Read Murder in Ballyhasset for Free Online Page B

same surly expression Libby remembered from the last visit.
    'Hi there,' Libby said. 'I'd like to speak to Mr Doody. I came before.' She showed the maid her ID card.
    The young woman reluctantly opened the door wide. Libby followed her into the kitchen, noticing the dazzling white presses and a polished wooden floor.
    'What's this about?' the maid asked.
    She's rather rude, Libby thought.
    'Kathleen Lynch,' said Libby. 'Your employer's wife.'
    'Kathleen is dead. She died last week.'
    'I know,' replied Libby, 'It's a terrible tragedy.' 
    'I get Mr Doody for you. Take a seat.'
    'Thanks,' Libby said as she sat at the kitchen table.
    After a few minutes, the planning officer appeared in the kitchen, seeming tired.
    'Hi Libby,' he said in a dull voice.
    'I understand how hard this is for you,' Libby said softly. 'I just have to ask you a few more questions.'
    He smiled. 'Will you have a cup of tea?' He quickly switched on the kettle.
    'I'd love a cup,' Libby said.
    He produced a plate of biscuits and a sugar bowl and handed Libby a full mug of milky tea.
    'I've been meaning to ask you,' Libby began, after she drank some of her tea. 'Was your wife a heavy sleeper?'
    'Yes, she would've slept during an explosion.'
    Libby gazed at him thoughtfully. 'So she probably never heard the killer come into her room.'
    'I guess not.' Mr Doody answered flatly.
    'I spoke to the doctor who worked with Kathleen.'
    'Pamela Kelly,' he said. 'Giddy young girl. Kathleen said she was a hopeless doctor.' Libby took that in as she schooled her facial expression. Your wife was not much older, she thought.
    'Did Kathleen mention anything was bothering her?' Libby asked, leaning forward in her seat. 'At work, for instance?'
    He gazed at the floor, his mind evidently elsewhere. 'No, she didn't worry much about her job, she had no reason to.'
    'Tell me a bit more about you and Kathleen. How long have you been married?'
    'Six years,' he answered. His face brightened for an instant. 'We were very happy. She was my golden girl.'
    'Really,' said Libby, feeling a sudden stab of pity for him. 'Have you any children?'
    'None, I'm afraid.' He grimaced. 'Kathleen and I planned to start a family this year. That's never going to happen now.' His voice was bitter.
    'I see you keep electric gates,' Libby said, drinking her tea.
    He sighed. 'I got them in because we had a couple of break-ins recently.'
    'Was anything stolen?' she asked.
    'No, that's the funny thing, nothing was taken.' He frowned.
    'Did Kathleen leave much money?'
    'The house, mainly. I inherit it all, of course. Kathleen paid for this place with an inheritance from her father.'
    'How much is it worth?'
    'A hundred thousand pounds, or thereabouts,' he replied in a flat voice. 'There's no mortgage. The Lynch family made their money years ago in banking.'
    Libby's eyes widened. 'What about life insurance?'
    'I get about ten thousand pounds from that. Kathleen had a similar policy on my life.'
    Quite a motive to kill someone you had gotten tired of, Libby thought. 'A lot of money, even nowadays in 1972,' she said. 'You're quite a rich man.'
    'I've always had money.' He stopped. 'I hope you're not implying Kathleen's money gave me a reason to kill her?'
    'No, but the police will see it like that.'
    He nodded and gave a deep sigh. 'They do. That's why they're hounding me.'
    'Now about the time you came into Shannon Airport,' Libby said, remembering what the sergeant had told her. 'Surely you have some evidence you flew in on the Tuesday, not the Monday as you planned?'
    'Well no, I haven't, that's the problem.' He wrung his hands in agitation. 'You see my mates came back the day before I did. I was due to come with them, but I missed the flight. My ticket booking says Monday. The police think I came back on Monday, which would've given me plenty of time to kill Kathleen.'
    She frowned. 'There must be a boarding pass, or did you pay extra for the next flight?' The airlines should have a record of this, she