top, her feet bare. She was a physically striking woman in her early thirties, tall and willowy, with long auburn hair and narrow, delicate features. Grier had told Tina that the name Derval meant ‘true desire’ in Celtic, and even in grief, it was a description that fitted her easily.
‘Thank you for seeing us at such short notice, Miss O’Neill,’ said Tina, after Grier had introduced her. ‘We’re both very sorry for your loss.’
Derval’s expression seemed to wobble. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, her face pale, and close up she looked thin rather than willowy. ‘He never got over Roisin’s death,’ she said quietly, fixing Tina with a look of surprising intensity. ‘It finished him. So now that bastard’s got himself another victim.’ She sighed. ‘Come inside. Would you like a drink of something?’
Tina fought down the urge to ask for a glass of decent red wine and requested water, as did Grier.
They followed Derval through a spacious hallway and into a tastefully furnished lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out on to the back garden. Tina and Grier sat down at opposite ends of a three-person sofa and waited while Derval went to get their drinks.
‘This was where we interviewed her dad,’ said Grier quietly, gazing slowly round the room. ‘He was sat on that sofa opposite, this huge guy with massive hands, and he was just sobbing quietly with his head down. He couldn’t even look us in the eye. All he wanted to know was whether Roisin had suffered or not.’ Grier sighed deeply, looking at Tina with a troubled expression on his face. ‘We had to tell him the truth. We couldn’t lie to him — he’d only have found out the truth from the media. So we had to tell him that his daughter had been raped and beaten to death with a blunt instrument. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. That’s why I don’t even want to begin to think that we arrested the wrong man for it.’
‘I know,’ she said. ‘Neither do I.’ But the problem was, she knew they had.
Derval returned with their drinks and took a seat opposite them. Tina saw that she had a full glass of white wine. She tried not to stare at it as Derval took a large gulp, before running a finger delicately over her lips.
‘I was just here sorting out Dad’s affairs before the funeral,’ she told them, as if her presence at the house needed explaining. ‘It’s set for next Thursday. It’s going to be at home in Cork. That was Dad’s request.’
Tina felt a twinge of regret. If any evidence of foul play did emerge then there was no way her father’s body would be released for burial. And if it wasn’t, her own actions would be prolonging the grief and pain this family was having to bear.
‘Are you managing OK?’ asked Grier, leaning forward in his seat. ‘Do you have any other relatives who can help?’
‘I’m doing fine,’ Derval answered, her expression wobbling once again. ‘But why have you both come here at this time of night? Has something happened with the man you’ve arrested for Roisin’s murder? The liaison officer said his name was Andrew Kent.’
‘That’s right. And yes, it has,’ answered Tina. She told Derval about Kent’s abduction. ‘There’s a major manhunt under way now, but so far we haven’t located him.’
Derval looked shocked. ‘Oh my God. How did that happen? Who took him?’
‘We don’t know yet.’
‘Well, whoever it is, I hope they kill him. He’s destroyed my whole family. He killed my father, just like he killed my sister. He deserves everything he gets.’ She stared at the two police officers defiantly, as if daring them to disagree.
Tina knew exactly how she felt. ‘Was your father here in this house when he died?’ she asked.
Derval nodded. ‘Yes. It must have been some time last night. The cleaner found him this morning when she came. He was in his study at the desk. She said he looked very peaceful.’
Tina managed a small, reassuring smile. ‘That’s one blessing at least. And the cleaner called the doctor, did she?’
‘Yes. He was certified dead at the scene. The doctor said it was a massive heart attack.’
‘Did he have any history of heart trouble?’ asked Grier.
The implication of his question was obvious, and Derval picked up on it straight away. ‘He had a triple heart bypass six years ago, but since then he’d given up smoking and started exercising and watching what he ate. He was looking the fittest I’d ever seen him in the months before Roisin was murdered. But what’s my dad’s death got to do with any of this?’
‘Nothing,’ answered Grier, glancing at Tina as if to say, ‘See? He had a history of heart trouble. It’s just a coincidence. What the hell are we here for?’
Tina suddenly felt very tired. It had been a long day and she was desperate to finish it by unwinding with a drink. Maybe she was simply seeing conspiracies where none existed. ‘Were you very close to Roisin?’ she asked, knowing she was going to have to tread carefully.
‘What does any of this, or my dad, have to do with what’s happened to Andrew Kent?’ Derval’s voice was suddenly laced with suspicion.
‘It’s just routine, Miss O’Neill,’ put in Grier. ‘It helps us to build up a picture in advance of the trial.’
Grier’s explanation sounded utterly lame, and Tina knew she was going to have to be honest with Derval. ‘There’ve been some developments in your sister’s case,’ she said firmly. ‘The evidence still points to Andrew Kent as being the killer but, strictly off the record, there are one or two areas of doubt, and we need to look at them again.’
‘You’re saying Kent may not have murdered my sister?’ Derval looked utterly shocked. ‘My God, I didn’t think things could get any worse.’
‘It’s almost certain he did,’ said Grier soothingly, which Tina knew was bullshit since Kent had a cast-iron alibi. ‘We just want to make sure, that’s all.’
Derval took another generous gulp of the wine and flicked back her long hair. ‘Yes, I was close to Roisin. I lived on the other side of London from her but we still got together now and again for drinks in the West End. Not as often as I’d have liked. . you know how busy everything gets in London. But yeah, we were friends.’
Tina had a theory. It was vague and full of holes, but it was all she had to go on. ‘I understand from the interviews with friends and family that Roisin was single when she died, but had she been in any serious relationships at any time in the immediate run-up to her death?’
‘The only serious boyfriend Roisin had since university was Max.’ The way Derval spoke his name suggested she hadn’t entirely approved of him. ‘She went out with him for a long time — three, four years, something like that.’
‘And when did it finish?’
‘About a year ago. He was seeing an Australian girl on the side and they ended up disappearing off to Oz. As far as I know, that’s where they still are. He didn’t even bother making contact after Roisin’s murder.’ She sighed. ‘I never liked him, but I can’t help thinking that if they were still together, she’d still be alive.’
Tina sighed. Her theory of the killer being a boyfriend with inside knowledge of the police investigation was looking pretty dead in the water. ‘Roisin was a very attractive woman. Was she seeing anyone else? Having any flings in those last few months?’
‘What are you trying to imply? That some irate ex-boyfriend killed her? Andrew Kent was the man who fitted the alarm in her apartment, the same as with the other victims. If he didn’t kill Roisin, then presumably he didn’t kill the other girls either. Is that what you’re trying to tell me? That Kent’s innocent? That there is no Night Creeper?’ She was slurring her words slightly, and Tina realized this wasn’t her first glass of wine of the evening.
‘I’m just trying to make sure we’ve got the right man, that’s all. Now I know how you must be suffering, Derval—’
‘No you don’t. You don’t have a fucking clue. Has anyone you know ever been murdered?’
‘Yes.’ The word came out louder than Tina had intended. ‘I know exactly what it feels like. I think about it every day.’
Derval looked stricken. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said quietly. ‘I didn’t mean to shout.’
‘It’s OK,’ said Tina, feeling a wave of compassion for the woman in front of her. She got to her feet, went over and sat beside her, putting her arms round Derval’s shoulders, hugging her to her chest.
As she held her, her eyes met Grier’s and he mouthed the words ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ before turning away, an expression of disgust on his face.
A few seconds passed, then Derval gently pulled away and wiped her eyes with a well-used tissue, while Tina returned to her seat.
