“A daughter?” Evan reacted when Shane retold the entire conversation with Callum Brannigan. They were at the station. Evan had just come in to report about Stan Dillan. “Why would he even think the O’Flahertys had a daughter and not a son?”

  Faye looked up from her papers.

  “Have either of you actually seen this Timothy?”

  Both detectives looked at her questioningly.

  “Well, what if he looks like a girl,” she explained.

  “Let’s not rule that out,” Shane said, scratching the back of his head. “Brannigan is certain he saw a little girl in the neighbors’ garden.”

  Faye immediately had an answer.

  “Oh. Then he must have seen our Angela. She was eight…”

  “No, Faye. He told me she was no more than three. But he didn’t pay much attention. He and his wife were often away. He couldn’t even remember when he stopped seeing children there at all.”

  “Hmm.” Evan tapped a finger against his lips. “At three, kids don’t differ that much. Boys can wear long hair and girls short hair. In short, old man Brannigan got everything mixed up.”

  “I agree,” Shane nodded and sat down at his desk. “I’m also inclined to think he saw little Tim. I’m more interested in something else. If Angela came out of the basement, did none of the neighbors see her?”

  “Anita and I didn’t ask about the girl from the basement. You specifically told us not to spread it around. We questioned them only about the O’Flaherty family.”

  “Yes, I remember,” O’Halloran replied, watching his partner. Evan sat opposite him, scrolling through his phone. “Now I want you to ask the neighbors about the girl, or the child. We need to consider all ten years she spent there.”

  “Even if someone saw her, what would that give us?” Evan asked skeptically.

  “Additional information, that’s what. What about Dillan?”

  “Oh.” His partner handed Shane copies of documents. “His wife found this in a stack of her husband’s papers. A check for a specific amount that Stan never handed over. Or maybe he didn’t want to. Who knows. Yes. Here. And what a coincidence that the amount matches the price of the cottage. I even contacted Clive Daniels to confirm it. That’s exactly how much they paid for the cottage, plus some interest. I asked Mrs. Dillan about the money. She said she had never seen that kind of money and knew nothing about it.”

  “I see. First a deed of gift, now a check. So who is this mysterious middleman? Timothy O’Flaherty, perhaps?”

  “I don’t understand the need for all this secrecy.”

  “Faye, what news do you have?” Shane asked, rubbing his temples. “Any information on the O’Flaherty family at all? Did you find Timothy’s address?”

  “No, sir.” She sighed sadly. “Nothing substantial yet. We found Timothy’s address, but he moved out last year.”

  “Moved out and disappeared,” Shane said, almost to himself.

  O’Halloran’s head was a complete mess, and in order to bring some order to his thoughts, he drew a diagram in his notebook. At the very top he wrote Angela and added the note “Girl from the basement.” He listed the main facts about her. Her real name begins with the letter K. She spent nearly ten years in the basement, taken there at eight and discovered at nineteen. She is a virgin, which means she was not subjected to sexual violence. The girl has aphasia, a complete loss of speech. Angela understands everything, she hears, and she easily makes contact, but she does not speak. The last note stated that she has a teddy bear named Toby, who became her friend throughout those ten years.

  The O’Flahertys were the only residents of the cottage. At least it can be stated with certainty that while Angela lived in the basement, the cottage was inhabited by religious fanatics Judith and Greg O’Flaherty. Shane drew branches from Angela’s name. He wrote the elderly couple on the left and Timothy on the right. The son visited his parents. Neighbors heard arguments. What were those arguments about? Did Tim reject their devotion to religion, or was there something else? These people had disappeared. For now, they were Shane’s greatest mystery. Where were they now? Why decide to leave after living in Cloraine for so many years? Or was Timothy O’Flaherty in control of everything? If so, he could have known about Angela. Shane placed a large question mark.

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  Stan Dillan. The detective drew a line downward from Timothy. Shane could not connect Dillan in any other way. Only the homeowner could execute a deed of gift. Who was this Dillan? Why did he agree to this arrangement? What benefit did he gain? Money? Then why was the check for the full amount and not just a portion? The cause of the stroke was unknown. His wife reported that he had been found in his shop. Who had he spoken to before the stroke? It was possible there was no connection to this case at all, but Shane did not cross out the fact that after all this time the check was still in Dillan’s possession. Blackmail? Another question mark.

