‘So much for all that guff about how fond you are of home.’ Nina flinched, but he didn’t care. ‘You’re sleeping with a guy who’s trawling around Kilmitten for trashy stories about what happened in my parents’ house. A guy who’s looking to exploit people and put them on the telly for the rest of the country’s entertainment. How’s that for hypocrisy?’

‘Stop it,’ she said. ‘You’re not being fair. I know I’m in the wrong here, but I am fond of home, and Julian’s not exploiting anybody. He’s trying to tell a story, and if he uncovers new information, so much the better.’

Tom paused, took a drink of wine. Whatever he’d expected, it wasn’t this. This was like walking through a door into an entirely different world. ‘What new information?’

‘Nothing major so far. But he’s still got to interview Father Galvin’s brother. And Conor’s dad’s going to talk to him too. He – Julian – has some interesting ideas.’

Tom listened while Nina spoke about Julian Heaney’s theories. It was speculative stuff, nonsense mostly, not aided by her explanations being so garbled. Then she mentioned a particular name.

‘Woah,’ he said, ‘go back a few fields, there. This character reckons Ginny Fortune might be mixed up in Father Galvin’s death? I take it you put him straight.’

‘That’s not what I said. He doesn’t think that at all. He just reckons it’s odd that she won’t tell Tess who her father is. You can’t argue with that.’

‘Cop yourself on, Nina. You claim this guy isn’t interested in exploiting people. That’s exactly what he’s doing. And, by the sound of it, the person most likely to suffer is your best friend. Tess had nothing to do with Father Galvin. Dead or alive. He wants to drag her in because she’s box office. That’s all.’

‘Please, Tom,’ she said, ‘I wouldn’t blame you for being angry. But you’re making everything sound worse than it is.’

Tears were showing in her eyes. Tom swallowed the rest of his wine. He found his denim jacket and pulled out his lighter and cigarettes. Nina didn’t like him smoking in the house, but she couldn’t object. His anger continuing to gather pace, he had another question to ask. ‘What does your fancy man say, then? Who did kill Father Galvin?’

‘Don’t call him that, and he doesn’t know.’

‘He has a theory, though?’

‘Yeah, only—’

‘Go on.’

‘Like I said to you a minute ago, Julian’s heard that a few people owed money to Leo Galvin. Despite being a priest, he was a good poker player. Getting names has been tricky, but apparently one person owed quite a lot.’

Tom took a deep drag of his cigarette. ‘Who?’