Alice

By the time Alice returned to the station, JP Carney was kitted out in an over-sized shapeless grey tracksuit and cheap white trainers, no laces.

He’d showered since she had last seen him, all traces of Harry McNamara washed from his skin and hair. They’d taken DNA samples; they knew now for definite that this was the man who’d attacked McNamara.

Alice perched on the bench in the holding cell, trying to appear friendly, relaxed. She was chancing her arm coming in here like this, but she had to see how Carney reacted to McNamara’s name. She had to figure out if he’d known him. It made more sense than the alternative: Carney being a violent psychopath who might have targeted anybody.

Whatever the truth of it was, what she didn’t believe, for a second, was that Carney hadn’t planned to hurt somebody. Nobody normal just ‘snapped’.

‘Mr Carney, I know you’ve spoken with your legal aid solicitor. I just want to have a little informal chat, if that’s okay. Last night, a man named Harry McNamara was assaulted in his home in Dalkey. I spoke to his wife, Julie, a short time ago. Harry is the man you beat up.’

Carney looked at her, eyes uncertain.

‘Harry McNamara?’ he asked, as if it was news to him.

‘Yes. You may have heard of him. He was just cleared on charges of multiple counts of financial fraud by the highest court in the land. He’s been in the news quite a bit. He’s very recognizable. Didn’t you realize who he was when you attacked him last night?’

JP shrugged.

‘I don’t watch the news,’ he said. ‘I’d no idea who he was. I figured he was rich, all right. His house was … it looked like they’d money. The couple who owned it.’

‘Yeah. They’ve a few bob. So you’re positive you didn’t know who he was? You never met him on a previous occasion? He didn’t owe you money, or you owe him money? You’d never fought with him over anything?’

JP shook his head at Alice’s questions. ‘I’ve never even heard his name before.’

‘Come on, JP,’ Alice said. ‘He’s one of the most famous bankers in Ireland. One of the most famous men. Are you really claiming you’d no idea?’

‘I don’t pay attention to those things. I don’t know shit about politicians or bankers or anything like that. I left school when I was fifteen. I don’t follow what’s going on in the news.’

‘So you didn’t know him. And when you woke up yesterday you really had no intention of hurting anybody? You didn’t think about finding somebody and just smashing their head in?’

‘No. Of course not. I know what I did but I didn’t … I don’t know what came over me. One minute I was outside, the next I was in their house and just hitting this man. It was like something had taken over. Like I was possessed.’

‘Okay, okay. Don’t get upset. This is just a little chat. I just wanted to let you know the name of the man you attacked. There’ll be quite a lot of attention on this. He’s very well known. And he’s still alive.’

JP’s eyes widened.

‘He’s alive?’

‘Yes.’

Alice watched as the emotions scattered across Carney’s face. Confusion, in the main. Followed by what looked like relief. Looked like.

‘Thank God,’ he said, and started to cry. Alice nodded.

‘Hm,’ she said. ‘I’m just wondering something, JP. If you didn’t know who Harry McNamara was, what did you whisper to him when you’d finished attacking him?’

‘What?’

‘What did you whisper?’ JP looked at her blankly.

‘I didn’t whisper anything.’