All the Lost Girls

by Bilinda P Sheehan

  "Sir," I said, bracing myself for his wrath.

  "What did I tell you?" His voice was white-hot with fury.

  "Not to go in," I said.

  "And you went in anyway."

  I nodded. "We heard screams, sir. I couldn't wait and risk anymore lives lost."

  "You took a hell of a risk."

  "I know."

  "How many dead?"

  "One," I said. "Dick Coughlan, also known as Keith Richard Reardon. It seems his wife took a hammer to his skull."

  Brady's lips thinned. "And the other two?"

  "Alice McCarthy is on her way to the hospital. She's badly shook up but her injuries don't appear to be life threatening. Sarah Coughlan suffered one stab wound to the abdomen. Paramedics have her stabilised and the hospital is prepping for surgery."

  "Who stabbed her?"

  "Best I can tell is that Alice McCarthy managed to get herself free and stabbed Ms Coughlan with a rib bone."

  Brady's eyes widened and for the first time since I'd met him I watched him struggle for words.

  "Whose rib bone?"

  "That's up to forensics," I said. "But Alice McCarthy when she came around was babbling about her sister's bones so..."

  "Jesus Christ," Brady swore violently and turned away. "When the press get a hold of this, they're going to have a field day."

  I kept quiet, not wanting to draw his ire.

  Finally, he turned back to me. "Under the circumstances, you did the best you could. I'd have done the same thing. Your dogged determination paid off. This time at least." For Brady to admit that, I really had done a good job. He wasn't the kind to hand out compliments, no matter how earned they might be.

  "However." I felt my stomach drop as his tone changed. "Your blatant disregard for protocol and ignoring direct orders, not to mention not keeping your superior officer in the loop regarding the case..." He sighed. "I can't just ignore these things."

  I nodded and bit down on the inside of my cheek to keep my emotions in check. No way was I going to tear up in front of him.

  "When you've tidied this mess up and return to Dublin, there will be disciplinary action."

  "You're putting me back in charge?" I couldn't keep the surprise from my voice.

  "Don't screw this up. Any more mistakes and I'll be looking for your badge."

  I shook my head. "Don't worry, Sir, I promise. No more mistakes."

  "And for god's sake," he said, "learn to play nice with the local Gardaí. They can help you, you know."

  I nodded and kept my mouth shut, watching as he turned to stalk away.

  Rosie caught my eye as she ducked beneath the tape. She was already dressed in her white forensic jump suit and the blue and red lights bounced off her body.

  "We're going to move the body in the basement," she said, sounding far too happy for someone who was about to get her hands on a dead body. "Dorian's found another room off the main space, he thinks it's the original burial spot for the other bodies. He's reasonably sure we'll pull a few other bodies up out of the ground before we're done in there."

  "At least it'll bring some closure to the families."

  She nodded, chewing her lip as she glanced up at the house. "I've put the female skeletal remains together as best I can. There's a rib bone missing."

  "It's still embedded in one of the perpetrators on her way to the hospital."

  "How did that happen?" Rosie asked, sounding genuinely intrigued.

  "The McCarthy girl stabbed her with it when she was fighting her off."

  "Well good for her," Rosie said. "Metal as hell. But I guess that's survival for you."

  I nodded.

  "There are some smaller bones mixed in with the female remains."

  Despite knowing Clara's baby couldn't possibly have survived, my heart still sank.

  "A baby?"

  Rosie nodded. "Looks that way, yeah."

  I caught sight of Ronan walking away from the house. "I've got to go," I said and Rosie let me go with a quick wave.

  "Are you going with Sarah Coughlan?" I asked, falling into step next to him.

  "Yeah, if only to make sure she comes through the surgery. I can't believe that bastard in there got away with it all."

  "He had his head caved in with a hammer," I said. "I'm not sure I would consider that getting away with anything."

  Ronan's smile was a grim one. "I suppose not. Did you get your ass handed to you?"

  "Surprisingly not as much as I thought I would."

  His smile warmed up. "Good. I'd hate to tank my career by punching out your boss."

  I couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled up inside me. Ronan inclined his head to someone behind me. "He's eager to chat with you."

  Turning, I caught sight of Paul crossing the grass toward me. As he reached my side he hesitated.

  "I'll leave you to it," Ronan said grudgingly.

  "Are you all right?" Paul asked, his eyes travelling over me.

  "I'm fine."

  "When they said you'd been forced to breach..." he let his breath out in a whoosh.

  "You told Brady I'd defied a direct order?"

  He nodded. "If I'd known, I wouldn't—"

  "You were doing your job," I said with a sigh, letting go the resentment I'd felt lance through me.

  "I was an asshole," he said. "I shouldn't have volunteered to come down here. I should have known the position it would put you in."

