The Game Changer (42 page)

‘I didn’t know you had a phone. Not until I saw you take it out last night. There’s only one place you can get a signal.’

‘Where?’

‘At the old church – it’s the nearest point to the mainland, and if you climb into the spire, you can get the signal there.’

Addy tried to keep his voice calm. ‘Donal, we’re going to go into the pipe chambers together to work out what the hell is going on. Then we’re going to find Chloë and anyone else who needs our help. Do you hear me?’

‘I hear you.’

BY TEN O’CLOCK, WHEN ADAM WAS DUE TO MEET LEE Fisher at the airport, Kate’s morning sickness had passed. She told Sophie to contact the doctor and cancel the call-out. She said she would be fine, and that she could manage on her own now that she felt better. She opened the fridge to find that Sophie had stocked it up. When Kate thought about the previous day, she realised she had barely eaten since breakfast, and most of that hadn’t stayed down. She needed to take better care of herself: she had another life to consider.

Her head still hurt, but she did as Adam told her and kept drinking, then showered and dressed. As she made her way into the study, Sophie was about to leave and she gave Kate a dubious look but, thankfully, she didn’t say anything. Kate wasn’t sure she had the energy to argue.

The questions from the previous day were still going around in her head, and once inside the study, she looked at the transcript of the latest note. Then her eyes fell to the copy of the witness statement on her desk. Remembering the similarities between Amanda Doyle’s letter and the previous notes, she picked up the statement, pondering on the elided word ‘it’s’. By itself, it was of no relevance, being a common shortcut, but the longer she looked at the wording, the more convinced she became. If she was right, her earlier suspicions would be well founded, even if the questions of ‘who’ and ‘why’ remained unanswered.

When her phone rang, and she saw a blocked number, she thought about ignoring it, but instead, she pressed the answer button, relieved to hear Aoife’s voice at the other end.

‘Aoife, are you okay? No one has heard from you or Addy in ages.’

‘Addy’s okay, but I’m …’

‘You’re what, Aoife? You don’t sound too good.’

‘I’ve been finding some things difficult.’

Kate thought about the girl’s previous problems, and her eating disorder. ‘Is everything all right?’

‘I don’t want to talk over the phone.’

‘Is Addy with you?’

‘No. I need to see you, Kate. I need to talk to you face to face.’

Kate could hear the desperation in Aoife’s voice, and she recognised the shakiness from their earlier sessions. ‘Tell me where you are and I’ll meet you. Are you at home?’

‘No. I can’t go there. Can I meet you somewhere else?’

‘Sure. Hold on. I’ll get a pen and you can give me the address.’

‘Can you be there in an hour?’

‘Yes.’ She had no idea if Adam had managed to get the full surveillance back in place, but the location wasn’t far, and Aoife sounded desperate.

She hung up and dialled him. ‘Kate, I’m at the airport. Fisher’s flight has been delayed. How are you feeling?’

‘Better, a lot better.’

‘Has the doctor arrived?’

‘No, and he won’t be coming. Sophie cancelled the call-out for me.’

‘Kate, something isn’t right. You’ve been so unwell. There has to be a reason for it.’

Telling him over the phone wasn’t going to work, so instead she said, ‘Aoife just called.’

‘Aoife? Did she mention Addy?’

‘She said he’s fine, but she wants to meet me.’

‘That surveillance will be back in place this afternoon.’

‘I’ve already agreed to see her in an hour. It’s not far.’

‘Kate, you shouldn’t even be out of bed.’

‘I’ll be careful, and I’ll see what I can find out about Addy too.
I can’t put my life on hold because someone is sending harassment notes.’

‘I don’t know, Kate.’

‘I’ll ring you when I get back. I’ll be fine.’

‘As soon as Fisher arrives, we’ll be going to see Malcolm Madden, but call me whenever. I’ll pick up.’

‘Adam, there’s something else I need to tell you.’

‘What?’

‘I might have made another connection. Do you remember the similarities between the notes and Amanda Doyle’s letter?’

‘What about them?’

‘The PIU statements have similar variances.’

‘The report from the script expert wasn’t conclusive.’

‘I know that, but it doesn’t mean I was wrong. Amanda Doyle’s letter was too short for a full analysis, but the statements are longer.’

‘I don’t know, Kate. You can’t think she made all that stuff up?’

‘I’m not sure what to think any more.’

‘I’ll put a call through to PIU and push them in whatever way I can. In the meantime, I’ll get the statements looked at by that expert. If we find something solid, PIU will have to give us a name, protection of identities or not.’

ADAM HADN’T HAD ANY PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS about what Lee Fisher would look like, but when he saw the tall, dark detective, wearing a scuffed leather jacket and jeans, his hair tied back in a bun, with a tight beard shielding his rugged face, he felt awkward in his shirt, trousers and smart jacket, holding a white sheet of paper with Lee’s name on it.

‘Do you want to drop off your bag?’ he asked, when Lee was closer.

‘No, Adam, I’m cool. I travel light. It makes getting away a whole lot easier.’

He guessed Lee was joking, but he hadn’t the full measure of the guy yet.

‘We have a scheduled visit with Malcolm Madden before the next brain-storming session. Are you up to it?’

‘Sounds good to me.’

In the car, Adam took Lee up to speed, including Kate’s theory about the missing-person reports, John Sinclair’s statement, and how the cult theory could be a runner. He also spoke about the possibility of the cult being tied into the 1980s studies, as a means of empowerment, if Madden or someone else narcissistically driven had sought a shift of power.

