Conor had convinced him there was no reason to hide. As if to prove him wrong, four O’Gradys swaggered by. Conor got a grudging greeting, Tom a series of smirks and nudges.

‘Is it true you’re on the lookout for a new woman?’ said Seánie.

‘We heard the doctor’s daughter came to her senses and gave you the shove,’ added Philly.

Conor looked at Tom. ‘Ignore him.’

Tom made a face but stayed quiet. After a few further jibes, the O’Gradys moved on. ‘Have you been talking to Nina?’ asked Tom.

‘No. I wouldn’t know what to say to her.’ Conor had contemplated lifting the phone, but thought better of it.

Tess was livid. ‘Nina keeps calling me,’ she’d said, ‘but if I answer, I won’t be able to control my anger. I’ve got to calm down before we talk.’

‘Grand. But if you do meet up with her, I won’t mind. Like, she’s your friend too.’

‘People are on your side, you know. Timmy and Mags Moynihan were in the house this afternoon, and they were tearing into her. “She’s only a stuck-up little strap.” That’s what Mags said.’

Tom drained his pint. ‘I don’t need people to take sides. It’s not a football match.’

‘I get you,’ said Conor, convinced now that this would be a difficult night.

Tom rose to get another round. Next door, Bobby Buckley was performing a Neil Diamond medley, the music seeping into the bar in muffled waves.

Conor had been shocked by what Nina had done. He hadn’t thought her capable of being so … callous: that was the word. Then again, he hadn’t been looking. A while back, he’d heard someone claim that your taste in music at fourteen was your taste for life. Maybe your personality was settled quite early on too. Maybe Nina was more like her father than any of them had wanted to admit. Truth to tell, Conor had never understood why Tom was so obsessed with her. She was a pretty girl, but no prettier than many. Not the glittering prize of Tom’s imagination.

Conor wondered if Nina felt guilty about how she’d treated Tom. He assumed not. Every day, he met people whose sins were far worse. People who hit their partner or abused a child or sold drugs. Few would admit to cruelty. They’d say they were provoked or they were weak or they, too, had been a victim. He remembered what his dad had said about Father Galvin’s killer being able to rationalise what they’d done. The more he saw, the more sense that made.

A glance at the bar showed Tom having words with the O’Gradys. Conor was about to get up and intervene when Tom walked away.

‘Do I have to ask?’ he said, as his friend sat down again.

‘Probably best if you don’t.’