘Did you?’ Asked Anne.

Ciara scoffed. ‘No.’ And her brother, sitting beside her, began to look uncomfortable at how blasé she was about her being so cruel. He took a breath, and looked as if he was about to speak, but Tommy caught his eye and placed a finger to his lips, indicating that he was to be silent.

‘So what were her exact words? On the phone? What did she say?’ Asked Anne.

‘Something about a lift and the LUAS. I dunno really, wasn’t that bothered listening. She just asked whether I could wait an hour to order. I told her to stop being so awkward and that we would order when we’d planned to.’ Ciara said.

‘Ok, that’s perfect.’ Said Tommy, happy that they’d gotten everything they needed. Anne looked like she perhaps wanted to ask something more but she didn’t press it so Tommy assumed it was just routine.

Ciara and her brother filed out, and as they went, Tommy asked casually; ‘Was Amy involved with any boys?’

Ciara turned back. ‘She was always going on about this guy Alex, a first year in The High School. Apparently they texted all the time. We all thought it was made up though, because none of the guys in our class would talk to her because of Hugh.’

‘Hugh?’ Tommy asked.

‘Hugh Trimble. He’s not in school at the moment, he’s suspended.’ Said Ciara.

‘Oh? What for?’ Asked Tommy.

‘He poured ink cartridges into the fish tank on purpose, all the fish died.’ Said Ciara.

‘What a funny story.’ Said Tommy.

‘We thought so, but the teachers went crazy.’ Said Ciara with a smile.

‘But what does Hugh have to do with Amy?’ Asked Tommy.

‘He just really doesn’t like her.’ Said Ciara.

‘Tells everyone to leave her alone?’ Asked Tommy.

‘No, everyone just knows to.’ Said Ciara, and that was that. Tommy let her and her brother go. After they had left he turned to Anne.

‘I’ll continue with these interviews, I have work for you.’ Said Tommy.

‘Was I that bad?’ She replied, to which Tommy just ignored.

‘Get on the phone to Hugh’s family and try to organise an interview with him for later. Before that get a warrant for the list of pupils in The High School, and then find me Matty. I then want you to arrange an interview with him too.’ Said Tommy.

‘Sure.’ Said Anne and she left without complaint, though her grimace showed she certainly did not look happy about it.

Amy’s parents seemed woefully misinformed about their daughter’s school life, as pupil after pupil elaborated on a dour picture of a girl with no friends, where a good day was when everyone left her alone, and on a bad she was hourly reduced to tears by her classmates.

The interviews began to wear on Tommy, and he began to wish to return to a good, old fashioned, Dublin drug murder. At least then the scumbags lived in flats and beat their girlfriends and children; here the evil was hidden behind a veneer of middle class childhood innocence.

Interviewing the class took up Tommy’s time until half three, by which time all the school was empty. By the reception, sitting next to the children whose parents were delayed was Anne.

‘Hit me up. What happened?’ Tommy asked.

‘Got the warrant. No Alex in The High School.’ She said.

‘What?’ Asked Tommy, alarmed.

‘No Alex or Alexander in first, second or third year of The High School. Never was.’ Said Anne.

‘Well that’s odd. Just spoke to the cast of Lord of the Flies, and they said two things of note to our case – beyond the fact that each of them seemed to hate Amy Clancy enough to want her dead – there seems to be two obvious suspects, this Hugh who I really want to talk to; and her fella, Alex. So, now you’re telling me that Alex doesn’t exist?’ Tommy asked.

‘Well, not in the form which we’ve been looking for him – he’s not in the school he told Amy he was in.’ Anne said.

‘D’you think they’ve ever met?’ Tommy asked.

‘Sure would hope so, with how long they were talking… Shit, you’re not saying?’ She said.

‘Look, if “Alex” lied about his school, he could have just as easily lied about his age, name, fucking gender or even his existence.’ Tommy said.

‘Fuck.. So.’ Anne said.

‘So we still interview this Hugh Trimble fella; he seems like quite a character and to be honest, if half the stories I just heard about him are true then the fucker’s truly disturbed. Too, he had a thing for making Amy’s life tough so let’s check him out.’ Tommy said.

##

Tommy got out and Anne followed. The door was thickly glassed, but still Tommy could see the figure walking out when he pressed the doorbell. It opened and a woman looked them up and down.

‘Detective Inspector Tommy Bishop, are you Sarah Trimble?’ Asked Tommy.

‘Yeah?’ She said, and a young boy ran out and rugby tackled her legs. ‘Run inside Luke, Mammy needs to talk to the nice man.’ She said, and the child ran away.