There was no hint of doubt in the doctor’s voice. Ben knew honesty when he heard it. Sparling could have said two plus two is four and looked less convinced. But his case didn’t check out. Ben knew that there were sources on everything. Even the shortest, simplest life left some trace behind it, and this was a full village. Ireland was too small an island for what the man was proposing.

‘There must be some mention of the village out there,’ Ben said. ‘What about the church and census records?’

‘The church was abandoned in the late nineteenth century,’ Sparling replied. ‘If there were any records, they are lost. And as for the census, those employed to visit each household were shunned and left empty-handed. No records, no names. The people of Tír Mallacht wanted nothing to do with them. Eventually, it would seem, the village was simply omitted.’

‘Sure, they’re all one big family,’ Chloe giggled. ‘They could have just taken a head count and called them the Tír Mallachts.’

‘Yes, indeed, Ms Coogan,’ Sparling said, dead-faced.

‘What about its history?’ Ben asked. ‘Do we know anything about the place bar the fact that it’s been forgotten for two centuries?’

Sparling gazed back at the projection with strange adoration. One would swear that he had discovered Atlantis.

‘No, Mr French,’ he replied. ‘No historical or archaeological record of Tír Mallacht survives, if ever any did exist.’

‘And I take it that we’re going to fix that,’ Chloe said.

‘Precisely, Ms Coogan.’

‘And when do you want us to go there?’ Ben asked.

‘There’s no time like the present, Mr French. I would like you both to travel to Tír Mallacht tomorrow. Your expenses shall, of course, be taken care of.’ Here Sparling held up a fat envelope for them both to see. ‘Given its secluded location, you will only be able to drive so far. I’ve already prepared a route that will take you as close as possible. You’ll have to walk it the rest of the way. I suggest you rent a car if neither of you already have access to one, and I suspect that you will need a tent or other camping equipment to stay overnight or however long it may take to conduct your respective surveys.’

‘I can drive us,’ Ben said, turning excitedly to Chloe who couldn’t have appeared more relaxed.

‘Neither of you have any children, do you?’ Sparling asked.

Chloe laughed it off, but the question had caught Ben off-guard.

How much would you like? There was no knowing how much they stood to make. And he desperately needed a cash injection, if only for his daughter’s sake.

‘No,’ Ben replied. ‘I don’t have any kids.’

He felt sick just saying it.