Half Moon Investigations - Eoin Colfer [67]
‘Do you get this from a source in the police?’
The old woman laughed. ‘Who tells the police anything?’
I was sceptical. ‘How detailed can your reports be without police input?’
Dominique did not answer immediately; instead she crossed to a cabinet and selected a rather hefty file.
‘December five years ago. Fletcher Moon buys a crochet pattern book.’
I grew suddenly nervous.
‘Wait a minute, Mrs Kehoe. No need for an exposé.’
She flicked over the page. ‘Fletcher Moon enters and wins the county crocheting prize under an assumed name. The prize is never collected. Video evidence is available on request.’
My windpipe almost seized up. ‘Video evidence?’
‘Always reconnoitre your surroundings, Fletcher. There are cameras everywhere. Your package arrived in a garish blue envelope. You were filmed posting this package in the town centre.’
I smiled weakly at Red. ‘It was a fad. I’m over it now.’
Red laughed. ‘Crocheting? You know something, I’m not a bit surprised.’
Dominique selected another file. ‘Fletcher is not the only one with secrets.’
She flicked through the file. ‘Last September. Red Sharkey joins the local library.’
‘It’s a lie!’ blurted Red.
‘Oh, really? I have your records right here. In December you checked out Black Beauty five times.’
Red coughed to cover his blushes. ‘I like horses. Big deal. Now, let’s get down to business, Dominique.’
‘That’s more like it,’ smiled Mrs Kehoe. ‘First we get the formalities out of the way.’
‘Formalities?’ I asked.
Dominique opened an invoice template on her computer.
‘I’m only helping you at all because I know you’re innocent. But I still want payment, young man.’
‘How do you know I’m innocent?’
‘Red told me.’
‘You trust Red more than the guards’ mountain of evidence?’
‘Of course. Red has been a reliable source of information for years,’ said Dominique. ‘But that doesn’t mean I’m going to help out of the goodness of my heart.’
Red pulled out a battered Gore-tex wallet.
‘Usual rates, Dominique?’
Dominique filled in the date and client sections. ‘Oh no. This is a special case. Premium rates. Two hundred euros, and no guarantees.’
Red started. ‘Two hundred? Our futures are on the line here.’
Dominique shrugged. ‘My heart bleeds, Red. Two hundred. And don’t bother with your Sharkey bartering. I’m too long in the tooth.’
‘All I have is eighty, and we cleaned out both of our bank accounts for that.’
‘I’ve got something for you, Mrs Kehoe,’ I said. ‘Something in the way of a trade.’
‘Not interested,’ declared Dominique, tearing off an incoming fax. ‘I deal in cash only.’
‘You know the guards have a website.’
Dominique’s ears twitched. ‘What about it?’
‘If a person had the password, that person would have a lot of information at his or her fingertips.’
Dominique tried to play it cagey, but her interest leaked out through twitching fingers.
‘And you have this password?’
‘I do. It’s valid for the moment, but it could change any second.’
‘I have broadband,’ said Dominique. ‘You can download a lot of information in a second.’
‘So you’ll help us, then?’
Dominique returned to her desk, opening an Internet browser on the computer screen.
‘Not so fast, Fletcher. I need to verify the information. What is the password?’
I gave it to her, along with the name, rank and number. I prayed that Murt hadn’t changed his password.
Dominique keyed it all in and an entire police force’s worth of information opened up before her. She looked ten years younger instantly.
‘You have yourself a deal, Fletcher. I see years of fruitful cooperation ahead of us.’
I didn’t know about that. We were poles apart as detectives. Dominique wanted power, I only wanted answers.
I took my pad from my pocket.
‘I have a list of names here,’ I said, tearing off a page. ‘I need a connection.’
Dominique studied the names briefly. ‘School?’
‘That was my first thought, but it only links Red, May, Mercedes and myself. We’re in the same school. But not the rest.’
Dominique sat at her desktop, typing in the names one by one.
‘I’m working on a database for