  At the very bottom, Shane wrote the word “bones.” Human bones had been found in the lake, presumably belonging to a man and a woman. There were two of them. The divers had not recovered complete skeletons. The work was ongoing. But there were two skulls, and that was the most important thing. Had the O’Flahertys conducted some kind of illegal rituals? Sacrifices? Punishments? Again, he was not certain that the bones were connected to his case. All that remained was to wait for news.

  When O’Halloran was about to leave for home, Faye O’Keefe burst into the office.

  “Sir,” she called out. “Shane,” she added more calmly, realizing the workday was over, “we have information.”

  The detective paused.

  “We found Greg and Judith O’Flaherty in one of the nursing homes.”

  “That’s excellent news. Are you going there now? I can join you.”

  “Unfortunately, there’s no point in going.”

  “They’re dead?”

  “No. They’re listed at the nursing home, but an employee said they were never actually there.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I had to drag the information out of them. Only after I threatened them did I get something. Someone is paying them to keep the names in the registry, but they’ve never seen the elderly couple.”

  O’Halloran’s black brows drew together over the bridge of his nose. He rubbed his square chin.

  “So they disappeared. What the hell.”

  “I’ll go there tomorrow and find out who’s paying them and how much.”

  “Do that. Though I think I already have a guess.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you, Faye. Heading home? Need a ride?”

  “No, thanks. I still have things to finish here.”

  “Then see you tomorrow.”

  “See you tomorrow, Shane.” Faye gave him a playful salute and left the office.

  At home, O’Halloran drank red wine to relax, to release the tension that had built up during the day, and lay down on the bed. He thought about Angela. But his thoughts were not about how she had ended up in the basement, not about how she had lived, how she had survived in that gray, dirty, foul place. He remembered her gentle face, her faint smile, her large eyes looking at him with gratitude when he returned Toby to her. The girl had been so happy that she could not contain her emotions. Unexpectedly for Shane, she stepped forward, wrapped her thin arms around his neck, rose onto her toes, and kissed his cheek.

  He unconsciously touched the spot where her lips had left the kiss. Why did it matter so much to him? Why did her innocent, childlike touch make his heart feel so warm? O’Halloran did not understand his own feelings. He could not get out of his head the memory of her embrace on the day he found her among the garbage bags, frightened and confused. And now the fleeting kiss on his stubbled cheek. Angela was not afraid of him. He felt her trust and comforted himself with the thought that she was only a child.

  A grown and very attractive child.

  One day she would overcome her past, learn to live, meet her man and get married. She would become a mother to her children, whom she would love more than anything in the world and never abandon. One could only hope that someday she would speak. Shane would very much like to hear her voice at least once in his life. Then he would close the case and move on to new ones. Everything would fall into place.

  He opened his eyes. The white ceiling was scattered with dancing reflections of moonlight. What was wrong in his perfect story?

  Several days later, he received a call from the forensic department asking him to come in. Shane arrived within the hour.

  “Detective?” The chief expert, Reid Blackker, greeted him with a handshake. “Come in, have a seat.”

  “Do you have special news for me, Reid?”

  “It’s difficult to state anything definitively yet, but the examination has shown something. We want to verify and confirm it, so for now I’ll share unofficial preliminary data.”

  “You’re making me curious.”

  “Very well. I won’t drag it out.” Reid folded his hands on the desk and looked at O’Halloran professionally. “We know that two skeletons were found in the lake. We determined their sex, a man and a woman. Both over fifty years old. We can also say with certainty that they died no more than a year ago. Using computer reconstruction, we determined their appearance. The report will include the attachments.”

  “For some reason, I feel like you know exactly who these people are.”

  “That’s correct, Detective. But again, you must give us time to prepare the full report.”

  “Reid. How many years have we known each other? Don’t go around in circles. Your verdict?”

  “The bones belonged to Judith and Greg O’Flaherty.”