I’m tempted to ring Faye to see if she’s okay but I’ll wait and see if she rings me. I picture her holding her head, going to the sink for a glass of water and suddenly remembering she called me. Oh the terror. I’ve been there. There’s nothing worse.

In the corner of the room I see the tower of promise hidden behind the throw. In a few hours’ time this place will be buzzing with laughter, music, chocolate willies and bridal sashes. I hope they don’t have anything too embarrassing arranged for me.

I step out onto the balcony where the brightness hits me, making my eyes squint. Dublin city is quiet on a Saturday morning. The traffic will come but it will be slower to build. I look at the river rolling like a green army towards the sea. Lifting my mug of coffee to my lips, my hands shake. I sense a sadness roaming through my body. This is not how I should be feeling on the day of my hen party. I should be bursting with enthusiasm. Instead, I’m only half excited. Going through the motions. Finding out Avril Ryan rang my phone has me completely confused and anxious. I’m going to have to wake Lucas up.

‘Lucas, Lucas,’ I whisper at first. Then I crescendo all the way to a roar. ‘Lucas.’

‘What the fuck?’ Lucas jumps in the bed. His eyes are squinting through an angry expression. ‘For fuck’s sake, Tara.’

‘I’m sorry Lucas, I know you’re probably dying but I need to talk to you.’

He slaps his tongue against his dry lips.

‘Here,’ I say, handing him a glass of water with two Solpadeine fizzing in it. ‘Drink that.’

His eyes are only slightly open but I can see the red where the white should be. I cringe; that’ll be me tomorrow.

‘Lucas, I’m really sorry for waking you, but the detectives called again last night.’

He pulls himself up in the bed and is now resting on one arm and drinking from the glass. When he tastes it, he stops to look at the contents before knocking it all back. Then he hands me the glass. ‘Water.’

I rush back out to the kitchen and fill the glass. When I go back into the room, Lucas is sitting up at the side of the bed. His head is a mess, his face green.

‘What did they want this time?’ he says.

I sit down beside him and hand him the glass. Lucas looks at me, smiles and puts his arm around my shoulder. ‘You should have called me. I would have come home, Tara.’

‘No, I didn’t want to spoil your night. I was alright. Amy was here for a while.’