‘But … but …’ – Alys is perplexed – ‘but what about his … the other woman? The one who rented your …?’

‘I don’t really know. His girlfriend, perhaps? He and Kimberly obviously lived separate lives; she was based in Canada. He lives in Montserrat.’

‘Monterrey. In Mexico,’ she corrects me.

‘On different continents,’ I continue, ‘so far as I can tell. But they were still … still connected, I suppose. I mean whenever she mentioned her husband that summer it must’ve been … well him that she was referring to … And when she was burned after the car-bomb a couple of months later, obviously … In Ireland. With Bran Cleary. When they were having the … the …’

I can’t say it. I can’t say it.

‘… he was still her husband then, presumably.’

‘But why didn’t he mention that?’ Alys is confused.

‘That they were married?’

‘Why didn’t he mention it?’ Alys repeats. ‘It just seems … It just seems so odd.’

‘Maybe he thought it might work against him.’ I shrug. ‘In terms of getting people to open up. The point is he was—’

I suddenly stop what I’m about to say. I am about to say, ‘betrayed. Like me.’

But I can’t possibly say that. Not to dear Alys. Not to anybody. Except … Except perhaps …

‘But that’s such a curious omission, don’t you think?’ Alys persists. ‘I mean do we actually have any concrete evidence that they were married?’

‘A great moment to return to first principles, Alys!’ I snort.

‘But how do we …?’

‘We don’t! It’s simply what he told Clifford.’

‘Clifford?’ Alys echoes. ‘But how on earth did Clifford …?’

‘Clifford said he was in a really terrible state about it all. So I went around with a pie last night, fully intending to come clean and apologize … Although I kind of …’

‘A pie?’

The pie is one detail too many for Alys.

‘Yes. A pork pie. To apologize. But he behaved very oddly. He virtually devoured the whole thing in one sitting. Then he was sick. He was starving. Turns out he’s completely broke. He can’t even afford to fly home for her funeral.’

‘How awful!’

‘Yes. Which is why I tried to return him his rent money …’

‘But you’d think that if his then wife and Bran Cleary had been …’ – Alys politely clears her throat – ‘he’d have really mixed feelings about the whole thing. I mean that puts a totally different slant on the situation. On the book. Do you happen to know if he … Did he know the Clearys? I mean if he was married to Kimberly and she was so tight with them all – with Bran, specifically – then surely …?’

‘But were she and Bran really that close?’ I demand, somewhat irritably. ‘We have no concrete evidence of that. It’s just idle speculation for the most part …’

‘Well they must have been, Carla!’ she insists.