14

I got up at six and, with massive effort, went to my study without checking my phone to see if Davy had messaged me. I reread the information I’d logged the night before, concentrating on Joey O’Connor. He had said that Deirdre had told him there was someone else and that, if she had had an ongoing relationship, he would have known. I realised that I should have asked how he would have known. If he’d talk to me again, what he had to say might help my case against Gill. But I’d be a fool if I allowed myself to forget that Joey was a suspect too.

And I’d be late if I didn’t hurry. This case consumed time like nothing I’d done before. I raced up the two flights of stairs from my study to the kitchen, grabbed an apple from the bowl to munch on the way, shoved a Glenisk yoghurt in my handbag and ran back down one flight and into my bedroom. One of the advantages of being a solicitor is the uniform-like dress code, which is boring, but takes all the effort out of weekday dressing. I grabbed one of my black skirt suits and one of my many white shirts and, with a slick of red lipstick, I was out the door – unshowered, admittedly, and wearing no earrings.

I was in my office fifteen minutes later, just before nine, dead on my feet, distracted as hell, but ready for work. When I’d checked my phone. I did. Still no message from Davy.

‘Fuckfuckfuck,’ I said, and threw the phone in a drawer.

A groaning inbox, and a list of missed calls from the previous day meant that I barely greeted Tina when she came in with the post.

‘Talk later,’ I mouthed, on hold at CIE Legal and simultaneously rereading a medical report on the eighteen-year-old son of an important client of Gabriel McGrath’s who had been knocked off his bike when he’d either wobbled into the path of the 214 bus or been the victim of a sudden swerve, depending on whether you believed the bus driver or the plaintiff. It was a good sign that the defendants were the ones who had rung me, a signal that they wanted to set up negotiations. Settlements meant fees. It would be a long time before the Carney case got anywhere, if it ever did. Meanwhile, Gabriel and the other partners expected me to pay my way in the firm. And the pressure on me was bound to increase after I told them about the Carney case.