‘I have spoken to the Taoiseach,’ he said. ‘We have agreed that, while these tragic events in Spain are being investi gated, certain measures will be put in place. You’ – he looked at Latimer – ‘you will tender your resignation forthwith, giving whatever reason you choose. And you, Mr Gallagher, will take leave of absence, for an indefinite period. When are you due to retire?’ Gallagher, seeming frozen where he sat, said nothing. ‘We might speed up the process. Your pension will suffer, of course, but I fear that can’t be helped. And now, gentlemen, I’ll bid you good day.’

He stood up. Bill Latimer remained seated, the cigarette in his fingers sending up a swift, thin stream of smoke.

‘I’ll destroy you, Dicky Bow,’ he said softly. ‘I’ll have your fucking head on a platter—’

‘Doctor Latimer,’ Dick Fitz said calmly, ‘the head that rolls here won’t be mine. I told you, I’ve spoken to the Taoiseach. There will be no cover-up. Times have changed. If you’re found to be implicated in what happened in Spain, you’ll be extradited—’

‘By Christ—!’ Latimer cried, struggling to his feet.

‘—or else,’ Dick Fitz went on inexorably, ‘you’ll be tried here, for the attempted murder of your niece, and the killing of Doctor Evelyn Quirke. That’s all I have to say.’ He pressed a button on his desk. ‘My secretary will show you out.’

Latimer stood motionless for some moments, fixed on him savagely, then turned and strode out of the room. Ned Gallagher still sat, still frozen into immobility, blinking, his fists in his lap. He looked old suddenly.

‘If I find out you’re involved as deeply in this affair as I think you are,’ Dick Fitz said to him, ‘you’ll be spending your retirement behind bars. Now get out of my sight.’

But still Ned Gallagher couldn’t move. He felt as if he might never move again, but stay paralysed here for ever, lost inside himself.

The rain beat against the window. In Spain, the sun was shining.

Also by John Banville

Snow

The first Detective Inspector Strafford novel

‘The body is in the library,’ Colonel Osborne said. ‘Come this way.’

Detective Inspector St John Strafford is called in from Dublin to investigate a murder at Ballyglass House – the Co. Wexford family seat of the aristocratic, secretive Osborne family.

Facing obstruction from all angles, Strafford carries on determinedly in his pursuit of the murderer. However, as the snow continues to fall over this ever-expanding mystery, the people of Ballyglass are equally determined to keep their secrets.

‘Superb.’ The Times

‘Outstanding.’ Irish Independent

‘Exquisite.’ Daily Mail

‘Hypnotic.’ Financial Times

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