I thought it through. It was certainly plausible. From what Tiernan was saying, Donnie had to know about his boss’s sexual appetites. And it was highly likely that Pawel the security guard reported to Donnie rather than to Gill directly – Lenihan would need to check that to be sure of it. But assuming that’s how it had happened, Donnie could have heard from Pawel about me visiting Rhona. He could have seen the danger and taken the initiative. And killed Rhona. To protect his job, his position? To protect Gill? A jury might go for that story.

Then I remembered what Tiernan had said: ‘He wasn’t involved when we were making the short film.’ How would Donnie have known the significance of me visiting and talking to Rhona Macbride unless he had discussed it with Gill? He might have put it together eventually. But so fast? She was murdered barely twelve hours after I’d met her.

Gill, on the other hand, would have spotted the risk immediately. The three of them – Esther, Donnie and Jeremy – had to have planned Rhona’s murder together.

But how was I ever going to prove it?

When I went back inside, Lenihan and Sadie were still in the interview room. They’d been joined by two other members of the murder team that Lenihan didn’t waste time introducing.

‘Well, Fitzpatrick,’ he said. ‘Any idea where we might find Bryant?’

‘Bryant?’

‘Christ,’ Lenihan said. ‘Rhona Macbride’s murderer, remember him? Donnie Bryant. US citizen. Still in this fair land, for now at least, as far as we know.’

‘Why do you think he’s still in Ireland?’

‘Because we found his passport. One of ye lads show her, for fuck sake.’

The taller of the two detectives pulled a plastic evidence bag from his suit jacket and handed it to me. The bag contained a blue American passport issued to Donnie Bryant, date of birth 4th March 1978.

‘Is it real?’

‘First thing we checked. It’s real but …’ Lenihan said.

‘Good,’ I said. ‘Then the date of birth could be real too. But he must have an Irish passport as well. Look at the place of birth: Ireland.’

‘That’s the second thing we checked. There’s no record of a Donnie or Donald or Donal Bryant born in Ireland on the 4th of March 1978. The passport’s real but he must have got it under an assumed name. We’ve put in a request and we’re waiting for info on him to come back from the American authorities. But I reckon he built up a false identity. He could have done it over years, maybe.’