Katie enlarged the JPEG and sat staring at it in disbelief. Dominating the front page was an unflattering picture of herself, taken at the media conference. She had both hands raised as if she were surrendering, and her mouth was pulled down. The huge headline read TOP CORK COP FLOPS, by Owen Dineen, and the story underneath began, ‘After a leading judge was burned to death in suspicious circumstances, a petty criminal was shot dead in the street, and the maniacal Lee Pusher claimed his seventh victim – ALL IN ONE DAY – Cork’s most senior detective has had to admit that “crime in the city is now beyond our control”.

‘Detective Superintendent Kathleen Maguire also confessed that since she had been appointed top cop the number of serious offences such as murder, drug-dealing, sexual assault and random stabbings has ROCKETED.’

‘Kyna,’ said Katie, and Kyna must have caught the shock in her voice because she came out of the bathroom naked, still drying herself with her towel.

Katie turned her laptop around so that Kyna could see the screen.

‘I can’t believe it. I never said that crime in the city was beyond our control. I asked him if that was what he was trying to suggest. And I never said that offences had “rocketed”. That is a complete and utter fabrication. Talk about false news.’

‘Oh sweet Jesus,’ said Kyna. ‘This is absolutely desperate. It really looks like he’s got it in for you, this Owen Dineen. What are you going to do?’

‘I don’t know. I really don’t know. I’ll have to talk to Mathew about it, and our lawyers, too. They need to print a correction, and an apology too.’

She read more of the news report, shaking her head. Then she pressed her hand against her mouth and her eyes filled up with tears again.

Kyna dropped her towel and knelt down on the floor beside her, shushing her and stroking her hair. ‘Come on, it’s only a nasty fat newspaper reporter being bitchy, for the sake of his story. It’ll all be forgotten in a day’s time.’

Katie wiped her eyes and nodded. ‘You’re right. I shouldn’t let it get to me. I’ve always been allergic to that Owen Dineen whenever he’s showed up and I think he knows it.’

Kyna hugged her and gave her reassuring little kisses again and again, and then gave her a long, deeply felt kiss, sliding her tongue into her mouth and at the same time cupping her right breast through her sweater.

At that moment, in the kitchen, both Barney and Foltchain started barking, and Katie could hear them scrabbling frantically at the back door. She sat up straight, and Kyna got to her feet, picking up her towel.

‘What’s got into those two?’ asked Kyna.