McAvoy shakes his head. ‘She saw him. Saw him doing those things to her aunt.’

Kincaid shrugs. ‘All sounds a bit vague to me. Bet you never pushed it, did you? After you got yourself loved up, I bet you swallowed whatever she gave you.’ He grins, foully. ‘Bet she did too …’

McAvoy is across the space between them in a heartbeat, his fists closing on the scruffs of the other man’s shirt, lifting him off the ground. Furious, he pushes his forehead against the other man’s, feels him squirm and writhe in his grasp. ‘What did you say? What did you fucking say?’

‘Listen,’ says Kincaid, desperately. ‘Just listen …’

Daddy, that’s not my life now. I don’t want to be involved. I don’t let myself think about it – I’ve talked myself into believing what you told me …

McAvoy drops him. Hears his wife’s voice: small, far-away, but unmistakable.

Jaysus, whatever you did, you know I’ll never tell a soul. They can send whoever they like. What you did to him, where you put him – I know it was the right thing to do. I’d have torn the skin from his bones if it were me …

McAvoy shakes his head. ‘No. No, you’ve done something.’

‘We’ve had traces on their phones for months. Got three men in their organization. Got two Heldens wearing wires for us. And we’ve got him.’

‘Him?’

‘Aeron. The one they call Cromwell. Who do you think got him out of the ground? Two years he did under there. Flood almost did him in. Roof collapsed, earth caved in, but he clawed himself out. Walked miles, mud-soaked, newborn. Local Garda picked him up. Prints matched. Several open cases, on the books of my little team. We kept it all silent as the grave. We had it on good authority he was dead, and there’s no better asset to have on your side than a ghost, is there? We thought we could flip him. Offer a deal and get him to testify on the people who paid him to pull the trigger.’

McAvoy pushes his hands through his hair. ‘He wouldn’t break?’

‘Gave us just enough for us to get him well. To take care of him. To get him his medical treatment and feed him up and get him what he wanted. As soon as it came to the formal stuff, he gave us the slip.’

‘The slip? What do you mean?’

Kincaid looks pained. ‘We think he had help. But the safe house wasn’t as safe as we thought. Left two bodies and a Tarot card.’

McAvoy shakes his head. ‘How long ago?’

‘This was ’05. We have intelligence that he spent time abroad, killing in Eastern Europe.’

‘So why come after the Teagues now? Why come after Fin? Why the fortune tellers?’

Kincaid busies himself with his phone. Finds the right recording.

‘… the devil doesn’t forget. He takes you when you’re most comfortable – when you’re fat and drunk and holding your loved ones close. That’s when he reminds you what you owe and reaches into your heart and rips out your soul. Holds the faces of your loved ones up in front of your eyes and rips their flesh like paper. Goes to work on you until you don’t know whether you’re in Hell or somewhere worse, and you’re just a scream, boy – just a fucking scream that echoes forever. You’ve got too comfortable. And I’m on my way to meet Satan. Seems only right I should bring some company …’