  It was my turn to nod. "Yeah, you should have."

  "Brady told me the good news," he said with a small smile.

  "When are you supposed to go back up?"

  He shrugged. "The weekend is mine, so long as I'm back by Monday he'll be happy."

  I smiled. "See, I told you I'd see you at the weekend."

  "Detective Geraghty!"

  "I've got to go."

  Paul nodded, his fingers brushing mine gently. "I'll see you later."

  "I look forward to it." I stalked away, leaving him to stare after me, the feel of his eyes on me sending darts of heat rushing up my spine.

  64

  As I listened to the sound of the priest's voice drone over the graveside prayer, I kept my gaze trained on the coffin.

  I'd waited so long to get Clara back and now that she’d been found, I found myself at a loss as to what I should be feeling.

  There was an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  As the priest finished up, the first notes of Key to My Life by Boyzone began to play and the white coffin holding Clara and her baby's remains began to lower into the ground.

  Hot tears burned the back of my throat and blurred my vision as I watched the ground swallow her up. It was over...

  Or at least as over as something like this could ever be.

  People moved toward us, a sea of faces and hands that needed shaking. Their words melded together into one continuous drone of sympathy and sorrow.

  "I'm so sorry for your loss..."

  A strong hand grasped mine and I jerked back, feeling Declan's hand against my back as he steadied me. Him coming to see me in the hospital had been the only thing to get me through the ordeal that had followed. It had been easy to fall into a comfortable relationship with him, his constant presence lending me the strength I needed to face the stares and whispers.

  The headlines had certainly been gruesome enough.

  "Are you all right?" He whispered against my ear.

  Nodding, I swallowed around the lump in my throat and plastered a smile on my face. My mother caught my eye and gave me a tentative smile. Things would never be the same between us but we were both trying and that alone was progress.

  "How are you?" Detective Geraghty's voice snapped me out of my reverie and I found her standing in front of me.

  The other mourners knew her and gave us a wide berth, making me all the more grateful for her sudden appearance.

  "Honestly," I said, "I don't know."

  "I get that. This isn't the kind of thing you just put behind you."
>
  I shook my head and dropped my gaze to my hands. The same hands that had used my own sister's rib bone to stab Sarah with.

  "Has she said anything?" I couldn't bring myself to use her name aloud.

  "We've got a full confession from her," Siobhan said. "The moment she came round after the surgery we couldn't get her to stop talking. They haven't decided whether she's fit to stand trial though."

  The knot of tension that had gathered in the pit of my stomach suddenly doubled in size.

  "You don't mean she'll get out!"

  Siobhan shook her head. "There's no fear of that happening. She's going away for this. Life really will mean life in this case. It's really just deciding whether she belongs in a secure psychiatric facility or if prison is the answer."

  "Oh..." I knotted my fingers into the black sleeve of my jacket. "Well at least there'll be justice for Clara and the baby..."

  Siobhan smiled sympathetically. "And you."

  When I didn't answer her, she touched her fingers to my arm, drawing my eyes back up to her face.

  "You did the right thing, Alice. Clara would have been proud."

  Swallowing past the sudden dryness of my throat I gave her a tentative smile in return.

  "I'll let you get back to your family." She gave my arm one last squeeze before disappearing into the crowd.

  It didn't take long for the cemetery to empty of people. Once the coffin was in the ground, everyone else only seemed interested in heading to the pub.

  "You go on ahead," I said. "I just want a few minutes here."

  Declan's expression spoke of his reluctance but he let me go and I watched as he moved quickly through the headstones.

  Picking up the two white roses I'd brought with me, I paused at the edge of the grave and stared down into the hole. They'd tried to cover it up with a little greenery and while it was a nice touch, it didn't change the truth. Clara and her baby were both in the cold ground.

  "I'm sorry, I couldn't save you."

  It felt wrong to stand at the edge of her grave. She should have been here. They both should have been.

  It wasn't fair.

  Raising my face, I studied the other new graves in the cemetery. Some many lives stolen. And those were just the ones who belonged here. There were others in the ground in other graves in other towns. Taken before their time.

  But there was a terrible relief in knowing where Clara was. At least she'd come home.

  There were others who never would.

  In a way we were the lucky ones.

  Tossing the roses into the grave, I watched as the earth swallowed them.

  "I love you."

  I blinked back the tears and lifted my face as the first of the fat raindrops began to fall from the sky.

  Catching sight of Declan, I felt my heart lift.

  Whether I liked it or not, life would go on. And Siobhan was right; we would have justice for Clara and all the other lost girls.

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  Other books by the author

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  Bilinda P. Sheehan also writes Urban Fantasy under the name Bilinda Sheehan

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  Book 5 - Coming Soon