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Chapters (60)
  1. Cover
  2. INTRODUCINGKATIE MAGUIRE
  3. ALSO BY GRAHAM MASTERTON
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Epigraph
  7. Contents
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. 32
  40. 33
  41. 34
  42. 35
  43. 36
  44. 37
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. 50
  58. 51
  59. About the Author
  60. An Invitation from the Publisher

‘No, she was in a deep hypnotic trance, no doubt about it. I asked her to tell me two or three intimate details about herself, and when she came out of the trance she couldn’t remember telling me at all. In my opinion, Doireann did not push Roisin Carroll into the Lee. Whoever it was, it wasn’t her.’

‘It seems like we could be looking for a copycat killer,’ said Detective O’Donovan. ‘But a copycat killer who didn’t copy close enough. He didn’t realize that Doireann always picked a different stretch of the river to push her victims in.’

Katie sat back. She sipped at her cappuccino, and then she said, ‘What do you think, then? We have another local psychopath who’s bitterly jealous that the rest of the world is happy and they’re not? Or do we?’

‘It’s a strong possibility, sure,’ said Dr Power. ‘He or she must have read about it in the news or seen it on TV and thought – “This is how I can get my revenge on the world but somebody else can take the blame for it.”’

‘But if it really wasn’t Doireann, there must have been some differences in his or her appearance,’ said Katie. ‘We may be talking about the doonchiest detail. Maybe a curl of hair, peeking out from underneath the hoodie, or a ring on the pusher’s fingers. I think we need to go right back to square one and interview our witness again. This time, though, with much greater care. In fact, I have an idea. If you’re willing, Dr Power, perhaps you could come along with us and listen to us question him. And then, if it’s appropriate—’

Katie put down her cup and made a hypnotist’s gesture with both hands.

‘You mean put him under?’

‘Maybe he’ll be able to recall some detail that he couldn’t visualize the first time we talked to him. He was in a desperate state of shock, remember. He’d seen a woman drown and he’d jumped into the freezing cold river himself to rescue her baby. And he’s over eighty years old.’

‘All right,’ said Dr Power slowly. ‘I’m willing to give it a try. So long as you realize that I can’t guarantee the veracity of anything your man might tell us, and it won’t be admissible in court. And so long as I don’t get my name in the papers. I have a serious academic reputation to uphold, and I don’t think the Provost of Trinity College would be very approving if he found out that I’d been using a stage act to help the Cork Garda to track down a murderer. Or the Dean of Health Sciences, for that matter.’

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