Broken Harbour

Dublin Murder Squad detective Mick “Scorcher” Kennedy remembers being assigned what should have been a “dream case” by Superintendent O’Kelly.

O’Kelly assigns Scorcher the case, telling him to go to Brianstown, formerly known as Broken Harbour. Scorcher is familiar with the area. O’Kelly tells him that the Spain family has been attacked in their home: The father and two children are dead, and only the mother, Jennifer, has survived. O’Kelly asks if Scorcher’s current trainee, new detective Richie Curran, can handle the case. Scorcher assures O’Kelly that he can.

Scorcher and Richie drive to Brianstown. On the way, they discuss the case, and Scorcher warns his young colleague that seeing the brutality of murder is very different from mundane police work like motor vehicle accidents. He reminds Richie that emotions have no place at a crime scene.

They discuss what they should ask Jennifer’s sister, Fiona, who reported the crime after she became concerned when Jennifer wasn’t available for their daily phone call. Scorcher thinks the timing is suspicious: Fiona became concerned and drove to her sister’s house sooner than seems plausible. On a lighter note, Scorcher and Richie discuss the importance of material wealth, with Richie acknowledging that he’s not from the type of place most detectives come from; instead, he comes from a rough, lower-class background.