‘Aoife O’Malley,’ Emer said, remembering the woman she’d seen on Grafton Street one afternoon. She’d been so sure the woman was Kitty that she’d confronted her on the spot. ‘But the moment I spoke to her, I knew I’d made a mistake. This just feels different, Robert. For one thing, if the woman in London wasn’t Kitty, why did she run away when I tried to speak to her?’

‘Maybe she didn’t hear you?’

‘No.’ Emer shook her head, remembering the way the woman had speeded up when she’d called out her name. ‘She heard me, all right.’

‘Well in that case,’ Robert said, ‘I’d like to help.’

‘What do you mean?’

He was carrying a mug, which he held out for her to take.

‘Cocoa. Do you remember how you used to love it?’

Emer took the mug, breathing in the rich, familiar smell.

‘Thank you.’

‘So what do you think?’ Robert said.

‘Do you believe me?’

‘I believe you think you saw Kitty,’ Robert said. ‘And I believe it’s possible – although, I’ll admit, not very likely – that maybe your sister didn’t drown that day. I’ve been having a think about the night she drowned. That story you’ve stuck by all these years about seeing her in the hotel that night?

‘It’s not a story,’ Emer said. ‘It’s what happened.’

‘Mind if I sit down?’ Robert said.

Emer nodded, and he pulled out the chair by her dressing table and sat down heavily.

‘That’s better,’ he said. ‘My old legs aren’t any good for standing these days. Emer love, I know what grief can do to a person. I think it’s perfectly possible that you imagined seeing Kitty that night. You were only a child. How on earth were you meant to process the fact that your sister had drowned – that she was dead and never coming back? No, don’t look like that. Hear me out. It sounds to me as if you’re never going to rest until you know whether or not that woman could be Kitty. Am I right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then let me help you. But not the way you want. Involving your cousin – some journalist we don’t know anything about – that’s not the way to go about this.’

‘What do you suggest?’

‘I’ll hire a private detective,’ Robert said. ‘Someone who’s really good. Throw a bit of money at the problem.’

Emer smiled. ‘Your solution to everything.’

‘Because it’s usually the best solution. So, what do you say?’

‘You think a detective might be able to track her down?’

‘I think it’s worth a shot. You said you followed her?’

‘To a pub in east London.’

‘Okay.’ Robert nodded. ‘Tomorrow morning, we’ll sit down in my office, you can tell me everything you remember about her, and I’ll take it from there.’