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Authors: Brian McGilloway
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sat in the car and lit a cigarette, and could think
of nothing but my tiredness and the cold which seemed to have permeated my very
bones.
The
murder team met on Tuesday morning at 9.30 to report on progress in the Cashell
case, though we had all spent the night on the Gallows Lane incident. On the
way in, Costello called me to one side. "How's things?" he asked.
"At home, I mean."
"Fine,"
I said a little taken aback at his sudden avuncular manner. "Why?"
"We
got a call from Mark Anderson this morning."
"Oh."
"He
says your dog has been worrying his sheep and you don't care.
"The
only thing likely to worry his sheep is his pervert son. Does he not think we
have enough bothering us without him phoning in about a bloody dog?"
"Well,
that's what I said. In not so many words."
"You?"
"Oh,
aye. He went straight to the top. Why speak to the monkey when you could be
speaking to the organ grinder, eh?" He laughed without humour and went
into the office where we were meeting. I followed him, cursing Mark Anderson
and his sheep.
Before
we discussed the progress on Angela Cashell's murder, Costello gave us the
low-down on the death of Terry Boyle. The state pathologist was conducting the
post mortem as we spoke, and hoped to have a report with us later in the day. A
forensics team were working on the car to see what could be found, but the fact
that it had been set alight meant they would have difficulties finding
anything of much value.
"Why
burn it?" Holmes said. "I mean, you've shot the poor bastard. Why
burn the car then. It's like a 'fuck you', isn't it?"
"Maybe
there was something in the car?" Williams suggested.
"Maybe
there was someone in the car," I said. "Would explain what he was
doing parked up there in the middle of the night. Maybe the killer was in the
car with him and burnt the car to destroy any evidence."
Costello
brought us back to Cashell again. "We'll wait to see these reports.
Caroline, I'd like you and Jason to follow up the Boyle inquiry. Report back to
Inspector Devlin here, daily. Inspector," he said, referring to me by rank
rather than name, thereby making it all official, "I'd like you to
continue pushing the Cashell case until McKelvey's found. Let's see if we can
get one case tied up at least."
Holmes
and Williams nodded their agreement. Holmes looked exhausted, due in part to
his visiting many of the local bars and clubs to see if anyone recognized
Angela Cashell from a photograph he had got from Sadie. He had felt obliged to
partake of a number of complimentary Christmas drinks in each pub and had
arrived on site in the middle of the night a little the worse for wear. He told
us that Sadie had informed him that Johnny had been refused Christmas bail as a
flight risk and would be up before Strabane magistrates on Friday 27th.
As
well as speaking to local publicans, Holmes had visited the nightclub in
Strabane which Angela had reportedly attended on Thursday night with someone
fitting the description of Whitey McKelvey. The club owner didn't remember her,
but had provided a tape of his security camera footage for that night, which
Holmes placed on Costello's desk.
Williams
had contacted most of the local jewellers and secondhand shops, both in
Strabane and Lifford, but no one remembered having seen or been offered the
ring. She told us she was planning on trying Derry shops later that day. She
had asked two of the secretaries in the station to go through the stolen items
list which Burgess had printed out for her late on the previous afternoon. The
list ran to 112 pages for the past six months.
Costello
then provided us with the full report from the state pathologist, including
toxicological findings. And we discovered just how Angela Cashell had died.
At
some time, probably after seven o'clock on Friday night, Angela Cashell had
eaten a cheeseburger and chips and drunk Diet Coke. She smoked several joints
through the rest of the evening and drank vodka - again, probably, with
of nothing but my tiredness and the cold which seemed to have permeated my very
bones.
The
murder team met on Tuesday morning at 9.30 to report on progress in the Cashell
case, though we had all spent the night on the Gallows Lane incident. On the
way in, Costello called me to one side. "How's things?" he asked.
"At home, I mean."
"Fine,"
I said a little taken aback at his sudden avuncular manner. "Why?"
"We
got a call from Mark Anderson this morning."
"Oh."
"He
says your dog has been worrying his sheep and you don't care.
"The
only thing likely to worry his sheep is his pervert son. Does he not think we
have enough bothering us without him phoning in about a bloody dog?"
"Well,
that's what I said. In not so many words."
"You?"
"Oh,
aye. He went straight to the top. Why speak to the monkey when you could be
speaking to the organ grinder, eh?" He laughed without humour and went
into the office where we were meeting. I followed him, cursing Mark Anderson
and his sheep.
Before
we discussed the progress on Angela Cashell's murder, Costello gave us the
low-down on the death of Terry Boyle. The state pathologist was conducting the
post mortem as we spoke, and hoped to have a report with us later in the day. A
forensics team were working on the car to see what could be found, but the fact
that it had been set alight meant they would have difficulties finding
anything of much value.
"Why
burn it?" Holmes said. "I mean, you've shot the poor bastard. Why
burn the car then. It's like a 'fuck you', isn't it?"
"Maybe
there was something in the car?" Williams suggested.
"Maybe
there was someone in the car," I said. "Would explain what he was
doing parked up there in the middle of the night. Maybe the killer was in the
car with him and burnt the car to destroy any evidence."
Costello
brought us back to Cashell again. "We'll wait to see these reports.
Caroline, I'd like you and Jason to follow up the Boyle inquiry. Report back to
Inspector Devlin here, daily. Inspector," he said, referring to me by rank
rather than name, thereby making it all official, "I'd like you to
continue pushing the Cashell case until McKelvey's found. Let's see if we can
get one case tied up at least."
Holmes
and Williams nodded their agreement. Holmes looked exhausted, due in part to
his visiting many of the local bars and clubs to see if anyone recognized
Angela Cashell from a photograph he had got from Sadie. He had felt obliged to
partake of a number of complimentary Christmas drinks in each pub and had
arrived on site in the middle of the night a little the worse for wear. He told
us that Sadie had informed him that Johnny had been refused Christmas bail as a
flight risk and would be up before Strabane magistrates on Friday 27th.
As
well as speaking to local publicans, Holmes had visited the nightclub in
Strabane which Angela had reportedly attended on Thursday night with someone
fitting the description of Whitey McKelvey. The club owner didn't remember her,
but had provided a tape of his security camera footage for that night, which
Holmes placed on Costello's desk.
Williams
had contacted most of the local jewellers and secondhand shops, both in
Strabane and Lifford, but no one remembered having seen or been offered the
ring. She told us she was planning on trying Derry shops later that day. She
had asked two of the secretaries in the station to go through the stolen items
list which Burgess had printed out for her late on the previous afternoon. The
list ran to 112 pages for the past six months.
Costello
then provided us with the full report from the state pathologist, including
toxicological findings. And we discovered just how Angela Cashell had died.
At
some time, probably after seven o'clock on Friday night, Angela Cashell had
eaten a cheeseburger and chips and drunk Diet Coke. She smoked several joints
through the rest of the evening and drank vodka - again, probably, with
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