‘What happened?’ interrupted Hennessy impatiently.

‘They used a flash-bulb and a couple of wires.’

‘A flash-bulb?’

‘A flash-bulb, and it had been covered in some sort of red powder. It was a home-made detonator, as soon as the ignition key was turned it would have exploded the petrol in the tank.’

‘OK, Christy. Where are you now?’

‘We’re all in Jimmy’s house.’

There was a muttering in the background and the sound of a bottle clinking against a glass. The boys were having a wee snort to calm their nerves, and Hennessy didn’t blame them. They’d had two narrow escapes in as many days.

‘Listen, this is what you do. Have you removed it?’

‘Sure enough, we pulled it out of the tank, but it’s still connected.’

‘Leave it just as it is. Call Willie O’Hara and get him to look at it, he knows what he’s doing. And get him to check out the whole car, from top to bottom. As soon as he’s given it the all clear, you and Jim come on over. And Christy?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Take it easy.’

He replaced the receiver. The mug of tea was still in his left hand, untouched. He sipped it, a deep frown on his forehead.

‘Something wrong?’ asked his wife.

He nodded. ‘Somebody has just tried to blow up the car.’

Mary’s eyes widened and her mouth opened. He hadn’t told her about the explosion at the office because he hadn’t wanted to worry her, but he took her into the kitchen and sat her down at the pine breakfast table and told her that there had been two attempts on his life, albeit half-hearted ones.

There was a scratching noise at the door and Hennessy walked over to let in the dog. She scuttled beneath the table and Hennessy realised then how vulnerable he was. He went down the hall, opened the front door and waved over the two men sitting in a blue Ford Escort to the left of the driveway. He told them to be extra careful and sent one of them to stand guard by the back door until Murphy and Kavanagh arrived.

He returned to the kitchen and flashed his wife a smile as he sat down.

‘Who do you think is behind this? The Ulster Defence Association?’

Hennessy shrugged and looked down at his mug of tea. A brownish scum was beginning to form on the surface and he poked it with his finger.

‘There was some clever dick inspector at the office who said it might be a warning.’

‘A warning?’

Hennessy looked up and was pleased to see the concern in her eyes. ‘The bomb in the office wasn’t really a bomb, it was a home-made affair that was limited in terms of the damage it could do. And from the sound of it the job they tried to do on the car today was pretty amateurish, too. I mean, they must be pretty stupid not to realise that the first thing we do every morning is to check out the car.’