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Kate
sat up straight on her chair, her eyes widening, ‘I’m all ears, Sergeant.’

‘Sean, please.  And I’m afraid the news isn’t good.  George Meagher has the sec
ond best alibi in the world, just behind being dead; he’s in prison, Kate, and has been for the past year.’

‘Oh
shit. 
There goes my wonderful theory, then.’  She shut her eyes in disappointment before asking, ‘What’s he in prison for?’

Morrison hesitated before saying, ‘Rape.  And GBH.  And between you and me he’s lucky it’s not attempted murder.’

Kate opened her eyes and said excitedly, ‘So it looks as though I was right about him after all!’

‘Maybe
,’ admitted Morrison, ‘But that doesn’t help much with Jimmy Shiels’ death, or your burglary.  He could have hired Jimmy from prison, of course, over the phone or through an intermediary, but he certainly couldn’t have stabbed him.  And who the hell would kill Jimmy to protect
him
?  Not many people have friends
that
good.’

Kate’s mind flitted to Wilson but then just as quickly rejected him; he was loud and aggressive but
all talk.  She just couldn’t see him as a killer.  And certainly not to protect the reputation of a man already in prison.

‘No,’ she said despondently, ‘
I suppose they don’t.  So we’re back to square one.’

There was a heavy pause and then Morrison said, though without any great conviction, ‘If Madelyn Shiels was telling the truth about someone paying for the robbery, then we’re back to the contents of your briefcase.  Which, I might add, is starting to sound a little like Pandora’s box, containing all the ills of the world.  The other junk that was taken is hardly even a motive for burglary, much less
murder.  Er, no offence.  But if her story is true there must be something else in there that someone is afraid of.  So what is it?’

‘
Nothing
!’ Kate almost pleaded, ‘At least, nothing that I can find.  I told you, the only other thing in there is Grainne Riordan’s file, but I’ve been through it and I can’t find
anything.
I’ve started reading the transcripts of her therapy sessions with Trevor Jordan and Sarah McGrath but it’s mostly gibberish, or innocent childhood memories.’

‘If you want my opinion,’ said Morrison slowly, ‘it was all lies from the start.  Jimmy was probably intending to sell the case back to
you,
and his girlfriend just carried it on, spinning you a tall story in the hope that you’d fork over some money for her supposed getaway from this mysterious killer.  The one-armed man complex, they call it, after the baddie in
The
Fugitive
.  She is a junkie, you know, and there’s
nothing
a junkie won’t say or do for cash for their next fix.’

‘I know,’ said Kate doubtfully, ‘but she
gave
me back the case without asking for a single penny.  What if I hadn’t offered her any money?  She would have been rightly stuck.  And if it was all lies then who killed him?  And why?’

‘He was a thief,’ said Morrison patiently, ‘And a drug dealer. 
And an all-round scum bag.  Maybe it was someone he owed money to, or a junkie with no money who was desperate for a fix.  Maybe it was dissident IRA men; he wouldn’t be the first pusher they killed, though I admit that knifing someone isn’t their usual style.  The point is, with the likes of Jimmy Shiels there’s a long list of possible suspects, which is what’s making my job so hard on this case.’

‘Yes,’ said Kate stubbornly, ‘but I don’t think
Madelyn was lying.  Someone hired Shiels, which means there
is
something important in my briefcase.  And if it’s not in my book then it must be in Grainne’s file.  I just have to find out what it is.’

‘What about Riordan hims
elf?’ asked Morrison cautiously, ‘Could he have hired Shiels?’

After a thunderstruck pause Kate laughed derisively, ‘Does he really strike you as a murderer?
  A millionaire businessman and government
Minster
?’

‘Not really,
but if you leave out motive for a minute, the
opportunity
might be there.  For a start he must have known Jimmy from the past, from Grainne’s wild days.  Suppose
he
wanted your briefcase for reasons of his own?  How many other burglars could he hire, would he
know
?  Shiels would be an obvious choice for him to contact.’

And I was
safely out of the way with him while my flat was being burgled,
Kate thought but did not say.  Instead she argued, ‘Maybe, but why would he pay to have his daughter’s file stolen?’

‘
Well, maybe Riordan doesn’t want Grainne to get better, for fear of what she might say,’ said Morrison slowly, ‘Maybe he wanted the file to see what she was saying about him in therapy.  Is there any suspicion that Grainne was abused by him as a child?’

Kate went cold
all over and, revolted, said angrily, ‘That’s a monstrous accusation!  And the answer is no.  Not according to Grainne, anyway.  I asked her and she was surprised, even amused, by the idea.  And she showed no signs of distress in talking about him, no signs that
she
was hiding anything.  Actually, lately there were hints that if anything her
mother
may have mistreated her in some way.’

‘That’s not likely, is it?’ said Morrison in surprise.

‘It’s unusual, if you mean sexual abuse, but hardly unknown, unfortunately.  But many parents, even mothers, abuse their children in all sorts of non-sexual ways too.’

‘So the burglary could still have been paid for by Riordan, to find out what Grainne was saying and to protect his wife’s memory?’

Kate sighed, ‘A Minister of State hiring a junkie to commit a burglary?  And then
murdering
said junkie when he refused to hand over the case?  All to protect his dead wife’s reputation? 
Now
who’s going all Hollywood?’

Morrison gave a short, humorless laugh,
‘I see your point.  Could he be protecting another family member, perhaps?  One still alive?’

‘Perhaps,’ she said
dubiously, ‘but it isn’t very likely, is it?  Anyway, he’s an only child and his parents are dead.’

‘I know,’ said Morrison heavily, ‘I’m
the one clutching at straws now, aren’t I?  But you know what politicians are like when it comes to scandal.  The slightest thing can ruin them, and every one of them will fight like hell to look squeaky clean to the public, no matter what they’re up to in private.’

