‘Dad, he’s hilarious. He just says it like it is, no spin, no pandering to the electorate or anything; not like our politicians. All ours want is to trick us into voting for them.’

‘Can’t argue with that,’ Johnny said.

‘What’s cooking?’ Kelly asked. She took off her coat. It had been a gruelling day and she couldn’t shake the feeling that her job was in jeopardy. If she didn’t get the results Ormond wanted, or if she offended him or made him look incompetent, she had no doubt that she would pay for it with her career. The thought terrified her, because she’d spent her whole adult life building it to where it was now. She had no idea what she’d do without it.

‘Chicken curry. I’ll get you a drink.’

Kelly sat down on the sofa. Johnny’s place was small but tidy, and cosy with the fire lit. He and Josie had found a rhythm that suited them, and it involved her too. Sitting with Josie chatting comfortably about her work and life, with Johnny in the kitchen, felt like the most natural thing. For a fleeting moment she imagined bringing a child of her own into the equation, but she pushed the thought away rapidly.

After dinner, Josie did her homework in her room, and Kelly and Johnny sat on the sofa, with her feet on his lap. They sipped wine and the TV stayed off. During a case like this, the TV was full of fake news about the inquiry, and it wound Kelly up.

‘What’s up?’

She smiled. ‘Work.’

‘Ormond?’

She nodded. With his army background, Johnny knew how a rigid rank structure was difficult to handle. The police and the armed forces were essentially the same: they did the government’s dirty work. Ostensibly, government was designed to protect the people, but it did the opposite: it safeguarded the establishment in rank order. If soldiers fucked up, they went down. If generals fucked up, they were paid to keep quiet. Same was true in the police. The top brass were untouchable, even from the inside.

Reports were coming in of barricades on the Beacon Estate and Kelly was waiting to see how Ormond would tackle it. It was his doing after all. Maybe it would work to her advantage, because Sharon Bradley seemed to have been recruiting loyal followers all day. Someone, somewhere, knew something. Johnny agreed.