Maura felt her heart banging against her ribs; her mouth had dried, but there was no time to ask what the woman meant because now there was a bang on the bonnet to let Liam know the tank was full. Liam pulled out the choke, turned the key and within seconds, they were off again. Maura turned her head to look out of the back window of the van as they moved away and the woman raised her hand before she turned and Maura felt the breath she had been unaware she was holding leave her body.

‘Was that the jungle drums as well, Liam?’ she asked. ‘Because they were very specific with the details.’

‘Not really,’ said Liam with a half-smile. ‘That’s Kathleen’s eldest sister, my aunt. There’s nothing about anyone she doesn’t know. She taught Kathleen to read the tea leaves. Has the gift of the sight she does, she’s the local seer. They have no phone – Jesus, they have no running water even. No one told them we were on our way through. She just knew we were coming and I knew I had to stop.’

Maura let out a big sigh and Tommy, never a man for public displays of affection, found his wife’s free hand and, taking hold of it, squeezed it hard.

For the rest of the journey, Maura prayed over Harry; she had nothing else in her armoury. His temperature was the highest she had ever known in a child and his skin was wet and clammy. He had stopped rambling, was as limp as a rag, and no matter how often she whispered his name, there was no response. And, as she always did in times of need, she appealed to the Holy Mother for help. In the last miles of the journey, the only sound in the cab was that of Harry’s laboured breathing and Maura’s chanting.

‘Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death and in the hour of our need. Please don’t take my Harry,’ she gasped and as she did so, Tommy once more slipped his hand into her own that grasped the rosary beads.

‘We’re nearly there, queen,’ he whispered and she could just hear him over the noise of the rattling van.

‘We had better be, Tommy.’ She turned and looked into her husband’s eyes and fear of gripped them both. It was unspeakable, beyond terrifying, and they were unequipped to take it. Having lost Kitty, there were no resources to call on: they knew that pain, that grief, and they could not face or survive it again.