‘Is that some sort of dig at me?’ she asked coldly.

‘What?’ he asked, puzzled.  ‘Oh, sorry.  No, that wasn’t aimed at you.  I’d forgotten all about that stupid story in the paper, to be honest.  So you don’t think Riordan would go that far to protect his reputation?’

‘I don’t have a high opinion of politicians myself
, but surely not even a politician would go to the extent of
murdering
someone just to maintain their public image?  Besides, if his wife abused Grainne and drove her insane public sympathy would be
with
Michael, not against him. He’d be the victim of a domestic tragedy, not a monster.  Wouldn’t he?  What if she wasn’t abused, what if she just knows something she shouldn’t?’

Morrison sighed, ‘I still think
it’s all a load of crap.  And I don’t think that Grainne knows any dark secrets about anyone, either.  What could she know that anyone would kill to conceal?  State secrets that Riordan discussed at home?  Dodgy business deals that his associates will kill to keep secret?  Give me a break!  Life isn’t a Dan Brown novel.’

‘I know,’ said Kate
glumly, ‘it all sounds so silly.  Besides, anything Grainne revealed to her psychiatrist -or to me- is privileged information.  Nothing she said would ever get to court, and the papers wouldn’t dare print rumours based on the delusions of a mental patient suspected of murdering her own mother.’

Morrison laughed, ‘I can’t believe you’re still naive enough to think that!  You of all people should know
by now that these wankers will print
anything
if they think it’ll sell a few extra copies!  But I think it’s all a lot simpler than that.  Grainne was a spoilt little rich girl who got her own way too often.  Maybe she was neglected, maybe she was even slapped around by her mother, though I doubt it.  She just went off her head with drink and drugs and one night started a fire.  It might have been a cry for attention that went wrong, or a murder attempt on her mother for real or imagined wrongs.  It might even have been a suicide attempt that she chickened out of, or even an accident.  But I don’t think there’s anyone else involved, or anything more to
it.’

‘Unless none of it has anything to do with the fire,’ offered Kate, ‘Grainne was running with a wild crowd, taking drugs and sleeping around.  Maybe she was sleeping with the wrong person.  A politician friend of Michael whose career would be ruined if it came out he was indulging in drug and sex orgies with young girls.  Or maybe she saw a supposedly respectable person involved in a drug deal or something.’

‘Can you hear yourself?  Do you have any idea how ridiculous all this is getting?’ asked Morrison, though not unkindly, ‘And I thought
I
was clutching at straws!  This is all nonsense, Kate.’

‘I
know, I know!  But if it’s nothing to do with Meagher, who
has
it got to do with?  There has to be something we’re missing.’

‘Do you have a
copy of Grainne’s file?  If so I could take a look at it, see if a fresh perspective can spot something you’ve missed.’

‘It might help
,’ said Kate reluctantly, ‘But I can’t let you read it.  Patient-Doctor confidentiality, remember?’

‘Keep the transcripts
of her conversation, then, and just give me the rest of the file.  The factual stuff concerning her background and early life, and the testimony of her family.  Nothing confidential.  Most of it is public knowledge, anyway; I just don’t have time to collate it all myself.’

She thought about this for a moment.
‘Okay, I think that would be permissible, though I don’t think you’ll find anything.  When do you want it?’

‘As soon as possible.  Can I call out to your place this evening?’

‘Yeah...no!  I nearly forgot, I have my night class this evening so I won’t be home till late.  I have the file with me, though, if you want to call in here and collect a copy?’

‘What time do you finish your night class?’

‘About ten.’

‘Fine, I’ll call round then.  Where’s your office?’

‘There’s a sign at the bottom of my stair but you can just ask the porter at the Nassau Street entrance; he’ll give you directions.’

‘Okay then, see you later.’

He hung up and Kate returned to her now cold mug of coffee, lost in thought; Meagher being in prison ruined her pat little theory, and she had nothing to replace it with.  Nothing that sounded even faintly likely even to her, much less a hard-headed cop.  She forced her mind back to Michael; was it possible that he had abused Grainne as a child?  Having slept with the man she didn’t want to even
think
such a thing, but it would fit in with the girl’s behaviour patterns.  She opened Grainne’s file, which was on her desk, and began browsing through it yet again, removing anything non-confidential to make a separate file for Morrison.  As she worked she scanned the transcripts for any evidence against Riordan but found nothing new, nothing to suggest that Michael was anything but a reasonably good father, if slightly neglectful.  Particularly following his spectacularly successful entry into politics.  And spectacular was definitely the word; even in England she had been aware of his meteoric rise.  He had been appointed Junior Minister only a year after first being elected to the Dail, which had to be a record, and then been promoted to full Minster of State after the next general election.  Stranger still, his party had handed him a safe seat to begin with.  By any standards such a rise was
phenomenal,
and many people considered him a certain future Taoiseach.  Of course, most politicians were far from bright, and very far from competent, so a clever, capable man like Michael was bound to shine in their company, but even so this rapid rise was nothing short of incredible.

Kate pursed her lips; really she was just stalling.  The truth w
as that –reluctant or not- it was her duty to dig deeper into his background, to see if he had played a part in Grainne’s breakdown.  But where to start?  If anyone knew any dirt, and were willing to share it, it certainly wouldn’t be his immediate family.  His dead wife, Therese, had had a brother called Josh, and a sister called Eimear.  The brother had made little contribution to the file on Grainne, saying that he hardly knew the girl, but his sister had been more cooperative, providing most of the background on Grainne’s childhood.  On impulse Kate looked up her address and rang her home number, noting that she lived in Dalkey, not far from where Kate had been brought up.