His da’s voice drops to a whisper and Declan strains to hear it, but he can’t. He closes his eyes as if the act of closing off one of his senses will make the others work harder, but it’s just mumbling – and then his ma crying and the slam of the front door again.

A sob from his ma lets him know it’s his da who has gone out.

‘Jesus Christ,’ he hears her sob. ‘Jesus Christ, I didn’t know. God forgive me, but I didn’t know.’

He thunders down the stairs. ‘What didn’t you know?’ he asks her, but she looks as if she is folding in on herself with grief.

Has his da really known all this time about Niall and done nothing? Has his da been covering up for Niall, even now, doing whatever he needs to do to stop the renewed interest in this case?

His da, he knows, is still able to summon up some heavies at a moment’s notice. Many people still feel a loyalty to Frankie Heaney. He still holds some sway. If he’d wanted a car window broken, or tyres slashed, he wouldn’t have struggled to find someone to do it. If he’d wanted to rough someone up, he could have found someone only too willing to do it for him.

His ma can’t speak. She is shaking her head and he wants to comfort her, but if this is what his da is capable of, and his brother, and both are in the country park with an unsuspecting Ingrid … His stomach turns.

He reaches for his jacket at the bottom of the stairs and pulls his phone from the pocket. With shaking hands, and thick, useless fingers, he paws at his phone, trying to unlock it and find her number. He needs to warn her. He needs to get her away from Niall.

Chapter Fifty-One

Ingrid

I’d wanted to crack this story. Of course I had – but not like this. It was never meant to be like this. Niall’s grip on me is firm and there is a wildness in his eyes.

‘I shouldn’t have said anything,’ he says suddenly. ‘Shit! Ingrid, tell me,’ he says, shaking me so that I almost lose my footing, my boots sliding in the mud. ‘Tell me you won’t tell anyone. I need you to tell me that now!’

‘People will understand,’ I tell him, knowing that they won’t.

People never understand when it comes to the murder of a child. It is beyond the realm of comprehension and understanding. But I have to say whatever it takes to get out of this park and away from Niall.

‘Why don’t we walk back to the cars,’ I say. ‘It’s so cold here and I’m wet through. We can talk somewhere warm and dry at least. I can help you.’