‘Of course! I hadn’t even considered that.’

‘The attempt in April, though,’ Ray said. ‘We couldn’t get a clear description of the car involved in the alleged abduction, but she’s the daughter of a guard. She’d have recognized a garda car.’

Tom nodded.

‘I agree, but she wasn’t actually abducted so we can’t let the details of that incident dictate how we approach the rest of the evidence. Let’s get Healy in and have a chat, that’s all I’m saying. Meanwhile, we continue to look into this Cormac Ryan fellow. Laura, I’m leaving you in charge of that. And did you get the list of people who work for the Hollands? Fergus said he’d send it through.’

‘Yep. Forty employees.’

‘Michael, give her a hand with that list. Brian and Bridget, when we’re interviewing Healy, you have a discreet look at his background. Find out the number of his assigned vehicle and check if it’s been spotted out of its district, that sort of thing.’

Tom noted that not one of his team had been horrified or incredulous at the prospect of one of their own being involved in the Glendalough killings. They’d all been involved in the Kilcross case eighteen months ago. After that, there was nothing that could surprise his detectives.

‘Do you think there could be more than one killer?’ Ray asked. ‘Could Healy have been keeping Mary Ellen at the taxi driver’s house in West Cork? Is he working with Carney now?’

Tom shrugged.

‘From what Linda has told us, serial killers tend to work alone for the most part, with notable exceptions. And when they do, they’re usually in a relationship. Fred and Rose West, for example. As Linda said – without a familial connection, one of the killers might have deviated from the rules at this stage.’

As his team left to pursue the various jobs, Tom mulled on his next move. He was bringing in Bart Healy and he knew Joe Kennedy was not going to like it.

The inspector made an executive decision. He wouldn’t even mention it to Kennedy until after they’d conducted the interview. They’d arrested somebody from Healy’s patch who was claiming he’d only speak to the sergeant. So, for all Kennedy knew, that’s why they were summoning Healy to headquarters.

He’d deal with the fallout in the aftermath.

‘Is he there? I’ll be back in five.’

The inspector ended the call with Ray and put his phone back in his pocket.

He had walked over to the Phoenix Park’s tearoom, in need of fresh air. The summer sun had returned, this time with more bearable temperatures – a world away from the intense heat of the last couple of weeks.

It was a perfectly peaceful day and yet, inside, Tom was in turmoil.