‘If it was hard on them, what must it have been like for Breege? She lived for nearly twenty-five years with people thinking her husband had killed a priest. All those nudges and winks and barbed comments. Did that not bother you?’

‘Breege is my one regret. But let’s face it, her husband was a bad bastard. There’s no denying that. And she must have known it too.’

Conor wondered if O’Grady had ever attacked his wife. If so, there was little she could have done. In those days, marital rape hadn’t been a crime.

‘What I don’t get,’ he said, ‘is why Headquarters didn’t ask more questions. Surely the boys in the Park must have spotted that something wasn’t right.’

‘You don’t need me to tell you how it works … or how it used to work. The case had been a monumental pain in the arse for everybody involved. It had been dragging on for ten years, with no sign of a resolution. Headquarters were only too happy to have a plausible explanation for what happened to Leo Galvin. Now, some people might call that corruption, but compared to a lot of what went on, it was nothing. I doubt it cost most people a second thought. To me, it felt like the closest thing to justice I could deliver.’

As the two headed back towards the village, a soft rain began to fall. They walked in silence. Whenever the guards were in trouble, people were quick to cry conspiracy. More often, chronic incompetence was to blame. This, thought Conor, was different. Noel O’Grady had been guilty of rape, but he hadn’t been a killer.

‘So who did kill Father Galvin?’ he asked.

‘I wish I knew.’

‘You used to be convinced you’d find out.’

‘I used to believe in that old phrase “The truth will out.” But it’s too late to get to the truth now. Half of the people at that party are dead. What we’re talking about happened in another era. Another century. Short of the man rising from his grave, I don’t think we’ll ever know what went on.’

‘Sometimes it does take decades for the truth to emerge.’

‘Listen, Conor, I’m sure this isn’t what you want to hear, but you’ve got to let it go. For my sake and, more importantly, for Ginny’s sake, let it go.’

‘I take it she knows you took matters into your own hands?’

‘She does. And she supports me. He might never have been before a court, but most people are willing to accept that Noel O’Grady killed Leo Galvin.’

The rain was merging into a thin slick on Conor’s jacket. He took in his father’s pained expression, the pleading note in his voice. ‘I hear you,’ he said.