Lynn shook it. ‘And Bridie?’

‘She’s fine. She’s with her daughter.’

‘Thank God,’ Lynn said. ‘Thank you, dear Lord on high, thank you, thank you, thank you.’

‘Are you all right?’

‘No, but I will be.’ She took a hit from her spray.

‘She’s a nice lady,’ Joan said.

‘She is,’ Lynn said.

‘How long has she been sick?’

‘A few years.’

‘My grandmother had dementia.’

‘I’m sorry for that.’

‘Maisie has a lot on her plate.’

‘Look, Joan, thank you for the chair and thank you for minding Bridie but I’m not talking to you.’

‘I understand,’ Joan said.

‘And, truth be told, I think the press have been absolute bastards. They paint a picture of those boys as though they’re degenerate and they have no love in their lives. Well, they do. It comes from Maisie and that old woman who sat in your car.’

‘I can see why you’d think that and you’re right.’

‘Really?’ Lynn hadn’t expected that.

Joan handed Lynn her card. ‘I write for the Tallaght Echo. I’ve spent the last few days talking to everyone and anyone who actually knows Maisie, Jeremy, Bridie and Valerie Bean, and they sound like pretty good people to me. I’d like to reflect that when the madness dies down and the rest of the pack has moved on. I’d like to give Maisie a voice. It’s the least she deserves under the circumstances.’

‘Oh, right … Well, that’s lovely. Thank you.’ Lynn was taken slightly aback. She looked at the card – ‘Joan Wilde’, printed in fancy lettering, with a mobile number. That’s posh for a local newspaper. ‘I’ll pass this on when it’s appropriate, if it ever is,’ she said.

‘I’m happy with that.’

‘And if she ever forgives me for losing her mother.’

‘She will,’ Joan said.

The room was so packed that steam was rising. I just have to get out of here. There were too many people and it was so noisy. Her head felt as if it was in a vice and her heart was threatening to explode but she couldn’t leave until she had confirmed that Bridie was safe and she’d spoken to Maisie. She saw Fred talking with another man and made her way to him. Trying to move through the crowd was harder than punching under water. He saw her before she reached him and came to meet her. ‘She’s fine,’ he said, referring to Bridie.

‘I took my eye off her for less than three minutes.’

‘Lynn, she’s fine.’

‘Where is she?’

‘In a classroom with Maisie and Valerie.’

‘Can I see them? Please?’

‘Of course,’ he said. He put his arm around her and led her away from the crowd into the cool, wide, empty corridor. Finally she could breathe again.

Maisie