‘We’ll need to push him on the tenants of the two properties in Rathmines,’ Adam said, turning to make sure Lee was still listening, as the detective had remained silent for so long. Lee kept looking straight ahead of him. The last thing Adam mentioned was the PIU statements, their possible link to the notes and Amanda Doyle’s letter.

‘So,’ Lee said, having waited for Adam to finish, ‘if Madden is part of all this, is Kate saying he’s looking to be the one in control?’

‘Possibly.’

‘I like Kate’s theory, but the way I see it is that we have a whole load of information but motivation is still thin on the ground.’

‘Let’s hope Madden’s in a talkative mood.’

‘He’ll talk. We’ll make sure he does.’

When Malcolm Madden opened the door, Adam didn’t bother with any introductions. He had already given the information about Lee Fisher to the PA, so he wasn’t going to waste time on formalities.

Malcolm Madden looked composed, as if two detectives coming to his door was the most normal thing in the world. He led them down a long corridor to the back of the house, opening a door to a home office.

Lee let Adam take the lead. ‘You’ve been less than generous with your information about your property portfolio, Malcolm.’

‘I don’t agree, Detective Inspector O’Connor. I think I’ve been extremely transparent.’

‘One of the properties is Kate Pearson’s old home.’

‘So?’

‘Another of the properties is close to it.’

‘I’m not following your drift.’

‘Let me give you some guidance then.’ Adam sat forward in the chair. ‘I’ve done some recent house-to-house calls and I happened to meet the occupiers of both.’

‘I still don’t understand.’

‘It was interesting that the two people to spread accusations against Kate’s father, and others associated with that academic grouping, were people renting from Holmes & Co.’

‘I can’t be held responsible for what particular tenants say.’

‘Not unless you’re feeding them the information.’

‘I’m not feeding anyone information, as you call it.’

‘Do you know the tenants?’ Lee asked, crossing his long legs, and scratching his forehead.

‘I know one of them well, and the other was introduced to me recently, but I don’t think that’s any of your business.’

‘Detective Inspector O’Connor here and I don’t agree.’

‘Is this a formal interview?’

‘Would you prefer to go down to the station?’ Adam asked.

‘No. It’s fine here. How’s Kate doing?’

Adam didn’t like him bringing up Kate. It was as if he was trying to turn this into some kind of social conversation, but he also figured it might be a good way of reeling him in. ‘We hope we can depend on your co-operation in all this.’

‘I’m always willing to help.’

‘So tell us what you know about the tenants.’ Adam flipped open his notebook. ‘We already have the names, Malcolm, a Jessica Fraser and a Clarence Webb. What we don’t know is how, other than being tenants of Holmes & Co, they’re connected to you.’

For the first time since their arrival, the man’s polished and calm exterior seemed to slip, his face suddenly tired. ‘If Kate wasn’t part of all this, I wouldn’t be giving you the time of day. I hold my client relationships in high regard. Any information I receive as part of ongoing therapy must be protected.’

‘Are you saying one or both of these tenants is a client?’

‘Jessica came to me for help, and similarly, like Kate, our connection goes back a long way.’

Adam thought about Kate’s earlier theory, linking the PIU statements to the anonymous notes. Did Malcolm Madden’s relationship with this woman go back as far as the abuse allegations? Could there be a joint agenda going on here?

‘Jessica Fraser?’

‘She goes by that name now, yes, but it wasn’t always Fraser. She changed it by deed poll.’

‘Why? What was it?’

‘It was after her brother died. She wanted a fresh start.’

‘You still haven’t told me her original name.’

‘Baxter.’

‘As in Kevin Baxter, O’Neill’s foster son?’ Adam didn’t attempt to hide his surprise, glancing at Lee Fisher, who was sitting upright in his chair for the first time.

‘That’s correct.’

‘Jesus Christ! Why didn’t you think to tell us before?’

‘Partly because of client privilege, but also because the woman was fragile. It was all very delicate. I hadn’t a problem helping her. I mean …’ He paused, standing up, turning his back on both men.

‘You mean what?’ Lee pushed.

‘There were high emotions at play.’

‘What kind of high emotions?’ Adam asked.

He kept his back to the two detectives before saying, ‘Decades of guilt.’

THE TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR CHEMIST IN HAROLD’S Cross was on the way to her meeting with Aoife. She rang Charlie before she went inside. It felt good hearing his voice. If her suspicions were right, his life was going to be a whole lot different very soon, with a younger brother or sister in tow.

It was strange and exciting picking up the pregnancy-test kit. The girl behind the counter looked at her in that knowing way, which made her feel even more positive about the prospective news. That evening, if she was correct, she would tell Adam. Even if it wasn’t something either of them had planned, a new life was a miracle, and that’s precisely what she told herself as she went into the ladies’ toilet at the Trinity Hotel, unwilling to wait any longer to know for certain.

She watched the kit test area go from white to pink, confirming it was working correctly. In a few seconds, it would either show a plus sign for positive or a minus for negative. When the plus appeared, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. With everything else going on around her, somehow this young life had been created inside her.

Wrapping the kit in tissue, she put it away in her bag. She would show Adam later, a small but concrete proof of their life changing.

Walking out on to the street, despite the cold, she was glad she had left the car in the hotel car park. Aoife had wanted to meet outdoors, and both of them knew the secondary school well. It was a handy landmark even if it was down a couple of twists and turns. The walk would do her good, she told herself, and the sooner she got exercising, the better.

Crossing the road, she headed for the school gates, happier than she had been in days. No one was around. It was too early for the midday break. She visualised Charlie going to the school when he was older, and a smile came to her face as she thought about him having a younger brother or sister with him – a real family, two siblings, not the lone-child existence she lived.

When a car pulled out from a parked position, the sound of the engine roaring caused her to do a quick double-take.