‘And no good has come of it, has it?’ His voice is raised, his jaw set tight. ‘What has happened since you started digging, Ingrid? Jamesy’s dead. Liam Doherty is in hospital. Bernie is traumatised. Did you know that her daughter-in-law, Christopher’s wife, has been admitted, too? Blood pressure dangerously high and she’s expecting. Christ, Ingrid, your own car, your own home have been targeted. And you wonder why I didn’t want you near it?

‘But you had to win, you had to know more than anyone else. You have brought this fucking mess to a head and the very least you could do is make some sort of half-hearted attempt at cleaning it all up. Make amends, do right by me and by your colleagues!’

He is shouting by now, flecks of spittle shooting forth from his mouth, making me feel sick. How did I ever kiss those lips and find them anything less than revolting? He thinks this is all my fault? And he wants me to give him access to my research material? He has another thing coming.

‘Ryan,’ I say, doing my very best to keep my voice measured and in control. ‘You covered the story at the time. You were there. An adult. Let me ask you, do you believe Jamesy Harte killed Kelly Doherty?’

Ryan straightens himself, pulls himself to his full height. He looks directly in at me, doesn’t shift his gaze. I feel the weight of his authority bear down on me. He is my boss, after all.

Still he stares, refuses to blink. But then I see it, a split second when he looks away to the door and back again. It’s so rapid I could so easily have missed it, but I didn’t.

‘Of course I think he killed Kelly Doherty,’ he says, his voice matching my measured tone now. The fight gone. The abuse all hurled.

I might have believed him had it not been for that quick glance to the side. The almost imperceptible way he wet his lips before he spoke. The faintest hint of colour in his cheeks. But now it seems obvious to me that Ryan is lying. He knows more than he is letting on.

‘Oh, God,’ I say. ‘You know something, don’t you? From then?’

‘I know Jamesy Harte isn’t right in the head. I know what was found in his house.’

‘He says he was set up.’

Ryan snorts, but I know that fake laugh. That bravado. I’ve seen it many times. Christ, this is why he didn’t want me near the story. He’s been trying to control it all this time. Surely it’s not possible that he’s scared, too?