He came back in with two mugs, and stood drinking his in the doorway. Neither of them spoke. The sound of Public Enemy utterly incongruous between them. ‘How are your ribs there, now?’ Cormac said, eventually.

‘Getting better.’

‘You took a right bloody tumble.’

‘Yeah.’ Matty looked at him. ‘I thought I was going to die.’

He seemed surprised at the honesty. ‘Did someone find you?’

‘Yeah.’

He pursed his lips and made a noise that was swallowed up by a slurp of tea. More Public Enemy. ‘So, you’re not a lesbian, then?’ He spoke in a wry, careful way.

‘What does it matter?’

He raised his eyebrows before giving a chastened nod. ‘Fair enough.’ Was still looking over. ‘That’s not one of Brigid’s.’ He nodded at the CD player.

‘No.’ Matty got up to turn it off.

‘Don’t mind me. You carry on with your gangsta raps. I don’t really get that stuff. That’s the guard in me. More of a Westlife fan, myself.’ He glanced over. ‘Joke.’ He was still completely straight-faced, the minutest ice-spark in his eyes. ‘Or is it.’

Matty wasn’t sure whether to smile or not.

He gave a sudden, energetic breath in, and drained his mug. ‘I’ll get off, then.’ Rolled his shoulders back. ‘It was an early start, so.’

Questioning people from the pub. Re-examining the scene, crouched over the grass, the police tape around it. Though he might not have been working on that today – maybe Sligo Town kept him busy. He hadn’t mentioned the investigation again, and Brigid hadn’t asked. She’d said that this was good and Matty wanted to believe her.

The more normal, the better. Just ask. ‘Do you get a lot of – serious crime?’

‘More than you’d think for round here,’ he said. ‘Bad karaoke versions of “Flying Without Wings” being one of them.’ He grinned, and the grin disappeared just as quickly as it had come. ‘Be seeing you,’ he said, and shouted it again as he banged the door shut.

***

The primary school was a mile up the hill, the opposite direction to the lough. The playground had a wire fence around it and there was a yellow school sign for drivers – the boy was bigger than the girl, dragging her along.

It was the last Friday of the winter term, and the kids were coming out into the playground in twos and threes, adorned in tinsel. It was a long driveway, parents scattered along the pavement and chatting by cars, teachers sending the kids over. Matty passed them all and hovered. Didn’t want to look dodgy.

There was no hiding from Brigid, anyway. She was already coming over, her hands in the pockets of her thick cardigan, which had woollen petalled flowers on the bottom. Probably best.

‘Hello. Have you come to meet me?’

A gentle grin. ‘Yeah.’