‘He was speaking at some EU peace conference in Glasgow.’

‘Is he indeed?’ Duggan said. ‘He could meet us after all.’

‘He’s a busy man,’ Barr offered, laughing.

‘We’re all busy men. And women. He could take a fucking moment. Do what he said he would. Make himself available. It would be in everyone’s best interests if he did. Even yours.’

The atmosphere in the car darkened with the comments. Tony could see, with some pity, Barr glancing furtively in the rear-view mirror at Duggan to judge whether he’d spoken even slightly in jest.

‘Did you hear about this bridge idea?’ Tony said, by way of distraction.

He could see Barr’s shoulders sag a little with relief as he gratefully seized on the change in the topic of conversation. ‘What bridge?’ he asked over his shoulder as he started building speed on the incline. ‘The one on the news?’

‘Yeah. This idea of a bridge between Ireland and Scotland, to cut out the ferries. It’s only about twenty-five miles across.’

‘It’s madness,’ Duggan said. ‘Between that lunatic in America building walls, and the lunatics here looking to build bridges. Fifteen billion it would cost, something like that. Better investing that money in the community.’

‘Or the health service,’ Karen added. ‘I think some communities have been riding the investment gravy train long enough. Spending it on health would spread it more fairly.’

‘Spoken like someone who doesn’t live in such a community anymore. Where are you now? Bangor?’

He exaggerated the final syllable, parodying the middle-class pronunciation of the place.

They lapsed into silence once more. It was as if Duggan’s mood had festered since the ferry, as if he had realised that, if Kelly had not been the tout, then it was likely that one of them must have been.

‘The problem is Beaufort’s Dyke,’ Tony said, scrambling to again lift the tension, which was almost palpable in the car.

‘I knew a few dykes in my time, but not that one,’ Duggan said, though neither he, nor any of the others, laughed at the comment.

‘It’s a marine trench that the Ministry of Defence have been dumping old munitions into for years, apparently. We passed over it on the crossing. They reckon there’s over a million tonnes of weaponry down there.’

‘If we ever need to rearm for the struggle, that’s where we should start,’ Barr laughed.

‘So Sean’s over talking about peace, and you’re chatting about rearming,’ Duggan said. ‘Which is it?’

“I didn’t mean nothing by it,’ Barr said, with some bewilderment.

‘Give the kid a break,’ Karen said. ‘He was obviously joking.’

‘Sure, so am I. He knows that,’ Duggan said. ‘Don’t you?’

‘The joke’s gone a bit far, Hugh,’ she continued.

‘No, I’m genuinely interested,’ Duggan said. ‘Tell us, then. Why are you so keen on things starting up again?’