‘But if she fell in the water, why didn’t they find a body?’

‘I don’t know …’ Adana says. ‘Will we keep looking?’

I nod, open the laptop and key ‘Lily Murphy Disappearance’ into Google. On autopilot, I click on the first link.

Adana shakes her head. ‘There’s no point in going into Wikipedia again. That’s going to say the same thing it says every day. Check the news tab instead.’

‘Yes, boss,’ I mutter, but she’s right. I’m not holding out much hope for anything fresh in the news tab either, but the first search result is, in fact, something we haven’t seen before.

‘Another Deep Dive blog post …’

Heads together, we begin to read.

Lily Murphy and the Locked Room

Google ‘killer kids’ and you might be surprised at what you find. Evil is everywhere and it can start surprisingly young. Even in a quiet Dublin suburb, in 1985?

Well, yes and no. Sometimes they don’t mean harm but once things have gone past a certain point, there’s no going back.

Every once in a while, there’s a kid who takes things too far. And there are parents who protect their children when they do wrong. Was that what happened in Edenvale? And was it fully investigated at the time? Probably not. The parents didn’t want to talk, and it’s easier to blame strangers. But if no one even asked the question, will we ever have the answer?

Killer kids. My breathing is short and fast now, and I’m trying to slow it down before Adana notices. Get a grip, Joanna. This Deep Dive guy can’t be talking about me. I’ve never told, and the only other person who knows is never going to tell. This is not about me. Breathe.

‘OK, this just got really interesting,’ Adana says, still looking at the screen. She’s oblivious and I’m grateful. ‘What do you think it means? And what’s the “locked room” reference in the title?’

‘I … I don’t know. I could try asking Cora … though she doesn’t want to talk about that day.’

‘Who’s Cora again?’

‘She was with Lily during the game of Hide and Seek,’ I remind her.

‘Oh yeah. The last person to see Lily alive.’

As soon as Adana leaves, I start to type a second comment on Deep Dive.

Hi, I commented recently to say I’m interested in the Lily Murphy case. Reading up on it, I can see that it’s clear she drowned. No need to reply, thanks.

It’s not a delete button, but it will have to do. Just as I hit Submit, my phone rings. Cora O’Brien. Not sure what to expect, I answer with a tentative ‘Hello?’

‘Joanna, hi’ – she rushes on without waiting for a return greeting – ‘I keep thinking about the questions you asked me in your text earlier. Where did you get the name Lila? I’ve searched online and I can’t see any reference to it or a link between the names Lily Murphy and Lila?’