Chapter 109

109

The prison interview room was bleak, but somehow Charlie Lennon brightened it up when she walked in. She had not yet acquired the greyness of skin that often plagued prisoners. Her eyes shone manically, and Lottie prepared herself for the lies to follow.

‘You're in a world of trouble, Charlie.'

‘Oh, I don't think so, Inspector.' She sat while Lottie started the recording device.

‘You killed Aneta, Laura and John. You abducted and imprisoned Shannon. All that before I even get to what you did to Diana and her grandson.'

‘I think you'll find that Thomas is the culprit, not me.'

‘You like blaming others, don't you?'

‘What's that supposed to mean?'

‘You said your stepfather abused you, but from my enquiries, though he is long dead, Michael McCabe was a good man. He ran the Cuan centre with care and attention and?—'

‘Ever hear the saying "what goes on behind closed doors", Inspector?'

‘Yes, and that's what you are, a closed door. But I will open you up and get a confession out of you.'

‘Have fun trying.' Charlie laughed and swung her hair over her shoulder. ‘I hear you have a lovely family. And a grandson. If I was you, I'd be more concerned with them than with me.'

An ice-cold shiver travelled the length of Lottie's spine. She shook it off. She could not allow herself to be spooked. She had to play to Charlie's narcissism.

‘I must admit, I admire how you were able to command such adoration and compliance from Thomas. He would do anything for you.'

‘He's still a ten-year-old at heart. Easy to mould.'

Charlie didn't seem to realise her admission. Lottie felt she had her snared.

‘You were so young to have to care for him. It must have been difficult for you.'

‘Not at all. I had his inheritance after his father died.'

‘Why did you return to Ireland five years ago?'

‘Magenta. Maggie to you. I wanted her to grow up in my home country.'

Lottie wasn't buying that. Charlie had come back to wreak havoc on those she believed had wronged her. ‘She is your daughter and Thomas's?'

‘She has nothing of him. I made sure of that.'

‘She's a child, and you were moulding her to do your work like you did with Thomas, is that right?'

‘She was turning out just fine until that Shannon bitch wormed her way into her brain. Making her question things.'

Lottie noticed Charlie was so self-consumed she didn't even ask where her young daughter was now.

‘It was clever how you used the escort agency to lure the girls.' Come on, Lottie thought, tell me how you did it.

Charlie glowed. ‘I'm a genius. That Cathy one hadn't a clue what I was at. All she wanted was money. Shallow individual. Once I had control of the site, it was easy to set the girls up with flakes and fakes. I knew where they were and all I had to do was set Thomas on them.'

‘He says it was you who took Aneta last Valentine's night. Why?' She had spoken with the broken murderer. His injuries were healing, but she knew he never would.

‘I couldn't afford for him to fuck it up. I disguised myself, but I should have burned her in the fire all those years ago and then she wouldn't have come back raking over the ashes.'

‘How did she learn about you?'

‘She found out about Collins after her adoptive mother died. And next thing I know she's working at Cuan, the one place on earth I hated with a vengeance. Collins should have kept his trap shut.'

‘Gordon didn't tell her about you. It was Irene.'

‘I should have known!' A cold glint crept into her eyes. ‘She worked for my stepfather back in the day. I didn't realise she was involved so deeply.'

‘Didn't you know that Diana and Gordon asked for her help to get Aneta out of the country thirty years ago?' Lottie hoped that by goading Charlie she might crack.

‘Such a manipulative clique.'

She almost laughed at the irony. Charlie was so caught up in recounting her own genius, was she even aware of all she was revealing? Probably, and she didn't care. That scared Lottie.

‘When did you realise Aneta was in Ireland?'

‘When I saw her at Cuan that day. I knew who she was instantly, and she knew me. It was like staring in a mirror. I couldn't let her be free. I enjoyed beating her down, but she became a burden. She had to be replaced. It was ingenious on my part to take Laura from Diana. But that idiot Thomas lost the run of himself and killed her.'

‘What did John Morgan ever do to you?'

‘He started asking the wrong questions. Gordon couldn't keep his mouth shut, asking him about Aneta when John was in Cuan. When Laura died, one thing led to another and John accused me of being involved. He went down like a ton of bricks.'

‘And you had the perfect alibi. Us finding the body while you were present.'

‘Worked like a dream. For a while.'

Lottie could see Charlie was itching to ask how they'd eventually found her, but she wasn't going to reveal it. The little boy, Rex, who'd once lived in the rectory, had to be kept safe, and she had no idea where Charlie would end up. Hopefully she'd be in prison for a long, long time. But who knew what manipulation and coercion the woman could wield from behind bars. And that terrified Lottie more than the dark demon eyes staring across the table at her.