The Rule Book by Rob Kitchin Page B

anything.’
    ‘He thinks he’s being clever,’ McEvoy continued, ‘but the perfect serial killer is the one who kills and no one even knows it’s happening. People just disappear and are never found. He’s leaving us notes and he’s leaving us the bodies, which means he’s leaving us evidence. We just need to make sense of it.’
     
     
    McEvoy stood outside an old manor house and sucked deeply on his plastic cigarette. A sign stating ‘Personnel Office’ was pinned over a doorway. He watched Martin Cleary walk off towards the front gates and pulled his mobile from his pocket.
    ‘Barney, it’s Colm. Can you go through the centre’s records and see if a David Hennessey has ever been through the place. Also check with Janine Smyth.’
    ‘Who’s David Hennessey?’
    ‘The second victim. He worked here in the university in the politics department. Martin Cleary has just identified him. I want to know if there are any links between the victims.’
    ‘You think there is a link?’ Plunkett asked sceptically.
    ‘I’ve no idea, but if there is then that’s an opening. Look, I’d better be going. I need to catch up with the team here.’
    ‘Is it going okay? Deegan behaving himself?’
    ‘I’ll talk to you later, Barney.’ McEvoy disconnected the call and opened the door. Through an opening to the right he found a door marked reception. He knocked and entered. A woman in her forties was sitting behind her desk. A man wearing a garda uniform was standing behind her, looking over her shoulder. The two other desks in the office were empty.
    The woman spoke. ‘Can I help you?’
    ‘I was looking for an officer,’ McEvoy stated. ‘DI Charlie Deegan?’
    ‘And you are?’ the guard asked.
    ‘Detective Superintendent McEvoy. I’m the investigating officer for the murder up beyond.’ He gestured to his right. ‘I wanted to know what he found out about David Hennessey.’
    ‘He left a couple of minutes ago, Sir,’ the guard said, standing up straighter. ‘He went off with the head of personnel – Carl Fahy – to Dr Hennessey’s office. DI Deegan wanted me to stay here with Margaret while she searched through some files.’
    McEvoy nodded. ‘I think I’ll catch them up. Can you tell me where Dr Hennessey’s office is?’
     
     
     
    McEvoy strode from the manor house and took a diagonal path leading towards the seminary buildings and the church. A couple of hours in and he was already feeling like a spare part. A tetchy spare part. Bishop was pulling strings but it was his investigation. Now things seemed to have drifted. Deegan was doing his own thing and he had no idea where the incident room was. He was running around on his own trying to catch up. He needed to either get hold of things and take charge or get off site and let them get on with it. He knew which Deegan would prefer. Deegan wanted this for himself. He’d run his own separate investigation competing, rather than collaborating, to catch the killer.
    He slowed to a stop and pulled out his mobile, calling up Deegan’s number. ‘Charlie,’ he barked into the phone. ‘It’s McEvoy. Where the hell are you?
    ‘I’m over on the other campus checking out the dead guy’s office,’ Deegan replied coolly.
    ‘Did you not think to call to update me? That I might want to see the office as well? I need to know what’s going on.’
    ‘Hang on a sec,’ Deegan said.
    McEvoy could hear a muffled apology and a door close.
    ‘I was just trying to find out more about him,’ Deegan continued, exasperation clear in his voice. ‘The head of personnel offered to bring me over, so I came.’
    ‘And what’s the story on David Hennessey?’ McEvoy continued. ‘Does he have any family? Do we have any more details on him?’ He watched two garda cars drive past him heading slowly back towards the main gate.
    ‘He lives locally in one of the estates,’ Deegan said, clearly unhappy with the tone of McEvoy’s call. ‘Lives on his own apparently.