said, no big deal.”
Money: the only thing that kills more people than love. “What does Patrick do?”
“He’s in recruitment—was. He worked for Nolan and Roberts—they find people for financial services. They let him go in February.”
“Any particular reason?”
Fiona’s shoulders were starting to tense up again. “It wasn’t anything he did. They let a few people go at the same time, not just him. Financial services companies aren’t exactly recruiting these days, you know? The recession . . . ”
“Did he have any problems at work? Any bad blood when he left?”
“
No!
You keep trying to make it sound like, like Pat and Jenny have all these
enemies
everywhere, they’re
fighting
all the time— They’re not like that.”
She was reared back away from me, the cup thrust out in two clenched hands like a shield. I said soothingly, “Now, that’s the kind of information I need. I don’t know Pat and Jenny; I’m just trying to get an idea of them.”
“They’re
lovely
. People like them. They love each other. They love the kids. OK? Does that give you enough of an
idea
?”
Actually that gave me shag-all idea about anything, but it was obviously the best I was going to get. “Absolutely,” I said. “I appreciate it. Does Patrick’s family still live in Monkstown?”
“His parents are dead—his dad was back when we were kids, his mum was a few years ago. He’s got a little brother, Ian, he’s in Chicago— Ring Ian. Ask him about Pat and Jenny. He’ll tell you the exact same thing.”
“I’m sure he will. Did Pat and Jenny keep any valuables in the house? Cash, jewelry, anything like that?”
Fiona’s shoulders came down again, a little, while she considered that. “Jenny’s engagement ring—Pat paid a couple of grand for that—and this emerald ring that our granny left to Emma. And Pat has a computer; it’s pretty new, he got it with his redundancy money, it might still be worth something . . . All that stuff, is it still there? Or did it get taken?”
“We’ll check. That’s it for valuables?”
“They don’t
have
anything valuable. They used to have this big SUV, but they had to give it back; they couldn’t make the repayments. And I guess there’s Jenny’s clothes—she used to spend a load on them, till Pat lost his job—but who’s going to do
this
for a bunch of secondhand clothes?”
There are people who would do it for a lot less, but I didn’t get the feeling that was what we were looking at. “When did you last see them?”
She had to think about that. “I met up with Jenny in Dublin, for coffee. This summer, maybe three or four months ago? I haven’t seen Pat in ages—April, I guess. God, I don’t know how it got to be that long—”
“What about the children?”
“April, the same as Pat. I was out here for Emma’s birthday—she was turning six.”
“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?”
“Like
what
?”
Head up, chin out, straight onto the defensive. I said, “Anything at all. A guest who seemed out of place, maybe. A conversation that sounded odd.”
“No. Nothing was
odd
. There were a bunch of kids from Emma’s class, and Jenny got a bouncy castle— Oh, God, Emma and Jack . . . Both of them, are you
sure
they’re both . . . ? Could one of them not be just hurt, just, just . . . ”
“Ms. Rafferty,” I said, in my best gentle-but-firm, “I’m pretty sure they’re not just hurt. We’ll let you know straightaway if anything changes, but right now I need you to stay with me. Every second counts, remember?”
Fiona pressed a hand over her mouth and swallowed hard. “Yeah.”
“Well done.” I held out another cigarette and clicked the lighter. “When did you last speak to Jenny?”
“Yesterday morning.” She didn’t have to think about that one. “I ring her every morning at half past eight, once I’m in work. We have our coffee and check in, just for a few minutes. Like a start to the
Money: the only thing that kills more people than love. “What does Patrick do?”
“He’s in recruitment—was. He worked for Nolan and Roberts—they find people for financial services. They let him go in February.”
“Any particular reason?”
Fiona’s shoulders were starting to tense up again. “It wasn’t anything he did. They let a few people go at the same time, not just him. Financial services companies aren’t exactly recruiting these days, you know? The recession . . . ”
“Did he have any problems at work? Any bad blood when he left?”
“
No!
You keep trying to make it sound like, like Pat and Jenny have all these
enemies
everywhere, they’re
fighting
all the time— They’re not like that.”
She was reared back away from me, the cup thrust out in two clenched hands like a shield. I said soothingly, “Now, that’s the kind of information I need. I don’t know Pat and Jenny; I’m just trying to get an idea of them.”
“They’re
lovely
. People like them. They love each other. They love the kids. OK? Does that give you enough of an
idea
?”
Actually that gave me shag-all idea about anything, but it was obviously the best I was going to get. “Absolutely,” I said. “I appreciate it. Does Patrick’s family still live in Monkstown?”
“His parents are dead—his dad was back when we were kids, his mum was a few years ago. He’s got a little brother, Ian, he’s in Chicago— Ring Ian. Ask him about Pat and Jenny. He’ll tell you the exact same thing.”
“I’m sure he will. Did Pat and Jenny keep any valuables in the house? Cash, jewelry, anything like that?”
Fiona’s shoulders came down again, a little, while she considered that. “Jenny’s engagement ring—Pat paid a couple of grand for that—and this emerald ring that our granny left to Emma. And Pat has a computer; it’s pretty new, he got it with his redundancy money, it might still be worth something . . . All that stuff, is it still there? Or did it get taken?”
“We’ll check. That’s it for valuables?”
“They don’t
have
anything valuable. They used to have this big SUV, but they had to give it back; they couldn’t make the repayments. And I guess there’s Jenny’s clothes—she used to spend a load on them, till Pat lost his job—but who’s going to do
this
for a bunch of secondhand clothes?”
There are people who would do it for a lot less, but I didn’t get the feeling that was what we were looking at. “When did you last see them?”
She had to think about that. “I met up with Jenny in Dublin, for coffee. This summer, maybe three or four months ago? I haven’t seen Pat in ages—April, I guess. God, I don’t know how it got to be that long—”
“What about the children?”
“April, the same as Pat. I was out here for Emma’s birthday—she was turning six.”
“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?”
“Like
what
?”
Head up, chin out, straight onto the defensive. I said, “Anything at all. A guest who seemed out of place, maybe. A conversation that sounded odd.”
“No. Nothing was
odd
. There were a bunch of kids from Emma’s class, and Jenny got a bouncy castle— Oh, God, Emma and Jack . . . Both of them, are you
sure
they’re both . . . ? Could one of them not be just hurt, just, just . . . ”
“Ms. Rafferty,” I said, in my best gentle-but-firm, “I’m pretty sure they’re not just hurt. We’ll let you know straightaway if anything changes, but right now I need you to stay with me. Every second counts, remember?”
Fiona pressed a hand over her mouth and swallowed hard. “Yeah.”
“Well done.” I held out another cigarette and clicked the lighter. “When did you last speak to Jenny?”
“Yesterday morning.” She didn’t have to think about that one. “I ring her every morning at half past eight, once I’m in work. We have our coffee and check in, just for a few minutes. Like a start to the
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