She laid the tray on a small coffee table that Sean had magicked out of some corner without having to be told. I was impressed by the double act, the telepathy of a long marriage. And the Carneys would have had to rely on one another even more than normal, each propping up the other through the agony of watching their only daughter wither and die.

Ann poured tea for the three of us and, with something approaching a glare, offered me a biscuit, which I took, thinking it would be unwise to refuse, despite a lifelong loathing of custard creams. I sipped my tea and waited for Ann to sit. Instead, she walked over to the fireplace and turned around to face me. She scanned me and our eyes met fleetingly. For a second I thought I detected a softness in hers, but it didn’t last.

‘I didn’t want Sean to go and see you,’ Ann said. ‘I can’t see what good will come of us raking through this. Our lovely girl is gone, and there’s nothing any of us can do to change it. Sean came up with a notion that that man is the one to blame and that he wanted to warn people about him. But he got short shrift from the guards and the social workers. And he got a warning about defaming a public figure from our family solicitor, Frank Mannix, I’m sure you know him, and Frank is no fool. But that wasn’t enough for Sean so he went to you, thinking you could do something. But you can’t. I know you can’t so there’s no point letting on you can.’

She stopped, raised her hand, bones and blue ropy veins protruding from the sparse flesh. She put her palm to her cheek and let out a hollow breath.

‘I suppose you’re here now,’ she said. ‘You may as well say your piece.’

She lowered herself slowly into one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace. I had the impression that she was conserving her energy, preparing for round two.

‘I think you’re right, Ann,’ I said. ‘I think there’s probably very little I can do. But I’ve double-checked on the Film Festival’s child protection policies, in case Sean was right about Gill, and I’ll keep a watch on him, insofar as I can, while he’s around. It’s a short visit, mostly public engagements. As far as I can see, the danger to anyone is minimal.’