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Mercedes drive past, but he didn’t hear any shots. A teenage girl and her mother are the only people who heard anything. They were hill-walking nearby, but they didn’t pay much attention to the noise, assuming the shots were from hunters.”
    “Did they note the time?”
    “Unfortunately not,” continued Nora. “However, there have been several sightings of vehicles heading away from the Black Valley track shortly after the murders. A silver SUV passed a cyclist on the road, closely followed by a motorbike. The cyclist was unable to describe the occupants of the SUV, and the motorbike rider was wearing a helmet.”
    “What if the killer didn’t leave the same way he arrived?” asked Faith. “He could have followed the route over the mountains.”
    “But that track is forbidden to cars,” interrupted Plunkett.
    “It’s still possible he took it,” said Kelly thoughtfully. “The track continues for another three kilometres, which would be relatively easy on a motorbike or in an SUV. Forestry vehicles use the track to drive higher for conservation work. Then again, the killer could have been on foot.”
    “Another witness said she had to swerve to avoid a silver SUV as it was driving on the wrong side of the road. The windows were tinted so she couldn’t see the driver. She said he was driving like he was being chased.” Nora flipped through her notes to confirm.
    “A forest worker claims that he was driving past the clearing where the Gleesons were killed when he saw a motorbike parked there. The rider was just disembarking. He was dressed in black and his visor was closed. The forest worker also passed an SUV on his way out of the forest, only minutes after seeing the motorcyclist. The SUV had English registration plates, but it was too far away for him to spot the reg.”
    “Have we found anything on CCTV yet?” asked Faith.
    “Nothing yet,” said Kelly. “But we’re working on it.”
    “Do we have any background on John Newman, the first witness at the scene?” asked Faith.
    “Nothing suggests that he’s anything other than a witness,” said Kelly.
    “It’s interesting that he arrived minutes after the killer left. Look into him,” said Faith.
    “Will do,” said Kelly.
    “Any more information on Amira’s side of the family?” asked Faith, turning back to Nora.
    “Amira al-Nin was born in Baghdad, Iraq on February 2nd 1973 to a wealthy Shia family. The family left Iraq over fears for their personal safety when Saddam Hussein became Iraq’s leader in 1979. Saddam was a Sunni, and hostile to Shias like the al-Nins. Fear of Saddam’s secret police forced them to flee to Ireland. Amira and her sister were educated at Trinity College Dublin, where she met Daniel Gleeson. Amira studied International Languages and Translation, while her sister, Layla, studied Medicine. Daniel studied Computer Science, and later went on to become a lecturer at Trinity. Amira was a freelance translator and interpreter. She did a lot of work for multinational companies.”
    “Any information on her parents?” asked Faith.
    “Both parents were killed in a car crash when Amira was fourteen,” replied Nora. “Layla became her legal guardian.”
    “Let me know when Layla makes contact,” said Faith. “I’d like to talk to her as soon as possible.”
    “Of course,” said Nora, making a note in her diary.
    “Who’s been looking into the Gleesons’ background?”
    “That would be me, boss.” A muscular young man with a shock of red hair and piercing blue eyes made his way to the front of the room. “Officer James Reilly.”
    “The floor’s all yours,” said Faith, handing him the whiteboard pen.
    Reilly cleared his throat. “The Gleesons have lived in Dublin all their lives. They have no criminal past, not even a parking ticket among the three of them. Conor is a retired mechanical engineer. Mary was a teacher but retired when Daniel was born. Daniel was their only son. On the surface they appear