‘And you, Conor,’ said the doctor, ‘your father’s going to be very busy. You understand that, don’t you? He’ll need you to be on your best behaviour.’

‘He knows that, Emmet,’ said Nina’s mother, with a smile. She was almost too smiley, as if stopping would cause her to get upset.

Tess sipped her hot chocolate. She was mulling over the spat between Mags and Mercedes. ‘Do you think …’ she said. ‘Do you think that whoever did it was at the party?’

Immediately she regretted her question. Nina’s dad gave her a stare, like she’d thrown up on the beige wool carpet. ‘I doubt that,’ he said. ‘In fact, I have it on good authority that the police are looking elsewhere.’

‘Oh?’ said Mrs Minogue.

‘I’ve been on the phone to a friend who knows about the investigation. Not Conor’s dad, I should say. Flan has enough to be doing without me poking my nose in.’ He paused. ‘I wasn’t going to say anything, but I reckon I should put your minds at rest. He told me that whoever killed Father Galvin came in from the back garden. Apparently, there’s a lot of flattened snow around the shed, and there’s a trail between the shed and the house. The guards suspect the killer must have hidden out there.’

‘Really?’ said Tom.

Tess’s heart drummed in her ears. Not daring to look at the others, she studied her fingernails.

‘There’s a group of itinerants camped near the Templemorris Road. I’d say that’s where the guards will start looking.’ Dr Minogue squared his shoulders. ‘Now, I’ve probably said more than I should, but I don’t want any of you worrying that somebody from Kilmitten could have killed Father Galvin.’

‘Thanks, Dad,’ said Nina, in a small voice.

Chapter 3

‘We’ve got to own up,’ said Conor, as they walked back towards his house, cheeks stinging from the wind. Tess had stayed at Nina’s place.

‘You’re kidding me,’ said Tom. ‘If we say anything about the shed, we’ll be in big trouble.’

‘It’ll be even worse if we don’t.’

‘I don’t see how. And can you imagine what it’d be like for the girls – or for Nina, at any rate? You saw her folks. Her dad would go ballistic if he thought she’d sneaked out of the house to go smoking and drinking with two lads. She’d be grounded for life.’