There was nothing more than dirty and rusting gardening tools and a single string of rotting onions hanging from the roof. She pulled the door out securely behind her, feeling an odd sadness for the notion that this place might have been very different if Eddie’s father had not died at such a young age. She hardly remembered him, really, but it was only a few years before she and Eddie had gotten together. Her father had said once that Tim Quirke had chosen the easier path. Was suicide really easier than living with Barbara? She shivered now and wondered if it was the winter cold or some spirit that had brushed too close to her as she turned to walk back up the path towards the house.

It took Barbara a few minutes to answer the door and for all her worry on the phone earlier, Liv couldn’t shake the feeling that the woman had managed to go back to sleep again.

‘The shed you say? Left open – yes, that would probably account for the noise,’ she said standing solidly in the doorway. It was obvious that now the problem was sorted, Barbara was not in the mood for chit-chat.

‘So, it’s happened before?’ Liv was fighting the urge to lose her temper. After all, if it was just a simple question of checking that the shed door was locked at night, surely it wasn’t too much for Barbara to do a simple job like that herself?

‘Oh, yes, it happens all the time; someone pops in for something and then forgets to lock it up. Honestly, you’d think the Vikings were making a return assault with the noise in the middle of the night. It’s enough to bring on one of my terrible migraines; I could be out for days with it…’ Barbara said closing out the door slightly. Liv knew only too well what that was like, so perhaps, she could forgive Barbara this once. She turned back towards the jeep, had hardly reached the gate when she heard the soft click of the Quirke front door closing behind her. Then there was the rattle of the chain lock being pulled over to ensure that no intruder could make their way back into the house for the rest of the night.