Niall Heaney wouldn’t think twice about walking over his brother to get to whatever he wanted, and he’d proven it again today. Meeting Ingrid in town. Was it not enough they’d met last night?

He feels a warm sense of satisfaction as he reaches the front of the car and glances back at the deep groove he has just carved into his brother’s pride and joy. He reminds himself that he must not smile. He must not give the game away.

He lets himself into his parents’ house, follows the sound of chatter coming from the living room. Niall is, it seems, holding court. Their parents are enthralled by one of his stories about how he – single-handedly, he’d have them believe – turned a failing school around into something hugely successful.

‘What happened to your car?’ Declan asks, his face a perfect depiction of shock and surprise.

He delights in the change in Niall’s expression. The confusion closely followed by a hint of fear, then anger before he rushes from the room and out of the front door.

A litany of expletives carries into the room on the air from outside and Declan watches as his parents make their own way to the front street. His mother stands, arms crossed, hand to her mouth and head shaking.

‘Some wee bastard,’ his da says. ‘I’ll ask around, see if anyone saw anything.’

‘Good idea,’ Declan chimes in, even though he knows full well that no one will have seen anything.

The street was deserted as he walked up it. The wind and rain were keeping anyone with an ounce of sense indoors and in front of the fire.

‘At least it’s only a car. A car can be fixed,’ his ma says, but there’s a tremor to her voice.

‘There’s dangerous people around at the minute,’ Niall says. ‘Think of what happened to Mr Doherty, and Ingrid Devlin, too. Her car has been vandalised. Maybe I should call the police.’

Declan feels his face flush. That would be the last thing he needs – to get into trouble with the law again. He’d been doing a good job of keeping his nose clean and he had no desire to fall back into old habits.

‘There’s no need to be getting the police involved,’ his da says, and Declan fights the urge to sag with relief. ‘It’ll be some hood acting the maggot. I’ll look into it. Give whoever did it a piece of my mind.’

Despite his advancing years, the thought of Frankie Heaney giving you a piece of his mind is still enough to put the fear of God into most people. Especially Declan. His da has always made a formidable opponent.

‘But I’ll need a reference number if I’m to claim it on my insurance,’ Niall says.