‘Exactly. You’ve been busy since I last saw you, by the sound of it. But she barely got outside the gate of the development. An unknown assailant attacked her – we’re working on the theory that he might have got out of a car and come up behind her. He had a weapon – believed to be a screwdriver – and he stabbed her with it in the side of the head, the right temple area. He took her bag and walked, not ran, away. Nobody heard anything.’

‘No scream?’

‘He probably put his left hand over her mouth and used the right hand to stab her. Nobody saw anything either – the wall blocked the view from inside Park View Mews.’

‘The houses across the road, though?’

‘You’re right, the attack could have been seen from across the road, but no one’s come forward so far. The team in Dublin aren’t holding out much hope. People had either already gone to work or it was breakfast time and the kitchens are at the back in those houses. But a neighbour, inside Park View Mews, who was putting rubbish in her bin, saw a man in a dark hoodie crossing the gate, and then crossing back, a minute or two later at most. She thought it was unusual at the time but didn’t take any notice until the Gardaí arrived. She didn’t see the man’s face – though she’s sure it was a man. She thinks she remembers hearing a car driving off but doesn’t know if it’s connected. Another neighbour found the body – never regained consciousness – and called an ambulance. By the time it arrived, Rhona was dead. When our lads got there, they fenced off the immediate area and did a patrol car search of the surrounding district. Nobody answering the description of the assailant to be seen. That doesn’t mean much. He may be a local, might have had somewhere to go nearby. It’s being treated as a random drug-related mugging. Timing fits, early morning, money needed for the day’s supply. The extreme violence is less usual – but that depends on what he was on, and how desperate he was. The team in Dublin will check all available CCTV, but there’s nothing in the immediate area. Rossbeigh Road is a residential street. They’ll be able to pick up footage from traffic cameras on the North Circular and up on the Navan Road. Trouble is, if he escaped in a car, they have no idea what kind. Best hope is that someone comes forward. But at the moment the lads have nothing to go on.’

‘And the weapon?’