“I knew this’d happen,” he said. “That’s why I told her. And it’s ten times worse at night.”
Minogue handed him his glasses.
“Tell me again what you heard.”
“What? The language? God-”
“No. Traffic. Splashes. Talking. Music. Anything.” Byrne sighed and shook his head.
“Traffic… Let me see. There does be a kind of a lull about the ten o’clock mark, you know, with the pubs. Then all hell breaks loose after closing time, of course. The usual. Cars flying up and down here a hundred mile an hour.”
“You didn’t hear anything going into the water.”
“No. Not a thing.”
“People shouting, singing even? People coming out of pubs?”
“Coming out of the pubs, is it? You must be joking. Just this one with the woman. This woman cursing. Sounded young. ‘Effin’ b.’ ‘Liar.’ And the rest of it.”
Minogue looked down at his notebook.
“ ‘What the F would you know?’ ”
“Yep. That’s it.”
“ ‘Stupid’? ”
“Right.”
“No ‘Leave me alone’ or ‘push off’? Any rebuff like that?”
“Is that a rebuff? No.”
Minogue looked across the street at his Citroen. With its suspension fully down, his fire-engine red automotive folly looked as if it had collapsed squat on the roadway like a spent voluptuary. Technical site team, he remembered. He stared at Byrne when he spoke now.
“You’d best go home now, Mr. Byrne, and await our call shortly.”
“What call?”
“I’m going to call for a Guard to take your statement proper. He’ll take it in full and he’ll type it up. Then you’ll sign it.”
“Wait a minute there. I done me bit.”
“He or she will bring you to a Garda Station, Harcourt Terrace most likely-”
“Me? A Garda station?”
“And you’ll tell the Guard every detail of what you told me. You’ll also suggest any changes that are needed to make it more accurate and detailed.”
He let his eyes rest on Byrne’s for several moments longer.
“I’ll take you back to your place now.”
Minogue crossed the street without waiting for Byrne.
Kilmartin was working his way through a sandwich. John Murtagh was on the phone.
“Hopping,” the Chief Inspector chortled again. “Oh, Jesus, I love it! Hopping-ha ha ha ha! Seventy-what is he?”
“Seventy-six. No word from Hickey?”
“Wouldn’t I tell you if there was? Aren’t me and John Murtagh all revved-up here by the shagging phone waiting to jump? There are three cars sitting out there too. Four motorcycle lads from Traffic on stand-by. Tell me about this Byrne fella hopping again, though-here, is he one of those fellas robs knickers off the clothes-lines?”
“Ask him yourself.”
Minogue took a half of a sandwich, sat down and examined it.
“So we have a half-blind pensioner walking his dog,” said Kilmartin.
“A half-blind pensioner with high moral standards walking his dog,” said Minogue.
“Huh. What’s going to stay standing in this fella’s statement then?”
“Mr. Byrne believes he saw something white. A swan, perhaps.”
“‘A swan,’ ” said Kilmartin. “Jases, he has you codded! Why not a Martian spacecraft with the clooracaun at the wheel, and-”
The Chief Inspector let down the remains of his sandwich, nodded at Minogue and picked up the receiver.
“Technical Bureau, C.I. Kilmartin.”
Minogue watched the Chief Inspector’s expression slide into a scowl.
“I’ll get him for you,” he drawled. He hit the hold button hard and held the receiver out toward Minogue.
“Voh’ Lay-bah. He wants a word with you.”
Minogue gave the Chief Inspector a glare. He took the extension by the window.
“Tommy,” he said. “Howiya.”
“I’m all right. Just to let you know I’m coming in. Give me half an hour, all right?”
“You, em, sorted out the issue at home, I take it.”
“Not what you’d call sorted out. Terry got out in the morning but he never showed up at the house until late. Arrived in steaming drunk. We had a row.”
Minogue looked about the squadroom for something to say.
“Do you want to book off a bit of sick leave, Tommy? It sounds like you need to set things straight a bit. Are you all right where you are, what you’re doing?”
“I’m trying to decide what to do. Terry’s sleeping it off still. Yeah. The Ma’s in bits. She’s no match for him, like.”
“Is it any use getting him in treatment or anything? He’s on probation, isn’t he?”
Malone didn’t reply for several moments.
“I’ve half a mind to get him for breach, yeah. I don’t know. I don’t want to do it. I’ve an idea he kept a habit going in the nick. If I send him back, he might go under even worse.”
“Is that what…?”
“Pretty sure. He was really throwing shapes. Anyway. There’s something I have to tell you. This might throw a spanner in the works. But I have to. It affects the case, like.”
Minogue watched Kilmartin tearing the crust off the last of his sandwich.
“Terry gets out, right?” said Malone. “So guess where he goes first? They were waiting for him outside, the car, the reception committee. Welcome back and all…”
“The Egans?”
“Right. They gave him some freebies and set him off. He came in the door looking for me. ‘Bobby says hello.’ Thinks it’s funny. They’d set him up to get at me. And he thought it was funny. That’s when I clattered him.”
“You…?”
“Right in the snot. Nearly broke me bleeding hand. He wasn’t that out of it that he didn’t get up off the floor and go after me though. He connected a few times. The neighbours came in. Joey Cuniffe next door. He’s a brickie. He had to sit on Terry. Jases.”
“The Egans,” said Minogue. “Bobby Egan.”
“That’s them. The fuc-the Egans. Their idea of a joke or something. Terry said they knew about Lenehan, Lolly Lenehan, getting picked up. And they knew it was me involved in that too. Says Terry, ‘They’re going to look after me. They’re going to give me a job.’ Christ. They’ll probably try to get him in on some muscle job or take up some of the slack from bloody Lenehan. It’s sick, man.”
“Setting him up, just to get back at you, you’re saying.”
“Yeah. I’ll fucking kill them, so I will.”
Kilmartin was eyeing him now. Minogue focussed on stains on the window.
“Nice, Tommy,” he murmured. “That’ll come out very clear on the replay.”
“Sorry. I’m seriously pissed off. Hey. Did you mean that about the tape?”
“Just keep those comments to yourself.”
“Okay. But I’ve bollicksed my first case, haven’t I? I have to get off it now, won’t I?”
“Let me think about that. What are you going to do?”
“Dunno. I don’t want Terry back inside. He’d do something really stupid. But I don’t want him falling into the
