Red Ribbons (41 page)

‘Well it’s as near to fucking hell identical to me. The plaiting, the ribbons, the crucifix, positioning of the body, it all adds up. You said yourself, our man likes to repeat.’

‘He abducts them first. Then he buries them.’

‘Maybe, but perhaps he didn’t have a shovel handy, Kate?’

‘I’m not saying to rule him out, but it is different. He does repeat, but we’re looking at the end result here, people do similar things for different reasons. With Caroline, her death wasn’t his intention. It was a frenzied attack that ended in a ritualistic burial. With Amelia, it was premeditated. He went prepared to kill her. But he still abducted both of them.’

‘I’m not disagreeing with you there.’

‘The burials are two-fold for him, O’Connor – one to protect him,
the other to protect his victims. If he planned to kill Amy Brady, he would have taken her, like the other girls. He’s a risk-taker, but he would have lured her into going with him. If he did break into the caravan and the girl either refused to go with him or didn’t react the way he wanted her to, the killing would have been brutal, frenzied, like Caroline’s. Ellie Brady didn’t mention any injuries to the girl’s body, no blood, no external signs other than the girl looking as if she was sleeping.’

‘Yeah but—’

‘And why wait?’

‘You said it yourself, Kate, it only takes a trigger. Something else coming into the mix to set the whole bloody thing off.’

‘I know I did. But once started, these things don’t stay dormant. Emotions can remain pent up for decades, but when they unravel, they can’t be put on hold.’

‘Let’s agree to disagree, shall we?’ O’Connor pulled up outside her apartment.

‘Look, keep me in the picture. Something isn’t adding up. I just haven’t worked it out yet.’ Kate closed the car door behind her.

‘Okay,’ O’Connor lowered the window on the passenger side.

‘Oh, and another thing, O’Connor.’ She leaned in. ‘If William Cronly did go to Tuscany as a boy, he didn’t travel alone. Find out when the mother, Alison Cronly, died. She’s part of all this. Nothing happens in isolation.’

‘Sure, Kate. Will do. I’ll keep you in the picture.’

‘Talk to you later.’

O’Connor turned the car with a squeal of tyres, speeding off down the road. Kate watched him leave, then turned to look up at the first-floor window. She hoped Sophie and Charlie were back from the park. Hearing Ellie Brady speak of her devastation had made Kate desperate to hug Charlie. Then in a little over an hour she would get to talk to Declan, and maybe, finally, they could set about rebuilding their life together.

HE STOOD BACK FROM THE WINDOW IN THE LIVING ROOM, watching Kate say her goodbyes to the driver of the car. He had waited until the babysitter had sent Charlie into the bathroom to wash his hands before grabbing her from behind.

‘Shush, now, don’t struggle. We don’t want to upset Charlie, do we?’

Sophie hadn’t listened. He had taught her a lesson, the stupid bitch.

He turned back from the window, happy in the knowledge that Kate was on her way. He looked at Charlie, now sitting on a kitchen chair, facing the doorway from the living room to the hall, ready to greet his mommy.

‘Mommy will be here in a second, Charlie. I told you she wouldn’t be long.’

He hadn’t wanted to tie the boy up or put the duct tape across his mouth, but Charlie had to learn a lesson too. Not everything in life is nice. The sooner he understood that, the better for everyone.

William put his fingers through the boy’s hair with his left hand and, kneeling down in front of him, held his Swiss Army knife in the other. ‘It’s time for you to be the superhero, Charlie.’ He wiped the tears from the boy’s cheek. ‘You are going to be a very good boy. We don’t want to upset Mommy, do we?’

He left the living room door open, ensuring Kate would see Charlie from the hallway the moment she arrived home. He smiled at the boy again, skipping into the hall and pressing the flat of his back tight against the wall to the left-hand side of the front door. He heard Kate walk up the communal hallway, then rummage in her bag for her
keys. He heard the key going in, turning in the lock. ‘Tick tock’ went the clock.

The front door half ajar, Kate saw Charlie, feet tied to the chair with a narrow rope, hands behind his back, duct tape across his mouth. She gasped and ran straight over to him, the door closing shut behind her.

‘Come in, Kate,’ he said. ‘Welcome home. Charlie and I have been waiting for you.’ He stepped closer, positioning himself between the mother and son, and the front door. This was all going swimmingly.

