Who was the woman who’d contacted Dee, and why did she do it?

And, importantly, how did she know about Emer seeing Annie Holden on the London Underground?

With no way of finding answers to the last two questions, Dee decided to focus on the things she could do. Like getting back inside Annie’s house and taking another look at the photo of the two girls.

On the train, she sent Emer a text, repeating what she’d said on the phone last night – that she hoped they’d stay in touch and she’d love to meet Emer in person sometime soon. When her phone pinged a few seconds later, she assumed it was Emer’s reply. But when she checked her texts, the message was from Ella, reminding Dee about the dinner invitation for tomorrow evening. Their last meal together before Ella and her family left for Canada.

Looking forward to it x

The reply sent, Dee put her phone back in her bag and spent the rest of the journey looking out the window and trying not to think about how soon it was until they left.

To get to Annie’s house, Dee had to change trains at Whitechapel for the East London line to Wapping. But the gallery was close to Whitechapel station, so it made sense to go there first just in case that’s where Annie was this morning.

Coming out of the underground station, Dee called Shay Flaherty.

‘Dee,’ he said. ‘Your message yesterday intrigued me. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?’

‘What would you say if I told you there’s a chance Kitty Doran is still alive?’

‘You think that’s a possibility?’

Dee updated him on everything that had happened since they last spoke. When she’d finished, he let out a low whistle.

‘That’s some story you’ve got there, Dee.’

‘It’s only a story if Annie really is Kitty,’ Dee said.

‘I always knew something wasn’t right about that,’ Shay said. ‘I was never able to prove anything, but I felt it. If I’d stayed in Galway, maybe I’d have continued to look into it. But that was around the time I got the job at the Irish Times. Assistant political correspondent. My dream job, at the time. Twenty-something years later I’m still in Dublin, still writing about politics.’

‘You’re the political editor now,’ Dee said. She remembered seeing his job title on the paper’s website. ‘I’m guessing that means you know a thing or two about Robert O’Brien?’

‘Squeaky Clean O’Brien,’ Shay said. ‘Future leader of our great country, if you believe what people are saying about him.’

‘And you?’ Dee said. ‘What do you think?’