The Trespasser

Conway and Steve are rookie detective partners assigned to the Dublin Murder Squad. Conway has a permanent chip on her shoulder, and she’s managed to alienate most of her colleagues. Steve, a people-pleaser, is the only person on the squad who Conway likes. They’ve only been partners for a short while: “Steve feels like a friend, or something on the edge of it. But we’re still getting the hang of each other; we still have no guarantees” (9). O’Kelly gives the two detectives a high-profile murder case: An attractive woman named Aislinn has been struck and killed in her home, probably by her boyfriend. Her house shows evidence that she was expecting someone to arrive for a romantic dinner. Conway thinks the victim looks like a dead Barbie until she takes a closer look: “Every Murder D I’ve ever known does it: takes one long look at the victim’s face […] they would still give her that respect.” (17).

Conway realizes that she’s met Aislinn before but can’t remember when. All she can recall is that Aislinn asked her for help, and Conway refused to give it. Because the stove was turned off after the murder to avoid triggering the smoke alarm, the detectives conclude Aislinn’s date must be the murderer. Rather than leaving in a panic, he remained coolheaded enough to cover his tracks. The detectives check the victim’s phone. She’s received texts from her boyfriend, Rory, and a close friend named Lucy. Rory’s texts might indicate that he hadn’t arrived before Aislinn was murdered. The detectives decide to question Lucy first. 

As the detectives travel to Lucy’s apartment, Conway thinks about her difficult role on the Murder Squad. She’s the only female and biracial detective on the force, which makes most of the males think of her as a token hire: “It was about the same thing as everything else humans have done to each other since before history began: power. It was about deciding who would be the alpha dogs and who would be at the bottom of the pile” (35). Conway’s coworkers play infantile pranks to try to get her to quit. She asserts her right to stay. When Steve becomes her partner, life gets a little easier. He can mine contacts for their investigations that Conway can’t access.

Once the two detectives arrive at Lucy’s home and the interrogation gets underway, Conway senses that Lucy isn’t telling them everything she knows. She’s only revealing the Aislinn she wants them to see. Lucy says that Aislinn led a sheltered life. Aislinn’s father abandoned the family, and her mother developed psychological problems. It wasn’t until Aislinn’s mother died that Aislinn began to live; she changed her look and started going out to clubs. Lucy says, “Whoever did this…it’s like he killed a little kid: someone who never even had a chance to get her life started. […] Could you remember that? When you’re investigating” (56). Lucy doesn’t think Aislinn’s new boyfriend killed her, and Aislinn might have been seeing a married man on the side. After the detectives leave, Steve pitches a theory that Aislinn’s married boyfriend could be a gang member. The two detectives agree to keep this notion to themselves until they have solid evidence to back it up.

Conway and Steve return to the squad room. The two floater detectives assigned to their case have already brought in Rory and placed him in an interrogation room. Steve checks the department database for prior arrests, but Rory’s record is clean. A year earlier, one of Aislinn’s neighbors reported a prowler trying to get into her apartment. Aislinn didn’t change her security system afterward and seemed unconcerned. The detectives conclude it was probably her unknown boyfriend sneaking in. Steve searches another database and finds Aislinn’s name showing up in a background check by the Organized Crime Unit. This seems to confirm Steve’s theory that Aislinn is involved with a gangster.

Conway notices that the witness statement she left on her desk that morning is missing its final page. She realizes one of her colleagues took it just to get a rise out of her. She locks the rest of the statement in her desk and seethes privately. She’s also angry at the way the press is handling her case. Someone is leaking undisclosed facts to a reporter named Louis “Creepy” Crowley; he has a grudge against Conway and is portraying her in print as incompetent. Conway checks with Sophie, the head of Forensics, for an update. Three black wool fibers were found on Aislinn’s dress. Steve asks Sophie to check other areas of the apartment. Aislinn’s secret boyfriend may have left prints somewhere. The detectives wait outside the interrogation room for Detective Breslin to show up. Because Breslin is a senior detective, he’s been assigned to watch over the two rookies even though they are the lead investigators. Conway and Breslin agree to interrogate Rory while Steve waits outside as backup. Conway cautions Breslin that this is only a preliminary interview—she isn’t looking to gain a confession quite yet.