Kate wrapped her arms around Charlie and gave him a reassuring look before whispering quickly, ‘It will be okay, Charlie, I promise.’

William moved towards them. Kate saw the glint of the blade as she knelt by Charlie’s side.

‘That’s a good girl, Kate. We’ll all be going for a little drive in a minute – one big happy family. Isn’t that right, Charlie?’

‘Where’s Sophie?’ Kate asked.

‘Don’t worry about Sophie. She’s been taken care of. But my apologies, I’m being rude. I forgot to tell you my name, Kate. It’s William Cronly, by the way.’

She didn’t need an introduction. ‘Hello, William.’

‘Pick up those comics for Charlie, will you, Kate?’ He pointed to a pile of Batman comics on the coffee table to her right. ‘He’ll need something to read on the way down.’

Kate picked up the pile of comics, as William moved nearer to Charlie. He held the knife to Charlie’s throat and she could feel her heart constrict in her chest. Adrenaline pumped around her body, making her feel sick.

‘I’ll carry him to the car, shall I? It’s only around the corner. Now, remember what I told you, Charlie, about being close to sharp blades. They are very dangerous. Isn’t that right, Kate?’

O’CONNOR WASN’T LONG BACK AT THE INCIDENT Room when the second squad car reported from Meadow View. There was still no answer at the house.

‘Stay there. DI Byrne is on his way, as are Hanley and his crew. I’m expecting the search warrant to come through shortly. Keep me posted.’

He looked up as Donoghue walked into his office.

‘Our man works at Newell Design. Rang in sick over the weekend. They haven’t seen him since Friday afternoon.’

‘Anything on the travel details?’

‘The week Antonio Peri died, William Cronly took a Dutch airline flight from Dublin to Paris, and a connecting flight to Galileo Galilei airport at Pisa.’

‘What about—’

‘Before you even ask, yes, we checked car hire. He picked up a car at Pisa airport. He has an immaculate credit card rating by the way.’ Neither of them smiled.

‘And the mother?’

‘Are you ready for this?’ Donoghue raised both eyebrows.

‘Tell me.’

‘She died two days after the bishop jumped. She was terminally ill for some time – cancer, and accelerated dementia.’

‘So Kate was right – the trigger.’

‘The what?’

‘Nothing. It doesn’t matter. What’s the story with pulling that old case file?’

‘We should have clearance later today.’

‘Right, all we have to do now is find the bastard. Let me know when those search warrants are in.’

When Donoghue left, O’Connor picked up Ellie Brady’s copybook, reading again her description of the road at the back of the sand dunes. Standing up from his desk, he opened the door and shouted over at Donoghue.

‘We’ll need another tech team on hand for Wexford. There’s a pathway in the vicinity of Cronly Lodge that might need checking.’

‘Where?’

‘Not sure as yet, but I know someone who has a good idea. Just put it in place.’

‘The Dublin warrant is in.’

‘Good. Let’s see if all these dots join up.’

Before he left, he tried Kate’s mobile. It rang out.

KATE COULD SEE THE TOP OF CHARLIE’S SPIKY BLACK HAIR in the rear-view mirror, but she could also see William Cronly’s face. O’Connor had been right; Amy Brady’s killing was connected to the Dublin murders. She needed to work this out. She needed time.

‘Where are we going, William?’

‘Pull out nicely, Kate and head for the N11. We’re going on a little trip to Wexford. ’

She could hear Charlie whimpering in the back. Her heart was thumping, a passing car blared her out of it as she tried to pull out too fast.

‘Relax, Kate. Charlie is going to be just fine.’ He smiled.

She drew breath. If he touched or harmed Charlie, she would kill him with her bare hands. She knew that. But she also knew she had to remain calm, for Charlie’s sake as much as her own. She couldn’t lose it now. What did he want with them? Despite the knife, he was behaving as if they were just going on any old day trip, as if the most pressing concern to him was all of them being nice to each other.

‘Why don’t you drive, William? You know where we’re going. You must know the way better than I do.’

‘No, no. I’ll stay back here with Charlie. It’s very straightforward Kate, just take the same road you use to visit your lovely mother, Gabriel.’

‘My mother?’ She made her voice remain calm, while her hands gripped the steering wheel, her heart pounding. She clicked on the
indicator, ready to pull out from the kerb, this time checking more carefully for traffic, finding it hard to focus, willing herself to be calm.

‘It’s fine, Kate. Don’t fret. Gabriel is doing okay.’

He knew her mother’s name. She had no way of knowing if her mother was okay. But Charlie’s whimpering in the back was getting louder. He was crying and scared. If the two of them were going to get out of there, no matter how the hell she was going to do it, she needed to concentrate and stop panicking.

‘That’s the girl. You’re doing great. I knew you would be marvellous.’

‘Charlie, it’s okay. Mommy is just going to drive for a little while.’

‘Charlie understands, don’t you, Charlie?’ Kate watched as Charlie shook his head, frantic, the way he did when he was overtired or distressed. Shit, shit, shit, she thought.

‘Now, Charlie, you don’t want to make me cross. It’s not nice to disagree, a little boy like you, so lucky having such a loving mommy. Although we can’t forget Daddy, can we? Where is Daddy, Kate?’

She had to think.

‘He’s at work.’

‘He wasn’t at work last night. You don’t have to lie to me, Kate. I know he’s gone. I saw the suitcase.’

Kate caught his stare in the rear-view mirror. This was worse than she thought. How the hell did William Cronly know so much about her?

‘Don’t look like that, Kate. You’re better off without him. He was never going to be good enough for someone of your calibre.’

She needed to establish a rapport. Right now, all she could do was keep talking and keep using his name. ‘Why do you say that, William?’

‘Don’t be modest, Kate. Your drive, your dedication to your work, your intelligence, the way you applied yourself to finding out so much about me. I’ve seen you out running. I can recognise someone with discipline and determination. Every fibre of your body, every expression on your face tells me how hard you push yourself. It is a good thing
Declan has gone. It gives us time to work things out together. You do understand, I hope, that I couldn’t help what happened to Caroline or Amelia?’

Running, he’d seen her out running. His face had looked familiar, but she couldn’t place where she had seen him. Eighty per cent of women know their killer. He’d been with her mother. He knew Declan had left. He knew she was upset. He had watched her. In her head, she could hear her own voice talking to O’Connor: ‘He’ll latch on to someone, someone familiar to him, someone who got his attention, someone he admires.’

‘I understand, William.’

‘Good. That pleases me.’

Everything was shooting around in her head, what he knew about her, what she knew about him, and the full extent of her situation – and Charlie’s – became clearer by the second. She was the progression. She was the next choice, and the process was already well in motion. She knew that if she let him doubt her, he would kill them both. What could she use to manipulate him? His intelligence? He had mentioned her running – should she talk about physical dexterity, his planning, boost his ego? He took comfort in routine and repeat behaviour. He was looking for friendship, someone to be close to.

‘William, why don’t you tell me about Silvia?’

‘Ah, Silvia,’ the words sounded like something delicious had just landed on his tongue. She wanted to scream. ‘You know about Silvia? That surprises me.’ Sitting forward, the knife still in Charlie’s side, he touched her shoulder, resting his fingers lightly, like an insect, his hand lingering. She felt her skin crawl.

He smiled at her. ‘But then again, Kate, I’m forgetting how clever you are.’

THEY TRIED THE DOORBELL OF 15 MEADOW VIEW one last time, then put in the door. O’Connor and a couple of the detectives from Harcourt Square entered first and checked that the premises were safe, before stepping back to let Hanley and his crew take over.

The inside of the house was tidy and immaculately clean. It didn’t take long for one of Hanley’s crew to discover that the shoes and boots in the under-stair storage area were all size nine, with a slight wearing down on the left side. Not a lot on its own, but another piece of the jigsaw as far as O’Connor was concerned.

There were books stacked neatly on the bookshelves either side of the fireplace. On one of the top shelves they found newspaper cuttings of the recent murders, placed in the sleeve of a large hardback book by someone called Pascal.

O’Connor’s phone rang. It was Donoghue.

‘We have the Wexford warrant. The second tech team and the squad cars are only twenty minutes away.’

‘Good. We’re doing well here, have matching size nine footwear, and looks like William Cronly liked to collect newspaper clippings of our victims.’

‘Nothing conclusive?’

‘It’s still early days. He’s careful, but nobody’s perfect.’

‘You’d like to think so. I’ll let you know when the crew arrives in Wexford.’